hurts like heaven [edmund]

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Today was a good day. Theodosia was sprawled out on a couch in the common room, flicking lazily through the Charms text that she hadn't been able to study while she was in the library. She had finally managed to put Addilyn Slater, a filthy half-blood, in her place for the first time in her life. Of course the girl was whining about it, but honestly, it was good that the bathroom had nearly flooded - Addilyn had really needed a bath. Theo was basking in the glow of what she had managed to do, but she was looking forward to rubbing it in Edmund Windsor's face. He was lucky that she couldn't corner him in the bathroom, otherwise he would be getting the same treatment. Addilyn had gotten upset when Theo had made a jab at Edmund, so hopefully the protectiveness went two ways. If Theodosia could just get Edmund to throw the first punch, she would be able to shame him as much as he had Addilyn, and none of the teachers would be able to get mad at her.

@edmund

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Edmund was furious. Addi told him what happened with Theodosia and he could hardly believe it. Since when was the Slytherin girl tormenting Addi as well? It was despicable. And what she'd done to Addi? Just plain wrong. He so wanted to go after her for it, but Addi had begged him not to. She didn't want any more problems with Theodosia and- he assumed- she didn't want things to get worse for him. Still, even the sight of the girl casually lounging in the common room was enough to make his blood boil. He hated her, more deeply than he realized was possible. Still, he'd told Addi he wouldn't start a fight. He didn't know if Theodosia saw him, but he left the room quickly, trying to avoid doing something that he'd regret. Not that he'd really regret attacking her. 

@theodosia

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Theodosia sighed. She had seen Edmund Windsor enter the room out of the corner of her eye, but he had gone right back out again, almost like he had been scared at the sight of her. What a disappointment – Theodosia didn’t feel like chasing today. She would follow Edmund anyway – this was too good of a meal to pass up, even if she did have to put a little legwork into getting her prey. She swung her legs over the side of the couch she was sitting on, placed a bookmark into her Charms textbook, and then got up, moving as if she had all the time in the world, which was the truth. Edmund wanted a fight with her, whether he knew it or not. Theodosia pushed through the door to the Slytherin common room, and Edmund was right outside the door. “Won’t even protect your only friend in the world, Eddiebear? You’re even more of a coward than I thought.”

@edmund

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He should have known she'd follow him. When it came to Edmund, Theodosia seemed to have a radar or something. She always knew when he was nearby and she almost always knew how to push his buttons in just the right way that he would explode. And at the moment, attacking Addi- verbally or physically, both of which Theodosia did- was exactly the way to make him lose it. At her words, his fists clenched. "It's a bit hard to protect anyone," he retorted, "When you lock them in a girl's bathroom, where I can't go. I'd say that makes you more of a coward than me." 

@theodosia

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Theodosia was certain that she was going to have a much easier time taunting Edmund now than she had when she had met with him at the Alley. For one thing, she had the trump card in her hand already – Addilyn. Edmund was insanely protective of the girl, and if Theodosia had to take a shot in the dark, it wasn’t just because they were friends. She didn’t really understand being attracted to guys, but girls…Well, if anyone were to hurt the Gryffindor girl she had seen earlier, Theodosia wouldn’t have been happy, and she barely even knew Caerwyn. It was different for Edmund and Addilyn.

“I didn’t lock the bathroom, Edmund, simply sealed the air in it so the water wouldn’t drain out.” Theodosia said with a nonchalant shrug. “It’s not my fault you’re too insecure in your own masculinity to want to go into the girl’s bathroom.” Really, he could have intervened whenever he wanted, but he hadn’t been around to see any of it happen. “Maybe you just lost track of your girl toy. That’s okay, too. Honestly, I would be a little worried if you kept tabs on all your friends at all times.” Theodosia’s eyes widened. “Oh wait. I forgot. You only have one friend.” She chuckled to herself. “In which case, it totally is appropriate to know where they are at all times. Too bad you failed at that, huh? And here I was, thinking that you wanted to keep her safe.”

@edmund

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The guilt was starting to eat at him now, but Edmund tried to make sure Theodosius couldn't see it. If she did, she'd know for sure that she got to him, which is something he always  tried to keep from her. The truth was, he didn't even know Addi was in the bathroom alone with Theodosia until days later. How did he not know? To a degree, she was right. Edmund should have known that as it was happening. Then maybe he could have sent someone in the bathroom when it took Addi so long to come back out, but no. He didn't notice.

Even so, he wasn't going to tell Theodosia that. But what could he say to her? "Leave her alone," Edmund mumbled, knowing that Theodosia wouldn't listen to him. Still, he wouldn't give her the satisfaction of answering her questions.

@theodosia

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Theodosia couldn’t believe how delusional Edmund was, and how easy this confrontation was for her. “Leave her alone? That’s the best you can do, Edmund?” Really, how could she not laugh at that? It was like telling a man dying from thirst not to drink, just because someone else thought it was a bad idea! Theodosia’s laugh as high and loud and clear – not the laugh of a villain, but the laugh of any other girl. The juxtaposition would certainly be unsettling, but Theodosia didn’t think that Edmund was easily unsettled. “You see, Eddiebear, you’re only making it worse for her.” Theodosia said, stepping towards the boy. “Because you give her a weakness. Everyone has one.” Theo flipped her hair over her shoulder, and then blinked at Edmund. “You are hurting Addilyn even more than I am, because you’re making her weak. How does that make you feel?”

@edmund

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"Why do you even bother with her Theodosia? She's not muggleborn like me. She's a half blood, like most people here," he pointed out. He knew why she hated him. He was a "mudblood", not worthy of magic in her eyes. Which was ridiculous, but whatever. He was used to her hating him and tormenting him, but her attacking Addi was new. 

He glared at her when she accused him of making things worse for Addi, for making her weak. "How am I making her weak?" Edmund demanded, knowing he would probably regret it once he got his answer. Theodosia had a talent for attacking him where he was weak. Somehow, she always knew what he struggled with. It was uncanny and so annoying. 

@theodosia

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Theodosia sighed, smiling pityingly at Edmund. “Why do I bother with any of you?” She asked him tauntingly. “Because I can, Edmund. You’re never going to stop me, are you? As much as you tell me to leave you alone, you never actually make me do it, do you?” They never reported it to the professors, or at least not with enough proof so that she could actually get convicted of doing anything. There was something dizzying about the power that came with controlling somebody else’s life. Because that’s what Theodosia did – she controlled them. She made them fear her so much that they could hardly do anything without looking over their shoulders. And that was wonderful. “You make her weak because all I have to do is say your name and she gets all frothy at the mouth.” Theodosia smiled. “Kind of like a rabid animal, actually. But that’s not the point. I say Mudblood, and she gets angry. Really angry. And angry people, emotional people, are stupid people. And I don’t need to tell you that stupid people make stupid decisions.” Just like Edmund was going to make a stupid decision when she told him exactly what she was planning for Addilyn’s future.

@edmund

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Edmund was furious, but reigning it in at the same time. How was he supposed to make her do anything? She had the role of the sweet and innocent down pat. Unless he had evidence, he wouldn't be able to make her stop and Theodosia was too clever to leave behind any evidence other than the emotional scars of those she tormented. And he hated her for it. Yet, at the same time he knew Addi didn't want him to fight with her. He was trying to let her words bounce off him, but she had a way of making that hard to do. 

She was right. Well, partially right at least. Angry, emotional people did make stupid mistakes. Things that they regretted in the future. He believed that it wasn't hard for Theodosia to make Addi angry. Addi couldn't stand it when people spoke badly of others, and since they were dating he wouldn't be surprised if she was even more defensive of her. He was defensive of her, too. Which is what Theodosia was planning on. As he watched her, gloating, he realized that she had something up her sleeve, something planned and it probably was not going to be something he liked at all. It probably had to do with Addi. Edmund took a deep breath, trying to gather his wits and courage. No matter what she said, he couldn't attack her here. He would get into trouble for that. He had to hold back, no matter what. Hopefully he was strong enough. He nodded at her comment, "Yes they do," he confirmed. He didn't want to say anything, but he knew that would only make things worse. Theodosia liked making people admit she was right. He knew that much about her at least.

@theodosia

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The most wonderful thing about Edmund Windsor – and Theodosia hated to say that anything about him was wonderful – was that he was too stupid to realize that Theodosia was never going to give up. He was also too stupid to realize that she wasn’t above lying if it would make her story more aggravating to him. The confrontation she had just had with Addilyn’s brother probably wasn’t one that he’d be happy to hear about in the first place, but with a few key detail changes, Theodosia could make it a real doozy – one that would make Edmund hate Grey with a passion, if the Slytherin boy really cared about Addilyn as much as he claimed to. As much as Theodosia hated to say it, she thought that he actually did care for the half-blood. They’d be having tainted-blood babies before they graduated seventh year, Theodosia was sure. “I’m going to tell you something, and I actually don’t think it’ll make you angry.” Theo told Edmund with a smile. She wasn’t sure how well reverse psychology worked on stupid people, but now was her chance to find out. Edmund would be so busy trying to contradict her that he’d get angry even if her words didn’t bother him – and she was sure they would.

“I had a nice chat with Grey Slater.” Theodosia began, looking down at her fingernails casually. Maybe Edmund had even seen Grey leaving when he entered the common room – that would have been a real clincher for her story. “I made him a deal, you see, one that I think you might find interesting.” She paused for dramatic effect, and to give Edmund time to start building up his righteous anger or whatever. “I promised Grey that if he didn’t talk to Addilyn, I wouldn’t do anything to her. Simple as that.” Theo shrugged her shoulders. She hadn’t even lied yet – the untruth was coming. “He didn’t like those terms, though. Didn’t think they were fair to him. So he made me promise that if he didn’t speak to Addilyn, I would call off all of my older friends, who are apparently giving him quite the hard time.” In truth, the rest of Hexen probably didn’t have Grey on their radar, but Edmund didn’t know that. “He said he didn’t care what happened to Addilyn, as long as he was safe. What a great big brother, right?” Theodosia said with a sickly sweet smile.

@edmund

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The moment Theodosia said she was going to tell him something that wouldn't make him angry, Edmund was on edge. He didn't believe her. She never told him anything to make him happy or even peaceful, all her words were poison. This had to be a trick or a lie or something and Edmund was trying to brace himself for it, to prepare himself against his temper. He couldn't attack her in the corridor. Not only would he get in trouble because magic wasn't allowed in the corridors (though everyone did it anyway) but she was a year younger than him. No, he was not going to give her the chance to play the victim. "Oh really?" he answered casually, with disinterest.

What he wasn't expecting was for her to mention Grey. It took him a second to try and figure out why Grey would be talking to her, then he realized that Addi told Grey about her almost-drowning incident and it made sense. Grey was trying to protect her. Of course. At the mention of a deal, Edmund's eyes narrowed and he took a calming breath. Here it comes, he thought, trying to prepare himself for her bombshell. His mind started racing when she explained the deal. Addi's protection, as long as Grey didn't talk to her. That would hurt Addi, no doubt about it, but still ... for her protection. That was worth it, right? He didn't understand what Theodosia's plan was, he wasn't even close to being angry about this. Then she continued, saying that Grey didn't like that plan, that he wanted protection for himself, as long as he didn't talk to Addi. He didn't care about her, as long as he was safe. Edmund could hardly believe it- Grey wouldn't do that to his sister, would he? He thought back to the other day, when the three of them met. He and Addi seemed so happy together and Edmund had a hard time believing what Theodosia was telling him.

All of a sudden, his thoughts paused. Wait. Why should he trust Theodosia, his tormentor? Ever since she started bullying him, her whole goal was to make him suffer. Quite often she did it with things she said, but he knew she was capable of almost anything. Even lying. Why should he believe her? "I don't believe you," he muttered angrily. He knew he sounded angry, but it was directed at her and not Grey. Why should he believe that Grey would stop talking to Addi? Surely he'd go to dinner tonight and Addi would go over to talk to Grey for a second, proving that Theodosia was lying. He wasn't going to fall for her tricks. Not this time.

@theodosia

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It was actually kind of precious, how Theodosia could actually see Edmund thinking, if by precious one meant totally gag-worthy. All of the Muggle blood in his veins must have slowed down his thinking to a snail’s pace, because it seemed to take him forever to finally spit out that he didn’t believe her. Of course he didn’t – even if she told him nothing but the truth Edmund seemed to think that she was steeping herself (and thereby, him) in lies. It was sad, really, how people could be persuaded to think that they were seeing the truth when really, they were just lying to themselves.

“Well, I would ask if you were a Legilimens, but obviously, no one with dirty blood could learn such a skill.” Theodosia said with a smile. “So, since you can’t look into my mind to verify, and my word obviously means nothing to you, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.” Theo knew that Edmund would see that Grey was avoiding Addilyn – there was no way the Gryffindor could not avoid his sister, and no way that the Slytherin would not be able to see it. “When you see that I’m telling the truth, have fun crawling back to me. You see, I know that you love Addilyn more than Grey ever could.” Theodosia shrugged. “Maybe you could make a deal where Grey failed.” With that, she turned, and flounced away towards the common room. “See you soon, Eddiebear!” She called over her shoulder. She knew that soon enough, Edmund would think about her offer, and realize that it would be what was best for Addilyn. He never had to know that she was already staying away from the stinky half-blood as per her agreement with Grey. They were all just flies in her web, and Theodosia was the small, but dangerous, spider in the middle of it all.

@edmund
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