after talking about him, I think it's time to hear from the man himself, am I right?
Theodore Nott was having a very pleasant day, until he crossed paths with that idiot Ernie MacMillan.
Theo had been working as a curse breaker for the last two years, as if helping the Ministry would erase his past. It was a joke, a poor tasteless joke, but a joke nonetheless.
It was a good thing Ancient Runes and Arithmancy were some of his best subjects, and being a curse breaker seemed like the best job for him. He was alone most of the time, and he travelled to a lot of interesting places with amazing history.
That's why it was so inconvenient the Ministry thought he needed to have someone tagging alongside him. None of his superiors really trusted him, and that was the reason why Ernie McMillian had joined him.
Theo had half a mind to curse the bumbling idiot into oblivion.
"...and I know you probably had more time on field, but Mr Davies insisted I be the leader of this mission and I feel like you would find it difficult to accept it, and that's why I'm only telling you this now." Ernie talked to himself, because Theo wasn't giving him an ounce of attention.
Theo wasn't going to let Ernie bloody MacMillan take away the job he loved so much. Turning his back on the idiot, Theo continued to pull apart the runes.
It was something that always seemed to calm him down. The breakdown of the runes, pulling apart the protections someone had put in just to discover why they had put it up in the first place.
"Did you listen to anything I've said, Nott?" MacMillan appeared next to him, making Theo's magic act out and, in an act of protectiveness, sent a small hex in MacMillan's direction. "Hey! Are you daft?"
"No, but you seem to be," Theo growled, stepping back and glaring at MacMillan. "Don't you know that you don't sneak up on someone dissembling runes?"
MacMillan mumbled something, but Theo didn't hear it because something had caught his attention.
They were in Bath, a small city, and they were supposed to be in an isolated part of the town. Based on the time they were working, there wasn't supposed to be anyone around, considering they were in a Muggle area.
It didn't explain why a middle-aged man was staring at them with such intensity.
"Hello, sir, can we help you?" Theo asked, coming near the man and trying to assuage what he had seen.
"I saw you waving a stick of wood and sparkles flying," the man said, looking at Theo as if waiting for an answer. "What kind of witchcraft was that?"
Theo snorted; he couldn't help himself. The man wasn't far off, and it was impossible for him to not find the situation funny.
"Oh, shit!" MacMillan's voice reached him and Theo's spine stiffened, thinking something terribly wrong was about to happen. "You weren't supposed to be here, mister!"
"What are you doing here? This is private property! I will call the police!" the man said, and Theo knew his day was going to get worse.
Theo moved towards the man, about to make him see reason without having to call the Ministry to have to get involved. But, of course, MacMillan had to throw caution to the wind and act first, like a neanderthal.
"No, you aren't!" MacMillan yelled. "I can't let you do that. Obliviate!"
And before Theo could call MacMillan an obnoxious sod, darkness fell across his vision.