The Nott Conundrum
And, in another wild turn of events, Harry has found himself sharing the joy that Teddy brings with a veritable den of snakes.
Harry’s quite sure he’d never have described Draco Malfoy as soft, but that’s exactly what Teddy brings out in his peer.
With Draco and Narcissa in residence comes a constant stream of ragtag Slytherins. Teddy has each and every one of them wrapped around his little finger.
After a lengthy conversation about why, exactly, Harry might be ticked off at Pansy (“Parkinson, offering children up to noseless maniacs is generally frowned upon.” “But, Potter, you offered yourself up anyways. What’s the difference?” “It’s the principle of the thing, Parkinson.”), she took it upon herself to spoil Teddy senseless and dragged Blaise right along into madness with her.
Harry also learned that, when separated from his violent counterpart and out from the shadow of his arguably sadistic father, Gregory Goyle is essentially a teddy bear.
The Greengrass sisters dote on Teddy with a single-minded focus often reserved for generals in the midst of battle; apart from Astoria’s efforts to get Draco to remove his head from his arse and notice her.
Then there’s Theodore Nott.
Son of the original Death Eater, Apollonius Nott.
Harry had a habit of noticing Theodore Nott. Throughout their years at Hogwarts, the Slytherin seemed to make it his mission to blend into the background. He consistently placed in the top five in any given class but, beyond academic prowess, no one knew much about him. The public knowledge of Theodore Nott consists of three clear facts; he watched his mother die, his father is a Death Eater, and he was not to be fucked with.
Harry’s knowledge of Theodore Nott extended much further; he was something of a prodigy when it came to runes, he took his tea with a truly concerning amount of sugar, he often quietly joined Luna Lovegood to feed the Thestrals, he spent hours wandering the castle during sleepless nights, he had an uncanny ability to sense when Harry was near – even under the invisibility cloak – yet never confronted him, he preferred the tables in the hidden corners of the library near the windows that looked over the lake, he was proficient at hiding in shadows and remaining hidden in the dark but sought every opportunity to breathe fresh air and feel the sun on his face, he rarely spoke and his face remained an impassive mask, but if you knew what to look for his eyes could tell no lies.
Over the summer, Harry’s knowledge of Theodore Nott extended even further; he refused to take the Dark Mark and somehow lived to tell the tale, he submitted testimony (albeit anonymously, but what’s really anonymous to Harry Potter?) against his own father, he escorted younger students from all four houses to the hidden depths of the dungeons during the Battle and stood guard until the castle was clear, he enjoyed feeling useful and would happily spend hours firing off cleaning charms and sorting through the piles of artifacts and heirlooms the Order had unceremoniously shoved into the attic, and he was ass over tea kettle for Teddy.
Theodore Nott showing emotion was absolutely unheard of, so when the other Slytherins walked into the sitting room to see Harry passing Teddy over so Theo could hold him, the had absolutely no clue how to process the soft smile on their housemate’s face. They lost their footing even further when that smile was turned toward Harry.
“Who is that and what have they done to Theodore Nott?” Draco asks under his breath.
“Shut it, Black,” Blaise whispers back, “you’ll spook them. They’re both like frightened baby dragons when it comes to emotions. Just back away slowly and let it play out.”
Theo is far too distracted by Teddy to notice anything, but the pair get a nasty glare from Harry. Draco, having some semblance of a self-preservation instinct, grabs Blaise’s arm and yanks him out of the room.