Chapter 287 Other Meanings
The closer it got to the Christmas ball, the more restless the atmosphere in Hogwarts became. Della, who had already chosen a dance partner and had been observing from an outsider's perspective, easily noticed this.
Men and women gathered together more visibly, and they had daily conversations at a frequency they did not normally have. Perhaps both sides knew each other's intentions, but their eyes were always a little strayed and neither side was willing to make the idea clear first. In the end, the invitation to the dance became the mission of the next communication.
But youth is about finding sweetness amidst distress and entanglement.
Della looked at the two people who had a smile on their faces even though their appointment had clearly gone to waste, and raised her eyebrows and smiled knowingly.
Even though she was already taken, there were many people around her. The looks they gave Draco were definitely not friendly. They were all secretly observing the opportunity, as if they would pull Draco down if they got the chance.
If Maggie were here and saw the looks in those people's eyes, she would definitely make fun of Draco's lack of intimidation as a boyfriend, and then secretly start to provoke her again.
Fall in love with many people... ?
Della walked in the corridor, the warm afternoon light shining on her, slightly driving away the winter chill. She thought of Maggie's comments on her emotional life. She shifted her attention away from her restless classmates and pondered the purpose of Maggie's suggestion.
Della couldn't think of any benefit from doing this. She felt that she couldn't see her own heart clearly just by being in love with Draco, and there was no point in attracting other men to her.
"Riddle," Butterfly came at this moment. The tall and thin Theodore Nott called Della. The sun shone on him, diluting his gloomy and distant temperament. "Can we chat?"
Theodore invited her just like he did in second grade. Della remembered the painting that Theodore had given her after many attempts, in which Tracy was erased and only Rob and Fatima were shown. She stopped, nodded slightly, and looked at Theodore silently, motioning him to follow.
"You didn't choose Divination?" At this moment, Draco was taking Divination class with the Ravenclaws taught by Professor Sybil, who was dressed in gauze. Della never accompanied Draco to this class because she didn't want to get some specious and confusing news from the future.
"I'm not very interested in that class," Theodore shook his head. He slowed down his pace and followed Della, strolling with her in the sunshine. "Riddle, can I dance with you at the ball?"
Theodore was direct in his invitation and conservatively stated only "a dance" instead of "a dance partner," which would have been too demanding.
"A dance?" Della said slowly. "For now, I have only booked the opening dance and a dance with my brother. Do you want to be the third partner or the last partner?"
At a formal dance, no couple can dance from beginning to end. Della is not opposed to dancing with others, that is just normal social interaction, but she wants to test Theodore's attitude.
At present, there are many people that Maggie can use. Trevor Ewing is one of them. All the forces in Country Y have been pushed to him. After returning to Country Y, she also gave Aryan, the first person who came up to her, to Maggie.
That was for Arrian's future, and also to show Maggie her attitude of not sharing power. The struggle for power is extremely destructive to a secret organization, and Della doesn't want to waste any more energy on it.
But she did need a helper who could bypass Maggie. The first family to be considered was actually the Malfoy family, but Della was very skeptical about who the current head of the family, Lucius Malfoy, would choose, because as far as Della knew, a letter from Lucius had been sent to Maggie.
Although Maggie threw the letter away without even opening it, Della did not receive the same letter.
The current behavior of the Malfoy family is still consistent with the evaluation she gave in Country F last year - they are too arrogant and think they are powerful enough to get close to the most powerful one, so they only surrender to Maggie, another bloodline who is gradually replacing Della as the focus.
If loyalty is not absolute, it is absolutely disloyal. Della can make the Malfoy family closer in the eyes of outsiders by letting them do things, but they cannot do some important things.
"The last one." Theodore said firmly.
"I don't want to make the dance in our school too serious, but I still have to remind you, Theodore, that I am not an ordinary student now," Della smiled, "Have you asked Mr. Nott about dancing with me? And do you know that my brother doesn't like most of the men around me?"
"My pursuit may not be consistent with my father's considerations. His thinking is still stuck in the past." Theodore slowed down his tone, suggesting that his father actually preferred Voldemort, who had not yet returned. "But I think I have reached the point where I can make my own choice, and in the final analysis, we are all fighting for the Nott family."
"So old?" Della forced a laugh, with a hint of sarcasm on her face. "What about you? Did you come to me because you felt you had a basis for surrendering to me?"
"I always felt it was a pity, Riddle, that I had too many prejudices before, which made it take me a long time to see you." Theodore did not answer Della's question directly. He looked at Della with his dark eyes, which flashed with an inexplicable brilliance. "But when I saw you, I firmly believed that you would make a career."
"When I really saw you, I knew you were different." Theodore turned his head, avoiding Della's sight. His eyes seemed to fall on the clear blue sky, but his black eyes were empty, as if he was recalling something. "But soon I discovered that you were born extraordinary."
At the moment when some vague emotions broke out, Theodore saw absolute power and interests again. The tiny feelings were instantly covered up, but they were still growing quietly.
"Born extraordinary, unique, neither of these words are something that people dare to approach. Perhaps knowing nothing is a good thing," Theodore looked at Della again, with a little more boldness in his eyes that was rare when others were facing Della. "But I'm still very happy that I know, and I'm especially glad that I showed my loyalty to the people I believed in early on."
Della understood Theodore's expression of his mixed feelings for her and his own interests. She did not avoid Theodore's suppressed and passionate gaze, but only asked in a low voice, "When?"
"When the master and the knight are bathed in the same light," Theodore's voice was a little ethereal, "it's a pity that story writers never care about the knight's thoughts."
"What's even more regrettable is that," Theodore said, taking a small step towards Della. The distance between them was now oscillating between safe social distances. "Even that beam of light was only defined as the moonlight seen by the owner, when it was clearly a beam of dazzling light with a strong sense of self-awareness."
"..." Della frowned and opened her eyes slightly. After noticing the distance between her and Theodore, she subconsciously took a step back. She tilted her eyes downwards to avoid Theodore's sight. "I will dance with you on the day of the dance. The Nott family will be the last one of mine here."
"I actually hope to be the only one." Theodore lowered his head and took a step back. When he raised his head again, his face became as indifferent as usual, but this time the sun could not dispel the gloom on him. "Thank you for accepting my invitation, Riddle. I'm leaving now. I look forward to dancing with you at the ball."
"Goodbye..." Della said politely, but her brows were frowned and she couldn't give a polite smile. After Theodore turned and left, she slightly turned her eyes away and looked at Theodore again.
The painting where Tracy was erased and only Rob and Fatima were there...
Della recalled the painting that she had always regarded as Theodore Nott's surrender, and finally saw some meaning other than interests in it.
She also recalled the fairy tale titled "To the Elusive Moonlight" which briefly gave her the nickname "Miss Moonlight". In that story, the character she played, Fatima, was actually the embodiment of sunlight.
At that time, she and Draco had a quarrel over the concept of bloodline, and this fairy tale lost in love made them reconcile. They crossed the gap of bloodline concept, which was a milestone.
But now...
Della couldn't explain the gulf that necessarily existed between her and Draco, but Theodore's talk of "defined moonlight" and "self-aware brilliance" made her a little irritated.