* ~ The Eighth Year Universe Series ~ *
PART FIVE
Blame it on Hate
I'll Be Lighting Fires For You
The chapter title is from the song:
Fires by Ronan Keating.
"Is that all of the important books boxed up?" Draco asked, brushing the dust from his hands.
Theo drew himself up and looked around the library, "Yeah, and any important paperwork from my father's study too."
"What about your mother's bedroom?" Draco asked, his eyes hovering over Theo with concern.
Theo shook his head, "That got locked up when she died."
"And as Master of the House and Head of the Family, you can enter her quarters now," Draco reminded him.
"I know I can," Theo snapped, "But why would I? What right do I have?"
"You're her son, Theo," Draco said softly, "You have every right. Your father locked that part of the manor away from you. He kept you from any memory of her, and you hated him for that. If you don't take this chance now, you're going to regret it for the rest of your life."
Theo sighed and turned away from Draco.
"He took your mother and your childhood," Draco continued, "He forced you to take the Dark Mark, but he's dead, Theo. Don't let him rule your life anymore."
Theo shut his eyes tightly but nodded, "Fine. Just…come up there with me, please."
"You know you don't even have to ask," Draco said, stepping out into the entrance hall.
Theo nodded, and together they silently made their way through the empty house to the top floor. There were only four bedrooms up here - two adjoining ones: Theo's father and stepmother's rooms. Another at one end of the corridor had been Lacey's room, and at the far end, a door which had always been warded off leading into what had once been Almina's quarters. Their marriage was arranged, and she and Theo's father, having hated each other, she had slept in a separate bedroom.
As for Theo, he had been on a different floor from everyone else, which had never bothered him beyond the feeling it had given him that he was entirely unwanted by the rest of his family.
The wards around the door to Almina's bedroom were gone now, but Theo's hand still shook as he turned the doorknob. It swung open, but a purple tinge shone in the doorway.
"Disintegration curse," Draco said.
"My father was a real piece of work, wasn't he?" Theo muttered in response.
Draco sighed, "Yeah, he was. Can you sort that out, or do I need to floo Daphne?"
"For a disintegration curse? How bad an Auror do you think I was?" Theo quipped, waving his wand and muttering an incantation. He did the same thing about five times in a row then the purple barrier fizzled out.
Theo led the way into Almina's rooms. They stepped straight out into the bedroom, but coming off of that was a study and a bathroom. The bedroom was sparse, and everything was covered in dust.
Theo scoffed, "He didn't even ask the elves to keep her room clean?" he asked irritably.
"Of course he didn't, he hated her and everything she stood for," Draco reminded his best friend.
Theo looked around the room with a sigh, but it was empty apart from a large four-poster bed, a walk-in wardrobe, a chest of drawers, and a vanity unit.
All the same, Theo opened the drawer in the vanity unit, finding nothing more interesting than some make-up and hairbrushes.
"If there's anything, it will be in the study, Theo," Draco said, pulling open the door in question.
Theo knew that, and it was why he walked into the study with so much trepidation. It was a small room with a fireplace against one wall and a decorative desk against another. The third wall was taken up entirely by a bay window with a cushioned bench seat.
When he walked into the room, Theo breathed in sharply, and Draco grabbed his wrist. He stood for a long minute, just looking around the room, and then he pulled his wrist out of Draco's grasp and walked over to the desk. There was one drawer in the desk and one cabinet, so Theo opened the cabinet first and saw two wooden boxes inside.
"Are you going to look inside them?" Draco asked.
Theo shook his head, "I…" his voice broke, "I can't."
"Do you want me to…?"
Theo nodded, so Draco pulled the first box out and opened the lid. It was full of what the two men at first thought were books, but after Draco pulled one out and saw that the leather had the initials A.N embossed on it with the year '1982', he realised what they were.
"These are journals, Theo."
Theo frowned, "I didn't know she kept journals."
"You ought to keep them and read them."
"I don't know if I'll ever be able to bring myself to do that," Theo said, eyeing the box warily, "But Sadie could; she could tell me the important things that way. I don't…I don't think I can read about the things my father did to her."
"I think we would all understand that," Draco promised. He placed the journal back into the box and sent it downstairs with the boxes of books.
Then he pulled out the second wooden box. This one was smaller and had writing burned onto the wood. Theo's breath caught when he saw what it said;
"Theodore Roosevelt Nott"
And when Draco opened the box, Theo actually sobbed – he hadn't wanted to break down, but he couldn't help himself. His mother, unbeknownst to him, had kept a box of keepsakes from his childhood. It made him feel an incredible amount of gratitude towards her, but it also made him feel guilty.
She had loved him so much more than he had ever realised, and he could barely remember her.
He must have said that out loud because Draco gripped his shoulder, "You were two and a half when she died, Theo."
Theo swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded, his eyes on the contents of the box – there was a tiny pair of brown brogues in there, "My first shoes," he said, picking one up gently, "The same size that Charlie's were."
Draco didn't let go of his shoulder; he just squeezed it tightly.
"And the bonnet she put on me when she took me home from St Mungo's," Theo whispered, running his thumb over a knitted blue bonnet.
There was a small clay heart with his tiny foot and handprint inside of it, and there were a few photographs of him as a baby, then one that made him sob again – it was a photograph of himself and his mother.
It wasn't much to shout about, just a beautiful dark-haired woman who bore a striking resemblance to Astoria, smiling radiantly as she bounced a 6-month-old boy on her lap. Still, it meant the world to Theo because it was the first photograph he had ever seen of himself and his mother.
"You okay?"
Theo nodded and sent the box downstairs with the others. He cleared his throat, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just need a minute."
"Take as many minutes as you need," Draco responded.
With a final nod, Theo left the room in a hurry.
Draco sighed and looked around the sad little room. He was about to leave too, but then his eyes fell on the drawer – the one that Theo hadn't opened. It wasn't his place, and he knew that, but his curiosity got the better of him, so Draco pulled it open and looked inside. There wasn't much to see – just some blank rolls of parchment, an inkpot and a few quills. But Draco knew where purebloods kept their secrets, so, on a whim, he felt for a notch in the drawer, and sure enough, he found one at the back. He yanked it, and it lifted, revealing a secret compartment containing nothing but a scroll of parchment, a photograph and a tiny wooden box, about the size of a ring box.
Draco lifted it all out and frowned down at the photograph – it was of a baby, but it wasn't Theo. This baby had a head of fair blonde hair and was wrapped in a pink blanket. He turned it around and breathed in sharply when he read the words written in Almina's writing.
"Lucia Malfoy"
"Shit," Draco muttered, opening the wooden box to see a lock of that fine blonde hair.
He unrolled the scroll and read the words written across it messily in Almina's handwriting.
"28th November 1982.
Dear Lucia,
One day you may discover the truth and ask yourself why I abandoned you. It was not by choice but out of necessity. You may think you were born of an affair, but you were born from love, and I hope you carry that with you for the rest of your life. I hope that one day you get to meet your beautiful, wonderfully kind brother.
And I hope that when you do, he gives you this letter to let you know how much I love - "
The letter then ended abruptly, a large ink stain covering the bottom half of it – as if Almina had been interrupted while writing it and had been forced to hide it away in the bottom of the drawer.
Draco sighed and rolled it back up, slipping it into his pocket. As he did so, another slip of parchment fell out, and Draco frowned, looking back at the parchment to realise that it was double-lined. This piece was thinner and had been torn from a book. It said;
"One night, a dark king appeared and offered me his hand, his heart and his kingdom. And though I loved him dearly and well, I could not take his hand and be his Queen for fear of blinding myself to his true nature. My Princess is the daughter of a King who will never know her name."
Draco couldn't help but wonder if this would have made a difference. If Lucia had known about any of this, if she had known that she had been loved…
But it was too late now; she had chosen her fate when she killed herself.
So, with the scroll in his pocket, Draco headed downstairs where Theo was waiting for him in the entrance hall, "Got everything out?"
Theo nodded, "Sent everything that matters over to the castle, yeah. You approve of me setting a small fire then?"
"Yeah, grudgingly," Draco agreed, giving him a half-smile as he strode out of the manor.
About ten minutes later, Theo followed him out, and they sat down on a grassy knoll together with butterbeers in their hands.
The fire began to take hold of the house, and Theo let out a relieved sigh. Draco could see the weight lifting from his shoulders as the nightmare house began to burn to the ground, and it was enough for him to take pity on his friend.
He put his arm around Theo's shoulders and said, "I'm not really that annoyed about you setting it on fire, you know?"
"I know," Theo said, shooting Draco a knowing smile.
The 'moment' was interrupted by a large explosion which made them jump out of their skin and turn towards the manor. The fire had reached the attic, and the explosions continued, some of them catapulting things out of the fire towards them.
"Small fire!" Draco exclaimed as they backed away, "I said small fire!"
Another item catapulted towards them, "This is not a small fire!"
"I forgot about all the cursed items in the attic!" Theo yelled as they ran away from the house.
"You forgot about the warded items that explode when endangered?" Draco asked in disbelief.
Another item catapulted over their heads, and neither of them was sure which one screamed like a girl first.
"I think I actually hate you!"
"Yeah, I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that!"
When Theo and Draco got home that night, they knew that they were in the shit. The kids were in bed, and rather than being in the library as they tended to be, the girls were sitting in the kitchen.
Draco frowned at them, "Hi, ladies."
"Any reason why you look like you're in the middle of a neighbourhood watch meeting?"
Sadie narrowed her eyes at Theo, "We just happened to be listening to the radio when we heard reports of a large blaze in Wiltshire, close to Lupin House."
Theo nodded slowly, "Uh-huh?"
"Hm," Sadie mused, "So, where did your house go?"
Draco grimaced, but Theo, ever the smartarse, did not.
"That," he said, pointing at his wife, "…is an excellent question."
"One that you are going to answer right now," Hermione added, "Because this is all looking very suspicious, don't you think?"
"What's suspicious about burning down my own house?"
"It's Arson, Theodore!" Hermione exclaimed, smacking him around the head, "Regardless of whether it's your own house!"
"Actually," Sadie cut in, "It isn't illegal, technically speaking, and a good lawyer could argue that in court, should these two idiots get pulled up for it."
Draco bit his lip, and Theo bit back a grin.
Hermione looked at Sadie in disbelief, "Did you just…did you just overstep me on legal terms?"
Sadie made a face, "I want to say no, but I won't – yes, I did, and I'm sorry if it's mean, but sometimes you do say stupid things, considering how smart you are."
"What?" Hermione barked, "No, I don't!"
"Uh, hate to break it to you, love, but don't you remember when Theo broke your favourite mug? You know, the one that he hates because it's got cats all over it, and it makes him think you're a crazy cat lady?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
"He did it on purpose!"
"Yes, but that doesn't erase the fact you meant to say – that wasn't an accident, and you actually said 'accidents don't just happen accidentally!', does it?" Draco quipped.
Hermione glared at him.
"And not to forget that time you were helping me edit a book translating ancient languages and runes and you said 'Why is it in Ancient Greek? Who even speaks Ancient Greek? Apart from the Ancient Greeks, obviously'," Sadie cut in.
"And of course the infamous one, when you were trapped by Devils Snare and didn't know how to get out, 'Start a fire! But I don't have any wood!', yeah?" Theo finished with a smirk.
"Okay, for starters, you are all arseholes, and I don't know why I love you," Hermione huffed, "And secondly, what do you mean it isn't illegal, Sadie? Arson is a common-law offence; the DMLE even have a department of Aurors to deal with it."
"Yes, but although arson is a criminal offence, it is referred to under the criminal damage act," Sadie pointed out, "On the basis that by setting fire to something, you are criminally damaging it. However, the act clearly states that if you own the property, it isn't criminal damage. If you were to claim insurance after setting fire to your own home, that would be illegal but actually setting fire to your own property is fine, legally speaking, so long as nobody is hurt in the process."
Theo grinned at his wife, "This is why I love you, you know?"
"It doesn't mean I condone you burning your house to the ground, Theodore Nott," Sadie said in what the boys referred to as her 'Mum' voice.
"But we raided the library and saved six boxes of rare, one in a kind books for you," Theo said, his eyes shifting between the two women.
Sadie and Hermione shared a glance.
"And he had a good reason for burning it to the ground," Draco added.
The girls both looked over at him.
"He must have done," Hermione said, narrowing her eyes at her husband, "Because you are usually very by the book. I figured he had a good reason, or he's a better kisser than you say he is."
Theo snorted, and Draco rolled his eyes.
"Which elf told you about the impromptu make-out session in the kitchen, by the way?" Theo asked Sadie.
"That is irrelevant," Sadie said, shooting him an amused look, "Did you try to seduce him into helping you burn your house to the ground?"
"No, he had already agreed to help me burn my house to the ground as you so eloquently put it, Sadie," Theo remarked.
"We just had one of those emotionally charged moments, bonding over our shared childhood trauma, talking about all the good that could come from places that we endured hell in as kids."
Hermione frowned, "What the hell are you talking about?"
"I burned Nott Manor to the ground so that I can gift the land to Harry," Theo explained, "He wants to build a wizarding school to serve children from the age of five until they go to Hogwarts. It needs to be near Lupin House but not on the grounds of Lupin House."
"And Nott Manor could never be a school, but the grounds are perfectly situated," Sadie realised.
Hermione nodded, her brain whirring at a million miles an hour, "So Harry is building a school? For all wizarding children?"
"Uh, I think so," Theo said, looking over at her, "I'm not sure about Muggle-borns."
"Well, he had better be inclusive about Muggle-borns!" Hermione fumed, "Because if they could be integrated into wizarding society at the age of five, they wouldn't feel like outcasts!"
"Okay, love," Draco said, grabbing her by the arm, "Just – calm down, okay?"
"We can all talk to Harry about that when I invite him over to tell him about the land," Theo agreed with a nod, "Until then, just get down from your high horse, princess."
"Oh Merlin, you are going to get your arse kicked, Theodore Nott," Sadie muttered under her breath.
Hermione glared at Theo, "If you do get pulled up for this, I won't legally represent you!" Hermione argued.
Theo grinned at her, "Oh, come on, princess, you know you will."
"I won't!"
"You will because it's for the children!"
"I won't because you're a goddamn pain in the arse!"
"Children, please!" Sadie interrupted, meeting Draco's eye and seeing the same amused glint there.
"You're an idiot," Hermione muttered, glaring at Theo.
"Does she actually have a stick up her arse, Draco? Have you checked recently – argh!"
"Are you going to un-hex him?" Draco asked Sadie calmly.
"Ow!" Theo exclaimed as the broom in the corner of the room proceeded to whack him in the arse.
"Nope," Sadie replied, smirking at Draco, "He deserved it."
"Ow! Ow!" Theo objected as the broom whacked him, making him jump and yelp and dash out of the kitchen.
"Oh yeah, he really did," Draco agreed with an amused grin.
Hermione holstered her wand with a satisfied smirk.
"Bit brutal, though," Draco added.
Hermione shrugged, "I was going to hex a stick up his arse, so really, it was quite tame."
Draco went to check on Theo, who had taken the broomstick incident pretty well, all things considered. Still, Draco hovered in the bathroom doorway, watching Theo from afar as he dabbed dittany onto his chest.
"You want a picture?" Theo asked, without turning around, "It will last longer."
Draco stepped into the room and looked at the little burn on his chest, "Here, let me do that."
With a sigh, Theo handed him the cream. Draco dabbed it onto the burn and watched as Theo tried not to wince.
His eyes met his best friends, "Hey, you don't have to pretend with me. I'm not torturing you; you can show weakness. I've had cursed burns. They hurt."
Theo nodded and let the pain on his face show, "Yeah, it smarts a little, but it's actually not the reason I'm wincing."
Draco frowned and put the lid on the cream, "What do you mean?"
Theo leant against the sink, scanning Draco thoughtfully for a moment, "I got a new tattoo, another big one."
"Bigger than that?" Draco asked, his amused eyes falling on Theo's chest where the largest of his tattoos was.
Unlike Harry, Theo didn't have lots of tattoos, but his tattoos probably did take up more space on his body, and for the most part, they focused on his family. The huge chest tattoo had the words 'Family First' at the centre, and the names of all of his children were woven into the tattoo somehow. It was all brought together with different flowers that symbolised different things like loyalty, love and hope.
When Theo had first gotten the tattoo, it had only had three names on it - Lacey, in spirally writing as if it had been woven from lace. Almina, with a crown adorning the first letter of her name and Charlus, with a tiny inked footprint next to it.
Now, there were another two names on his chest. Draco hadn't been the only one who got emotional when he saw Elladora, with the crown over the first letter just like Almina's and then a couple of years later, Caspian, with another tiny inked footprint.
It was why it had hurt so much when Theo had called them his kids, not their kids, after the whole ordeal with Lucia.
Amongst Theo's other family-themed tattoos were a heart, formed from the words 'always on my mind, forever in my heart', it was on his right shoulder and had the date of his mother's death at the centre.
There was an S inside a crest, with a crown atop it – to symbolise Sadie, whose name meant princess, ironically enough considering that the nickname was associated with Hermione. It was on his right forearm, so he could see it when he held his wand out. That placement had been very much on purpose.
Draco knew all about that. There was a reason he had a colourful tattoo of a bloom of yellow and white narcissus flowers on his left forearm, to cover up the scar from the dark mark, and more to the point, from where he had tried to cut it out of his skin. Unlike Theo, Draco only had a few tattoos – the dragon one he had gotten with Harry and Neville being the first and the only other was a small tattoo on his chest with a pansy flower and an unopened bud, representing the baby he and Pansy had lost.
Theo's tattoos weren't limited to his chest and arms either – he had a tattoo of a man holding the hands of two small children on a beach tattooed onto the back of his left leg. It had been taken from a photograph Sadie had taken of him and the twins on holiday one year when they were small. He had a large snake tattoo on the back of his right leg (colourful and detailed, curling around his leg and very un-like the Dark Mark) because, despite everything, he was proud to have been in Slytherin.
"Where's the new one?" Draco asked curiously.
Theo shrugged his shirt, which was already open, off and winced as it fell to the bathroom floor. He turned around, and Draco's breath caught in his throat when he saw the tattoo.
It was huge, twice the size of the chest tattoo, and it took up his entire back. The tattoo was a large dragon, and like all of Theo's tattoos, it was wizarding and had something of a life of its own, so it turned its head to look at Draco, and he wondered if it was a coincidence that the tattoo dragon had grey eyes. Knowing Theo, it probably wasn't.
Underneath the dragon, the Black and Nott family mottos were written in spirally Latin, tied together in the infinity symbol. And then there was another small detail, sitting on the dragon's shoulder, was a tiny eagle with the words 'books and cleverness' spiralling around it.
Draco cleared his throat, "Theo….I don't know what to say."
Theo handed Draco the tub of dittany and gave him a half-smile, "You could just rub this on it then."
"Yeah," Draco said, blinking hard and feeling wetness on his cheeks. Great, he was crying, "Yeah, of course."
The room fell silent as Draco dabbed dittany onto the tattoo, which was fresh and clearly painful. Theo winced and grimaced, but beyond that, the room was silent until Draco finished and put the tub down on the sink. He gripped Theo's wrist and said, "I…I actually got a new one too."
Theo looked up in surprise, "I thought you said you were done after the one to commemorate Pansy?"
"I was," Draco admitted, tearing his eyes away from Theo, "I was, but then….I felt one last one was in order."
"Where?" Theo asked, frowning slightly at Draco, "I mean, I see you topless all the time, and I've not seen it."
"Yeah, it's…" Draco swallowed, "It's personal, so I didn't want it where it would be seen in the changing rooms at work."
Theo could see the uncertainty in Draco's eyes, and it made him wonder, "How long has it taken you to work up the courage to even tell me?"
"A while," Draco admitted, "I had it done not long after you came back. After the thunderstorm and…" he shrugged.
Theo's eyes met his, "Alright, show me then."
Draco conceded and pulled the waistband of his trousers down enough for Theo to see the tattoo, which always rested below trousers and boxers because, as he had said, it was personal.
"It's a chain," Draco explained, finding he was unable to look at Theo as he spoke, "And all of you are the links."
Theo reached down to touch the tattoo, and Draco's breath caught, which didn't go amiss by either man. All the same, Theo still did it, his thumb resting against his own name, inked onto Draco's skin.
The 'central' chain had a small dragon at its centre, and coming off the right side was his name, and off the left side was Hermione's. The chains attached to Hermione's name had Elladora and Caspian inked into the middle of the name. The chains coming off of Theo's had the names Sadie, Almina and Charlus.
It was so personal, and Draco wasn't the kind to let anyone see that softer side to himself. Suddenly, the placement made sense, even if the moment did feel very intimate because of that.
"Draco…" Theo began, shaking his head as he tried to form the right words.
"I…" Theo swallowed and looked Draco in the eye, his thumb still resting softly on the tattooed skin.
Draco could hear his thoughts loud and clear at that moment. He could hear them even when he wasn't projecting, and right now, projecting was exactly what he was doing – whether he meant to or not was another thing.
"I know," Draco said, deciding to spare Theo the torture of verbalising it.
Their eyes didn't linger from each other, and without really knowing who made the first move, they were kissing. Theo was pretty sure he had initiated it, seeing as he was the one who had pressed Draco against the sink. But as a soft gasp left his lips and he returned the kiss, Draco knew he was equally to blame.
Draco's hands ended up in Theo's hair, and Theo gripped the edge of the sink. They'd kissed before, in the thunderstorm, in the dead of night when Theo woke up soaked in sweat from his nightmares and, more recently, in the kitchen just before they had set fire to Nott Manor. But none of those kisses had stirred up feelings quite like this one had. They had been emotionally charged. They had sent shivers down Draco's spine. But none of them had quite made him want Theo the way that this one did, which was why he cut it short before those thoughts could get away from him.
Theo was breathing heavily, and Draco felt more than a little hot under the collar as they stood in the bathroom together – the door behind them still wide open.
"Sorry," Theo said sheepishly, "I don't know what made me do that."
Draco drew back and nodded, "Yeah, uh, me either."
"If you two are done making out, are you coming to bed?"
Draco jumped and spun around to see Hermione in the doorway, "It's late, after all."
Theo bit his lip in amusement, "Sorry, princess."
Hermione raised an eyebrow, "Did he show you the tattoo?"
Theo frowned and ran a hand through his hair, "Uh, yeah. How did you know that?"
"You two only do that in emotionally charged moments," Hermione said, a small smile playing on her lips, "And getting your names tattooed on each other's bodies is kind of a big deal."
Draco looked over at her, "You know about Theo's new tattoo?"
Hermione chuckled, "Who do you think held his hand while he got it? He was crying like a baby."
"I wasn't crying. My eyes were watering," Theo objected.
Draco smiled at them as they left the bathroom together and headed down the hall to the bedrooms, bickering all the way.
"No, you were crying, sobbing, actually."
"Princess, have you met me? I'm a hardened Auror. I don't sob."
"Oh Theodore, don't kid yourself, sweetheart, you sob," Hermione finished, shooting him a smirk, grabbing Draco's hand and dragging him into the bedroom.
When they were getting ready for bed that night, Theo mentioned the journals, "There is a box in the library marked 'FOR SADIE', it's a box of journals we found in my mother's study."
Sadie lifted the covers for Theo to climb into bed, "Your mother kept journals?" she asked softly.
"Apparently so," Theo replied, unable to meet her eye as he continued, "I can't read them, Sadie. I just…the things in there will be so personal and about Lucia too probably. Someone has to read them, but I can't."
Sadie nodded. She took Theo's hand and forced him to look at her, "But you need to know what they say, don't you?"
Theo just nodded in response.
"I'll read them," Sadie promised, "With care and with the remembrance that the woman who wrote them gave birth to the love of my life."
Theo smiled weakly, "That was why I thought it ought to be you. In so many ways, you remind me of her. You know that, though, after all the post-nightmare-curse therapy."
"I know," Sadie said, her tone still soft and quiet, "And if I were to die so young that my children didn't get the chance to know me, I would want them to learn about me however they could, which is why you need to know what she wrote in those journals."
Theo rolled over and pulled his wife close – she was right, but that didn't make the discovery any easier to process.
"Yeah – night, love."
Sadie hugged him back and lay a kiss on his forehead, "Goodnight, Theo," she murmured in response.
In the bedroom next door, a similar conversation was being had.
"How is Theo, really? Because yes, he says he burned down his house for the greater good and that it doesn't matter, but this is Theo," Hermione was saying, "He's one of the most sensitive, kind people I know. He must feel something."
"He does," Draco confessed. He was washing his face in the bathroom, and Hermione was leaning in the doorway.
"I mean, I don't think he does care at all about the fact the manor is gone," Draco added as he grabbed a towel, "But we found some things in the house that have him feeling conflicted. There's a box in the library, marked for Sadie, and it's his mother's journals."
"For Sadie?" Hermione frowned, "Doesn't he want to read them?"
"He can't," Draco pointed out.
Hermione sighed and nodded in realisation, "So Sadie is going to be his eyes? Well, that makes a lot of sense. If anyone can read them without judgement, it's Sadie."
Draco nodded and slipped past her towards the bedroom, stealing a quick kiss as he did so. He pressed Hermione's back into the door frame and tried to deepen the kiss, but Hermione turned her head away and pulled back.
"Is he okay then? Because he seemed really reserved this evening," Hermione said.
Draco rolled his eyes, "Seriously, what's with your sudden concern for Theo?"
Hermione gave him a pointed look, "He just acted very rashly at a time when he shouldn't be acting rash or making big decisions on account of him being tortured and metaphorically coming back from the dead."
Draco made a face and got into bed, "Fair point, but really, he'll be okay. He's worried about the journals, but then again, so am I. Almina will talk about Lucia in there, and Theo, of course. But she'll talk about my father too, and honestly, Hermione…I have no idea what the nature of their relationship was."
Hermione got into bed next to him, "I do understand your concern, Draco. But you and Theo have been through enough trials and tribulations to get to where we are now. Whatever comes out in those journals? It's not going to come between you."
Draco looked less convinced, but he didn't argue the subject any further. Instead, he confessed, "I found a photograph of Lucia as a newborn, in the hospital she was abandoned in. There was this little box with a curl of her hair in it too."
He shook his head and closed his eyes, "I also found a letter that Almina had started writing to her. She got cut off suddenly halfway through, judging from the ink stain covering half the parchment, and it was dated on the day she died."
"Does Theo know about this?" Hermione asked quietly.
"No," Draco admitted.
"Don't tell him," Hermione advised, "He already hates Lucia but equally feels guilty over her death. And he knows his father killed his mother on that day; he doesn't need to know the ins and outs of it all."
"I know, which is why I hadn't told him yet," Draco said, opening his eyes to look at his wife, "But thank you for being my moral conscience."
Hermione smiled and leant across to kiss him, "Anytime. Goodnight, Draco."
"Night, Hermione."
New Year came and went. There were no big parties that year because everyone was working. Harry and Draco spent most of the night breaking up parties and transporting drunken idiots to St Mungo's. Neville and Theo clocked in as reserve Aurors to help out – Theo by staffing the CPS building and Neville by writing out the arrest cards for every idiot that got put in lock-up.
Lilly hauled a long overnight shift at the hospital – New Year's Eve, like Halloween, always brought out the idiots.
As such, everyone was quite happy for regular service to resume in January.
On the first day of the working year (2nd January), Draco and Theo got questioned about the fire at Nott Manor.
They stepped into the Auror office together, as they often tended to and had been in the corridor for a total of ten seconds when Harry's voice called, "Black, Nott – a word!"
They caught each other's eyes, and the same thought flitted through their heads – oh shit.
"My office, now!" Harry said, stepping back into the room.
"We forgot something quite crucial when we set fire to my house," Theo whispered to Draco.
"What, like the fact our best friend is the Head Auror?" Draco muttered under his breath.
"Yeah, exactly that."
"I didn't forget that. It was because of that I agreed to help you, dumbass," Draco murmured as they stepped into Harry's office together and shut the door behind them.
Harry leant against his desk and surveyed them, "Morning Draco, Theo. I know we didn't get much of a chance to talk at New Year. Crazy shift, right?"
"Yep," Theo agreed.
"It was," Draco added.
"Uh-huh," Harry said, eyeing them suspiciously, "Did you two have a nice break in the couple of days that you got off between Christmas and New Year?"
Theo shoved his hands into his cloak pockets, "Yeah, it was nice."
"Quiet, just lazed around," Draco agreed with a nod, "How about you?"
"Hm, yeah, good," Harry said with a nod, "I took Teddy and Alastor to a Puddlemere friendly that was on, then I spent some time with the girls in the evening. Daphne and I had a nice meal with Neville and Lil."
Draco nodded slowly, "Sounds nice."
"It was," Harry agreed, "Very nice. Right up until Daphne and I were getting ready for bed, then I got an urgent Patronus because a dumbass, or maybe even two dumbasses, had set fire to Nott Manor."
Theo's eyes widened, "Someone set fire to my house? Why would they do that?!"
Harry narrowed his eyes at Theo, "No idea, Theo. Don't suppose anyone was residing there at the time?"
"No," Theo answered calmly, "No, my stepmother and my sister changed their permanent residence to Nott House in London last month."
"Yes, I saw that," Harry said dryly, "Checked it in the hall of records at half-past ten that night, actually. Of course, I shouldn't have been at work at all; I should have been in bed with my wife. You know her, right? My incredibly hot, dragon-hide trouser wearing wife, who I was about to shag when the fucking Patronus came in, you pair of twats."
Theo grimaced, and Draco crossed his arms over his chest, "To be fair, I didn't do anything. I just saw it happen."
"Wow, thanks for all that loyalty, Draco," Theo muttered.
Harry raised an eyebrow at him, "Look, I get why you did it, but I'm still pissed beyond belief at you. And while I can't punish you because technically you didn't break the law, I can still make your life a living hell."
Draco grimaced.
"So Draco," Harry said, flicking a pile of paperwork over to him, "A months work of sick forms, all need double-checking and filing. Once you're done with them, I'll get you onto holiday requests and Theo?"
"Yes, sir?"
Harry smirked, "You're bringing me lunch for the next week."
Theo resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Instead, he just nodded, "Fair enough. Would you mind swinging by the castle tonight, though? Hermione has something she wants to talk to you about."
Harry frowned slightly but nodded, "Sure. Dismissed, the pair of you."
Draco and Theo wasted no time getting out of Harry's office.
In the corridor outside, Theo whispered, "Is it just me, or is he more pissed off that we cock-blocked him than he is about the arson?"
"That's definitely what he's pissed off about," Draco said, shooting Theo a grin and opening the door to the Homicide Office.
"Morning boss, we got a cold one in Knockturn Alley – illegal potions deal gone wrong probably," Jason said, handing Draco a coffee and turning him around, "We were just waiting for you before heading out."
Draco snorted, "No rest for the wicked – see you later, Theo."
Theo waved him off and chuckled as he walked down the corridor, hearing Draco in the background, "This is caramel, Savage. How many times, vanilla not caramel!"
"Stop being such a diva and drink your coffee."
"I am your superior officer."
"Yeah, you're also a superior dick."
With a chuckle, Theo shook his head and continued onwards. He was almost at his office when a door opened in front of him, and none other than Lucas Ripley – the Arson Department Head stepped out.
"Morning, Theo," He said warmly.
Theo pasted on a smile, "Morning, Lucas."
"Shame about your house, eh?" Lucas asked, leaning against the wall, "Suppose you'll be claiming it with the bank?"
"No…Nah," Theo said, shaking his head, "Some things are better left in the ashes, aren't they?"
Lucas looked at Theo for a long moment, then nodded, "Hm, yeah. Look, I knew your mother. She was in the year below me at school, and I worked with her here in the DMLE. There couldn't have been a nicer person, and what your father did to her…well, it made a lot of us mad that we couldn't pin it on the bastard and throw him in Azkaban."
Theo swallowed and nodded, "That…yeah, I appreciate that, Lucas."
Lucas patted Theo on the shoulder, "I don't know how the fire started, but in an old house like that, chances are it was a faulty gas lamp. There wasn't enough left to launch a criminal investigation either. That's what my official report to Potter is going to say."
Theo understood what he was saying, "Okay."
"What it won't say," Lucas continued, lowering his voice to a whisper and squeezing Theo's shoulder, "Is that I hope you have the closure that you needed now."
Theo let out a shaky breath and looked up at the older man, "I do," he promised.
With a small smile, Lucas patted him on the back and said a little louder, "Well, sorry about the house all the same, man," then he carried on up the corridor.
Theo powered on into his office and shut the door with a relieved sigh – note to self, do not almost break the law again; it's too fucking stressful at work.
When Harry stepped into Blacknot Castle, he expected it to be chaotic.
7.30 pm in Potter Manor was a free-for-all. Teddy usually argued with Daphne to get his bedtime put back half an hour because he had to finish his homework or read his book for a little longer. Thea screamed because she hated coming out of the bath. Alastor and Andrea rolled around on the floor, fighting over who got to pick the bedtime story.
But Blacknot Castle was a different experience. Harry stepped through the fireplace into the kitchen, which was empty. He jogged upstairs into the drawing-room where Almina and Charlus were sitting in their pyjamas, a book open in front of them that they were taking turns to move the pages of.
Sadie walked up and down the room with Cas, trying to lull him to sleep as he took his bedtime bottle. Ella was in her pyjamas too; she was sitting in an armchair with a fluffy Niffler toy, her thumb was in her mouth, and she was as quiet as a mouse.
And Hermione, Draco and Theo were whispering a short distance away from Almina and Charlus. It was utterly quiet and peaceful, but Harry wasn't surprised. His house was full of chaos with all the kids and the Gryffindor influences. This was a pureblood home despite Hermione's protestations that she was a Muggle-born and proud of it.
"Hey Harry," Hermione said, smiling over at him, "We'll talk to you in a second when the kids are in bed. We need to sort out this little madam first."
Almina looked up, "Me?"
"Uh-huh," Theo said, crossing his arms and looking at his daughter, "Yes, you. Do you think your teacher was going to let you get away with what you said in class today?"
Almina huffed and looked at Theo sassily, "It was true, Dad."
Harry grinned and sat down by the fire as this scene played out.
Theo pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and glanced down at it, "Almina, baby, you're five years old. You can't be answering questions like this."
"I'm almost six!" Almina protested.
"What did she say?" Harry asked curiously.
"The teacher asked for feedback," Hermione replied, "And in response to 'Things my teacher can do better', Almina said…."
Theo took over, "Not use collective punishment as it is not fair on the many people who did nothing and under the 1949 Geneva Convention, it is a war crime."
Harry snorted in amusement.
"I mean, annoyingly enough, she has a point," Theo said with a shake of his head, "But still, that's not a nice thing to say to your teacher, Mina."
"Collective punishment isn't a war crime," Draco scoffed.
"It is actually," Hermione cut in, "The exact legal phrasing is that 'no protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidations or terrorism as prohibited'."
"Sometimes I forget that I'm married to Hermione Granger, then you quote the bloody Geneva Convention Code off the top of your head," Draco said, shaking his head in disbelief.
Theo smirked and said, "Anyway, in non-legal jargon terms - Students count as civilians and are therefore considered to be a 'protected person', so yes, collective classroom punishment breaks the fourth Geneva Convention."
"So Almina should be rewarded for standing up for human rights and doing her research," Hermione said proudly.
Draco rolled his eyes, "No wonder I fell in love with both of them. They're like two halves of the same person," he muttered to Harry.
Harry grinned in response.
Then Almina piped up, "Did you say rewarded, Aunt Hermione? So, can I have a new book?"
"No, you can have a grounding. Go to your bed," Theo replied dryly.
"Can I have a new book?" Charlus asked, chancing his luck.
"No, you're going to bed too," Theo told his son.
"But Dad, that's collective punishment!" Charlus objected.
Draco burst out laughing and grinned at the Nott cousins, "You caused that; you deal with it."
Theo clicked his fingers, and two elves appeared.
"Hokey, Kokey – if I get to the number 3 and these two haven't started running up the stairs screaming in terror, you're going to elf magic them into their bedrooms," Theo warned, an amused sparkle in his eyes.
"We're going!"
"Sorry, Dad!"
Theo chuckled as the two kids ran up the stairs.
Sadie rolled her eyes and lay Cas down in a basket, "You never follow through on your threats. Those two are smart, Theo. They'll work out that you're a fraud soon enough."
"Yes, but they haven't worked it out yet," Theo pointed out.
Hermione shook her head in amusement and kissed Cas goodnight, then clicked her fingers. An elf appeared, and Hermione smiled at it, "Could you take Cas to the bedroom, Forta?"
The elf and the cot disappeared, and Hermione picked Ella up, "Bedtime, sweetheart."
Ella yawned, and Draco kissed her on the forehead, "Night baby, sweet dreams."
The little girl reached for Theo, who leant down to kiss her forehead too, "Night Ella," he murmured.
With another yawn, Ella cuddled into Hermione.
"I'll read the twins a story, and then we'll join you in the kitchen," Sadie said as she and Hermione headed for the stairs.
Harry watched the whole thing with a smile. He got up and looked between Draco and Theo, "You really are a family, aren't you?"
"Yeah, well, generally, you don't buy a castle together unless you're pretty close," Draco replied sarcastically.
"I know, but I just meant that it's different with you guys," Harry admitted, "Neville and Lilly love my kids; they're a devoted Aunt and Uncle, but you guys…there are four of you, and you have four kids, basically."
"Basically, yeah," Theo said with a yawn, "Anyway – kitchen, for the thing we need to discuss."
Harry raised an eyebrow but followed them through a secret passageway into the kitchen anyway.
"I've got to say; I'm surprised by how much you rely on elves," Harry admitted, "How many do you have?"
"Uh, it's a staff of 12," Theo replied, "You want a coffee?"
"12?" Harry asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, why are you surprised by that?" Theo asked with a frown, "It's a fucking castle. You don't think I'm gonna spring clean the guest room on the fourth floor by myself, do you?"
Draco snorted, and Harry rolled his eyes, "You are such purebloods, the lot of you, and I'm including Hermione in that, by the way."
"I wouldn't do that when she's in earshot; she might send a cursed broom after you," Draco said, grinning over at Theo.
Theo rolled his eyes, "You, shut up," he said to Draco.
Then he turned to Harry, "Anyway, you must have something similar at Potter Manor, Harry."
Draco shook his head and grabbed the milk from the pantry, "No, he won't. I remember Daphne's stance on her kids being raised by house-elves. She always ranted about it when we were dating."
Harry raised a surprised eyebrow at Draco, "Did she?"
"Yeah," Draco replied, "House-elves raised her, and she hated it. But still, I managed to talk Hermione Granger into house-elves, and you haven't persuaded Daphne?"
Harry made a face, "We have elves, just not as many as you do. Why do you have so many?"
Draco handed him a cup of coffee, "We have two cooks, a child companion elf for each child, so that's four, a nanny elf for night duty, four cleaning elves and a gardener."
"Ugh, I need to convince Daphne to hire more elves," Harry muttered, "We have Kreacher, who is meant to be a cook but is frankly a useless, grumpy pain in the arse. Then we have another cook to help him out, one cleaning elf and a nanny elf."
"Who maintains the gardens?" Draco asked in disbelief.
"Neville," Harry and Theo chorused.
Draco made a face, "You have four elves? In a manor that size? We had twenty in Malfoy Manor. I had to cut back the number I wanted when we moved into the castle to keep Hermione happy."
"Oh, don't get into spew tonight," Theo said with a wave of his hand, "There are other things to talk about."
"Like?" Harry prodded.
"This," Theo said, holding out a piece of parchment to Harry.
Harry looked down and frowned, "The deeds to the Nott estate?"
"Yep," Theo replied, "Which are yours if you want them."
"Why would I want the deeds to your estate? Which has no manor on it, might I add, because you burnt it down like a lunatic," Harry said dryly.
"Merlin, he's a dumbass," Theo muttered, looking at Draco, "No wonder you miss me being your Auror partner."
Draco chuckled and added for Harry's benefit, "Rumour has it you want to build a school near Lupin House, and someone is offering you the land directly opposite it."
Harry's eyes widened, "Oh…oh! Wow, I mean, the offer is fantastic, Theo. But I can't buy this off of you after you committed arson. It would look suspicious, and I have my reputation to consider as the-"
" – youngest Head Auror ever," Draco and Theo chorused.
"Yeah, we know," Draco quipped.
"Which isn't a problem because you won't be buying it. I'm gifting it to you," Theo elaborated.
Harry looked up in surprise, "Really?"
"Really," Theo said, "But there's a catch. I want to help you set this place up because I am all for it, and I'll publically fund it if that's something you need."
"I will too," Draco chipped in, "Well, I would give you the money unconditionally, but Hermione has conditions."
"Forgive me for wanting equality for Muggle-borns," Hermione said shrilly as she and Sadie stepped into the kitchen.
"Okay, I'm pretty sure I know where this is going, Hermione, but still – please explain," Harry said with a wave of his hand.
Hermione crossed her arms over her chest, "I think it's rather close-minded of you, Harry, to set up a primary school for magical children and totally forget about a third of our society! It's all very well for purebloods and half-bloods to be allowed to begin their schooling earlier in preparations for Hogwarts, but that's just going to further the divide between them and Muggle-borns when they do start! Surely this would be a fantastic opportunity to integrate those with no knowledge of our society before beginning the most important aspect of their education? And it would tear down house divides because people would already have friends at the primary school before they were sorted."
Harry smiled knowingly at her and nodded, "Yes, I completely agree, on all fronts."
Hermione blanched, "What?"
Harry's smile turned into a grin, "If you really thought that I never spared a thought for Muggle-borns, then you don't know me as well as you think you do. You are one of my best friends, Hermione and I still hold our friendship very dearly. Then there's Lilly, who's practically my second wife, as Rob likes to remind me. If you think she would let me open a school with no consideration for Muggle-borns, then you underestimate her because she might only be five foot, but she's terrifying."
"If you had already decided that Muggle-borns were going to be included, why did you let me rant?" Hermione asked in disbelief.
"Because I wanted to see who was more passionate before I gave them the job, and the answer is you – Lilly got a little annoyed, but you went full Hermione Granger on me, so here," Harry dropped a file in front of her.
Hermione picked it up and opened it up, a small smile coming to her lips, "You're putting me in charge of Muggle-born integration?"
"Yep," Harry replied warmly, "How we inform them and their parents, what age is the best to try and integrate, how we get them to the school because not every muggle house will have a fireplace. All of those stumbling blocks are yours to solve; you're my Muggle-born Integration Manager."
Hermione grinned and grabbed Sadie's hand, "We'll get on it right away, won't we, Sadie? Thank you, Harry!"
She bounded across the kitchen, kissed him on the cheek and then dragged a somewhat reluctant looking Sadie out of the room.
"Did Lilly really not put up a fight?"
"No, Lilly cursed me, yelled at me, cursed me again, then burst into tears and said she wanted an avocado and chocolate sandwich, so I decided Hermione was the better person for the job," Harry replied grinning over at Draco.
Draco and Theo both burst out laughing.
Theo patted Harry on the back and snorted, "Oh man, the twin pregnancy days. I don't miss that at all. Good luck, mate!"
~ TBC ~