Heart to Heart
They were both sat in the kitchen, modern with a few hints of an old cozy cottage kitchen. A table in the center, with the fridge, stove, sink and everything of that sort on the left of the table. The other side had two closets for utensils, plates, cups and mugs. Plus, something that caught Harry's eye. A beverage bar that looked especially nice.
Oh how he hated Aunt Petunia’s taste when it came to decor, he'd seen so much tacky flower patterned furniture and decor in his life that now it made him sick just thinking about it.
The walls of the kitchen were a sugary white, a cube patterned section over the sink and the stove. Nott was in front of the sink, filling up a small kettle.
"So...you can just understand her, just like that, without even trying?" The boy asked, fascination clear on his face.
Harry shrugged. "Yeah, basically..."
"And it's always been like that?" He moved over to the stove, placed the kettle down, and turned on the fire. ”There isn't anything you feel when it happens? No sensation, no sign that it's happening…it just does?...”
He swiftly moved through the kitchen to grab two mugs, honey and a stirring spoon, placing them on the counter, where Harry was sat on one of the chairs.
Harry nodded. His eyes tracked how easily he fit in with the muggle kitchen for a wizard.
"Erm...yeah, it just happens. Sometimes I'm too immersed in the conversation to realize that I'm talking to a snake..the dueling accident in second year with Malfoy was the first time it happened at school. But..."
"But?" Nott raised a brow, looking at him expectantly.
"But, it also used to happen before I started Hogwarts, I'd talk to snakes in the garden, like Eriwen here. And there was an incident where I talked to a snake at the zoo and set it free with accidental magic—"
Nott's brows perk up. "Really? What kind of snake was it?"
"A boa constrictor."
Nott's body froze, his eyes quickly darted back to meet Harry’s own. A beat passed as he continued to stare at the boy.
"A boa constrictor...in a zoo?"
Harry nodded. He saw Nott's face twist with confusion and slight concern. He turned his body to face Harry.
"When you were eleven? With other kids around?"
"Yep, it didn't hurt anyone, though."
The boy nodded. "Good, the snake that could have crushed your skull without that much effort was considerate enough to not harm any kids."
Harry rolled his eyes at Nott’s sarcasm, but a smile appeared on his face. He was starting to like the other boy's attitude. It was a refreshing change of pace from Ron's bluntness and Hermione's bossiness.
"Come on Nott, it wasn't that bad. No one got hurt, just spooked, that's the important part."
"Good to hear, but—"
Nott paused, raising his index finger in the air, a good distance away from his face.
"Call me Theo, I'm not a fan of people referring to me as Nott, especially if it's someone I'm talking to casually. You aren't a stranger or a professor, either Theodore or Theo. Okay?"
Harry suppressed a smirk. "Alright, but you call me Harry, no more 'Pottah-!', Malfoy's already got that covered."
Theo snorted at that last part. Merlin, he’s too cute.
~you ss-mell ss-weet, are you happy?~
Harry looks over at the snake that was resting its head on his shoulder.
~i am, very.~
"What did she say?"
"She's asking who Malfoy is."
~liar~
Even so Eriwen didn't argue, instead she listened to the two ramble.
While the two got lost in conversation, the kettle started whistling, Theo got up and grabbed two tea bags from a jar in a cabinet, turning off the heat he dipped them in the boiling water before closing the kettle and letting it steep.
He turned to Harry. "Honey?"
Harry's ears flush slightly though it wasn't that visible. Hearing the boy say that word as if he was calling him, made him feel something. It was almost torturous. Almost.
"Yeah thanks..."
~you are very happy~
Harry's smile was widening, but he schooled it and kept as calm of an exterior as he could muster under the other boy’s attention.
The conversation shifted from the shenanigans Harry got himself into because of Parseltongue.
"A basilisk?!"
"Yep, it was the one petrifying the students in second year...chased me through the entire chamber—"
To acting as a translator for a conversation between Theo and Eriwen.
~i alway-ss ss-ee all kind-ss of people ss-topping by the garden, ss-ome even u-ssing some fla-ssh device on it~
"She says she sees people coming to the house and snapping pictures of the garden."
"Really, did my garden get that popular? I'm flattered—"
To Theo trying to speak Parseltongue.
"Do you think it can be learnt?" The boy asked suddenly.
Harry paused. "...I don't know actually, I've never thought about it."
“There are no records of it being learnt or anything about how you can speak it but…” Theo paused, looking up he met Harry’s eyes. “Can we try?...because if it can be learnt, that'd be amazing…”
Harry smiled at Theo's enthusiasm. “Mind telling me why it'd be so amazing?”
“Because–Ancient artifacts, ruins, tums. The list goes on, all in Parseltongue. All of which we've had several discoveries of recently. Even spell books in Parseltongue, found in ancient Egyptian libraries that have recently been dug up.”
Harry's brows lift up in surprise. “Wait…seriously?”
“Yes seriously!...it's quite disappointing that I know more about a language only you can speak than you yourself do…Merlin just what has this generation gone to…”
Harry smirked, rolling his eyes playfully. “Alright Mister Parseltongue expert, I'll try teaching you”
Harry was starting to like the boy, his sarcasm, the faces he made, the chuckles, laughs and snorts he got out of him were especially, well, cute.
Theo was interesting, he was fun to talk to, so much so their conversation had stretched out for a good two—three hours.
"Like I said, the garden is absolutely gorgeous...it makes me jealous..I seriously need to ask you for tips."
Theo grinned, he seemed to grin more than he smiled. "I take that as a huge compliment, I strive to make the entire neighborhood jealous."
Harry rolled his eyes but still his smile didn't drop.
Theo paused briefly, examining Harry's face, his eyes locking on the bandage on the other boy's nose.
Harry suddenly chimed "Right, question...why are you in the muggle world? Is it a sort of holiday or something?"
The boy paused, then looked up from the bandages on Harry's nose. "Answer me this first, how'd you hurt your nose?"
Harry was taken off guard for a moment. "Uh-...it was..."
Should he tell him? He's only known the guy for a few hours, but for some reason he feels like he can, like he can tell him, like he can trust him. Here goes nothing I guess.
"...it was my uncle. He's very anti magic, anti-wizard and stuff like that...he doesn't like it when I use magic in any of its forms..."
Theo nodded. Then looked down at his tea pensively. "This house belongs to my mother, she had it set as mine in her will. I was her secret keeper so only I know about this place, when I turned twelve my father gave me full permission to come and go as I please and use this house for whatever."
"He isn't home most of the time, if at all..." he paused, took a breath, then continued. "I come here to avoid my aunt and her kids who live in the manor with me. They're…less than pleasant, sort of like your uncle I guess..."
Theo lifted his shirt's sleeve to reveal several red lines, some were old and semi healed. Some were slightly newer.
Harry's expression soured, his nose scrunched up as he looked at the scars.
“Who the hell did that—”
“My aunt.”
Harry paused, sighed and nodded, looking back up to meet Theo's eyes. He understood, he didn't need to say it out loud, they understood each other's situations because they were similar in a way.
~tho-sse don't look good~
Harry glanced over to Eriwen on the table. "She says they don't look good."
Theodore grinned. "I know, I'll heal it up with a potion before school starts, that'll do it."
"A potion? What kind of potion?"
“It's an advanced healing potion, it's pretty good. Heals bruises, cuts, scratches, anything really…Took me an entire summer to get right.”
“And you're allowed to brew something that advanced at thirteen?”
“I'd have you know I'm fourteen, and—” Theo shrugged. "Well, no. But the ministry isn't gonna come knocking on my door for brewing a potion, so it doesn't really matter."
Harry hummed, taking a sip from his tea.
"Could you help me?"
Theo raised an eyebrow in question.
"Help me brew a potion like that I mean. I, just like you, could use one before school starts, but I don't trust myself completely to brew alone...plus I can't brew at my relatives' house"
Theo grinned. "Oh, yeah sure.”
He straightened his back, and placed his mug on the table. “How about we get the ingredients together. Brew the potion together and take it together before term starts again? It'll take us about 9 days. We'll be back at Hogwarts in what? Five, maybe six weeks? By then I would have had the time to brew more for after Yule.”
After Yule. right he's going back there for the break.
Harry thought about it. "That sounds good, yeah..."
Together.
Harry could get used to the sound of that.
Harry took another sip of his tea, trying not to think too deep into it.
"Then it's set, when can you leave your relatives' house for a good while?"
Harry took a minute to think about what the Dursleys had going on this week. Not tomorrow, not Wednesday...
"They'll be out on Thursday to visit my cousin's grandparents and aunt. They aren't taking me with them, but they're locking me in my room so that might be a problem..."
Theo nodded. "Then I'll break you out."
Harry paused at the sudden declaration, his eyebrows shot up in question.
"What?"
"I'll break you out."
"And how are you supposed to do that?"
Theo picked up his mug again and took a sip. Then looked back up at Harry.
"I've spent more than half of my summers here, the last three by myself, the ones before that with my mother. I know how to pick a lock, breaking and entering, not leaving any evidence behind."
Harry set his mug on the counter. "Let me guess, the telly?"
Theo nodded. "Yep, especially the Italian channels, they’re always fun with the 'mafia' stuff, plus it's nice to have a series in Italian to make sure I keep my memory fresh. The only other people I know that are Italian are Blaise and his mother—"
Harry raised his hand to signal a pause. "Wait."
"You're Italian?"
Theo grinned and set his own mug down, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back into his chair.
"You didn't know?" He asked tilting his head.
Harry shook his head, still processing the new info. He knew Zabini was Italian, but Theo? Not a clue. Just goes to show how little he knew about the other boy, but also how much he wanted to know.
The two talked about anything and everything, by the time they were done their mugs were long empty, and the sky outside was starting to darken.
Harry glanced out of the window for a split second and saw the darkening sky, sitting up straight he cursed under his breath.
"Shit...Aunt Petunia is going to be livid...I need to get back and start on dinner before Vernon gets back-..."
Theo's eyes darkened and his brows frowned. "What happens when you're late? Or when you don't have dinner ready?..."
He couldn’t tell him that Petunia would restrict his already non-existent meals, let alone Vernon’s reaction over missing his dinner. His nose would seem like a scratch in comparison.
"What do they do, Harry?" Theo pressed.
"It's easier to count what they don't do..." Harry sat back in his chair. "They starve me, they beat me, they locked me up in the cupboard, only giving me a somewhat proper room because they were scared the wizarding world’s child protective services would get them...and of course, Dudley's daily 'Harry Hunting' sessions with his friends."
"Dudley?" The other boy asked, his eyes darkening even further and his gaze locked on Harry.
"My cousin, him and his friends chase me around the neighbourhood and try out their new makeshift torture devices on me..."
If Theo was frowning before, he was sneering now, imitating Snape's signature look almost perfectly. His expression almost would have been scary if not for the sense of peace washing over Harry. Knowing that someone worried about him to ask what was actually going on, and had reacted so strongly about it too made him happy for some odd reason.
"Hey—Theo, could you...walk me back? Aunt Petunia should be the only one home right now, if she sees someone with me, she won't say anything. Keeping her image clean, you know?"
Theo rolled his eyes, a flash of annoyance greeting his already sour expression.
"As clean as a child abuser's can be...but yeah, come on, let's go see what hell you're forced to live in."
Harry smiled. "I'll show you the garden. You see, before yours came into the picture, mine was considered the best in the neighborhood." Harry proudly bragged about his babies.
Theo's sour expression lifted slightly. "Oh really?" He teased as he got up, taking their mugs into the kitchen and placing them into the sink.
"Yes really!" Harry responded matching the other’s tone only with a hint of excitement as he himself got up, Eriwen still around his neck.
~will you take me with you?~
~i'd rather not, if my cousin ss-eess you he'll hurt you~
"Theo, can I keep Eriwen here? I don't want her coming with me and getting hurt."
Theo looked up from where he was washing the mugs, rinsing off the soap and putting them on down to dry. "Yeah sure, you can keep her in the garden if she wants."
~ye-ss, that ss-oundss nice~
~alright, lett'ss find you a nice ss-pot in the garden then~
As Harry was heading over to the front door he spotted an ash tray that had half a dozen cigarette buds. He was confused but wasn't able to think about it too much with Eriwen rambling on his shoulder, trying to get his attention.
It wasn't that hard to find a nice place for Eriwen, the entire garden was nice through and through, the hard part was deciding between the spots. They ended up settling for a hidden opening under the tree in the front yard.
Theo was waiting outside the gate, leaning against the fence with his hands in his pockets.
"Ready?"
"Yeah, let's go. Any longer and Vernon will get off work, if that happens I won't have time for anything."
"Well, let's hurry then."
The walk back to Number 4 Privet Drive was quiet, but a nice peaceful quiet. Harry and Theo walked alongside each other, matching each other's pace.
The comfortable silence between them was broken by Harry, his gaze was glued to the floor as he started talking.
"You know, I've been hoping, praying even, to find someone else from the wizarding world...I genuinely didn't care who it was. I would have been happy with anyone. I guess I just wanted to feel like I'm not all alone in this place, because....each summer it gets worse. Each time it gets duller, painfully plain, uneventful, mundane, monotone—hell even gray....the Dursleys just get worse and worse, each summer that house gets..."
He paused, took a deep breath then kept going.
"They started limiting food even though all I used to have was—was whatever was left over from their meals...they used to lock me up in the cupboard whenever I did any accidental magic, now if I even do anything out of line…for example being late Vernon just-....he goes insane, grabs anything he can get his hands on and beats me with it until it breaks..."
Harry took another deep breath, not looking up from the floor as he kept walking.
"No one sends letters anymore…no matter how many times they say they will, no matter how many times they swear they won't forget...it hurts, it really hurts. Being forgotten like that stings, I don't know what I'm doing wrong…but I'm clearly doing something, and I want to fix it. I don't want to be forgotten by the people I call my friends…”
His voice started cracking slightly.
"...it's as if I'm not important enough for them to even consider writing. Getting my hopes up, getting excited only to be let down again and again, and I don't want to burden them, so I just keep my mouth shut about it, but it hurts...at school I try so hard to keep my friendship with Ron and Hermione afloat, I try so hard to make sure it doesn't end because they're my first ever friends, I don't want our friendship to end just like that...like it didn't happen, like it wasn't important…it is, it's very important to me, but...but Ron barley even talks to me any more unless I'm the one who starts the conversation and the only time Hermione acknowledges that I'm even there is when she's berating me over my grades or over not studying or-"
Harry finally noticed that Theo wasn't next to him any more, he looked back to find the other boy several steps behind him.
Theo's expression was unreadable, blank, but his eyes told a different story. Harry noticed his clenched fists, almost shaking.
Once he saw Harry stop he closed the distance between them, standing right in front of Harry.
"You're crying Harry..." He whispered as he lifted his hand to Harry's cheek, using his thumb to wipe the tears from Harry's face.
Crying?
Harry reached up to his face and felt the wetness staining his cheeks and it hit him that he'd been dumping everything he'd been bottling up for the last year and a half, almost two. To someone he’d only properly met that very day.
"I–I'm sorry I didn't-" Harry tried speaking but was cut off by Theo pulling him into a hug.
"You're a kid, Harry. We are kids. We shouldn't have to go through anything like this, but we do anyway.”
Theo pulled away slightly to look Harry in the eyes.
“If we bottle it up it'll only get worse. I vent to pansy, Daphne, Gregory...even Draco sometimes, because they know what it's like, they understand because they've gone through the same."
"You're spilling everything, because you and I are similar. You know, that I know what it's like. You unconsciously feel safe telling me all of this because you know I'll understand."
Theo gave Harry a soft smile, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "So don't you dare apologize for doing something that's completely normal for someone in your situation."
Harry didn't know why, but those words made his throat tighten, those words made his eyes flood with tears. And before he knew it, tears were falling again.