Ana sits at the large formal dining room table, looking very small in the large room. She's sent a house elf to wait at the floo for you and so she's alone, thinking, her arms wrapped tight around herself. Why did I invite him? Why did I tell him those things... And you scare her, because she could trust you.

Theo enters the room, following Tissy. "Visitor, Missus Daphne," the house elf announces, and then disappears off down the hallway.

"Ana," he says.

Ana visibly tenses more, looking up from her seat. "Theodore..." And a small tight smile as she nods to a seat beside her. Though the table is tremendous, the chairs seem almost cosy.

"Thank you for allowing me to come to dinner," he says, sinking into the chair. "I usually eat by myself these days... Although, I did go out to lunch with Pansy the other day."

Her eyes widen just slightly, but then she forces her expression to become blank and shrugs tightly. "How is Pansy? I haven't spoken with her..." The social front, though, she does look at you closely as you sit down - considering you. "I'm... It's nice, that you came. I... get sick of eating alone too...."

Theodore shrugs. "Pansy's doing fine. We went to an interesting coffee house I had never been to in Diagon Alley. Good to talk to a housemate." His voice is indifferent. But then he focuses his attention at the meal at hand, and says in a much softer tone, "I'm glad that you still wanted me to come over. You seemed upset, after we finished IMing."

There's an odd flip in her stomach as you mention Pansy, and she doesn't quite know what it is. I can't be... jealous... She bites he lip and looks down at her plate, just pushing things around with her fork for a moment. Then in a small voice. "I shouldn't have said... those things."

Theodore looks at you. He's comfortable enough now, the attention's not on him. "It's alright, Ana," he says. "You should be able to say how you feel. To someone at least. I have my dad." His voice is quiet. And now... maybe you? he thinks to himself.

Ana purses her lips and meets his eyes, putting her fork down and wrapping her arms around herself again. "What are you playing at, Theodore? I... Why are you pretending to be nice. To be.. interested in how I feel? No one else does..." And I CAN'T believe I just said that but, honestly, she's too frightened of you. Backed into a corner and now she has to address it.

If there was any doubt as to whether or not you might trust him, it is gone now. You don't. And he was expecting that.

"Ana, I'm not pretending. I... I really do care how you feel."

"Why?" And she's spent what little courage she has on the first questions to you, and she hates the way that her voice is so small and shivering as she asks this last one. But it's too late now, and her eyes are trained on you.

Can I say this? Can I really say this? Theodore ponders how to respond. "I... I care about you, Ana. Especially now that I've actually talked to you some, and gotten to know you." He has more to add, but he debates whether or not he should even bring it up.

"I know what Crabbe and Goyle did to you last year... they used to brag to me about it. It would make me upset. I didn't even really know you then... but having talked to you now... if they showed up... I don't know what I'd do." There's something passionate in his voice, that shows that he's serious.

She's surprised, both at your honesty and at the fact that you brought up them. The constant leering, making as if they were going to follow her to her room, and stealing her things, making even the serpent's den a dangerous place for her to be alone. Not that they had ever actually tried to touch her, but the insinuations... Just at the thought she tightens her arms around herself and winces. "I... they..." And her voice is small and almost childlike in that remembered fear. Then she swallows and pushes it away, meeting your eyes again. "I..." He said he cared about me. "I was worried...yesterday... the other day..that you were hurt. I... I care too."

There are many words that Theo wants to say right now. But you've rendered him speechless with your last statement. She cares about me... He repeats your words over again in his head.

Finally, he says softly, "You can trust me Ana. I'm not going to hurt you."

Ana shakes her head slightly. Can't trust him...Can't! But there's also a small part of her that knows she already does. She doesn't answer though - turning back to her meal instead and beginning to eat slowly.

Theodore decides he will put it all on the line. He watches you eat for a minute, but the time seems to go by extremely slow. Finally, his voice breaks the silence. "Ana, I'm scared too."

And he pauses, before daring to continue. "I trust you Ana, I really do. And it scares me." He looks down. He already regrets saying anything. He's extremely vulnerable. He has never put himself on the line, for anyone.

Ana's eyes fly to you, shocked and she doesn't bother hiding it this time. "Why?" And that's immediate - a gut reaction. Then she takes a breath, seeing the look on your face, and - thought it terrifies her - bites her lip and relaxes. "I... I trust you. A little. And that's a little more than I trust anyone else and... " She sighs, her voice soft and unsure - vulnerable too - "I don't want you to be scared..."

"I trust you, I don't know why. I just... do. But you know how it is in our house. I know you know. You don't trust anyone. And that's why it scares me." His next words contain an edge of bitterness. "I hate that. I hate not being able to trust the people I live with. I hate always putting up a front."

He stops. He's said too much. She thinks I've lost it. I might as well leave now.

She looks away, back down into her plate, and you'll notice she's not tense now, her shoulder slumped just slightly. "So do I..." And her voice is still that soft and shivering, but more now - hopeless. There's no way to escape it. And you'd have no way of knowing how she's always just wished for one person, just one person that she could trust.

He's surprised. But not really. He somehow knew you felt the same way. He hasn't touched his dinner. He doesn't care. He decides to give you the option of continuing this conversation.

"If you want to stop talking about all of this, just say so, and I'll leave." His voice is soft. He's sincere.

She sighs and pushes her plate away, turning back to you. "I... don't want you to leave. But... I'm not hungry, at all. Do you... want to talk in the gardens, or my study, or something." And that part of her brain that she's always listened too before screams Too! Close! but for the first time she consciously choosed to ignore it, though she tenses slightly, waiting for your answer.

Theo nods, relieved. "Let's go outside," he says.

Ana nods too and stands, and she seriously considers taking your arm for a moment but then just steps past you, waiting for you to fall into step beside her as she walks thru the long corridors toward the gardens.

Theodore walks next to you. He wants to offer you his arm, but the idea also scares him. So he is content to follow your lead. His dad was right, there were times he would feel overwhelmed. This was one of those times.

Ana pushes thru the door to the gardens and turns, sitting on the same bench where she sat with you the other night, and she curls her legs up to her chest and hugs them close, her robes making her look even smaller than she is.

Theodore sits down next to you. And softly, ever so softly, places his hand on your back. It's an awkward gesture, but he wants to somehow convey what he's feeling, and words aren't working. "I promise you, I'm not playing at anything. I'm not going to hurt you." He says. It hurts him, actually, to see you all curled up into your robe, your protective stance. He doesn't know why this is.

Ana tenses as you put your hand on her, sitting straight and sharp for a moment. Breathe! And so she takes a shivering breath, and relaxes minutely under your hand, uncurling herself slowly. That awkward touch conveying more than your words ever could. "I... I believe you. I don't know why."

Theodore is caught off guard when you don't pull away. But he smiles. And he slips his arm around you, in a side hug. It's sort of a weird transition. Rather than you being protective of yourself, his hug is somewhat protective now. He doesn't know how you'll react, but the move was somewhat instinctive.

Ana doesn't pull away this time either, though it is her first instinct. Just tenses again and relaxes slightly, much the same as before. And though she doesn't move into the embrace, she doesn't move away from it either. "Theodore...I'm... I'm not used to liking people. To trusting people...I..." And she bites her lip, tossing aside her Slytherin facade completely. "I don't know what to do."

Theodore glances at you, and feels how tense you are, even after relaxing a bit. "This is new to me too. I mean... I've always had my dad, but I've never trusted anyone else. I haven't been able to." He smiles slightly, "you can relax though..."

"No... I can't. I.. I don't know how to." And then she sighs and looks away, hanging her head just slightly and closing her eyes. "At least you've had.. someone. My parents... I can't trust them either. And, I... I want to trust you. And that terrifies me."

Theodore pulls you closer to him, though he suspects that will only serve to make you tense up more. He's not quite sure why he did even, only that it felt right. He wants nothing more right now than to see you relax. He understands to some degree how you feel, but you're right, he's always had his dad. His voice is soft, and sincere, "I can't imagine that Ana, that's awful. I'd have gone crazy, if not for my dad." He thinks carefully before deciding what to say, "I know it's scary, Ana. But you can trust me. I won't hurt you. And I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

Ana does tense, just slightly, her eyes going wide and turning almost frantically to yours. But something in yours... sincerity? keeps her from her first two reactions. To hit you and to pull away. Her side is pressed just slightly against yours, and she looks down - gingerly placing a hand on your knee for just a moment before taking it away and placing it on her own. "I... I'll try."
The feel of your touch gave Theodore goosebumps. Whoa, he thought. He hadn't been expecting that, but he grinned. That, and your words, helped him feel more relaxed. He hadn't even realized that he had tensed up, himself.

"I really do care about you Ana," he says softly.

And she bites her lip softly again and looks down at her hands folded into her lap. No one has ever, ever said something like that to her that she can remember. "I..." And then her voice trails off. "Why, Theodore?"

Theo looks at you, and if you looked up, you'd see his eyes were full of compassion. He really hasn't ever cared for anyone like this before, but there's something about you that he doesn't understand. Something that allows him to escape from the fact that he's been sitting around his house alone. Something that allows him to let down his guard and be real and honest with you.

"I guess I admire you. On these journals, you weren't afraid to admit that you liked Muggle music, and you even got me into it." He smiles at that. "And you've stood up to Draco." He pauses, looking down. "I don't know Ana, I just do." His emotions confuse him, and he doesn't know how to explain them to you.

Changing the subject, he grins. "If we're going to be friends, and try this trust thing, you can call me Theo. If you'd like. You don't have to, or anything."

And she does turn back, the corners of her mouth curling into a very soft, almost tender smile. "Theo..." And she seems to consider it for just a moment before she puts her hand - yes, shyly - back to your knee, and scoots just a bit closer into your side. "Thank you." And her brain is screaming it's warnings, but she's seen that look in your eyes, and she ignores them.

Theo shivers slightly as you return your hand to his knee. He could swear his heart was beating faster. He hugs you tighter, and asks, "Feeling more relaxed?"

Ana worries her bottom lip with her teeth, licking at it just slighly, but nods. "Yeah... a little."

"Good," he says softly. He takes his eyes off you, and looks out at the garden. I have never felt like this before, he thinks. He's overwhelmed, emotions he's never experienced surfacing.

Ana looks at you for a moment longer, and then straightens and looks out over the garden too, not knowing what to say. Can I really do this? Can I really trust him? And she knows that you could hurt her more than anyone else, now, and that it's a hideous risk. But she'll take it.