Return to Hogwarts
Tuesday, 1 September 1998
Through the quiet darkness of morning at Grimmauld Place came the cry of a four-month-old baby ready to start the day.
“Teddy, love,” came Harry’s sleep-weary voice, “what time is it?”
After waiting a second for the infant to respond, Harry finally waved his hand and muttered a quiet tempus, relying on the wandless magic he’d had a greater command over ever since he’d finally kicked the sliver of the Dark Lord’s soul. A blue light appeared in front of Harry’s hand, showing him that it was currently 5:04 a.m., the lack of noise or light outside the townhouse told him that the sun hadn’t even begun to rise yet. The street was still asleep, but Teddy most decidedly was not.
With a grunt, Harry rolled out of bed and stumbled his way over to Teddy’s crib, blinking away the final weight of sleep, Harry started their day.
After getting Teddy clean and changed, Harry called for Mimi, the Potter’s nursery elf who had been living at Potter Manor without a task since James, Lily, and Harry had moved to Godric’s Hollow. With Mimi watching and feeding Teddy, Harry got into the shower himself and took his time getting ready for the day. Finally, at around 6:30, Harry heard other people moving around the house.
Soon after, Harry heard a light knock on his door and Andromeda’s voice softly saying, “Harry, dear, are you awake?”
He stood up and let her into his room, “good morning, Andi, how did you sleep?”
“Well, thank you.”
At Harry’s knowing look, she let out a sigh and amended her answer, “I slept alright, it’s getting easier to sleep through the night, I think. It’s strange to sleep alone but I guess I’m starting to get more used to it, it’s nice knowing that I’m not the only person in the house, I’m going to miss you all when you leave today but I’m thankful Cissa is going to stay here with me, I don’t think I’d be as able to adjust to this normal without having my sister back. Thank you, again, for that.”
“No need to thank me, Andi, family is important, and I spent my whole childhood with very little in the way of family and wanted the exact opposite for Teddy.” Harry said, with a soft smile, “and, selfishly, I wanted to surround myself with family after, well, everything.”
“You deserve family, dear, I’m very thankful to be among the people you consider as such.” Andromeda responded while gently running a hand through Harry’s ever-messy hair.
Teddy’s babbling broke through the tender moment and Harry turned to take his boy from Mimi and handed him off to his grandmother so she could spend every last minute with him before the pair left for Hogwarts.
“Can we talk through the travel one more time?” Harry asked, with all the anxiety of a new parent and a war-weary 18-year-old combined.
“Well,” Andi started, smiling indulgently at the boy she’d come to see as her son, “what are the options again?”
Not seeing Andi’s expression and ignoring the tone of amusement in her voice, Harry started running through his list, “the first option is that I take him on the train with me, but he’s never been on a train so we don’t know how that will go. The second option would be you flooing with him either to the Leaky or directly into Founder’s Tower tonight if I can manipulate the wards to do that, that would probably be the best option because we’ve used the floo with him before and we know he’s alright traveling that way, we’d just have to coordinate timing. And I guess the last option would be Mimi apparating with him when I call for her, he’s traveled short distances that way but we don’t know how he’d react to long distance travel, but it might be the safest and would be the easiest to coordinate timing wise, what do you think?”
“Harry, love, we talked about this yesterday, and the day before, and one more time last week, my opinion hasn’t changed.”
“Humor me, please.”
“I think that having Mimi bring him is the best option. Elf apparition isn’t like human apparition, it’s smoother and more secure for whomever their bringing along. It wouldn’t be as disorienting as you or I side-alonging Teddy from here to Scotland, it feels more like passing through a barrier like the one at King’s Cross than it does like our form of apparition. It also doesn’t force you to try and manipulate wards you don’t entirely understand, nor does it force you to sit on a train for hours on end with an infant or make Teddy sit through the sorting and opening feast if you pick him up from me at the Leaky when the train gets to Hogsmeade.”
“Okay,” Harry breathed out, “okay, so you’ll spend the day with Teddy and then after the feast, I’ll call Mimi, and she’ll bring Teddy. She’s already set up his room so all she needs to bring is Teddy himself. I’m going to let Hermes, Merlin I still can’t believe I let Draco, who calls me Hades, name my owl after a psychopomp, anyways, Hermes is going to fly to Hogwarts instead of riding on the train,” then, he turned to Mimi, “does that sound good? Is there anything I’m forgetting?”
“No, Master Harry,” Mimi said, sounding almost as indulgent as Andi, “yous not forgetting anything. Tonight, you call me and I bring Master Teddy to his room. If wes realize tomorrow that wes forgot something, Mimi will come back to Grimmauld Place and get it.”
“Good, smart, you’ve got this all figured out, Mimi, thank you.” Harry sighed.
“Alright, it’s about 7:00 now, the train leaves at 11, why don’t you go downstairs and see what Kreacher’s made for breakfast and then you can do one last check through your trunk and school bag before we head to the station?”
“Sounds good,” Harry responded, before kissing Andi on the cheek and heading for the door, “thank you for everything.”
When Harry made it down to the kitchen, where everyone still ate despite the formal dining room being available, he found a half-asleep Neville staring into a cup of tea as if it’d personally offended him.
“Nev,” Harry said, surprised, “I thought you stayed at Longbottom Manor with gran last night?”
“I did,” he responded with a long-suffering sigh, “but last night I asked if she’d be alright with me coming over here this morning so I could leave for the Express with you for our last year, she thought it was a great idea. But me, in my eternal stupidity, forgot to specify a time so at 6 in the bleeding morning she fired off some insane firework spell that I swear to Merlin she learned from George and told me, in no uncertain terms, to get my arse moving, get my trunk, and go spend the morning with my brother. Apparently the fact that I’d seen you literally yesterday and would be getting on the train with you in five hours meant nothing to her.”
Laughing, Harry responded, “well, no one says no to Gran I guess.”
“Not unless they have a death wish,” Neville said, smiling despite his exhaustion.
“Do you have everything?” Harry asked.
“If by everything you mean my trunk and school bag, yes.” Neville said, smirking.
“You know that’s not what I meant you absolute arse.”
“Yes, Haz, I have all of the leaves in a preservation box. I also have the crystal phials that we bought the other day. Hermione told me that you two had collected enough dew to turn a small army into animangi which, now that I think about it, I guess we are a small army…” Neville said, before continuing with a shake of his head, “anyways, she also said that you’d found enough moth chrysalides for everyone and that she’d made sure both ingredients were packed in your trunk before she and Ron went to the Burrow. Also, I know that Padma and Parvati found containers for all of us to store our phials in after the October Moon until there’s a lightning storm. And you looked at the farmer’s almanac in the library down the street and found that there should be storms throughout October and November so we should be a bloody Zoo by the November Moon.”
“So, the only thing we need is a hair from everyone actually making the potion. Did we ever get a final number?”
“Everyone we reached out to responded yes,” Draco said, stepping into the kitchen, “so that’s all of the 8th years and the three 7th years, I think if we expand it beyond that it’s going to get properly chaotic so we should maybe cut it off.”
“I agree,” Harry said, then shuddered, “Merlin that’s still weird to say.”
“Oh shut it, Hades, you love me, really.”
Harry just shot him a look before turning back to Neville, “thanks for all of your help with this. I’ve always wanted to become an animangi but doing it for Lavender just adds an extra incentive.”
“Of course,” Neville said with a grin, “I’ve always wanted to join in on the Golden Trio’s yearly adventure.”
“I think this might be our safest adventure yet and that, my friends, is truly saying something.” Harry said with a wry grin.
The three chattered about everything and nothing for a while, slowly eating various breakfast items from the veritable feast that Kreacher had prepared. After a bit, Theo walked in, yawning “good morning,” before sinking into the seat next to Harry and letting his head drop down on his shoulder. Seemingly not awake enough to realize what he was doing.
Harry looked up at Neville, blushing with a slightly panicked look on his face. Once it became clear that their friend wasn’t going to be able to form words, Neville and Draco chimed “good morning,” with identical shit-eating grins on their faces. Draco then poured a cup of tea for Theo and pushed it across the table. Instead of picking up the cup, Theo simply nuzzled further into Harry’s shoulder.
Finally, Harry cleared his throat and choked out a “g’morning, Theo,” still blushing furiously. After realizing that Harry’s voice was coming from very close to his own head, Theo shot upright and grabbed his teacup, refusing to make eye contact with anyone before stuttering out, “so, um, how – how did you all sleep?”
In an act to quell his friend’s embarrassment – according to him – or, according to anyone with eyes, to simply get closer to the guy he had a massive sodding crush on, Harry put his arm across the back of Theo’s chair and shot him his best trademarked Potter grin and said, “I slept well, thanks, how about you?”
“Good,” Theo said, clearing his throat, “good. Are you ready for today?” He asked, now finally looking up to make eye contact with Harry.
“Yep,” Harry said, his grin melting into something more like a soppy smile, “all packed up and all Ted’s stuff is already there.”
“How’s Teddy getting there, did you finally decide?”
“Yeah, Andi and I talked about it again this morning, I’m going to leave him here with her all day and then after the feast I’ll call Mimi, and she’ll bring him. If he does well with the elf travel it gives us a good option for when Andi wants to see him, and I can’t get away from the school.”
“I’m sure it’ll work. He does well with magical travel, unlike someone else we know.”
“Hey,” Harry shot back, pushing Theo’s shoulder lightly, “rude.”
“Do you think they remember we’re here?” Neville asked Draco in a stage whisper.
“Not even a little,” Draco responded.
Over the next hour, the group grew. The other permanent residents of the house came down and they shared one last breakfast before everyone returned to Hogwarts. Around 9:00, Andromeda and Narcissa shooed the teens up the stairs to get ready. At 10:00, more on time for the Express than Harry had ever been, the group started making their way through the floo at Grimmauld to Platform 9¾. There, they met the Weasleys who, by some act of the divine, were early to the Hogwarts Express, along with the Lovegoods.
Saying final goodbyes to Narcissa, Andromeda, Molly, Arthur, and Xeno, the group made their way onto the Express to find a compartment. Once on the train, they found Padma, Parvati, and Lavender in a compartment with Dean and Seamus, across the hall they found Susan, Hannah, Ernie, and Justin. The group coming from Grimmauld, along with Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Luna split up to fill the other compartments in the section and save spots for their classmates and friends. As the clock ticked closer to 11:00, the compartments were overfull, and the hall was ringing with laughter and too-loud conversation. At exactly 11:00, the whistle blew, and the train started making its way out of the station. Everyone crowded against the windows on the platform side and waved at their families as the Hogwarts Express started toward Scotland.
“What time do you lot have to go to the prefect’s carriage?” Harry asked once the train had cleared London.
“At noon, but I should probably head there soon to meet Susan so we can get ready for the meeting.” Neville said.
“Oh yeah, Head Boy Nev! Way to go,” Ron said with a grin, cheerfully clapping his friend on the back.
“Are the rest of the prefects the same?” Theo asked.
“As far as I know,” Neville responded, “Ron and Hermione for Gryffindor, Hannah and Ernie for Hufflepuff, Anthony and Padma for Ravenclaw, and Pansy and Draco for Slytherin. No one mentioned any changes.”
“I think I’m going to bring back the inquisitorial squad,” Harry mused, “with Nev and Susan as Head Boy and Girl, Luna and I are going to need some minions of our own.”
“You can’t be serious.” Pansy deadpanned.
“Don’t –” Hermione started to warn, but was cut off by Harry responding, “no, in fact, he’s dead,” with a rather cheeky grin given the content of that statement.
“Sirius Black has been dead for three years and still that joke lives. I can almost guarantee it wasn’t funny the first time he told it in the 70s and it remains unfunny.” Hermione said, with a long-suffering sigh.
“Oh, but I’m just a poor, sad, mourning orphan,” Harry said with an over-exaggerated pout and his best puppy dog eyes (truly, Sirius would be proud), “why can’t you let me have this joke?”
“You know that poor orphan bit doesn’t quite work seeing as you have more money than, like, Poland? Right?” Hermione shot back, looking absolutely done with her best friend’s shit, but still not quite able to fully suppress her smile.
“You’re hiding a grin, Hermione Jean Granger, you love me, really.” Harry responded looking rather pleased with himself.
“Why, oh why, did I befriend Gryffindors?” Draco said with a sigh.
“That’s Lord Slytherin to you, Draco dearest.” Harry quipped with a slightly manic grin.
“I can’t, not only is he the Lord of my Family, but he’s also the Lord of my House, I can’t be expected to live like this.”
“Oh, little Dragon,” Harry responded, his grin slipping into a smirk, “did anyone ever tell you that you have a penchant for the dramatics?”
“Only every day of his life,” Blaise answered.
“Is it noon yet? I am feeling rather unappreciated in this compartment.” Draco said, looking incredibly put out.
“It’s only 11:30, Draco, and I lost my ability to control time after we freed a hippogriff and a suspected mass murderer at 13.”
“You were 14, Hermione.”
“Yes, Ronald, that was the part of that sentence that needed clarification,” Pansy said, sounding incredibly exasperated, “how are you three alive?”
“Well, if you’d like to get technical about it, I did die for a bit there.” Harry said with a shrug.
“You are far too casual about that, Potter.” Pansy shot back.
“You know, Pans, at some point, probably around the time I got bit by a sodding basilisk and then got saved by, who I now know to be, Godric Gryffindor’s familiar, I’ve sorta just rolled with whatever life sent me. If I questioned it too much, I’d have gone entirely mad by 15.” Harry responded, “like battling Bellatrix for most insane member of the Black Family mad.”
“I can’t decide if that would have been entertaining or, like, literally world ending.” Draco mused.
“World ending.” Hermione, Neville, and Ron responded immediately.
“Hey,” Harry responded, putting on an air of offense.
“Haz, you’ve got quite the temper,” Neville reasoned, “if you lost your mind there’d be absolutely no stopping your rage and I, personally, would like to be far, far away if that ever happened.”
“I’m nowhere near powerful enough to cause apocalyptic destruction with my rage.” Harry argued.
“I’ll concede that, maybe, at fifteen, you weren’t powerful enough to cause mass destruction,” Hermione hedged, “but now? Unencumbered by Voldy’s leech of a soul and the bindings we think were placed to isolate that soul magic? I’m genuinely certain you could level the British Isles if you were ticked off enough.”
“I’d try and argue with you,” Harry started, “but you’ve got that face right now that says you’ll hit me if I try, and I’ve seen how effective your right hook is so I’m just gonna nod.”
“Wise decision, Hades,” Draco said.
“Okay, now that we’ve established my godlike powers,” Harry said with a cheeky grin after the compartment had fallen into companionable silence for a minute, “I’m gonna go see Luna about gathering us some minions. Later underlings!”
Harry then, quite literally, skipped out of the compartment in search of his Lady Ravenclaw.
“I am unfathomably grateful he is joking,” Hermione said, “because if he wasn’t, and he decided to take over the world? With Luna by his side? We’d be under a totalitarian regime by Friday morning.”
“Genuinely the funniest part of that Merlin forsaken prophecy was the bit about the Dark Lord marking him as his ‘equal,’” Ron said with a dry laugh, “if Harry were even the slightest bit more vindictive, and Dumbledore were slightly more forthcoming with Earth-shattering information, mind, Voldemort would’ve been utterly decimated by the end of third year.”
“I know he’s powerful,” Pansy started, “but is he truly that powerful?”
“He’s a Mage, Pans,” Theo said, “the Dark Lord and Dumbledore were both Warlocks.”
“How do you know that?” Pansy asked, sounding curious while Hermione echoed her question with slight accusation in her tone.
“I can sense Magic. I’ve been around all three of them,” Theo began to explain, “when we were at Hogwarts, their Magic all felt similar, power wise, Dumbledore’s Magic was overwhelmingly Light while the Dark Lord’s was, of course, Dark but Harry’s Magic was always shifting, I thought that maybe it was just because he had a truly Grey or Neutral Core but I realize now, that I’ve sensed his Magic at its full, unburdened potential, that it was his Magic trying to get free. It spent years straining against bindings and being dampened by that soul piece and had to fight and grow to overcome those limits. So, while he was born a Mage, because a Mage can only be born and cannot be made, he’s most definitely stronger than he would’ve been had he grown into his magical maturity without those factors.”
“Well, that’s a way more interesting explanation than we have,” Neville laughed.
“What do you mean?” Theo asked.
“It’s on his inheritance test,” Ron said with a shrug, “what a day that was. Went his whole life thinking his name was Harry James Potter, went into the bank thinking he’d just be inheriting Potter and possibly Black given what Dumbledore said about Sirius leaving him everything. He had no idea there were different categories of magical humans then, he drops some blood on a parchment and sees his name is not, in fact Harry James Potter, but that he’s got a name to rival Albus too-many-bloody-names Dumbledore, that he’s inheriting Potter, Black, Slytherin, and Peverell. Then, on top of that, it says he’s a Mage.”
“Those poor account managers, they sat there and answered Harry and Hermione’s questions for nearly two hours,” Neville said, laughing at the memory.
“What’s his true affinity?” Theo asked.
Hermione, Ron, and Neville looked at each other, holding a silent conversation, before Hermione finally answered, “he’s got two, one is rather personal and I don’t think he’d want us to reveal it, but the other is Soul Magic and his main element is air which makes sense for a number of reasons.”
“He’s a natural on a broom,” Draco said, “and I believe Slytherin’s main element was air.”
“Correct,” Neville said, “Slytherin is Air, Gryffindor is Fire, Ravenclaw is Water, and Hufflepuff is Earth.”
“The Soul Magic makes sense too,” Theo mused, “it at least sort of helps explain how he could produce a fully corporeal Patronus that fended off a hundred bloody dementors at thirteen.”
With that revelation, the group sat in silence for a bit before Neville looked at his watch and decided it was time for him to go meet Susan. A couple of minutes later, Pansy, Draco, Ron, and Hermione headed out for their meeting and to get their patrol assignments, leaving only Blaise and Theo in their compartment.
“So,” Blaise drawled, “what were you doing sensing Hadrian’s magic while we were at school?”
“Shut it,” Theo muttered while his cheeks flushed red.
Just as Blaise was about to continue pestering Theo, the door slid open revealing the very Mage in question.
With a lopsided grin and a very dramatic bow, Harry announced “your Overlord has returned, dear minions, I hope you missed me.”
“Oh, so very much, My Lord,” Blaise said, bowing his head to Harry before looking up at him with a shit-eating grin, “so much that I’m going to have to flee this compartment to contemplate just how much I missed you.”
“Fuck off, Zabini,” Harry shot back with a laugh.
With that, Blaise exited the compartment and slid the door shut, leaving Harry and Theo alone. Harry quickly realized that the two hadn’t really been alone at all that summer. They’d certainly spent a lot of time talking to each other on the edge of the group and getting lost in conversation, forgetting other people were there. But they hadn’t spent any significant time by themselves. Now, everyone but Blaise was in a prefect meeting that’d likely last the next hour, and Blaise was unlikely to come back to the compartment until he talked to everyone he knew which was essentially every student 6th year and above. As such, they were well and truly alone.
Harry knew he had feelings for Theo. He loved the way his dark hair reflected the sunlight and the way it curled around his ears and fell in soft waves, with curls sometimes brushing across his forehead. He loved the way his blue eyes lit up when he was explaining something he was passionate about or when something new caught his interest. He loved the way Theo was just a touch shorter than him, something that was entirely new to Harry after his truly miraculous growth spurt over the summer. But more than that, he loved the way Theo made him feel heard and safe and appreciated and the way Theo held Teddy with the utmost care and looked at the little boy with love in his eyes.
What Harry didn’t know, was how Theo felt for him. Now, he was certainly a Gryffindor, but there’s a reason the Hat wanted him to Sort Slytherin and why Magic had recognized him as Lord Slytherin. Harry, when he took a moment to push aside that Gryffindor bravery and need to act, had a self-preservation instinct. Especially in relationships. After losing Cedric and after whatever the hell he was thinking getting into a relationship with Ginny, Harry was rather wary of relationships. It wasn’t that he didn’t think he deserved to find happiness and love, it was more that he didn’t want to risk the heartbreak unless he was sure.
Theo, meanwhile, had also realized the pair were truly alone for the first time. Ever. Theo had been nursing a truly embarrassing crush on Harry since 2nd year. He’d noticed the too-skinny, too-shy boy from afar. He’d never bought into that Boy-Who-Lived bullshit. Certainly, Harry had power and had given everything, including his literal life, to save them all. But he wasn’t some fame seeking pampered prince, he was a lonely child with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Over the summer, actually getting to know Harry? That was a dream come true.
Harry was kind, caring, funny, and exceedingly intelligent. He’d stepped into the role of Teddy’s father without a single complaint. He’d focused the brunt of his time and energy on ensuring the little boy was loved and cared for and that he knew all he could to be a good father. He’d taken them all in, opening his home to people who, just months prior, had quite literally tried to hand him over to the Dark Lord. He forgave easily and, when he loved, he loved hard. Theo wanted to be someone Harry loved.
Noticing the appraising look Harry was giving him, Theo decided that he’d spent too long sitting back. He’d given too much of himself over to the Slytherin ideal of self-preservation. He decided, in that moment, that he was going to tap into whatever latent Gryffindor bravery he had. They’d all suffered enough, Theo concluded, it would do them no good to deny themselves the potential for happiness.
With a decisive nod, Theo raised to his feet and turned so he was toe-to-toe with Harry. He paused a moment, looking Harry straight in the eye, then moved slowly so Harry would have time to step away. Instead, Harry let his eyes flutter closed and leaned in.
With that encouragement, Theo closed the distance. Finally, finally, brushing his lips to Harry’s. Theo kept the kiss chaste, not wanting to push.
Harry had other ideas.
With a wave of his hand, Theo heard the lock click shut and felt the weight of a silencing ward settle into place.
Wordless and wandless? Theo thought, that shouldn’t be as hot as it is.
With the door locked and the compartment silenced, Harry closed the last bit of distance between the two. He pulled Theo closer with one hand on his hip and the other arm snaking underneath Theo’s and then up to tangle a hand into his hair, leaving Theo no choice but to wrap his arms around Harry’s shoulders.
The second kiss was anything but chaste.
Harry, seemingly emboldened by Theo making the first move, swept Theo into a truly mind melting kiss. The hand that had been on his hip slowly made its way to Theo’s lower back, pulling them flush against one another. With the hand tangled in his hair, Harry tugged Theo’s head back slightly, adjusting the angle to kiss him deeper. Encouraged by the moan Theo let loose, Harry ran his tongue along Theo’s bottom lip, seeking entrance.
By the time they pulled apart, both boys were flushed and breathless, pupils blown wide with sheer want, Harry opened his mouth to say something, but before he could get a word out, he was pushed down onto one of the benches and Theo was crawling into his lap, pulling his glasses off, folding them, and setting them on the opposite bench.
At that point, Harry certainly wasn’t going to interrupt with his questions about where Theo wanted to go from here.
From his place on Harry’s lap, Theo took control of the kiss and Harry happily let him. With Theo’s hands tangled in his hair and his hands on Theo’s waist, Harry bucked his hips slightly, seeking friction.
Theo responded immediately, grinding down against Harry.
The effect was immediate, Theo let out a groan that Harry would commit any number of crimes to be able to hear every day for the rest of his life. With Theo’s hands tugging at his hair and Theo’s tongue exploring every inch of his mouth and Theo’s hips rolling against his in a soul-shattering rhythm, Harry found himself utterly lost in the other boy. Not that he was complaining.
Theo, too, was completely gone. Harry’s hair felt like silk between his fingers, softer than he’d ever imagined. Harry’s hands held onto his hips in a vice grip. Harry’s tongue was warm against his own and the hard lines of Harry’s toned body felt like heaven as he pressed against him.
It wasn’t long before Harry’s movements stuttered and he breathed out a “fuck, Theo, I’m gonna,” but Theo cut him off, kissing down his neck and stuttering out, “me too, love,” grinding against him frantically before biting down on that spot where Harry’s neck met his shoulder as he reached his release. He felt Harry’s body tense beneath him before he let out a groan and tightened his hold on Theo’s hips before reaching his own release.
The pair sat in silence, breathing heavily before Theo began placing soft, fluttering kisses up Harry’s neck and across his cheek, then pulling him into another languid kiss before pulling back and resting their foreheads against each other. Harry tilted his head up to press a light kiss to Theo’s nose before waving a hand and hissing a cleaning charm.
Harry winced, misinterpreting Theo’s expression, “too strung out for wandless and wordless and parselmagic is easier to direct wandlessly than other magic, it’s more intent based, you see –”
His rambling was cut off by Theo grabbing him by the back of the neck and pulling him into a truly filthy kiss. As he finally pulled back, he muttered against Harry’s lips, “that’s bloody hot, love, I truly hope you’re not planning to use parselmagic in classes or I’m gonna run into some issues.”
After a moment, all Harry could think to respond was, “love?”
“Yeah,” Theo responded, his tone resolute, somehow not betraying just how nervous he was at that moment.
“Alright,” was all Harry responded, his casual response entirely overridden by the dopey grin he directed at Theo.
“Alright,” Theo whispered back, his tone soft and his smile genuine.