Written for Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

House: Thunderbird

Class/Task Number: Ancient Studies. Ha-di: breaking something/someone/etc.

Bonus Prompts:

(romantic pairing) Theo/Blaise

(dialogue) I love you. I am so sorry I had to do this, but I just want you to know that I love you.

Word Count: 1807/4500

Breaking His Heart

Blaise has to tell Theo something, something that will break his boyfriend's heart.

Blaise Zabini walked through the hallways of Hogwarts, looking for his boyfriend, wondering if what he was going to do was right or not. His heart warred against his mind, screaming that this wasn't right. This was a terrible idea and he should give it up right now… But Blaise knew that he needed to do this. This was for Theo's own good, but Blaise didn't feel too good. He knew this would break Theo's heart, but he had no choice.

He found Theo Nott in the Slytherin dormitories with a thick book in his hands. Blaise swallowed and watched Theo as he read the book with eyes wide open. Blaise caught sight of the wooden sword and scabbard lying near Theo and winced. Salazar, help him.

"Hey, Blaise! Look!" Theo cried excitedly as he picked up the sword and waved it in Blaise's direction. "I found this in the Come-and-Go Room!"

Blaise swallowed the lump in his throat as he gave his boyfriend a weak smile. "It looks good, Theo," he said softly, his heart thundering in his chest at what he was about to tell him. He walked closer to Theo and bent down to kiss Theo's forehead.

"I'm so excited, Blaise! I can't wait for the auditions! I even learned all the dialogues for Macbeth! Listen," Theo said, jumping off the couch and picking up his wooden sword.

He cleared his throat and recited in the most dramatic voice he could manage, "Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more:

By Sinel's death I know I am thane of Glamis;

But how of Cawdor? the thane of Cawdor lives,

A prosperous gentleman; and to be king

Stands not within the prospect of belief,

No more than to be Cawdor. Say from whence

You owe this strange intelligence? or why

Upon this blasted heath you stop our way

With such prophetic greeting? Speak, I charge you."

Blaise thought, 'Merlin, this is going to be very difficult.' He could see the obvious excitement in Theo's face, but he knew he couldn't tell him anything at the moment.

When Professor Dumbledore had informed them that Hogwarts was holding a renowned play by the name of Macbeth by the famous wizard, William Shakespeare, Theo had jumped at the chance to fulfil his dreams of becoming an actor.

Blaise loved Theo very much, he would always support him in everything he did, but there was only one problem in this situation.

Theo was a terrible actor.

All the Slytherins knew how bad of an actor Theo was, but none had the heart to tell him that. They didn't want to crush his dreams, but they knew that if he auditioned for the main lead, he would be rejected. They had unanimously decided to make Blaise ask Theo not to audition, and now Blaise was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

He decided to break the news to Theo later, not wanting to hurt his boyfriend's feelings. But as he procrastinated in the hallways, Theo continued to act out Macbeth's scenes in the Slytherin common room.

"Hey, Theo," Draco said, cautiously edging away from Theo's dramatically flailing arms. "Blaise is looking for you."

"Hath he ask'd for me?" Theo asked, pirouetting on his heel and bowing to Draco.

Draco accidentally said, "Know you not he has? Ugh, Theo, just go talk to Blaise! I can't believe I'm talking like Lady Macbeth!" He rubbed his temples, annoyed, and stormed up the stairs to his dorm room.

"I go, and it is done," Theo wailed as he ran towards the door. The Slytherins watched him leave and thought, 'Zabini is in so much trouble… thank Merlin we're not him.'

Theo walked through the corridors, looking for Blaise. He silently recited his lines in his head, excited to finally be auditioning for his dream role. He had been six years old when he had first read the wizard's plays; it was then that he had decided to one day join the cast as the main lead.

He was about to turn the corner when he overheard raised voices. He recognized Pansy's high-pitched screams instantly. He stopped dead in his tracks when he heard his name mentioned in her rant.

"—You should have told Theo already, but you're procrastinating again! Blaise, I'm going to hex you if you don't tell him already! I'm tired of this farce and you need to—"

"Tell me what, Pansy?" Theo asked, turning around the corner. His eyes widened when he saw Blaise and Pansy standing close together. "Wh-what's going on here?"

Pansy whirled around and snapped at Blaise, "See? Now you've done it! Either you tell him the truth... or I will!"

Theo stumbled back and whispered, "Blaise, what's going on? What do you want to tell me?"

"I—Theo, listen… I need to tell you something, but please, please don't panic," Blaise said nervously, running his fingers through his cropped hair. He swallowed and said, "Promise me you'll try to understand what I'm about to say…"

Theo's heart pounded in his chest at Blaise's ominous phrasing and said, "Blaise, just tell me! Are you cheating on me with Pansy?"

"What? No! I would never cheat on you!" Blaise cried, aghast at Theo's implication.

"Then what is it?" Theo demanded, stepping forward again, gazing into Blaise's dark eyes.

"To hell with this! You're a terrible actor, Theo! You can't audition for Macbeth—you'll ruin the entire play!" Pansy blurted out angrily.

Theo's heart broke at her harsh words and he stumbled back with shock. "What? What are you—"

"It's true, your acting isn't… adequate for the play," Blaise whispered awkwardly, scratching his neck.

Theo's eyes filled with tears at Blaise's agreement. He stumbled back and whispered, "No, you're lying… Please tell me this is just a joke…"

Blaise looked down, ashamed, and whispered in a worried tone, "I love you. I am so sorry I had to do this, but I just want you to know that I love you."

"If you loved me, you wouldn't break my heart like this!" Theo screamed, losing his composure, tears streaming down his face in rivulets of pain.

"Don't be so dramatic, Theo," Pansy said, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "Just because you're not a good actor doesn't mean Blaise is—"

"Shut up, you cow! Guess what? You do look fat in that green dress!" Theo roared, his hands trembling with rage, taking a large step back. Pansy gasped with shock and horror at his words.

"I do not!" Pansy shrieked, her face red with embarrassment.

"No, if we're going to speak the truth here, then yes, you do look fat, you bloody cow!" Theo screamed, his eyes blurry with tears. He glanced at Blaise who looked worried and choked out, "I can't believe you would do something like this, Blaise… I loved you…"

"Love, wait—"

But Theo whirled around and bolted down the corridor, tears still gushing down his face. He could feel his heart crack with grief that came in waves, harsh and gruelling. It was like a shard in his guts that felt as if it would never leave, though perhaps in time the edges would dull. It felt like he had lost a huge part of himself.

He hid inside an alcove, huddling away from the light, crying his heart out. He couldn't believe Blaise had agreed with Pansy. In his quiet moments, the agony of his dreams being crushed by their criticism choked the breath from his body and short-circuited his mind. What was once whole was shattered; where once was peace was emptiness, leaving behind echoes of a love he had put his everything into.

He was still weeping over his broken dreams when he heard Blaise calling out his name. "Theo, where are you, Theo? Come on, Theo, just talk to me!"

Theo sniffled and turned away from the light, not wanting to be found yet. His heart was shattered and his dreams were crushed into dust. He still couldn't believe Blaise and Pansy had shattered him like that; they were friends, and friends never did anything like that, did they?

Blaise's head peeked into the alcove and found Theo's lanky form curled up in the corner. "Theo, love, are you okay?"

"Do I look like I'm okay?" Theo snapped, scowling up at Blaise angrily. He buried his head in between his knees and sniffled again.

Blaise sighed and awkwardly sat down beside him, wrapping his arms around Theo's shoulders. Theo tried to shove him away but the alcove was too small for them both. Blaise tightened his arms around Theo and kissed his temple. "Theo, I love you… Will you please talk to me?"

"I don't want to talk to you ever again," Theo wailed dramatically, elbowing Blaise in his ribs. "You broke my heart!"

"I'm sorry, Pansy shouldn't have embarrassed you in front of everyone…"

"Oh, so you still agree with her, that bloody pig!"

"Love, I'm really sorry, but… she's kind of right. I didn't want to tell you this, but your acting…"

"You think I'm a bad actor, don't you?"

"Sort of… Your acting isn't very good, and if you audition for the role, your heart would break when you would be rejected… We wanted to spare you from that heartbreak," Blaise admitted, trying to explain to him.

"That doesn't make me feel better! This was my dream, Blaise, and you ruined it… I hate you!" Theo wailed, turning around and punching Blaise's chest with his clenched fists.

Blaise sighed and cupped Theo's face in his hands. Theo's eyes were wet with tears and the sight of his pain made Blaise feel guilty. He had promised Theo he would always support him, always be there to cheer him up, but what was he supposed to do when he himself was the cause of Theo's pain?

"Theo, please don't be mad at me. I love you so much, but I had no choice. I didn't want your heart to break when the professors rejected you. Wouldn't that have been more embarrassing than our remarks?"

Theo was silent as he stared at Blaise, and he finally said, "There is absolutely no way you can make me feel better about breaking my heart, you prat!"

Blaise sighed and pressed his forehead against Theo's. He whispered, "Please forgive me, my love… If you want, you can still go and audition. I'll support you either way."

"What's the use now?" Theo grumbled, closing his eyes, his heart still aching as he thought of the harsh words Pansy had spewed out at him. Pansy and Blaise had shattered his heart to smithereens, and he didn't know how long it would take for him to trust them again. Theo knew they loved him and wanted to protect him, but sometimes they went about it in the wrong way.

Please read and review! Thanks!

Macbeth's lines are obviously from Shakespeare's play.