The Mark of Theodore Nott Sr
My marriage was arranged towards the end of the First War, when nobody knew it was “towards the end.” My wife was many years my junior, and I did not deserve her. I scarcely knew her as Rupilia Yaxley before she became Rupilia Nott.
I did fall in love with her on the day of our wedding. Her wonderful sense of humour and quirkiness overcame me.
“How pure-blooded this whole thing is,” she whispered to me in her white gown. “They are only marrying me off because of the war.”
Thank the gods she did not know the parts I had played and did play in that war.
“Let’s not become nuisances to each other, now, Mr Nott,” my new wife had giggled.
“I wouldn’t dream of it, Mrs Nott.”
And just so I wouldn’t become a nuisance, I made love to her in absolute darkness once we were comfortable with each other, to keep her from seeing the Mark upon my arm. I regret that my behaviour left her wondering if I wanted her.
I wanted her more than anything. I wanted to start a normal life and a normal family. I told her about my normal job, and how I “worked overtime” to explain my lateness. I wanted to forget how the Knights of Walpurgis became something worse. When the Dark Lord — a.k.a. Tom from school — perished, I thought I was free. The timing was perfect, for our son was born. My Mark faded to a scar, and only then did I tell Rupilia. The version I told her was full of lies.
When our son was just a boy, he watched a Muggle automobile collide with his mother’s body and kill her. And now that my Dark Mark is burning again… well, I am ready.