Neglected

Prologue | Trust

Prologue

T R U S T

~.~

"The truth is: everyone is going to hurt you. You just got to find the ones worth suffering for."

― Bob Marley

~.~

Contrary to popular belief, Theodore Nott was not a loner, was not the quiet, shy boy who walked around Hogwarts all by himself and occasionally with his childhood comrade Draco Malfoy, was not the type of boy who'd do his homework and receive at least an Exceeding Expectation; and he was definitely not a bully either. He was an intelligent boy, sure, but not one who did extraordinary well in classes simply because of his lazy nature. If he could get away with it, Theo would actually be the one to sabotage all the excitements in said classes in the most cunning and subtle way possible just for his own entertainment, and maybe pull a prank or two on Granger (and perhaps Snape, too) before Draco, for reason or another, would stop him. And speaking of sabotaging, if there was one other thing that Theodore absolutely wasn't, it was being quiet and excluding himself from larger group discussions, because he certainly never shut up when it came to voicing his opinions, however inadequate the timing may be (mind you, though, it was only in front of his friends when he decided to "speak out of turn". Usually, so, at least). But most important of all, Theodore Mathias Nott did not give a sodding fuck about whatever claims his "ex"-Death Eater father made, did not follow pure-blood beliefs nor did Theo promote the importance of "securing" magical benefits. Neither did he have the shallow impression that he was, supposedly, superior compared to Muggle-borns and Half-bloods ― not by much, anyway ― and, he reflected, if ever asked by Professor Severus Snape, Theo admitted that Snape's answer would be prompt and accurate, without a hint of hesitation: Theodore Nott, according to Severus' book, should very much have been sorted into Gryffindor instead of Slytherin.

Snape's only remedy, if you could even call it that, was that Theo at least knew not to display his obnoxiousness to the public eye. Otherwise, Theo was sure Snape would have expelled him quicker than Potter would be able to catch the Snitch.

So no, Theo was not your stereotypical Slytherin. If anything, Theodore Nott hated quite a lot of things, particular his father and the Blood Mania people ― especially in Slytherin House ― threw above their heads, just as the next person beside him was revolted with his own mother, her twisted love for money, and her suspected murdering of men. Not that Blaise hated his mother the way Theo hated his father, far from it; Blaise actually loved her beyond imagination. He was just a bit uncomfortable with her whole ordeal of switching husbands for her own, greedy benefits to reassure a wealthy lifestyle for her and Blaise. The latter he could welcome, the former... not so much, especially when the inevitable happened and she would move on to the next rich man.

Both Theo and Blaise were respected males and friendly acquaintances with the Malfoy Heir, though, one more so than the other. Although his absurd obsession with Harry suicide Potter (The Boy Who Suffered From Schizophrenia) was a keen and amusing sight, it also graced the line to fucking annoying. However, no one dared to cross Draco and question his overall hatred for anyone below his worth. Whatever that was. Although, it would be really nice if there could be peace between Potter and Malfoy, just for a week, at least. Preferably for the rest of their time at Hogwarts, actually.

Because, if Theo was being honest with himself ― and he really was ― he really hated the biased picture people like Potter and the Weasel created about Slytherin House, and Malfoy and his goons, as well as Pansy Parkinson, did not make the job of turning the tables around an easy task to accomplish.

So yes, there were, indeed, a lot of things Theodore Nott hated in this fucked up world.

While Theo was somewhat jealous of Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy for hanging around Draco more often than he was ― at least so in public ― he never complained. He knew the importance of an image, essentially if you were classed as high in the society as the Nott's were, and Theo kept it up just as well as Draco did ― though, mind you, it did not take much of an act, if at all, for Draco to feign his opinions; most of them he very much believed in. Theo, on the other hand, didn't, and to some extent, Blaise didn't either ― although the extension of what he did not take to the heart was minimal ― and Draco respected that, however confused he was about the situation, which might show how much he actually valued his friendship with both of them, especially with Theo. And Theo knew that if problems ever arose, he would be the first to know. Not Greg or Vince, him. Well, maybe Pansy would know before he would, but Pansy would know anything in a matter of seconds just by analysing a situation, or by mending together bits and pieces of information from the gossip wandering around Hogwarts ― there was, after all, a reason why some people refereed her to as the Slytherin Princess, and no, it was not because she wasn't the brightest of the bunch (those were just rumours started in Gryffindor House; Pansy was actually quite clever). That was all fine and fancy for her; Theo would not use his knowledge on such petite nonsense, anyway. But what Theo did know, was that those two, Greggory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe, could not be trusted. Not because they were disloyal, quite the opposite; Crabbe and Goyle were great friends, just too dim-witted to keep a secret and would more often than not slip information without realising what they were saying ― something of which couldn't be said about Theo, especially if it was something Draco decided to disclose regarding important matters.

So, when he jolted awake just when the clock struck midnight on 5 June because of a terrifying scream ricocheting around the third year boy's dorm ― its origin coming from Draco's bed, no less ― Theo knew he was to take care of things and of only few, he would know about this secret for a very long time.