Chapter 2
Theo felt like roasted dog shit moment he regained consciousness.
“He’s cute, are you sure we can’t keep him?” a voice that sounded suspiciously like one of the twins spoke. Theo peeked an eye open and groaned at the light.
“Antidote, now,” he croaked out, attempting to sound stern, but falling massively short. The tutor that taught him his ‘Lord’ voice would be dreadfully disappointed. “Please,” he added, pitifully.
Both snickered happily.
Theo glared at the slightly blurry gingers.
“Careful, he looks like he might bite,”
He held out a hand, “now,”
“You’ll be delighted to know that you didn’t shit your pants, which is a frequent side effect,” one informed him.
Theo took stock of his aching body, pleased to note they were telling the truth, he quickly drank the antidote and pushed himself into a seated position, glancing at the nearly twenty eyes on him, “I’m housetrained,”
Someone at the back of the room chuckled lowly, when Theo looked over, Professor Lupin was considering him.
Great.
“Explain yourself son,” Alastor Moody spoke harshly.
Theo resisted a flinch, Moody ate heirs for breakfast and he’d killed a couple more just because.
Though Theo was technically Lord Nott, even if he had dug a very deep hole to put the gaudy ring in.
It wasn’t the time for pleasantries, surely they were busy people, so he did as he was told, recalling last night’s story with a few more details.
“The book?” Moody demanded.
“I copied it,” Mr Weasley passed it over.
“And we should trust Lord Nott, where’s your daddy, boy?”
Theo flinched at both monikers, “perhaps you should read the book, it’d tell you he’s at Malfoy Manor with the rest of Azkaban or can you not read?”
“Mr Nott,” Professor Lupin scolded, “Alastor, I could’ve told you in his third year that Mr Nott was no fan of his father, I ask you to hear him out,”
No fan, Dumbledore’s arse.
Theo had got out of meeting his boggart in front of his classmates by the skin of his teeth, but Lupin had been there to witness his father barking at him across the grounds in his end of term exam. He’d nearly had to step in and help before Theo pictured the portrait of his great aunt Mildred in all her frilled glory and got to witness his father in an impressive display of drag.
“How long have you been planning this?” Lupin asked, stepping in front of Moody and hitting Theo with his best encouraging teacher face.
Theo considered him, “practically, since your jaunt at the ministry, but if you wanted to get specific, since I was eight,”
Eyebrows shot up around the room.
“Explain,” Moody barked.
Theo glanced at him, his stomach fluttering with uncertainty, “I started at eight, but eight-year-olds aren’t really good at much, anyway, I have memories and evidence hidden to get him imprisoned for life, maybe beyond, I collected those at fourteen when I learned how. I’m not an idiot, he kept coming home tortured after fourth year and then some ministry official handed me my ring at sixteen,”
“You suspected something but chose not to mention it, you’ve waited until now, did what happened to your little mate scare you?” Moody taunted.
Theo scoffed harshly, “I did,” he snapped, barely holding back a sneer, “I went to Dumbledore, asking to go to the trail, I told him about the evidence, I told him about my mother’s murder, and he told me it was all in hand and that I should focus on my studies, and when I tried to leave anyway I couldn’t get out of the wards,”
Moody made an interested noise.
The floo fired behind them, and steps rushed towards them, a man he didn’t recognise and a woman that could only be a Black.
Theo considered her with interest, his stomach fluttering with near excitement at the sight of a rebellious member of the Black family, she resembled Narcissa so closely that it threw him, though her hair was brown and waved, streaked with silver, and her weight was healthy, suggesting a comfortable, regular life rather than one spent dieting to fit into one of a kind designer dresses.
She regarded Theo with similar curiosity.
“This is Andromeda and Ted Tonks,” Lupin provided.
Theo smirked, “nee Black, no? What did you do? Accidentally catch empathy?”
She smirked as a few people looked indignant on her behalf, “ran away and married the right man, I look awful in teal,”
Avery?
Houses often maintained colours, Theo’s was blue, Rosier was purple, and Avery was teal, and so forth.
He cringed.
She chuckled, “are you finished with your interrogation?” Andromeda asked Moody, uncowed by his reputation and appearance, “we’ve things to do before this evening,”
Moody studied Theo with his unsettling eye and nodded, “take him,”
“Is that it?” Theo blurted out in bewilderment before he could stop himself. He’d been subjected to harsher questioning by his friends on the odd occasion he’d been late to dinner.
“Well, we’ve copied your book and will look over it today, plus you’ll be available if we have any questions,” Lupin explained gently.
“Perhaps you should keep better company Nott, if you think we’d be torturing the information out of you,” Moody growled.
Theo flinched as Moody was scolded by a stern faced blonde woman.
He glared up at him viciously, it wasn’t funny, joke or not. Theo had seen Draco’s nightmares and experienced a fair share of his own. Neither had yet been seventeen.
“Well,” Theo drawled, “I wouldn’t put it past you,” he directed only at Moody. Then he managed to keep a straight face as Moody’s unsettling eye turned back to him.
There was a reason no one created a surprised uproar when fake-Moody demonstrated the unforgivable curses in front of fourteen year olds. Theo vividly remembered being told by an older student about the murder of heir Evan Rosier, barely older than Theo, at his friend Regulus Black’s belated funeral, a funeral without his body. Theo also wouldn’t have put it past Moody to have killed Black for a chance at his grieving friends.
“Wouldn’t you boy?” Moody stepped forward menacingly.
Theo was struck with a wave of helplessness at his situation; wandless and outnumbered, away from any traditional ally.
“Leave him, Alastor,” Andromeda Tonks instructed sharply, “he’s hardly wrong, is he?” she goaded, “come on love,” she waved Theo over, “we’ve got food on,”
Ted Tonks smiled encouragingly and nodded to the door.
Theo glanced around and stood, folding the blanket they’d put over him before walking past Moody without a glance, he stopped in front of Lupin, leaning into his personal space for a modicum of privacy in the crowded room, “I let a Cornish pixie into the potions storeroom,”
Lupin’s tired face lit up with mirth, “crafty,” he commended, “who cleaned up after it?”
Theo shrugged, “Gryffindors,”
Lupin smirked, his eyes brightening, “you’ve done well, on all counts, Andy and Ted have a friend who you’ll be staying with. Hermione will give you your wand back but you’re not to use it unless it’s an emergency, I trust you packed?”
Theo nodded.
“Good, did you withdraw money?”
He nodded again.
“Muggle currency?”
“Blaise got it for me,”
“Mr Zabini?”
“His mother is unmarried, so they have no allegiances, he’s planning on leaving for Italy immediately after NEWTs,”
“And your other housemates?”
Theo studied him then glanced around at the unfamiliar but interested faces, “Greengrass neutral, he’ll pay his way, two daughters, Daphne, and Astoria who has an arrangement with Draco, Parkinson also neutral, heir is in Japan, Bulstrode’s sons are also abroad,” he recalled, “Crabbe and Goyle,” he didn’t elaborate on the last two, “Davies may not return; her mother is French,”
Lupin nodded, “thank you for all your information, remember to not use your wand, it may help to place it off your person to not use it as a reflex,” he said encouragingly, dipping his head to look at Theo directly.
Theo clenched his jaw and nodded, “thank you for your time,”
He followed Andromeda and Ted without another look at the sweet little room.
Granger was waiting in the kitchen with the Weasley parents.
“Sorry we can’t stop, we’ve got a rather busy day ahead,” Ted apologised and reached to shake Mr Weasley’s hand.
“No trouble, it’s a delight to have you even for a few moments, challenging times,” Mr Weasley answered wearily.
Theo tuned out their chatting and watched Granger fidget with his wand.
She blushed when she noticed him looking and passed it back.
“Macmillan is finally going to be top in Arithmancy,” she spoke quietly.
Theo snorted. He’d been competing with her since third year, Macmillan nipping at their heels, “and he won’t even need a time turner,” he whispered back with a smile to show he was jesting.
Granger flushed further, “I don’t know what you’re talking about,”
He gave her a knowing look and then nearly flushed himself at Andromeda Tonks watching them from beside her husband.
Theo allowed himself to be rushed through the fireplace with some passing pleasantries and he found himself in a larger, more stylish country living room.
“I’ll put the kettle on, we’d better get some food down you as well,” Ted spoke, and clapped him on the shoulder as he passed.
They too got the whole story over a plate of Shepard’s pie, though Andromeda asked a great deal more questions, largely to do with individual people, those she’d presumably known before.
Both were examining him like a curious museum display but almost in a fond way.
They got it, he wasn’t supposed to be there, he should be waiting patiently for a life of servitude in his too-big, lonely castle, not breaking bread with a disowned member of the house of Black and her muggleborn husband.
He’d figured that out from context clues.
Theo also wasn’t exactly sure why he wasn’t arsed, but it didn’t seem to matter, you could look at the entire population of Hogwarts and only know someone’s lineage by asking.
Every lesson from his father had left him with a bad taste in his mouth following his mother’s passing.
Most of his memories from childhood were with her, and the other children she took him to play with.
“Remus mentioned earlier that we’ve a friend you’ll be able to stay with, we did hope you’d be able to stay here but I’ve received some letters from both my sisters, and I don’t think it’s safe for you,” Andromeda revealed.
Theo nodded, “I appreciate it, everyone seemed very busy and I’m sure they didn’t appreciate me rocking up,” he waved his hand vaguely.
Her lip twitched, “I doubt that; it seems as though your information is very valuable,”
Theo shrugged and ate another forkful of mince.
Ted glanced at Andromeda, “I’m not sure what experience you have with those without magic, but you won’t be able to use your wand, it’s better for you to hide somewhere with no trace of magic, the muggle population outnumbers us greatly,”
Theo nodded, “I have some experience, more than you’d think but not much,”
“Explain,” Andromeda insisted, firmly. He liked her, she shared mannerisms with Narcissa but seemed more able to relax.
“Mum wanted me to spend time with other children,” Theo explained, with a small shrug before eating another forkful, “we used to sneak down to a nearby village on Tuesdays,” he added. His father spent the day serving the Wizengamot court, attendance was mandatory for members. It had been a weekly routine during Theo’s early life, a secret adventure down the rural estate to a distant village church to spend the day with normal children without magic.
Andromeda smiled softly, “Carmen is a good friend, she has a farm up North, not too far from you, and a daughter Mary who’s your age, she might put you to work but it’s a lovely property,”
Theo tried to memorise the names and nodded, setting his sights on the buttered green beans.
“No questions? I anticipated a little resistance,” she mused.
Theo shrugged one shoulder, “I don’t know what happens on farms, but I do know I’d much rather do it than the alternative,”
She nodded slowly, “you’re friends with Draco?”
Theo looked up at her from where he’d been poking his mash potato, “I suppose,”
She smiled fondly, “you’ll be alright, Carmen will show you everything,”
He smiled awkwardly back and finished off his plate.
“You can help me wash up,” Ted spoke, “I’ll show you how to do it without magic,”