Chapter Sixteen of 'Winged Victory'- Not a Coincidence

[lomonaaeren]

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Chapter Sixteen—Not a Coincidence

“You did have something to do with it.”

It’s Granger who says that, but in the subdued voice instead of the booming outrage that Theo would expect from her. He sighs and turns around to regard her. They’re on the last turn of the staircase that leads down to the Great Hall, and for a miracle, no one else is around. “What are you saying, Granger?”

“You were responsible for Umbridge’s death.”

“The Ministry investigated and cleared me.”

“You still had something to do with it.”

“She fell when Harry went to her office, Granger, and she cracked her skull when she did. She died a few hours later. She could have been nervous about confronting and accusing the Boy-Who-Lived—or gleeful. My wager would be gleeful. It meant she didn’t pay as much attention to her surroundings as she should have, and she fell.”

Granger closes her eyes. “You—you can just stand there and calmly discuss murder.”

“It wasn’t murder.” Self-defense, if anything. I defended Harry, and Harry is part of myself.

“You really don’t feel bad about it.”

“You only say that because you’re not in the forefront of the battle.”

Granger started, and her eyes fluttered open. “W-what?”

“You’re not in the forefront of the battle,” Theo repeats, as calmly as he can. He feels prickles of impatience running up his spine, and, oddly, sorrow. He doesn’t want to argue with Granger; he doesn’t want to alienate Harry’s friends. But neither is he going to spend time dissecting every single little bit of his actions, picking through the embers for the ashes of morality. “You’re not the one who’s being accused of lying by the Ministry, not the one who risked torture or Veritaserum from Umbridge.”

“I’m Muggleborn!”

“Yes, and during the times when someone called you a name based on blood and you had to battle that, you were in the forefront. But now you’re not.”

Granger’s mouth opens and then closes, as if she’s trying to find an effective answer to his argument. Theo stands and waits impatiently for her. He’ll give her another minute, approximately, and then he’s going on to the Great Hall whether or not she’s made her way through her angst.

“I want to help.”

“Right. Then you can ask Harry about that.”

“Why not you?”

“Because I’m not interested in turning everything into a debate about morality.”

Granger flinches, but her voice is stronger when she says, “You can’t just go around murdering people.”

“Someone who was going to torture Harry? Who did torture Weasley? If I can stop them, then of course I will.”

“What if doing that makes you worse than they are?”

“There’s no way it would ever do that.”

“You don’t know that—”

“And I told you that I’m not interested in debates about morality, Granger. How will examining my navel for shadows do anything to stop people like Umbridge?”

Granger doesn’t call him back again as Theo proceeds on his way to the Great Hall. He captures Harry’s eye when he gets there, and sees Harry relax with a little sigh. He probably knew about Granger’s ambush and thought Theo might get angry about it.

Theo won’t do that unless Granger or Weasley does something like they did last year, though. They don’t have time for this, and it causes Harry distress, and Theo has more important battles.

He sits down beside Blaise, who looks at the Gryffindor table, and the doors where Granger is walking in with slow steps, and raises his eyebrows, but doesn’t say anything. “You’re popular.”

“With Gryffindors? Only a few.”

“No, I meant in our House.”

Theo honestly didn’t notice anything that morning when he left, but he glances around now without moving his eyes much as he gathers his breakfast on his plate. It’s true that many people are looking at him over their shoulders, or while pretending to be engaged in a conversation with someone else. Their eyes lock on Theo and drift to him, and Theo shakes his head a little as he begins to eat.

“It’s a bit strange they care that much. I thought they either didn’t like Umbridge but didn’t care enough to intervene, or they enjoyed the way that she put down Muggleborns and made fun of the Gryffindors.”

“You haven’t noticed?”

“Do you mean their attention is hostile instead of considering and I haven’t noticed?”

“No. I mean, that they’re aligning behind you and moving away from Malfoy and some of the other ones like Davis who make loud comments about Gryffindors and Boys-Who-Lived and people who date them.”

Theo can feel how his eyebrows are creeping up his face by the time Blaise finishes. He spends a few minutes eating while he scours his mind for any evidence of that. Blaise waits patiently.

“No,” Theo admits at last, as he finishes up a scone and casts another glance at his Housemates. The ones who were looking at him turn casually away, for the most part, but Daphne and Millicent are watching him, and Pansy’s lack of attention seems pointed. “I haven’t spent a lot of time in the common room in the past few days, admittedly.”

“Do.”

Blaise swallows from his cup and stands, and Theo watches him walk towards the entrance of the Great Hall. When he looks around again, eyes are skittering away from his, and people are whispering, whispering.

Theo can hear his name in the whispers, mingling with Harry’s.

Theo has to smile to himself as he finishes his own meal and stands, catching his boyfriend’s eye again before he turns and walks to class.

As it should be.

*

“I suppose there are worse gifts that your godfather could have sent.”

“Yeah, a lot worse.”

Harry’s voice and hands are reverent as he holds the book on soul magic that Black sent from the library at some old house he owns. Grimmauld Place or something, Theo thinks is the name. All Harry had to do was hint that they needed something related to soul magic, and Black rushed to do his bidding.

Theo thinks that maybe Black’s loyalty to Dumbledore, or at least his belief that Dumbledore knows best when it comes to Harry, is wavering at last.

“And you found something new in the book, I think, or you wouldn’t look so eager to speak to me.”

Harry blinks, abashed for a moment, and then laughs and cuddles closer to Theo. They’re on the Transfigured sofa in the classroom they’ve basically taken over, again, and Harry sighs as he lets his head come to rest against Theo’s shoulder. “Yeah. I found—well, see for yourself.” And he flips to a particular page and holds the book out.

Theo feels a testing sort of magic reach out to him from the pages when he takes the book, but it subsides immediately. More interesting, it seems to have subsided instead of touching Harry, too.

I don’t want him to have to learn as many Dark Arts as I did, but I want him to survive even more.

Theo glances down at the passage.

--soul magic is one of the least studied branches of magic for a reason. There are those who fear its power and what it might mean in the hands of those opposed to the Ministry or the International Confederation of Wizards, but more, there are those who fear the way it changes the world around it. An artifact impregnated with soul magic can corrupt and possess. A place where it was performed can sway those who come there years later to the caster’s views. A mage who studies becomes stronger, and also more and more dedicated to whatever overriding obsession led them to the study of soul magic in the first place.

Theo takes a deep breath. That does explain some things about the Dark Lord, he thinks, and not just his immortality.

But he’s not sure if that’s what Harry means by thinking the passage is especially interesting, or if it’s something else. He turns and looks at Harry, and Harry leans his head on Theo’s shoulder again with a sigh.

“I think it means that we should be able to track the Horcruxes by finding spells that would locate artifacts that could corrupt and possess,” Harry whispers. “Or a spell that locates particularly corrupted places.”

“The second one might only let us find places that the Horcruxes were created.”

“That might still give us a clue.”

Theo nods absently. It’s not impossible that Voldemort also created Horcruxes in places that were important to him, or hid them nearby. It at least gives them more of a clue to search for than they had before, which was nothing.

“And you think it’ll be easier to find a spell that tracks an artifact like this than a spell that tracks soul magic itself?”

“Didn’t that other book we read say that spells like that are illegal? And soul magic is so rare and understudied that some of those spells might actually track something else. But I bet we can find a source of spells that track artifacts that possess people.”

“In other books from Black’s library?”

“Well, maybe, at that. It seems like the kind of thing that his parents might have had on hand. But no.” Harry leans further forwards, until he might fall over if not for the way that Theo is braced against him, and smiles. “The Aurors.”

*

“May I introduce Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, who will be taking over for the rest of the year as our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.”

Shacklebolt rises from his seat at the professors’ table when Dumbledore introduces him. He has a grave face, but a soothing voice, as he says, “I hope that we’ll be able to move past the undeniable and shocking tragedy that Professor Umbridge’s death caused for all of us.”

Tragedy. Theo keeps his eyes earnestly on Shacklebolt, and doesn’t dare look at Harry across the Great Hall.

Harry is smiling at Shacklebolt. Theo can think of more than one reason why, but is content that he’s the only one who knows that.

“And I hope that you will tell me what you were studying in class with Professor Umbridge, so as to cause the minimum amount of disruption to your studies.”

Theo has to work to keep his smile from turning into outright laughter, hearing that. But Shacklebolt doesn’t wait for anyone to speak up. He just nods amiably around the Great Hall and then sits down again.

“You’re already thinking of ways to use this,” Blaise murmurs.

Theo smiles at him. He can’t tell his best friend everything, since he’s not about to mention the Horcruxes, but he can say, “Yes. At the very least, I don’t think Shacklebolt will be targeting Harry like Umbridge did, so that’s a good beginning.”

“Yes,” Blaise echoes, and sips from his cup. “Especially since Shacklebolt’s a member of the Order.”

Theo blinks. “He is?”

Blaise nods back. “Yes. My mother has a list of people who started pushing for Dumbledore’s point-of-view in the Ministry and spoke carefully worded statements when Fudge turned against him. Shacklebolt did it so often that she went digging. He wasn’t a member of the Order in the last war, he wasn’t old enough, but he is now.”

Theo raises his eyebrows and nods to Blaise. He nods back and then turns to studying Shacklebolt.

Theo takes a few more bites. He doubts Shacklebolt will be a threat to anything but Dumbledore’s secrets. If anything, he might give Harry some help and attention because they want to bring him back into orbiting around the Headmaster.

Theo won’t allow it. But he’ll take advantage of their desire all he can.

*

“Mr. Nott, may I speak to you after class?”

It’s more than a little surprising, and amusing, to Theo that Shacklebolt is approaching him first, instead of Harry. But maybe that’s also part of the strategy, and they want to show they consider Theo worthy of being brought into the Headmaster’s influence, too. “Of course, sir,” he says, and turns around instead of leaving the room.

Harry glances his way, then relaxes and nods. Theo is glad that they can communicate so well without words. He doubts Shacklebolt is a Legilimens, but it wouldn’t be wise to speak certain words in front of him.

Granger and Weasley glance back, a lot more often than Harry, as they leave the classroom. Theo leans back against the wall and relaxes, his eyes on Shacklebolt and his eyebrows rising a little.

“Do you know why I wanted to speak with you, Mr. Nott?”

“No, sir, but I assume it has something to do with Harry.”

“You do occupy a unique position,” Shacklebolt says, and he has a smile that Theo can see probably serves him well in his Auror work. “Boyfriend of the Boy-Who-Lived, but also a former Death Eater’s son.”

“You do know what I did to my father, I hope.”

“Oh, I do. But as I said, it’s a unique position.”

Theo smiles, a little reluctantly. Shacklebolt is already making more of an impression and a sensible argument than Theo thought would be possible for someone who follows Dumbledore so intently. “All right, sir. So what did you want to talk to me about?”

“What do you think is the best thing we can do to combat You-Know-Who?”

Theo pauses, the question so unexpected that he has to scramble to position his brain so that he can look closely at Shacklebolt. “Sir?”

“You probably have some ideas.”

“You could ask Harry directly if you wanted his ideas.”

“Of course. But why do you think I am asking you?”

Theo considers Shacklebolt. Shacklebolt continues to stand there and radiate calm. Theo finally says, “Because of that unique position you mentioned. You think it might also give me—what, some unique insights into defeating Voldemort?”

Shacklebolt flinches, a minute shiver of his robes. Then he inclines his head and says, “Yes, indeed.”

“One thing that really needs to happen is the sharing of information,” Theo says quietly. This is another test, of sorts. He doesn’t really think that Dumbledore will change the way he interacts with Theo or Harry, but, just like what happened when Theo gave the information on Veritaserum to Snape, it will be interesting to see how that lack of action plays out. “I know that the Headmaster is keeping a number of secrets. Doing that just hurts our efforts. We should be allies, not enemies.”

“I entirely agree, Mr. Nott. I am unsure what information you think Professor Dumbledore is keeping to himself, however.”

“Well, for one thing, he knows a lot more about defeating Voldemort than he’s shared.”

“You understand why it would be a bad thing for that knowledge to spread widely?”

“Of course. But why doesn’t he share it with Harry and the members of the Order of the Phoenix? Do you think he really believes they would betray us?”

Shacklebolt flinches a little, too, at the mention of the Order. Ha.

“I am not sure,” Shacklebolt says slowly. “Although I would be reluctant to question Professor Dumbledore too closely.”


“Because you know that he won’t tell you anything, either?”

Shacklebolt’s eyes narrow. “Mr. Nott, please remember that you should respect the Headmaster as one of your professors, if nothing else.”

“He doesn’t actually teach me,” Theo disagrees with a large smile. “And I find it hard to respect him when I passed along the information about Veritaserum to one professor who had every chance to tell the Headmaster, and did nothing.”

“You cannot know that that professor ever passed on the information.”

“Then why does the Headmaster have such lax control over his professors? Why do they respect the Ministry more than they do him?”

Shacklebolt opens his mouth, and closes it without saying anything.

Theo nods to him, not letting his real smile out, and slips out of the classroom. He finds Harry awaiting him, and touches Harry’s shoulder as he walks past. “I’m fine. Although Shacklebolt did talk to me about how I should respect the Headmaster more and trust that he’s doing the best job possible.”

Harry firms his mouth, but doesn’t say anything until they’re far enough down the corridor that they’re likely beyond the reach of any eavesdropping spells that Shacklebolt might be using. “You think that’s because he’s part of the Order?”

“Yes, and maybe he’s been tasked with getting you back in the fold.”

“And you?”

“He emphasized my unique position being the Boy-Who-Lived’s boyfriend and also a Death Eater’s son. As if he wanted me to be grateful to him for noticing, or something similar.”

“It doesn’t seem like it’s going to be easy to get him to teach us the spells that we were thinking of getting, after all.”

Theo just dips his head in a shallow nod. Honestly, he doesn’t think that appealing to Shacklebolt is their only pathway into learning Auror spells, although it would be a convenient one.

“You seem to have forgotten there’s another Auror who likes us.”

“Who?”

“Nymphadora Tonks.”

Harry blinks, and then begins to grin. Theo basks in the light of it, and leans forwards to accept the kiss Harry is pleased to give him.

“You’re a genius,” Harry breathes against his mouth.

“I do try.”