DSL

Title: DSL

Summary: The Ice Prince of Slytherin was not the most venerated snake. In fact, Theodore Nott was what brought the Slytherins together. In the aftermath of the war, where will Theo's wisdom bring Draco Malfoy?

AN: This was a little tale that popped into my head, based on my friend Chad, who was the Theo to my group of friends. It's more of a dedication to him, and so the story has a bit of a bittersweet vibe. But I hope you enjoy it, and please feel free to come at me with some constructive criticism, or compliments ;) thanks!

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Theodore Nott was not your average Slytherin.

He tended to waltz into the darkened common room and laugh with - rather than at - first years. The sixth year boy seemed warmer than the cold blooded snakes the inhabited the dungeons.

True to form, he maintained a cold exterior when faced with confrontations concerning other houses, but that went without saying. He was still, after all, a Slytherin.

And perhaps that was why, instead of insulting or isolating him, many of the Slytherins chose to admire him.

His strides were confidant and purposeful, though he rarely knew where he was headed; his words were sharp and quick, though he often spoke idly or poetically; his intellect was keen, though he finished his assignments minutes before classes started; and his body and voice were beautiful, though he never settled down with anyone.

The elite of the Slytherin household - the likes of Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson - tried to encompass him in their click, but he came and went when he pleased, and there was little they could do about it.

One night found the common room warmed by an unusually lit hearth, as Theodore Nott sat on the arm of an overbearing leather lounge chair, regaling many awed faces with his latest encounter with the Care for Magical Creatures professor.

"...so the big oaf pulls me roughly aside and screams at me, 'Lookin' hyur, ruddy boi!'" Theodore paused as several first years burst into fits of giggles at the impression of the burly professor, "'I ain't gotten all day teh be huntin fer no missin' critters! Yeh best no' be runnin em amuck!'

"And I said to him, I said, 'Professor, you're so talented at knowing where to find all these creatures, it surely leaves one to wonder why you'd have your wand snapped in half whilst attending Hogwarts yourself!'"

Theodore smirked as his audience cheered his cunning insult.

Pansy Parkinson laced her arm through his and clambered into the lounge chair, "Oh Theo, you certainly did show him up!"

Theodore simply shrugged, wrapping an arm around the petite girl, "I doubt he even understood the remark, let alone understands plain english."

The portrait door opened and Draco Malfoy entered amidst the gathering of young Slytherins. He arched an elegant eyebrow and looked over their undeserving heads, gesturing towards Theodore and Pansy.

"Theo, Pansy." The blond found it unneccessary to divulge much more, as he turned back around and exited the portrait.

They two upperclassmen followed Draco out of the room, and they found him looking agreeable in the dark hallway.

"I managed to acquire the Room of Requirement for tonight, and Blaise is setting out the firewhiskey as we speak." There was a rare hint of smile to Draco's smirk.

"Excellent, Drake." Much like Draco's use of Theo rather than Theodore, Drake was a term exclusive to Theodore.

The three walked in relative silence towards the Room of Requirement. The idea had been Theodore's, and a small group of sixth and seventh years from other houses had gathered in a neighboring hallway. Theodore wanted a party. And he wanted it to be remembered.

Five Ravenclaws, two Hufflepuffs, four Gryffindors and two other Slytherins, to be exact, waited for his very command. A small, but dynamic group. Everything was just to his liking. This party was to be Theodore's legacy.

Theodore led the group inside the Room of Requirement, where Blaise had laid the room with floor cushions against the walls, and a space cleared across a warm wooden floor and set for dancing, while Blaise himself stood over an open bar, mixing a martini.

The music was a combination of some muggle music Theodore had heard once, a band called Crystal Castles, along with the more popular Weird Sisters.

People began dancing, or ordering drinks, or settling into conversation on the floor cushions. Theodore was making rounds, flanked by Pansy and Draco, and the students of Hogwarts seemed enamored with him.

Harry Potter and Hermione Granger sat in a corner, sans Ronald Weasley, who had not been invited to the shindig. They looked around dubiously, small smiles flickering across their faces at the sight of dancing Hufflepuffs.

Theodore walked to tower over them, slinking down majestically to kneel at their level, and Pansy tightened her grip on Theodore's arm and Granger blushed and looked away from his startlingly deep eyes.

"You two should get up and dance, and enjoy yourselves," Theodore all but commanded.

Potter looked to Granger, yet replied, "I don't think I'm much of a dancer, but it's a nice party you've put together."

Theodore unhooked Pansy's possessive hand and grabbed Potter's, pulling the boy to his feet.

"Then I'll show you how." The Slytherin just smiled.

Pansy practically shook in outrage, "What does Theo think he's doing?"

"Whatever he likes, most likely," Draco stared forlornly at the duo, as Theodore twirled Potter expertly around the floor.

As the night dragged on, the students slowly getting more and more intoxicated, many people had paired off or gathered among the floor cushions, talking idly about silly things in no relation to school or the impending war.

Pansy still tried to lay across Theodore as he lounged on a large cushion, leaning against the dark red walls of the room. The charming Slytherin boy slid an arm around her small form, his hand moving across the curve of her hips.

With a small turn of his head he looked to the girl and said, "Pansy, you have by far the sexiest hips I've ever had the pleasure to feel."

She blushed furiously, and attempted to look both well-acquianted with such a compliment and superior to the few students around them. Draco raised another refined eyebrow at his companions.

Granger seemed to have passed out on a cushion close by, and Potter was trying to rouse her from her slumber.

"Potter, trying to get Granger up to take advantage of those delicious DSLs of hers?" Theodore called from his place.

Potter glared blearily before picking her up and exiting the party.

"DSLs, Theo?" Pansy asked almost childishly. "What does that mean?"

Theodore smirked at the girl, "DSLs, let's see how I can tell you this..." He glanced at Draco as a wicked look flickered through his eyes. "You see Drake there? How his lips have a perfect, pink pout to them?"

Pansy nodded as Draco protested, "I'm not pouting! Malfoy's don't pout. Brood, maybe, but never pout."

Theodore laughed, "Ah, but Drake, you see, you have the most gorgeous set of DSLs I've ever seen! You should put them to good use sometime."

The rest of the party ended with couples drunkenly exiting and finding dark corners to snog, and Draco blushing ridiculously at the unknown compliment Theodore had laid upon him.

It had been a memorable party, and Ravenclaws were still known to talk about it in the following years. It had been the one last ray of hope as the war wrecked its way through the school.

In his seventh year attending Hogwarts, Theodore Nott had been murdered by the hand of Lord Voldemort, and it could not be said how much hand changed in his death. Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson had deflected to the side of light, while Blaise Zabini hid in Italy with his mother.

When the war was won, and Harry Potter stood victorious, the only option for so man seemed to be returning to the broken school.

Classes resumed, students began laughing once more, and many old rivalries were simply shadows, dark memories of the time of war, and the students were too tired of being miserable to uphold them.

On a cold morning in November, walking towards the Great Hall, Draco Malfoy said "Good morning," to Ronald Weasley. And Weasley returned the gesture.

The war was really over.

Sitting in the dark common room that night, Draco and Pansy talked slowly of Weasley's stunned response.

"I bet Theodore would have expected it," Pansy wistfully remarked.

And then Draco Malfoy had an idea.

The next week, the Hogwarts students of every year and house could be seen sneaking their way into Room of Requirement. Most professors had heard the news, or intercepted the invitations, and turned a blind eye to the venture.

The room had been expanded to mass capacity. The walls were the same dark red, the music was the same mix of Crystal Castles and the Weird Sisters. The bar was twice as big, manned by Blaise Zabini and Cormac McLaggen of Ravenclaw. And the students were partying hard.

Pansy laced her arm through Draco's, mistily and drunkenly speaking of her Theo and Draco shook the girl off and settled in a corner, leaning against the dark walls. He smirked to himself, pleased with himself for making his name above Theo's. But there was a bitter edge to his smirk, there was a sadness in his eyes.

"Nice party, Malfoy," Potter remarked, standing for a moment beside Draco before walking to the bar for another drink.

Near the end of the night, as students straggled drunkenly across the room, Pansy was falling all over Draco's lap as he sat on one of the many floor cushions.

"Oohhhh Drakkkeeeyyyy," she was slurring badly at this point. "D'you rememeber? Theo? My Theo said my hips... he said my hips were so sexy! Ha ha..."

Draco looked at her wearily, he was really too drunk to deal with her ramblings, and didnt want to dwell on thoughts of Theo.

"And, and, d'you know what he said about you!" The girl was trying to rearrange herself in a comfortable sleeping position, "He said you have sexy DSLs. And you do, you know."

"Pansy," Draco could mostly only see the room as a fog, and he assumed people had started leaving, "Pansy, I dont even know what DSLs are."

Pansy just gaped at him.

"You need to find out, Drakey! You need to! It's what Theo wanted from you!" The girl gave one last hiccaugh before promptly passing out.

Draco gave a wry shrug of his shoulders, pulling himself to his feet. A hand caught his and lifted him up, giving him a steady arm to walk on.

"Need some help heading back to the dungeons, Malfoy?"

"Oh, Saint Potter. It's just you." Draco's vision was clearing up a bit. Maybe he hadn't drank as much as he thought.

Potter smirked at him, and a flash of Theo fell into that smile. Confidence. That's what it was.

"You need any help?" The brunette repeated himself.

"No..." Draco stumbled again, and held tight to Potter's grasp, "Maybe. Yes."

Potter laughed deeply, a chuckle that seemed to resonate from deep within him, and Draco had to look at his darkly lit face, the shadows catching all of the right angles. His lips were curled into a sweet smile, and Draco felt his collar getting warm... they were too close. His lips were too close.

Potter helped him into the corridor and down the hall, holding the blond closer than necessary, but neither of them remarked on it.

As they edged towards the dungeons, Draco mumbled a brief, "Thanks, Potter," as he attempted to edge away and pull his Malfoy mask firmly back in place. But he found himself too tired, too apathetic to worry about putting up a front. Instead, he yawned lightly and bit his bottom lip. He didnt notice the green eyes trained on his every movement until Harry Potter had him firmly pressed against the stone wall, the hero's lips feathering over his ear.

"You know, I have to admit, Theodore was quite right about one thing," Potter whispered across Draco's neck, "You have amazing dick sucking lips."

Draco's eyes went wide with realization. That's what Theo had told him so long ago? A furious blush settled across his features, before he also realized that Potter agreed. Potter agreed, and was lingering at Draco's neck, waiting for his move.

Draco laced his fingers through Harry's unruly hair and pulled the boy's face towards his.

"He also suggested I put them to good use."

~
AN: Reviews are appreciated! Thanks.