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After spending quite a while watching the friendly match between the students, Lily, Tori, and I left the Quidditch Pitch.
The three of us casually made our way back towards the castle, talking about matters of the utmost importance to the wizarding world.
"...I still think a Hippogriff would beat a Pegasus in a race," Lily declared with absolute conviction.
"And I'm telling you you're wrong," I shot back immediately. "At best, it'd end in a tie."
"No chance." Lily shook her head emphatically. "Hippogriffs are definitely faster."
Then, as if she'd just come up with a brilliant idea, a mischievous gleam appeared in her eyes.
"Besides..." she turned to me with a suspicious smile. "If I remember correctly, Hippogriffs are half eagle too, aren't they?"
"Yes..." I nodded cautiously, wondering what she was up to.
"Great." Her smile grew even wider.
She folded her arms, looking far too pleased with herself.
"Then answer me this... Which flies better: a winged horse... or a winged horse-EAGLE?"
Hearing that, I let out a snort.
"That question doesn't make any sense."
"Of course it does!" she shot back immediately, planting her hands on her hips.
"No. It doesn't!" I folded my arms. "That's the same as saying a centaur dances better than a horse just because it's half human."
"Uh... but wouldn't it?" Tori asked, interrupting our argument.
Turning to look at her, all I found was an innocent face full of curiosity.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Okay... maybe that wasn't the best comparison."
Lily immediately mocked me.
"That was literally the worst comparison you could've picked."
"Thanks for the moral support," I said dryly.
In response, Lily simply let out a smug little huff, while Tori quietly giggled at our argument.
It was like that, surrounded by completely pointless conversations and light-hearted debates, that we finally made it back to the castle.
And it was just as we walked through the castle gates that we spotted someone standing a few metres ahead of us.
Theodore Nott.
One of the few pure-blood Slytherins capable of putting aside his family's twisted beliefs and still remaining a genuinely good person.
And also one of the very few male friends I had in that House.
The moment our eyes met, he gave me an almost imperceptible nod.
In response, I stopped walking and nodded back.
Theo then carefully glanced around. After making sure there weren't any other students nearby, he walked over to us.
"Hey, Ethan." He greeted me with the same neutral expression he always wore.
"Hey, Theo." I greeted him back with a calm smile.
After that, the cautious boy fell silent, simply staring at me.
It didn't bother me in the slightest.
Knowing Theo, I could tell something was weighing on his mind, or that there was something important he wanted to talk about. So I simply waited.
A few seconds later, he finally spoke again.
"Ethan, do you... have a minute?"
His voice was quiet and hesitant.
I immediately understood.
Before answering him, though, I turned to the two girls beside me.
"Lily, Tori... do you mind?"
The two of them didn't answer straight away.
Instead, they kept glancing between Theo and me, looking as though they understood exactly what was going on.
A moment later, they turned to each other.
They stared at one another for a few seconds, as though having a silent conversation.
Then, seemingly having reached a decision, they both nodded before looking back at me.
"Okay, you can talk to him..." Lily said, folding her arms. "But don't take too long."
"And don't worry about anyone eavesdropping," Tori added a moment later with a small smile. "We'll keep watch."
"You're going to... keep watch?" I repeated, unable to hide my amusement.
"Mhm." Tori puffed out her chest with a surprisingly serious expression. "As long as we're here, nobody's going to interrupt your conversation."
Beside her, Lily nodded solemnly, as though she'd just accepted a mission of the utmost importance.
"Well... thanks, then." I smiled at them.
With permission from my "temporary bosses", I followed Theo into a small side corridor, partially hidden behind an enormous medieval suit of armour.
It was secluded enough for us to talk without attracting attention.
Out of habit, I glanced back.
The two little Slytherins really were standing guard.
Lily stood there with her arms folded, carefully watching the corridors like a sentry.
Meanwhile, Tori kept looking from one side to the other with an intensely focused expression.
They looked like two little snakes protecting their nest.
I smiled faintly.
'Wait...'
I paused.
My eyes slowly wandered around our surroundings, and only then did I realise just how suspicious this whole situation looked.
We were heading into a secluded corner, well away from curious eyes and listening ears, acting with almost ridiculous caution...
'Why does this feel like we're about to do something shady and illegal?'
I pulled a strange face.
Anyone who saw us right now would probably think Theo and I were about to make some kind of deal or exchange that couldn't be done in public.
I'd hand over the money.
And in return, he'd slip me a rather... unusual magical herb.
The sort popular with hipsters and gangsters.
'Seriously... first Lily and Astoria cornered me like a pair of loan sharks. Now Theo's dragging me into a corner like he's my drug dealer.'
'What exactly does Slytherin teach its students about approaching other people?' I thought, breaking into a sweat.
Pushing those thoughts aside for the time being, I turned my attention back to Theo.
He was trying to look completely calm. But his body language — and the emotions I was picking up — were telling a very different story.
He was a little nervous.
'What does he want to talk to me about?' I wondered, curious and just a little worried.
For a few seconds, Theo remained silent.
His gaze wandered down the corridor, as though he were organising his thoughts before he began.
At last, he looked back at me.
"A few days ago, my mom sent me a letter."
I blinked.
That wasn't exactly the way I'd expected this conversation to start.
But I also knew how much Theo cared about his mother.
If he'd started with that, then whatever he wanted to talk about really mattered.
My relaxed expression naturally faded.
"In the letter... she told me something." He frowned slightly.
"On the day of the third task of the Triwizard Tournament, my father left the house and didn't come back for hours."
"When he finally came back, he was filthy, injured... and missing an arm."
Theo kept watching me closely, clearly waiting for some kind of reaction.
But I simply looked back at him calmly.
Realising I wasn't going to say anything, he continued.
"That arm you brought back from the graveyard... the Death Eater's arm..."
"...it was his."
It wasn't a question.
It was a statement.
I looked at him for a few seconds before nodding.
"It was," I replied simply.
There was no point trying to hide it from him.
Besides, the only reason I hadn't told everyone that the Death Eater whose arm I'd cut off was Nott was because of Theo.
Hearing my answer, Theo looked as though an invisible weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
He slowly let out a breath he hadn't even realised he'd been holding.
"When I finished reading the letter, it took me a few minutes to put the pieces together," he continued.
"My mom wrote that he came home completely desperate... Injured. Missing an arm. And cursing someone non-stop."
He let out a small, humourless laugh, shaking his head.
"She had no idea what had happened... but I knew immediately."
"And when I realised it was you who'd torn his arm off... I thought I should be angry."
He paused, looking me straight in the eyes.
"But I wasn't."
"The only thing I could feel..." he hesitated, "...was relief."
Looking into his eyes, I saw an almost painful sincerity there.
That didn't surprise me in the slightest.
Out of everyone at Hogwarts, I was probably one of the people who knew Theo best.
Of course, because of the image he had to maintain in Slytherin — and especially because of his father — we could never really talk much in public.
But during the few opportunities we'd had away from the other students, I'd already managed to see who Theodore Nott really was.
A kind, careful boy... who lived in a constant state of alert.
He always thought before he spoke.
Always weighed every word.
Always seemed to be expecting something bad to happen.
And considering who his father was, it was hard to blame him for that.
The now one-armed Lord Nott was petty, cruel, arrogant, despicable... and the list went on.
Living with someone like him every day was like walking on thin ice, never knowing when everything would come crashing down.
For years, that was exactly how Theo and his mother had lived.
Feeling sorry for the poor boy standing in front of me, I opened my mouth, ready to say a few words of encouragement.
"Theo..."
"I'm glad you did it," he said suddenly, cutting me off before I could even finish.
"Huh?" I blinked in surprise.
"My father deserved it," he continued, his voice firm and without hesitation.
"He hurt a lot of people."
"He hurt my mom. He hurt me. And he hurt people he didn't even know."
He pressed his lips into a thin line as countless emotions flickered across his face.
"And, for the first time..." Theo slowly clenched his fists. "He found someone who could hurt him back."
For a few moments, I simply watched Theo in silence.
What I saw on his face wasn't happiness, nor was it satisfaction that his own father had been mutilated.
No. It was something else.
It was the relief of finally knowing that the man who had terrorised his family wasn't invincible.
That he could bleed too.
That he could be afraid too.
That made all the difference.
End.
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