Theo twirled his fork around in his finger aimlessly as he watched his father carefully. The man across from his looked at him with a stoic expression. Not a man of much passion, Lord Nott. Surprising considering just how many fucking scandals the man was featured in. Spitful son, dark past, the wife dying of suspicious circumstances? One big fucking red check next to his name.

Theo was quickly tired of his father's attempts to gain his attention. There were only so many times a man could clear his throat pointedly before Theo succumbed to the temptation of shoving his hand down it.

"Yes, father?" Theo drawled stabbing a small portion of fish onto his fork.

"I wished to ask after your studies," The man said promptly. This was the kind of thing Theo hated the most. The small talk. The books that appeared on his side table. The forehead kisses and the feeling of fingers caressing his cheek lovingly when he was supposed to be fast asleep. His man had orphaned Theo as he himself wasn't capable of love, not for Theo. However, appearances could be kept for his heir.

"They go well, father," Theo answered curtly. Playing nice with his sire was much more suspicious than the veneer of petty hated he etched on his features now. Let them think they see the pearl. Swallow them before they realized they haven't even breached the surface.

"And your friend, Bastian was it? Is he well?" Lord Nott asked continuing to spoon stew into his thin mouth. Theo shared some features with his father, he knew it, but they weren't as plentiful as his mother's. He had his father's stong Viking age jaw and physic and golden hair but he had his mother's steel-grey eyes and delicate features. This was the reason Lord Nott chose not to call many dinners like this one. It must be difficult to look into the eyes of the one you once loved filled with so much hatred.

Theo kept firm eye contact.

"Blaise, yes, he is well," He said in a tone that obviously said 'Get on with it.

"Should I be writing up marriage contracts?" Lord Nott laughed. Theo smiled sharply.

"Blaise in engaged," he dismissed. He watched his father spoon rice onto his plate.

"Ah, too little too late," His father mocked. Theo hummed absently. He stared up at the ceiling of the grand hall. His mother had designed it and Theo remembered the glass workers moving in and out of their home who made it. It showed a depiction of Vahalla in pale painted glass, a circular piece that allowed natural light to illuminate the secluded room. The hall had no windows, no other form of light except this glass piece and the light of the setting sun. Theo's father always chose to have their little get-togethers in here even though it discomfited him greatly to be around reminders of his late wife.

Like Theo.

"Perhaps," Theo replied breezily. He wondered if Roma would be waiting for him at their place. His hair was long now, much longer than Theos quickly approaching the small of his back with large wild ringlets of crimson, wine, garnet, mahogany, and butterscotch. The skin of his darkened sunkissed skin would be folded underneath his head and he would be smiling. With a jagged painful lightning bolt scar slicing over the left side of his face handsomely and his cheekbones highlighted with a bruise or a smudge of dirt.

"Then you've found another, then? Is it that Draco boy? He was always a bit sensitive wasn't he?" His father chortled. Theo gave him a measured smile.

"No," He told Lord Nott," But you know of him." Theo distantly wondered if his father would approve of his choice. The boy hero Theo knew was very different than the boy hero his father loved to hate after all. Would his mother have loved the small, quick-tempered, intelligent boy as he did? Theo could imagine them sitting by the fire mocking his serious face together.

'Don't frown, Mon Chroi!'

' I like, uh, seeing you happy. It's… good'

"I do, huh?" His father pondered. Theo's attention started to fall away when he felt an itching feeling above his heart. A tattoo was coming in then. Theo distantly wondered what it would be. The poison he used in the rice? Something to represent his mother?

"May I be excused, father?" Theo requested. His father nodded quickly and Theo stood and walked to his room. When he arrived at the dark blue door that had a silver plack that read 'Theodore' he opened it and closed the door behind him. He took out his knife and cut his pointer finger shallowly smudging the finger against a few runes above his door. Theo's father would be the first Nott to try to kill their heir and he wouldn't be the last.

Theo began to get ready for bed. He took a shower, used a cleaning spell on his teeth and face then got into his pajamas. Before h left the bathroom though, he checked his mirror for the tattoo he had gotten at dinner. There! Above his heart was a tattoo the size of a hand. It was of a rose sharpened at four sides to form a compass. Instead of the four directional symbols, there were four runes that Theo couldn't quite recognize. The rose was a soft blushing pink color surrounded by smaller ruddy redbuds and pure white. In the center was an intricate pocket watch with a long delicate chain intertwined with the roses. Instead of Roman numerals, more flowers decorated the powder-white face of the clock. They were pale pink and white flowers of a plum tree and pink peonies. They were beautiful.

And they were wilting.

Everything in Theo screamed at him to get to Roma. Where was he? What was he doing? Did he need him? Of course, he needed him! Did he want him? Theo laid down early but never in the night could he calm his worried mind.

Today was July 31st and Roma laid in what was fondly refered to as only "their spot". Roma had met Theo almost eight weeks before. It was strange thinking that he hadnt always known the boy that he knew so very well now. Theo's birthday was in August so they planned to spend that at Theo's mothers cottage house and have a small party there but Theo still wanted to meet up with him today.

"Hey there," said a silvery voice. Theo stood over him. He had gotten taller over the summer. Thirteen and fourteen were powerful years for growth in the magical world. Fourteen because it was two sevens, the fist seven was when purebloods first got their heir rings and grew used to their heir magic, the second was when they started the slow proceess of reaching their magical maturity. So yeah, Theo had grown almost a full foot making him tower over Roma but not in a weedy way. With all the rigorous magical training they helped each other through over the summer were easily breakable even though Roma was still malnurished and had a thin coltish figure. His body was marked by the lack of food in the hallow places like the deep dips in his hips and the cold he felt all the time because of lack of essential fats. Luckily for him Theo always brought things to eat and had even given him a small box of regenerating snacks to eat.

"Hi," Roma waved up at him dramatically cupping his hand over his eyes in an 'attempt' to see him," Is that you up there, Theo?" He saw Theo roll his eyes as he sat down next to him silently handing Roma a small packaged box. Roma sat up quickly and rubbed his hands together in excitement before snatching the box away with a thankful nudge of of his Gryffindor colores socked foot. Just because he loved a Slytherin didnt mean he wasnt going to rep his family. Harry was wearing a Harry was wearing an oversized red and gold stripped V-neck sweater with shredded ripped jeans and the before mentioned knee lengthed Gryffindor themed socks. His platform sneakers were thrown off to the side and in his ears were tiny gold swords with a red ruby teardrop dangling from the tip.

"You look disgustingly Gryffindor today," Theo grunted swinging an arm across his shoulders and pressing a kiss and a smile to Roma's flushed cheek," Happy Birthday, Roma." He whispered against him skin. Roma leaned back against his chest with a faux irritated huff but smiled as he opened the box. Inside was a beating heart, no seriously, it was an atomically correct intriatly carved block of dark chcolate that pulsed like an actual heart. Roma grinned and lifted it from the box. Like he thought, the chocolate was warm but didnt melt in his hand. Roma brought it close and took a big bite with tightly closed eyes. His favorite, pomegranates and dark concetrated cacao. Roma sighed.

"Your welcome," Theo teased smugly.

"Oh, shut up, I only keep you around for your chocolate," Roma scowled around a smile.

"What about the company?" Theo asked with an amused smirk.

"Only when my freinds not an asshole," Roma said bluntly. Theo barked out a laugh.

"Rosemarius Potter-Evans, each your heart out," He retorted holding an offended hand over his previously mentioned heart.

"Isnt that what I'm doing." Roma smirked around a bite of creamy pomegranate filling.

"Tsk," Theo mocked," You wound me!"

"Keep talking like that and I will," Roma threatened playfully. The both of them chuckled lightly.

"Theres something else," Theo mentioned all too causually. Roma scowled for real.

"Theo," Roma scolded," You already bribed we with cavities. I dont need anything else to deal with you," He joked. Theo rolled his eys and took a rectangular red box out of his pocket.

"Wizards dont get cavities," Theo corrected," And this is your real present. Don't worry, I wond charge you for my presence," He teased. He thrust the box into Roma's hand with a small but excited grin.

"I swear, if its a knife," Roma muttered half-heartedly. Not so secretly he was excited to get a present from Theo. Was this like the official symbol of eternal friendship for wizards? Roma opened the package with clumsy fingers. Once the ribbon was untied and the top torn off Romma uncovered his gift. Inside was a vintage style brass locket that had bright green jems and gold detailing. It had many intracte small details and around the center gem was a latin quote, "Qui amat, tamen hercle si seurit, nullum esurit."

He that's in love, for sure, even if he is hungry, isn't hungry at all.

"Oh, Theo," Roma quivered. The arm around his shoulder was joined by another as Theo pulled him into a tight hug. Roma hid his head in Theo's chest and pressed the locket close to him.

"Will you- Can you put it on?" Roma asked tearfully. Theo nodded and took the locket from his gently before motioning for Roma to turn around. Roma did as he was bid and held his hair out of the way so that Theo had room to fiddle with the figidety clasps of the locket. With a delicate clink and a swish of Theos thumb across the back of his neck the necklace was on. It hung between his colorbones and warmed his skin.

"There you go," Theo whispered softly. Roma turned around and hugged Theo again even tighter. Theo huffed out a safot laugh and pulled him back.

"You look beautiful," The Slytherin smoothed the pad of his rough thumb across Roma's cheek.

"Thank you," Roma breathed. He pressed his cold nose to Theo's neck which made him startle a bit. Roma smiled.

"What did you do to it?" Roma accused playfully.

"Protection charms, healing abilities, its also a portkey to my Mother's cabin," Theo admitted.

"Isn't it against some Pureblood law to put a portkey on an heir?" Roma asked teasingly.

"Mmmmm, it depends," Theo considers sarcastically," Are you going to sue my family for attempted kidnapping?" Roma chuckled and shook his head.

"Well thats good," Theo hummed," It isn't kidnapping if you want to be with me, anyways."

It wasnt until Theo smelled the rot of decaying flesh thick and visceral in his nose that he was keyed in that something was wrong. He had returned home late in the night from Roma's impromptu birthday party with his spirits. He was walking through the vast wild fields of wheat growing high around his waist when the tiny hairs on the back of his neck rose.

He truned around sharply and his knife fell into one hand open and ready as his wand filled the other. There just inside the ward line was three Drauger with wide muscles and peeling flesh the was sticky and wet with mucus and blood. They were suprisingly graceful for suck creatures eating up the distance between them at a harrowing rate.

Theo's bone tightened as clenched his wand and knife with equal vigor. He mentally went over all he knew about Draguar. Undead warriors who could grow in size, strong, relentless, immortal. Just fucking fantasic. But they COULD die a second death or so stories and superstition said. Burning or dismemberment. Of course, no one actully knew if these two methods were even reliable. Draguar were an older stronger variation of the Inferi created by the darkest of magics.

"Shit, shitshit shit," Theo cursed. He turned and ran up closer to the house. No sense in letting the three of them surround him. Once Theo was near the walls of his home he was stopped. Wards? There was wards surrounding the Nott home, powerful wards. New wards.

His father was trying to kill him.

Theo truned around to face the Draguar. He cast a nonverbal engorgeo charm on his knife, enlarging it until it looked more like a short sword then the pocket knife it once was. Theo's wand sparked in his palm.

He was as ready as he could be.

With desperation he ran through the wheat barreling towards the outerlayer of wards to get to the apparition point. Behind him heard the clip clop of old rigid flesh beating across the grown and the crunching of the wheat being crushed underfoot. All the while, he pushed power into his wand building it up for the one spell he desperately needed to win. Just before he was outside the wards, just before he set to turn around and fire his curse a bone dry hand grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back. The undead creature stoom on top of him, limbs elongated and mouth wide open with sharp yellowing teeth and blackened gums.

It gurgled and hissed at Theo as it pushed him down onto the ground and ran its blackened claws across Theos shoulders and torso. Theo threw his head back and let out a tourchered scream. He could feel his skin separating like butter and his screams slowly turning to gurggling coughs. Theo clasped his knife and swung it powerfully completly taking off the things head. He scrambled back as the body fell to the floor, cuvolsing as its head followed Theo, wiggling on the ground towards him in an unnervingly snake like mannor. Theo staepped up and kicked it as hand as he could away from him. He heard its screams fade out the farther it god away until Theo couldnt hear it at all.

He saw the others prowling towards him as Theo staggered backwards and away with gritten teeth. Fuck! It hurt so bad. His arm was almost completly limp. Theo switched his knife with his wand and started buildig up the power again. His vision was blackening. The time between blinks seemed to grow shorter and shorter. He needed to apperate from within the wards because it was going to be impossible for him to run nearly ten feet with his condition.

With a loud antagonised call Theo raised his arm and slashed it downwards releasing a whip of of green fire. Frind fire. If there was anything that could kill the evil creatures it was this. Fire from hell itself.

The whip tore through the two monsters. Both of their torsos fell onto the grownd with a wet thump. Theo nearly fell down as the power vanquished and the two not quite dead yet creatures started to crawl towards him at a frightening speed. Theo limpped backwards and fell onto his bum and just before they were upon him-

POP!

He handed in a flowerbed that raked and broke underneath him. He tried to raise his wand hand to no prevail. He groaned.

The last thing he heard before his lost all consciousness was;

"Theo?"