it was around ten at night when theodore came back to his room after talking with his father and found aurelia lying on the bed whilst her eyes were fixed on the ceiling. letting out a tired sigh, he quietly laid down besides her and looked at her.
"what are you thinking?" he asked, breaking aurelia from her chain of thoughts.
"nothing. just wondering about what the future holds for me." aurelia answered, turning her head to look at theodore who was watching her with pity in his eyes.
"whatever it has, you have me with you. always." theodore assured, interwining his fingers with aurelia's.
he had no idea that aurelia was scared of promises ; for they are always broken. when a child is born, the parents gradually promises to be there for their child but in aurelia's case the promise broke. sirius had promised her that they'll be a proper family once everything is back to normal but he too broke the promise. aurelia didn't want any more promises to be broken for she won't be able to bear the pain anymore.
"when this is all over we'll be happy for the rest of our lives. I'm sure." theodore smiled but it dropped when aurelia turned her head back to stare at the ceiling. he noticed the stream of tears leaving aurelia's eyes and it pained him to hear the soft whimpers.
"hey hey what's wrong?" theodore got up and made aurelia sit in front of him,"I'm so sorry but why are you crying?"
"I'm tired theodore." aurelia choked on her tears,"i can't stand fake promises anymore. they are always broken in the end. i can't take it anymore."
scooting closer to aurelia, he wrapped his arms around her and stroked her hair while she silently sobbed in his chest.
"i promise golden that i won't break my promise."
a loud bang startled them both as they looked at each other with worried expression. loud and angry shouts boomed through the walls causing theodore to remember what his father had told him.
"what's that?" aurelia whispered, wiping the tears with the back of her sleeves.
"just stay here." theodore said in a hushed tone and grabbed his wand from the side table before making his way out.
he held the wand defensively in front of him and prayed for the best though a voice in his head kept speaking of something worse that he could ever imagine. he crouched down and pressed his back against the wall besides which were the stairs leading downstairs.
"NOTT WHAT ARE YOU HIDING!" theodore recognised it as lucius malfoy's voice making his throat to dry due to the amount of fear circling him.
"look malfoy i don't know what those bloody idiots are saying and trust me I don't even care. i already told you that when i caught aurelia potter-"
"you brought her to your house! now the question is why?" lucius sneered cutting of theodore nott sr.
"because i wanted to claim the prize of having caught her. i wanted to shine in the eyes of the dark lord. i wanted to prove myself." theodore nott sr. shrugged casually.
"and you let her get away, didn't you?" lucius smirked, a nefarious glint reflecting in his eyes.
"no that's not true!" nott defended himself,"why would I do that? she was just lucky enough to escape."
"oh?" lucius let out a taunting laugh as he circled around theodore nott sr.,"though i heard that your son is weirdly close to miss aurelia potter. maybe you just got sudden sympathy for the love of your son's life." lucius smirked proudly of how he managed to find about them through draco.
lucius was just walking past by his son's bedroom when he heard him talking about aurelia potter.
"listen to me, you all shouldn't tell anybody whatever theodore and aurelia had between them." lucius heard draco ordering his acquaintances.
"why is that?" pansy questioned.
"because you know that aurelia potter was seen around the nott manor and if anybody finds that theodore and aurelia were good friends, they'll suspect theodore to have her hidden somewhere. and i don't want either of them to get in any trouble." draco said, not sounding to have sympathy for both of them.
"i thought you hated aurelia potter." goyle spoke up.
"no, i just judged her without actually knowing her." draco muttered.
"well I should get to you tomorrow with a vial of veritaserum. if you are ready to confess that you have hid her somewhere, i might think of hiding the fact that it was you." lucius smirked.
"my answer isn't going to change." theodore nott sr. glared. with a last smug look, lucius malfoy gracefully made his way out knowing that he was about to find aurelia potter.
"what was that?" theodore questioned, worried as ever as he stared at the fading posture of lucius malfoy. aurelia was quick to get downstairs after the voice of lucius malfoy died down.
"what's wrong?" aurelia asked, panic lacing her tone.
"he suspects that we've hid aurelia potter."
"what do we do now?" theodore panicked, biting his lips while pacing around.
"i think i should leave." aurelia spoke up but both the notts looked at her as if she was crazy.
"i know what to do." theodore's father breathed out, certainly nervous about his plan.
"what is it?" theodore asked, finally stopping in his tracks.
"make me forget that i ever saved aurelia. just wipe that memory away."
"what!" both aurelia and theodore exclaimed in utter shock.
"that's the only way left. please don't argue. we need to be quick."
"no please don't do that-" aurelia pleaded but was cut off by theodore.
"he's right. we need to be quick." theodore tried to think straight,"twinkle!"
the elf came running to the living room giving a worried look to them probably because she heard the conversation between theodore nott sr. and lucius malfoy.
"listen here twinkle, you've helped me a lot. but i guess i need it again." theodore asked politely, smiling slightly at the elf who was listening intently,"after obliviating father. we'll be leaving-"
"leaving where?" aurelia interrupted, completely confused by the father-son's plans.
"I'll come on to that later." he smiled apologetically at aurelia before turning his attention back to twinkle,"please promise me that you'll take care of father. and if, this is very important, if lucius malfoy finds out that anybody of us tried to help aurelia, please just leave the manor."
he pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and held it in front of twinkle who looked like she would just burst up crying," you are going to be free but please take care of father till i am back. please write to me and update about the condition. I'll forever be grateful to you."
"it would be an honor master theo." as expected twinkle was in tears, accepting the handkerchief with trembling hands.
"come on, go upstairs." said theodore, finally turning to look at aurelia who was on the verge of tears. after aurelia was finally out of their sight, theodore turned to look at his father.
"ready?" he asked, his voice quivering with nervousness.
"yes." his father breathed out. theodore's hands were trembling but he tried to keep them still and pointed his wand at his father.
"obliviate." he whispered softly causing a green light to evolve out of his wand.
without wasting time, he ran upstairs to find aurelia awkwardly sitting on the bed while staring at the bookshelf.
"come on, we need to leave!" he exclaimed, pulling out a hiking bag from the cupboard. he stuffed some of his clothes and some of aurelia's which she had wore on the day she was attacked.
he zipped it shut, grabbing his wand and motioned aurelia to follow him. after they were out of the manor through the back door, they were really really cautious with their each step. they reached the graciously standing iron gates and opened it making sure not to make any sound that would get them in trouble.
"where are we going?" aurelia whispered, holding onto theodore's arm while he was pushing the gates open.
"my grandparent's house."
answering that, theodore motioned her to be quiet and silently stepped outside. unaware of the caterwauling charm, they were startled when the air screamed at them, tearing their nerves. the two of them had to clasp their hands over their ears to prevent themselves from going mad. it took them a few moments to realize what was happening and it was enough for the death eaters to arrive at the scene.
"theodore." aurelia choked,"y-you should go."
"no, w-we are leaving together." said theodore, holding out one of his hand for aurelia to take.
the death eaters took no time in throwing a spell at the two of them. a war broke up and aurelia thinking of saving theodore, pulled out her wand and threw the stupefy smell towards theodore who was sent flying away. due to the darkness surrounding them, nobody saw who the boy was.
"IT'S POTTER!"
"IT'S THE POTTER GIRL."
the death eaters paid no attention to the boy who was lying few steps away from them and rushed to get hold of aurelia. they got ahold of her arm despite aurelia's attempt to shoo them away.
theodore was in a complete shock that aurelia attacked him but he knew the intention behind it. no matter what, he wasn't going to let her fight alone. he got up on his feet and watched in horror as the death eaters captured aurelia.
wasting no time, he ran towards them, thanking for them being only three and shot a stupefy spell on them from behind, giving them no time to defend. theodore ran up to aurelia and grabbed her arms harshly, quickly apparating to his maternal grandparent's manor which was situated in the east of the london.
"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?" theodore thundered, his grip still tight on aurelia's arm who flinched under the tone,"are you out of your fucking mind?!"
"i was just trying to help you." aurelia managed to say, yanking his hands away from her arm.
"I NEVER ASKED YOU TO! stop thinking about me! it's you who we need to save! for once aurelia, just for once think about yourself!" theodore scolded,"you know what your problem is? it's that you never worry about yourself!"
"theodore listen to me." aurelia pleaded, feeling her heart breaking because of seeing theodore mad at her.
"no! i just don't want to talk about it right now." he ran his hands through his hair with a frustrated expression on his face.
without another glance at aurelia, he went inside one of the rooms and slammed the door shut. aurelia closed her eyes for a moment, trying to calm herself down but the tears just wouldn't stop. wiping the tears with the back of theodore's shirt she was wearing, aurelia looked around to take in her new surroundings.
the manor she was in had walls of greys and whites. through the great windows having glass panes aurelia could see the night sky, twinkling with stars. the living room was almost empty, like nobody had lived there for a fair amount of years. beautiful and artistic paintings were hung on the wall just adding to the beauty of the manor.
aurelia wandered around, finding two grand bedrooms on the ground floor and two upstairs. the stairs were made with white sculpted marble which looked breathtaking. she roamed around and in the kitchen where some groceries were kept in the cupboards hanging from the wall. it was quite surprisingly as it seemed like nobody lived there but still it had everything to survive.
aurelia finally found a spot from where she could clearly see the entire small village which gave aurelia a little idea that the manor was situated on a small hill. aurelia spent her night near the window, shedding few tears whenever theodore passed through her head. she waited for him to come talk to her but sadly, he didn't come.
**
it was mid of january, the cold air already getting chilly. a week was all it took aurelia to finally arrive on a decision. according to her, she had rested enough and was ready to go out and find her brother or any horcrux if possible. all those week, neither theodore spoke a word to her nor did aurelia. the two felt lonely but still didn't try to mend their relationship.
theodore really wanted to apologize for his behavior the other day but he was still mad at aurelia for always keeping others first. even aurelia wanted to take a move because she completely understood about theodore's worries but she couldn't pick up the courage,seeing how annoyed he always was.
though a plus point, aurelia found out that the village she was staying at was largely inhabited by muggles. they were the only wizard and the witch in the whole town which made feel aurelia much safer.
an old lady had approached them when she saw aurelia one day through the large window. since nobody has lived at that manor for years, the old lady thought it would be best to get introduced to the new visitors. aurelia obviously couldn't tell her the truth so she just got with the lie that they had nowhere to live so they were just staying there for a few days.
it was after the sun had set down when theodore finally arrived on the decision to apologize to aurelia. when he left the room he had chosen for himself, he couldn't fine aurelia by the window sill where she always used to spend most of her time.
he entered the room near the kitchen to find aurelia packing some clothes in the bag they had brought from the manor.
"what are you doing?" theodore frowned, anger burning through his skin once again.
"leaving." aurelia answered, not meeting his eyes.
"and where exactly are you going?"
"somewhere. i don't really know at the moment." aurelia shrugged, slinging the bag over her shoulders. without letting her eyes meet theodore's, aurelia walked past him and into the vast living room, practically ignoring theodore's presence.
"do you hear yourself? you don't know where you're going when it's not safe outside for you." theodore yelled, following her out.
"so what do you expect me to do?" aurelia faced him, her voice cracking,"wait here till everything gets back to normal when in fact it never will?"
"you're sick! you aren't a kid aurelia! think before you act!" theodore glared at the vulnerable girl standing in front of him.
"that's what I did. the whole week actually." aurelia let out a hollow laugh,"and I've arrived at my decision."
"aurelia try to understand! don't make me yell at you! think about yourself. where the heck will you go?"
"exactly theodore, I am thinking about myself because I just can't see myself dying over and over again!" aurelia claimed.
"then you won't even think about leaving! you'll think of your safety! not about leaving!" theodore rasped, his jaw clenched which made his sharp jawline more visible but when he realized what aurelia said, he stopped.
"what?" his voice was barely above a whisper,"what does that mean?"
"i don't want to talk about it!"
aurelia looked at him once before harshly throwing the bag on the floor and with that she walked inside the room, slamming the door shut.
aurelia sat on the archaic bed,reaching for the glass of water. she wiped few of the tears which were still stuck on her cheeks constantly reminding her of the argument she just had with theodore. keeping the glass back on the side table, aurelia looked over at the door when she heard it creaking open.
the tension in the room came running as soon as theodore stepped his foot inside, accidentally tripping while he was closing the door. "oww." he cried, bending down to rub his toe nail which he had hit with the door.
"are you okay?" aurelia called out, debating on whether to check on him or not. deciding on the latter, she kept quiet, waiting for an answer.
all she got was a slight nod as theodore awkwardly looked around, feeling quite uncomfortable. aurelia turned her attention to the window besides the bed, trying to ignore theodore.
sighing, theodore ran his hands through his hair and walked up to where the upset witch was sitting. he needed to find out what she meant by watching herself dying but apologising to her was more important at that moment.
"golden, i'm sorry." he aplogised, expecting to have aurelia's attention but in vain as aurelia didn't even move her head an inch.
he knelt down in front of her and held her hand in his, playing with her fingers.
"sorry. i have been a complete asshole since last week. it's just that i lost my temper. and I understand how you must be feeling but we need to be careful with everything we do. I can't loose you golden, I just can't. you are someone who has brought a new life to me and I just can't let you go." theodore rambled, finally getting aurelia's attention as she listened to him in awe,"i can definitely say that you're one of the best things that has ever happened to me. i've changed so much for better and it's all because of you. you've been my light in the darknes.and I don't want to get lost."
he stared in her hazel eyes which were now flooding with tears, looking like stars.
"i love you so much." theodore finished, his eyes never leaving hers.
a tear rolled down aurelia's cheeks though she didn't have a single idea about why she was crying. theodore wiped her tear and got up to her level so that he was only few inches away from her lips.
aurelia noticed the close proximity between themselves and without thinking much , pressed her lips onto theodore's. adrenaline rushed through their bodies, producing an unusual feeling inside them.
both of them knew that they missed each other's touch.
theodore felt like he was a withered flower but has now blossomed once again. the storm inside aurelia's mind had shut all her worries and dissolved all her pain, just giving a ride of pleasure to her. at first it started as a sweet, passionate kiss but it seemed like they had been waiting forever for it.
pulling away once to steady their breathing, they stared at each other, their cheeks bright red singing stories of their love and affection. theodore cupped aurelia's cheeks and pressed his lips onto her, slowly pushing aurelia on the bed.
without breaking the kiss he got on top of her while aurelia's hand were pressed to his chest. from aurelia's cheeks, theodore's hands moved to the loose shirt of his which aurelia was wearing. he slipped his hands inside the shirt and wrapped his arms around her waist, sending a tingling sensation down aurelia's skin. seconds later, theodore pulled away and stared at aurelia as if asking for consent. aurelia nodded slightly and theodore reconnected the kiss, later moving on to her neck while unbuttoning her shirt. and the rest was a pleasurable history.
when in the morning aurelia opened her eyes, the sun was already up, hanging in the sky. aurelia grabbed her clothes from the night stand and put it on. the memories of last night flooded her mind causing a shy smile to linger on her lips.
theodore has never talked about what they had between them but after the last night, aurelia was sure that she could trust him enough, that he wants to be with her, he wants to spend his time with her and so was aurelia.
later in the afternoon, the two of them settled on the bed with a piece of parchment and quill in their hands. theodore was writing a letter to twinkle asking for an update on his father. though twinkle assured him that they were safe there, that didn't stop theodore not to worry.
"okay tell me about your nightmare. if you're comfortable." said theodore when he noticed how alert aurelia got at the mention of the word 'nightmare.'
"i see. . . myself in a. . . dusty place." aurelia started explaining,"and it looks like a shop. i can feel the deathly and horrific vibes the shops throws at me. i see myself just roaming around until he steps in."
"he? who?" theodore questioned.
"you-know-who." aurelia whispered, her heart thumping loudly in her chest as she turned around to meet theodore's shocked face,"but he looked younger. and then he speaks something about the pendant." aurelia held the pendant for theodore to have a look at it, "something like 'I'll be the one to tame it' and then I hear a man besides me crying and begging for mercy."
"that's all?"
"yeah." aurelia didn't know how to explain him that she saw herself coughing blood.
"but you told me that you saw your self dying?" theodore frowned.
"that was just once." aurelia muttered,"and theodore, i really want to prove to everyone else out there that i am not a coward. i want to help harry-"
"even after what he said?"
"yes." aurelia breathed out,"because it's not between me and him. it's between you-know-who and the rest of the innocent people."
theodore sighed in defeat as she was again thinking about everyone else but said nothing instead of "I'm with you."
a/n: . . . . . . . . . . .