Chapter Text
The train whistle blows loudly as it pulls into King’s Cross station. Draco stands to grab the bright green luggage from the overhead rack and bring it down to its owner, who hasn't stopped talking since they departed from Hogwarts this morning.
"The twins say that their younger brother will be at Hogwarts next year and that they have a sister who will be there the year after that." Theo says with an almost shocked expression. "Can you even imagine having that many siblings, Draco?" He takes his case from the older boy, before Draco reaches for his own.
"I dare say that the Weasly's may have been attempting to make their own little quidditch team." Draco snarks as he leads them both into the fray of boisterous schoolmates emptying out of their own train compartments. Theo’s hand slaps hard, but playfully against Draco’s back. Draco chuckles as his childhood friend berates him on his other friends behalf.
"Don't be so rude, Draco. Egotistical isn't a good look on you." Theo proclaims from behind him. To Draco’s utter astonishment, Theo had decided to forgo any of the other Slytherin classmates in his grade. Instead he had become fast friends with the Weasley twins during all of their first year. So now for the past two years Draco has had to share his best friend with the Griffin-dorks class clowns.
Despite his words though Draco can feel him grip tightly onto the back of his robes as they make our way through the crowd. He switches his luggage handle from his right hand to his left so that Draco can reach back and take a hold of Theo’s wrist. Making it a more secure connection, so that they won't get bumped apart from the jostling of sweaty adolescent bodies surrounding them. Draco’s pinky finger slips beneath the sleeve of Theo’s jumper. It's the stupid one that Mrs. Weasly made him for Christmas last year, with a huge "T" knitted into the center. The matching one with a "D" had been dropped off by a horribly ruffled owl this year just before the Holiday break. It was currently tucked deep into Draco’s own trunk.
Draco catches sight of Blaise a few people in front of them. The reason for Blaise choosing to leave their compartment half way through the trips also makes her appearance as a head of curly platinum hair bounces from the train onto platform 9(¾). The Ravenclaw first year runs up to her eccentric father who is wearing bright yellow dress robes and large glasses with one blue lens and one red. Draco silently thanks Merlin that his father won't be here to pick him up this year. It was decided that he would spend the first week back at the Nott's manor as his father and mother are away on some mysterious Ministry business and won’t be home. Lucius has made his disdain for his outlandish cousin very clear, but Draco tried to not let this affect how he treated his younger relative. Though Luna certainly had proven that she took after her father this past year. None of her bizarre ramblings or far fetched creature depictions seem to deter Draco’s infatuated friend. Blaise's head followed the girl to where she and her father did some crazy dance as they wiped at each other's clothes. Draco shakes his head and tries not to judge his friend too much, even if he can’t see what the two could possibly have in common.
As he steps down the stairs, Draco looks over the top of everyone else's heads for Theo's parents. The younger boy jumps about from behind, using Draco’s shoulders to propel him up. It makes Draco laugh again as he points to Theo’s mother and father standing at the edge of the fray.
They both have stony but calm expressions. Draco notes with curiosity that Theo's mother has a deep crease across her forehead and dark circles under her eyes. Theo continues to jump up and down and begins to wave his arms enthusiastically as the two boys start to make their way over to the adults. Once she spots him, Mrs. Nott's face brightens into a smile at her only child. As her eyes swing over to the taller of the two, that smile falters. Her reaction caused Draco’s own smile to fall from his face. She and her husband have never treated Draco with anything less than welcoming kindness. They had been like a second set of parents to him for almost Draco’s whole life. They had both even written to Draco during his first two years at Hogwarts about their petulant son, who cried all day and refused to do anything while Draco was away without him.
His stomach sinks at the idea that Draco could have done something to upset them. He continues walking towards them with an oblivious Theo. Mrs. Nott's face shifts back into a smile that is slightly less bright as she turns back to Theo. Her husband has an affectionate hand resting at the small of her back as he looks proudly at their son, who has left Draco to now weave through the crowd towards them.
Draco shakes the sudden dread that the moment has left him with. As he passes his other friend he places his hand on Blaise's shoulder with a squeeze. Blasie is stepping back from a hug with his mother. "Have a nice summer, Zabini."
He turns to Draco over his shoulder with a nod and slaps a friendly hand to Draco’s own shoulder. "Later, Malfoy." As Draco looks over to his friend’s mother, she pushes her sleek black hair behind her ear.
"Ma'am," He says politely to her.
To his utter confusion she lowers not only her head but her shoulders in a slight bow to him with a "Draco," purred from her lips.
What the fuck? Did Blaise's mom just bow to him? The Malfoy's and even the Black's have a slightly higher social standings than the Zabini's, or any of the family's that Blaise's mother has married into over the years, but he has never exactly been bowed to by anyone other than house elves before. Draco can tell Blaise finds it just as weird as he does as his confused eyes bounce from his mom to his friend. Draco gives him a baffled shrug as Theo rushes back to pull him forward with a "Bye, Blaise '', thrown over his shoulder.
Draco is still thinking it over when they reach Nott senior and his wife. Theo's ecstatic chatter begins again as he starts to describe the prank he and the twins set off on Filch before the farewell feast. His over exaggerated hand motions quicken as he describes the pustules that covered the school's grumpy caretaker face and proceeded to pop throughout dinner. Draco smiles down at him. Theo has always had a way of distracting Draco from everything else. The weirdness of the last few minutes fades away as the feeling in his chest warms. The feeling has been growing into something unfamiliar but comforting these last few years away from the pressures of the Malfoy name and social expectations.
Unfortunately whatever weird reality that he has been shoved into since stepping foot off of the Hogwarts Express, shoves itself back into Draco’s face. Theo's father is laughing along with Theo, but his mother is looking at Draco. No, not at him, but at his arm. She is looking at Draco’s left arm like it is about to reach up and attack her. There is nothing noticeable on Draco’s green dress robe sleeve, but something has her absolutely petrified.
Something about her fear shakes at a memory in the back of Draco’s mind but for the life of him he can't seem to think of what it is.
"Alright Lads," Mr. Nott's deep voice shocks Draco back into the present. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yup!" Theo pops the "P" loudly as Draco also answers.
"Yes, Sir."
Mrs. Nott crosses in front of the three of them to take Theo's arm in preparation for their apparition. On any other day it wouldn't be that questionable of an action. She just wants to be the one to apparate with her son. Today though it feels like the move was deliberate. She doesn't want to apparate with Draco to their home. She may not even want to touch him.
Nott senior takes her place with a chuckle and Theo smiles up at Draco none the wiser. "See you at home." His father gets out just as his wife disapperates with their son in front of them.
****
Draco wakes up in a dark room and smacks his parched lips together. He rubs at his sleepy eyes and sits up. Looking over to a sleeping Theo in the bed next to his. He knows that he could call for a house elf to bring him some water, but Tippy, the Nott house elf, is loud and squeaky when nervous. So asking her for something so simple so late seems stupid since it might wake Theo. Instead Draco decides to just go down to the kitchens himself for a drink instead.
The Nott manor is old and full of creaky floor boards and long echoing hallways. As he walks Draco wishes that he could cast a silencing spell, but at fifteen, he still has two more years before he can do magic outside of Hogwarts. So instead he moves slowly and smoothly down the halls trying to make as little noise as possible.
As he makes his way through the lower levels it brings Draco closer to Nott senior's office. He notices the door is open and a light is flickering from inside. Then he hears the voices that are coming from within. One of them is deep, male and clearly trying to whisper. The other is female and frantic, causing it to increase in volume despite the shh's from the other.
"He is just a boy." Is the first clear thing that Draco can hear from Mr. Nott.
"He will follow the same path as his father, Theseus!" Mrs. Nott's voice is almost shrill with worry. "Whether he wants it or not."
"You have been wrong before." Theo's father whispers again.
"And you have always trusted me before!" Theseus tries to quiet his wife again, but she talks around his protests. "If not what I have foreseen, then what of the whispers? They say that the Potter boy will return to our world and be attending Hogwarts next year."
"Of course he will. He will be of age. That does not mean that the Dark Lord will return as well."
"But they are planning for it, Theseus! Where do you think that Lucius and Narcissa are right now?" She almost sounds close to tears from where Draco hides in the shadows. "They are having meetings! They are planning! Those Death Eaters! The war is about to start again!"
Dark Lord. Death Eaters. War. These words trigger the memory the very memory that shook at the back of Draco’s mind before.
"Father? What is this?" Draco’s tiny six year old fingers point to the blotching stain on his fathers left arm. The young heir has only caught small glimpses the mark before, but today his father had been riding around on his broom all afternoon causing him to roll up the sleeves of his crisp button up above his elbows.
The Malfoy lord stares down at his son with a skeptical look before picking Draco up and placing the young boy into his lap.
"It is my Dark Mark, Draco." He says it with no emotion on his face and his son traces his fingers on the snake that he could swear moves across his father’s skin. "It was a sign of my devotion to the Dark Lord." Lucius says as he puffs up his chest.
"Lucius." Draco’s mother scolds from her seat across from the two in the sunroom.
His father does not heed the warning though. "My father got one, then I got mine, and someday you will get y-"
"Lucius!" Narssisa’s teacup shatters as it falls onto the hard marble floor, as she stands abruptly from her seat. "You will not speak of such things to our son!"
"Cis-" Lucius tries to start, but his wife cuts him off again.
"No! I forbid it!" She quickly grabs her confused son from his father’s lap and sprints with the boy tucked into her hip, from the bright room.
The long forgotten memory sinks like a heavy stone into Draco’s stomach as Theo's parents continue to argue.
"I will not have Theo growing up in a world like we did." His mother cries.
"So what? Will you have us fight this time around?" Her husband asks. He seems to have forgotten that he was trying to keep them both quiet before. "Will you fight alongside families like the Weasley's, Longbottom's and Potter's?"
"No, of course not!" Her voice is panicked again. "Look at what happened to them! No. We will take Theo and go to America." Now it is not just a rock sitting at the bottom of his stomach but Draco’s heart stops beating as well.
They are talking about taking Theo away from him.
"The Ministry there refuses to get involved in this and Theo will be protected from the war there."
"He won't go, my love." Theseus sounds defeated. "You and I both know that he won't go without the boy. No matter what you say Draco's future holds."
His words spark a feeling of pride inside of Draco, but it is quickly swallowed up by fear again. Being with Draco will put Theo in danger.
"We won't give him a choice." His mother finally sounds confident. "We are taking him to America, Theseus. End of discussion."
Draco never hears Mr. Nott's response because a small sob comes quietly from behind him. Surprised, Draco spins around quickly to see a devastated Theo standing there with his hair disheveled from sleep and tears brimming his wide eyes.
Theo shakes his head violently back and forth and before he can make a sound Draco grabs ahold of his hand and sprint them aways from the office and his still arguing parents. They make it back to Theo’s room before Draco lets him go and spins around to face what he knows his oldest friend will say.
"I won't leave you." Theo nearly begs.
Draco shakes his head at Theo. "No, if what they say is true. If your mother is right about what is coming this is the best way to keep you safe. To keep you out of whatever this war is."
"What about you? Who will keep you safe?" Theo grabs Draco’s arms and shakes the stubborn set of his shoulders. Draco only stares at him with watery eyes. The ever snarky Malfoy boy can’t seem to find the right thing to say to his scared best friend.
"No,” Theo cries. “No!"
"I will be fine." Draco concedes with an attempt at confidence. "My father will never let anything happen to the Malfoy heir."
"But what will become of you?" Theo is now openly crying. "You don't want to become who your father is!"
Draco reaches out and uses his thumb to wipe away the young boy's tears. "It will be okay Theo. I will be okay here. I will, I promise."
Theo pulls him into a bone crushing hug as he wraps his thin arms around Draco’s waist. His tears wet the shoulder of Draco’s sleep shirt. Draco can't help but put his cheek on the top of Theo’s soft curls and release his own pained tears. Theo holds Draco for so long that the older of the two has a feeling the younger is trying to meld them together. Make it physically impossible to separate them from each other. Not without damaging one or both of them in the process.
"Won't you miss me?" Theo whispers as he turns his face into Draco’s neck.
"More than you can imagine." Draco whispers hoarsely back. He pull back to gently take Theo's face in his hands. Looking deep into his friends eyes to make him understand what needs to happen next. "It will be just like my first two years at Hogwarts, yeah. We will write to each other as much as we can. I will tell you everything that happens. That was okay wasn't it? We can do that again, right"
Theo's face crumples and a sob tears from him.
"Shhh." Draco tries to soothe Theo, pressing thier foreheads together.
"Draco, I-" Theo hiccups. "I think that I’m in lo -"
Draco cut him off by kissing each of Theo's wet eyelids. He can't let him finish that thought. If he does, what he says will destroy Draco’s already thin resolve. If he lets Theo confess to the feelings that have been swirling around for the past few years, Draco knows that he won’t be able to let Theo go. To keep him safe. So he closes his eyes and nods against Theo's forehead again. "I know." Draco opens his eyes again so that he can look deeply into Theo’s. Draco pleads silently for Theo to know that he is not lying to him, "I feel the same."
Theo only looks up at Draco with so much hope. It's real. Draco feels the same as he does. Their relationship will change. Change into something that could be beautiful, Something that could save them both. Draco tilts his head down to place a soft kiss onto Theo's lips. "I do." Draco promises him.
Theo starts to smile before his face falls at the realization that this won't change anything. No matter how they both feel, they are going to be seperated. Nothing can save them from this.
Theo stretches up on his tiptoes to kiss Draco back, this one is more desperate. A plea from him to Draco. His lips speak of his desperation against Draco’s. Theo’s salty tears taste of his fears for his friend and their future that now hangs off a precipice.
"I don't care what you have to do Draco, please stay safe. I will come back as soon as I can, no matter what happens. You have to be here when I do. Please?" Theo drags his short fingernails through Draco’s soft platinum hair, causing draco to want to cry at how right it feels.
Draco can't help the soft, sad laugh that escapes from him as he wraps Theo back up in his tight embrace. It takes a few moments to speak and emotion clogs Draco’s throat. When he can finally speak again Draco leans down to place his lips softly against Theo’s ear. Draco relishes the feeling of his soft, curly hair tickling his lips. Neither of them knows when they will have to give the other up. Their tears threaten again at the shared thought they may never get the other back once Theo is forced to leave.
"I hope that I never make you regret waiting for me then."
Theo begins to cry again at Draco’s plea. "Never, Draco. Never."