Chapter Twenty-Four of 'Winged Victory' - Nuances

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Chapter Twenty-Four—Nuances

“My boy, if I could ask for a moment of your attention?”

Theo feels both surprised and not that Dumbledore is approaching him now. On the one hand, it seems like something he should have done a long time ago so that he could get “proper control” of Theo, however he would term that.

On the other, maybe he knew that he would never get that proper control and he’s only doing this now out of desperation.

Dumbledore is a little narrow-eyed when Theo turns to face him, probably because Theo is smiling at the last pleasant thought he had. Theo just inclines his head. “Of course, sir.”

They step out of the flow of students heading to the Great Hall. Theo is a little, honestly surprised to see Luna come to the edge of the flow and stare at him pointedly, lifting her wand from the holster.

Theo just shakes his head at her, and she turns and joins the flow like she never stopped.

“You are able to make people be loyal to you somehow.”

“That sounds like a complaint, Headmaster. But I can teach you how to do it if you want.”

Dumbledore stares at him as if waiting for Theo to laugh. Theo keeps a placid smile in place, and Dumbledore finally shakes his head and turns away, saying only, “Walk with me,” as if Theo were a fellow professor.

Well, if he’s offering. It’s not like Theo doesn’t have plenty to teach him even if he rejects the specific offer of lessons in holding and keeping loyalty.

Theo puts his hands in his robe pockets and ambles along with the Headmaster. It gets them a lot more than one look. Not everyone is aware of the situation with Harry and Theo and the professors, of course, but they are aware that it’s not usual for a student to be acting like they’re Dumbledore’s equal.

Theo just returns their looks blandly, and people, especially the Slytherins who know how much power he has in the House, decide to keep their opinions to themselves.

“Here should be sufficient.”

They’re not actually outside, but close to the doors of the entrance hall, and a respectable distance from the staircases that lead down to the Slytherin and Hufflepuff common rooms. Theo faces Dumbledore, beaming, and waits. He doesn’t think he’s wrong that the little sound he hears is the Headmaster grinding his teeth.

“We have had difficult conversations that did not go in the direction I would have preferred them to go.”

“That’s a shame, Headmaster,” Theo says, with all the sincerity that he ever used to tell his father that he respected him, and waits some more.

“I would repair the relationship if I could. Since it does seem as if you’re in Harry’s life to stay.”

“I’m so glad you recognize that, sir,” Theo says earnestly. “I know that Harry looked up to you a lot in the past, and it must bother him to have two people so important to him be at odds.”

Dumbledore pauses as though trying to sort through the words Theo is or isn’t speaking, and then just continues with an impatient little shake of his head. “This conversation is actually about you, Mr. Nott, rather than about Harry.”

“Oh?”

“I have heard very disturbing rumors about you.”

“Oh?”

Dumbledore seems to be waiting for Theo to either break down and confess what a very bad boy he’s been, or for Theo to launch into some furious denial about how he never did anything reprehensible. He seems incredibly puzzled when Theo stands there and does nothing but smile at him.

Finally, the Headmaster apparently gives up on Theo growing a conscience that would conform to Dumbledore’s principles, and speaks directly instead. “That you attack other students. That you attacked Professor Snape.”

“Sir, if I’d done that, do you think that I would have left them alive? If they were threats to Harry?”

“So you are admitting that you do murder your enemies. That you might have murdered Umbridge.”

“Are you sorry for allowing her to use a Blood Quill on students?”

“What does that have to do with the current conversation, Mr. Nott?”

“I thought we were just asking questions that we wanted the answers to.”

Dumbledore closes his eyes, then opens them. His voice is a thready whisper, low and fragile. Theo doesn’t know if he would hear it if he weren’t standing right there. “I am asking because Harry Potter is important to so many people in our world, and there are so many who would panic at the thought that he has given up fighting Voldemort in order to—to spend time with his boyfriend, essentially.”

Theo snorts. He means to keep it at just that, but he can’t. The sound bursts out of him again, followed by laughter so loud that he’s honestly surprised it doesn’t hurt his throat.

He’s aware of Dumbledore casting a Privacy Charm around them, probably a good thing, since Theo doesn’t want to answer questions to anyone but Harry and maybe Neville or Luna or Blaise as to why he’s howling with hilarity. He can feel the Headmaster’s patience growing thin as they stand there, but all he has to do is open his eyes and look at Dumbledore, and he just bursts into laughter again.

“Are you quite done, Mr. Nott?”

Dumbledore sounds offended, of course. Theo bites his lip and holds in the chuckles that still want to escape as he nods. “I suppose you could say that, sir.”

“What is so funny?”

“That you think Harry would just give up on the world and allow everyone he loves to be conquered or killed by Voldemort. That you think I’m a bad influence on him months after I should have proved I’m a good influence.” Theo waves a hand at Dumbledore and straightens up. “Everything, really.”

“Mr. Nott. You know that Harry will have to die.”

“I know that you’ve convinced yourself of that, and you’d probably prefer Harry commit suicide so that you don’t have to kill him yourself.”

The shock on Dumbledore’s face is probably real, Theo thinks. But not because the idea of forcing Harry to commit suicide or killing him never crossed the old bastard’s mind. Because he was able to hide from it and not think about it until Theo forced him to confront it just now.

“I am not sure what you think of me, Mr. Nott, but I—”

“Am perfectly willing to do what you think would keep the world safe at Harry’s expense. I do believe that.”

Dumbledore is silent for long enough that Theo begins to wonder if the conversation is over and the Headmaster will simply let him go. But of course it isn’t. Dumbledore turns and stares at Theo with hard, old eyes. “This is another difficult conversation that has gone in a way I did not expect.”

“Surely you’re used to it by now.”

“Mr. Nott.”

Dumbledore’s voice is low, and he’s decided to try looming over Theo with a stance that makes Theo want to laugh. Not because it’s really funny, but because Dumbledore thinks this kind of threat will intimidate Theo where it never did before.

Theo holds his gaze, and lets a little more of his true self leak into his eyes and expression. Dumbledore starts, his hands clenching in front of him for a moment.

“I know that you can persuade Harry to do whatever you want,” Dumbledore finally says, voice still a few centimeters above a growl. “So persuade him that the war is important and he must continue to fight.”

“Neither of us ever meant to abandon it.”

“But with the amount of time that Harry spends with you, snogging you and doing nothing else—”

“You think that he spends too much time kissing me to fight?” Theo says, as loudly and obnoxiously as he can. The Privacy Bubble means that Dumbledore is the only one who hears him, of course, but it still makes the old man flinch. “You’re ridiculous. What actions have you taken to advance the war in the last few weeks, Headmaster?’

“I have been doing research on Voldemort’s other Horcruxes.”

“And?”

Dumbledore looks at him wordlessly.

“You’re not willing to share what you might have discovered about Horcruxes when you can’t use that information to force me to abandon Harry.” Theo nods, all his amusement cooled and congealed like lava on his soul. “It’s been fun, Headmaster, but we’re done now.”

He breaks the Privacy Charm by taking a step backwards, and then turns to walk to Arithmancy.

“Mr. Nott.”

Theo looks over his shoulder. Dumbledore is studying him with grave eyes, and maybe a more honest expression than any he’s ever worn around Theo.

“Can you afford to have me as your enemy?”

“Can you afford to alienate Harry and me over nothing but a matter of your pride?”

Dumbledore recoils. Theo smiles at him and continues down the corridor towards Arithmancy.

Harry reaches out and tugs him into a side corridor before he’s gone too far, which Theo did sort of suspect would happen, but is delightful all the same. Theo leans his elbows on the wall over Harry’s shoulders and leans in to kiss him.

Harry allows it for a long time that is also delightful, but in the end, he pulls back and asks Theo, “So what did Dumbledore want?”

“He thinks that I’m evilly distracting you from the war and focusing on defeating Voldemort because our snogging sessions are too frequent.”

Harry stares at him with his mouth a little open. Then he begins to laugh. Theo puts up his own Privacy Charm so that no one else can happen along and steal the moment, and strokes the side of Harry’s face as his boyfriend gradually gets himself under control.

“Well, there goes any temptation I had to share our knowledge about the Horcruxes with him.”

Theo nods. “You say that you’ve got your godfather working on the one that’s possibly in the bank?”

“Yeah. He had a good relationship with the goblins before he went to prison, apparently. A lot of the Order of the Phoenix members didn’t want to deal with them at all, so Sirius went. They liked his, uh, chaotic style, I think is how he phrased it.”

“And we can trust him?”

Harry sighs a little and thinks the question through. Then he says, “If he betrays us, it’s because of his fear and the effects of Azkaban, not through any fault of his own. But I don’t think he would. He doesn’t have enough knowledge about what the Horcruxes are, and I told him that this mission is secret even from you. He’ll be all the more determined to keep it from people like Dumbledore.”

Theo nods, well content. He’ll still keep an eye on Black, but it doesn’t have to be the kind of intense watch that he would probably need to keep with other people searching for a Horcrux.

“And you’re all right?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Dumbledore had you alone for over ten minutes.”

“I’d notice if he’d placed a charm of any sort on me,” Theo says dismissively. He does cast a spell Father taught him that will disable tracking charms and the like, but nothing shows up, and the spell just runs over his body in a delicate wave of what looks like golden dust before dissipating. “I did offer to teach him how to make people be loyal to him, but he didn’t appreciate the offer.”

Harry bursts out laughing for the second time in five minutes. Theo leans in and lets himself nuzzle Harry’s cheek because the Privacy Charm blocks sight as well as sound. He loves making Harry laugh. He loves the way that Harry’s eyes shine and little snorts escape him as he tries to get himself under control.

He just loves Harry.

*

“What are you reading, Theo?”

Theo doesn’t swoop the book out of Neville’s sight, because that would be an amateur move. He just smiles a little and tilts it so that Neville can see the charmed and glamoured title instead. “Secrets of Immortality.”

“Oh.”

Theo nods. “It’s pretty dry.” And that’s a true statement, although the book, which is really called Secrets of the Darkest Soul, is dry because of all the magical theory information about what happens to a soul when you cast spells on it.

“I haven’t found anything else that would help us. But—something happened today.”

Theo sets the book aside. Neville is drooping in a way that’s become pretty uncommon since they returned to the castle. Theo runs the usual suspects through his mind—Snape, other Gryffindors, Mrs. Longbottom—but Neville only flops onto the couch without naming one. Theo says softly, “What was it?”

“I…” Neville trails off and licks his lips. “You have to remember that I’m really not good at anything besides Herbology.”

“That’s not true.”

“What?”

“You’re great at being a friend.”

Soft red floods Neville’s face, and he straightens up a little. “Thanks, Theo,” he whispers, his voice steady and not trembling as much now. “Even if you’re the only one who ever tells me that…”

“Harry would agree,” Theo says, and shoves his foot against Neville’s boot. “Come on, tell me what happened. Someone said you weren’t a good friend?” He knows it isn’t that, of course, but Neville will gain more confidence if he’s the one able to talk to Theo about it.

“No. They—they said I wouldn’t pass my OWLS. Except in Herbology.”

“You’re going to.”

“B-but how can you be sure?” Neville’s eyes are big and his mouth trembling a little. “We don’t even receive our scores for weeks after the term ends, and I’m not a good student, and there’s no way that—”

“Harry and Luna and Blaise and I will make sure you pass them.”

Neville stares at Theo as if he’s never considered the possibility that friends might help him. But then Theo thinks, Who was really his friend before this year? It’s something that he has to admit was a shortcoming of Harry’s, even, since he spent all his time with Weasley and Granger and only ever looked beyond them because Weasley was a prat about the Goblet.

“Y-you’d help me study?”

“Of course we will.”

If Theo were talking to a Slytherin, he would offer other reassurances, based on the ability to cast spells that will fool the anti-cheating ones on the exams, but he doesn’t think Neville would take that well. He just offers a steady smile instead, and Neville shudders and half-collapses on the couch in a way that makes Theo badly want to hurt someone. He doesn’t know if Neville will tell him who said that about his exams, though.

“Thank you.”

“What are friends for? You’re helping us with our research, and of course we’ll help you study.”

Neville gives him a trembling-lipped smile that makes Theo wish he knew exactly who had said that about the OWLS to him. But he puts it out of his head. They have enough to worry about right now.

And even if part of him wishes that he could go back to studying his book when Neville lingers and talks about the difficulties he has studying for Potions, Theo can’t deny that the rest of him finds the conversation…

Pleasant.

*

“Theo. Theo!”

Theo rolls out of a sound sleep in instant, landing in a crouch beside his bed with his wand in his hand. This is like the way that his father would sometimes wake him up and demand that he be ready to defend himself—

But then he recognizes Blaise’s voice, and sweeps the bed curtains that are still partially blocking his view aside to see him. “Blaise?”

“Harry is hammering on the common room door.”

Theo shoots silently past his best friend and down the stairs, gliding along at a pace that he never knew he could achieve. He is predatory, filling himself fill with readiness for violence, to shatter someone’s defenses—

Or their spine if they’ve truly upset Harry.

When the common room door opens, Harry spills inside, not even giving a glance around at the different setup. He grabs Theo’s arms and leans in close enough to hiss, “You know that we had Sirius looking for the thing?”

“Yes.” Theo understands him instantly, and doesn’t blame him for not elaborating when more than one Slytherin has come down to stare.

“He found it. And he brought it here.”

Theo understands immediately, again. There could be a chance of the cup possessing Black, or someone else, but more than that, this is their chance to destroy the thing without anyone else getting involved.

“I’m ready,” he says softly, stepping backwards.

The Slytherins gathered in the common room are staring, maybe as much because a Gryffindor is in their space as anything else. But they lower their eyes swiftly enough when Theo turns to look at them.

Theo nods and raises the kind of ward that will keep anyone except people who have positive intent towards both Harry and Theo from coming out the door. Then he slips out after Harry.

Blaise is quick to join them, of course, unaffected by the ward. “What is it?” he demands, running beside them down the corridor.

“Black did something maybe heroic and maybe stupid,” Theo says shortly as they round the corner and keep pounding up it in the direction of the entrance hall.

“Ah, it’s like the summer all over again.”

Theo flashes a smile at his friend, and then they have to concentrate on running. Maybe there’s no reason to hurry, of course. Maybe the cup is different from the other Horcruxes and can’t really possess someone, and maybe Black wouldn’t listen to it if it could.

On the other hand, this is Black they’re talking about.

Best to hurry.