Chapter 3
Theo was nervous as he sat patiently on the worn chesterfield.
Ted was the one taking him to the farm.
Theo took some comfort knowing it was only a county or so over from his home and hoped at least the countryside might look the same. He’d glanced out of the window during his quick trip to the bathroom and the view outside the Tonks’ family home was beautifully manicured but completely flat terrain.
Theo who spent his summers at home, a stone’s throw away from the Peak District, and the rest of the year in rural Scotland felt completely alien in such surroundings, despite probably only being a couple of hundred miles away.
Besides his terror at being relocated in Southern England, Theo was also alarmingly aware that after a decade of looking after himself, he’d put his entire life in the hands of strangers.
“Do you have money, mate?” Ted Tonks poked his head around from the kitchen doorway where he’d been quietly speaking to his wife.
Theo nodded.
“Pounds?” Ted questioned.
Theo cleared his throat, “it’s paper notes, my friend got them for me, but I don’t know how it works,” he explained awkwardly. The fives, tens and twenties on the paper seemed to add up with considerably less effort than galleons and knuts but Theo wasn’t too confident about using them convincingly.
“Can I see?” Ted asked, walking towards Theo. He sat perched on the antique coffee table and reached out a hand.
Theo searched his pocket, getting a grip on the small pouch, and handing it to Ted.
He’d expanded that too.
Ted took one look in there and chuckled, before handing it back, “you’ll be fine, seven pounds is roughly a galleon, but the cost of living isn’t much comparable,”
Theo accepted the pouch and nodded.
“Carmen doesn’t need any money, she’s done well for herself and got a pay-out a couple of years ago when her husband died,”
Ted missed the furrowing of Theo’s brow but Andromeda, who’d followed her husband into the living room didn’t.
“Muggles who own property or have the spare cash often take out life insurance policies, as long as they meet the terms, their assets are protected after they die and often their families receive money to care for them,” she explained.
“That’s logical,” Theo muttered back, many of his assets were insured by the bank, as was his property.
Ted nodded, “but it’s good you have that just in case, we don’t know what’s going to happen,”
“Thank you for explaining,” Theo replied awkwardly, then added, “I’m a little out of my comfort zone,” he’d kick himself for picking at his fingernails, but the situation called for a modicum of self-soothing.
Ted smiled, “I admire you for trying,”
Theo looked away to save himself embarrassment, he wouldn’t want to do anything ridiculous like cry.
Ted kissed his wife’s cheek and motioned for Theo to stand.
Andromeda kissed Theo’s cheek too and patted his shoulder, “you’re doing the right thing,” she told him firmly, “you’ll be safe with Carmen, but remember that wand needs to stay hidden, magic attracts magic,
Theo dipped his head, “thank you,” he spoke quietly, but no less sincerely, “and it will,”
She nodded and gently pushed him towards Ted.
He put his hand on Theo’s shoulder again and seconds later the awful feeling of apparition overwhelmed him.
They landed with steady feet at a wrought iron gate attached to a well-maintained dry-stone wall.
Theo glanced at his surroundings, seeing a two-story farmhouse in the centre of small valley.
They were high enough up that the breeze blew open his coat, and the house looked as though it was made of Yorkshire Stone, like his home.
Rolling hills spread out in the distance from every angle, patches of forests decorated the landscape and over the summit of the valley disappeared a single road.
There was a largish, blue, square vehicle behind them.
“It’s lovely,” Theo spoke eventually, admiring from the grey slates on the roof down to the painted green windows and the bursting window boxes.
Ted nodded and opened the creaking gate. They walked down a small, well-trodden path towards the house.
“It’s not a big dairy farm or anything but there’s a vegetable patch behind the house and the sheep are all Carmen’s, there’s a few other little fellas too, chickens and ducks,”
Theo smiled, surveying the small valley, it really was lovely, “I’m excellent at herbology,” he drawled, not sure of what else to say.
Ted chuckled, “of course you are, not sure they’ve started teaching how to grow potatoes yet, but you’ll be just fine,”
Theo nodded, Ted’s hand was still on his shoulder, and it probably amounted to more paternal affection than Theodore had ever received in his entire life.
The door of the cottage opened, it was painted sage green and could probably do with a refresh, but the look added to the character of the home.
A prettily smiling woman of an average height stepped through the threshold.
Black hair was piled on top of her head in such a fashion Theo wasn’t sure how it stayed up.
As they walked closer, Theo could see glasses helping to hold up her hair, and an assortment of multicoloured hair pins, she was tanned and freckled from the sun, and her brown eyes were outlined with a teal liner.
She smiled wider at both of them approaching, “Teddy! Come on in,”
Theo nearly fell on his fucking arse.
Her attention turned him, and her smile morphed into a grin, “aren’t you handsome? We’ll have to fight the neighbours off,”
Theo blushed and dipped his head.
He was handsome, it was knowledge he’d been surprised about as he started growing. He’d been too lanky in his fourth and fifth years, joints protesting at the quick changes. Then over summer, Blaise’s mother had fed him like a king, berated him for not using moisturiser and taught him how to cut his hair in a way that suited his curls.
He’d put on a stone of nearly all muscle.
Draco had taken one look at him on the train and burst out laughing, despite his gloomy aura and dark circles.
Theo had freckles and blue eyes that complimented his brown hair, the girls in his house that hadn’t given him more than a glance were paying attention, though he’d thought it’d been because of his bountiful inheritance.
He’d also not heard the name Teddy since him mum died.
The older ‘Teddy’ greeted her with a hug and a kiss on either cheek.
“Come here honey,” she encouraged, and Theo received a gentle hug too, she pulled back with her hands on his shoulders and studied him curiously, “Andy told you’re a bit of a delinquent,” she spoke gravely but still waved him into her home.
Clearly his face showed his confusion because she chuckled lowly, “it’s a compliment,”
He was led quickly through the warm home and until he was directed to sit down onto a blush pink sofa, Ted beside him, whilst she retrieved a tea tray and set it on the oak coffee table.
Much of the room was natural, with soft browns and greens.
It was larger than the Weasley’s but small than the Tonks’.
The two sash windows were painted the same sage and had stone windowsills filled with stacks of books and plants.
Carmen sat down across from them on a complimenting navy sofa, behind that was a well-used wooden desk and packed bookcase. On the wall beside them was a roaring woodburning stove.
Beams adorned the textured ceiling, and the floor was also stone but had been covered with a patchwork of colourful rugs.
“I ran away at sixteen,” Carmen offered flippantly as she poured out three cups of tea, “I’d never really been anywhere without my parents so it was very scary, but I stumbled upon the pub in the village not far from here, the older couple that ran it gave me a pint of bitter and a Sunday roast and made me tell them everything,” she recalled them with small smile that produced pleasant lines at the corners of her eyes.
A stark contrast to the frown lines marring his own father’s face.
Theo accepted a cup with thanks and added one sugar and a splash of milk.
“They didn’t have much, but the pub had a couple of rooms upstairs so they let me earn my keep, I learnt how to run the place in a year,” she sipped her own tea, “I could pull a great pint and scold even the meanest drunk,” she recalled, her lip twitched at the corner and she shook the thought away, “anyway, I stayed there for three years before I could rent a little house of my own about two streets down, I still went every week and ended up marrying their youngest son, we bought this house just after Mary,” she paused, “my daughter, was born and I managed to pay it off with the money from his passing, never saw my parents again,”
Theo smiled awkwardly and glanced at Ted, who nodded in encouragement.
He cleared her throat and placed the cup on a crocheted mat on the table, “I went to boarding school, so I haven’t seen my father in a while, he was put in prison,” he paused and looked at Ted, wondering if he’d put his foot in his mouth. Ted nodded again, trying to reign in a smile.
Theo appreciated the effort.
“But,” he began again, “he got out prematurely and,” he glanced at Ted again, “he’s not a good man,”
Carmen smile with understanding, “well, you’re welcome to stay here as long as you need,”
Theo dipped his head, “I appreciate that, I-“
She chuckled at his struggle and waved a hand at his cup, “drink your tea,”
He did so whilst she and Ted chatted.
Whether it was the warmth of the fire or the stresses of the last few months getting to him he didn’t know but Theo felt his body slowly relaxing, sinking into the plush cushions. None of them matched, but it added to the charm.
Ted finished his tea and stood with a sigh, he smiled at Carmen and looked down at Theo, putting his hand on his shoulder again, “I’ll come try to check on you when I can, but we can ring and speak to you,” he stated, then frowned, “on the telephone, Carmen will show you how to use it,”
She hid a smile behind her cup, but Theo caught it.
He didn’t feel embarrassed about not knowing about these things, there was lots she wouldn’t know about his world.
Theo nodded, “thank you, and good luck with this evening,”
Ted’s brow furrowed, “book?”
Theo nearly kicked himself, that statement had sounded more menacing that he’d anticipated, “yeah, book,”
Ted, way too trusting, patted his shoulder and nodded at Carmen, “I’ll let myself out, see you soon,”
Carmen smiled at him, “look after yourselves,”
He dipped his head and left with another glance at Theo.
Once the front door shut, Theo was hit with the startling realisation that he’d been left alone in the hands of people completely alien to him.
She gave him a reassuring look, “come on, love, I’ll show you around,”
Theo followed obediently, back through the wooden door into the entryway.
“Your name’s Theo, right?”
“Yeah, or Theodore if I’m in trouble,” he joked weakly.
She chuckled.
He hadn’t taken much notice of the entrance hallway when he came through.
The stone flags continued throughout, a red traditional runner rug ran the length of the room from the door back to the stairs, which changed direction in the middle and turned right.
She smiled up at him, fussing with the ties on her cardigan, “we’re a slippers house, your toes will freeze otherwise,” she glanced down at his Italian leather shoes, he’d had to get them specially made during summer after his feet miraculously grew a size overnight, “that’s the kitchen,” she pointed at the door opposite, “I’ll show you that last,”
Then she waved him towards the stairs, there was another door on the right in a recess in the wall, “we keep our mess in there, coats for all weathers, shoes, wellies stuff like that, feel free to add yours,”
Then she set off up the wooden stairs, Theo followed up after her, seeming to hit all the creaking spots that she intuitively knew to miss.
The landing they approached was larger than the floor below, one door on the left, one ahead and two on the right.
A large window looked over the stairs with another stone windowsill, lighting the room. That too was filled with plants.
She watched him look around for a while then cleared her throat, “door on the left is the bathroom, mine is that one ahead, you can knock on if you need anything but it’s usually open, and this one,” she pointed to the closest door on right, “is my daughter Mary’s, she’s about your age, staying with her friend for a couple of days while you settle in,”
Theo’s brow furrowed, “I didn’t mean to kick her out of her own house,”
Carmen smiled, “such a gentleman, it’s fine she’s always down there,” she dismissed, “I’m sure Mary will tell you all about her, they’ve been inseparable since primary school,”
Theo knew about primary school. He’d always been rather nosey and heard a few of the muggleborn students joking about the magically raised students not attending.
She walked towards the final door, “I nipped to the shops this morning when Andy rang but we can go again tomorrow,”
“Thank you,” Theo spoke immediately, walking into the bedroom.
She smiled in amusement, “you’re welcome, I’ll let you settle in for a bit, then come find me in the kitchen,”
She shut the door behind her.
Theo examined the room. His room. It was cosy, with a double bed and another window overlooking the back garden, Theo admired the rows of growing produce and the pond behind, before once again looking around the room.
The bed was neatly made with white sheets, he had a large, built-in wardrobe that seemed original to the probably Victorian house, a beige carpet, and a wooden desk.
Not bad for his exile, he’d expected much worse at the beginning of yesterday.
He took off his coat, hanging it on the back of the door and began unpacking.
Theo had packed everything. And by everything he meant every single thing he owned besides the contents of his bank vault; toiletries, bedding, his entire wardrobe including his slippers, he’d packed keepsakes and books, leaving his entire room gutted.
He removed everything from the coat and transferred the things he didn’t need to another expanded bag at the back of his wardrobe. The room looked a little more lived in after he was done, he’d put a blanket over the duvet and added a couple of his pillows, as well as a few non-magical trinkets. It took a little motivation to remove his wand holster and place that in the little bag alongside his wand.
Despite feeling uneasy without his wand, Theo glanced around his room satisfied and made his way downstairs in a thick pair of socks and his slippers.
Carmen was humming when he walked through the open kitchen door, the noise of a radio filled the silence, she smiled when she looked over her shoulder, “unlucky for you it’s my day off, which means this place is getting cleaned, I’ll show you what I do, then you can relax and settle in,”
“Okay,” he confirmed, and studied the kitchen, it was rectangular, the smaller sides at the front and back of the house.
At the back on the left was an L-shaped kitchen with a small square island and the back door.
She washed her hands and reached for a patterned pot towel, “cellar door is under that curtain, we use it as a dry store,”
He nodded, on the wall she was referring to sat a tall white box beside the blue curtain, more counters and a cabinet holding plates, on top of the counter was a small black box with moving pictures, he frowned, attempting to subtly study it.
“Oh! I know it’s odd having the television in the kitchen, but I like watching it whilst I cook,”
Theo nodded like he understood and looked to the left at the long dining table, one side had a long bench like the ones at Hogwarts and the right had three mismatched dining chairs.
Behind that, at the front of the house, was a large bay window with a seat, topped with even more cushions.
There were two sets of draws on either wall and a number of pictures, including some that looked as though they’d been made by a child.
“You can have some biscuits first,” she announced, then waved him over, “my husband was as tall as you, his stomach was never ending,”
Theo grumbled an agreeable reply at that, and walked over to retrieve a still, warm chocolate chip biscuit from the metal tray.
She patted his arm and left the kitchen, leaving him to enjoy the sweet.
He glanced at the door once then walked towards the funny little box watching the moving pictures. The suited man was discussing the death of a fashion designer, though Theo wasn’t quite sure what being ‘shot’ meant.
Curiosity about the box peaked, despite that he walked away, wanting to survey his surroundings. He wandered to look out of the back window, catching sight of a dog sniffing around the vegetable patches. Theo stared at it for a moment, not sure whether to shout for Carmen.
His only experience with dogs was Goyle’s hunting Crups and though semi-retired, they’d scared the shit out of twelve-year-old Theo.
It was a different breed from the vicious ones he’d previous met, larger and it had longer black and white fur, as well as rather cute floppy ears.
Cute didn’t mean anything. Theo had been nearly mauled by a niffler in fourth year.
Carmen’s steps sounded behind him, she’d swapped her cardigan for a navy fleece and reached for a biscuit for herself, joining him in looking out the window.
“Oh, that bloody dog,” she scoffed, “I don’t know how she gets out there,” she tutted and dropped her biscuit onto the butcher’s block and walked to the back door, she reached for the handle and paused, “you alright with dogs?”
Theo shrugged vaguely, “depends if they’re friendly,”
Carmen made a noise of agreement, “Belly’s friendly, too friendly, I trained her myself which probably explains why half the time she’d rather play with the bloody sheep than herd them,”
Theo glanced at the dog again who had perked up at the sight of Carmen through the door’s glass pane, “Belly?”
She snorted and opened the door, “come here idiot,” she called to the dog, “yeah Mary named her, she was thirteen and thought it was hilarious, she and her awful dad outvoted me, the poor thing had just been spayed and had a bald belly from the surgery,”
Theo huffed a laugh, watching as the dog dashed into the room at full beans and cornered around the kitchen island heading straight toward him.
Carmen shut the back door muttering about the ‘stupid thing’ and Theo braced himself for attack.
The dog skidded to a halt before impact and sniffed from his feet to his crotch excitedly, it’s bushy tail wagging so quickly he was surprised it didn’t take off. Then she sat, tongue flopped out of the side of her jaw.
Theo grinned at the sight and looked to Carmen for instruction.
She’d opened the white box, which was shelved inside, holding an assortment of food, “you can stroke her, she’s not really a working dog, but only when she’d being good,”
He nodded and looked down at the dog, her eyes wide with excitement as she clearly struggled to restrain herself. She definitely didn’t look vicious, but neither did the Crups until Goyle’s dad threw them a gnome.
Theo glanced at Carmen’s back and reached for the dog’s soft head. Her fur felt surprisingly silky as he ran his hand over her head, her ears disappeared back into her neck as she looked up at him with happy wide eyes.
Carmen chuckled, “she’ll follow you round like a shadow, especially if you scratch under her chin, just make sure to not let her have any food, she’d got a testy stomach,”
Theo looked up at her and nodded, “what does she eat?” he asked, trying not to be concerned.
“I’ll show you,” she said, pushing aside the curtain, “come on, hope you’re not scared of spiders,”
He shook his head, glancing at the friendly dog again before following Carmen through the wooden door. He had to duck under the threshold and take care on the stone steps.
“Watch that head of yours, I can’t be getting you hurt before you help me get the things in the attic that I can’t reach,” Carmen called from the cellar floor.
Theo made sure to bend his knees a little more, cautious of the risk of injury before he’d been informed of the muggle healthcare infrastructure.
The cellar was surprisingly large, with built in stone shelves along one wall and an assortment of plastic boxes and metal bins.
“Creepy I know,” Carmen whispered jokingly.
Theo’s lip twitched, “my cellars have cellars at home, I once got lost when I was six, mum used to read me Greek stories, I thought I’d been trapped in the labyrinth,”
Carmen burst out a laugh, “that’s awful,” she gasped, walking towards one of the metal bins whilst laughing to herself, “hope there was no minotaur,”
He shook his head, “just an abnormally large mouse,”
Carmen groaned, “don’t talk about those, no matter how many those cats of ours catch, there’s always more,”
Theo agreed with that experience, Nott Castle seemed to be constantly prowled by cats but there was always a little critter under a skirting board. Owning a fifteenth century castle was significantly less glamorous than most people assumed.
Carmen lifted the top off the bin, revealing it was filled nearly to the brim with presumably dog food, “she gets a scoop of this and chicken at breakfast then either lamb or beef at dinner depending on what we have in, I get off-cuts from the butcher weekly, it’s separate in the fridge,”
He took in that information, waiting for Carmen to continue.
She scooped the food into the metal bowl already sitting inside of the bin, “there’s a line,”
He nodded and followed her back upstairs. Belly was waiting for them eagerly and began to dart around the island once she caught sight of her food bowl.
Carmen rolled her eyes fondly and opened the ‘fridge’, “I keep it in the bottom draw,” she explained then prepared it slowly, showing Theo her process before she placed the food down and instructed Belly to eat.
Theo smiled awkwardly once Carmen turned to him, not sure what to do next.
She grinned excitedly, “I hate cleaning, we get a biscuit every time we finish a room,”
Theo glanced at the full tray, “sounds good to me, I’m very susceptible to bribery,”
Carmen snorted, and opened the cupboard under the sink, “good to know,”