Disclaimer: I don't own J.K. Rowling's universe, I just like to do really evil things with her characters, on occasion.
Chapter 12 - With Friends Like These...
"You're sure she's thoroughly prepared?"
"I said as much, didn't I?"
"Yes, but you've been wrong before, and we can't afford to take any chances."
"I seem to recall telling you when I assisted with your mental shields that they wouldn't stand up to Theo. It's not my fault you neglected to listen to me."
"I'm still here, aren't I?"
"Are you quite sure he hasn't outlived his usefulness, Theo?"
It was requiring effort for Theo to maintain a straight face, with Tracey and Blaise bickering like the siblings he'd essentially turned them into. "Oh, are you including me in this conversation now?" he asked. His tone was light and almost playful, but Tracey colored and murmured an apology; Blaise, unsurprisingly, was still looking smug. "As it happens, I still have some use for Blaise, but I promise you'll be the first to know whenever that changes."
"I love you, too, Theo," Blaise drawled, his mouth twisting into a faint sneer. "I have your best interests at heart, as always. Irritating Tracey is just a bonus."
"It's not my fault you're too thick to retain this information longer than a single sitting," Tracey snapped, her arms crossed over her chest.
"Children, children," Theo interrupted, unable to hide his amusement any longer. "For the sake of moving things along, how about we skip to the part where you simply concede that Tracey outclasses you in all things mind-related, hm?"
That got a laugh out of Tracey, a rare enough occurrence that Blaise didn't even protest. Instead, he said, "All right, then, at the risk of sounding as though I don't know what I'm talking about - especially since we all know I don't - tell me again why Theo's the one who has to do this?"
Tracey sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Because the bond of trust has been established with Theo, so she's less likely to protest having him in her head for this part of the process. Editing memories is a tricky business even under the best of circumstances, and she's fragile enough as it is. Besides, Theo's the only one who knows the full details of his grand scheme, remember? I may outclass you in all things mind-related, but nobody outclasses our darling Theodore."
Blaise, cheeky bastard that he was, fluttered his eyelashes and simpered at Theo. "'Nobody outclasses our darling Theodore,'" he echoed, his voice high in open mockery of Tracey.
"I heard you tried," she shot at him, with a rather vicious smirk. "How did that work out for you?"
"I did say I'm still here," Blaise returned, utterly calm and collected; Theo suspected Blaise was maintaining his nonchalant demeanor simply because he knew it would irk Tracey further.
"As entertaining as it is to watch the pair of you bicker like an old married couple, may I remind you both that we have more pressing matters to attend to?" Theo waited for them to return their attention to him before continuing, "Tracey is correct, by the way. It has to be me because the design is mine. I expected this development, and I've made arrangements for my schedule. Blaise, do try not to run the company into the ground while I'm occupied with Granger, would you?" He stood and offered his arm to Tracey, leading the way out of the boardroom.
Once they were out the door, Theo's smile faded, his eyes narrowing just a little as they walked together through the corridors to where Hermione was being kept. Finally, he murmured, just low enough for Tracey to hear him, "Double check Blaise's mental shields and the compulsion spells. Quietly, though, I don't want to alert him just yet."
She inclined her head in a nod, showing her understanding, then left him to confront Hermione on his own. Theo took a moment to fix the benign smile on his face before opening the door.