A/N: Slightly longer chapter than the previous ones, due to it being several different scenes/encounters Theo experiences throughout the day.
No TW for this one, unless nosey people trigger you...then you might get a little annoyed with Blaise and Pansy.
ooo
Theo rubbed a hand over his tired eyes, before taking another glance at his watch. — 2:18 am. He'd been cooped up in his bed with the curtains spelled shut for over four hours, tirelessly researching and testing a variety of different charms; and now it was finally time to see the results.
He picked up a quill and dipped it carefully into a pot of ink that was precariously balanced on a stack of books, before placing its tip onto the first page of the tiny notebook. He paused there, blowing out a slow, shaky stream of air to calm his racing heart, before holding his breath altogether. If this didn't work, then all the endless hours of research and tinkering he'd been doing over the last few days would be in vain.
Still not daring to breathe, he pulled his bottom lip between his teeth, repositioned the quill tip on the paper and wrote: 'My name is Theodore Ignatius Nott' in tight, cursive letters.
It took approximately two seconds until a second, identical diary next to it began to glow hotly and Theo's breath exited his lungs in a whooshing gasp. Heart thudding and fingers trembling he picked up the second little book, flicked to its first page and read the words in an exact copy of his elegant penmanship 'My name is Theodore Ignatius Nott.'
It worked!
Suppressing an elated laugh, he tried again, this time writing into the second journal, just to make sure the charm worked both ways.
'I fucking did it!'
Just like with the first message there was only a couple of seconds delay until the other book began to glow and the new words appeared below Theo's name: 'I fucking did it!'
"Well shit!" Theo muttered, barely able to contain his glee. He had really done it. Just as long as they kept these diaries on them, he and Neville would be able to communicate no matter where they were. His stomach fluttered wildly at the thought, and he had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from dissolving into excited giggles.
Deciding that his unusual giddiness was probably due to his level of exhaustion and lack of sleep, he pushed all his books to the foot of his bed, vanished the two lines he had just written in the diaries and pushed them carefully under his pillow, before he extinguished his wand with a whispered "Nox" and let his tousled head of curls fall onto his pillow.
'Tomorrow I'm going to find Neville and give this to him.' He thought with a wide grin on his face. — He couldn't wait to see the Gryffindor's face when he'd show it to him.
ooo
The next day didn't quite turn out the way Theo had intended, however.
Everything still seemed fine at breakfast. Theo cast a quick glance over to the Gryffindor table upon entering the Great Hall and was pleased to find Neville sitting in his usual spot next to Ginny Weasley, before he walked over to his own house-table, making sure that he sat with his back facing the hall as to not be tempted to watch his new friend while eating and potentially get caught staring.
He had his usual bowl of porridge and a cup of strong, black tea, then went on to sit through a rather uneventful and terribly boring lesson of History Of Magic. But Theo didn't really mind. He was too excited to see Neville that night and give him the charmed diary to let Professor Binns' monotonous retelling of the Warlocks' Convention of 1709 dampen his mood.
It wasn't until their double class of Potions that things started to go wrong. Professor Slughorn had just tasked them to turn to page three hundred and eighty-two of their Potions book and follow the instructions to brew a Blood-Replenishing Potions — a tincture that Slughorn had called 'essential in times like these', — when Pansy Parkinson slid into the seat next to Theo.
"So…" She murmured and cast a quick Incendio to light a fire below the cauldron in front of her, a tantalising smirk on her haughty face. "Blaise told me that he nearly caught you with a girl the other night."
Theo froze for just a fraction of a second, before he managed to roll his eyes, make a noncommittal noise and shake his head in faux disbelief; opting to stay quiet and pretend to be amused, rather than shocked by the allegations, as he fished three large, pickled leeches out of a jar and began to cut them into small, even cubes.
"Okaaay…" Pansy mused when it became clear that Theo wasn't going to comment on the topic, leaning over to Theo's side to grab the jar of pickled leeches for herself and casting him a curious look in the process. Theo refused to meet her gaze.
"I thought Blaise was making it all up." she added, poking around the jar with her paring knife in the search for another decent sized leech, before giving him another inquisitive look. "...but judging by the way you're trying to avoid the subject I'm wondering if there's actually some truth to it."
Theo groaned internally. He should have known that keeping quiet wouldn't work with Pansy. She was too good at fishing for secrets.
"It's Blaise, Pansy." He eventually said, lowering his voice into a slow, haughty drawl. "We both know that he's a bigger gossip than all of your girl-friends combined. He was probably just bored and made the whole thing up."
Pansy didn't agree nor disagree with Theo's assertion about their friend, but he could feel her sharp, calculating gaze on him as she studied him from the side.
"So, you're saying you didn't meet anyone in the dungeon corridors the other night?" She eventually asked, her tone dripping with disbelief.
"I'm saying that it's none of anyone's business." Theo retorted and finally raised his eyes to level Pansy with a warning glare, quietly imploring her to drop the subject. The witch stared back stubbornly, evidently not ready to let it go, but Theo didn't budge and eventually she caved, clicked her tongue agitatedly and lowered her gaze.
"Fine." she huffed, sounding exasperated. "I'll stop asking questions. …Just as long as you promise you're not seeing Astoria Greengrass behind Daphne's back. It would break her heart."
At that, a surprised noise left Theo's throat, — something between a disbelieving scoff and an amused snort.
"I'm sorry, what?" He asked, staring at her with wide, indignant eyes. "And why on earth would you think I'd date my ex-girlfriend's little sister?"
Pansy shrugged. "Daphne seems to think you always had a soft spot for her."
"I felt bad for her, because Daphne said she missed a lot of lessons due to her condition and was struggling with her school work." Theo retorted. "I offered to help her with Charms, Pansy. That doesn't mean I fancy her."
"Okay." Pansy muttered, quickly assuming a pacifying tone. "So it's not Astoria. Fine. But just so you know Blaise is intent on finding out who it is, so if you're trying to keep her a secret you better watch out when you sneak out at night."
Theo was just about to hurl an angry retort at Pansy about how they all needed to find themselves a new hobby and stop pestering him for absolutely no reason, when a booming voice from the front of the class interrupted them and made them both jump.
"Ms Parkinson, Mr Nott, if I could ask you to keep it down a little." Slughorn scolded, his small, watery eyes levelling them with a stern look. "Now, I know this little tincture is not quite as interesting as the rest of the NEWT-level potions we have covered so far, but I would have thought that, considering the current political climate, you would show a little more interest in mastering it."
"Sorry, Professor." Theo mumbled, shooting Pansy a disgruntled look, before returning his attention to his cauldron.
As it were, he wholeheartedly agreed with Professor Slughorn. He had made quite significant advances in his attempt to learn healing magic, but there was only so much you could do with charms alone. Being able to brew a variety of healing potions would vastly improve his chance of being useful in the likely case that Neville got himself into trouble again.
To his relief Pansy didn't try to breach the subject with him again. Instead, she heaved out a heavy sigh, muttered her own quick apology and then returned to her cauldron where she began to work quietly on her potion.
ooo
Things only got worse when Draco Malfoy dropped into the seat next to him at lunch.
The blonde looked pale and his features had grown even pointer than they used to be, which gave him an eerie almost ghostly look as he stared at Theo with sharp, imploring eyes.
"What are you up to, Theo?" He asked, not wasting any time on pleasantries. "Everyone thinks you're sneaking out at night to meet a girl, but I don't think that's true."
"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Theo bristled, stabbing his roast potato angrily with his fork. "Can everyone just leave me alone? It's none of your bloody business what I do at night."
Draco raised a pale eyebrow at Theo's unexpected outburst, but didn't react otherwise; only looked at him with searching, almost worried eyes. —Theo instantly felt bad for snapping at him.
"I'm sorry." He muttered, pushing a hand through his messy curls and rubbing his neck awkwardly. "I'm just fed up with people sticking their noses into things that don't concern them."
"I understand." Draco said, piercing-grey eyes still fixed intently on him. "I'm just trying to warn you." He seemed to hesitate for a moment, then added a barely audible: "Whoever he is. I hope he realises how much danger you're putting yourself in for him."
Theo's blood went cold. He had forgotten that Draco knew. How stupid of him!
After all, Draco had been the one who had tried to teach Theo Occlumency after his father had found the picture of Kirley Duke under his pillow. The blonde had seen some of his most private memories during their training and knew all his secrets.
Swallowing down a wave of nausea, he took several laboured breaths before he felt ready to look Draco in the eye.
"What makes you think it's a -" he started, but faltered quickly when he saw Draco's narrowed, icy glare.
"Don't lie to me Theo." He growled. "I've kept your secret to myself all this time. I don't intend to tell on you now. I'm just asking you to be careful, because others might not be so…understanding…if they find out."
Theo wanted to deny it. To argue with him and tell him that none of it was true, that he'd really changed and that he wasn't interested in boys like that anymore. …But he knew that it was no good. Draco would see right through him. The boy was his oldest friend and knew him far too well to not realise when he was trying to lie.
"I know…" he finally groaned, pulling his face into a pained grimace. "I'm sorry I snapped at you. I promise I'll be careful."
There was a brief pause in which Draco gave him another searching look; then:
"Very well." he nodded, as if Theo's promise was enough for him to let the subject drop, and effectively concluded their conversation, as he began to fill his plate with food.
Theo felt relieved when he realised that the blonde didn't seem interested in finding out who he'd really been meeting up with, but kept watching his friend warily, as he spooned a small amount of vegetable casserole onto his plate and began to pick at it with little appetite.
"How are you doing, Draco?" He asked after a while, remembering his resolution to speak to the boy more often.
Draco visibly stiffened and Theo could see a muscle in his jaw twitch ominously.
"I'm …fine." He eventually said, but it sounded strained and somewhat guarded, like he wasn't quite sure he believed it himself. He cast Theo a wary look, but then seemed to decide that he could trust him with a secret of his own and added: "Things at home have been …difficult… since I failed to…well, it's not been very pleasant at the Manor since the incident and I worry about my parents when I'm not there. It's not fair that they have to deal with the Dark Lord's wrath when I was the one who failed him."
His voice was barely audible, but the fear in his eyes spoke volumes.
"Draco…" Theo soothed, unable to stop himself from putting a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder. "I'm sure your parents are doing just fine. They're Malfoys after all. It takes more than that nose-less bastard to bring down a family like that."
Draco looked unconvinced, but grateful for the sentiment nonetheless.
"Thanks, Theo." He muttered, a slight quiver in his voice. "I appreciate that."
ooo
The rest of the afternoon went by in a blur, as Theo tried to come up with a plan.
After Pansy's probing and Draco's warning, he figured that it would probably be unwise to meet Neville in the dungeons that night. The only problem was that he had no idea how he could let Neville know about the change of plan.
'If I could just get this stupid diary to him.' He thought, not paying any attention to Amycus Carrow's rant about how the fact that Muggle photos didn't move proved that they were inferior to the magical community. ' – Then I could just write to him.'
But how would he get the journal to him?
Maybe he could catch him on his way out of the Great Hall after dinner?
No. — too risky. There would be too many people around.
What about a different place?
He knew that Neville's last class today was Herbology and that he often stayed back to check on his extracurricular projects. If Theo moved fast, he might be able to catch the Gryffindor in the greenhouses before he made his way back to the castle.
Deciding that that would be his best chance, he jumped up the moment the bell rang to signal the end of the lesson.
"I'm going out for a smoke." He muttered towards Blaise, Pansy and Draco who were still putting their books away, and then stormed out of the classroom before any of them could react.
He almost skidded to a halt when he reached the greenhouses a few minutes later.
Heart throbbing in his throat, he fished a packet of cigarettes from his robe pocket and lit one, trying very hard to look like he really only came out for a quick smoke before dinner, as he walked slowly along the empty glass buildings in the search of Neville.
He had almost given up, thinking that he must have missed the plant-loving Gryffindor, when he heard voices from one of the smaller greenhouses in the far back:
"If you could make sure you'll lock up when you're done, Mr Longbottom, that would be great."
"No problem, Professor." a familiar, soft baritone answered. "I'm almost done. I'll just be another minute."
"Very well." Professor Sprout said, and Theo just about managed to hide behind a bush, before she exited the greenhouse.
"'Just another minute.' " She repeated under her breath; a fond, but slightly exasperated expression on her face, as she shook her head and quietly chuckled to herself. "I'll believe that when I see it. …Sweet boy. Always so eager to learn."
Theo watched her, as she tottered back up to the castle, waiting until he was sure she was out of earshot, before he stomped out his cigarette and entered the smaller greenhouse.
Neville was standing at the far end, with his back towards the door and half leaning over a tall and rather grotesque looking plant. The offensive looking thing was several feet tall and reminiscent of a cactus, but was a horrible greenish-grey colour and was covered in something that looked like reddish-purple boils that were pulsating ominously.
"What…" He said, stomach churning at the offensive sight. "...in Merlin's name is that?"
Neville jumped at the sound of his voice, clutching his hand to his chest and whirling around as he looked towards the entrance with big, startled eyes.
"Bloody hell, Theo!" He huffed, when he realised who the intruder was. "You nearly scared the living daylights out of me."
"Oh, so I'm scary." Theo drawled, walking over to stand next to Neville. "But this thing isn't?" He pointed towards the pulsating cactus in front of Neville, but made sure to keep a fair distance to it. "What the hell is it?"
To his surprise Neville chuckled and bit his lip, seemingly amused by the uneasy and slightly disgusted expression on Theo's face.
"That's my Mimbulus Mimbeltonia." He said, casting the plant a fond look. "My uncle Algie gave it to me a couple of years ago. I used to keep it up in our dorm, but it's getting a bit too big for that now and I think it's much happier here where it's warm and it gets plenty of light."
"It doesn't look very happy." Theo mused, wrinkling his nose with distaste. "And it kind of smells like it's already dead."
"Oi!" Neville laughed, shoving Theo playfully with his shoulder. "Is that why you're here? To insult my favourite plant?"
Theo tried to ignore the way his stomach fluttered at the sound of Neville's laugh, and instead focussed on the real reason he was here.
"No…" he sighed, pushing his hands into his pockets and dropping his gaze to the ground, where he scuffed his foot awkwardly in the dirt. …He might as well get it over with. "I'm here to tell you that we have to stop meeting up in the dungeons."
"Oh." Neville said, and despite not daring to look at him, Theo could hear the disappointment in his voice. "Why? I thought you liked meeting me there."
"I do!" Theo insisted and finally managed to look up at Neville. He was looking at Theo with a mixture of confusion and hurt that made him want to pull the boy into a tight hug and admit to him just how much he loved meeting up with him, that he had missed him terribly when they had fought, and how glad he had been when they'd finally made up, because he wanted to see him all. the. bloody. time.
"It's all Blaise Zabini's fault." He said instead, a bitter sort of anger bubbling in his chest. "Remember he nearly caught us the other day? He thinks I'm meeting a girl and he's intent on finding out who it is. He's told all my friends and now they're all watching me. I can't seem to get them off my back and I can't have them find out about you. I'm sorry, I just can't!"
For a moment, Neville looked like he'd been slapped in the face, and Theo half expected him to yell at him.
He wouldn't even blame him for it. He knew he was being a coward. That he should just own up to their friendship and be proud of it, because Neville deserved that. He didn't deserve to be hidden away like a dirty secret. …but it would put them both in danger.
Eventually, Neville's expression changed and he physically deflated as he let out a heavy, acquiescing sigh.
"So what do we do?" He asked, looking thoroughly downtrodden. "I don't want to stop meeting up with you."
"Well…" Theo hedged, and all of a sudden his heart was in his throat again. "I don't know where we can meet, but I did find a way for us to communicate."
Hands trembling lightly, he rummaged in his bookbag for several seconds until he found the two enchanted diaries and pulled them out.
"It's…" he hesitated, then held one of them out for Neville to take. "Well, I got the idea when you showed me the coins you use to communicate with your friends."
"A diary?" Neville asked, looking perplexed.
"Yes… well, two of them." Theo explained. "I had to tweak the charm a little, but I'm pretty sure they're working now."
When Neville continued to stare at the little notebook in confusion, Theo pulled out a quill and ink from his bag and placed the book on the potting bench in front of them.
"Open it." He instructed, pointing at the diary in Neville's hand. Neville did what he was asked, but continued to look sceptical.
Theo turned his back towards Neville, too nervous to watch his reaction, as he leaned over his own little diary and began to write:
'I'm sorry I called your plant ugly.'
The sharp gasp behind him told him that the charm had worked.
"Merlin's beard." Neville breathed, taking a step towards Theo and leaning in to gape at the line he had just written in his journal.
"It shows me what you write?"
"Yes." Theo confirmed. "It's a variation of the Protean Charm, but I managed to make it work both ways. Look…" He pulled the journal Neville was holding towards him and drew a smiley face onto the page, then pointed at his own diary where the same face had already appeared.
Neville stared at it dumbfoundedly.
"That…" He muttered, a toothy grin spreading on his lips. "...is AMAZING!" He let out a baffled laugh. "So we'll be able to write each other messages no matter where in the castle we are?"
"I think so." Theo nodded, feeling a rush of triumph at Neville's enthusiastic reaction. "I haven't tested them in different locations yet, but in theory the distance between them shouldn't matter."
"That's brilliant!...You're brilliant!" Neville enthused and Theo was sure he was blushing now. "I can't wait to try this out."
"Yes well,..." Theo said, hoping that Neville wouldn't notice the excited tremble in his voice. "We can use it while we figure out a new place where we can meet, because I don't think we can do the dungeons any longer. But…" He added nervously, because he didn't want Neville to get upset again. "At least this way we can stay in touch, right?"
At that Neville sobered quickly, as he gave a solemn nod.
"We'll find somewhere else." he declared, his expression shifting into one of fierce determination. "I promise."
Theo couldn't help but smile. There was so much conviction in Neville's voice that he almost believed it.
"I know." He said, nodding in agreement. "I'm sure we will."
ooo
It wasn't until hours later — Theo was already in bed, re-reading the chapter on blood replenishing potions from today's class — when his copy of the little enchanted diary began to glow.
His heartbeat quickened, as he picked the little book up and opened it, before flicking to the first page with trembling hands and reading:
N: 'Just checking if this really works at a longer distance?'
Theo's stomach flipped, as he traced the little message with his thumb, taking stock of the rounded, slightly messy scrawl, before he replied:
T: 'Looks like it. I'm in my dorm room in the dungeons. I'm assuming you're up in Gryffindor Tower?'
N: 'Holy shit! It really does work!' — a hastily scribbled message came back.
Theo smirked, feeling rather smug for having caused sweet and shy Neville Longbottom to swear. He found he'd rather liked this side of him.
T: 'Told you it would.'
'N: Amazing! Honestly!
This is brilliant!
Just like you!
Theo's heart stuttered.
N: 'Have I told you that you're brilliant?'
T: 'You may have mentioned it…'
N: 'Well, it's true.'
Theo could feel his face heat. He had been so nervous to show Neville the diaries, afraid that the handsome Gryffindor might find them a bit much. He knew they were officially friends now, but their friendship was still pretty new and Theo had worried that he might come across as too clingy or demanding.
The fact that Neville had responded with such great enthusiasm filled him with a strange sense of pride and satisfaction.
T: 'I'm glad you like them.'
N: 'I do! I like that I'm able to say goodnight to you now.'
T: 'Don't we always say goodnight before we leave for our dorms?'
N: 'Yeah, but this feels different!
We're both in bed, ready to go to sleep, and the last person you'll interact with today is me.
It feels much more personal and…intimate.'
Theo's heart did a funny thing at that notion. So Neville liked the idea that he was the last person Theo talked to at night? — Something about that excited him more than it probably should.
Sucking in a deep breath to calm the butterflies in his stomach, he scribbled a quick:
T: 'I guess that is nice, yeah.'
And then waited with bated breath for Neville to reply. When no answer came, he started to get nervous again. Had he said something wrong? Or maybe Neville had just fallen asleep? He had said that he was already in bed, hadn't he?
Resigning himself to the possibility that he wouldn't get a proper goodnight from Neville after all, he let out a deep sigh and closed the diary and shoved it under his pillow, just as the little book began to glow again.
Heart racing, he scrambled to open it and read the message:
N: 'Hey Theo?'
Mouth going dry he answered: 'Yeah, still here. What's up?'
There was another brief pause, then:
N: 'I'm really glad we're friends.'
Theo thought he might pass out with how dizzyingly happy he felt. It wasn't like he didn't have friends in his own school house. He and Draco went way back to when they were little boys, and he got on with Blaise alright, when he wasn't acting like a nosey prick, but something about Neville felt… different, — more meaningful.
Biting his lip to conceal a wide grin he replied:
T: 'Yeah, me too.'
— Because it was the truth, and for some reason he wanted to be honest with Neville, despite feeling vulnerable when he did so.
Neville's reply was quick and simple: a clumsily drawn smiley face that had a rather lopsided grin that made Theo giggle. With a renewed flutter in his stomach, he thought of Neville's own smile, and how, when he was really happy, the corners of his lips curled up just enough to dimple his cheeks.
He wished he could see that smile right now.
N: 'Anyway, I guess we better say goodnight, huh?' Another message appeared.
Theo sighed.
T: 'Yeah, probably a good idea. It's getting quite late.'
N: 'We'll write to each other tomorrow, though?'
His heart gave another funny jolt.
T: 'Sure. I'll keep my diary on me, so just write to me whenever you like.'
Another hastily scribbled smiley face, then:
N: 'Good night, Theo.'
Theo swallowed hard, a warm, giddy sort of feeling spreading in his chest as he thought 'yes… it is a rather good night, isn't it?', before he placed the tip of his pen onto the page one more time and wrote:
'Night, Neville.'
ooo
A/N: Aaaaahh! They have enchanted diaries! And omg...was Neville getting a bit flirty there?
I hope the way I formatted the diary part works for you! Let me know if it's too confusing and I might try something different!