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Chapter Two—Birthday Surprises

"You made an alliance with Mrs. Zabini?"

Theo rolls his eyes and concentrates on his breakfast. Black sounds extremely shocked. Then again, he was shocked about his Mind-Healing options, and shocked about Theo standing up to Mrs. Longbottom, and shocked about Harry having a Slytherin boyfriend. The other day, they came to the table and Black was shocked that they'd had sex. He left the table with a literal growl when Harry refused to deny it.

"Yes, of course we did, Sirius," Harry says patiently. "We made it weeks ago. I told you about it before."

"That's not…there's a difference between her making a promise not to hurt you, and your making an alliance with her!"

Theo raises his eyebrows a little. He's not surprised that Black makes that distinction, but he's a little surprised that he accepted the earlier promise as being sincere.

"Well, now we have both." Harry reaches for his scrambled eggs.

"You want an outsider influencing British politics?"

"How exactly is my mother an outsider?" Blaise asks as he saunters into the room.

Theo sits up. Blaise catches his eye and shakes his head minutely, so Theo backs down. If Blaise wants to handle Black…well, frankly, the man could use someone who doesn't grant his opinion the weight Harry does.

"She's from Italy!"

"And my father was from Britain. I do love this country. I don't always enjoy having that connection to it, but my mother and I both do. She's trying to make Britain civilized so that I can also enjoy spending time here."

"We have our own Ministry! We don't need advice from Italy!"

"Wait," Harry says, speaking up before Blaise can say something. "Is that what you're annoyed about, Sirius? That Mrs. Zabini is from Italy, not that she has the reputation for having killed all those people!"

"What? I mean…of course I'm annoyed about both, she might hurt you since she's killed all her husbands…"

"Rumors only," Blaise interjects smoothly.

"But you just keep mentioning that she's from Italy, not her reputation. Why are you so hung up on that?"

Black frowns, half-ducking his head. Theo sits back in his chair, finishing with the remains of a peach. This is interesting. He doesn't think he's seen Black this forced to fish for words since his trial.

"I—don't think anyone outside Britain should be interfering in our problems when they didn't help us with You-Know-Who," Black says at last.

"And did you help with Grindelwald?" Blaise asks at once. "He was the greatest Dark Lord to terrorize Europe in the last three generations. He had more of a following and conquered more than your Dark Lord did."

"Albus Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald!"

"After months, after years, of terror—"

"It wasn't our problem!"

"Then your Dark Lord wasn't ours," Blaise says, and sits back looking pleased with himself.

Theo releases his hold on Harry's hand. He was holding him back because Harry obviously wanted to say something to Black, but Theo thought Blaise could handle himself on his own, and his belief turned out to be justified.

"And now she wants to interfere," Black says, scowling at Blaise.

"I think it's a perfectly valid reason," Harry says, and Black's attention swings back to him. "She said that Britain was seen as insular and obsessed with blood purity, and we actually have less chance of being invited to schools like Durmstrang and Beauxbatons even if we want to attend them. That's something worth thinking about, isn't it? If people here want to go those schools but they can't?"

"It's not our fault those schools are snobby," Black mumbles.

"Is the blood purity not your fault?"

"Not my fault!"

And now Black is glaring at Blaise again. Theo sighs and intervenes. "You're taking this more personally than you need to, Black. Just like Mrs. Zabini isn't responsible for all the faults of the international response to Voldemort, you of course aren't responsible for the island's fixation on blood purity. But you're being used as convenient scapegoats to stand in for the masses of people whose fault it is. One thing Mrs. Zabini is doing is offering better ideas for changing those masses' response."

"What does she want to do?"

Theo opens his mouth, but this time, Harry is the one who squeezes his hand. Theo nods and sits back. Harry has to have some experience in dealing with and standing up to his godfather, or their relationship will turn into one-sided coddling.

"She's thinking about making sure that various people who are competent get to higher ranks in the Ministry," Harry says smoothly. "And that there's a better Minister. More coordinated response to Voldemort, less of the hiding and blaming that the Ministry is currently doing." The Ministry might not have managed a cover-up for the pictures of Voldemort in the Prophet, but they're currently doing their best.

"That—doesn't sound too bad."

Theo hastily scoops up a spoonful of porridge so that he can hide his snorting laughter. Harry has managed to make Black agree that a takeover of the Ministry wouldn't be too bad. He can see Blaise's eyes gleaming with amusement from across the table, and smiles at his friend as Black starts talking about things he'd like to see the Ministry do and Harry leads him skillfully down the path into approval of Mrs. Zabini's ideas.

It gives Theo inappropriate ideas of his own, which makes him glad he and Harry can disappear to Harry's room immediately afterwards.

"Honestly thought the invitation was a trap at first."

Theo just smiles at Weasley as he and Granger step through the front door of the house. They responded within the same day to the invitations to Harry's birthday party. Theo can't fault them for their devotion to Harry.

Just the way they express it.

"Harry is through here," he says, opening the door that gives access to the dining room. Harry, who's still eating through some of the rich breakfast Cassie made for him, glances up and then jumps to his feet.

"Ron! Hermione!"

"Mate!"

They practically fling themselves at each other, grabbing each other in a fierce embrace and spinning around laughing. Theo watches with a faint smile, glad that Harry is happy. He thinks that during the school year, he would have been jealous, but he has shared things with Harry that neither of them have.

And they wouldn't succeed in driving Theo out of Harry's life any more than Theo would succeed in driving them out of Harry's.

"Harry, we have to ask you—"

Granger hits Weasley on the arm, and Weasley starts. Then he turns around and glares at Theo. "Private business to talk to Harry about," he says loudly. "So you won't mind leaving, will you, Nott?"

"No," Theo says. "I should go and make sure the table to receive gifts is set up, anyway. Some are coming by owl, and there's always the chance that something malicious or cursed might manage to slip through."

Weasley stares at him. Granger just narrows her eyes and asks, "Wouldn't the wards prevent things like that from coming in?"

"If it's subtle enough or won't be triggered until the gift is touched, not always." Theo nods to Harry. "You still want those little Cauldron Cake imitations that Cassie makes with lunch, right?"

"How dare you, Theo, they are much better than the real thing, not mere imitations."

Theo laughs and nods, stepping out of the room and closing the door firmly behind him. Weasley and Granger can have whatever private conversation with Harry they want. Harry will still tell Theo afterwards, or hint at it, if it's anything important or anything he should know, and Theo can wait until then.

Harry is quiet for a large part of the afternoon.

Not that most people would probably notice. After all, Harry chatters with everyone at the table about what he's been doing for the past few weeks and how great it felt to anger the Ministry and get the truth about Voldemort out there. He listens to Luna go on about her magical creatures with nods and smiles and frequent questions, and manages to coax Neville onto a practice broom that Theo found in a dusty corner of the manor that almost guarantees it's not cursed. He argues with Blaise about political reform, and then Blaise and Granger and Harry get into a three-sided argument about it that just barely doesn't end with jinxes.

But for all that, he's still quieter than normal, and the smiles he gives Theo are strained.

Theo ignores that for the moment. Harry will confess what's going on to him later, or he won't and Theo will confront him. Either way, he'll eventually hear about it.

The most surprising thing is that the first hint comes from Weasley, not Harry himself. Theo is over at the ward boundary examining a spell that should have sounded an alarm when Neville dived on the broom too fast and didn't. Weasley comes up and taps him on the shoulder.

"Have to talk to you for a minute, Nott."

"All right," Theo says. Weasley has stayed distant from him during the party until now and just offered a few glares, but this feels like it might be a true conversation starter and not an ambush. Theo still keeps his hand low enough to brush against the wand holster fastened to his side as he follows Weasley over to a large hydrangea bush.

Weasley steps behind the bush and turns around with an expression halfway between a scowl and a frown of confusion. "You know Harry has to fight V-Voldemort."

"Yes," Theo agrees. "I doubt that Voldemort will leave him alone now that Harry helped muck up his resurrection."

Weasley pauses. Then he says, "What happens if he has to fight him and he doesn't have enough time for your relationship anymore?"

"Is that why you were staying away?" Theo asks in interest. "You thought he was so busy fighting Voldemort that he didn't have time for your friendship anymore?"

Weasley's cheeks turn red. "That's not why!"

"Okay. Why?"

"We don't need to explain that to you!"

Theo rolls his eyes a little. "All right, all right. The answer is that it won't happen, because any amount of training Harry has to do will be better done with my support. And I certainly wouldn't hold it against him if Voldemort interrupted a date we were having."

"It's just that," Weasley begins, and stops again. He rubs his forehead with one hand, staring into the distance. Theo resists the urge to turn and squint and see if anything interesting is happening over there. He keeps his eyes patiently on Weasley's face.

"It's just that Harry is going to have less time for everyone," Weasley whispers finally, without looking at Theo. "And I want to make sure you won't resent that and abandon him. He would be so upset if you abandoned him now."

Theo blinks, then smiles a little. It's concern expressed in Weasley's way, graceless and loud, but it's true concern, and Theo is relieved that the boy has got over his pride and will properly support Harry this year.

"I would wait for him as long as needed," Theo says, making Weasley jump. He seems to have sunk into his own thoughts, perhaps worrying that Harry will have less time for him and Granger, and forgotten Theo is there. "But it would have to be Harry deciding that he needed to spend time apart from me to practice spells. Not Dumbledore or someone else making the decision."

Weasley pauses again. Then he nods. "That's fair," he says, sounding surprised, then scowls at Theo.

"Surprised I'm being fair?"

"Surprised that a Slytherin cares about a Gryffindor's opinion."

Theo snorts. "I never put as much stock in the House rivalry as Malfoy or some Gryffindors did." His eyes linger on Weasley, who scowls at him harder. "Do you think I would have dated Harry if I did?"

"For the prestige," Weasley says baldly, "yeah, I do."

Theo rolls his eyes again. "We might never be friends, but I do think that you need to accept I'm dating Harry because of him, Weasley. Not for prestige, not because I think I'll somehow be protected when Voldemort comes back. If anything, this makes me more of a target."

"But it could get you applause from our side. So you could still be doing this to get some kind of protection from Professor Dumbledore or the Or—" Weasley clams up abruptly.

"The Order of the Phoenix?"

"You know about that?"

"My father was a Death Eater, and he didn't keep secrets he thought he could use to scare me into compliance. Of course I know about it, Weasley."

"Harry didn't," Weasley blurts, and then goes bright red.

"Is this part of what you told him about in that private conversation?"

"If Harry hasn't told you, maybe he doesn't want you to know," Weasley snaps, and turns even redder.

"We haven't had a chance to talk privately since then. But I hope that you didn't tell him the name of the Order and then that you couldn't tell him anything else. Or did you talk to him about the Order against Dumbledore's wishes and then implore him to keep it secret since you didn't want the Headmaster to find out you're more loyal to Harry than to him?"

"Just—shut up," Weasley snaps, and shoves away from Theo, towards Granger. He tells her something in a low voice, and Granger turns a scowl on Theo, a scowl that becomes harder when Cassie turns up to remove some of the dishes.

Theo shrugs to himself. He doesn't really care if Granger disapproves of him having house-elves. Theo has more important things to do than cook and clean.

He does his best to enjoy the rest of the birthday party until he has time to talk to Harry. In the end, it's Neville's wide eyes and beaming smile that make it worth it. For whatever reason, he hasn't had friends to celebrate with like this before.

"Ron said he talked to you."

Theo looks up from the book on wards that he's been lounging on his bed with. Lucius Malfoy has sent him another cryptic letter hinting that Theo doesn't have full control of the Nott wards, and Theo is determined to figure out what the fuck he means. "Yes, he did. Are you worried about it?"

"He seemed angry."

"I'm pretty sure I guessed the content of your conversation. He didn't like the way I phrased it."

Harry gives Theo a faint half-smile and shuts the door behind him, walking over to sit on Theo's bed. Theo tosses the book aside at once—it's covered in Preservation Charms, it's not like he'll bend the cover or pages—and makes space for Harry. Harry leans into him, practically plastering himself to Theo's side.

"It's bad," Harry whispers.

"I'm here for you."

Theo's voice is as gentle and steady as he knows how to make it without turning into a threat. At least Harry is reassured. He cuddles closer still, and takes a deep breath, and says, "They told me about the Order of the Phoenix."

"Yes, I knew about them already."

Harry rolls abruptly towards him, staring. "You knew and you didn't tell me?"

"I thought you did know and it was just Weasley and Granger who thought you didn't," Theo points out. "You heard Mrs. Zabini mention them."

"I mean—I didn't know that they were active right now and that Dumbledore won't let me fucking join!"

"I didn't know that last part, either," Theo says, rubbing soothing circles on Harry's back. "And I didn't know for certain they were active right now. Just that it was likely Dumbledore would call them back together since he believes us about Voldemort trying to resurrect himself. Why doesn't he want you joining?"

Harry goes quiet again. Theo waits. He has Harry's warmth beside him, and even in Harry's silence, he can offer warmth and understanding himself.

"Dumbledore believes I have some sort of connection to Voldemort," Harry whispers finally. "I did have dreams about him this last year, a few times. It was hard to remember them when I woke up, and it was nothing I could have used to let me predict what happened in the graveyard. But Dumbledore thinks…he didn't want Ron and Hermione to write to me because they might tell me things that I could pass on to Voldemort without even meaning to. And the same about the Order. He doesn't want me to know anything they're doing in case Voldemort picks it up from my mind."

Theo slowly nods. He can see why Harry was so quiet for most of the day. He knows that his friends trust him enough to tell him, but that the Headmaster doesn't trust him, and it's even for a semi-good reason. Harry won't want to be a spy for Voldemort no matter how accidentally it might happen.

"I wonder…"

"Yes?"

Harry rolls over and stares at Theo with huge miserable eyes. Theo skims a hand down his cheek.

"Should I not be talking to you?" Harry whispers. "Should I not be here? What if I somehow betray you to Voldemort?"

Theo rolls on top of Harry at once, his lips pulling back from his lips as he tries not to snarl. "You're not going back to the Muggles."

"I didn't say I was. Apparently the Order has a headquarters or a safehouse somewhere. I could go there—"

"You aren't going there, either." Theo becomes aware that he's leaning down so that his nose is less than an inch away from Harry's, and he eases back, but he can't make himself move his arms so that he's not caging Harry against the bed, despite knowing what this looks like. "Unless you want to. Unless you insist. Then of course I would let you go. But I wouldn't stop writing owls to you to get you to come back."

"You wouldn't visit?"

"Do you think Dumbledore would allow me in an Order safehouse?"

Harry blinks. Perhaps he hasn't considered that. There's no better sign of how distressed he is, Theo thinks. "Oh. But, Theo…I don't want to leave, but if I somehow betrayed a secret of the Nott wards to Voldemort—"

"How much more thoroughly could I possibly be on your side?" Theo counters. "There's no secret of the Nott wards that you could give him. He must have been here loads of times when he was alive, and he either knows all about them already, or he doesn't. But you don't know how they work, so you couldn't tell him."

Harry looks slightly more cheerful. "That's true."

"And your godfather and Luna and Neville and Lupin and Blaise are not going to fight on his side. You can't betray anyone by staying here, Harry. I promise."

It takes a few more arguments, but Harry wants to be persuaded, and Theo knows that. It ends up with Harry kissing him and then falling asleep in Theo's embrace. Theo lies with his arm across Harry's shoulders and scowls into the twilight outside his window.

Dumbledore might cut Harry off from information the way he did when he told Weasley and Granger not to write, and his reasons are even understandable. But that doesn't mean Harry simply has to suffer in ignorance.

Theo will work on getting Harry to learn Occlumency. And if Weasley and Granger stay quiet after this, or are kept in ignorance themselves by Dumbledore for fear they'll tell Harry…

Then Theo will just have to play spy in a way Dumbledore never anticipated, sneaking about the Order's members and the Headmaster's office and finding the information for Harry.

The Order is loyal to Dumbledore. Weasley and Granger are loyal to Harry, but divided because they're also uneasy about betraying the Headmaster. Black is loyal to the version of Harry in his head, Lupin probably at least partially to Dumbledore, Blaise to Theo and his mother, Luna to her father, Neville to his grandmother or his family along with Harry.

If Theo is the only one who can be wholly on Harry's side and the only one who will fight for him without concern for divided loyalties and pure morals, then that's a role he'll gladly take on.