The Ties That Bind
June 1988
Theodore Nott had sad eyes. He could smile and play along with the best of them, but there lay an innate sadness in his soul, a burden too heavy for one so young to bear.
He was also one of Draco’s best friends, and so, he could be found at Malfoy Manor on Wednesdays, playing and mucking around as young children do.
Narcissa smiled indulgently from her spot on the patio as she saw the two young boys chase each other on training brooms. Suddenly, Theo tried to take sharp turn to throw off Draco and promptly fell to the ground.
Narcissa rushed to the fallen boy, but her son reached his friend before she could. Draco reached for Theo’s hand which lay cradled in his lap, looking into Theo’s eyes as he asked, “Are you alright?”
Draco never heard the answer.
Pushed into what seemed to be a hallway, Draco saw a beautiful woman on her knees, in tears, blood surrounding her, as she begged for mercy. Theo was hidden behind a pillar and screamed as he saw his father raise his wand.
“PLEASE DON’T HURT MOTHER!”
The woman, his mother, gasped, screamed, “No Theo! Run! Go back to your room!”
Those were the last words she ever spoke.
When Narcissa reached the two boys, she found them staring at each other in utter silence. As she lay her hand on their shoulders, Draco turned to her, and obstinately said, “I want Theo to stay with us now.”
Narcissa, a little surprised and highly amused, was taken aback and laughed. “Darling, Theo has his own home, you can’t just make people stay away from their homes.”
“No, he stays, he wants to stay. Tell her Theo. Please let him stay mother.”
Theo remained quiet through it all.
As Narcissa looked at both their faces, she knew she was missing something. Trusting her son, and his instincts, she decided to speak to her husband about the situation.
That summer, the Malfoys found themselves a semi-permanent house guest, who soon became family – first to their son, and slowly to them.
DECEMBER 1988
Severus Snape was not a patient man. However, he enjoyed indulging his godson every now and then, and that’s how he found himself teaching Draco the basics of potions.
Draco’s love for reading had been gently nurtured by his mother and uncle over the years, and Severus had played his part by gifting the boy numerous books on potions. The boy was curious and intelligent and had somehow convinced his godfather to teach him how to brew on Saturdays.
“- now add in two tablespoons of Flobberworm mucus to your cauldron.”
As Draco followed instructions, he kept on a stream questions, wanting to understand why something was added in a particular quantity and why it needed to be added in a certain form and so on. Severus, internally delighted at the boy’s acumen, answered each one.
45 minutes later, Draco and Severus stood before a well brewed Sleeping Draught, the young boy delighted, and the Potions Master deeply impressed.
JULY 1991
Narcissa Malfoy was surrounded by children. Draco was 11 years old and set to attend Hogwarts in the coming months, and she had decided that it was time to buy the young wizard a wand.
And where Draco went, Theo followed. The boys had also made a new friend over the last few months. Pansy Parkinson, a confident and obstinate young girl had created a space for herself within the close friendship that Draco and Theo shared. Pansy was brash, but stubborn, and stood for her friends, no matter the situation. “Almost like a Gryffindor”, Narcissa thought affectionately, remembering a younger version of her cousin Sirius.
So, it was with three children that she found herself in Diagon Alley.
As they entered Ollivander’s dark shop, Theo and Pansy quietened down, a little apprehensive, knowing how important a wand was to the lives of wizards and witches.
Draco remained calm, almost as if he knew a secret the others didn’t.
The shop was full of tumbling shelves full of boxed wands but seemed to be devoid of any human soul.
Narcissa called out, “Mr. Ollivander?”
Ollivander peeked out of a storage room at the back of the shop, before walking out to the front.
“Mrs. Malfoy, it seems only yesterday that you and your sisters were in here buying your first wands.”
Narcissa smiled, “That was close to 25 years ago, the wand has served me well for all these years. Today, I am here to help my son, and his friends find their wands.”
Delighted, Ollivander asked, “Who’s going first?”
Draco remained in his spot, lounging against a wall, while Theo remained silent and frozen in place.
Pansy huffed and moved forward, “I’ll go first.”
“Miss Parkinson, confident and outgoing, let’s try this Redwood wand with a Phoenix feather core.” As Pansy picked up the wand, it sparked and set a nearby page on fire.
Hurriedly, Ollivander took back the wand, before giving her another.
“Willow and Phoenix feather, particularly adept with healing spells.”
Pansy waved the wand, and suddenly there were flowers on the counter where her wand previously lay. She smiled down at the wand as Ollivander adjudged the wand to be perfect for her.
Ollivander looked at the two boys, “Theodore Nott, I remember your mother’s wand – Cherry Wood and Phoenix Feather, a beautiful, powerful wand.”
Theo stepped forward, putting on his usual charming smile, “She was a powerful witch.”
Ollivander looks at him intently. “Hmm, try this wand.”
The wand, in Theo’s hand, does nothing.
Theo’s smile slips marginally.
Ollivander hands him another wand, immediately the wooden display below Theo’s extended hand crumbles to dust.
Narcissa gasps, and Ollivander looks taken aback.
“Maybe a wand made for Transfiguration”, and hands Theo one more wand. It does nothing, but Theo looks down at the wand in his hand with a look of wonder.
Showing Theo a wand movement, Ollivander said, “Use the incantation Reparo”
Narcissa and Pansy clapped as the cabinet became whole again, Draco smiled, pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against, and said, “Well done mate.”
Draco walked past Theo, reaching the newly repaired counter.
“Mr. Malfoy, a family filled with endless stars and even more mysteries. Let’s try a Hawthorn wand, with a Phoenix feather core.”
Draco takes the wand, regards it closely, gives a small shake of his head, before giving it a small swish. A cool breeze sweeps into the shop. Laying the wand down on the counter, he said, “Close but not the one.”
Ollivander blinked at him, “What felt wrong about this one?”
“The wand felt familiar, but not entirely comfortable.”
Together, Ollivander and Draco go through six other wands, each worse than the first. None of them worked as well as the first one, and Draco remained adamant that the first wand was not the one.
Pansy and Theo exchanged concerned glances while Narcissa looked on intently.
Finally, Ollivander took a pause, “Is it possible?”, as he left the counter to bring out another wand from the back room. He places a box on the counter, it looked a little older and did not match the other boxes in the shop. “This wand was made with Silver Lime wood and Thestral Hair core.”
Draco picked up the wand and smiled. He gave it a swish and all the boxes which lay on the counter boxed themselves up and slid back into place. “This is the one.”
“I quite agree Mr. Malfoy. A powerful wand for mind magics, I wonder where it will take you.”
That weekend, Severus Snape looked on with pride as Draco Malfoy brewed a Memory Potion to perfection with his newfound wand.