Luck of Nines

78

      The theories, mapped out in exact detail, were not kind, many including testing processes.  The least damning of them were invasive or illegal; his original scrying circle set up, several focused divination methods which he had failed at, enchantments to turn animals into spies and how to control those animals, a rudimentary analysis of the Azkaban wards he could get his hands on, he'd been too young and inexperienced to do much with them back then of course. 

      He didn't know what he was worried about though as Harry made a face at the book handed over to him and sat down beside him, leaning against the wall and absently poked played with the pages of the book before looking up, "Do I have to read this?" 

       It didn't matter what the mystery, the book was thick and full of small writing and complicated words.  Harry had groaned at the thought of reading something as much as one of Goyle's comic books, there was no way he'd willingly pick up and read a book filled with cramped writing.

       "No... " Theo took a steadying breath, there was no way of knowing if Chippy was watching this. Harry had found out, he had to tell them.  A deal was a deal. No matter how much Theo wanted to keep Harry away from all this.  He'd seen the dark underbelly of the wizarding world and had suffered through six whole years of Azkaban for it.

      Theo knew he had his own dark side and he had planned to keep Harry in the dark about it forever if possible.  He didn't want to see how they would react to the lengths he would go to for his goals. It was times like this such a strong, single minded animagus made since for someone as weak and frail as him; he charged towards his goal and anything that tried to stop him would be flattened underfoot, but that didn't change the fact that he was vulnerable, his animagus form just had a different kind of vulnerability. 

        Theo took a steadying breath, "But I can explain the meaning to you if you want, you don't have to know though."

        "Explain it to me." Harry demanded, this was something clearly weighing on Theo, something which would leave things forever distant if he simply left now, he knew enough about interactions to know that, and he was curious. 

         "There's a ritual..." Theo began cautiously, nervously, the fingers of his writing hand twitching as if searching for the comfort of a quill, "To unite two conflicting lineages in a person. One I never would have done," He rushed to explain, "Not without reason.  When you were sent to court the previous Lord Nott, my grandfather, promised he would do what he could to get you a good lawyer and to make sure you never saw a day more in Azkaban.  Instead he worked with Malfoy to ensure  you were convicted while continuing to give me empty promises. No one who participated in that trial had any intention of letting you go or finding out the truth. Their evidence was flimsy at best, the public wanted someone to pay and Fudge saw you as his hangman and a way to get the you know who is back stuff discredited, Malfoy wanted you out of the way of the Dark Lord, and I still don't understand why Dumbledore you gone, but he knew you'd be attacked, politically, the second he pulled your name into things."

       Theo took a breath, "I needed political power that just being an heir wouldn't give. And I found out that my- Lord Nott was considering pushing for the idea that you would be killed while in Azkaban or your release. People had wanted someone held accountable for everything going on at Hogwarts, but that didn't mean a lot of them weren't uncomfortable at how quickly that an eleven year old would be sent to Azkaban and Fudge was getting nervous, I only found out after the fact that your retrial or release couldn't happen so simply, it wasn't until the Bulstrode's gained power that anyone who hadn't had a hand in it learned.  So at the time...."

       Theo hesitated nervously again, "I already knew that I would die young, perhaps in my twenties or thirties at best, I had always known of the ritual to unite conflicting lineages, but I never considered it because." He stopped again, "Because it requires the still beating heart, murder, of a close relative.  When I found out he had been lying and working against me all that time... I- I no longer had a reason not to do it. I had to do it at that point. I was going to die, and... and then you'd be alone. Draco had gone missing, Ron thought that there would be a way to do so purely legally. Or if we talked to the right people something could be arranged. And then he said too much to the wrong people and he was put under watch and... everything was falling apart and I was starting to wonder if I would even be there when it mattered." Theo shuttered and stopped talking. The silence drew on.