During the train ride back to Platform 9 3/4, Theo had been a nervous wreck. He kept his facade up, but Hermione could sense it as blatantly as if he were screaming about it.
"You okay?" she murmured softly to him as their friends talked loudly amongst themselves.
"Fine," he said tightly. He hadn't told Hermione he was staying with Harry yet. He was worried that she might piece together the reasoning, especially if his fathers death made the news, and he didn't want her to know anything about it.
He also thought Hermione was brilliant, sharp, and the most amazing witch he'd ever met. And she might figure out why Theo wasn't with his father in the first place. And then, like his father, she'd be disappointed with his weakness and would leave him.
And Hermione was the best thing to ever happen to him. Theo couldn't lose her.
Their conversation was interrupted with the arrival of the Weasley Twins, both of whom had arms full of candies and snacks.
"Can we join the party?" one of them asked cheerfully. Theo had no idea which was which, and was incredibly impressed that Harry seemed to instinctively know which one was Fred.
Which made sense, because Harry seemed to have a keen sense of instinct that led him to understanding a lot of things about people.
Back in October, after their lesson on boggarts, Harry took him to the legendary Chamber of Secrets and played a game to draw out Theo's most shameful secret. It didn't matter that Theo didn't want to tell him, Harry seemed to have already known it before they even step foot in the chamber.
"Why is your Dad the thing you fear the most?" Harry had asked it with sharp eyes and in that moment, for just a split second, Theo could see why the older Slytherins thought Harry was the next Dark Lord. Harry looked fearsome, powerful, and prepared to go to war.
And a war is what he immediately declared when he asked if Theo wanted him to kill his Dad.
Theo said yes.
Harry saw Theo's boggart and knew what it meant. Theo thought (hoped) that only kids like himself and Harry knew what it meant. It meant that caregivers weren't inherently kind, and adults couldn't always be trusted. In fact, adults usually couldn't be trusted.
Harry knew that.
When Theo saw him flinch away from people and grit his teeth at loud noises he thought that Harry might know that better than most people.
So Theo kept his facade up, all the while admiring Harry's calm demeanor. You'd never know this was a teenager planning on killing a man soon. Planning on killing a man who uses dark magic as easily as Harry himself uses his knife even.
Harry sat on the floor, in the most undignified manner Theo has ever seen, and talked with Blaise, Neville, and Luna about summer plans. He played poker and kept up his good cheer when Luna refused to be his partner because she wouldn't choose a losing side. He discussed the Quidditch World Cup with the Weasley's and Draco. And right before the train pulled in the station Harry snapped his fingers to make his camera float in midair so they could take a new group photo with the addition of the Weasley Twins, where Harry smiled brightly from his accustomed place between Luna and Susan.
It was as impressive as it was exhausting. The only mask Theo could manage was bored, and Harry spent the whole ride entertaining the others.
When the train arrived in the station Theo kissed Hermione goodbye in the privacy of the emptied compartment before he politely walked her to her parents.
"Hermione, Theodore," Hermione's mother, Jean, smiled warmly at them. "How was your year? I want to hear all about it."
"It was great," Hermione hugged her mother fiercely before hugging her father just as hard. "Can Theo come get dinner with us before we all go home?" She bit her lip lightly when she looked at Theo and he thought she seemed worried.
"I can't, I'm sorry," Theo told her before her mother answered, probably affirmatively. Hermione's parents seemed to like him as they got to know him over visits last summer. It was a point of pride with Theo that Hermione's parents trusted him with their only daughter. "I'm staying with Harry for a few days, and we have to floo to his house."
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him slightly and Theo knew that she was annoyed he kept it from her until last minute.
"I'll write you," he whispered as he hugged her goodbye.
"Tell Harry I said thank you," she whispered back cryptically.
"Theodore don't be a stranger this summer," Hermione's father, Dan, said cheerfully. "We still have to finish our chess tournament."
"Of course," Theo smiled politely at Hermione's father, who was as different from his own father as possible. "I'd never pass up an opportunity to hear more stories about Hermione as a child."
Hermione's parents and Theo all laughed at the look of indignation on Hermione's face before, with one last goodbye, the three Grangers left.
Theo looked around the emptying platform and almost missed Harry's shock of messy black hair as hidden as it was surrounded by two tall blondes and a couple of redheads.
"Theodore," Lucius Malfoy said cordially as Theo approached the odd group. "How are you?"
"Fine sir," Theo said back just as politely. He'd never understand how Harry had managed to pull a devout Death Eater to his side so easily, but figured it was just another of Harry's many talents.
"Ready to go?" Harry asked him, beneath the freckled arm of Fred Weasley.
"I suppose so, yes," Theo said slowly.
"Are you going with Harry?" Draco asked, envy plain as can be on his face.
"Theo's staying the night and helping me study some runes I wanna learn," Harry lied easily.
"I can help too," Draco offered brightly. "I think I did well on the final in Runes."
"Your cousin will come visit us soon Dragon," Narcissa Malfoy said softly. "Right Harry?"
"Of course Cissa," Harry grinned at the regal appearing woman. "Plus we've got the Quidditch Cup this summer, yeah? Fudge sent me tickets to the Top Box."
The Weasley Twins laughed, and Theo's bored mask slipped slightly as Harry casually mentioned the actual Minister of Magic sending him tickets to the coveted Top Box of an international professional Quidditch match.
"Then we shall see you there darling," Narcissa said before sweeping a still pouting Draco off towards the floo.
"You guys are coming too, right?" Harry asked Fred and George.
"Your wish is my command," the twin with his arm around Harry, Fred, said dramatically.
"Even more so when Ronnikins will die of jealousy," George laughed.
"Why would Ron be jealous?" Harry asked curiously. "He's coming too, isn't he?"
Theo had a sudden realization.
"Harry," he said slowly. "How many tickets did the Minister send you?"
"Twelve," Harry said easily. "Wanted one for everyone plus one for Snape, didn't I?"
"Merlin," George sputtered. "Do you have any idea how much those tickets cost?"
"Didnt cost anything," Harry shrugged. "I just told you I got them for free."
The Weasley's, and Theo to a lesser extent, all gaped at Harry's casual tone.
"I'm dating the bloody Boy-Who-Lived," Fred whispered in a stricken tone. "Merlin."
"Come on Freddie, let's go find Mum before you have a panic attack," George laughed nervously as he pulled Fred off towards a large group of redheads that could only be Ron's family.
"Did I say something wrong?" Harry blinked at Theo.
Theo didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the hold Harry unknowingly had over people.
"No," he said steadily. "You're just you."
Harry gave him such a 'duh' look that Theo could practically hear Susan echoing the sentiment.
"Let's go surprise Snape," Harry said with a mischievous smirk that gave Theo a bad feeling.
"When you say 'surprise Snape', you don't mean that you neglected to tell your guardian that I'm staying with you, do you?" Theo trailed helplessly after Harry towards the floo.
"When I say 'surprise Snape' I mean, let's go surprise Snape," Harry said simply as he stepped up to the floo. "I'll go first, just say Spinners End: Sevvie, alright?"
Theo scoffed that Harry made his password his bloody owl. Apparently Snape didn't tell him that he shouldn't make his password something so easily guessed. Which was a bit daft of Snape really, considering Theo didn't know anyone, save Dumbledore maybe, that had as many enemies as Harry Potter. But he nodded and waited for Harry to disappear in the flames before stepping up himself.
"Spinners End: Sevvie!" he cried.
"-gonna love it," Harry was laughing when Theo landed in a surprisingly nice sitting room. The walls were a dark forest green, and there were sleek looking black leather recliners and a large cushioned sofa situated around a pleasantly large number of bookcases.
"Is Theodore the surprise?"
Theo looked up at Professor Snape sheepishly. He knew it would be a horrible idea to 'surprise' their Head of House with his arrival in his home. Snape hated kids, it was just a well known fact. He liked Harry, but almost everyone seemed to like Harry.
And if they didn't like Harry then they were terrified of him, which was just as good in Theo's opinion.
"Yep," Harry said unrepentantly as he tapped his and Theo's trunks with his pinky, immediately causing them to disappear. "He's staying here for a few days." Harry turned his head and winked at him, apparently conveying a message that Theo didn't understand.
"And your father approved of this?" Snape asked with his brows lifted unbelievingly.
"He did," Theo lied. His father was under the impression that Theo was staying with the more acceptable Malfoy family for two nights. He never would have let Theo come to the home of Harry Potter. In fact, Theo was grateful that his father didn't know about his friendship with Harry in general. Theo never would have formally allied himself to Harry if it wasn't for the knowledge that his father would hopefully be gone before he found out.
If Harry was to be believed anyway.
"Very well." Snape gave him a skeptical look, but thankfully dropped the subject. "Welcome to our home."
"Thank you sir," Theo said politely.
"He likes to be called Severus in the summers," Harry smirked. "Hates being called sir, doesn't he?"
"And yet you continue to call me Snape during the holidays," Snape said with a Harry-like roll of his eyes. "Theo you are welcome to call me what you please as long as you refrain from using any of Harry and Miss Bones' more colorful language."
"Okaaay," Theo said slowly with a hesitant glance towards Harry. He was almost starting to regret accepting Harry's invite. He had no idea how to interact with his Professor in an informal setting.
"Can we trade rooms now that Theo's here?" Harry abruptly asked Snape.
"We are not trading rooms because you have a guest," Snape said curtly, apparently this was an ongoing disagreement between them. "We are perfectly able to expand your room if we must."
"Fuck," Harry laughed. "Dunno why I didn't think of that. It's brill. C'mon Theo."
Theo followed Harry through the sitting room to a set of polished black stairs and up to a short hallway.
"Our rooms in here," Harry said, throwing open a black paneled door to the most horribly decorated room Theo had ever seen.
"Merlin," he cringed. "What happened in here?" The walls were painted a mismatch alternating pattern of bright green and blue with literal splotches of red and yellow here and there throw on top of it.
"Oh." Harry crinkled his forehead as he looked around the horrifying room. "Painted it last summer. I was just trying out different colors." Harry shrugged and waved his hands and Theo watched as the walls changed to a dark blue, not unlike that of the Ravenclaw house. "Better?" Harry asked.
"Much," Theo said as he sat gingerly on the edge of Harry's bed. "So... what's the plan?"
"Simple, you're staying over for a few days and when your Dad tragically dies then I'll tell Snape you're staying for good," Harry sounded distracted as he glanced around the room with a look of pure concentration. "Don't move for a minute, yeah?"
Theo didn't even have a chance to ask why before Harry held his hands up to his chest, palms out.
"I want this room to be bigger," he hissed out, thankfully in English. Theo didn't know if he could handle Parsletongue on top of the rest of the absurdity that was dealing with Harry on a one-on-one basis.
Theo would have told him that magic didn't just work because you wanted it to, except that apparently for Harry Potter it did.
The house shook lightly as Harry's bedroom seemed to swell, and swell, and swell, until it was the size of a small studio flat.
"Sweet Merlin!" Theo yelped, jumping to his feet when the room stopped swelling. "How did you do that?!"
"Magic," Harry deadpanned, despite his panting breath. "Bit harder than I thought."
"Harry, Theodore, may I come in?" Snape knocked on the door.
"Yup," Harry called from the spot on the floor where he decided to sit as he caught his breath.
"Foolish brat," Snape said as he looked around the magically expanded room. "I said we Harry, we could expand your room."
"Didnt need help, did I?" Harry looked up at Snape curiously. "It's done now. 'M just gonna make it a bit bigger later and add a wall or somethin' so it's a bit more private, like two rooms instead of one."
"No you will not," Snape said sharply. "I will do it before you drive yourself to magical exhaustion."
"Is that possible?" Harry muttered to Theo as Snape drew his wand and began changing the room again.
"Possible, but rare," Theo told him. "It's usually something that happens to young kids when they do accidental magic that's too strong for their core to handle."
"Pft," Harry scoffed. "I've been doing accidental magic since I was five."
"It is not accidental if you intentionally did it," Snape cut in. "Is this what you envisioned?"
Snape had made the room even larger and had the back wall wide with a dividing wall that cut halfway down the room.
"Yep," Harry got to his feet slowly as he looked around the newly expanded space. "I'll put my bed on that side-" Harry pointed towards the side that had the clear view of the door, "and we can go buy Theo a bed tomorrow to go there," he pointed at the other side of the wall. "Then we just need another dresser, nightstand, and a wardrobe cause I'm not sharing my closet."
"This is an incredible amount of work for a temporary house guest," Snape said slowly, looking them both over with his perceptive eyes. "Is there anything I should be aware of?"
"Nope," Harry lied as he unstuck a photo from above the place his bed was. "Just wanna have room for my friends, yeah?"
Snape looked as if he didn't believe Harry at all, but dropped the subject.
"Mavis says dinner is in an hour," he said instead. "He also says that if you are late he won't make dessert because apparently 'Mavis has been missing Master Potter'."
"'Kay." Harry tapped his bed with his knuckles and smirked when it disappeared and reappeared in the newly made space for it. "We'll be there."
Snape sighed in a weary way that Theo could understand before leaving the room.
"You can sleep on the sofa tonight and then tomorrow we can grab Draco and go to the furniture store Cissa showed me," Harry called over his shoulder as he reattached his photo to the new place above his bed. "Kay?"
"I'll have to go to Gringotts first," Theo said. "I'll need to withdraw money from my account."
"Don't," Harry waved his hand and started unpacking his trunk, sending his belongings flying around the room with the silent and wandless magic he controls that Theo would kill for. "'M gonna buy it. Well, I guess Sirius Black is. But same difference, yeah?"
"No," Theo threw his hands up, exasperated with the odd things Harry says. "It's not the same difference at all! Why would Sirius Black buy me a bed?!"
Harry blinked up at Theo, surprised by his outburst.
"Because I'm his Heir," he explained slowly. "And I claimed my Heirship while he was in Azkaban so now I use his vault to buy things so my Potter vault can 'earn interest' or whatever Griphook says. There's a ton of money in there, don't worry."
"You're mad," Theo groaned as he slid his trunk to the space that Harry determined was his. "Absolutely mad."
"No I'm fuckin' not," Harry sneered from the other side of the dividing wall.
Theo gazed around the little private room Harry had made just for him. Harry was mad, but he was also sly, perceptive, cunning, and one of the most powerful Wixen Theo's ever heard of. Theo and Hermione may be the most 'book smart' people in their year, but Harry was a genius when it came to people and magic, which was worth a lot more in some ways than book smarts were.
"No, you're not," Theo agreed quietly. "You're brilliant."
Theo woke up early the next morning, after spending the night tossing and turning on Harry's sofa, and blearily stumbled in to Harry and Snape's kitchen.
"Good morning Theodore," Snape said, startling Theo at his quiet place at the dining table. "How did you sleep?"
"Fine," Theo lied.
He'd slept terribly. He'd been worried about Harry, worried about his father, and worried he made the wrong decision for the last two weeks. It seemed like the closer it got to summer, the more stressed Theo came over it.
He didn't want Harry to get hurt, or arrested, by trying to kill his father. Even though Harry easily admitted to killing Lockhart, Lockhart was a moron and Theodore Nott Senior was an extremely powerful man.
Theo knew this for a fact because he was his fathers favorite target to show the strength of his power to.
And even though Theo had spent his whole life wishing to be aware from his father, hiding from him as much as he was able to in the summers, and carried scars on his body from the man's own wand- he was still his father. And Theo would be relieved to never set eyes on him again, but he was also already mourning him. He was mourning the father that he never got to have. The one that he would have done anything to make proud of him.
So yeah, he slept pretty badly.
"Harry should be up soon," Snape said as he sipped something that smelled like the same weird hot coffee Harry drank in the mornings. "I presume you both will be shopping today?"
"Yes sir," Theo said with a grateful nod towards Harry's weird elf when he put a plate of fruit and a cup of tea in front of him. "Thank you Mavis," he said kindly.
"Mavis is being happy to feed Master's friend," Mavis squeaked with a toothy smile. "And Mavis will be being happy to have Master's friend here for as long as he is staying."
"Speaking of which," Snape drawled, putting the paper he had been pursuing down flat on the table. "How long exactly did you father grant you leave to stay here?"
"A few days," Theo said evasively as he thought quickly of a way to lower Snape's suspicion. "But... but he thinks I'm at Draco's house. He doesn't like Harry much sir." Theo knew that admitting to one small lie usually helped to hide the bigger ones. If he admitted his father didn't know he was at Harry's house it might make Snape less suspicious on how long he was planning on staying.
And it worked apparently. Snape smirked at him and lifted the paper back up.
"I see," he said simply. "I imagined that the Senior Mister Nott would never have approved of his Heir residing with Harry Potter."
"No sir," Theo agreed quietly as he picked at the food in front of him.
Snape hummed before the two of them lapsed in to an uncomfortable silence. Theo kept looking towards the kitchen doorway, wishing Harry would show up soon to break the tension.
Eventually Snape checked the time and frowned.
"Mavis," he called. "Would you kindly go wake Harry up and remind him that it is important he still has breakfast at the same time in the summers as he does at school?"
"Mavis can," Mavis said happily before popping away instantly.
"Why?" Theo asked curiously.
"Why what?" Snape asked, not unkindly.
"Why does Harry need to eat breakfast at the same time?" Theo clarified.
"Because Mavis made him breakfast," Snape said, which made no sense at all.
"Master Potter is not being here," Mavis squealed as he loudly cracked back in to the kitchen. "He is not being anywhere in the house or the yard."
"God damnit," Snape swore. "Where is Harry?" he asked Theo severely.
"Probably getting Draco," Theo lied. He had no idea where Harry was. They had said goodnight last night and planned on getting Draco and going shopping after breakfast today.
Snape stared at Theo intently for a long moment. Theo struggled to keep his face clear of any emotions before Snape finally nodded curtly.
"You're lying," he said. "Where. Is. Harry?"
"I really don't know sir," Theo said nervously. "Honestly."
Their silent stare off was interrupted by a loud POP! and Harry suddenly appeared in the kitchen.
"Fuck." Harry swayed on his feet and gripped the kitchen counter tightly. "Morning."
Snape leapt to his feet and was beside Harry in an instant.
"Where were you?" he asked sharply. "And why do you stink like..." Snape inhaled before groaning and running a weary hand down his face. "Why do you smell like fire Harry?"
Fire?
Theo looked Harry over carefully and saw that he was covered in soot, despite apparently bloody apparating, and did smell strongly of smoke.
"Accident," Harry said as he glanced around the kitchen quickly in a way that Theo recognizes as an assessment of danger or threats. "'M gonna go shower."
"Eat first," Snape snapped. "Then shower."
"'Kay," Harry yawned and plopped down in the seat between Theo and Snape and was immediately served by his elf. "Ta Mavis."
The three of them sat in what was absolutely a much more tense silence than Theo and Snape had shared. Harry quickly ate a plate of pancakes and fruit, seemingly indifferent to the state of disarray he was in. Snape glared at Harry and tapped his foot irritably as Harry dodged every question he threw at him. And Theo? Theo was confused.
He sat quietly while he waited for Harry to finish eating then followed him up to his room just as quietly. He couldn't hold back his questions anymore the moment the door closed behind them.
"Where were you?" he asked Harry.
"Your place," Harry murmured as he dug through his dresser. "It's done."
"What?" Theo staggered backwards and fell to the floor. "Harry- what happened?!"
Harry shrugged as he grabbed a long sleeved shirt from his closet.
"We fought, he said a lot of rude shit, and I killed him. Oh. Here."
Harry pulled a box out of his discarded jumped pocket and enlarged it before he handed it gently to Theo.
"I thought you might want that."
Theo was still reeling over Harry casually admitting he had actually killed Theo's Dad-
Praise Merlin.
-when he opened the box slowly and choked up at its contents.
"Mother," he sighed quietly at the stacks of photos Harry had grabbed for him. "Where- where did you find these?" Theo only owned one photo of his mother, the rest had been hidden away by his father the day after her funeral.
"Your dads cupboard in the back of his closet," Harry said. "Figured you'd want them."
Theo looked up at Harry and was struck by what he'd done. He freed Theo. Theo never had to go back to his father. Never had to feel the sharp sting of being a disappointment along with the equally sharp punishments dealt unfairly from his fathers wand. And in the midst of freeing Theo, Harry thought Theo might want a box of photos of his mother.
"I-I don't know what to say," Theo said in a choked whisper. "Harry- thank you."
"It's fine," Harry rubbed the back of his neck, uncomfortable with Theo's uncharacteristic show of emotions.
Theo nodded and flipped through the photos of his mother while Harry finished gathering his clothes.
"'M gonna go shower now," Harry told him. "I stink."
"Oh," Theo hastily wiped beneath his eyes and looked up at Harry. "Why do you smell like fire anyway?"
"Got caught in your fuckin' giant parlor while the house was burning, didn't I?" Harry scowled. "Nearly burnt up myself if I hadn't of popped back home."
"You burnt down the manor?" Theo was sure his eyes were comically wide, but he couldn't find anything funny about the moment at all.
"Yup," Harry said easily. "Killed him with a new curse I learned and thought it might be a good chance to try out fiendfire. Which, is actually pretty much impossible to control."
Theo didn't know whether he wanted to laugh, or cry, so he settled for sitting in the middle of Harry bloody Potter's bedroom and stared at the floor while Harry took a shower.
Harry was a madman. He just killed a man, Theo's father, and was only worried about how much he stunk from using fiendfire. Theo wasn't sure if he was going in to shock in that moment or not but he did know this-
Harry Potter saved him. Freed him. Let him align himself to him. And even if Harry was completely mad- Theo was going to follow him for the rest of their lives.