When the day started to die as the night began to fall over the castle, Theodore had kept the bone-wand hidden underneath Viripin; only he, Harry, Ron and Hermione knew of its existence and place of concealment. Under no circumstances did they intend to give it away to any of the professors, knowing that if they had any hope in finding the entire truth behind Pettigrew and Black, it had to be kept between them. So, there it remained, hidden, protected and out of sight.
However, keeping Pettigrew's wand underneath Viripin meant that they were expecting the wizard to make another attempt at retrieving it, but their expectations had not been met so far. Buckbeak's execution was nearing with only five days left to spare, and it was just over a week before Hagrid would be cleared off from the grounds. Let's just say that the four weren't in their greatest state of mind. Hagrid had almost been too much to handle, and on top of everything else they were sure to just lose it.
Tension was growing as the year was starting to come to a close. Sawer hadn't returned from Louise ever since he was sent for her birthday, and Madam hadn't given him a reply since his request. He was anxious to think that something went wrong with the owls on their destinations and wondered if they had even fulfilled the deliverances. Sawer's a smart owl, Theodore thought to himself. He'll know danger when he sees it.
So, instead, Theodore had spent the majority of the next few days with the others either in the Hall or common room, trying to talk like everything would turn out OK in the end. Call it lying to oneself or optimism, the four were trying their hardest to stay positive for Hagrid. They had to stomach what would occur in two days time, and had sent letter after letter to the half-giant, hoping that he would reply. To no luck was a letter sent back. Unfortunate, but expected. At least, by Theodore.
After eating breakfast on that morning, Theodore decided to break from the others, claiming that he had to discuss a few things with a teacher that could end up taking the entire day to resolve. This was very much the truth as Theodore intended to speak to a certain professor about something that could save his life in the near future. He just hoped that it wouldn't be too late for him.
"We're staying up in the common room tonight," said Harry discreetly from the opposite side of Gryffindor table, "so don't forget about that."
"Sure," Theodore replied as he stood up from the table. He said his goodbyes and proceeded to leave the Great Hall with the intent on finding that professor. He took a right turn from outside the doors, and went up a floor before reaching the Defence office at the end of a second-floor corridor.
Theodore knocked on the door, hoping that Lupin would be inside. He hadn't seen the man recently at dinner times or breakfast, and wondered if he was doing all right with himself. Theodore had taken it upon himself to make a simple chart regarding the lunar phases during the year, and had frequently went back to it to remind him when Lupin would apparently transform. A full moon was due to occur on the twenty-second, and Theodore wondered if Snape was still regularly giving him his potion. A stab of guilt was felt by Theodore as he realised that by not going to the dungeons every now and then, meant that he neglected Lupin's ailment and medication.
"This is going to be awkward," he muttered to himself. Theodore waited for a few minutes before knocking again, and heard a faint voice from behind inviting him inside before pushing through the door.
The office was dingy with the shutters on the windows blocking the sunlight from outside, barely allowing thin rays to penetrate into the room. That's not to say that it was completely dark. A lantern with a flickering blue flame was sat on Lupin's desk, emitting a faint glow that caught the man's face as he was sitting in his chair looking more fatigued than ever. Lupin lifted his grey face to the boy, and smiled weakly with a hand motioning him to come closer.
"Good morning, Theodore. What brings you here? You must be wondering about your final grade, no?"
Theodore took a seat in front of Lupin's desk before replying. "Actually, I wanted to talk about something else. Something that you must've spoken about with Harry."
"Fire away."
"I wanted to talk about Patronuses. Wasn't that the thing that Harry made during the match against Slytherin," Theodore asked. "I was just wondering since Harry was spending a lot of time with you before the match. You wouldn't happen to know anything about it?"
Lupin tapped his wand against the lantern which intensified its light, and sat up straight. "I have some experience in the topic. Harry did ask me the same thing a few months into the year, but may I ask why you are interested? Just out of curiosity."
"Well…" said the Parselmouth, thinking on what to say without giving anything away about Hogsmeade. "I mean, it does seem fascinating to perform magic that would repel creatures such as Dementors. I've never heard of such magic before, and to see somebody the same age as me doing rare magic has got me interested. Obviously, that's why I came to you."
"I truly do admire your drive to learn outside the norm. Very well. The Patronus Charm is rather rare with many wizards and witches being incapable of casting the charm, let alone a corporeal one."
"Corporeal?" said Theodore with just enough naivety in his voice to make Lupin reveal everything he had to know.
"A Patronus is, in its simplest terms, a physical manifestation of our positive thoughts. A 'guardian' that is as pure and incorruptible as the caster. Usually, when the caster has mastered the charm, the Patronus would take the form of an animal that the caster has a great connection or affinity towards. Every person that has cast a Patronus for the first time would not have any idea as to what animal they —"
Lupin suddenly started to break out in fits of violent coughs as he bent over to the side of his desk. He covered his mouth and had a hand firmly on his chest while the coughs echoed in the office.
"Are you OK, Professor?" Theodore asked with anxiety. He stood up and leaned over to where Lupin had his head facing the floor, and saw him spluttering on the ground. "Professor, should I go get Madam —?"
Lupin held out his palm and got through the last coughs before settling down. "That won't be necessary — I'm fine, Theodore. It's just my body getting ready for when 'it' happens."
The professor coughed some more as Theodore sat back down slowly, staring at Lupin as if he'd collapse at any second. "Have you taken your potion at all recently?" he asked after an extended silence.
"Severus has gotten more sullen these days. He said that the given dosages would be sufficient, but I beg to differ. Then again, I'm not the Potions Master," Lupin replied, falling back into his chair.
"I'll go and get some —" started Theodore before he was cut off by Lupin.
"Thank you… And if you would be so kind, may I also have some Pumpkin Juice? It helps to ease the throat with the aftertaste."
Theodore nodded firmly, then quickly exited the office for the dungeons. A weird sensation in his stomach told him not to turn back despite an unavoidable confrontation with Snape. Where was this feeling throughout the entire year when he was actively trying to escape Snape at every turn? It didn't matter. Theodore hurried along the corridors and turned right to the marble staircase which was full of students either pushing through or lounging on the steps, making it difficult for the Parselmouth to make it to the bottom. Nevertheless, Theodore managed to pave his way through the tight crowd, and made his way to the dungeons.
He finally reached Snape's classroom door and looked all around him for any sign of the professor lurking in the shadows. Just a couple of nervous N.E.W.T students hanging about and nothing more. Once they cleared away from the area, Theodore had no other option but to use his palm the same way he used to do when entering the room. He pressed his hand on the door, awaiting the resistance that it would put up against him, but to his amazement, the door clicked open. Theodore took five seconds to blink in confusion, then slipped inside quickly.
Theodore was momentarily frozen with the fear of Snape being in the classroom beforehand, for the sounds of fluttering that came near the desk area was heard clearly. The shutting of a hidden portrait that was hung next to the shelf in the corner caught Theodore's attention instantly, turning his head as he almost had the urge to dive underneath the desk-tables. But that wasn't the case. There was no Snape inside the classroom; there wasn't even another human inside. Theodore was smacked with shock as he quickly recognised the hook-beaked raven that had been flying over the grounds in search for something. It slowly descended to behind the desk and fluttered its loose feathers, waddling carefully on its thin legs: it hadn't taken notice of the boy.
"What the hell…?"
The raven suddenly squawked at Theodore's reveal. It flapped its wings quite flimsily compared to how it flew outside and crashed into Snape's parchment sheets on his desk, sending them flying everywhere.
"Stupid bird! Do you want to get me in trouble," hissed Theodore. He ran over to the desk to shove the bird to the side and grabbed his wand from his pockets to give it a small wave, charming the parchments to rearrange themselves into the neat stacks that they were before. "Snape's already got it in for me, so I don't need you making things worse. Not that it can't anyway…"
The raven settled on its feet again, but was rather rattled by the boy's sudden appearance. Its wings were trembling unlike any bird that Theodore had ever seen before, and it carried on blinking while it darted its head everywhere, probably looking for an opening to escape from.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to eat you or anything," said Theodore flatly as he looked around the desk, searching for a cauldron with the Wolfsbane Potion inside. "You're probably his replacement after losing Viripin. God, look how mangled your beak is! It almost looks like his! This guy doesn't know how to take care of animals!"
The bird waddled away from him and tried to peck at the portrait for it to open, but it didn't budge. Theodore ignored the odd behaviour and continued to scour for the potion. "It has to be here somewhere. Dumbledore wouldn't allow Snape to just not give Lupin his medication… You wouldn't happen to know where your owner keeps any Wolfsbane Potion would you?" he asked the raven jokingly.
It squawked again and pulled away from the portrait to the diverging cupboard door where Theodore liberated Viripin. The bird pecked on the door repeatedly, causing the boy to wonder if the bird was more intelligent than he had let on. He swung the door open and was met with a familiar stench. A cauldron was bubbling as it held the silver-white colour of the Wolfsbane Potion.
"Huh. Well, would you look at that. You could understand me. Now, where's a goblet when you need one?" Theodore muttered. He found a slightly rusty goblet hidden on top of the shelves, and he gave it a thorough clean-through before pouring the potion inside. There was barely any left, so he had to be careful not to waste a single drop, yet not to overflow so that there would be enough for the rest of the week. The twenty-second was not far away at all.
Theodore finally filled the goblet with enough of the potion and hurried out of the classroom before Snape would arrive. The raven remained quiet for the entire time he was measuring the potion, up to when he left the room. Theodore left it at that and closed the door behind him before setting off back to Lupin's office, stopping briefly at the Great Hall to grab another goblet of Pumpkin Juice as well. Lupin was extremely grateful and awarded Theodore twenty points, something that made Theodore feel even worse that he hadn't been the one to make the potion for him. Alas, the Parselmouth said his goodbyes and left the office, not wanting to bother the sickly professor with his questions.
'If it's rare magic, then surely it can come from a book? Hell, I'll just ask Harry; he'll know how to perform it anyway.'
"Riddle! Riddle!"
Theodore turned his head to the attention of McGonagall frantically walking towards him, holding onto her hat as all the third-years in Gryffindor, and some of the fifth-years and second, were trying to keep up with her as she sped towards him. "Hi, Professor…? What's going —"
"Where have you been? Did you not hear the Headmaster's announcement," she asked almost angrily.
"Pardon? I didn't hear —"
"There's no time to discuss! You of all people should've been wary about this! Come along and follow me!" McGonagall instructed, pressing on as the Gryffindors followed her once more.
"What's going on," he whispered to Harry. "Why did Dumbledore make her round us up?"
Harry leaned in and said, "Dumbledore received some news a few minutes after you left. Apparently, Black was spotted again in Hogsmeade, so they alerted the school to go on temporary shutdown for the moment."
"But that's ridiculous! Black's only one person, he can't do anything against the school with Dumbledore."
"That's what I was thinking. McGonagall had been looking all over for you; she almost went mad when Peeves said that he saw you leaving the castle. Of course, he wasn't exactly lying…"
The Gryffindors carried on walking along the corridors and up the stairs towards the Tower with multiple ghosts and portraits bellowing at each other, screaming orders and ideas that should've been given a long time ago. McGonagall didn't tell them to hush and hurried the students along so that they could make it to the Tower in time, Theodore being given an extra shove to the front.
As they made it to the seventh floor, they approached the Fat Lady in the painting who attempted to flee from the image, but was blocked off from the other portrait-dwellers to remain in her place. Theodore said the password and waved off the trolls that grunted and sniffed at him before he climbed through the hole.
"You are to remain here, all of you," announced McGonagall as everyone settled into the room. "Not a single one of you is to leave this common room. I fear that what Black may inflict onto you" — a quick glance at Theodore — "will be far more harsh than what I have in mind. Fifth-, sixth- and seventh-years, I expect you to watch over the younger years while I'll go collect the rest of the House. Keep vigilant and —"
"There's no need to," exclaimed Hermione as she pointed at the opening portrait. "Look, Percy and Faye have got the rest of us!"
Percy and Faye Greysfield, the seventh-year prefect alongside Percy, was leading a single file of the rest of the House as they scrambled into the common room. The other prefects were found behind them, and seemed to be a little red in their faces. Perhaps Percy was a little overbearing in his duty as Head Boy.
"Mr Weasley and Miss Greysfield! Thank you so much! Here's a register with everybody's names. Please go around and mark each year group, except the seventh. I'll do that myself." McGonagall conjured seven parchment sheets and handed them to the six prefects while keeping one to herself.
"Guys, I think he's trying to get my attention again," Theodore said to the others quietly as they settled at the back tables. "Maybe he wants me to go back to him."
"But you can't go! Not when the castle's on lockdown like this! And Black still attacked you when you had him cornered, and there are Dementors still skulking around."
"Of course, I'm not going to go. I don't even know how to produce a Patronus."
"I think a Patronus is the least of your concerns on whether you want to leave the castle, Theodore," said Hermione, crossing her arms while frowning.
"I told you already. I'm not going to go. I was just saying that Black showing up in the clear could mean that he wants to speak with me again. He probably thinks that I gave it enough time to think things over."
Ron leaned inwards and held himself back when Percy checked them all off before whispering, "So, say he wants to speak with you, and it's important. How the hell will we get to him? It's not like we can send him an owl; it'll be too obvious. We can send Crookshanks to him though."
"That's a good idea, Ron. We can —"
"We're not sending Crookshanks to a place full of Dementors," hissed Hermione. "I thought it was established that he only attacked Scabbers because he was untrustworthy!"
"We know that, and we're sorry for the billionth time, Hermione. Crookshanks is friends with Black, and he can easily get out of the castle without any problems. We'll just have Viripin to translate what he'll say which would have to be a message from Black," countered Ron with a smug face.
"For your information, Viripin hates Crookshanks. In fact, why can't we just send her instead? She can turn into anything."
Theodore saw this question coming and said casually, "She'll probably just lose it, and would try to kill him."
"But — but," Hermione stammered.
"We're not sending Crookshanks or Viripin to Black," interrupted Harry. "Remember, we have to focus on catching Pettigrew. With his wand upstairs, it's our only leverage above him. We do that, then we can turn him over and Black gets his name cleared. Theo, if we have to go down there, like have to go down there, then you can't —"
"We're already far too deep in this, Harry. There's no backing down, and we know this. We'll catch him, don't worry," Theodore assured his cousin with a slight smile. There wasn't a single lie in Harry's words; Theodore knew that the wand was the only thing keeping Pettigrew from leaving the grounds. If he was so desperate to get it back from them, then he had to be hiding in the shadows, maybe even running from Black himself. A part of him just hoped that for once, the year could end on a high note with Black freed, and Pettigrew caught. After the last two, he could really need a somewhat happy ending.
Percy was barking orders after the registers had been completed, and chastised Fred for trying to sneak out of the common room the second McGonagall stepped out of the portrait. The first-years were scared out of their wits as they were desperately clinging to each other's owls to write letters back home, but were told by Percy to calm down and relax.
"Black's not getting in a second time. The Headmaster and the Minister are sure to keep the castle protected, and he surely can't be that stupid to try and run through the Dementors in Hogsmeade," Percy declared with an air of self-reassurance.
So that's where the four remained for the rest of the day. They played Gobstones (Theodore was still terrible at it), talked even further about summer at the Weasleys, and several other things that could keep a conversation going for as long as theirs. The number of children in the common room decreased little by little, the noises dying as each person left for their dorms. Theodore, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Oliver, Katie and three other first-years were the last of the House to remain downstairs, soon leaving the four alone as Katie was the last to say goodnight to them.
"What's the time," yawned Ron as he stretched his long arms across the table.
"Half-past eleven. I thought they'd never leave," Theodore replied after taking a quick glance at the clock. "OK, so I'm assuming we're going to talk about Black and Pettigrew?"
Harry nodded. "We're going to have to lure Pettigrew out somehow, like somewhere he can easily fall into a trap."
"A trap inside the castle?" Hermione asked.
"I was thinking outside. Or at least, around the grounds. I was also thinking that we could get Sirius's attention, so that he could sniff Pettigrew out in the open space."
Ron raised his eyebrow and said, "Sirius?"
"Yeah, 'Sirius'. We can't just keep on calling him Black all the time; he has a first name."
"Let's agree to disagree," Theodore added as he leaned backwards on his chair. "He may be innocent, but he did try to kill me three times already. I'm still calling him Black."
"Anyway," Hermione interjected, "if we're going to trick Pettigrew into coming near the castle, then it better be a good plan. If he can still turn into a rat, then it'll be easy for him to escape."
"That won't be a problem. I already looked up the spell to reverse an Animagus's transformation. If he tries to make a run for it, then we'll catch him off-guard. The problem is that I don't think I'll be able to do it by myself, since I haven't had anything to practice on. So in that case, we'll have to do it all together. Got it?"
Harry nodded his head firmly while Hermione and Ron gave weak smiles. In all honesty, Harry was the only one full of confidence at the table. The others were a little sceptical on if they would succeed or not. The plan needed a severe combover, and there were also other factors including Snape. Theodore knew that if he tried to get anywhere close to the Entrance Hall, then it'd be curtains for him and the others.
"Oh, hello, Viripin," Hermione said happily. The serpent came slithering along the ground slowly as there appeared to be something white in her mouth. "What's that she got there?"
"Is that the wand? Viripin, why did you move it from your basket?" Theodore asked angrily.
"Because it's been poking me ever since you put it there," she snapped back. "I'm not going to sacrifice another night's sleep while this 'thing' tries to break my back! My basket isn't exactly big, you know."
"Then I'll make you a bigger basket, now put it back where it came from!"
"Theodore, relax. She's not doing any harm."
Viripin clattered the wand onto the table and pulled away when Theodore moved his hand towards her. It didn't last for long as he apologised, bringing her to curl up around his shoulders and on top of his head. Theodore picked the wand up — he used his robes to clean off Viripin's saliva — and held it closer to his face.
"Creepy wand," muttered Ron, shuddering as he leaned over Theodore's shoulder without bothering Viripin. "I don't remember my wand looking anything like this when I was at Ollivanders. Do you think he knows the evil kids from the good ones by the wands he sells?"
"It's basic wandlore, Ron. The wand ch—"
"Chooses the wizard, yes, I know that. I was just wondering why this one looks particularly in-your-face evil."
"I was getting to that," Hermione gritted through her teeth. "The wand learns through the wizard, just as much as the wizard does through the wand. It's guaranteed to change the older you grow because you change as well. My wand used to be plain, now it's got these… things." She pointed at the swirls crawling around her wand like vines up a tree.
"If that's true, then Pettigrew must've been fucking malicious. But I guess if you kill twelve Muggles, frame your friends and betray them, all whilst working for You-Know-Who, your wand would twist as well. Boy, can you imagine what You-Know-Who's wand looks like? Freaky!"
The bone-wand was vibrating again in his fingers, buzzing much more vigorously than before. He still hadn't forgotten about those words that came into his thoughts when he held it in his hand. They somehow made it into his dreams, a silky cold voice that used to give him unknowing comfort, now deep disturbance. For a second, he thought back to Ginny when she told him about her nightmares. Their talk was long overdue; perhaps, if he was allowed to go, the summer would give them enough time to —
"What the hell?" Harry's hand reached the insides of his robes and brought out his wand that seemed to be jerking wildly between his fingers.
"What's wrong?"
"My wand, it's — it's out of control…"
"Has this happened before?" asked Theodore as he held the bone-wand comfortably, resting his hand on the table.
"Only when I first got it, and back then it never reacted like — what the fuck?!"
Harry's and Pettigrew's wands blew out white, red and green sparks from their tips in sync, rocking wildly in both the boys' fingers with their grips slowly starting to falter. Suddenly, a thin golden thread was formed by the wandtips, hanging loosely in between before Theodore dropped the wand intentionally. The thread snapped and dissolved in the air, the bone-wand still jerking across the table by itself, capturing the children's attention. Neither of them spoke a word. They all just looked down on it, completely struck with confusion by what had exactly happened. And just for a moment, Theodore ran the words Ron spoke about the wand, and wondered how truly could a cowardly man like Pettigrew could obtain a wand with such chilling vigour and eeriness.
For the next four days of the remaining school year, the four had kept to themselves by planning and preparing for whatever trap that was intended for Pettigrew. Four days seemed like more than enough time to create a cohesive plan, but devising a method that was sure to catch a rouge wizard did not fare too well. Aside from the multiple distractions, lack of privacy and constant shifts in planning area, the quartet found it strenuously difficult, always hitting a dead end and moving backwards to where they started. It was only luck did they manage to progress with their plan, and that progress was not something to be entirely proud of.
However, some of their spirits were considerably lifted as the morning of the twenty-second caught up quickly. The four were sat in the Great Hall, awaiting for the day to finally end when a brown owl came swooping down above to land in front of Harry, who was admittedly startled by its sudden arrival. The owl shook its leg and was freed from the letter that was attached to it, flying off to where it came from.
"Guys, it's Hagrid," Harry said excitedly, tearing the envelope and plucking the letter from inside. "It says that he's staying in the Leaky Cauldron, and Buckbeak's having the time of his life. He — he's saying thank you for everything that we did, and how great of a friend he had in all of us…"
"Hogwarts won't be the same without him," said Hermione sadly, clattering her spoon inside her empty bowl. "I can't imagine seeing Hagrid going someplace else. What will they do with his Hut? Take it down?"
"Dumbledore would never let that happen. Hagrid's Hut will —" Theodore stopped mid-sentence. Dumbledore had suddenly arrived near the staff table with Snape, both looking unnervingly emotionless. For Dumbledore it was odd to see him without any vibrancy, but for Snape, Theodore had only gotten a glimpse of what he was hiding behind closed doors. Just a glimpse; nothing more.
"Do you think he's hurting?" Ron asked quietly as he too noticed Dumbledore's lack of joy in his expression.
"Of course. He just doesn't want to show it. I mean, it's not in his nature to… breakdown." Theodore looked at the old man some more, thinking that Dumbledore must've felt something intense towards Hagrid's dismissal. It was only natural for him to feel that way after everything that he did for him.
Breakfast seemed dragging for just an hour and a half and soon, the Hall began to clear up. Theodore told the others that he would be in the library trying to see if anything would be of use to them for their plan. He heard from one of the Slytherin prefects talking about a Stunner, indicating that it was a spell of some sorts. He only managed to catch a snippet of the incantation; a spell like that could mean a swift victory without any chance of Pettigrew escaping. But if only it were that easy. Theodore then said goodbye to the others and proceeded to walk off to the library.
Theodore quickly entered the library and seated himself in a private corner on the far end of the enormous room. He figured that since Madam Pince was looking particularly sulky on that morning — not that it wasn't a surprise at all — he'd have to do the searching himself. Not that hard, right? There was just one thing that he needed to do, or have a grasp on at least.
He made sure that nobody was giving him any sort of attention (the library was empty, and he was certain that he was the only one there), and checked around the corners to see if Madam Pince decided to keep her eyes on him. Nothing alarming seemed to pique his interest. Theodore then brought out his wand and closed his eyes tightly.
"Happy memory… think of a happy memory…" he muttered to himself, trying to drag out what memories had brought him joy in his life. Not forgetting about his curiosity during the past few days, Harry had explained to him the key to successfully casting the rare charm: think of the happiest memory possible. Theodore almost laughed by what he thought was quite silly, but calmed himself down when Harry didn't even crack a smile. If it meant drowning yourself in unbridled joy for something so useful, then he guessed that it was worth it.
He thought long and hard, digging for that memory that would serve him well. 'When I told Harry that we were cousins. That was a good memory.' Theodore tied that thought down and waved his wand in circles as he muttered "Expecto Patronum" quietly. Faint tendrils and light blew from his wandtip like cobwebs in the wind, drifting dreamily in air, completely weightless.
'OK, that's good! Better than last time. But I can do better…'
And he believed that. Digging and digging further down his subconscious, he scoured for that memory that would reveal his Patronus to him. It was almost surprising that the only time he could think about anything truly happy was when he was being assimilated by dark magic.
'When… when I saw my mother's face for the first time…'
"Expecto Patronum!" A stronger glow from his wand was seen as Theodore leaned back in shock. Now this he wasn't expecting. Granted that it absolutely paled in comparison to Harry's, Lupin's and Aberforth's, he was getting there, he could feel it. But he could still do more…
'When I… when I found out I was a — no. When I first met Lou—'
"Having fun there, Theo?" Hermione's face popped out from around the corner as she smirked at the boy whose eyes were firmly shut. "I can see that you got a little distracted."
"Eh, I was going to get around to it. Besides, it's still morning, right? Plenty of stuff that we can go through before we — you know."
"Then it wouldn't hurt for two heads instead of one. I'll join you." And so, Hermione vanished from around the corner and returned with a stack of books ten minutes later. She plopped them in front of Theodore and sat on the opposite side of the desk, taking the highest book and instantly flicking through it.
"You know what this reminds me of? When I dragged you into helping me to find out about Slytherin and my parents," said Theodore. He had Train and Guide: The Guide Towards Training open in front of him that depicted several methods of incapacitating opponents in duels.
"You didn't drag me, you were just… very motivated to find out about him."
"It's all right: obsessive isn't a swear word, you can use it. I just find it funny how back then it meant everything to me, but now I don't even care for it."
Hermione looked up from her book and said, "Well, you must care just a little. Sure, he's not exactly the best historical figure to be related to, but it should be something to be admired at, or at least recognise. Having an heir of the Founders in the school is extremely rare. I think that you're probably the only Founder's heir still alive."
"Not the only one alive, remember," Theodore mumbled without taking his eyes away from his book. This was probably the furthest he had gotten when talking about his ancestor and father to Hermione in a casual conversation. The thought of a future where he could speak freely about it, even take a little jab towards it, seemed impossible.
"Right… Do you sometimes think about what he's doing out there?" she asked quietly. The topic was sensitive, but she hadn't touched a nerve too harshly so far.
"He won't come back. That's how I always think about him," he said back quite firmly.
"Sorry, I didn't — OW!" Hermione slapped her hands on her neck, wincing like she did when it happened for the first time.
"Again? Didn't you say that it stopped hurting?"
"I did, but it just keeps on coming back! After McGonagall took the Time-Turner from me, she had Madam Pomfrey give me a potion to help ease the pain, but it's not going — what are you doing?"
Theodore stood up from his seat and slid across the table to the other side. "Let me see what's bothering you. If it's that bad, then you should go complain again."
"Theodore, it's fine, really," she protested while she tightened her grip around her neck. "You don't have to —"
"Hermione, let's not do this, OK? You're in pain, and I just want to see what's the problem. There's no point trying to hide it now because sooner or later, I'll find out."
Hermione sighed deeply and closed her eyes as her hands fell to the table slowly. Her collar was already loosened, and her tie was undone around her shoulders, so all he had to do was to pull it down a little and…
…
"Shit…"
Hermione did a very great job at covering her neck. If she had never screamed in pain before, Theodore could believe himself not noticing it throughout the seven years of school. Around the base of her neck was a single red line that looked like she had been yanked by a white-hot noose. The scarring wasn't so explicit, but it felt disturbing to see it on her. The scar led all around her neck and down towards her chest to where she suddenly kept her hands on.
Hermione covered her neck once again, not batting a single eye to the Parselmouth who kept silent. "I thought — I thought that I could get away with the Basilisk last year. There was barely any scratching on my arm, so my parents didn't find out. But what am I supposed to do with this? What will they say when they see this?"
"Why didn't you tell me the first time," Theodore asked softly. "If we had looked for help back then, this probably wouldn't have happened."
"Because I didn't want you to worry. Isn't that what you say when you're doing something crazy or life-threatening?"
Theodore managed a small curl of the lip as he said, "You're not using me as an example, are you? I'm like, the worst one to use. You shouldn't be scared to tell me these things, Harry and Ron included. Keeping them in the dark by telling only me isn't fair."
"Well, it's not going to be any use to them now, is it? I don't have the Time-Turner anymore. If I did, I'd think about going back to that lesson with Buckbeak and pushing Malfoy out of the way for none of this to ever happen."
"That would be handy right about now. Maybe you weren't so crazy about taking all electives. I wish I had a Time-Turner…"
Hermione scoffed. "There's no way I'm going to the next year taking all electives. Now that is lunacy. I felt like complete and utter shit for this entire year," she groaned while taking the next book on the pile.
Theodore gasped and slapped his hand on his mouth. "Oh. My. God. Hermione Granger, the Hermione Granger, just swore. And I was a witness to it. Goodness, if Christmas hadn't come early…"
"You're being ridiculous," Hermione replied with a smile on her face. The two decided to leave the library much earlier than they intended to, knowing that if they were going to execute their plan, they needed to be all together for as much as possible. They met Harry and Ron in the common room soon after, going over all the risks that they could possibly face in a few possible hours. Pettigrew was still dangerous and probably was just as unstable as Black. But something told Theodore that they couldn't lose at all. Something very, very small.
Sunlight still covered the grounds, setting an orangey hue across the castle, lake and fields. The hallways were still full of stragglers enjoying the rest of the day, waiting for the oncoming evening to set to tell them that it was time to return to their common rooms. They weren't the only ones feeling lethargic as the teachers also became relaxed, being more mellow in the corridors, giving more freedom to the students after curfew. Certainly not by enough though, but just enough for Theodore, Harry, Hermione and Ron.
"What's the" — Ron stretched and yawned — "time now? We've been walking around for hours!"
"It's half-past eight. We only got about thirty minutes till we have to go back to the Tower again," answered Theodore, clicking his pocket watch before setting it back into his robes again.
"You mean until you have to go back. The only reason that they cut down our curfew is so that you would be safe."
"Well, then it was pretty pointless in the end, wasn't it? You got the Cloak ready, Harry?"
Harry slapped his stomach that seemed to bulge a little. "You sure you won't need it? I can give it to you, and we'll be able to go —"
"No, it's fine. And the Invisibility Cloak won't shield me from the Map anyway. It's not like I'm trespassing, or at least not yet. We still got loads of time."
The four walked side by side down to the Entrance Hall, stopping at the bottom of the steps to see Theodore off. "It's not too late to switch around," said Hermione.
"I'll be fine. You guys worry too much."
"It's only because you made Snape go mental at least three times this year. A fourth time, and he'll probably explode!"
Theodore simply shrugged and told them that it couldn't get any worse. Well, could it? He'd been slashed across the face by a crazy man, and was attempting to save that said man from his false conviction. Nothing could possibly top this.
The others hid behind the hourglasses when a couple of sixth-years came from McGonagall's classroom while Theodore turned to the dungeons. Snape couldn't have been anywhere else inside the castle but inside his classroom or office. Theodore wasn't breaking any rules. If Snape saw him coming, then he couldn't do anything to him: he kept on telling himself that.
The Parselmouth came to Snape's classroom door, but turned his head to the left, facing the corridor that led to the Potions Master's office and Slytherin Common Room. He couldn't afford to be caught out by either teacher or a random student. Taking his chances, he pressed his palm against the door and pushed his way inside.
For a split second, he saw the portrait next to the shelf swinging just a little before it rested by being tilted on its side. A single ebony feather descended quite clumsily in the air, finally landing on the Marauder's Map that was distinct on Snape's desk. Theodore closed the door behind him and rushed towards the desk, brushing the greasy feather aside as he almost knocked the rusted goblet full of Wolfsbane on its side.
"Shit! I forgot to give Lupin his potion, and he's going to transform tonight! He's probably — what…?" His attention was drawn away from the goblet and to the Map that was folded on its side, but again still active. He grabbed it quickly, thinking that Snape must've seen the others in the Entrance Hall and had somehow snuck past him, but then he saw it. Saw them.
Pettigrew's dot was inside Hagrid's Hut idly, squirming just a little, but otherwise remaining still. But another dot, a dot that was moving far too fast for a single human, was heading towards the Hut. Severus Snape.
"He's going after him… Snape was looking for Pettigrew this whole time, not looking for us… I have to tell the others!" Theodore grabbed the Map and dashed towards the door, but turned back to grab the potion before he exited the classroom.
'Snape doesn't know that he's an Animagus; he could give him the slip, and we could lose him for—'
Theodore suddenly hid in the crevasse just behind the archway to the dungeons, ducking as low as he could from the approaching footsteps. He glanced down at the Map and watched Lupin's dot moving down the stairs and to the archway. The Parselmouth kept his breath under control, slightly pushing himself further into the crevasse. Lupin's dot stopped, then walked off to the front doors, sending an echo through the dungeons by their closing.
Time had passed so quickly. His pocket watch read eight past nine. A whole thirty-nine minutes gone in just a blink of an eye. He looked back at the Map, muttering to himself, "Where is he going without his potion? Why — you've got to be fucking kidding me!" Theodore bounded out from his hiding place and ran to the doors, levitating the goblet to follow him behind.
'Why did you guys leave? Don't follow Lupin, stay where you are so I can tell you where Pettigrew is!'
The sun was naturally falling behind the horizon, creating purples across the sky, darkening the grounds and beyond. Theodore ran as he looked down on the Map, seeing six dots that crossed all over the place almost throwing him off.
Snape just managed to catch the Parselmouth's eye before he disappeared off the Map in the direction towards Hogsmeade with the other three tailing him. Lupin's dot diverged from the carriage pathway towards the Whomping Willow before it too vanished. Sirius Black came racing from the edge of the Forbidden Forest and zipped across the grounds to Hogsmeade soon before each dot became lost across the parchment's borders.
Stuffing the Map in his robes after deactivating it, Theodore then broke into a full sprint, pushing his body further than he ever could, his muscles burning under how much energy he needed to muster. Another swish of the wand, and he flew straight over the gates, barely stumbling on his feet as his balance was near perfect.
'Come on! Push harder! Go faster…! Faster!'
Theodore's legs unwillingly gave way when he saw a mound of black cloth laid near the golden archways. 'No… not you guys… Not you guys…!' He dropped to his knees and prodded the pile of cloth, feeling something squirm, followed by the faintest nasally groan. "Harry? Ron, Herm— Professor Snape?"
His godfather didn't respond, and his pale face was unreactive. Theodore rolled him over a little to his side and tapped his face repeatedly. "Professor! Professor, wake up! Pettigrew could've escaped by now, and my friends are going into Hogsmeade where the Dementors — wait… he Stunned you…"
There was still no time. Pettigrew was still around somewhere, and he didn't know if Harry could defend himself and the others from all of those Dementors. He grabbed Snape from underneath his shoulders and hauled him over to the side of the archway that was covered with brambles and blackberry bushes. Snape was obscured by the thick branch that was protruding from the bush, still unresponsive to his clumsy placing.
"Sorry. I'm…" He left it at that and pelted into the village without looking back. Hopefully, the Dementors wouldn't stumble by his side.
The streets were barren once more, despite the dying sunlight that was retreating above the cottages and shops. Theodore didn't feel the usual sensation of his chest closing in on itself, marking that he was clear from Dementors. But he heard shouting… loud voices coming from up ahead, just before the four-way junction. He ran faster and faster through the streets, then took a sharp left to the cul-de-sac where Hog's Head was.
"Stop! Don't you take another step closer!"
"Get off him!" roared Ron from a distance as his arm was outstretched with a wand in hand.
"I said get back!" a familiar voice squealed, hidden by Ron's tall figure with Harry and Hermione beside him, both keeping their wands pointed in front of them. "Get back, or I'll kill this —"
"Oh, don't stop short for me, Peter," Theodore announced puffily as he joined his friends with the bone-wand oddly being in his grasp. "It is Peter, isn't — what did you do?"
It was true all along: thinning colourless hair, a pointed upturned nose, beady eyes and a hand short of a finger brandishing a wand that Theodore recognised as Snape's, almost firmly driven against the skull of an old man.
"Aberforth! You fucking let him go —!"
"Ah ah ah! Y-you can't do anything if I have him hostage," squeaked Pettigrew with some fear in his voice. "I'll do it, you know! I could kill him!"
"If you kill him, then you won't have any leverage," seethed Harry, glaring venomously at the man who caused his parents' deaths. "We got you outnumbered, four to one."
Pettigrew stiffened and dug the wandtip further into Aberforth's brain. He barely even looked conscious; his eyes were swirling in their sockets, and his body was just limp. Pettigrew was more dangerous than Theodore thought, being able to take down two proficient wizards in a matter of minutes. "You won't let th-this man die. You're too caring for that, just like your father —"
"How dare you say anything about his father after what you did to him," raged Theodore. He could feel his eyes burning with the same anger he had towards Black, but it was much more potent here.
Pettigrew attempted a terrifying grin, but it came off rather silly and off-putting. "But you must understand me, Theodore! Yo-you must understand how it feels to be under the Dark Lord's influence and power, no?"
"You say another word and I'll k—!"
"Don't! O-or I'll kill him," babbled the traitor as he cowered backwards. "Drop them. Your wands, d-drop them, or else…"
…
Hermione's was the first to clatter on the ground, then it was Ron's. Harry and Theodore both kept theirs in hand. They had no intention of losing, much less to a piece of filth like him.
"I said drop them!"
"Theo… drop it," whispered Hermione fearfully while she tugged slightly at his robes. "Come on, do it… or he'll kill him…"
He heard Harry's wand dropping to the floor and turned his head to him. Harry didn't look back, and only kept his murderous stare at Pettigrew who was blinking wildly at Theodore, or to be specific, the bone-wand. It shook in his hand like it never wanted to let go. Theodore didn't want to let go, but Aberforth could die. He couldn't let him die…
The wand's hook swung a little on Theodore's little finger before it was the last to fall. Pettigrew giggled, but still kept his hold onto Aberforth's hair. "Let him go then."
"You're lucky. I would've killed him, you know. Your father taught me enough magic that would haunt your dreams." Theodore almost lunged forward, but was held back by Hermione and Ron, and kept himself firmly to his spot. "You're a lot like the Dark Lord. I should know; I've been around you for three years. But, unfortunately, I think it's about time that I left. Goodbye, children, and thank you, Ron, for taking good care of me. Say hello to Percy for me, will you?"
Pettigrew dropped Aberforth to sprawl on the ground and charged away, suddenly shrinking as he ran. So then why was Theodore grinning? 'You fucking idiot…'
Theodore quickly reached into his robes and brought out his own wand, pointed straight at Pettigrew as he yelled "Stupefaye!" A whitish-red jet of light erupted from his wand and hit Pettigrew straight on his back, causing him to stumble a little, but not crumple as intended. Theodore noted that he didn't say the correct incantation, but forgot about it quickly, lifting his hand as the wands on the floor rose in mid-air and were immediately snatched by their owners.
"Kubdilsha Mabdilko!" bellowed the four in unison for Pettigrew was already in his rat form, trying to squirm under a crack between the buildings. Well, not for long. Bright blue lights illuminated the street from the four wands, showing the four what was happening before their eyes so clearly.
Pettigrew was flung into the air; his tail disappeared, then his arms and legs returned, his dry skin coming back as quickly as they left before his entire being slammed onto the ground. But a broken nose didn't stop him at all. He scrambled for Snape's wand in front of him, beating Harry to it. He raised it up and aimed at the defenceless boy point-blank, but nothing happened to Harry. A shadow flew over their heads and crashed into Pettigrew, blindingly sending him skidding across the ground for it was so fast. The giant dog pinned the traitor down, baring its jaws before it swooped down for the kill—
"No! Don't kill him, Sirius!" The dog froze. He turned his head towards Harry, growling devilishly with his grey eyes almost fading away completely, but still visible. "Yes, Sirius. That's what I'm calling you. Don't kill him, please. It's the only way for you to be truly free from all of this. If you kill him, then… what's the point?"
Black blinked at his godson, clearly lost in thought before he found himself again. The dog began to shrink; the hair retreated back into the skin until the face of a tortured man came into view. "Harry… you know what he did to me… to you…"
"I know what he did," said Harry as he took a step closer to him, "I know everything that he did, so he'll pay the price in Azkaban. You'll be free from the Dementors, and we won't have to see him again if you spare him. It won't be mercy —"
"Sirius, please," stammered Pettigrew from underneath his former friend.
"Shut it! I ought to kill you for what you did! How could you, after everything we did together?! How?!" Black snapped. His hands were dangerously close to Pettigrew's neck, but no choking sounds were heard from the traitor.
"It wasn't my fault! You – you were the one —"
"If I hear another word, I'll — Remus?"
Everyone swivelled around to see Lupin sicker than ever, but alive and walking. He was brandishing a wand in his left hand, but did not raise it at all. He merely staggered over, body struggling to keep upright. "When I heard bangs and shouting from the Shrieking Shack, I didn't expect to see you here, old friend. I'm rather surprised that nobody has come out from their buildings to see this disturbance."
"Wait — old friend?" said Ron with his jaw dropped. "Since when were you friends with Sirius Black?!"
"Since the day that we met on the first train ride to Hogwarts. Him and… dear god, Peter? How — what's going on? First, I see Severus unconscious near the bushes, now my friends are either back from the dead or out of prison!"
Black scoffed. "Can't believe that idiot is a teacher here. Dumbledore's lost his mind!"
"Sirius," Lupin started, hand still on his wand, "explain to me what's going on. Tell me how Peter's alive, how you escaped from Azkaban, all of this. Before…" He looked up to the sky for night was starting to fall.
"It's a rather long story, old friend, and I do not think that you have enough time," Black replied. "I just want you to know that I never betrayed James and Lily. I was never their Secret Keeper, despite what everybody else was told. This bastard" — he pressed his palm painfully into Pettigrew's ribs — "was the reason that they were killed, wasn't you? You sold them to Lord Voldemort, didn't you?!"
"I didn't — I swear!"
"How am I to trust you, Sirius? It's been far too long…"
"If you won't believe me, then believe them. They know the truth."
Lupin turned to the silent teens and asked them softly, "Is all of this the truth?" They nodded their heads without hesitation, earning an inaudible gasp of surprise from Sirius. "Dumbledore told me that you four were a handful, but he never said that you were liars. I want to apologise, Sirius, for not believing you."
"No. Don't. We both done our fair shares of suspicion towards each other, but it's finished now. We can put this all behind us. Can we, Harry?"
Harry grinned at his godfather. "Yeah. Yeah, we can."
"And I wanted to apologise to you too," said Sirius to Theodore, "for everything that I've done to you. I truly couldn't remember any of it until recently. Like it was only flashes in my mind. I never meant to hurt you, and everything that I said about your mother was —"
The Parselmouth raised his palm. "Let's just bring Pettigrew to the castle and not get ahead of ourselves. You're still a criminal to everyone else, remember? Oh, I almost forgot!" He turned his head around and motioned for the goblet to descend from the air into his hand. "You'll be drinking this now. I almost forgot to give it to you. I'm sorry."
Lupin waved the apology aside and thanked him. He braced himself for the taste and chugged down the potion until there was nothing left. "Truly revolting… but a willing trade with being locked in a room for several hours at a time, scratching and biting yourself."
"Is that why you go to the Shrieking Shack," asked Hermione curiously. "To keep your transformations contained?"
"Transformations?"
"Mr Weasley, have you not recognised any of the indications of my condition during the year? Miss Granger has surely caught on. Don't tell me you weren't paying attention in my classes?"
Ron raised an eyebrow and said, "I don't follow."
"Professor Lupin is a werewolf, Ron."
"WHAT?!"
Theodore knelt down next to a stirring Aberforth, supporting him on his side and helping him gradually to his feet. The innkeeper mumbled incoherently, and carried on muttering "got me from behind", and "said he was running".
"Aberforth, you're going to be OK. Don't hurt yourself." Theodore allowed him to use his shoulder to help lift himself up, even if he struggled under the weight. "I haven't seen any 'hospital' shops here or anything, so you'll have to come with us to the castle as well…"
"No… leave me here with Ruckus… leave me with Ruckus…"
"Aberforth, who the hell is Ruckus, your goat? I can't leave you here! God knows how many times he Stunned you. We're going to the castle. Hey, Harry, Ron, Hermione! What do we do about Bla— I mean, Sirius? We can't just waltz in with him and Pettigrew."
"We were just talking about that. If we bring him —"
"ARRRRRGGHHHH!"
Everyone jumped at Lupin's howls of pain as he fell to his feet, screaming while saliva dripped from his mouth. He was shaking violently on the ground, his spine cracking painfully and pushing through his robes until his back tore right through. Greyish-black hair started to spread along his body, covering every inch while he only grew bigger and bigger. He gained claws on both hands and feet that broke through his shoes, and his snout pushed through his skull. It all looked so painful, disturbing to the very bone.
"Remus…" called Sirius as he watched the werewolf growling dangerously. "Harry, Ron, hold him down for me. Remus? You know who I am, don't you?" His hand was outstretched, closing the space between the two friends. Sirius didn't look scared, but he should've been. Theodore had no idea if the potion was enough, or if it was still effective at most. There was no telling. "Remus? It's me. It's Sirius… your friend…"
The beast growled even more and prowled like a predator towards Sirius, jaws ready to snap with foam building on the sides. Sirius displayed no fear and kept on walking. Closer, closer… Lupin stopped his growling when he felt Sirius's hand brushing against his snout slightly. He remained still. The werewolf then unhinged its jaws and yawned before it blinked back at Sirius, devoid of any hostility.
"I've never been so close to him when I was in my normal form without him attacking me," Sirius revealed in awe. "That's the reason we became Animagi. For Remus. We knew of his lycanthropy, so we set ourselves a task of turning into animals. I got a dog, the traitor over there got a rat, Severus got a bird and —"
"My dad? What did he get?"
Sirius chuckled as Lupin released another yawn. "Why, your dad just had to have something that was cooler than the rest of ours. He was originally going for a lion and a phoenix, but —"
Pettigrew started to giggle again underneath Ron and Harry, although Theodore was attentive to how truly evil it sounded in his ears. It didn't suit him at all, being far above his caliber and league.
"What's so funny, Peter," spat Sirius, moving his hand for the two boys to move to the side as he stared down on him. "Mocking me for reminiscing our schooldays?"
"I always had a plan," he gurgled, ignoring Sirius as well as the pain on his chest. "The Dark Lord told me this, just in case you'd turn…"
Sirius looked at him confusingly, saying, "What? What are you talking abou—?"
"YOU KILLED JAMES AND LILY POTTER!" screamed Pettigrew at the top of his lungs.
It happened again. The screaming, the thrashing. Sirius's body started to change as everyone backed away from him. The dog emerged in Sirius's spot; his humanity was stripped, for his soulless eyes told them everything. Sirius barked madly and charged forwards with his striking speed.
Theodore had his eyes on Pettigrew and saw him shrinking down into a rat, vanishing into the same crack with his tail — he suddenly felt his lungs and ribs being ripped and punctured in a second and was thrown back violently on the floor as he foolishly disregarded the oncoming beast. Theodore started to shiver on the ground, feeling the blood pouring out from his chest, hearing the screams of Hermione, Harry and Ron pounding in his ear and the blurry image of Lupin bounding above him to clamp his jaws around Sirius's neck. It all happened so fast that he couldn't tell what was going on: all he knew was that he was going to die, for real this time…
"Theo! What do we do, Hermione!" Ron panicked as Theodore began to wheeze slowly. "He's dying!"
"I-I don't know," she stammered back with tears flowing down her cheeks. "I — I never healed someone —"
"He's dying, Hermione! Do something!"
"I can't! I can't, I don't know how! Theodore, please hold on for me, please!"
Theodore could barely hear her. He was just slipping away…
"STOOOPP!" Two flashes and massive bangs flew across Theodore's limp body and exploded at the two beasts that were battling, sending one of them crashing into Hog's Head while the other narrowly missed Aberforth who was on his knees against a pole. Snape had his wand outstretched from the entrance of the cul-de-sac before he shortly hurried over to the dying boy.
"Professor," said Hermione tearfully. "I couldn't —"
"Stand aside," he said frantically, almost surprising the three with the explicit fear in his face. They scurried backwards, not noticing that their hands were stained with blood as Snape waved his wand over Theodore's chest slowly. "Vulnera Sanentur… Vulnera Sanentur… Vulnera Sanentur…" He chanted this again and again; his voice would sometimes croak just a little. "Vulnera Sanentur…"
Theodore could feel some of the pain being alleviated, and his flow of oxygen slowly being brought back up to normal levels. His eyes fluttered on the brink of consciousness, somehow being lulled by the faint singing in his ear. It was… calming. Like he heard it before. His lungs were being knitted back together, he could feel it, and his ribs were clicking back into place, mending themselves. He was moving away from that brink… but was slipping back over. Cold…
The Dementors were coming. They already arrived, probably all of them. An army of wheezing creatures of darkness started to close in on everyone, trapping them inside the dead end, sucking the joy that was being depleted. Aberforth was the first to fall victim to being overwhelmed for his weak state could no longer hold up against them.
Snape had his arms stretched out wide and backed away as the trio carried Theodore behind him on his command. "Stay behind me! Whatever you do, do not move! Potter! Come here!"
"Why — Guys? Guys!" Harry watched Hermione and Ron stumbling to the ground to Theodore's side, falling unconscious to the Dementors as well. They were nearing, closer and closer… "We have to help them!"
"Then help them! Cast a — a Patronus with me, and don't you lose your concentration!" Snape instructed firmly with his wand pointing at the army. Harry prepared his wand, albeit lazily, and pointed at the Dementors.
"When have I ever lied to you, my son? I've been honest from the moment you spoke to me. I have no reason to lie."
"DON'T LIE TO ME!"
Cold…
"Expecto Patronum!" Snape and Harry chanted in unison, producing white lights while it only grew colder.
"Come on, Potter! Do better! Again!"
"Expecto Patronum!"
"Oh god… oh god… no… No… No…"
So cold…
"Again, Potter! You're being sloppy," chastised Snape with his words slurred. "Do — Do it again!"
"I'm trying…" muttered Harry tiredly.
"You're not trying hard enough! Do you want them to die? Do — do you want your godfather and cousin to die? Feel it, Potter! Feel it and release! Stop being weak!"
"Expecto Patronum! Expecto Patronum… Expecto…"
"Be strong for me… Be strong for Salazar… Please… Please, be strong…"
Slipping… He was slipping again…
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"
Theodore lolled his head to the side, eyes barely able to register from the blinding lights with his consciousness starting to fail him completely. He felt so weak, felt so wrong that he could hear his father's words in his ear again, clear as day. It was like he was in a dream. It was like all of it was a dream. There he saw a stag and a doe bathed in light that was white and pure, charging through the shadows as they obliterated them from a mere touch. Their lights were so beautiful to look at, to see them intertwining together to destroy the darkness. The lights never faded; they grew stronger unlike him, whose eyes closed not in weakness, but in the comfort of knowing that he was safe somehow.
"Sleep, Theodore. Sleep…"
"What the hell?" Harry's hand reached the insides of his robes and brought out his wand that seemed to be jerking wildly between his fingers.
"What's wrong?"
"My wand, it's — it's out of control…"
Fuck me, it took me ages to right this without laughing! I remember seeing a post where the word 'wand' was replaced by 'penis', and I just lost it. I'm such a child…
So many things happening at once! Sirius seems to have trigger words that turn him crazy, the wands were linking up by a golden thread, and Snape was worried over Theo! Does this mean that he cares…? There's too much to talk about so I'll leave you to think for yourselves. Heads up for the final chapter of PoA that's coming next. I hope you'll like that one as well as I hope you enjoyed this one. Later.