"I loved her and in the end, that was all that mattered. When the time came to leave the great hall with the rest of my house, she remained seated. I pleaded her to come with me away from the danger, but she refused. She gave me the saddest, sweetest smile I had ever seen and touched my cheek, but refused all the same.
"I had known where her loyalties had really been for months, but I still hoped that I could take her away from the fight. Once I knew that she wouldn't be swayed, I had no choice - I sat down next to her and held her hand. If she was facing death, I'd be there next to her. I'd take anything thrown for her. We were the only two Slytherins who stayed.
"But I've gotten ahead of myself - it wasn't a spur of the moment decision. Slytherins, true Slytherins, don't make those kind of decisions. We like to think, take our time, and then do what was best for us. She - she wasn't that kind of decision. In fact, there was no decision, it just was. I never decided to see her - she was just there, everywhere. She drew my attention that horrible year the way no one else ever had. I was curious about her, about what made her so different to me when I had existed in a world of grey for so long; she was like a splash of bright yellow - impossible for me to ignore or miss.
"So I watched and realized that she wasn't like the other Slytherins. She didn't strut around that year, confident that the Carrows and Snape would let her off with whatever misdeed she commited. She had never stood out in Slytherin - neither of us had - but she faded even further. I noted that it was intentional.
"It was October when it happen. She had accidently tripped when crossing the common room, and fell straight into none other than Malfoy. Malfoy had made advances, sure that she had done so intentionally, but she deflected it the way any Slytherin could while gathering her stuff in a casual mannner, hiding the panic I just knew she was feeling. She had just attracted the notice of the self-proclaimed and uncontested Prince of Slytherin.
"'Stop,' I heard myself say from my spot not to far away. My voice was quiet but firm. Malfoy looked over in surprise, and she glanced up for the briefest second before gathering the rest of her things and putting them neatly in her bag.
"'What's she to you?' Malfoy had asked, sneering at me. I arched one eyebrow, knowing that he hated the gesture because it was something he could never quite accomplish as well as I did.
"'Nothing that you need to know about,' I said coolly, going back to my Transfiguration essay. Malfoy eyed me suspiciously while she came and took a seat next to me. It played out perfectly - my table had been in her path before and so now it appeared as though she had been heading my way the whole time. She asked if I was still helping her with her Charms essay - she was a year below me - and I simply nodded and helped her like I had planned to the whole time.
"Malfoy watched us for a bit, but eventually went back to flirting with Parkinson. After that incident, we were near each other at all times. We rarely spoke about anything other than school work, but that wasn't unusual as neither of us had been very talkative before. I may not have really seen her before, but I had marked every talker in Slytherin so I would know who I needed when the time came. If she wasn't on that list, she wasn't much of a talker.
"After a few weeks of feeling each other out, she asked me point blank what side of the war I was on. I was a little surprised, but figured it was a calculated risk. You made those sometimes. I told her frankly that while I had no love for Muggles, they were still human. She was relieved because her mother was a Muggle and to be honest, she would fight with Potter if it came to it. This, of course, was said in the secure area of my dorm. We retreated there whenever I didn't want to deal with the looks Malfoy still gave me.
"When I had first been sorted, I was the odd man out. Malfoy and Zabini paired up for a dorm, Goyle and Crabbe for the other, and I had one all to myself.
"I told no one of her revelation - it was her business, not mine. Besides, she was my first true friend. We were honest with each other - we may have neglected to answer certain things until we were more comfortable with each other - but we told each other that. We never played Slytherin politics with each other. It was an unspoken rule of our decidedly odd relationship.
"For me, it was fairly simple falling for her. She was pretty in her quiet way - a brown face with the darkest, shiniest black hair I had ever seen, and large, almond shaped, deep brown eyes framed by long lashes. Her face was round with a child-like nose, and pronounced cheekbones that added a slightly odd but nice angle to her face. Her lips were a dark, reddish-brown and full. She was a full head and almost shoulders shorter than me, and had a lean but sturdy build.
"Talking to her is what really caught me though. She was a thinker - she had a sad, slightly angry expression whenever she thought - and when she did decided to say something, it was simple. She always said what she meant and meant what she said. She didn't do the half-truths and twisted truths that everyone else did in Slytherin, she just said nothing instead. She was also startlingly perceptive. She noticed what I missed, even when it came to me.
"I loved listening to her talk. It didn't matter if it was about the weather or life's mysteries or her thoughts on certain colors or books or music. Her voice was quiet, nothing out of the oridnary for her, but she was sure of her words and it showed. Her tone was a little deeper than Parkinsons, who lived as though she was meant to be a high soprano at all times, and it had a slightly musical quality that Parkinson aimed and failed to achieve.
"Part of me wondered in the beginning about how she had ended up in Slytherin, but by the end of Decemeber, it didn't matter anymore. I was just glad she was there. I knew it wouldn't have happened with anyone in any other house.
"Contary to popluar belief, we weren't actually dating and we had never done anything. However, when I finally kissed her in January, neither of were exactly surprised and it wasn't awkward afterward. We didn't question each other's feelings - we just knew it was and that was all we needed. And we never went further than that either. She had been raised in a traditional household in India until she was ten, when her parents were sent as diplomats to England. Her father was a wealthy pureblood from a very old line in India and her mother a brilliant scientist that used to work for the government. And even after the move, they maintained their values and I respected that.
"Even though I did want to push, I forced myself not to, and I was more content with that than any of the guys I had ever heard speak about the subject. She was happy, and I was happy that she was happy. It was all that mattered, especially in a time when there wasn't room for petty arguments. We kept all of that in the my dorm room where I knew, thanks to a paranoia installed in me from infancy, we were safe from any and all spying eyes. Outside of the room, we kept a careful neutrailty and distance between us. We both feared that the other would be used against us and agreed silently to never show what we really felt outside of the dorm. We spent most of our time there anyway - she had all but moved in.
"Then that terrible night came. I wasn't surprised, but I hadn't been expecting it. We sat near each other, both still in our school robes as we had yet to decided it was time to sleep. The Slytherins left, and I stayed. I saw the surprised looks on nearly everyone's faces when they realized who I was. She kept a tight hold on my hand the entire time that McGonagall was sorting everyone out.
"I was scared. Scared of what was coming, scared of the fact that I might die that night, scared of what would happen if I lived and we lost, and I was unbelievably terrified that something would happen to her. I knew I wouldn't be able to bear it - she had become my everything.
"I fought harder than I believed I could that night. I fought because of her and for her, because she believed so passionately in Potter's cause that I could feel it catching my heart and soul on fire and willing it to believe with her. I never left her side. I watched her back and she watched mine. We worked together seemlessly and I felt confident for the first time that we could both make it out of this alive.
"Near the end, after Potter's supposed death, I turned and found that she wasn't there. I couldn't see her anywhere. The panic rose up like a tidal wave and threaten to overwhelm me. The only thing keeping me afloat was the thought that she could be alive somewhere, just separated from me. I kept fighting, looking for her and calling out her name. After what felt like ages later, I spotted her. She wasn't too far, just fifteen, twenty feet away.
"Relief fell over me like a brick wall and I slowly but surely dueled my way over to her. I was eight feet away when I saw it - a deadly curse headed straight for her back and there was no way she could see or react in time if she did. They lie when they say it happens in slow motion - it's more like my brain sped up to keep up with the events that were unfolding. I threw up the strongest shield I could while pushing past my own opponent. I placed myself between her and the shield. She spun around, having just defeated her opponent, and I turned when I saw that my shield had held firm.
"'Theodore!' she cried in relief. 'I thought - I feared - Theodore!' she cried out again, this time in fear as I felt something strike my back with an earth shattering pain. I fell forward, into her arms, pulling us to the ground. 'Oh Gods, Theo!' she said, her brown eyes swimming with tears as my vision faded.
"That was the last thing I saw and felt for what seemed like an eternity. It was all black and then, out of nowhere, I started hearing things. Sensation also slowly came back.
"'Theodore,' I heard her say, her voice choked with tears. 'Come on Theo, wake up!' I tried to, but my eyes were too heavy for me to open. I heard a few more indistinct words and then I faded away again, my heartbeat heavy in my ears and slowing to what seemed like a dangerous rate. It was strange and a little alarming, but I felt leaden and couldn't find it in myself to work up the proper amount of fear the situation should have inspired. This happpen several times before I could finally push open my eyes. I glanced around, noting that I was clearly in a hospital wing at St. Mungo's. She lay there, with her head on her arms, alseep. Her black hair was tangled and pulled back in a messy bun.
"'Hey,' I said hoarsly. She stirred. I tried again. 'I'm awake - why aren't you? Where's the justice?' It was barely intelligible, but it broke through her sleepy state. She popped straight up, her brown eyes wide as she stared into mine. Her face was paler and drawn, dark circles beneath her eyes.
"'You're awake,' she said in a near whisper. 'You're awake - oh Gods. He's awake!' she called out louder. A healer rushed in, looking frazzled.
"'You gave us all quite the scare, young man,' she said. 'Nearly lost you several times!' I didn't pay her much attention, just choosing to focus on moving my hand enough to grasp hers.
"'Sati,' I said in my scratchy voice. Her name meant truthful and never was a person more suited to their name.
"'No talking, young man - you need to save your energy,' the healer said.
"'Marry me?' I said, fighting whatever the healer had spelled into my system to stay awake. Sati's eyes widen and she smiled hugely.
"'Yes - a million times yes!' she said, leaning over me and pressing her lips to my forehead.
"'Great,' I slurred before falling unconcious again. I called for my house-elf, Fani, the next time I awake and ordered her to bring me the family rings. Fani had never looked so pleased. Sati joyfully slipped on the engagement ring that all Nott fiances had worn. It was a silver ring, with sapphires, and a round diamond in the center. The family motto was engraved on the inside - 'Prosapia Primoris' - it meant 'Family First.'
"It took nearly a year, but we got married. We lived, we loved, and we were happy. We ended up having three kids - a set of twins, a boy named Gabriel and a girl named Priti, and another girl a year later named Asha. We made sure that we raised them to respect Muggles and to fight for the causes I nearly lost my life for. Ninety four years after getting married, Sati passed onto the afterlife, where I know I'll join her shortly. We've lived to see our grandchildren and their children, and most importantly, she was happy. And thats what mattered most to me, even to this day," he finished.
"Thank you for talking to me, Mr. Nott," I said, having carefully copied down his words.
"Thank you, young Potter for talking to me," he said, tiredly, taking a sip of water. "Your grandfather, though I never would tell him this myself, was a very good man. He did what was right and he fought even though there were people like me who doubted him almost every step of the way."
"You know, he respects you. He said he saw you break from your house and when you threw yourself between that curse and the late Mrs. Nott. He only mentioned it a couple of times - in fact it was him who suggested I seek you out for my book," I told him honestly. His dark eyes showed a hint of surprise, but he hid it well and quickly. Slytherin indeed.
"Well, Potter always was one for breaking conventialilty," he said with a slight shrug.
"So was Dad - I think it might be the genes." I smiled.
"Albus did surprise everyone by befriending Malfoy's boy, Scorpius, and being sorted into Hufflepuff with the same," he said with a laugh. "However, I saw his marriage to Luna's girl coming a mile off."
"I think everyone did," I said, standing up and shaking his wrinkled hand. "Thank you, once more, for talking to me."
"You're welcome and tell Potter I said hello," he said. I nodded and departed, thinking over his story. It was rarely mentioned that there were two Slytherins who had stayed behind that night. I had never heard their story and felt quite privileged to hear it now, especially from old Theodore Nott himself. I only wished I could have met Sati Nott - she must have been something.
This was written a long time ago but I never posted it. My best friend begged me to drag it up, edit it, and post it. So am I. This one's for you, B. May all your sleepwear be blessed and live to be 120.
- C. Lux