xxii. a motherly dispatch

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***

"You certainly do have Rita Skeeter wrapped around your finger."

     When Valentine's Day approached in what seemed to be a flurry of pink, red and white confetti spraying through all corners of all walls of stone, bashful, reddened faces bravely (yet awkwardly) passing sentimental love letters to potential significant others alongside people being asked out for romantic Valentines dates at Hogsmeade that weekend. Hogwarts was possibly the best combination of the lonely and the culturally popular and everything in between — while some people may not have received a single valentine note, others may have received tens of hundreds, and some would garner the occasional one or two card, perhaps accompanied with a case of chocolates, perhaps laced with a hint of love potion. In that case, their friends could be seen exasperatedly dragging their dazed, amorous friend to the Hospital Wing before an even more embarrassing event occurs in the love potion's honour.

And as for Cassia, she received a total of seven cards and a box of chocolates — tested to be clear of any trace of love potion. She humoured herself over them, partly because she didn't exactly expect to receive any — for one, she and Harry were dating and the whole year seamed to know, and two, she hadn't exactly thought people would care enough to send her a valentine? Either way, it proved for an amusing Valentines' Day morning when Cassia, Maryam and Eva has congregated to share their valentines. Maryam only received two, because most people had grown terrified of her and her quidditch antics by now, and Eva has gotten so many it became difficult to count the everlasting pile, eventually getting stuffed into a sack. In Hogwarts, nobody cares if you're single or taken if it means they still have the chance to make a move.

The rest of Valentines' Day occurred with Cassia and Harry going together to Hogsmeade, buying hot chocolate and sharing the same cake from last time, sitting beneath the same place she led him to before. There was no way they would sit in at Madam Puddifoot's — not when the place was an ever-growing noose of romance they didn't want to publicise themselves within. Besides, Harry ended up leaving at one point to go meet Hermione Granger for something. Cassia knew it was probably to do with him being, like, the miracle boy of the Wizarding world, so Cassia didn't suspect anything. She trusted him. He asked if she wanted to join them, but Cassia figured it would be a bit awkward since she's never really talked to Hermione. One step at a time, you know?

     "Well, not willingly, at least." Harry replies, sprawling out his arms and laying down on his back, grass flaking up by his ears.

     In a time between the end of their last class and dinner, Cassia and Harry retreated beneath the shade of a towering tree, the shade a barrier between them and the sultry warmth beyond. With there still being various people patrolling the grassy grounds, it was still a much nicer exchange to the stuffy insides, where prying students crawled all around the stony corridors. The weather enrapturing the Scottish Highlands had taken a surprising turn for the better today, for the usual perishing breezes were replaced with balmy, bright rays of sunshine, overlooking the castle in a new sense of contentment that disregarded the continuous attempts of inflicting misery onto the school by Dolores Umbridge.

Harry flashes Cassia a mischievous look while she rereads the article in hand. The Quibbler. Written by the father of a quirky Ravenclaw named Luna Lovegood in the year below, The Quibbler is one of the most rarely seen newspapers being held so willingly in people's hands — but this time, it'd been shipped directly to Harry Potter, quality content within. Apparently this is what Harry had been doing after he and Cassia departed at Hogsmeade on Valentines Day — thanks to the blackmailing backbone of Hermione Granger's, they'd managed to get Rita Skeeter to withstand an interview where Harry would properly explain what all had happened to him that night in the graveyard. The truth. And Luna Lovegood agreed to get this interview published in The Quibbler.

Mixed emotions spurred within Cassia at reading the names of all the Death Eaters named within. The ones that were present at the graveyard that night. She knew half of these people, or at least had met most of them at one point. Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle. Nott. The guilt that spurred within her at that name also returned. She remembers what she said to Theo. You're more like your father than you think. It was the last thing she should've ever said to him, yet it was the first thing that came to mind. He wasn't like his father. Not at all. But she wanted so bad to hurt him, because she was so mad. She still is mad. Maybe not as much, though. Because maybe there'd been a proper reason behind it all... maybe there was more. He wouldn't keep something like this without reason. Theo was her best friend.

Was.

"It's quite bold of Granger to keep someone like Skeeter locked up in her back pocket, isn't it?" says Cassia. Her back relaxes best as possible against the rough bark of the tree, uneven rinds grinding beneath her, her eyes falling above to watch the few leaves returning to the trees. She raises an amused eyebrow. She never liked Rita Skeeter anyways.

     "Can't say you're against it, can you?"

     "I most definitely cannot." Cassia frowns, "She hit me with her handbag when we all went to watch the Second Task. Bitch didn't even say sorry." She hands the newspaper back over. "You better hide that. You've already got detention and you got banned from Hogsmeade."

"Well, that's what the Invisibility Cloak's for isn't it?" Harry grins. With a chuckle, Harry accepts the newspaper reciprocated back to him, reading over it once more. "Seamus said sorry. People are starting to believe me now. It feels oddly... refreshing."

"They should've believed you all along," Cassia smiles, a hand dusting off grass littered onto his shoulder. "Shame they can't show it. Malfoy didn't seem too happy, though."

     "No surprise there," Harry says with a disdainful scoff. He watches Cassia with careful eyes. "I, uh, hope it's okay that I called out Nott's dad? He didn't seem too happy either..."

     Cassia perks her lips downwards, contemplating for a moment. "You did what you had to do," She gives him a forceful smile, nodding her head. "And... he's not my problem. Not anymore."

Slightly doubtful, Harry nods his head with slow movements and a small smile. Hesitant to speak, Cassia recalls about how most Death Eaters she'd expected to be on it had been named — except for one. She had a hunch why, but she just had to be sure.

"Why didn't you mention Eva's dad?"

     He sighs.

"I would have..." Harry begins. He rolls onto his stomach, propping himself up on his forearms. He takes a thoughtful glance at Cassia, his lips perking to the side, and a hand reaches out, tucking a strand of hair behind Cassia's ear. "But I didn't want you to lose another friend. You already lost Nott... I didn't want it to be Abercrombie next."

Cassia looks down, the corners of her mouth threatening a smile. He's amazing.

"And because... we don't exactly know if it's true or not."

Cassia raises an eyebrow.

"When has that ever stopped you, Mister Theodore-Nott-will-be-a-Death-Eater-just-like-his-father?"

"Ouch," Harry remarks, clutching at his chest. "Had to ruin a nice moment, didn't you?" He starts to grin. "I had a change of heart."

"From what?"

"You," he says, and for a moment, Cassia breath stops. "You helped me to see that there's more to people than we'd think. You changed me, I suppose. For the better."

A touched exhale leaves the base of Cassia's mouth. Her lips extend into a wide smile, her teeth coming into full exposure. Dating him had never excluded the feeling of being caught completely off-guard by him: time and again he'd managed to hit her in spots she didn't even know existed, or places she didn't even know she could just feel... soft.

"What?" says Harry, frowning at how Cassia was looking at her with this massive, toothy smile.

"Nothing," Cassia shakes her head, looking down with a smile.

     "Funnily enough," says Harry. "I had another dream. Abercrombie was in it."

     "You did? Like, one of the spooky ones?"

     Harry laughs. "Yeah, one of the spooky ones. Like, with Arthur Weasley at Christmas."

     "Where you were practically—literally You-Know-Who, right?"

    "Yeah... Voldemort—or me, or whatever, was talking to Abercrombie. No idea what about, though. It was so unclear." He narrows his eyes at her. "You sure being with me hasn't scared you off in any way?" He jokes.

     "You wish, Potter," Cassia sniggers. "You're stuck with me. And it can't get as scary as the possibility of my own father being one of these death eaters that we know nothing about or hear nothing about."

     Harry frowns. "You know that if I'd had a dream where I saw him, I'd tell you, right?"

     "Yeah, I know." Cassia tells him, smiling. "It's just difficult feeling so... helpless. And clueless. I'd just like it if once I could talk to my father and just find out what's happening. Clear the air."

     Harry's lips purse. "How's it going, anyways? Your investigation with Abercrombie?"

     "Amazing," Cassia rolls her eyes, "Not only have I solved the fact of Eva's dad being a Death Eater, but I've also came up with the solution to world hunger. I really am thriving."

     Harry looks unconvinced.

     Cassia sighs. "It's a lost cause. I have, like, one hypothesis that could explain it, but apart from that? Absolutely nothing."

     "And what hypothesis is that?"

      "It's not entirely developed. I still have so much I need to research for it. But I have a hunch it's connected with the death of Midlothian Manson."

     "That Death Eater who died in Azkaban?"

     "Yeah. It's a bit of a risky hunch, considering the possibilities, but the day Manson was found dead, it was without a soul. And Abercrombie was the one who brought it to the Governor's meeting. I don't know what this all means, but... it's the most I've gotten so far."

     Harry nods. "And... have you told her yet? Eva?"

     "No." Cassia gnaws on the flesh of her lower lip, a distraction to the obvious fact that she would have to tell Eva sooner or later. She has no idea if Eva knows her father's extracurricular activities — at least they'd been on the same boat with that — but it most certainly seemed like Enoch had played it casual back home. Eva reported that the summer before fifth year, Enoch continued to write about his interchanging girlfriends, taking free rein in his unmarried status, but that lately he seemed to have found this girlfriend that stuck longer than any of the others. Eva didn't know the name, however. It's not like they had to be secretive.

But that still didn't mean she had to hide the inevitable divulgence of the truth. She had to tell Eva, before a mistake was made.

Before she made the same mistake as Theo.

"You should probably tell her," says Harry.

"Yeah," Cassia sighs. "I know."

     A prolonged period of silence followed, until a thought springs to Cassia's mind and she has to stifle a laugh. Earlier that day, she had received a letter from her mother, saying exactly how she came to find out about her and Harry dating. Marlowe had plenty to say, including the ways that Harry would be "conducted into the family" and how she has to meet him as soon as possible. She didn't mention anything about Phoenix, or any hint, or perhaps his opinion on Cassia going out with the boy he warned her against. Marlowe did, however, visit Bulgaria and the dog their grandparents had hyped up so much during their visit, as well as mentioning the fact that the people in the Ministry were still as hell-bent in their self denial than they were with the  sticks they've all shoved up their ass.

"What is it?" asks Harry, frowning.

"My Mum, she, uh..." Cassia trails off, her nail scraping at the skin above her eyebrow. "She gave me something for you."

Harry's eyes widen. "She did?"

Cassia nods with a quaint grin, before fishing into the insiders of her robes, where there laid a letter nestled within the inner pocket. She brings it out, her hand skimming over Marlowe's pretty handwriting detailing Harry. She passes it over to Harry, who peers at it with curious intent, his forearms flat against the dry grass.

"Have you read it?" He asks Cassia.

"Nope," she replies. "It's your letter. And mum told me not to pry. Privacy and all that."

"The Ministry should take a lesson from your mum," says Harry with a dry chuckle. He opens the letter. It's difficult to decipher the true meaning of his reaction in the minutes that followed, for one minute he'd been smiling, the next he'd shown a befuddled frown and the next he'd let out a throaty chuckle.

     Eventually, he lowers it from his face, a charmed, entertained smile lingering on his lips.

     "What does it say?" implores Cassia, the burning urge to find out what her mother said to her boyfriend itching at her curiosity.

     "Can't tell you," quips Harry, grinning wolfishly. "Special orders from your mum herself."

     An offended exclamation leaves Cassia, scoffing. "Bullshit," she remarks. Her eyes begin to plead with him. "Please?"

     "Nope. Wow, you really are as intrusive as your mum says you are."

Cassia's eyes widen. Did Mum really—

"Oh my god, show me!"

The moments that ensued had Cassia frantically grasping her hands in all directions for the letter, Harry keeping it out of constant reach, restricted laughter falling from him amidst his attempts to keep Cassia from the piece of parchment. Eventually she stops, eyebrows knitted together, arms folded and frowning at Harry. With even more torture still in mind, he leans over and lets the parchment dangle teasingly in front of her face. She huffs to herself but still makes an attempt at snatching it, if it weren't for Harry sharply rolling onto his back and sitting down on it.

"You're terrible." spat Cassia.

Harry hums to himself, rolling onto his side to get a good view of Cassia. "Sure I am."

     "I can't believe my mum and my boyfriend are conspiring against me."

     She stays put for a moment, lips pursed, eyes narrowed, but something comes across her at the sight of Harry laying there, leaning on one elbow with his body directed to hers, that infuriating yet uplifting and charming grin on his face as he looked to her. And she erupts into laughter, much to her own chagrin, hiding her face amidst her flailing waves.

     When she eventually stops, exhaling deeply and seemingly oblivious to her previous vexation, Harry is still gazing towards her, a smile twitching at his lips, positively captivated. His emerald eyes were swimming with everything earnest and hopeful and beautiful. They were the exact reflection of the adoration he felt for this girl: the exact reflection that the time they had spent together formed an almost everlasting bond, one that would be durable in the most teasing, petty and false of wranglings such as this one.

     Harry says, "Can I kiss you?" with a finger loosely twirling around the ends of her hair.

     "Only if I can see the letter."

     "Nice try."

With the grin still present, Cassia's lips are captured by Harry's. He leans up and caresses a hand against her neck as her own two cupped his cheeks, a warmth spreading through her face, her neck, her body, isolated from that heat radiated from the incandescent sun. Would this feeling of constant warmth ever cease, or eventually fade away with time? As much as her curiosity piqued her senses and her imagination, she hoped that wouldn't be true. It was like her insides were melting into these pools of sheer thrill and scalding exhilaration all the while cooling her down in a comfort that was rare anywhere else. It's blissful, it's daunting, and it's everything and nothing you would expect to be coupled together. And despite the unpredictability of it, Cassia never ever hoped it would end.

     But alas, this episode would have to.

     A throat clears in front of them.

     "Hate to break this up, you two. But, uh, hi."

     Grimacing, her expression shrivelled, Cassia peels back from Harry — who brings himself into a seated position, frowning as he adjusted his glasses — to come acquainted with the highly familiar voice of her twin sister, Daphne, her expression disorientated.

     (Okay, in all honesty, Daphne didn't want to break them up. One, it's awkward and two, they were cute together. Really cute. The whole school could see it.)

     It was difficult to miss the presence of the two redheads at either side of Daphne, towering over the younger girl.

     Harry stammers, "We were just—"

     "Studying?" says Fred.

     "Without books?" adds George.

     "Focusing especially on the tongue too, I see."

     "Highly productive."

     Fred rolls his eyes. "Nice try, Harry."

     "We weren't born yesterday," George grins.

     Cassia exchanges an amused glance with Harry before looking back to her own twin and the two redheads at the side of her.

     "What's up?" She asks them.

     "We need to borrow you for a few minutes," says Daphne. She peers over at Harry. "If that's okay with you, Potter?"

     Harry nods. "Uh, sure."

     "Thanks." Daphne notices the letter lying by Harry's feet and a knowing grin crawls up her face. "Let me guess, the welcoming letter from Mum?"

     Cassia gasps, alarmed. "You knew about it?"

     "Well, of course!" Daphne implies. "Blaise got one once Mum found out he and Astoria were dating, and when me and Sterling began to date he also got a letter. It's tradition. Of course, we were never allowed to see the letter. Tori is still trying to wrench Blaise's off of him."

     "At least we have that in fairness," remarks Cassia.

     "C'mon," chuckles Daphne, holding out a hand and yanking Cassia to her feet.

     "I'll find you later," Cassia crouches down, pressing a kiss to his temple before standing and smiling.

     "Don't worry, Harry," says Fred, winking. "You'll get her back in one piece."

     "Hopefully," quips George, flashing him a smirk.

     In a fierce movement, Harry throws a pile of plucked grass at them, barely reaching their torso.

     Cassia laughs as she and Daphne push forward against the backs of the two Weasley twins, the four setting off on their trail.

     "What is this?" says Cassia as the four of them begin to stroll along the Hogwarts grounds, the grass a mossy fern that bristled sharply amongst the rows of footsteps, the sky a cerulean blue accentuated by the mellow sun. "The twin society?"

     "For that we'd have to rally the other sets of twins in the school," says George.

     "The Patil twins," says Fred.

     "The Carrow twins—"

     "Sterling has younger twin siblings," says Daphne, "But they're not in Hogwarts yet."

"Donahue? The Hufflepuff?"

"Yeah. We used to date."

Fred and George exchange looks.

"Huh," they say at the same time.

     "So," says Cassia to the Weasley twins. "What did you need us for?"

     "We have a concept."

     "An idea," says Fred, "That we'd like you to help us with."

     "You know, twin empowerment and all of that," adds George. Cassia sniggers.

     "What can we do?" Daphne asks.

     "Make the toad endure a tragic period of misery that she'll remember for the rest of her life," Fred tells them, a mischievous and roguish grin playing at his lips.

"May involve a few sparks," says George. "A match or two."

"Should be fun."

The Weasley twins look to them expectantly.

"So? You two up for this?"

     "I mean, I'd love to see the toad in misery," Cassia starts.

     "As would I," says Daphne. "Can't believe she actually thinks the Slytherins like her."

     Fred and George snigger. Cassia, meanwhile, has her thoughts linger on the sceptics of the idea posed to them. Tempting to say the least, Cassia just knows that the school would love to see Professor Umbridge get what she'd been earning all this time: she's become the least liked person at Hogwarts for a while. But something is still fresh in mind, even if it had occurred a while back, and that was when Umbridge had practically threatened Cassia's mother and her job at the Ministry. The last thing she wanted to do was ruin things for her mother.

     "One problem," says Cassia, and she's looking more so to her own twin than the other two accompanying them. She scratches her nose, "During that detention at the beginning of the year, our favourite toad may or may not have indirectly threatened our mother if I stepped out of line again."

     Daphne's eyes widen, and there's a flicker of fury within her opalescent eyes. "You're kidding?"

     "Nope," says Cassia. "I'd quote what she said except it was a whole lot of waffle and only few words made enough sense for me to know that she didn't have the best of intentions for mum."

     "How dare she!" Fred exclaims, appalled, a hand clutching at his chest.

     Cassia rolls her eyes. "Fred."

     Fred grins but remains solemn, straightening himself. "No, honestly though. That's one step too far."

     "It's one thing to antagonise an entire school," says George, "but to threaten the mother of Hogwarts' second best set of twins and not to mention the kindest Slytherin to go down in history? That's the last straw."

Cassia and Daphne frown at them. Fred and George concede with defeated sighs.

"Okay, all jokes aside, promise." says Fred.

"If anything, it only adds as to why we should deploy this revenge." George reasons.

     "And we could really be of use with someone on the inside..."

"It's still not the best idea..." says Daphne, hesitant.

"But it is a great idea." says Fred.

Cassia nods. "'No denying there."

     "Just, uh, think about it, yeah?" says Fred, an assuring smile curling at his lips.

     "You know where to find us anyways," says George, grinning.

     "We'll think about it," Cassia and Daphne say in unison, smiling.

———

PREDICTABLY, classes commenced the following day, a common array of students rushing to finish scribbled last-minute essays and returning library books before the deadline to avoid consequences. Most students would be happy to see that the desirable weather had remained for the few days afterwards, allowing them to sit in the alcoves surrounding the courtyard, a change of scenery for studying in comparison with the stilled, almost dreary library.

     Cassia had been thinking a lot about the offer that the Weasley twins had made her and Daphne. She wanted to get involved so bad and help out the twins with something she just knows will go down in history (as well as Filch smiling genuinely for the first time) but she just didn't want to risk anything. She has no clue of what the Weasley twins have in mind, just that it will most definitely be very bizarre.

     "Good afternoon, class," rang Professor Umbridge's shrill voice at the front of the Defence classroom, a smile prying at the edges of her mouth.

     "Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge." The class replies, a tone as dulcet as the idea of spending an hour in class with this teacher.

"Wands away," she reprimands them all with a smile. "I would like you all to turn to page forty-eight and begin reading Chapter Nine. There will be no need to talk."

Solely silence occupied the room for what felt like hours and countless ticks of the clock, the silence ironically acting as a drill in the heads of people too intolerant to be left without noise. What was even more intolerable, was the fact that Professor Umbridge patrolled through the aisles between desks, peering down incessantly at students who'd already given up on reading the pointless scripture. The irritant noise that was the clacking of her short-stubbed heels resonated in everyone's ears like the aftermath of a banshee's screech. How Cassia just wishes she could go back to the beginning of class where there was something other than one annoying sound in the even more annoying silence, and what she'd give to listen to Maryam planning how she'd decapitate Montague without any of the teachers finding out, after a torturous and pointlessly exhausting training session. The only thing Cassia was grateful for in this class was that Professor Umbridge liked Slytherins enough that there was no problem when Cassia swapped out her usual seat beside Theo to sit next to Eva, and the class proceeded like usual.

     The silence is interrupted with a harsh knock on the door.

     Cassia's head peels away from her parchment—where she'd begun to make automated notes on the chapter as per the instructions set by Professor Umbridge on the chalkboard—to the back of the class where the door was situated. Her spirits from the lack of animation in that class had not been at all improved, for visiting their class was the bleak, sallow face of Severus Snape, standing tall and astute, an expression nearly devoid of emotion had it not been for that slight hint of displeasure, the faintest trace of a constant scowl.

"Good afternoon, Professor Snape," says Professor Umbridge, a smile that was able to mask the smallest hint of indignation at the disturbance of her lethargically-psyched class. "What can I do for you?"

"Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge." Snape replies, his tone blunt. "I apologise for the disturbance, but I require for Theodore Nott to be excused from the class with the rest of his belongings."

Everyone's eyes turned to Theo. Sat beside Blaise, he seemed just as shocked and unaware as anyone else.

Professor Umbridge's smile stiffens and she makes a sharp twitch, as if not understanding what Snape was asking of her.

"What ever do you mean, Professor?"

Snape's lips tightened together. "Theodore Nott must collect his belongings and he must come with me." He adds, "If you would please excuse him."

     "I don't understand," says Professor Umbridge. "Is this authorised?"

     "Yes. Professor Dumbledore himself wishes for this, and as Mister Nott's Head of House, it is my duty to collect him."

     Cassia can see the almost-scowl of Professor Umbridge's at the mention of Dumbledore. But she, along with everyone else, had their eyes primarily on Theo, who'd taken to watching the terse exchange of words between the two teachers. It was slightly amusing watching the two teachers she disliked the most be talking to each other so intense and curtly, but she was more disturbed over what Professor Snape could want to take Theo out of class for. She almost made eye contact with Theo, but they both looked away just as there'd been a slight hint of connection. From then on, Cassia didn't look at Theo.

     "Is that so?" says Professor Umbridge, her voice sweet. "What on earth could bring up such a disturbance? To my own class, least of all."

     "That is none of your concern, Professor." says Snape, impassive. "Mister Nott is required to leave class and come with me."

     Professor Umbridge smiles. "If it is of concern to the flow of my class, then it is of concern to me. Let me ask again: what ever is the matter with Mister Nott?"

     Deadpanning only slightly, Professor Snape's jaw sets. He opens his mouth a fraction before setting it closed once more. Then his lips curl into a somewhat sneer.

     "If it really is of that much concern to you, Professor," says Snape. "Mister Nott's mother has been admitted to the hospital."

     Eyes fly towards Theo once more, gasps teeming between desks. Cassia's mouth drops open, and all sorts of concern and fright occupy her, a never-ending thought process of everything that could be and would be wrong. Had Luciana Nott injured herself? Gotten ill? Cassia remembers during the summer—when she and Theo were still friends—that he'd said his mother was ill. Could this be related...?

     Snape continues: "Professor Dumbledore requires for him to come to his office immediately in order for him to take the Floo Network to St. Mungo's."

Everyone was still staring between Theo—who'd gone blank as a sheet—to Umbridge and Snape, in a subdued yet fierce feud. Professor Umbridge presses her lips together.

"Very well, Professor," says

"Thank you," says Professor Snape, though he didn't seem very thankful at all. "Come with me, Mister Nott, please."

There was no doubt Theo was trying to keep his head down as he gathered his parchment and quills, drawing close the drawstring on his backpack. But no matter what attempts he did at laying low, everyone's eyes were back on him. Cassia's more so than anyone else. She wasn't thinking about their fight. She wasn't thinking about the ignorant vendetta between them. She was thinking about him, and most especially: his mother.

Theo leaves, Professor Snape taking after him sharply as the door closed. All they left in their wake was an impatient teacher, dried, smudged ink and a burning, itching curiosity in the form of hushed whispers.

Professor Umbridge claps her hands together. She smiles. "Settle down, class. Get back to your reading."

———

EMOTIONS WERE A COMPLEX THING. And Theodore Nott has had firsthand experience of this.

     His mind felt like a tornado of debris scattered with every small thought, feeling, every sliver of consciousness being swooped up into an abyss of chaos. His mind was swimming and swirling all around the centric thought of this: his mother was in hospital.

     How was he supposed to deal with that?

     Luciana Nott was the last good thing in Theo's life at this moment. Theo had already lost Cassia and lost the friendship that meant the most in his life. He had no father worth being with. His mother was everything and more and now Severus Snape is rocking up saying he has to go visit her in hospital?

     He's brought into Professor Dumbledore's office after walking up the steps sprouting from the gargoyle at the bottom. Professor Snape is at his heels, and Theo wants nothing more to shake the man off. Nobody has heard anything from Dumbledore in so long, yet as Theo's feet materialised on the top step, the man himself was sitting there with all the glory of the previous headmasters' portraits surrounding him. Dumbledore looked calm as ever seated at his desk, his half-moon a faint touch on the bridge of his nose, his somewhat celestial robes twinkling faintly.

Dumbledore's presence, though rare to sight, hadn't been the one to stir any reaction. It was the view of Theo's father sat in the chair opposite Dumbledore's desk, and the beady stare that skewered through Theo as Nott craned his head around to the sound of the two people entering. He makes no move of greeting: no slight-smile, no slight-nod, no slight anything. As if the boy in the doorway has no personal connection to him, as if it's not his own blood.

"Come in, Mister Nott." says Dumbledore, beckoning for Theo to sit in the chair beside his father. Theo presses his lips together in acknowledgment, for he didn't know what to say; words were a lost tremor within his pharynx.

Dumbledore nods at Snape. "Thank you, Severus, for bringing him here."

Reluctantly, Theo sits in the cushioned leather chair in front of Dumbledore's desk, barely touching it. His spine stays rigid and he doesn't dare look to his left where he knows his father will pay no importance to his presence. He hasn't spoken to his father since that dreaded Christmas Day, with that dreaded biography and that dreaded explanation. As much as Theo would deny it, and as much as he would consider it futile to fear his father, part of him will always be scared of him and the things he has done, because no matter what, only a father can instil this kind of fear into anyone. The kind where breathing too loud or twitching just slightly could cause an uproar.

Deep, deep down, Theo wants to assure himself that it'll be fine. When Dumbledore tells Snape to go collect Theo's trunk and have it sent to Nott Manor for the next week or so, his heartbeat hits a slightly higher tempo. It was that serious? That he had to be sent to that fortress even while school was in session? Especially during O.W.L's?

His mother is younger than most: her body is healthy. She can fight off diseases, or anything thrown her way. Maybe she just had a weird case of food poisoning, or caught a delayed flu. What if... what are the chances that Luciana Nott was pregnant? It was a viable option, but less likely given that Luciana and Nott hardly interacted as the years passed by... pregnant with another man's child, perhaps? Scandalous, but Theo would prefer that much more than the former.

There were so many different options but Theo knew absolutely nothing. And that scared him so much. He didn't want his father to be there. His father didn't care. He's never once cared for his so-called "wife". The only reason he was here is because he's been put down as Theo's next of kin when his mother isn't available.

(It just makes Theo think: what if, theoretically, something happens, and Theo's mother isn't available, and neither is his dad. Who would be his next of kin in that case? He certainly hoped it wouldn't be his good-for-nothing grandfather, who hardly leaves his armchair these days. He wouldn't mind if it would be Marlowe Greengrass. It's just that with everything that's happened lately, from Phoenix Greengrass to his fight with Cassia, that that seemed unlikely...)

He's surprised how calmly Dumbledore is taking having his father in the room given his Death Eater status. But Theo knows how powerful Dumbledore is and that should Nott make any deleterious moves, they would likely be his last.

"What's wrong with my mother, Professor?" Theo asks Dumbledore once Snape left them. Acting as though there's a visor between him and his father, so that he can choose to ignore how his father is silently deducing him.

"That's not my place to speak, Mister Nott, I apologise." says Dumbledore, appearing solemn. "You'll be leaving shortly to St. Mungo's hospital. Please ensure to take as much time off as seems fit."

     Theo nods, his head lowered.

     "Shall we?" Dumbledore proposes, half-rising from his chair. Theo nods, automatically standing up.

     He just wants to see his mum.

     He just wants it to all be okay. But nothing is. None of it had been okay. Not for a long while. He's stuck, he's stuck with voices, visions in his head, fuelled by the man beside him. Of the man beside him. It's this exactly that caused him to lose his best friend, to a secret that shouldn't have been kept over a thing that could hardly be explained. It was all his father's fault.

But it was mostly Theo's fault too.

He knows he shouldn't have kept that secret. He knows he shouldn't have snapped, shouldn't have grabbed Cassia so hard that he himself could feel his nails sinking into her flesh. He knows he shouldn't have made such trivial, petty gestures in class when they had no choice but to sit beside each other; but he can't help it. He was angry. Whether it's because nothing is okay anymore or if because of this mind link, his feelings have just been heightened. Everything is just all over the place. He has no leash over anything. No leash over his life, over his family, over his friends. The other day, he saw Enoch Abercrombie in one of his "visions". His first instinct was to go and tell Cassia — but that was immediately ruled out. Because they're not talking. He made it even more clear himself.

Nothing is okay anymore.

He just wants to see his mum. He just wants to go to St. Mungo's and be told that everything is fine. That his mother will be fine. He doesn't want to look at, let alone talk to his father. He just wants his mum. He wants to go and hug her, to have her stroke his head and say, "You're okay, my son. Everything will be okay." He wants to inhale her comforting scent, the scent he'd grown up with any time he'd been with his mother. The scent that accompanied the presence letting him know that with his mother, life was worth living. That everything would be okay.

But nothing is okay and because of it, Theo is a mess. His emotions are everywhere. He has no way to control them or anything surrounding them. Emotions are complex. Sometimes you can be angry but in control, happy and in control, excited and in control. But sometimes all that remains are these clouds evolving and disappearing into a sky full of thoughts and feelings and no rein, no tether, nothing. Happiness can be uncalled for, and so can anger, and excitement, and especially fear. No emotion is more complicated than fear.

The discomfort of nerves, the uncontrollable jitters, the terrifying warmth that hides in your cheeks in times of not knowing, or in times of knowing your drastic fate. A spurt of adrenaline that quickens your heartbeat, encourages your mind to think things through with solely one objective in mind rather than perspective. Fear is an unannounced demon, one that causes you to grab your knife and plunge it through its foul heart, or take cover and run as though the ground is crumbling. You either confront your fear or you don't. If you do, congrats, you've taken one larger step to overcoming your own personal bounds. But if you don't, you'll be forced to run as long as your legs can take you before the muscle fatigue begins to kick in and your hamstrings can no longer afford to stretch forth another yard. Until you stop, and the demon gains on you with all of its foul breath and tragically terrifying eyes leading you to do one thing only: confront your fear in whatever way possible. Allow it to consume you, or you be the one to consume it instead.

Theo is fearful, and he knows the sooner he sees his mother, the sooner he'll know if it could all be okay again. He's scared it might never be okay again. That he'll be stuck with his father forever, that the worst could happen to his mother, that he'd forever be at odds with Cassia. He just needs to know if it'll be okay again.

     His hands dig into the grains of green sand in the pot by Dumbledore's fireplace and he stands in the large hearth. All he's seen is his father's pointed stare and Dumbledore's faint smile and a greeting of "tell your mother I wish her well", before he finds himself throwing down the powder and being whisked away by the green flames.

     The Floo Powder having done its works' worth, Theo is no longer in Hogwarts. Now he's stood in a dark and airy underground, a large an unoccupied space surrounded in stone. It was like an underground car park only no cars were present. (Not that Theo had ever been in a car park.) Nothing was present, apart from the indented grate used as the Floo Network and the burnt embers gathering at his feet. Theo steps out, dusting himself off. He's still in his school robes given that there'd been no chance to change into more appropriate clothes, but that was the least of his worries. The dread resettled in the pit of Theo's stomach as soon as his father appeared behind him, his hand delicately patting down his lavish robes. If anything, Nott looked bored and exhausted of being in public eye already,

     Theo clears his throat. "There's a doorway down there."

With a subtle nod, Nott follows his son to the far end of the spacey underground, where there were a set of double doors enlightened with a bright light and a set of stairs going up. Despite Theo having grown more in the last few years and now towers an inch or two above his father, Nott still posed a more imposing figure to his young son. Theo is wary and cautious with his father's strides matching his beside him, as they enter the hospital with bright lights welcoming them, the double doors swinging behind them, ascending further and further up the staircases to be stood at the front desk.

A woman was sat at the welcome desk, blonde hair cutting at her shoulders as she poured over a list, her quill itching up and down its length. There was a small queue: a middle aged man with a cloth held to his head, crimson red blood seeping through and a mother carrying a baby with one hand over its tiny ear. Theo wondered what was wrong with the ear. He's evidently the only schoolboy, the green Slytherin emblem on his robes appealing to many passerby's. He and his father joined the queue behind the two in hollow silence and as the welcome witch directed them both to respective floors. Soon enough, Theo and his father reached the front of the queue.

"Name?" hums the welcome witch, her eyes still focused on the list on the desk. Neither had the chance to reply because she eventually lifted her bored gaze to settle on the two, resembling Nott males. Instantly, a knowing darkness overcame her eyes and a dubious realisation overcomes her. "You're here for Luciana Nott."

She must know who we are, Theo thinks. Or at least, she'll know who his father is. After the newspaper article from the previous week, the Quibbler interview of Harry Potter where his father had been outed, people all around the corridors of Hogwarts have been cautiously eyeing Theo, Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle. And it's not like he blames them.

It's what everyone else thinks, and it's what they believe will happen: that the children of these Death Eaters would be bound to follow in their footsteps. He hates thinking of this reality, but it was one that was starting to sink in. One that, after what Cassia had said, that Theo has begun to accustom himself with. You're more like your father than you think. Those words hurt so much to hear, especially from Cassia, but it was almost as if Theo was beginning to come to peace with them. It was his future. He shouldn't shut it out. It's what everyone else was telling him. Maybe he should tell himself now, too.

So, he didn't blame the welcome witch for the near-fearing look she wore at the sight of them. "One moment," she tells them warily. Over the desk, Theo can see her fingers reach out to a line of button-like buzzers. Each had names labelled beside them and Theo can see her finger press the button labelled 'HOPKINS'.

Not long after the buzzer was pressed, a woman is seen sauntering towards them. She advances through a long corridor with multiple doors and as she neared them, Theo notices that she has dark hair styled up into a bun as well as wearing the uniform known to Healers—with the wand and bone logo on the breast pocket—and she carried a clipboard to her chest too. She had a pretty, friendly, welcoming face, Theo saw, once she was within proximity.

     "Natalia," says the welcome witch when the Healer arrived at the desk, "Visitors for Luciana Nott." The receptionist turns to Theo and his father. "This is Healer Hopkins. She will show you to the correct ward."

     Healer Hopkins, after ticking something off from her clipboard, lifts her head to face Theo and his father. She almost reacts the same as the receptionist. She glowers almost knowingly in Nott's direction, though Nott didn't seem to recognise her. Her lips inch up slightly at the sight of Theo.

     "Follow me," Hopkins tells them, clutching her clipboard tight to her chest.

     Theo takes a deep breath as he begins to take after the woman down the same corridor she came from. He tries to take a note of what corridor they're on, to hint at what could be wrong with his mother. His entire torso has clenched tightly, but there's a slight elation knowing that each step is one step closer to seeing his mother. One step closer to the assurance he needs to know of.

     "You're Luce's son, aren't you?" asks Hopkins, turning back shortly to Theo, a pleasant smile stretching across her lips. Confused, Theo nods. How was this Healer on a nickname-basis with his mother? "It's great to finally meet you. I've heard plenty about you from your mother."

     So she knows Theo's mother? How? There's something familiar within her features too — her name was Hopkins. Theo recalls there may be a Hopkins in his year. A Hufflepuff named Warren? Wayne, maybe? Perhaps Theo has seen him with Daphne Greengrass's ex, Sterling. He wouldn't really know, considering how he hardly talks to Sterling since he and Daphne broke up.

     Ground floor, Artefact Accidents. Up a flights of stairs. First floor, Creature-induced injuries. Further up. Second floor, Magical bugs. Up. Third floor, Potion and plant poisoning. Up. Fourth floor, Spell Damage. They halt.

     Spell Damage.

    What could this mean? Spell damage, obviously. But how?

     "Come along here." says Hopkins. She may have had two passengers, but she was more so talking to Theo rather than his father. "Your mother is in the restricted ward at the end. We've placed her in intensive care. Due to her condition and the length of her treatment we will keep her away from the other patients. I'll explain the rest when we get inside."

     Mention of "restricted ward" and "intensive care" were no means to assure him, even if Healer Hopkins proved a kindred acquaintance. The door to the restricted ward nears them, every other hospital ward scanning past them. Windows with slanted blinds, placards with etched-in names, scattered trolleys with medical equipment left lopsided in the middle of the corridor... Theo wasn't familiar with hospitals and everything that goes on within them which scared him even more at the fact that there could be so much wrong with his mother but he just didn't know.

     But he'll find out soon. One step closer. They're all in front of a door with a small window grate at the top and there's also a keypad beside the door. The keypad had no numbers but nine dots in a row-and-column arrangement. Hopkins takes out her wand, lightly dragging it in a coded formation connecting the dots. A click sounds and the door pops open slightly. There are around five doors inside, governed by white walls, named placards next to each door.

Theo's heart stops.

The fifth door from the right had a placard strapped to it with a name recently inked upon it. Faraway, Theo could almost make out a face outline in the small window at the top of the door. But the placard confirmed it all.

Intensive care patient: Luciana Nott.

"Just in here," says Hopkins, guiding them to the door. With a gentle push, she nudges open the door, paving way for Theo to enter followed by his father. Theo almost forgot his father was still with them. He'd been dangerously quiet.

     His heart beats again, but it's a rapid, sharp tempo thrashing against the bounds of his ribcage. He walks forward, Hopkins giving him a tender smile as he does so, and he's the first one to get a proper glance at his mother.

It didn't look like the Luciana that had greeted him before he returned to Hogwarts after Christmas break. It didn't look like the radiant, lively Luciana that Theo looked forward to seeing every time he returned home for any holiday. She still did look like Luciana Nott, undoubtedly. However, the coppery brown hair that once sat so pliantly in abundant ringlets were now straight, straggly and had the same stiff appearance of wire. Her usually tanned skin, sun-kissed to the touch, faded to a grey and exhausted, dull hue unknown to her appearance. She was propped up in the derivative hospital bed, her hands placed in her lap upon the blanket encasing her legs and torso. And her back was supported by a set pillows that had predictably been used many times before. The room imitated everything and more, everything good and everything bad, nothing able to tell Theo if anything was okay. She didn't look okay. But no matter how wasted her face seemed, her golden, hazel eyes were still blossoming with life at the sight of her son.

"Mother," breathes Theo, barely a whispered zephyr.

"Theo," she says, her voice a breath of relief. The lines around her eyes ease up at the sight of her beloved son. "Hello, son."

Theo's at a loss for words. He doesn't know what to do. His mother's in hospital. She doesn't look normal, but she's acting normal, and she sounds normal too. But this isn't normal. Theo's mother getting hospitalised certainly isn't normal. And it certainly isn't okay, no matter what Theo tries telling himself.

     Theo doesn't register the presence of another man until his father walks into the room and—despite his gaze already being rock-hard—his eyes turn to molten stone looking towards the corner of the room.

     Right enough, there was someone in the corner of the room perched upon the guest's chair, who immediately rose as soon as Nott's footsteps materialised on the inside of the door. He was tall, and handsome, and had brown hair a shade lighter than his mother's. As he gets to his feet, a hand is placed upon Luciana's shoulder with a somewhat protective stature.

     Who was this man? Theo scrounges around his brain trying to figure out if he's ever came across his path before but nothing. He's never seen this man before. Until...

     There was once a picture that had fallen from a book gifted to Theo by his mother. That picture was found by his former best friend Cassia Greengrass, who showed it to Theo almost immediately. In that picture was a beautiful, more youthful woman that was his mother in her younger years accompanied by two more. One of the men had an infatuated gloss in his mysterious, shadowy eyes as he glanced towards his mother while the other man... the soft, brown hair of his still remained, and so did his handsome yet boyish features... and there was a resemblance between this man and Theo's mother that Theo just couldn't pinpoint. There was loads of history that Theo doesn't know about; history easily hinted from the contesting glares between that unknown man and Theo's father.

     "You," Nott seethes, a glare that burned hotter than wildfire.

     "Hey—" the man starts, growing increasingly furious, but is abruptly cut off by Luciana, her tone impassive.

"I wouldn't understand your need to be here, Theodore."

Nott Sr purses his lips. For a minute, his mouth parted open slightly before discretely shutting close again. Theo could tell he was about to make a claim about Luciana being his wife. But they all—even the Death Eater in the room—knew that that hadn't been true for numerous years.

"Very well, then." His jaw clenching, Nott turns his glowering gaze away from his wife to be looking up somewhat at his son. Nott has never once before taken the height difference between himself and his son into account. Yet now... he's disparaged by it. "Theodore, I will wait in the reception."

"You don't need to stay," deadpans Theo. "I can find my own way back to the Manor."

     A moment longer Nott glowers, a hateful pit existing from the way he's being diminished by nearly everyone in the room. Then the corners of his lips inch upwards only slightly, the most minuscule yet dangerous of smiles present.

     "Fine," Nott says, and he doesn't stay in the room a moment longer.

     A deep, prolonged breath of air flows through Theo when his father left. It felt easier to breathe when he wasn't in the room. There and then, he finds himself proceeding forward to mother. Her arms open wide and Theo collapses into them, knowing that motherly comfort was the thing he yearned the most in light of recent circumstances. He doesn't care that Healer Hopkins is still in the doorway. He doesn't care that there's this unfamiliar man in the room. They say that when it counts, the bond between a mother and daughter is everlasting. Well, when it counts, the bond between a mother and her son could withstand being melded with molten lava; that it could withstand the fiercest of hellfires, the most vicious of tornadoes. Theo just wanted his mum. And now she was here.

     "Hi, son," Luciana speaks, stroking the back of Theo's head. "I'm glad you could make it."

     Pulling away, a million and two questions clouds Theo's head. Now that it was just them—supposedly, a group of trusted personnel—Theo needed answers. Every who, what, where, when, or how.

     "Mum, what happened? Why are you here? What are they doing to you? Are you going to be fine? Are you going to be okay? I—"

     "Theo," says Luciana, chuckling. "I'm fine. You don't need to worry."

     I'm fine. That's all Theo needed to hear. The words may not be true, but if Theo needed any hope that anything could ever be fine, this was it. Her mannerisms were still the same and her spirit still remained intact. There was still something wrong though.

     "It's kinda hard not to worry when Professor Snape announces to the entire class that you're in hospital," says Theo, his eyes rolling to the back of his head.

     Luciana shakes her head. "Never did like him, anyways. He always was a bit of a creep back in school."

     Theo raises an eyebrow. "You, uh, went to school with Snape?"

     "Only for a few years. He was a couple years above me, but he never was very liked anyways. It was him who was in the same year as Snape, actually."

It takes Theo a moment to realise that his mother was gesturing to the man who'd obscured himself out of his and his mother's way in their short hug together. The man lifts his hand slightly in a quaint wave to Theo, his lips pressing into an awkward grin.

"Oh," says Theo, not knowing what to do with the information. "And, uh, not to be rude, but who is he, Mum? Wait—" His expression halts, his eyes widening, "Are you pregnant? Don't tell me you've been having an affair? Is that why Father was so furious? I mean, mad respect, I don't blame you for going elsewhere, but—"

"God, no!" Luciana cuts in with an appalled, incredulous chuckle. The man himself looked absolutely abhorrent to the idea, his face shrivelling, but he lets out an amused chuckle anyways. "Theo, sweetie, it's not like that at all."

Theo furrows his eyebrows. Luciana glances at the man hovering by the chair and then looks back to her son, gently taking a hold of his hand.

"This is Xavier," says Luciana, "He's my brother."

Oh.

     Brother.

That made plenty of sense. The picture; the notes in Luciana's book, saying "lots of love, X" — it clicked. Xavier wasn't some illicit love affair. He was Luciana's brother, and that's why Theo's father recognised him, and it's why there was an imminent amount of tension between them. Xavier was Luciana's brother.

Why did Theo not know about his mother's brother until now?

"Huh," says Theo, glancing curiously to his mother. "Since when have you had a brother?"

"I think the question, young man," Xavier chuckles, and it's there that Theo can see the clear resemblance between his mother and her brother, "Is how long have I had a sister. Since I was two, for reference. I'm the older sibling."

"But I'm much more the wiser," Luciana grins.

"Debatable," quips Xavier, a hand reaching out to mess up Luciana's hair. The man looks back to Theo — to his nephew — claps a hand to his shoulder and smiles, holding out the other hand. "I'm glad we were finally able to meet, young man."

Theo shakes his hand, nodding slowly. "Me too... but why do I only know who you are now? Why did it take this long?"

Cautiously, Luciana looks at brother, to the Healer still in the doorway, then to her own son through her exhausted eyes. But otherwise invigorated with having her son, her brother there in the moment. See, here's the thing: there is a long line of history that Luciana left when marrying Theodore Nott Senior. A history she had no choice but to leave in the wake of her marriage. For the safety of herself and most importantly, her family and her friends. But now, what with Voldemort's return, as well as the return of the Legilimency connection that imbued within Luciana during her marriage ceremony— which, knowing what her own son was going through with his side of the mind connection was absolutely agonising to hide from her Theo —history was catching up to them. Eventually, it would.

So Luciana takes a deep breath.

"Sit down, my son." Luciana tells Theo. "I have plenty to tell you. And it starts with a boy by the name of Regulus Black."

———

ONCE UPON A TIME, the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black housed a couple by the names of Walburga and Orion Black. They produced two male heirs whom they expected the absolute world from.

     The older of the two was called Sirius after the stars. Unfortunately, he hadn't met the worldly expectations placed in front of him by his parents. Much to his family's dismay, he was sorted in Gryffindor House at Hogwarts and befriended the rowdiest quartet known to walk the ancient walls of Hogwarts. The fun these schoolboys got up to in their younger years were no match to the fate that awaited them as they grew up—one was subdued to the curse of the werewolf every full moon, one became a traitor, and one died alongside his wife protecting their only son from an unspeakable evil. It's debatable who paid the biggest debt — Peter, forced to deal with the aftermath following his betrayal, James, who was murdered in cold blood, Remus, who lost all of his best friends in the one night. Or Sirius, who was sent to Azkaban for a crime he could never dream of ever committing.

     Perhaps the Black family was fated to be tragic from the start: Sirius Black was by no means the beginning.

     The second son, also named after the stars, was Regulus. It is with Regulus that the rift between Sirius and his family becomes more prominent — while Sirius was a Gryffindor and went against all morals known to the Black household, Regulus was sorted into Slytherin and did everything in his power to please his parents. But no matter what, it failed to diminish the abuse his older brother was subject to — it failed to stop Sirius from leaving his own home at age 16.

Various events occurred over the years: some heightened the Black's noble reputation, and others did the opposite. Throughout it all, they still tolerated many older traditions and one in specifics: to marry into noble birth. And given that the Black family would only ever want their family legacy to be prolonged and for their heritage to travel down further generations.

Back then, betrothals were very common for the purest of pureblood families. Arranged marriages designed to unify two people as one to prolong the pureblood bloodline; to ensure centuries of history and purity lived on. So it's what the Black family opted for.

Sirius was gone, beyond the tight leash of Walburga and Orion Black, free to commit to his own will. Regulus, on the other hand... in time, he became apart of the dark forces ravaging themselves throughout the Wizarding World. And he bore the Dark Mark, and he wore the robes of the Death Eaters. He started to entrust himself higher and higher within the ranks of the Death Eaters and slowly, he gained the trust of Lord Voldemort. Bringing on the issue of his betrothal.

There happened to be a pureblood family—less known to others such as the Sacred Twenty-Eight, yet still esteemed purebloods— who had a daughter named Luciana in Regulus's year. Her older brother, Xavier, happened to be in Sirius's year, but by the time Regulus and Luciana has entered their sixth year, Xavier and Sirius had left. So it was just them. Spring of '88, their engagement had been officiated and thus, Luciana and Regulus's story began.

Stories have many tracks and lines and words and characters. Likewise, so does this story. Regulus and his fiancée Luciana were still in school when they'd gotten engaged and it was planned that after their seventh year, they would have an Autumn wedding in Sicily. Mutually-agreed. Their story entailed so much. Pledges, growth, small spurts of fortuitous laughter. Love. With all the time spent together, Regulus and Luciana developed a type of emotion for each other that a husband and wife would be lucky to feel.

And they stuck with each other, as a husband and wife should. When Regulus slowly began to discover the truth behind the Dark Lord's intentions; when he slowly began to see that what he was doing was not good, despite whatever his maniacal cousin Bellatrix told him, it occurred to Regulus that he needed to do something. A whole Wizarding World was at stake. He can't believe he hadn't seen it before; he can't believe he hadn't seen what lengths the Dark Lord would go to to achieve his motives. He needed to unravel it all before it was too late. Before too many lives were lost, and before any chance of a future with this woman who exuded all possible sources happiness into his life.

And Luciana would be damned if she let him do it on his own.

In the beginning, their destinies were forced together, but by the end, their fates were entwined to one. They walk together, they go down together.

Or at least, that's what Luciana thought.

The Dark Lord figured out Regulus and Luciana's plan. It humoured him, to say the least, that his own servant and his fiancée would consider themselves worthy in a fight against him. That they had the audacity to go behind his back. So he let them. Regulus and Luciana worked long and hard, many hours trying to undo the damage the Dark Lord would commit.

Luciana's biggest ever regret was letting Regulus take one of the most significant steps on his own. Because it was his final step.

     Regulus was gone before Luciana could ever say goodbye. Before she could take one last look. Before the last I love you. He went, and he never came back. Nothing broke Luciana more than losing the boy that came to be her everything. She lost everything.

     And that includes her safety. Because with Regulus gone as a result of his actions, Luciana had to pay in the name of hers. Her parents—who'd realised that after all this time, dark magic was not the route to follow—her overprotective older brother — neither could do anything to protect her for what was coming for her. Luciana's only way out was to marry a man she didn't know and didn't love. The Nott family had always been within the Dark Lord's most trusted circle and marrying their heir, the much older, handsome yet cruel Theodore, meant that the Dark Lord would have no reason to confront this woman in her rebellious acts — acts she'd committed with her deceased fiancé.

And especially given what happens to the newly wedded brides in the Nott family, there was no reason to worry about any further rogue moves. The wedding ceremony instilled a Legilimency connection between husband and wife, a psychic link, which would ensure no rebellion whatsoever: the Nott's sole allegiance would forever be to the Dark Arts. It was safe. No doubt about her intentions or any roguish moves. Luciana was now safe. But she was now under an even tighter leash.

And she'd been under that tight leash for the current remainder of her life. The Black family was fated to be tragic from the start. And being Regulus's fiancée meant that Luciana was no exception whatsoever.

———

"YOU WERE FORCED TO MARRY REGULUS BLACK?"

     Imagine how utterly overwhelming it would be to find out that your own mother had a brother, to find out that she was fated to marry another man in the beginning yet came across the face of evil and ended up having no choice but to marry the man that had made your childhood a stifling prison. And all in one day. Theo's mind is blown.

But, he supposed, this adds up. The other man in that photograph, the one with Luciana and Xavier, was Regulus. Christmas Day, when she gave Theo her book, when she looked so hurt while talking about loss, it was Regulus. She lost Regulus. And she ended up with Theo's father. It was never her choice to marry him. She married him for survival and nothing more — Luciana could never love another man like she loved Regulus. That much, Theo could gather as he watches her speak, her eyes glossy with pools of unshed tears, her voice trembling on the edge of a cliff. Not to mention, Theo can now understand why he'd only met his uncle now. First off, his father is not a nice man and likely wouldn't condone having any of Luciana's family near him, but also because any trace of Luciana's old life in her new life meant that she would be harming everything she built from then. Her parents. Her brother. And now, her son. She had to distance herself from everyone in her old life to protect everything good in her new life.

"It was never forced, Theo," says Luciana, a faint chuckle escaping her. "Betrothals were very common for pureblood families back then, and if you hadn't already found a partner, your parents would arrange a partnership. I was just playing my part. I agreed to it."

"Okay," says Theo, "But... it never happened? And thats why your stuck with that tosspot of a man?"

"No, it never happened." Luciana looks down, a tearing quake shredding her heart. "We never had our Autumn wedding..."

Theo frowns. He wishes he knew all of this before. He wishes he knew what his mother's real history entailed, he wishes he knew his uncle before. (It just felt weird to Theo. He has an uncle. There's something about Xavier that Theo swears he's seen before. And not just the resemblance between him and his mother. But... someone else.)

"No offence, Mum, but, uh... that still doesn't explain why we're all here? What happened?"

"I've kept something from you." says Luciana, biting down on her lip, her gaze solemn. "It's something I have a feeling you've already discovered... and it's something you and I share in common...—"

"It's the mind link," Theo interrupts, his tone blunt, "isn't it?"

Luciana's eyes soften, her lips downturning. She hated to keep this from Theo. She hated to pretend like it didn't exist when it was the sole reason she was in hospital. It was the wrong move, ignoring it and hoping it would just go away. Luciana understands that now. "I wanted to talk to you about it, Theo... really. I didn't want you to find out in whatever way you did. I'm sorry."

Theo opens his mouth, then drops it closed. Now wasn't the time to cause any argument. Not when his mother was on a hospital bed. "It's okay."

She breathes a sigh of relief. "I know you don't know much about it, but I promise I'll speak to you about it another day."

"Okay," says Theo, "But how does this relate?"

"That's... It's the sole reason I'm here."

Theo's eyebrows furrow. What?

"What do you mean?"

"Natalia," Luciana beckons, ushering the woman at the closed door to come forth. "Natalia can explain. She's going to oversee everything, from my meals to my treatment. You two will become much more acquainted within time."

"Right," says Theo. He looks to the smiling Healer, curious. "And... are you, like, my mother's long lost best friend or something?"

Hopkins laughs. "Yes, as a matter of fact. I was your mother's best friend. Although, back then I wasn't Hopkins, but—"

"Sanders," cuts in Luciana, a fond, reminiscent smile on her face. "Natalia Sanders."

"Oh," says Theo. A thought crosses his head. He remembers the name at the start of Luciana's book. Luciana D. And there's something in Xavier's face that Theo can just recognise from a classmate of his.

Could it be?

"Uh, before we continue," says Theo. He looks at his mum. "Mum, I have a question."

So many questions.

Luciana frowns but nods anyways. "Ask away, son."

"What was your maiden name?"

Luciana smiles. Theo waits, highly anticipative.

"Donahue," she tells him. "My maiden name was Luciana Donahue."

Holy shit.

Luciana Donahue. That means her brother is Xavier Donahue. He knows a boy named Sterling Donahue. If Theo's guesses served him correct, and if the resemblance he saw looking at Xavier was relevant at all, then...

     "You don't, by chance, happen to know a Sterling Donahue, do you?" asks Theo, cautious.

     There was an initial startling moment when Theo asked Xavier the question. But Xavier had his guesses too about the boy that was his nephew. And a smile crawls up his face.

     "Sterling Donahue is my son," says Xavier.

     Holy fucking shit.

     The pleasant, charming grin spreads to the lips of everyone in the room but Theo, who was absolutely shellshocked. Sterling Donahue, the sweet Hufflepuff in his year, the ex-boyfriend to Daphne Greengrass, was the son of Xavier Donahue, the brother of Theo's mother. The son of Theo's uncle. And that only meant one thing.

"You're telling me Daphne Greengrass's ex is my cousin?"

Xavier's lips curl into a smile. "You managed to figure it out."

     "At least you've met him by now," Luciana grins.

     "Holy shit," mutters Theo under his breath. His mother still heard and gave him a scolding yet amused look, and Theo grimaces. "Sorry, Mum, I just—this whole time in school, I've been in the same year as my cousin? I'd only met him last year — and he's my cousin? I just — are there any other secret family members I need to be introduced to before my mind is blown?"

     "Savannah and Sebastian," Xavier chuckles, "My younger daughter and son. Twins. They're not in Hogwarts yet, though. There's also my wife. Apart from that..." he shoots Theo a playful grin, "you're all caught up on the family."

     "Okay," Theo breathes. His eyes travel to the Healer with them. "Excuse me if I'm wrong, but are you related to Wayne Hopkins?"

     Hopkins' lips creep up into a smile. "Clever boy. He's my son."

     "Okay," Theo nods his head. "Wow."

     "Exciting day, right?" Hopkins smiles. "All the secrets are being revealed. Any more questions?"

     Theo ponders for a minute, then shakes his head. "I'm all out. Explain ahead."

     Hopkins nods. "Okay. You, your mother, and your father all share this psychic Legilimency link. You can see into each other's minds. Painful, I gather, but that's why we're here. Years ago, when it was me, Luce and Xavier—when Luce was in trouble after her fiancé's death—we knew the only way out for your mother to marry Nott — your father. It was the only way to ward off any other people willing to get their hands dirty with your mother's blood. But we knew what it meant. A mental connection is passed throughout the Nott heritage, and it's also imbued into the marriage ceremonies. In the Nott family, they have this magical wedding ceremony and from there the newlywed Nott bride will share the mind connection that all those before them have gained."

     Hopkins stops for a moment and squints her eyes at Theo who looks deeply focused.

     "You with me?" She asks him.

     Theo nods.

     "Okay," Hopkins continues. "It's said without measure that the choice with this mind connection is non-consensual. You have no choice but to bear it. When a dark motive arises, so does this connection. As a result... many people, many innocents have been forced to deal with this torturous connection that, depending on the person, can be an absolute hell. There's no way out for these people — unfortunately including you, your mother, and even your grandmother too."

     Okay, Theo thinks. He knows all of this. This mental connection isn't cool, people have no choice with it, so what? How is it relevant? His mother is watching him with cautious eyes, his uncle looks just as concentrated as them all.

     "This is where your mother comes in," says Hopkins.

     Theo narrows his eyes. "Let me guess, you're experimenting on some sort of cure with my mother to get rid of this mental connection?"

     Luciana snorts; Xavier looks away, stifling a chuckle in his hands; while Hopkins' eyes pop wide open.

     "You really are your mother's son, aren't you?" She says, her voice filled with incredulity. "Yes, actually. Me, along with various other confided staff, will try our best to block this kind connection. To create some kind of cure to get rid of it once and for all."

Theo nods. "Why now? Why only tell me this now, not all these years ago?"

The three adults share sceptical, wary looks.

     "Years ago, we made an oath." Xavier tells him. Interested, Theo tilts his head in his direction. "When we found out what Luce marrying Nott meant... by that point, the war had ended. You-Know-Who died and for that time being, so had the mind connection. But we always knew it would come back... which is why we would be sure that we would do our best to try and end it. For you, for Luce, and every Nott that'd come after you."

"And it's why we're keeping your mother in the intensive care ward," adds Hopkins, "We don't know how long it will take to find something that can end it once and for all. But we have a starting point and we've already made slight progress."

     "Do you remember when I was really ill in the summer?" Luciana asks Theo. He nods. Of course he remembers. "It was because of this. We'd found a temporary solution and although the link faded for the time being, it ended up having terrible consequences to my health. So that's what we're trying to do — create something safe and healthy. And it's why I told your father to go. He can't know about this."

     The information processes through Theo like a fax scanner. His mother offering herself to be a martyr to this supposed cure doesn't come as a surprise to him at all. He'd already known she'd been a Slytherin in school, but one of her most prominent traits was selflessness. He was just irritated that he couldn't play a part too. Not that Luciana wasn't youthful or healthy, but Theo was the definition of that exactly — he was still in school, he works out, he takes care of himself (mostly). He could help out too.

     Theo turns to his mother. "Why would you leave me out of this? I'm just as affected by this as you are, if not more. I could — I could still help."

     "Come here, son," Luciana sighs, and as Theo nears her bed, she slips her hand under his cheek. "I know exactly what you're going through and I don't want you to go through any more of it. You still have school, your life to get on with. This is a promise we made at a young age, and we intend to follow it through. These tests aren't simple. We don't know what effects these tests will have on me... they might hurt me, they might not. But I just know that I need to take the fall for something I started a long time ago."

     "But what's the point if I'll still be just as affected?"

"That's not all, son," says Luciana. "We don't know how long it'll take for some results to show... which is why I do have something else for you."

     Theo frowns curiously, allowing his mother to continue:

     "I've heard of a woman—a Legilimens—who can help you in closing your mind so that it cannot be reached by your father. She can teach you Occlumency. She's a therapist in Diagon Alley, but she comes from a long line of witches and wizards with the Legilimency gene and I think she'll be of a great help. As a matter of fact, it was her great ancestor who implanted the first Legilimency connection, all those years ago. If anything, she owes us."

Theo wasn't necessarily happy with this, but it was the next best option. He would learn Occlumency, or whatever, while his mother would be permanently hospitalised on a temporary basis (he hoped).

"Okay," says Theo. "Who is she? When do I start?"

Xavier chuckles. "Eager just like your mother too."

Luciana smiles, her hand reaching down and squeezing Theo's. "Don't worry about that for now, sweetheart. Take a break. It's been a big day."

It was a long way before Theo would be convinced that things could be okay, for real, but with all that happened today, he may have just found a point to start believing it.

***

introducing . . .

grant gustin as xavier donahue
candice patton as natalia hopkins



***

WOW WHAT A MASSIVE CHAPTER 🙈

so... i've explained LOADS. idk where to even start bc i, myself, has also just had their mind blown by all this and i've been planning it for months😭 idk if you guys picked up on the various clues i left throughout this for luciana's "story" but... this is it at last!

so, just to recap: luciana and regulus were engaged BUT horcrux shit happened and then that didn't happen :( luciana's brother is XAVIER who happens to be X in the journal given to theo,,, while xavier is STERLING'S DAD. which means... theo and sterling are cousins how cute :p and luciana is also in hospital as a result of the mind link so that's that!

if you have any questions feel free to ask bc i feel like i might have been unclear in parts😭

also... don't even act SURPRISED that i cast grant and candice in this like you guys KNOW me it was about fuckin TIME that i cast my fave people 🌚

btw yes i do have a regulus x luciana plot to deploy in future 😁🙈 cassia prequel hwg😈

this chapter took me so long but i'm happy with it not gonna lie like i waited so long and was so excited to write this and it's here!!! so i really hoped you guys liked this lemme know what you loved what you didn't love your fav parts etc etc!!!

next chapter will be starting with a flashback :p i hope you guys liked this and thanks so much for being so patient with me! ❤️

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