The Broken Road
Disclaimer and A/N: I am not J.K. Rowling, or Rascal Flatts. This was written for Round 5 of the HPFC One Character Competition. It's around 1,180 words long, uses the prompts library and scars, and was inspired by the Bob Marley quote "In this bright future, you can't forget your past."
She found him sitting in the remains of the library. She shook her head, bushy brunette curls and all, a knowing smile playing on her lips. Why wouldn't he be here?
After her, Theodore Nott had been the one to record the most hours in the library in the history of Hogwarts.
"Oi! Nott!" He turned to her, his dark wavy hair falling in his eyes. "Are you going to help rebuild this school or not?"
"Maybe I wanted some peace, Granger. Hadn't considered that, had you?" he shot back.
She was taken aback by the edge in his voice, but she took a step closer anyways. She was shocked, to see the tears drying on his face.
"What's wrong, Theo?" she asked.
He mumbled a reply. She kicked some of the rubble from the area next to him and sat down beside him. She realized how odd they must look together: she in her old jean jacket, purple hoodie, and jeans, he in his Slytherin uniform- the same one he'd worn for the past three days. And yet, she didn't care.
"Seriously, Nott, you can tell me. I won't judge, I won't say a word to anybody else, but you clearly have something that you need to say to someone else."
He raised an eyebrow to her last part of the statement. "Oh really? And how can you tell?"
"Because I've seen the look on so many other faces in the past seven years."
His stormy eyes took on a steely glint. "Swear, then, you will never repeat a word of what I am about to say to anybody else. Not even your precious Potty or Weasel-face. Got it?"
She was startled, but she nodded.
"Well, suppose that I'm to go back to the beginning. Tell me Granger, have you ever known loss, suffering, pain?"
She nodded. He snorted, clearly unconvinced. "Oh really? I'm talking about something beyond stupid little friend drama or losing a precious book, you know."
She nodded, and spoke. "Before I went on my journey with Harry, I obliviated my parents' memories so that they forgot that I ever existed. This was to keep them safe from wizarding scum, from Death Eaters, from-"
"People like my father, you mean?" he cut in, spitting out the word father as if it were some sort of bile.
She stiffened slightly but continued, unfazed. "Well. Yes, I suppose."
He nodded. "Go on."
"That was probably one of the most painful moments of my life. Now tell me, have you ever been bullied- whether it be for your looks, your brains, or blood status?"
He grimaced. "The second one, yes."
She raised her eyebrows. "Oh really? By whom?"
He smirked. "You might know him as Malfoy, the bouncing ferret-boy. Yes, it's true," he continued with a half-amused grin at Hermione's scandalized look, "Ferret-boy was- is actually,- an arse to everyone, not just Gryffindors or Muggle-borns."
She nearly smiled, but stopped as she watched the pained expression return to his face. "I've had all three ways, actually. But some have gone further than others."
"What's that mean?" Nott asked, a puzzled look contorting his features.
She winced as she rolled up her sleeve to reveal the eight childishly-written letters permanently engraved in her arm. One word.
Mudblood.
He was shocked. "Who did that to you?"
"Bellatrix Lestrange." She said as she rolled the sleeve back down.
"Ah. Well, I've got some scars of my own, if you must know." he said.
She looked skeptical and surprised as he stood up, stripped off his robe, sweater, and shirt to reveal the cuts and lashes marring his back. She gasped.
"Who the bloody hell did that to you, Nott?'
"My father, though I prefer to think of him as the man who knocked up my mother and spawned me." he said.
"But why?"
He sat down, tugging his sweater back on over his back.
"To make a long story short, the Nott men are supposed to produce only one son, to be the heir. If, and only if, the heir dies, is he supposed to have a second son. I've got a older brother by four years, Nathaniel, taking over as heir."
Her chocolate eyes widened as he continued. "I was…an accident baby, to say the least. From the day I was born, my father made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with me. The lashes you saw? He hit me with a belt, Muggle-style, until my eighth birthday. That was the night my mother died. That was also the might I felt my first taste of the Cruciatus Curse, and the first night that arse used magic to harm me."
She said nothing as took another breath and continued. "When I got into Hogwarts, I wanted to be a Ravenclaw, but I thought nothing would please my father more than becoming a Slytherin. As it turns out, I couldn't have been any further from the truth. He used pretty strong language in his first letter to me, telling me I was disgracing the family name and I would have been better off a Hufflepuff than in the house of serpents, where only Nott heirs are supposed to go."
She gasped. "Oh, that's awful!"
He shrugged and kept talking. "I didn't care. To escape from the taunts of Nathaniel and his idiot friends, I spent so long in the library that I broke curfew more often than not. After Nathaniel graduated, he worked at the Ministry in the Wizengamot Administration Services and eventually went on to serve the Dark Lord. Meanwhile, I was still at Hogwarts, until this year when my father tried to pull me out so I could serve the Dark Lord as well. I refused. HE wasn't happy and spent three hours using various curses on me. To rebel further, I refused to help the Carrows out, but they didn't do anything to me since my father was a close friend of theirs"
He paused before going on. "Then, during the Final Battle, I stayed to fight the Dark Lord, not join him. I don't know who, but Godric bless whoever did it, somebody killed the bastard I'd spent the last seventeen years referring to as Father. And now, here I am, still healing."
She spoke, after a bit of pause. "I'm sorry."
He snorted. "For what? My father's death? Don't be."
"I've got one question, though." she said.
"What?" he spat out.
"If this future's so damn bright, how's a person to forget their past?"
Nott shrugged. "I'm not too sure either, but I heard it in a Muggle song somewhere: that God blessed the broken road."
At this remark, the sun began to set, and the two teens stood up.
"Well, Granger, nice talking. See you around sometime?" Nott asked.
Hermione brushed the dust off her jeans. "Actually, why don't we walk back together? Safety in numbers, you know."
Theodore smiled as he gathered his last few articles of clothing.
And so it was that serpent and lion returned to the Great Hall together.
Please R&R!