HELLO lovelies. It's been awhile, I know, but it is our darling Harry Potter's birthday, so I just had to finish off and post this chapter today.
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Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, and only the story line and any OC's belong to me.
Whilst some unexpected guests had arrived at Potter Manor, elsewhere, Theodus Nott had his own set of unique worries plaguing him.
Currently, it was trying to exude an air of calm indifference as his arm twitched. The cruciatus curse truly was an unpleasant thing. He would only have to maintain the facade for a little bit longer; he was almost out of this accursed place.
Since the Weasley wedding, Theodus Nott had been paying the price for Theo, namely, Theo being revealed as a turncoat with his blatant shift in allegiance during said wedding.
Tom knew Theodus would never betray him like that, no, but someone needed to be punished. Theodus unfortunately drew the short straw, and subsequently the last month had been a living hell of constant torment; nowadays whenever Tom was angry, he took out his ire on Theodus.
The things we do for our children, Theodus Nott thought to himself, haggardly exhaling as he strolled out into the grounds of Malfoy Manor. They were so bleak now, even the grass looked dead. Theodus recalled the times he would come round for tea or a meal, and he would always be struck by how beautiful the vast grounds were, the neatly trimmed hedgerows, the quiet and unassumingly exquisite flowers—especially the dusty pink rose bushes—not to mention Lucius's ridiculous albino peacocks.
Abraxas never kept ruddy albino peacocks, Theodus grumbled internally, adjusting the clasp around his throat that kept his cloak in place. It felt too tight.
"Do you know how much it hurts me to do this? To such a dear friend?" Tom asked, and there was a learned tenderness to his tone, as if he had heard someone use the inflection and decided to mimic them; but it was like he had never felt affection for anyone, and thus, it fell flat.
Tom caressed Theodus's face after a particularly nasty round of crucio's, and Theodus's left cheek was involuntarily twitching as his body seized. Tom's red eyes were cold, emotionless, but strangely Theodus couldn't help but be reminded of polished, stained glass.
Theodus did not linger longer than necessary as this was the first taste of freedom that he'd had in what felt like an eternity. As soon as he was in range of the apparition point (on the other side of Tom's meticulous wards), he spun on his heel—his black, pointy, dragonhide shoes scraping across the dry grass as he did.
Theodus desperately wanted to slip into a piping hot shower, but he knew he had more important things to attend to. He paused to greet the House Elves that were worriedly following him (they knew their Master was in great pain, and they'd snuck into Malfoy Manor on numerous occasions to diligently tend to their Master in the past weeks), but made a straight line for the closest fireplace.
The House Elves were practically begging their Master to rest when he threw the floo powder down. Theodus glanced over his shoulder and assured them that Mistress Malfoy would attend to him when he arrived. The Head Elf, Wishy, did not look convinced, but with a harrumph informed him that she would be the judge of that.
A light chuckle rumbled in Theodus's gut as he stepped into the flames.
Green flames licked at his heels as he stepped through into the Living Room in Grimmauld Place. Narcissa was primly sat on one of the sofas, and jumped up upon seeing him.
"Theodus. Salazar. What did he do to you? You're frightfully pale," Narcissa blinked up at him with a perturbed frown, dropping her crocheting onto the coffee table in front of her. "You've been gone for weeks, we feared the worst."
"Well as you can see, I'm perfectly fine. Besides, I've had worse," Theodus grunted.
"Bollocks," Narcissa snorted, rising up off of the couch, and with her hands clasped in front of her, she closed the distance between them.
"It's true...and you know it," Theodus said carefully, electric blue eyes ablaze. Narcissa cocked her head to the side. Narcissa's own blue eyes were roving over him in a clinical fashion, surmising just how bad it actually was.
"Don't move, I'll be right back," Narcissa said plainly, and her skirts swished about as she turned on her heel and strode out of the sitting room and disappeared down one of the house's many corridors.
Theodus tiredly dragged himself over to the sofa Narcissa had previously been occupying, and dropped onto it. The man sank into the plush, midnight blue upholstered cushion, let his head fall back, and he threw an arm over his eyes.
Theodus's fingers twitched sporadically, a nasty but unavoidable side effect of Tom's games. The sound of Narcissa's heels clipping across the hardwood when she strolled back into the room was like nails were being hammered into his skull.
The sofa dipped slightly beside Theodus, but he did not move, nor did he acknowledge the witch's presence.
Phials clinked together, and Narcissa was humming gently. Those sounds were bearable, but the pestle hitting the mortar caused the wizard to wince; thankfully Narcissa finished her task quite quickly.
"Move your arm," Narcissa instructed in a no-nonsense tone, and reluctantly Theodus did so, but spots danced in front of his eyes as the glittering chandelier above them was directly in his line of sight. Theodus sneered and squeezed his eyes shut.
The wizard stiffened when Narcissa's slender, icy fingers began to massage a thick, cool paste onto his temples—it smelt heavily of dried lavender, mint, and gillyweed. There was an array of other ingredients he was sure, but he frankly didn't care enough to ask what they were.
The pounding in his head eased until it melted into nothingness, and he let out a relieved exhale. "Thank you. You really could have been a healer if you wished…"
"With my luck I would have gotten dealt the shite end of the stick. I probably would have had to deal with the deadly diseases ward or something equally as nasty," Narcissa spat, her voice full of contempt. Theodus could picture the dark sneer on her face.
Narcissa Malfoy avoided messy situations at all costs, but if necessary, she could always be trusted to get down into the trenches with the rest of them—wading through filth—for the ones she cared about.
"How bad is it?" A soft, masculine voice asked. Theodus couldn't quite pinpoint the location, so he lowered his chin, and pried open his left eye.
Lucius was standing a few feet away, a pale braid thrown over his shoulder and on the end was a black ribbon. Lucius was wearing loose black trousers, his feet were bare, and he had on matching casual robes (they were open and exposed his bare chest—Lucius's skin was like polished marble).
Even with dark smudges under his eyes that were filled with internal torment—as if his very soul was being tortured—Lucius Malfoy managed to look like an ethereal, fae king. A king who shat sparkly dust and commanded a legion of wicked, yet playful faeries; it was truly sickening.
Why can't he look as shite as the rest of us? Just once, Theodus sneered internally. Outwardly, he was the epitome of polite, and anyone who didn't agree could kiss his arse.
Theodus grunted in reply.
Lucius inclined his head, folding his arms loosely across his chest, "how bad?"
"I miss your Father, he wasn't as fucking irritating as you," Theodus sighed. Theodus knew Lucius was concerned, and he appreciated it, but sometimes the chap grated on his nerves for no good reason. It had to be the fact that he almost appeared to be glowing right now.
I swear the Malfoys have veela or some other being's blood in them, Theodus thought.
"Well, unfortunately Father is no longer with us, so you're stuck with me," Lucius smiled tightly, "now, I believe I asked you a question, and as my wife has so graciously tended to you, I would expect an answer."
"Have I told you recently that you're a sodding prick?"
"It was how you greeted me last time you saw me, that is, if I am recalling said event correctly" Lucius smirked, but his amusement rapidly smoothed into thick concern. "How bad is it? You've been gone for almost a month."
"I'm well aware," Theodus drawled, closing his eyes again. "It could have been worse, though I suppose that depends on what your definition of 'worse' is. Tom didn't kill me, so there's that uplifting note."
Theodus swallowed thickly, and his index finger twitched again, "he'll be expecting me back soon, I suspect I'm still being punished."
Narcissa inhaled sharply beside him, and Theodus blindly reached out to pat the top of her hand; he was about to withdraw it when Narcissa fiercely held onto it with a vice grip.
One thing Theodus Nott loathed was pity, so he changed the subject. "How is Theo?" The belief that his son was safe was the only thing that kept him sane the past few weeks.
It was eerily quiet, and Theodus's breath caught in his throat as dread slipped into his bloodstream.
"How is Theo?" Theodus repeated, a whisper that filled the deadly silence.
"He sustained some injuries in all of the chaos when he escaped with the others, but Draco told me not to worry as he's recovered swiftly," Lucius said.
"Fuck," Theodus's eyes snapped open, and shamed pumped into his gut for not finding a way to get out sooner; even though he was fully aware that he couldn't have.
Tom's crimson eyes had followed him everywhere he went, which was never good. It would be an arduous road to winning back the Dark Lord's favour; it was the only way that he would be allowed to move about freely, without fear of being followed or watched. Well, as freely as one could under the iron thumb of a madman.
Theodus's mind travelled, back to a time when Lord Voldemort had simply been Tom, and only Tom.
How far the mighty have fallen, Theodus thought.
Pretty pictures that Tom had painted with his silver tongue flicked through Theodus's mind: idealistic views of their future, of a better future had twisted into something murky, and had crumbled to ash and dust. Tom Riddle's glorious promises were now a bitter aftertaste in Theodus Nott's memory.
He wasn't always like this, Theodus thought soberly as a spasm wracked his leg muscle—he tried his best to keep his leg still, but it refused to listen to him, and a thumping noise echoed throughout the room.
"I think it's been on long enough," Narcissa said thoughtfully, finally relinquishing her hold on him. The witch took a warm towel, and wiped the paste away from his skin, and the wizard thanked her reticently.
A new wave of exhaustion hit the man, and his bed was calling out to him. I've probably been here too long anyway, Theodus decided. However, before I leave I have something I need to do.
"Lucius," Theodus addressed the other wizard a bit gruffly, but the pretty boy didn't seem in the least bit fazed. Theodus sat up, hands clasped together as he continued, "I need you to swear something for me."
"Anything."
It was a bold statement for Lucius to make—as he never blindly agreed to anything—but if there was one thing Theodus was currently sure of, it was that he had Lucius's unwavering loyalty.
"Take care of Theo for me whilst I'm...indisposed."
"Of course," Lucius said, that faint glow encompassing him.
Consequently, Theodus shared some pleasantries with the Malfoys, politely refused Narcissa's offer of tea and some pudding, bid his farewells and hastily headed back through the floo.
Nott Manor was a cold, empty structure now: one could not call it a home, as it hadn't been such in years, that era of warmth and happiness ended when she passed away.
Reflecting back on Theodore's youth, Theodus had neglected the boy and that was perhaps his only true regret in life. Aside from ever befriending Tom Riddle that is.
Theodus wearily trekked through the house, following narrow corridors that wound and twisted this way and that—akin to a complex maze, and if one was unfamiliar with the house they would most assuredly be lost down one of the hallways.
I may not have loved him like I should have, but I am going to do whatever it takes to ensure his survival though this war…even if it means the death of me, Theodus promised solemnly to himself, rubbing along the length of his jaw with the back of his hand.
Theodus's bedroom door was open just as he'd left it, and the wizard began to strip off his layers the moment he crossed the threshold. He needed to get some restful sleep—for once—before he was expected back at Malfoy Manor on the morrow.
By the time Theodus reached his King sized bed, he'd kicked off his shoes, and every other article of clothing aside from his black pants; a trail of clothes littered the ground behind him. The man crawled onto the wine coloured duvet, and his exhaustion finally caught up to him, as he was asleep before his head hit the pillow.