Chapter 5
Sometimes, Theo wonders if it would have been better if his father didn’t give a damn about him at all. At least that way, Theo might have been offered the luxury of being able to fade into obscurity. Forgotten to the endless scope of time, not even a notable name on a future obituary. Instead, Father decided to get it into his head that he would make a proper heir out of Theo. This comes with its ups and downs. Mostly downs.
Of course, Theo very much enjoyed the advanced lessons he was given from the moment he could read and write. By age eight, he knew more about the concealed art of magical theory than most of the average wixen quadruple his age. The concepts Father discussed with him were things of great complexity; Things that were hardly ever spoken of in ordinary settings. Theo liked that his father took his opinions seriously rather than dismissing them as childish.
But more often than not, this itself ended up being the root of all of Theo’s problems. It was not that Father chose to treat Theo as a person of greater maturity; It was that he was simply incapable of seeing Theo as a child. His expectations were always too great, his punishments for Theo failing to meet them were far too harsh, and by the time Theo reached Hogwarts age, he was spending every waking moment being terrified for his very life.
And still, he enjoyed those rare moments where Father would consider one of Theo’s thoughts and commend him for it.
For years and years, the main topic of their discussions had revolved around the matter of Harry Potter. It was no secret among his father’s old circles that greatness was expected of the boy who had defeated the Dark Lord when he was only a baby. Harry Potter would either grow to be a very powerful ally or a dangerously lethal enemy. Reckless men ambitious for glory, like Lucius Malfoy and Phineas Parkinson, went so far as to send out investigators to locate Potter’s whereabouts, so that they might raise the boy as their own and obtain all the power that would come with it. Others, the especially paranoid ones of the older generation, sought to eliminate Potter before he could become an unstoppable threat. It did not matter to these wixen where Potter’s loyalties would eventually lie. They were tired of war, and were not eager for a savior of the Light to put them in their rightful places, nor for a new Dark Lord to rise from the ashes and take hold of their leashes once more. Still others thought the whole idea of Potter being a magically-charged superweapon ludicrous. He was a child, for Salazar’s sake!
Theo’s father took on a mix of the first two approaches, for he was a sensible man. For now, discussions of Harry Potter would be limited to the research of the magical anomaly that took place on that fateful night all those years ago. But the matter of whether the Notts would perceive Potter as an enemy or a potential replacement for the Dark Lord would have to depend on who, exactly, Harry Potter would reveal himself to be once he was back in the public eye. It would be up to Theo to observe the boy’s every action and report back on them for his Father’s consideration.
Much of the speculation among the Death Eaters died down once James Potter woke from the magically induced coma that the Dark Lord had sent him into. Growing up under the blood-traitor’s parentage would surely cement Potter’s status as a hero for the Light. Lucius Malfoy’s eagerness to become a mentor figure for the boy vanished overnight, turning into outright fury when word of James Potter’s plans to retake the corrupted Ministry from his grasp got around.
Theo’s father, too, seemed to agree that James Potter’s influence could only mean that Harry Potter would turn into the stereotypical Gryffindor hero, advocating for blood equality and the abolishing of all Dark Magic and the usual drivel. Father’s constant reminders to Theo of what to look for in Harry Potter faded away over the months. Though Theo’s own fascination with the child savior remained, he ended up turning most of his energy to caring for his mother, who had recently suffered a stroke, but was thankfully recovering well.
But then the cry of “SLYTHERIN!” is echoing out through the stunned silence of the Great Hall. And Theo knows that all the plans Father spoke to him about have been slammed right back onto the table. Harry Potter might just end up having the potential to become a Dark Lord worth following, after all.
Potter is crying. Not open tears, but terribly concealed sniffling. Draco mocks him for it during the entire time it takes for the Prefects to lead them from the Great Hall to the Slytherin dormitories. Vincent and Gregory laugh right along. Daphne ignores all of them. Pansy, who is actually much smarter than she’s given credit for, wears a calculated expression on her face as she studies Potter, much in the way that Theo is doing.
The Prefects explain to them the rules of Slytherin House before leaving them to their own devices. Among the first-years, it’s easy to tell apart which of them come from families with connections, and which of them don’t. Those who grew up in the same highborn pureblood circles have already grouped themselves off: Draco, Vinceent, and Gregory in one corner, Pansy, Daphne, and Millicent in another, while a half-blood and a working-class pureblood witch stand awkwardly off to the side.
There are a few notable exceptions to this rule, however. Theo himself is well acquainted with all six of the aforementioned affluent purebloods, but they know him well enough to leave him alone for now. Then of course, there is Harry Potter, who is as well-connected and influential as they come, but clearly such connections do not extend to the confines of Slytherin House, considering how no one has approached him yet. Though that might have more to do with his crying than anything else.
And lastly, there is a boy Theo is unfamiliar with- Whom everyone seems to be unfamiliar with, actually, but unlike as with the case of the half-blood and the second-rate pureblood witch, this boy is radiating confidence. There is an effortless ease to his steps as he marches right on over to Theo and plops down next to him.
“Blaise Zabini,” the boy introduces himself.
Theo stares at him. Zabini shrugs and walks away, completely unfazed.
Theo’s eyes are back on Potter again. Potter’s tears have dried up, and now he’s just gazing emptily at the floor. Pansy seems to be the next person, after Theo, to notice this. The witch skips over to Potter’s wallowing form and pokes him between the ribs. Startling violently, Potter scrambles away from her. Pansy smiles sweetly at him, then very much bluntly asks, “What are the tears for, Harry Potter?”
This draws in curious looks from the rest of the Slytherins, everyone from First Years to Seventh Years, for there is no doubting that the matter of Slytherin Harry Potter is the only thing on everyone’s minds. They, like Theo, were waiting for a confrontation such as this to happen- For someone to work up the nerve to prod the Boy-Who-Lived into revealing things about himself, namely how the hell he got himself sorted into the House of Salazar. Draco is the only exception, scowling at the way his spot at the center of attention has been snatched right from his grasp.
“It’s just… I thought I would…” Potter’s voice grows fainter and fainter. “I wanted to get into Gryffindor. It’s what my dad expected of me.”
“Oh, who cares?” Draco says loudly. “If you ask me, you should just be grateful you were sorted into the noble House of Serpents rather than the House of brainless idiots.”
No one pays him any mind. From beside Potter, Pansy nods sagely. “I think I understand. Merlin knows my parents would have disowned me if I’d gotten myself into Gryffindor, for example. I suppose it’s just the opposite for you.”
Theo takes back his earlier thoughts about Pansy and her subtle wit. She has just about as much tact as a garden gnome.
“Disown?” Potter croaks out, as though to prove Theo’s point.
“Oh, absolutely,” Pansy pushes forward in earnest. “We’ve all had the talk, haven’t we? We’ll cast you off the family tapestry if you don’t get into Slytherin.”
“Mine said they’d ship me off to live in the Muggle world because pretending you have a Squib daughter is better than having one in Hufflepuff,” Millicent chimes in.
“Mother would have been content with having me in Ravenclaw, but it’s true that she likely wouldn’t have spoken to me for months had I not managed Slytherin,” Daphne nods.
“I don’t want my dad not to speak to me,” Potter sniffles. And then, in what can only be described as a grating wail, “I don’t want to get shipped back to the Muggles!”
He’s weak, Theo decides. Not at all future dark lord material. Clearly a lost cause. Theo ought to just leave right at this moment, send a letter off to Father so that the decade-long question as to what Harry Potter will grow to be can be resolved.
But providing the truth would likely set Father on a path to train Theo to become a hardened soldier, so that he might take up the Mark upon the Dark Lord’s inevitable return. Theo doesn’t want to do that. He’d much rather manipulate his way into becoming a trusted confidant of a potential dark lord. It is as Father says: Theo is far more gifted in mind games than he is in the magical arts. It’s a comment that has been used both as a compliment and an insult on multiple accounts.
What if Theo were to sort of nudge Potter into the direction of becoming a proper dark lord, then? What if he were to earn the trust of, or even befriend, Potter along the way? Then he wouldn’t have to prove himself to anyone and suffer the consequences for failing at it. And that isn’t even to mention the power and freedom that would come of being a member of a dark lord’s inner circle rather than being just a disposable pawn of one.
It’s decided, then. If Harry Potter won’t become a dark lord in his own right, then Theo will simply have to guide him into becoming one.