The Deal I Made With Theodore Nott - NL x TN

10

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"Is this another one of your jokes?" I asked.

Theo slid into a sitting position on the floor, his legs cross crossed with his elbows on his knees and his chin rested in his hands.
"I wish mate. This is just poor luck..."

A wicked smile grew on his lips.
"-or good luck."

"How could this possibly be good luck?" I question, sitting across from him with my knees pulled towards my chest.

"You are forced to talk to me for as long as we are stuck in here, and there isn't a piece of schoolwork in sight." He replied proudly.

"I don't need books to teach you Herbology, I have all of it memorized." I noted.

Theo tilted his head at me curiously. He looked at me with a fond smile and softened eyes.
"What got you so into it? Herbology I mean." He asked me.

I thought about it, and honestly, I wasn't sure. I couldn't remember a time plants didn't interest me. My first memories were that of my Nan's garden, it was quiet, familiar...it made sense to me.
"Plants are the only things that I can touch without ruining, they are also exceptionally good listeners. Most plants don't talk back or interrupt me. I spent a lot of my childhood hiding from my nan in the garden."

A flicker of understanding flashed in Theo's eyes, he nodded gently as if he knew exactly what I was talking about.

"What about you? What made you the expert in charms and potions n' such?" I asked, resting my chin on my knees.

I looked to Theo's eyes, but he avoided mine the second the question left my mouth. Some topics seemed off limits to Theo for some reason. I could relate, yet everyone knew my story. I felt like I knew nothing of his. If something was hurting him I had absolutely no idea who or what was causing the pain.

A courage came over me in that moment, seeing Theo's eyes fall from a content sparkle to a darkened sad weight almost felt like a physical pain.
I carefully slid myself so that I was now sitting beside him. I felt his eyes watch me while making myself comfortable again. When I looked back up towards him, he was already looking back at me, a surprised expression on his face.

"You can talk to me Theo, I'm your friend."

I watched as the Slytherin attempted to suppress his grin, a red tinge of blush reaching his cheeks.
"My mum." He finally admitted, looking back down at his hands. He picked at the skin around his finger nails nervously.

"She uhm- she taught me. Or, at least I watched her from a young age and I demanded she teach me." He explained.

"What did she do for work?" I questioned, not wanting him to ever stop speaking. His voice was soft and shaky, but it was raw and real. It was like spotting a unicorn seeing Theodore Nott Jr in this state.

"She didn't work, she was a housewife. She knew a lot about healing though, she had to with my dad around. One day I found her an inch from death. She lifted herself up off the floor, it took awhile and it was so hard to watch, and then she just smiled at me."

His words caught in his throat as he spoke. Like the memory was the worst thing he could possibly think of.

"From that day on I knew I wanted to be a healer. That way she'd never have to fix herself up alone." He paused, wiping tears from his cheeks with his sleeve.
"I broke a vase- I broke a vase and she defended me when father yelled. That's why she got beat so badly, and yet she just smiled at me like I was good."

My hand found his, our fingers intertwining together.
"You are good Theo."

"What if I'm not? What if I turn out just like my father? I'm so angry at the world, at him. Doesn't that make me just as bad?" He questioned.

"You are smart, compassionate, and generous. I don't think people like that turn out bad." I explained to him.

"I'm only that way for you ya know." He said as if it were the most normal thing to say. He smiled down at me, his cheeks still damp from before. I felt my cheeks burn red as I looked up at him. My heart was pounding and I was frozen in place.

The sound of the lock clicking pulled me from my daze.

"Finally!" Theo exclaimed, standing up excitedly and crouching beside the door.
"Come to papa!" He said with his hand opened.

I watched in amazement as a Bowtruckle crawled out of the lock and into his hand. It squeaked excitedly before jumping on his shoulder.
"You brilliant little stick you!" Theo complimented.

"Is that— a Bowtruckle?" I ask in awe while approaching the little skinny green creature on Nott's shoulder.

"This is Bowie." He hummed as he held the creature out to me.
"Bowie, this is my friend- Neville."

The sound of my name leaving his lips was like music to my ears. Butterflies exploded in my stomach and I couldn't help beaming at him. He looked back at me with an equally happy grin.

"Theo?" Blaise asked as he pushed the door open, releasing us from our temporary prison.
"Thank Merlin, when you didn't come back I got worried. Hoped you weren't caught already— great job Bowie." He noted, giving a thumbs up to Theo's pet.

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Blaise left after that, saying something about being late to some date he had with Luna. We thanked him and he went on his way cheerfully.

I liked Blaise, he seemed very... kind.

All seven years I spent in this school I had never questioned my distaste for the Slytherins. It was just something all Gryffindors grew accustomed to and I felt myself crumble at the thought of how wrong it was.

Sure some were awful, and yet wasn't there someone awful in every Hogwarts house?

Theo was good. I told him myself, and I believe it with my whole soul.

But.

That didn't mean he couldn't become something terrible. He could if he wanted to, I wasn't sure why he wasn't. His dad was terrible and his friends were the same. Now that I know him, now that I've grown to care about him, I wasn't going to let it happen. Maybe that's how Luna felt about Blaise? Perhaps that's why Dean had acted like Blaise didn't count.

But Theo wasn't like Malfoy, Crabbe, or Goyle.
Blaise wasn't like them either. I wanted to help Theo,

Or better put,
rescue him.