Just - Theodore Nott

⁂𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄⁂

Theodore's Pov:

I haven't seen Aliyah in a few days. She's been acting weird and distant this week and I feel things got weird since she's skipped Potions class and Quidditch practice. Something she'd never do.

About an hour ago, Mattheo came back to the dorm, freshly bleeding cut on his face and saying he simply got into a fight. He left about thirty minutes later, and soon enough, I heard another knock at the door.

"Yes?" I leaned on the doorframe and opened to see a crying Aliyah. I immediately became concerned "Bella, what happened?" I brought her inside "It's a long story, just please fix me up" she sniffled.

I raised a brow "Fix you? What do you mean?". She turned around to reveal the back of her white collared shirt soaked in blood.

"Who the fuck did this to you?" I sat her down on my bed and she took her shirt off, a large, clean cut on her back, this wasn't a natural injury. "It's not important, just please fix it, it burns." She cried.

I got a first-aid kit from the bathroom and applied antiseptic on a cotton pad, dabbing it on the cut. "It's clearly not nothing, tell me" I continued even while treating her wound.

"It was Bellatrix" she sniffled. "Bellatrix? How?" I was confused.

...

"You know how... Voldemort...would assign Mattheo and I tasks?" She began, "Yeah"
"Well, uhm, he wanted me to" she cleared her throat "He wanted me to kill Dumbledore..."

I was stunned, shocked. "What?..."

"You killed Dumbledore?". She shook her head ashamedly. "I didn't, I couldn't, Snape did it instead" she choked out. Oh my god. "He's dead?"

She nodded. I knelt in front of her as she put her head down and started to sob "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm a horrible person" she muttered through her tears. "Hey, hey, it's okay, don't cry..." I comforted

"No, it's true, I'm nothing but bad for you and everyone else. I'm disgusted by my own self" she cried. "No, you're not. If anything, I'm the bad one. I let you suffer in silence, it's my fault, I didn't know" I placed my hands on her knees.

"It's not your fault, I didn't want to bring you into this. It's my fault, I'm sorry" she continued. "Stop it, bella, you have nothing to be sorry about, it's not your fault"

She continued to sob, and I made her stand up, hugging her tightly. Her sobs muffled into my chest and I caressed her hair. "It's okay... you're okay" i kissed the top of her hair.

"Don't go back to your dorm, spend the night here." I suggested as she pulled away to wipe her face. "Here? Won't Mattheo kill me?"

I shrugged, "We can close the bed curtains, it's fine"

—

Aliyah told me everything and soon was sound asleep in my bed after a bath and changing into one of my shirts. I closed the curtains of the bed and laid next to her.

I was soon to fall asleep, hearing the sound of mumbling and footsteps. "Theo, do you know where Al is? I can't seem to find her-" Asked Enzo as he opened my bed curtain.