Something Golden

75.

May 1 1998
We leave tonight. After months of planning it's finally happening, we're breaking back into Hogwarts. The first half of the plan is pretty simple. There's a six minute window between shifts where there's no death eaters near the Hog's Head Inn which is where the tunnel is located. It'll take us underground and lead us directly into the room of requirement where freckles and the others will meet us.

As for the horcruxes, Potter informed us that he used a basilisk fang to destroy Tom Riddle's diary so it only makes sense that it could be used on the rest as well. Most of yesterday consisted of him telling Theo and I how to locate the chamber of secrets and also teaching us basic parseltongue since that's required to open it. While we retrieve that, Granger, Potter and Weasley will search the room of requirement for the diadem. As for the second half of the plan, well, there's still some things that need to be taken care of.

"Go on then." I instruct as I lazily hold up my wand.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Potter, you're acting like you're taking my fucking virginity or something. It's not that big of a deal, just disarm me already."

"Expelliarmus." And just like that my wand flies from my hand and onto the floor.

"Congratulations, you're now the proud owner of the elder wand." I say with mock joy.

With that now out of the way everything else is just a matter of following the steps, I've decided to approach this war in a checklist fashion. First, have scarhead disarm me, done. Second, get the imbeciles into Hogwarts in one piece, feasible. Third, collect a basilisk fang and destroy both the cup and diadem, seems simple enough. Fourth, lure the snake away from baldy, a tad more onerous. Fifth and final, be some sort of hero and sacrifice myself so that the rest can live, so that she can live.

The cottage is at full capacity today, everyone slowly began arriving late last night. Nearly the entire Weasley army is here, even their little shithead Percy who not too long ago was still kissing the arse of Voldemort but whatever, what do I know? Tonks and Lupin have mostly kept to themselves, soaking in as much time as they can alone. Shacklebolt also decided to make an appearance, for the most part he's been traveling, meeting with others in hiding in attempt to begin the process of restoring the ministry for once Voldemort falls. Everyone is a balanced mixture of both eagerness and panic but not Theo, he's calm, the most calm I've seen him in a long time.

"Everything alright?" I ask as I pull a chair up next to him.

"I never wanted to be a death eater." He says.

"Yeah, I know."

"I always knew I had no choice in the matter though, that even with my father being gone it was still going to be expected of me."

There's certain parts of our lives that are vastly different, most of which relate to the way we process things but I think the reason Theo and I have always had a close bond is because we understand each other, in ways no one else could even come close to. I also think that, in a way, he and I being so close is what sealed his fate with one day becoming a death eater. I saw him as a brother which then resulted in my father seeing him as a son, someone he could also force his beliefs and expectations on.

I never wanted any of this for him. Theo can be a complete prat sometimes but at the end of the day he's one of the good ones, probably the best of our entire friend group. Sure, he had a tendency to get with girls who were already spoken for and he may have instigated fights here and there but all of those actions were simply his unhealthy way of coping, of handling emotions he never felt he deserved to feel.

"After tomorrow everything is going to change." He continues. "How it'll change, I don't know. We could be successful but we could also fail, all I know is that things will be different. I may have this damn mark on my arm for the rest of my life but I won't have to be an actual death eater anymore. Everyone else is nervous about the outcome, is it wrong that I couldn't care less about which way it goes? That I'll just be happy to finally be fully relieved of my duties?" When his eyes flick over to mine a strange, almost reminiscent feeling hits me.