The Web Of Love

If Draco didn't know Theodore as well as he did, he would have said that he was probably avoiding him. He had learned that his friend had returned to England for a few days from his mother last night, and when he wanted to visit him, he found out that he had disconnected the floo-network. Sometimes he didn't understand how Theodore could be the smartest of them. 

Now Draco was standing in front of a manor that used to be as grand as Malfoy Manor, but after the death of Theodore's father, the manor had started to decline as there was no one to take care of it. Theo wanted nothing to do with his father's property, so he ran away to France, where he started a new life. Draco was happy for him, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't miss him. They used to be an inseparable trio at school - him, Blaise, and Theo. Now all he had left was Blaise, who was like a brother to him, but since he had slept with his ex-wife, he was afraid that their brotherhood could very easily fall apart if Blaise found out.

"Are you just going to stand here, or are you going to go in?" a male voice suddenly spoke next to him. "If you're just going to stand here, I'd at least take that bottle of fire whiskey you're holding," Theo smirked.

"He's not dead!" Draco teased, handing him the bottle of fire whiskey he'd bought for him as a welcome gift. "I wasn't sure if you'd be here…"

"You know me, normally I'd pay for a hotel, but I need to go through the whole thing and sort through all the stuff," he sighed and opened the door for them to walk in. "We want to turn this into a summer house, it would be a shame not to use such a large land, but first we  need to level the whole thing here."

"That's too much information right out of the box. Let's just pour the whiskey straight away," suggested Draco, who was very surprised by his announcement. 

The owner of the mansion walked straight into the lounge, pulling out his wand and summoning two glasses with accio on the way, which surprised Draco as Theo usually didn't use magic that much in his normal life, but he probably needed the whiskey as much as he did.

"Where's your fiancee?" he asked as they settled into the dusty lounge. He thought it was a shame that such a beautiful place was once neglected, but in a way he understood. Visits to the Manor weren't exactly easy for him either, knowing what took place in their headquarters.

“Daphne stayed in France. I won't stay too long either... Like I said, I'll go through here as quickly as possible to see if there's anything worth salvaging, and then I'll head back to Paris. If you're interested in any of this here, it's yours," he replied, handing him a glass full of golden liquid.

Draco took a drink. "I've always admired your ability to cut yourself off from the family legacy so easily," he muttered, taking another sip.

"I never worshiped my father, so it's not that hard," he reminded him. "Why didn't you bring Blaise with you, anyway? I had a feeling you'd show up when I ran into your mother in Diagon Alley the day before yesterday."

"Blaise has Charlie all weekend since Hermione is partially back at work," he said before taking another drink knowing full well what was coming next. He regretted his decision to write to Theo what was going on as soon as he sent the letter.

“Oh, little Charlie, he probably won't remember me, will he? I should stop by before I leave. We can't let him forget Uncle Theo," he smiled more to himself.

"I think that's a great idea," Draco agreed quietly as if he thought he wouldn't draw his friend's attention to himself.

“So, are we going to talk about how you haven't changed at all?” he asked immediately.

"I'd rather not," he whispered, reaching for the bottle for a refill, motioning Theo to finish his first glass as well so he could pour him another.

Theo had it poured but didn't drink. “How could you do this to him? Is it clear to you that when he finds out, at best he will kill you, and at worst he won't speak to you for the rest of his life?"

"I am not alone in this."

The brown-haired wizard sighed. He didn't know how to explain to one of his best friends that he had really crossed the line this time. He had always been a willow, quietly listening to his friends and never complaining. But sometimes that knowledge was quite overwhelming. Like now, for example. He was almost one hundred percent sure that he was the only one who knew the reason for their favorite couple's divorce. And that's why he knew this wasn't going to end well. He was glad more than ever to live in France and not have to witness it. He didn't want to watch their long friendship fall apart.

"If it only happened once, so be it. It would be a big mistake, but it could probably be overlooked and hidden, but more than once?! Draco, you have to be smart about this and stop it. Hermione is lonely and broken and just wants to fill the void that Blaise left behind," he told him calmly, taking a swig of whiskey.

"You can't know that," the blond objected, greatly surprising his friend.

Theo gave him a suspicious look. "They'll get back together."

"You can't know that," Draco repeated.

“Are you hiding something from me?” he asked with concern.

Draco downed the whole shot, which scared Theodore a little because that's how whiskey should never be drunk. "The situation has gotten complicated."

"How much?" he mumbled so quietly that for a moment he was afraid Draco wouldn't even hear him.

"I'm starting to feel like there might be more to it," he replied reluctantly.

Now it was Theo who downed a full shot of the golden liquid and immediately refilled his glass because he really needed to have a lot of alcohol in him for this conversation. And it might also help him not kill Draco, by which he would probably do everyone a favor.

“It's different with her, I can't help it, even though I know how bad it is!” he blurted out when Theo said nothing.

"You understand that nothing will come of it, right? If I leave out the fact that she's our best friend's ex-wife, nothing will ever come of it anyway. It's going to sound cruel, but she'll never love you, not the way you want her to love you," he said in a firm voice, trying not to put emotion into it. Draco needed a cold shower, and it wasn't the first time in their lives that Theo had to give it to him.

"But what if it is possible?" Draco rasped, not wanting to listen to his friend's words.

"You know what? Maybe I was wrong after all," he said surprisingly, and Draco felt a little hope, but only until Theo continued. "Maybe I should talk to Hermione, she's always had the most sense. And maybe it's not her, who tries to fill the void..."

Draco was silent. He didn't like what Theodore was implying one bit. Sure, he was alone, but he didn't mind. He had no desire to settle down and have a family. He refused to do so purely to preserve their pure bloodline and refused to do so out of love. During his young life, he dealt with other concerns than some infatuation, and during his adolescence, he did not find anyone with whom the idea of settling down and starting a family did not go against his grain. He was happy to watch his friends being happy and never envied them a bit. Because until now it wasn't something he himself wanted.

"It's not like that," he tried a feeble protest.

Theo sighed again. "In the final, it doesn't matter how it is because it can't continue and you have to understand that. You don't love her and she doesn't love you. It's only -"

"I didn't say I loved her," he interrupted him.

Theo gave him a knowing look. "- an illusion you created to fill the void in your lives, and that's never a good reason for the two of you to be together. Listen, you know I'm always wary of anything anyone tells me, but I'll tell you now a little about why they divorced almost a year ago. It wasn't because they didn't love each other anymore. It was stupid, but once Blaise suggested it to her he knew he couldn't take it back. He loved her so much that he would rather let her go than watch her be sad because of him. I admit I thought they would be back together by now, but even though it hasn't happened yet, I know it will one day. They love each other, Draco, and you know it very well because, like me, you were there when they started dating. You were there when they bought an apartment together. You were there when they got married. You were there when their son was born. They belong together, we all know that. Why do you want to interfere unnecessarily when it will only hurt everyone? You, them, all of us," he blurted out at him with urgency. He was running out of words to get some sense into his head.

“That's it, my dear Theo, they're not getting back together. Blaise told me just yesterday. His words were similar to yours, he loves her so much he'd rather let her go than ever hurt her again," he told him and he couldn't help a small smirk. It felt great to know something that Theodore Nott didn't for once.

"You selfish bastard!" he snapped angrily as he ran out of patience with Draco's last statement.

"It's nothing new, I've lived with that title all my life," he smirked and took a drink of whiskey.

Little did he know, at that moment, how badly his visit to Theo would turn out.