Theo stared at the mask at his side, almost instinctively pulling it on before tossing it aside. There was no use for that now, the Death Eaters would walk unashamed in the light of day for this battle. He emerged from the closet where he had dressed, his brows drawing close together as he tried to steel himself for the fight. This was who he was, he believed in the supremacy of magical blood, and it was time to fight for it. The others, the rebellion, they thought they were all righteous and good, but if they had their way the magical world would not exist within a few generations. They were just unable to see that these battles had to be fought to preserve their way of life. The only problem was the madman that was leading the purebloods. No more of those thoughts, Theo cut himself off abruptly, or the Dark Lord would see his doubts...
...Theo stalked quietly down the hall, but before he made it far he heard the words, "I'm only sparing you for her sake." Theo spun around but couldn't see anyone. And then there was blackness, blackness all around him, which shimmered and suffocated him while he struggled, before it finally faded and left him gasping for breath...
...Theo stood slowly at the end of the longest corridor he had ever seen, watching a battle rage in front of him, and at the very end of the melee was his father, battling two women at once. He was torn, he both loved and resented his father, because his father had always loved the Dark Lord more than his own son or his wife. Theodore Nott Sr. and Tom Riddle were close friends at school, and his father had practically worshipped Tom. Maybe knowing that was what had soured Theo on the idea of having close friends...
...As Theo watched, his father fell, and his indecision turned to panic as he ran towards him. The battle faded around him until there were only bodies littering the floor. And then she was there, hovering over her friend, and all his rage and all his passion boiled inside him. Disgust for himself made him grit his teeth. How could he desire his enemy so much? His father lay there dead, and yet he was thinking of her. His need to be near her overwhelmed him. She was scraped up, and dirty, her school uniform shredded and filthy with blood, undoubtedly some of her own, and some of her enemy's. And none of it mattered. She drew him to her as surely as a flame drew a moth. She looked into his eyes and he fell apart. Why couldn't he have her? What a wonderful world it would be if it was just her and him together...
...He pressed her up against the wall and kissed her, and then she kissed him back, her passion for him evident as she pulled his head closer to hers. Suddenly the metallic smell of blood and the scratchy wool of her sweater faded and was replaced by her light flowery scent and the silky soft feeling of her skin as they lay in his dorm bed. If he was honest he had spent months fantasizing about having her here in his bed, and here she was moving against him, wearing sexy lacy underthings. Everything was perfect until he looked into her eyes as tears fell out of them. "How could you Theo?" she asked softly.
"What?" he asked, but his guilty conscience already knew what she was accusing him of.
"I thought you loved me," she said as tears began slipping out of her eyes.
"I do, of course I do," Theo pled, tears of regret filling his eyes. Padma closed her eyes and shrank away, but he clutched at her and pulled her closer.
"It burns," she cried hoarsely. Theo looked down at her body in horror. It was covered in inky black skulls everywhere he had touched her with his marked arm. They were writhing and hissing.
Theo sat up quickly picking her up, desperate to help her, but her body slackened in his arms.
"Why did you poison my life?" she gasped with her last breath before a trickle of blood spilled out of the side of her mouth.
Theo reached for his wand to cast a healing spell. But it wasn't there on the table near his bed which morphed into the cot in his cell at Azkaban. He had no wand here. He sat with Padma held close, on the filthy sheets of the cot. Dull light filtered in from outside his tiny window and the dank smell of his cell assaulted his senses. He cried out for help, but was met only with the half-crazed jeers of his fellow inmates. He looked down at the girl he loved who glowed in death brighter than all the gray surrounding him.
"No," Theo cried shaking her lifeless body. "No..."
Theo woke with a start. He lay awake freezing as the sweat accumulated during his dream evaporated from his naked chest and torso, horrified that details from Padma's memories had incorporated themselves into his recurring nightmares. Parvati was right, he had done enough to mess up Padma's life. She deserved more than a convict who would forever be shadowed by the crimes he had committed.
After the article was published, Parvati had confronted him here in his house. She had stormed in and looked ready to yell her rebuke at him. Instead she pled with him. "When you ended it the first time, Padma just changed. She was so reckless, it's like she didn't care if she lived or died," Parvati had said softly, never looking away from his eyes. "It's been years, and she finally has a semblance of a life and a little happiness. Please, I'm begging you. I'm begging you for my sister's life. You have no idea how in love with you she was. I know her, she wouldn't be able to survive this again. Just leave her be."
Parvati had left before Theo could find the words to reassure her that he wouldn't be interfering in Padma's life any more. He would leave. As soon as the case was over. He would leave.
He wouldn't be able to sleep now. Even though it was hours before sunrise, he got ready and headed off to work. He may have fucked a lot of things up, but at least he could devote himself to Mrs. Malfoy's case and help bring some peace to his friend's family. He had a crazy idea he was working on, but needed more evidence before he could tell anyone. He apparated to the door of the office and opened it with the key Alicia had given him, ready to lose himself in his investigations for the rest of the day.
Padma and Alicia's heels clicked on the floor as they walked down a cold stone corridor in Azkaban, with Theo following two steps behind, looking as stoic and serious as ever. A few guards stared at her and Theo as they walked by, and Padma could tell the exact moment when recognition dawned on their faces. Needless to say, the newfound attention was making her miserable, but what could she do? She'd made her bed, it was time to sleep in it. At least Gus was away on his trip and she wouldn't have to face him this time. She rather liked the kind middle-aged guard and didn't want him to think badly of her.
They were here to begin preparing Narcissa for the trial. The prosecution would be relentless and public opinion was against her. She would have to face it all and remain confident in her answers as well as her innocence.
Padma practiced questions and answers with Narcissa for some time before Alicia had stepped in to play the prosecution, cross-examining her with particular ferocity trying to force errors out of Narcissa's testimony.
"You're doing remarkably well," Alicia offered after some time, "You haven't altered your story at all."
"It's much easier when you're telling nothing but the simple truth and just hoping for the best," Narcissa smiled sadly.
"Let's take a break Mrs. Malfoy," Padma said gesturing Alicia to a corner where she shared some notes about Narcissa's testimony and possible areas of attack. Theo saw his opportunity to talk to Mrs. Malfoy privately and moved to the seat next to her.
"Yes Theo dear," Narcissa said her gaze subconsciously moving between Theo and Padma.
"I was just wondering Mrs. Malfoy," Theo started. "When Voldemort had the prisoners held at Malfoy Manor, did you ever talk to them?"
Narcissa looked away and sighed deeply before answering. "I didn't talk to them much. He had forbidden it, and we were already in his ill graces. Sometimes their screaming echoed through the upper floors of the manor, I just did my best to ignore them."
"Did you ever hear what Voldemort questioned them about," Theo lowered his voice slightly. "With Ollivander, did you ever hear what he asked?"
Narcissa shivered slightly while thinking back to the time when her immaculately kept precious family home had been turned into a prison both for its inhabitants and those unfortunate enough to be brought there by that terrifying, psychotic, and powerful wizard. His method of questioning had led to screams echoing through the entire house, leaving even bystanders shocked into cowering in the nearest alcove. "I did hear him sometimes, when he'd forget to place a silencing spell. He mostly questioned him about something, an object, that he seemed to believe Ollivander had. He'd also ask about wands, after he took Lucius' wand, he wanted to know how wands matched to wizards. Why do you ask?"
"I'm not sure, just curious I guess," Theo said. "This object, do you know what it was?"
"I haven't the first clue, I never wanted to know anything more than I had to where the Dark Lord was concerned," Narcissa said. "Theo dear, I talked to Draco recently. I know I'm hardly fit to ask, being in prison and all, but how are you doing?"
"I'm fine, Mrs. Malfoy," Theo asked mildly surprised. "I've been through much worse in my life, a little expose article won't phase me."
"I didn't really mean the article, Draco implied, well nevermind," Narcissa waved away the idea. "I just wanted to ask. Your mother was quiet but sweet and I sometimes think... we all failed your generation. I just hope you're okay."
Theo startled a little at the mention of his mother, but understood the message Narcissa was trying to convey. "I really am doing well Mrs. Malfoy," Theo answered. "And so is Draco I think. We'll all be okay, please don't worry."
"Forgive me Theo, but Lucius and I, your parents, a lot of us made such terrible mistakes. We should be made to feel it," Narcissa finished seriously.
Padma interrupted their discussion just then to begin a second round of practice questioning. Theo sat back watching, his mind spinning with all he had discussed with Mrs. Malfoy.
Elsewhere in the prison, at the end of an eighth floor corridor a prisoner sniffed the air and smiled to himself. His tasty morsel had returned, she would be luscious to sink his teeth into. And what was this, the Death Eater pup was back as well. No matter. It was time to have some fun.
Once their time was up, Alicia returned to the main office to fill out paperwork, while Theo and Padma escorted Narcissa back up to her cell. This was a truly miserable place, Padma thought to herself as Narcissa's cell was resealed by the guard, she would need a glass of wine and a nice book by a warm fire when she got home to help chase away the damp chill. She glanced at Theo, who had done a formidable job of maintaining an aloof professional distance from her since she had shared knowledge of their past with him. He face looked ashen and he stepped quickly in a sort of panic as they walked behind the guard. She really wished he would have declined to come instead of torturing himself.
"Theo," Padma whispered so the guard escorting them wouldn't hear. "You look horrific, like an angry ghost. You're depressing me, I'm not bringing you next time."
Theo merely glared at her indignantly in response, but Padma smirked back confidently and finally he shook his head smirking himself. There that's better, she thought.
Soon they arrived at the lift opposite Greyback's cell. Padma was happy to be with the guard this time, Greyback wouldn't be able to go on as he had last time.
She heard a faint growling, and sighed, well so much for that thought. "You've returned vixen," Greyback said moving towards the front of his cell, "I've been waiting for you."
Padma ignored him, and thankfully so did Theo. The guard however gave him a fierce scowl before turning away.
"Oh darling, I can smell you, you're ready for me," the werewolf continued earning a scowl from Theo this time as well. Greyback then made a dramatic show of sniffing the air. The guard drew his wand and carelessly shot a silencing spell at the werewolf. It was the moment Greyback had waited for. As the spell crossed through the ward it shimmered and weakened ever so slightly and Greyback used this opportunity to force through. Even weakened, the ward would have held almost anyone else but the werewolf possessed truly brutal strength.
The filthy towering prisoner crossed to the other side and Padma would have passed out from fright had it not been for all her training. The guard attempted to cast a spell to contain the werewolf but Greyback moved quickly knocking the guard and Theo hard against the wall before advancing on Padma. Her mind was racing, she had no wand and couldn't outrun him. She threw her briefcase past him and triggered the alarm on the wall. Other guards would be there soon.
"Don't worry precious, I'll be done before they get here," he said gruffly advancing on her. He doesn't smell bad, Padma thought to herself as he closed in on her, she had been expecting him to have a foul staid stench, but he smelled like nothing at all, clearly he actually washed himself. Stupid mind, what are you doing, focus on getting free. He pulled her tight and growled in her ear and she kneed him hard but he only laughed casually. She felt his nails digging into her side. Then he abruptly let her go and began shaking before keeling over. Thank the gods those guards are fast, Padma thought. But she looked over and saw Theo standing with difficulty and clutching the disabled guard's wand. He cast a few more defensive charms on the werewolf though he was already thoroughly knocked out, and Padma laughed out of relief before stepping over the werewolf's body and walking up to Theo but stopped herself shy of giving her hero the hug she wanted to bestow.
"You all right?" she asked smiling. A little battle action after a long hiatus had provided a most welcome rush of adrenaline and sense of perspective. She had almost been raped and killed by a werewolf. It made all her other problems seem not so important. Theo looked at her as if she was crazy.
"Yeah fine, what about you?" he asked.
"I'm fine, just a little scared" she said, still smiling and stepping closer so she could surreptitiously give his hand a squeeze. She looked at his face happily, while he stared grumpily back for several seconds before the guards finally showed up.
Padma finally had that glass of wine that she'd been thinking about to chase away the chill of Azkaban and to quell her nerves which were still a bit on edge. Far away on the Nott Estate, the master of the mansion put away his fourth shot of firewhiskey, trying desperately to keep his own mind under control.