A Slytherin Hope
Writings
Flashbacks
Silent communication
……………………
He has felt nothing but a deep seeded fear since the moment he saw Potter...Harry, come back from the Third Task, clutching the lifeless body of Cedric Diggory, telling them all that He was back.
He never understood how people doubted the Gryffindor boy. They did not just doubt him, they crucified him. A beacon of light and a dawn to the dark, they hailed this boy as their savior. They put him on a pedestal. They tore him down, scorned him, dragged him through the mud.
Liar, insane, attention seeker.
Murderer, others said.
They refused to look, refused to see.
Emerald eyes held the truth.
If they only had looked, if they only had seen, they would know.
He was back.
Merlin, He was back.
He knew the truth the moment he looked into those too bright green eyes. The way they glistened with tears.
There was so much pain, it was visceral he nearly screamed, all consuming and never ending.
Make it stop.
It hurts.
Horror, a nightmare, but you could wake up from a nightmare.
Not now.
He was wide awake.
Grief like never before. He chokes on it as his heart is ripped from his chest.
It's all my fault.
Don't leave me.
Please...
I'm sorry.
I love you.
He screwed his eyes shut and pushed. Pushing down the memories, the emotions, the tears that those green eyes brought back.
It all hurts too much.
He couldn't think of her.
He couldn't think of how much he loved her, how much he missed her.
She was too good, too kind, too loving. The other one did not deserve her.
Her only crime was loving him.
He couldn't think of her, but he always thought of her.
He never wants to stop.
That was how he knew Potter...Harry was telling the truth.
He was back, and now the other one will be even more exacting, more brutal, more persistent.
He was stuck between the other with their Dark Lord, and Dumbledore who would persecute certain Magicks due to fear and the unknown.
He would use Dark Magick to destroy them all, and Dumbledore would destroy Dark Magick if he could.
There was no choice.
The Neutrals would say otherwise, but there is no neutrality this time around.
Death eventually came to all of them in the future.
Things are different now.
There was a choice.
It was no longer Him or Dumbledore.
He did not have to choose a sadistic madman who enjoyed subjugating, demeaning, and torturing those who followed him. Nor did he have to choose the one who had spent decades of his life stripping away their culture, their practices, by limiting their most precious Gift, Magick.
Now, there was Harry Potter.
Before, he would have said Dumbledore and Harry Potter were the same.
Not now.
He felt Potter...Harry’s Magick, and it was Dark. Merlin, was it Dark. Dark and powerful. More than once today he felt the other boy's Magick spill out and saturate everything around it. It wanted to be unleashed, to be felt, to be awed the way Dark Magick deserved to be. Magick wasn't wielded, used or controlled by the raven-haired boy. Magick was a part of Potter...Harry, feeling what he felt, breathing as he breathed, moving as he moved.
For the emerald eyed boy, Magick was instinct, natural.
It was evident in the way the other boy responded to it. The memory of seeing Heir Black cocoon and bind the Inferi before physically taking over the spell and holding it with his hand. His son watched his father once and was able to flawlessly recreate it in the midst of fighting for his life. It was more than a remarkable feat in Magick and casting.
It was Dark.
Controlling the elements, especially water, was Dark Magick.
There is no way a scion, the next in line once his father becomes Head, of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black would allow the Dark to further endure what he himself had. To be persecuted, scorned, hated, demonized. Both used as a scapegoat for others' fear, blindness, and ineptitude.
The Gryffindor boy would not only fight against Him, but he would fight for Magick as well.
He didn't have to choose between betraying his mother or betraying Magick.
Merlin, did it hurt to think about her.
He can still remember the sound of her laugh, like a song that made the darkest days bright. The way she laughed as he played with the soft curled ringlets of her beautiful chestnut hair, pulling them slightly and watching as they bounced back perfectly. Strands of gold, red, and brown, more beautiful than the canopies of trees in the fall, full of color more enchanting than a fairytale. The way those strands would tickle his cheeks and nose that smelled like vanilla and cherry blossoms. Her eyes were a swirling sea of chartreuse and honey, scattering flecks of the golden rays of the sun across its surface.
She would always bring him to the gardens on the grounds for picnics and reading whenever the weather called for it. He'd cuddled up next to her, warm, happy, and content as she read stories, and books on different types of Magicks to him. Entranced as he listened to her animated voice as she played and acted the different characters. Fascinated in the passion, intrigued and thirst for knowledge when reading about all Magicks. When his energy became too much, as young as he was then he was full of it, and never having to pretend with her, he wanted to do something with it. They'd run around barefoot and play dragons or chase each other until they were breathless. Falling back into the grass she'd bring him close to her, holding him and singing softly to him as if they were not dreading the other one coming home.
Their time together was a dream in a house of nightmares.
What no one ever told him was that sometimes nightmares kill dreams.
He woke up to a nightmare. The sound of her screaming pierced through his dreams. Hearing her pain and torment he could only think of getting to her. He needed to get to her, to help her, to save her. Running as fast as his legs would let him, he made his way to her.
When he saw her, his heart stopped. Unable to stop himself he threw himself at her and cried. Even as she lay on the ground bloody, bruised, and broken, she managed to hold him as she tried to console him, whispering loving words to him.
She was so very hurt, and it was she trying to console him.
Behind him he heard footsteps and a disgusted scoff.
It was the other one. The one he did not love, the one who did not know how to love.
The other one only knew how to hurt, how to break.
"Look at you, weeping and sniveling. She's made you weak, soft. My Heir, how pathetic." He didn't care about being Heir. All he cared about were picnics, stories, books about Magick, and his mother's sweet laugh as they played.
"She's done her duty. Now it's time to do yours." He hears the snarl in the other one's voice, and he buries his face in his mother's arms.
"I love you, my sweet Theodore. You've given me the greatest joy a person could ever ask for. My love, my sweet, sweet boy." He just wanted to heal her and bask in her love.
"I love you, mama." He clutched to her tighter and felt her press adoring kisses to his face and hair.
"My sweet Theodore. I love you so very much." Her words were a goodbye as he felt the other one's hand grab the collar of his nightshirt, dragging him away.
"The Dark Lord will be back one day. When he is, I can't present to him my Heir as a weak, sniveling boy hiding behind his mother's skirts." Theo watched with wide eyes filled with terror as his father raised his wand and pointed it at his mother.
With his father's wand raised, his mother looked at him, eyes filled with sadness, love, and acceptance.
"I love you." Left her lips before she was hit with a jet of green light.
Theo has been praying to wake up from the nightmare for nearly ten years.
The nightmare was his life.
Following the Dark Lord is what his father wanted, what his father expected of him. Nothing would please his father more than to see his Heir kneel for his Master. Theo didn't care about pleasing his father. He didn't wish to follow the Dark Lord, the very monster his father used as a reason to kill his mother.
He didn't want to follow Dumbledore either. Dumbledore was the main force behind the Dark being so maligned, used as a scapegoat for all the evil that happens. The old man had butchered their teachings, their culture, their way of life. Saturating and perverting it with Muggle ideology, trying to make it more tasteful for Muggleborns and their parents. Instead of teaching the Muggleborns all about the World they were born to be a part of, the World that was to be their home, the Headmaster altered their way of living in a failed attempt to make Muggleborns more comfortable.
He made it impossible for Muggleborns, for why would a World truly accept them when they were the reason their way of life was under attack?
Their Sabbats, celebrated for thousands of years, replaced with Muggle holidays. Days meant to honor, cleanse, replenish, and grow closer to Magick, now outlawed. Samhain, a time to reflect and honor the dead made a mockery of with bats, skeletons and too much sugar.
The very Magicks that his mother lovingly and patiently taught and talked about with him, Dumbledore helped encourage to be spurned and banned. Eroding their culture and who they are to better fit his own sensibilities.
Last June, his options were either betraying his mother or betraying Magick.
The Dark Lord or Dumbledore.
Theo would never have imagined there would be a third option.
He was so very happy there was.
Now he had a choice that he could make that would make his mother proud of him.
"Theo!" He was pulled out of his thoughts as Blaise called his name. Blaise was the only one who ever came in when Theo was taking a shower.
"Try not to drown in there, I don't think I have it in me for another rescue mission tonight." Theo smiled slightly but otherwise ignored the other boy's words as he continued to lean and rest his forehead against the shower's cool tiles as the sweet hot water pounded on his back, soothing his aching muscles.
He stayed like that for a few minutes longer before heaving a sigh and shutting the water off. Ringing the water out of his hair, he grabbed his towel and dried off before wrapping the towel around his waist.
When he got out of the stall, he saw Blaise brushing his teeth. Leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, Theo stared at the other boy. He was bent over the sink, already in his night pants and a robe. Once Blaise was finished, he turned around and saw Theo watching him.
"Enjoying the view?" Blaise asked half teasingly, half seriously.
It's always been this way between the two of them. Blaise would flirt with him just as he does now, teasingly, and seriously. Theo would never respond. He knew the moment he did, things would change.
They had been close since the moment they met. Complete opposites but they both understood each other in a way that no one else did. Evening each other out, they pushed when needed, relented when necessary. Trusting each other with every part of themselves.
It was natural for them.
It was also built and cultivated with extreme care.
Times like now, he wished he could respond. He knew if he did, Blaise wouldn't let it go.
It scared him as the only other person he ever loved was brutally taken from him.
Theo knows it's irrational, but he doesn't know what he would do if it happened again.
He doesn't know what he would do if he lost Blaise.
Apparently, Blaise did die. He died as a Sacrifice. He died years after Theo himself had died.
Did that Theo die before he let himself live?
This is supposed to be a second chance. There was no way in the name of Magick he would let Blaise's Sacrifice go to waste.
"Yes." Theo said, eyes locked on the boy in front of him.
He saw the way the dark-skinned Italian reacted to his one word. The way every muscle in his body froze before tensing tighter than a bowstring.
"Very much so." Beautiful almond shaped eyes snapped up to meet his and Theo saw the other boy take in a shuddering breath.
"I've always had." The next moment Blaise stood in front of him, barley more than an inch between them. Blaise rested his weight on his left arm that was extended above their heads, pressed against the wall. His left hand hovered above Theo's waist, not yet touching him.
Theo stared into his eyes. Eyes dark like the earth after rainfall. Rich, promising beauty that none could ever hope to replicate. Their darkness was an everlasting promise, a place he could reveal himself, and safeguard his secrets. Flecks of amber, embers of a fire providing him warmth from an everlasting hearth.
If he never had to, Theo would never look away from those eyes.
"I feared allowing myself to get closer to you, that something would happen, and I'd lose you too." He said as he took in every feature of Blaise's face.
"Then I feel your Magick and find out that you had Sacrificed yourself for this second chance." Merlin, does it hurt, thinking of Blaise Sacrificing his life. The pain of it caused his throat to constrict as he tried to choke down tears.
The hand that was hovering over his waist now had a gentle, yet unyielding grip on him. Blaise buried his face in the juncture of Theo's neck and shoulder
"And now?" Blaise asked shakingly. His hot breath ghosted over Theo's bare neck, sending shivers down his spine.
"Now, because of you, I have a choice I didn't have before. I have a choice that I can live with, that I can be happy with." Theo places a hand on Blaise's hip, the other resting on the nape of the other boy's neck.
"Now, I want to be happy. There's only been one person who has brought true happiness to my life in the last ten years." He said and Blaise raised his head to stare into his eyes.
Staring into them, Theo felt like he was falling. He could hear his own heartbeat pounding as its pace sped up. The weightlessness as air rushed by him charged with energy.
Theo fell a long time ago. He's never stopped falling since.
With Blaise, he knows he'll never stop.
It doesn't scare him, it excites him.
Blaise cradled Theo's face with the hand that wasn't gripping his waist. Their foreheads rested against the others, noses bumping as they breathed the others' air.
"I've waited for this moment for so long. I’ve dreamed of it countless times. Now that it's here, it's nearly impossible not to follow through with what I've dreamt nearly every night for the past few years. But I want to do this right, do right by you. Snogging you senseless for the first time in a bathroom wouldn't be it." Blaise said as he grazed his lips up Theo's jaw and down his neck, leaving a trail of fire at his touch, before placing a tender kiss at the hollow of his throat.
"You deserve nothing but the best, and by Magick and Merlin, I'll make sure that's what you get. I'm determined to do this right." Blaise said kissing his jaw before taking a step back.
Losing a limb would've been less painful and jarring than losing Blaise's warmth and touch.
"So, I will be taking you on a date. It'll be beautiful, romantic, and perfect because we'll be together. Then I'll kiss you when you see, when you understand just how much you mean to me. You will remember it and brag about it for years to come." Theo couldn't help but smile at the other boy's words as excitement and happiness coursed through him.
He never imagined he'd feel this hopeful, this optimistic about the future.
"Then it's a date." Theo then basked in the love and beauty that was Blaise's smile.
Someone tentatively knocked on the door, bringing them back to a world that didn't consist of just the two of them.
"We heard the water stop a few minutes ago, Vincent and Gregory wanted to get in and clean off." They heard Mauricius Clements say from the other side of the door.
"We'll be right out." Theo said loud enough for the boy outside to hear.
"You forgot your change of clothes; I brought them in for you. You should get changed." Blaise said and once more a burst of affection shot through Theo for the other boy.
Unlike the rest of the boys in their year, Theo was more reserved. With the exception of Blaise, he didn't allow anyone to be in the bathroom while he was taking a shower, and would always change behind closed doors away from the others' eyes. Then again, it had less to do with being reserved and more to do with the scars that littered his body.
Everlasting proof of his father's attention and training.
"Thank you." Theo said as Blaise gave him that smile that made his knees weak before turning and opening the bathroom door enough to leave and closing it quickly behind him.
When Theo was alone, he dried his long hair. His father always insisted he cut it but that was an order Theo never listened to. He had inherited his mother's hair. Keeping it long was a way he could keep a piece of her everywhere he went.
Drying his hair enough so it was no longer dripping, he quickly dried the rest of his body off before putting his pajamas on and vacating the bathroom.
Theo couldn't help but smile slightly at the relieved faces of Crabb and Goyle as they saw they could finally take their showers.
He also couldn't help the huff of laughter that escaped him when he saw Blaise lying across the middle of Theo's bed. While he sat cross-legged by his pillows, he could see Blaise's eyes closed with a smile spreading across his face. Unable to stop himself, Theo trailed a gentle finger down the handsome dark features, continuing down his arm, and over his hand. When he stopped, Blaise quickly flipped over his hand, taking a hold of Theo’s, and not letting go.
With his hand still in Blaise's, Theo sprawled his legs out, throwing one over the other boy’s thighs and the other over his lower back as he reclined against his pillows. His smile widened at hearing the mock grunted breath from Blaise from his sprawling. Closing his eyes, Theo tried to relax his body.
It became apparent quite quickly that he wasn't going to be able to fall asleep at all. Peeking his eyes open, Theo saw Mauricius lying down in his bed, staring at the ceiling. Turning his head, Draco was sitting on his bed holding his legs to his chest as he rested his head on his knees. The blonde boy was staring at the top of his comforter as if he was looking for the answers to all his questions.
Theo didn't even need to look to know that Blaise was still up.
There was no way any of them would be able to sleep.
He was pretty sure that no one at Hogwarts was going to be getting much sleep tonight.
That fact was further compounded when both Crabbe and Goyle came out of the bathroom, laid down and followed Mauricius' example.
They all stayed like that before a voice broke the quiet.
"I'm going to the Common Room. There's no way I'm getting to sleep tonight. Anyone care to join?" Mauricius asked.
Theo looked at Blaise who shrugged before getting up, removing his robe to put on a nightshirt before putting the robe back on along with a pair of slippers.
It seemed Blaise's movements was a signal for the rest of them as they all got up and started heading to the Common Room. When they got there, there was a scattering of upper years present already. Within the students present, Theo saw that the girls in their year, along with Astoria Greengrass were already present and sitting by one of the many fires
Theo grabbed Blaise's hand before making a beeline for the others.
"Mind if we join?" Blaise asked already knowing the answer.
Daphne moved closer to Tracey while also bringing Astoria closer to her side. Both Blaise and Theo sat in the remaining spots on the sofa. A few seconds later the others joined the group.
"Couldn't sleep either?" Tracey asked after everyone was seated.
"After everything that's happened, I don't know if sleep will ever be possible again." Blaise said next to him.
There were nods of agreement throughout as silence descended once more.
Not knowing how long had passed, that silence was broken by a soft fragile voice.
"Do you remember it? Can you still feel it? The pain? The..." Draco was looking at Blaise until he trailed off with a faraway look on his face.
Theo had to forcefully push down the agony when he realized what the blonde was asking. Hearing the way Blaise screamed, seeing the way his body fell in on itself before contorting in tormenting pain. The way blood filled his mouth, poured from his eyes, ran from his nose. The feeling of fear wrapping its hand around his heart, trying to rip it from his chest as Theo thought he was watching the person he loved most in the world die before his very eyes.
"Yes." Blaise replies and Theo tightens his grip on the other boy's hand.
"It doesn't hurt anymore but if I think about it, it's like it's right there, like a phantom haunting me." Theo goes still at Blaise's words until he feels him being pulled close to the strong lean body, and he allows himself to melt into the other boy's side.
"A phantom...yes. That's what it is." Draco's eyes are exceedingly bright as he stares into the fire.
After that no one said anything for some time.
All lost in their own thoughts, they didn't realize as the Common Room was steadily filling with their Housemates. All were having the same troubles Theo and the others had. They were tired, their bodies needed rest, but their minds were replaying the day's events over and over again. It kept some up, while others were too scared to shut their eyes, afraid of what their dreams would hold for them.
Theo thought that dreams would be scarce for a while, nightmares taking their place.
He's already witnessed his biggest nightmares.
The death of his mother and the death of Blaise. Even if it was the boy's future self.
Without realizing it, the Common Room became full with the entire House and Theo was pulled from his thoughts at the loud clearing of a voice.
Adrian Prucey stood in the center of the Common Room. The day's toll had left its mark on the older boy, but he still stood strong and resilient.
"Today's events have left all of us rattled and unbalanced. The people here are the only people in history to have gone through what we have today, what we will be going through for however long these readings take place. Fear, restlessness, apprehension, all of us are feeling it." There’s bone deep weariness in each of their bones but Theo could see the restlessness of their minds in each person's eyes.
"We felt and experienced Magick that has never before been done. Magick, that was created by two of our very own." Next to him Blaise’s spine stiffened, and his jaw clenched while Draco’s hands started to shake as his eyes glazed over.
The screams still echo in his head.
His hands still feel slick with blood.
The feeling of the Magick imprinted itself on Theo as it wrapped around all of them.
"We had learned that our future not only held a war with the Dark Lord, but a war with Muggles. Wars, that would cause us all suffering, and eventually the breakdown of Magick." Many flinched at the very thought. The thought of Magick, so vital, so visceral to their being dying was unfathomable.
"Some of us here had learned how we would die in the future." Blaise's hold on his hand tightened painfully. Theo knows it isn’t from the other boy knowing about his Sacrifice, it’s from knowing how Theo would die.
Theo understands. He cared less about his death and more about how Blaise’s screaming was his future self dying.
Further down the couch he hears the shuddering breath of Daphne as she pulls Astoria onto her lap, holding her as close as physically possible.
In his chair, Draco wraps his arms around his waist, facing the fire, eyes unfocused.
"We've been informed that tomorrow, more will know the same." Everyone tenses at the thought of the possibility of hearing their fate tomorrow and what it holds.
"We've witnessed the emotional trial of an innocent Heir to a Most Ancient and Noble House, after they had been imprisoned and were sentenced to a fate worse than death.” Fury still rose in Theo at that. The fact that Heir Black, a man who fiercely, unconditionally, utterly loved his son, and was truly a good man was sent to Azkaban where Theo’s father still walked free was inconceivable.
“A man, not much older than us had been brought to this time to save him from a terrible death.” A terrible death caused by the Master he once served.
The Master Theo was expected to follow.
The Master many of their numbers were expected to follow.
“Unfortunately, in the process of that being done, we had part of a lake dumped on our heads that was filled with Inferi." Slight amusement slipped in at Blaise’s and Draco’s contrite looks at what their future selves had accidently done.
"In that moment we were forced to fight for our lives. Not only that, but we were also forced to fight for each other's lives. We did so against terrifying monsters created by the Darkest, the Blackest of Magicks." The fact that it was the Dark Lord who had created the Inferi was not lost on any of them.
It was Black Magick.
Taboo.
There were so many and apparently the ones that came along with Regulus Black were only a small fraction of what was present in that cave.
A cave full of reanimated corpses.
Theo knew he wasn’t the only one to think it.
Reanimated corpses of those the Dark Lord had killed, forced to do his bidding for eternity.
How many missing and presumed dead witches and wizards from the Blood War would be found where the rest were kept?
"Despite how scared we were, we worked together. We stood side by side, fighting for each other, defending each other, protecting each other, helping each other, and saving each other. Side by side we stood, watching each other's backs, picking up and carrying each other when needed. We prevailed. Against insurmountable odds and conditions, we survived a foe that had not been seen or used in living memory. Not one of our numbers, or anyone else in the castle was lost." Their house is known for its pride and fraternity but never before had Theo seen all within filled with that pride, not for themselves but for those around them.
Never before had Theo felt it himself.
"We did that." The passion in Adrian’s voice was all-consuming.
"We did that together." Adrian’s eyes looked over them all with the ferocity they held when he fought the Inferi.
"Come tomorrow, we will survive that too. Together." The way they survived today together.
"What we need to do is think about what lies after. After these readings, our decision in what we do, in which side of the war we take, it will determine if it will make or break the world we know." It broke the world the first time around, that’s why they’re here now.
They needed to make the right choice this time.
They never really had a choice, not until now.
Now, Theo hopes they see it before it’s too late.
"The Dark Lord is back. We all knew it. Even when everyone outside these doors denied it, we knew the truth of the matter." The moment Theo saw those green eyes last June, he knew war was coming. He knew the Dark Lord was back.
"Some of us have parents that follow the Dark Lord willingly." He felt his jaw clench painfully as he gritted his teeth.
"Some have parents who are in the Dark Lord's service because they had no other choice." A scattering of their numbers flinched in response as if struck.
"Combine that with the fact that we're Slytherins, and it is automatically assumed we would follow the Dark Lord, our fate always seemed sealed for us. The choice that we have to make is if that's what we truly want. We have to decide if we are willing to follow the path that has been predetermined for us either because of our parents or because of our House." Adrian’s words seemed simple, but they all knew they weren’t.
Not until now.
"What's the other choice?" The harsh whispered question came from Cassius Warrington. The older boy stared at his hands as if he wished he could pull all the answers from the air.
"Dumbledore?" The disgust was clear and even Theo felt his own distaste for the Headmaster rise bitterly in his mouth.
"Dumbledore is one of the reasons we're hated so much." Warrington says furiously, and there are murmurs of agreement throughout.
"He and all the others hate us because of our House. They scorn and deride us because we fight harder, we fight dirtier. We do so because we have no choice. Most of the time it's us against the other three Houses. He does nothing to help with the ostracization we get from the rest of the school." The bitterness is overwhelming. It carries not just Warrington’s but all of theirs. Every Slytherin from both past and present have gone through what he, they have gone through.
The truth is undeniable for they all have lived it, day after day since their first night at Hogwarts when they were eleven. When so many of them, the House of Self Preservation, the House of Cunning, the House of Resourcefulness, entered their Common Room that first night. Their arrival was met with pride on the faces of the older students and Professor Snape, but with a word of warning. How their words dimmed the hope for so many, and their smiles faltered when they realized that Hogwarts wouldn’t be the complete safe haven they had all hoped for.
Many do not realize why these are some of the qualities that make Slytherins who they are. It is because a part of them were forced, cultivated, and had learned to value these traits, self-preservation, cunning, resourcefulness. Not from the love of a parent or guardian, rather from the fear of them. It was learned from the sting of a hand, from the agony of a wand, from the viciousness of words, from the demands impossible to achieve.
It is because they are survivors.
The school would be far better than what many of them had come from, grudgingly.
Whether through ignorance or something else, the other Houses are unaware that Slytherin House also holds the title of House of Fraternity. It bonds them together for even if they are hated and disregarded by all the other Houses, all the other professors, they will never be alone. As long as there is another who wears the same crest, the same colors, they have someone they can rely on.
For many of them, that is more than they ever had at home.
"They've given us the name of the House who breeds evil witches and wizards. We're forced to act the part to protect ourselves. To survive. Further cementing their views on us. It's a vicious cycle that keeps repeating itself over and over again, and Dumbledore has done nothing to help us change it." The emotion in Warrington’s voice, the truth of his words, hits a chord with them all. It is the reality, the life they’re all forced to live.
"Even if we did fight for Dumbledore, there's no way any of us wouldn't be looked at with suspicion. We'd constantly have to prove ourselves, but no matter what we would do, we'd never be good enough. If there was any doubt, another Peter Pettigrew situation, who do you think he would first look at?" That struck Theo more than anything else.
For it was Peter Pettigrew, whose crimes were more devious, more cold blooded than anything Theo, or any of them had ever heard about from the last war.
Peter Pettigrew, who was a known Gryffindor. Yet, if something as Warrington said did happen, it would be one of them that would fall under suspicion.
"Even if there wasn't any bias against Slytherin, there's still the bias against the Dark. Again, not helped by Dumbledore." The Headmater’s name is said with a derisive scoff.
"Dumbledore has spent half his life persecuting the Dark. He was the driving force behind butchering our customs to cater to Muggleborns. We fight for him; we help destroy the Dark." The Dark, Dark Magick, something so integral, so interwoven into their very being that the thought of doing something that could further hurt it is sacrilege.
Except there is another, other than Voldemort or Dumbledore, whose blood is synonymous with the Dark.
Whose Magick is more Dark than Theo has ever witnessed, has ever felt.
"There's a third choice." Theo says from his spot, and he feels all eyes on him.
He saw the look on Prucey’s face and knew that the older boy had found the third choice too.
"Harry Potter." The name doesn't create the frenzy Theo thought it would
That's good.
"Everything we thought we knew about Harry Potter is no longer clear. Everything we thought we knew about Potter was based on the assumption that Harry Potter knew who Harry Potter was." His words earned confused looks from nearly everyone.
Next to him, Blaise’s eyes widened, and his jaw dropped slightly.
At least one person understood.
"Tell me, does Potter's Muggle family seem the type to tell Potter about who he is? Did they even know anything?" Theo saw Daphne sit up straight as she stared at him intently.
Of course, she would quickly pick up on what he was saying.
"The way they hate Magick, I'm willing to bet Potter didn't even know about Magick until he got his Hogwarts letter." Dawning looks of comprehension started to lighten the faces all around.
"If that's so, he didn't even know how his parents died. He wouldn't have known that he survived when they didn't. Potter wouldn't have known he was the Boy Who Lived and what that meant. Assuming all of that, he wouldn't know anything about the Magical World and his place in it. Everything he should have been taught as being Heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, would have never come to pass." What would it have been like to have been thrust into a world you were the savior of and not have any idea about it? To not know anything about yourself, your family?
"Every gaff and faux pas that he would have done wasn't because it was intentional snub or derision of our ways, it was because he was raised Muggle with no knowledge that he was Magick until the summer before his first year." Daphne said, a pinched look on her face as the realization that hit her was mirrored throughout the Common Room.
"We’ve been assuming, and judging Potter based on what we thought we knew about him. Based on what we expected of him. Tell me, does that sound familiar?” Theo asked the room. Flinches came from all around at the accusation that they had done to Potter...Harry what the rest of the school had done to them.
“Yet, today he stood in front of everyone present and defended one of our own. From his own blood, his own family. Words that would have been thrown at him his entire life and he would have done nothing, said nothing about it. Had he, he would have faced much of what many of us had.” Many of them would never willingly wish for their parents’ attention on them. However, Harry demanded his aunt’s attention to stop her attack on a Slytherin.
“Yet he stood and verbally eviscerated the woman who had raised him, who had most probably hurt him more times than he could count, for daring to speak to Liliya the way she had." There was no fear in the Gryffindor when he had done so. It spoke of more bravery than Harry facing the Dark Lord ever could.
"Then, when he saw her pulled down beneath the water, he reacted quicker, ran faster, than anyone of us could have imagined possible to try to save here. When all hell broke loose, when he could have stayed to help his friends, his family get to safety, he helped Liliya, one of us, a Slytherin, without a second thought.” Adrian sat next to Liliya, wrapping an arm around her, offering comfort as tears welled up in her eyes at the memories.
“He was nearly killed himself, drowned and ripped apart, watching Adrian’s back, after saving him from a similar fate.” Theo remembered the fear he and Blaise felt at the thought that they had been too late in pulling him out of the water.
“He defended, protected, fought side by side with us to get to safety.” Everyone who had been in their group as they made their way to the front of the Great Hall to safety sat or stood taller at the reminder of having fought with Potter…Harry.
“When our group finally made it to safety, he entrusted us with duties to help others. No questions about possible motives, only complete and utter trust.” The reminder even broke through the aloofness that Daphne usually held herself with to be replaced with a small smile and warmth in her eyes that have been tears filled since hearing of Astoria’s death.
“Tell me, when has someone other than one of us ever shown even a fraction of that solidarity, of that trust that he did?” They all knew the answer
Never.
“When Adrian had a better strategy than his own to keep track of all those who had made it to safety, Potter listened to him. He acknowledged the fact that it was better and convinced Jordan to help out and trust us.” Terence smiled a small smile at that.
“We all know what he said, how he defended us to Weasley and Granger, his best friends. "He even praised us and Slytherin House." Theo didn't hear from Potter...Harry directly, but, when he heard of Potter...Harry's defense of them, he wasn't as shocked as he expected.
“Even going as far as saving Draco, someone who he has nothing but bad blood with.” Although, Theo was sure that things would be changing between the two.
They already had.
That was after Potter…Harry had saved Draco.
If Potter…Harry was willing to help Draco, would he be willing to help them?
Theo thinks so.
“For as long as we could remember, we only had two choices: the Dark Lord or Voldemort. Today we have a third.” They also now had hope.
It was a foreign concept to Theo. One he had not allowed himself to have since that flash of vicious green light.
“The very blood that runs through his veins is synonymous with the Dark. It is undeniable, unquestionable. We all felt his Magick. It was all consuming, the most powerful Dark Magick we have ever felt before. There is no world where a son of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, would sit idly by as Dark Magick, as Magick is persecuted for no reason. Especially Harry Potter who has been put through the very same this year more times than we could count.” A shiver ran up and down his spine in remembrance of the feeling of it surrounding him. He knows he’s not the only one still affected by it.
“Why hasn’t he helped us before? Why now?” Astoria’s question is quiet. It was a last-ditch attempt to stomp down the possibility of hope. Before it was given to someone who would then have the opportunity and power to then hurt them.
“Something has changed. Something happened this time around that did not happen last time. Something that happened because of the readings needing to be taken place but not the actual books themselves. I think…” Theo licks his dry lips at the thought that came to his mind. The only one that makes sense.
“I believe last time Potter never had an opportunity to contemplate, to learn to look at the Dark as anything but evil. That last time he never knew his father was Heir Black." How depressing is that? That a son who was loved by his father wholeheartedly, so completely, never knew about their connection.
How many of them would give everything they had to have a parent, a guardian, who loved them the way Heir Black loved Potter…Harry?
“Now, things are different. Now, we have a choice, a chance to be more than what others expect of us. I believe that is something we cannot let pass us by.” There was no way that Theo was willing to let this pass him by.
Not when it gave him the option to make his mother proud.
This was his chance not to follow the Dark Lord. His chance to not betray Dark Magick.
Everyone descended into silence, thoughts swirling in their heads.
It was a surprise to hear the soft knock at the wall of the Common Room door that broke their reflective silence.
Theo saw as Adrian’s eyebrows furrowed together as he looked over all the faces present.
"Is there anyone missing who might have forgotten the password?" The older boy asked. There were 'no's' and confirmation that all were present and accounted for.
Everyone turned to stare at the stone wall.
Two minutes and no one moved or said anything.
"Knock. Knock, knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock.'
"I don't know if anyone can hear me but if you can, it's Harry Potter." They heard a muffled call from the other side of the entrance.
"Is Harry Potter outside our common room door?" Mauricius asked in bewilderment.
"It would seem so." Theo answered perplexed, unable to comprehend how Potter...Harry could know where they were located.
"How?" Several people cried out in confusion and question.
"I have no idea." Theo answered as he got up and made his way to the door.
"Maybe that's something we should ask him." Knowing that the Slytherin Rooms are nearly impossible to find unless you're a Slytherin was a point of pride and afforded them a sense of peace.
When they weren't within the confines of Slytherin House, their masks were always on, their guard always up due to the likelihood of running into someone from the other three Houses that didn't like them for some reason. Usually, that reason was because they wore green and silver. They were simultaneously always on defense and offense.
It was exhausting.
Their rooms gave them the sense of peace they needed and a place they could relax without worry.
The fact that their House was located in the dungeons benefited them greatly. Many were dissuaded from even attempting to locate their House before even trying, for the simple fact that everyone knew the dungeons were the domain of Professor Snape. For the few and stupid who would still try to find them, the very fact that their location was so deep within the dungeons, which consisted of a ridiculous amount of twists and turns made the effort less than it was worth.
The fact that someone outside of their House knew where they were set more than a few people on edge.
Honestly, if it had been anyone other than Potter...Harry, Theo was sure the next time they would be seen they would be wandering the forest with no recollection of who they were.
Potter...Harry was very lucky they just had the conversation they did.
"Are we really intending on letting him in?" Someone asked.
"Somehow he knows where we are, it's something we could ask him about." Theo said as he continued making his way.
Opening the entrance, Theo was greeted by the sight of a half surprised half relieved Harry Potter.
"Oh good, I was starting to think that either I was going to be ignored or that this was a stupid idea." Potter...Harry said with a soft smile.
"What makes you think it's still not a stupid idea?" Theo asked curiously and slightly amused.
"Well, I'm still standing and not knocked out and being dragged to places unknown." Potter... Harry says teasingly.
It's odd hearing someone tease them with only humor and no contempt.
There's a loud amused snort that they hear coming from further inside the Common Room. Potter...Harry tries to take a peek inside.
"I was hoping I could speak to Liliya Gardner." The Gryffindor boy said much to Theo's surprise.
"I wanted to make sure she was alright. I know you said she was but after everything that happened..." Potter...Harry cut himself off as he made an attempt to grab his right forearm but was unable to due to it being bandaged and in a sling.
"I just wanted to make sure for myself." The raven-haired boy finished quietly.
Theo looked back into the Common Room and saw several nods. Moving to the side, he held the door open for the emerald-eyed boy.
"Come in." Theo said and was amused to see the pure shock on Potter...Harry’s face before he quickly did as told.
Theo understood how seeing all of Slytherin House's attention on you while being the only Lion in a Snake Pit could be daunting for anyone. The Gryffindor boy was met with many faces full of curiosity, bewilderment, and skepticism. It was with relief that Theo saw there was also an openness that those within Slytherin rarely afforded to anyone who was not their own.
"Hello." Potter...Harry said shyly, hesitantly with an awkward wave to them all with his good hand. Theo saw a few of his Housemates' lips twitch up as others relaxed slightly.
It seems Potter...Harry saw that there was no hostility at his presence in their Common Room and Theo swore he watched as the Gryffindor physically gathered his courage.
"I know this isn't normal...me being here that is. Or really...I guess it's strange for anyone who isn't a Slytherin to be here." A faraway look crossed Potter...Harry’s face as he scratched his neck.
"If he finds out I'm here, Professor Snape will try to kill me...again." Potter...Harry mumbled loud enough for them to hear, and Theo couldn't help but give an amused look to Blaise and the others. Amusement covered nearly all their faces at the truth of Potter...Harry’s statement.
That is until he saw the green-eyed boy roll his eyes and brush off the notion, and very real possibility like it was nothing.
"Anyway, I saw that you were all up, so I figured it would be a convenient chance to check up on Liliya. Make sure she's alright after everything. I also wanted to check up on all of you." There was no deception in the raven-haired boy whatsoever. Only complete sincerity and earnestness.
Theo could see the shock and surprise around the room at someone outside of their House showing anything like concern for them.
"I'm alright." The soft, quiet voice of Liliya piped up from her spot, curled and tucked into one of the chairs close to Adrian. Potter...Harry quickly found where the voice came from and made his way over.
Crouching down in front of her so their eyes were level, Potter...Harry gave her a gentle and sweet smile.
"I'm happy to hear you're alright. Although I would understand if you weren’t." Hazel green eyes widened in surprise as Liliya's lip trembled slightly.
"Fighting for your life, thinking you're going to die, not knowing how in Merlin you would survive the moment...it's more than anyone should ever have to experience." The truth Harry spoke with choked Theo, constricting his throat as it tore at his heart.
Theo could hear the ghost of cruel words whispering in his ears as his scars burned from phantoms of crueler curses.
A hand was on the small of his back and Theo was brought back to the present with Blaise beside him.
"When I was your age I remember begging, pleading for someone, anyone to help me. That fear, that desperation didn't go away in a matter of hours. Even now, I can remember it like it was yesterday." Theo closed his eyes and leaned further into Blaise's touch at hearing the honesty and ghosts in Harry's voice as he spoke. The haunting of old terrors that stay with you even in the light of day.
Opening his eyes Theo saw he wasn't the only one affected by Harry’s words. Those whose homes were not far from his were rigid with faraway looks in their eyes. Lost in the fear and trepidation of what awaited them at home. Dreading the summer and already longing for the start of term before they were even done with exams.
For those like him, it was another horror added to a long list. At least today's trauma was brought on by the Blackest of monsters from nightmares, not by those who are meant to protect and love them.
For the others who had true families, today's events truly started to set in as they started to come to terms with the horror of the day at Harry’s words
"No matter how old you are, going through what we've been through today, fearing for your life, believing you were going to die, that is something that affects us all. It is not something any of us will quickly get over. It will live with us for the rest of our lives." The scars littering Theo's body feel exposed for all to see at Harry's words. He can't help but pull his robe tighter around himself.
"But with that fear comes something far more meaningful. Strength, and the knowledge that you are not alone. Against your own fear, you were strong enough to survive. You had people willing to fight for you." The intense fervor Harry speaks with resonates in Theo's bones and echoes in his mind.
His father's words are quiet, drowned out by the roar of a Lion.
"When the time comes, and you feel that you may not be alright, that the memory of what happened is too close to the surface, and you're scared to close your eyes at night in fear of what you'll dream, remember that. Remember that you're strong and you survived. Remember that there are people who care about you. People that you can lean on and count on. You’re not alone." Tears that were trapped in her green hazel eyes broke free and ran down Liliya's cheeks before the young girl launched herself into Harry's arms, knocking them both to the ground, and burying her face in his chest.
Although in pain based on his pinched expression and surprised at the girl's sudden movement, Harry easily caught her and held onto her. As Harry held on to Liliya, letting the young girl cry into his chest, he looked over all of Slytherin House.
"Slytherin is no longer alone." The green eyes bore into them all as Magick rose up in the room, wrapping around them, making it impossible to look away from the piercing orbs.
"The scorn, the ridicule, the suspicion, the contempt that Slytherin House faces, there is no longer any room for it. There should never have been a place for it. I won't take part, nor stand idly by if any of you are attacked in any way. I'll fight for you as you all fought for each other today." Emerald green eyes burn fiercely with passion and conviction. The blaze lit within them dwarf the fires burning in the fireplaces that crackle and pop as the flames lick higher, fueled by the Magick rolling off of Harry in waves.
Much like that fateful day last June, Theo saw the truth of Harry’s words shine in his eyes. He knew though that there would be some who would doubt and question the other boy's conviction.
"And what about those who may have family, who may have fathers who are Death Eaters?" He heard his own voice ring out in question.
The others needed to know, needed to hear with their own ears what Theo already knew.
Harry stared at him, and Theo held his gaze.
They both knew that Theo's father was a Death Eater. They both knew that his father was there when the Dark Lord returned. They both knew that the other did as well.
A look of understanding crossed the Gryffindor boy's face.
Theo wasn't the only one who had a parent that followed the Dark Lord. There were many others within Slytherin who had parents who were followers.
They needed to know that they wouldn't be judged for their parents' sins.
Harry stared at him before whispering in Liliya's ear. When she nodded her head, he picked them both up off the floor and placed her gently back in the chair. Then he made his way over to Theo, stopping directly in front of him.
"Are you your father, Nott?" Harry asked, eyes boring into his, and Theo couldn't help the surge of anger and bitterness that rose up within him.
He knew that Potter wasn't comparing him to his father. Theo knew the other boy was trying to make the point they both understood was necessary for others to hear.
It didn't make it any easier to swallow.
Swallow it he must.
Next to him Blaise bristled, taking a step closer to Harry, the only one truly aware of what the relationship between him and his father was like. Theo holds out his arm, stopping him. Blaise stops but Theo knows he isn't happy about it.
Theo gives him a quick look and sees the Italian boy relax slightly.
"No." Theo's voice rang out clearly, definitively.
"Then why would I condemn you for your father's sins?" Even though he knows that the exchange will benefit the others, Theo can still see Harry's honesty and sincerity in his question.
Harry took a step back, his eyes sweeping over them all.
"War is coming. It is an inevitable fact. By reading these books, we might be able to limit the damage and stop the war with the Muggles. However, a war with Voldemort will still take place. He will want nothing less.” They all flinch at hearing the Dark Lord’s name being used.
Yet, Harry stands there unflinchingly, a look in his eyes that says more, that speaks louder than words ever could.
“I have seen him with my own eyes. He will never stop. Not until all bow before him.”
Theo does not wish to bow.
"I don't expect you to fight for Dumbledore. He's done nothing to help heal the relationships between Slytherin and the other Houses, allowing the rift to grow and fester to unprecedented levels. Looking back, it's not difficult to recall moments where he alienated you all further." Memories of his first year come to mind unbidden. They were robbed of the House Cup at the last second in front of the whole school.
It may seem like a small thing, but to an eleven-year-old who had endured the accusations and disdain year-round, it was a further slap in the face that showed they were alone.
"I can only imagine how his actions, or inactions, would have pushed past generations to Voldemort." He sees a faraway look in the verdant eyes.
It’s easy to guess what he is thinking.
They all heard the whispers, the stories, from their parents who had served the Dark Lord before.
Regulus Black.
"And as I have recently been made aware of, Slytherin is the House that follows traditions and the Olde Ways. That the majority, if not all are Dark because of that, and Dark doesn't mean evil. Following the person who played an active part in banning many of those practices and made Dark and Slytherin synonymous with bad and evil, wouldn't sit right with me either.” Theo couldn’t help but look at all the others as Harry confirmed his earlier words.
"I won't ask you to fight Voldemort. To ask that, that means some of you will be fighting your family. That's something I, and no one else have the right to ever request of any of you. You can remain neutral for as long as possible. Although we know that neutrality will not last. Everyone will eventually need to pick a side. In the future we read about, the war becomes too big for that, and consumes us all whether we are part of it or not.
"Which side you fall on will be your decision, your choice. Before you make that decision, I want you to remember this." Harry looked around and when he found who he was looking for he started walking, stopping in front of Cassius Warrington.
"Last year you put your name into the Goblet of Fire, and Cedric's name being called is probably the only reason you're still alive." Harry didn’t bother to mince his words as he stared at Warrington. Seeing nothing but truth held in the lone Gryffindor’s eyes, Cassius paled and staggered backwards. Graham Montague caught him and helped him to an empty seat.
Allowing the older boy a moment to come to terms with the reality, the fate, that could have been his under different circumstances, Harry turned to look at all of them.
"Voldemort ordered Cedric's death for nothing more than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Voldemort had him killed without knowing or caring who Cedric was, what his beliefs were, if he was Pureblood or not. He does not care about Magick, he does not care about being Pureblood. He cares only about himself and what he wants. I watched as Voldemort summoned the Death Eaters, called them family. Only for them to grovel, kiss the hems of his robes, and be held under the Cruciatus Curse at his wand. He reveled in their pain as the others did nothing to stop it. Unless proven useful, his followers are barely treated better than his enemies, and there will be no one there that will defend you. Not if they're true believers in his cause. That is what will await you if you decide to join Voldemort.” The Slytherin Common Room was deathly quiet at the end of Harry’s speech. The words painted a dark, miserable picture of what would befall many of them if they allowed it. If they didn't do anything about it.
The quiet was broken by a soft choked voice.
"So, you're saying we should fight for Dumbledore like you. That fighting for Dumbledore is the lesser of the two evils for us." Daphne said staring at Harry, a conflicted look on her face.
"I'm not fighting for Dumbledore. I'm fighting for the parents I don't remember. For the father I just found out I have. I'm fighting for the friends that made me family, and the family that made me theirs. I fight for the people I love. I will fight for them with every breath in my body, every fiber of my being. Fighting for them is easy because as much as I fear something happening to them because of it, I know they'll fight for me.” There’s not one person who isn’t hanging on to his every word, who isn’t affected by the passion and Magick behind it.
"And if you decide to fight against Voldemort, I swear I will fight just as hard for you as I do for them. Even if they thought I was crazy for trusting and opening up to Slytherins, I know they'll follow me in that fight because no matter what, we have each other’s backs. We protect each other no matter the cost." They’ve grown so used to protecting themselves.
Maybe now they're no longer alone in that fight.
"So don't fight for Dumbledore, fight for yourselves, for your friends, for those you love, for Magick. Fight for a better life, for what's right. You don't have to put your trust, your faith, your hopes in either Voldemort or Dumbledore. Put them in yourself, in those that matter most to you, in a better future.” Slytherin is the House of Fraternity. They understand this concept better than anyone.
"You're not Voldemort’s servant, and you're not Dumbledore's pawn. So don't allow yourself to be." Green eyes crackle as they stare at each of them, urging, hoping for them to listen.
"As much as it surprises me to say this, I believe you all should heed Mr. Potter's words." Theo barely refrained from jumping in shock as Professor Snape made his presence known. Stepping out of the shadows and into the flickering, crackling lights of the fireplace, their Head of House stood. Half his face was shrouded in shadows created by his profile, while the other half was illuminated by the warm glow of the fire.
Their Head of House was one of the few, the only person, who immediately commanded and gained the respect of those sorted into Slytherin House. He, more than anyone, present and past, protected and guided the Slytherins under his care. It was Professor Snape who started and enforced most of the rules Slytherin House follows today. Rules that allowed them all to remain safe, protected, supported, and to keep the upper hand when seventy five percent of the school was against you the moment the Sorting Hat placed you. When, from that moment you were a scared yet excited eleven-year-old, you became the subject of hate and disdain for wearing green and silver.
Professor Snape was respected by all within his House. The Mark bore on his left arm, and whether he was loyal to it or not, played no part in the regard they held him in. For whether or not he was a loyal follower of the Dark Lord, all who were Sorted into Slytherin knew his first priority was the children in his care.
For many, Professor Snape was the one adult in their life who assumed the responsibility of protecting them from harm, willingly and graciously. Always, he remained a barrier between them and those that wished to disparage and knock them down. Even when they were in the wrong, when they took it too far, he'd be on their side. Taking the hate and disdain thrown at him by all for doing so without hesitation. Of course, he would still discipline them, though it was done in the privacy of Slytherin, for outside they always had to remain a united front.
Even their parents, some of whom are loyal and devoted followers of the Dark Lord, parents that would pressure their children forcefully, brutally to follow in their footsteps, knew not to try to get the man to continue their rhetoric within school. They are made aware early on that he will not take part in recruiting those under his care to the Dark Lord’s cause. That his main responsibility is for the care, wellbeing, and education of the children in his care. Whether or not they follow the Dark Lord is their choice to make on their own.
Yes, for the vast majority of Slytherins, Professor Snape was someone they respected and admired greatly.
Seeing that the man now stood in the Slytherin Common Room, while they blatantly broke one of his rules about not allowing those from other Houses into Slytherin made Theo, and many others cringe internally.
Especially as that person was Harry Potter and all knew the hostile history between the two. However, today the usual mutual animosity was nowhere to be found. In its place was something cordial, something...more.
To say that today has been an odd day would be an understatement.
"Many of you sit and stand here tonight with the same dilemma that I and countless others before you have crossed. The feeling that you must choose between the Dark Lord, someone who brands his followers. Someone who you may not even believe in nor want to follow but feel that you have no choice. No choice, for the supposedly other option is that of someone and a side that openly regards you with suspicion and tries to tear down everything you believe in." The smooth baritone of the Professor’s utterance succinctly voices the crossroads many of them are at.
"These readings will reveal much about the two options that you believe you must pick from. However, I want you all to keep this in mind when deciding. Many of those who have fought for the Dark Lord and Dumbledore have either been killed or thrown into Azkaban." Theo sees that Professor Snape’s words don't only affect them but Harry as well. He sees the way the Gryffindor boy balls his fist as every muscle in his body tenses.
Of course, those words would hit Harry harder than most, knowing the truth of them more personally and deeply than any one person should. Both his birth parents were killed by Voldemort, while the father he just learned he had spent twelve years unjustly imprisoned in Azkaban. All of his parents fought for Dumbledore.
It wasn't only supporters of the Dark Lord who died or were sent to prison. Those on the supposed Light side endured the same.
"Do not let that be your fate." Somehow their Head of House manages to stare into all their eyes at once
"You are Slytherins. You are resourceful, clever, cunning, and determined. Do not forget your self-preservation and fight for a side who will not fight for you. Do not fight for a side that would compromise who you are, your values, your morals, your traditionalism." Black eyes, burning in the firelight and intensity, brand the words into each of them, as their gaze swept across the room.
"Find another option, another path to follow." If Theo had not been intently focused on his Head of House, he would have missed the way the Professor’s dark eyes quickly glanced at Harry, resting on his person for barely a split second.
"With that being said, Mr. Potter..." Amusingly, Theo watched as Harry became sheepish and nervous as the Potion Master addressed him.
"IswearIdidn'tsneakinhere, Iknocked. Nicely." Harry said far too quickly. Next to him Blaise's shoulders started shaking in silent laughter, and looking around, Theo could see he wasn't the only one amused by Harry's reaction.
Surprisingly, even Professor Snape’s lip twitched up in mirth.
"Be that as it may, you did sneak out and away from your family's quarters. Now you have an uncle who is beside himself with worry, along with two panicked mutts howling something about a Map, which I was led to believe has been gone since the ending of your third year." They all watched as Harry’s look of guilt at hearing about his uncle's worry quickly morphed into a cringed sheepishness when he heard about the map.
"You see...I...well that is to say..." Harry quickly snapped his mouth shut as Professor Snape held up a hand.
"It has been a long day, it's late, and I am tired. Your father can deal with the rest. Come, I will take you back and make sure you do not make any detours." Theo watched as Professor Snape made his way to the entrance and held it open for Harry to follow him.
All of Slytherin House watched as Harry Potter left alongside their Head of House. The stone wall closing behind them. They sat in silence, processing all that was said in the Common Room tonight.
"It’s true, isn’t it? Harry Potter." Liliya's soft voice pierced the reflective quiet.
“He really is our other option. The path we follow." Her voice is more confident, more certain of itself.
"Yes. He is." Theo agrees.
"Wait...didn't Potter say that he saw we all were up? How?" Montague's voice cut in.
How, indeed.