Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Theo
Dear Hadrian,
School's been exhausting, actually, thanks for asking. The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher hasn't been doing her job. She was appointed by the Ministry, and I personally think that she's mainly here to supervise the Headmaster.
Anyway, I'm glad your friends are being good to you. They sound like your kind of people, if I'm being honest. I wonder how shaken up Hogwarts would've been if your whole crowd had shown up for the Tournament to support you. It would've been much different, that's for sure.
I'm looking forward to seeing you over Break. It's been so long that I'm not sure I remember the exact color of your eyes, and I'm really happy you're making the time for me to see you. It's going to be the highlight of my break, Hadrian, I hope you know that.
Warmly,
Theo
Hadrian folded the letter back up and tucked it away, smiling softly. Theo's letters were enough for a while, but Hadrian couldn't wait to see him.
Per Theo's request, Hadrian wasn't going to Nott Manor. There was a tiny smudge of relief at that, but it had nothing to do with Theo. His father, Mr. Nott, was a Death Eater, and Hadrian didn't want to have to run away or duel his best friend's father while on break. Not his idea of a good time.
Shutting his drawer full of letters from his loved ones, Hadrian left his room and swiftly made his way down to the entryway to wait. By the time Theo arrived, Hadrian was pacing the entryway impatiently.
"Theo!" Hadrian beamed as the fire swelled to reveal him. As soon as Theo had stepped fully through, Hadrian caught him in a hug and sighed.
"Hey, Hadrian." Theo's voice was soft, but his grip on Hadrian's shirt was tight.
"I missed you." Hadrian laughed, pulling back to look at him. "I like what you've done with your hair." Theo's soft curls were longer, and he'd let them grow to fall over his eyes and hang down to cover his ears. Hadrian couldn't help reaching out to tuck one curl behind Theo's ear with a small smile.
Looking at Theo in person, seeing his brown hair and silver eyes that were so bright, Hadrian couldn't imagine why he'd ever compared Trollman to Theo at all.
"You're taller." Theo accused, looking up at him. His face was pink from Hadrian playing with his hair, and Hadrian laughed.
"That tends to happen, not that you would know." He teased, "I'm so glad you could make it."
"I would have skipped literally anything to see you." Theo raised an eyebrow, "You thought you could get out of this?"
"Wouldn't dream of it." Hadrian smiled, "Would you like to see the Manor?"
"I'd love to." Theo enthused, and Hadrian was happy to show him.
It was no surprise that Theo liked Hadrian's gardens the minute he saw them. He seemed to like running his fingertips along the plants and leaves he could easily reach as they walked.
"How long have you been taking care of it yourself?" Theo asked, smiling at the plants.
"Since I was eleven." Hadrian admitted, "When I first left my relatives, I wasn't used to having so much free time. My elves had been treated badly for a long time, and we would tend the garden together at first. When I came back from my first year for the summer, I asked my elves to let me tend to myself when I'm here; they care for it all in my place when I'm away."
"You care a lot about them." Theo realized. "The elves."
"They were my only family until Draco came along." Hadrian smiled, "They've been good to me, and I've made sure to be good to them as well."
"Most people couldn't care less about their elves." Theo hummed, "I admit, my father's one of them."
"Mine too." Hadrian sighed, "One of my other properties has an elf I hadn't met until recently, and my father had been mistreating him."
"I didn't know you've been in contact with him." Theo blinked, "Your father, I mean."
"He sort of… showed up." Hadrian ran a hand down his face, and Theo tilted his head in confusion. "Oh, I forgot you didn't know. He sent me a letter while I was at Hogwarts, and I was sure he didn't remember me. This summer he showed up at the Manor and we sort of… got to know each other, I guess?"
"Is that a good thing?" Theo asked, watching him closely.
"I suppose it could be." Hadrian shrugged, "But really the only conversations I've had with him were about… my brother."
"Ah, Draco told me you had a brother." Theo nodded. When Hadrian didn't respond, Theo reached out to brush his fingertips against the back of Hadrian's hand. "Your mother's side, right?"
"Mhm." Hadrian smiled, "Sometimes I think about him, but recently it's been more often. I went several years without thinking about him, just focusing on school and my new life y'know?"
"That's not a bad thing." Theo told him, "When my mother died I didn't mourn her at all. I was too young, I think. It wasn't until I was about twelve that I started thinking about her." Hadrian just shook his head and fell silent.
It wasn't like that for Hadrian. He wasn't mourning, he was hiding. He'd shoved his previous self in a box and buried it as deep down as he possibly could, and it was only now that the box was being slowly but surely dug up. That was definitely a bad thing.
"Do you remember her?" Hadrian asked finally, looking at Theo. "You've never mentioned your mother before."
"She died when I was three. She was poisoned." Theo said quietly, "I don't have any proof, but I think my father did it."
"Why's that?"
"The war had only ended a couple years prior, and he went into hiding so the Ministry wouldn't prosecute him." Theo shrugged, "They accused him of being a Death Eater, and he chose to exile himself instead of having a trial and risking Azkaban."
Hadrian didn't know what to say to that, so he didn't say anything. He reached out and took Theo's hand, squeezing it gently.
"I don't remember much, but I know my mother spent a lot of time fighting with my father. She thought that he should go on trial, and that if he was innocent then they'd see that." Theo sighed heavily, "Of course, my father never even considered it. When she died… I don't remember seeing him mourn or even pretend to mourn. He just went on with life and started teaching me magic full time."
"Was he a good teacher?" Hadrian asked, hoping his guess was wrong.
"He was a teacher." Theo replied, "I learned a whole lot from him. But good? No. He isn't a very good father either."
"I'm sorry." Hadrian whispered, but Theo shook his head.
"Don't be, it's better now. He stopped really bothering me after I started at Hogwarts."
"And now?"
"Now…" A frown made its way across Theo's face, and Hadrian felt dread building in his chest. "He's been different lately. I'm not sure what it is, but he's been so withdrawn. Not that that's a bad thing, but still. When he does make time for me it always seems like he's trying to tell me something but hasn't the courage to say it aloud." Hadrian suddenly felt like he'd been dunked in ice water.
Theo's father was a Death Eater, that much Hadrian already knew. But would he force Theo down that path as well? If he brought Theo before Voldemort and branded him with the Dark Mark… Hadrian would kill the man for it.
"Anyway, what's Beauxbaton like?" Theo asked, very obviously changing the subject as Hadrian remained silent for too long. "You talk about it really fondly."
"It's beautiful, Theo, you can't even imagine." Hadrian sighed, shaking off his dread and anxiety for Theo. "I know you'd love it there. Sometimes I wish you'd just leave Hogwarts and come be with me at Beauxbaton, you know?" He looked down at Theo and smiled. "Reading without you isn't the same anymore."
"Are you going to make me read up on a broom again?" Theo teased, even as his face lit up with a rosy blush. "Last time you said that was practically a bribe."
"No, just a simple truth. I really like having you around, Theo." Hadrian watched that expression he still couldn't fully place cross Theo's face, and he once again wished he could understand it.
"How're you and Fred?" Theo asked suddenly. Hadrian blinked in surprise.
"Really excellent." Hadrian said, and he couldn't help a fond laugh he let out. "I saw him yesterday, actually. He's doing well. I met his family too, his brothers are really cool."
"That's great, I'm happy for you." Theo smiled, but Hadrian could tell he was… sad for some reason.
"What's wrong?" Hadrian squeezed Theo's hand, the one he was still holding from before, and frowned at the sigh Theo let out.
"Nothing." Theo looked up and smiled at him warmly, "Tell him I said hi next time you see him, okay?"
"Sure, Theo." Hadrian smiled back at him, "Want to see the library?"
"Yeah, let's go." Theo nodded, and Hadrian happily led him back into the house to show him the books.
Because it was Hadrian and Theo, they ended up curled up on a couch reading their books, sitting in silence and being content to just exist in the same place.
Hadrian hadn't been lying when he said reading would never be the same without Theo. Hadrian loved reading, and he loved books, but having Theo sit and read with him somehow made the experience better. Whenever he got distracted from his book and suddenly realized the world still existed outside his literature, he could look at Theo's peaceful expression and listen to his soft breathing to immerse himself back in his book without a problem.
It was nice, and he missed it while Theo was away from him.
When hours had passed and it was time for Theo to leave, Hadrian reluctantly escorted him to the Floo.
"I know we didn't do anything interesting, but I'm really glad you came." Hadrian smiled, and he was relieved to see Theo mirror it.
"Sometimes doing nothing is more than enough." Theo's eyes were bright, and Hadrian thought they looked like molten starlight in the entryway lighting. "I feel that way with you all the time."
"Me too." Hadrian pulled Theo into a hug and placed his chin on Theo's curls, smiling at the way Theo bunched his hands in Hadrian's shirt. "Send me letters, alright? I want to see you for Easter Break."
"Alright." Theo pulled back with a bright smile, "I can't wait."
Hadrian expected Theo to turn away, towards the Floo, but he didn't. Instead, Theo reached up and grabbed a strand of Hadrian's dark hair. He twirled it between his fingers with a small smile before dropping his hand with a sigh.
"Bye Hadrian." Theo smiled, and then he stepped into the Floo and disappeared.
"Bye, Theo." Hadrian whispered after him.