Nightmares and Nocturnes

The Troubled Resurrection

Part II: Nocturnes

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Chapter 18: The Troubled Resurrection

"Granger," Theo said again, peering around the room before taking a tentative step towards her, "who are you talking to?"

She waited for Harry to reappear; for Bill, even, to tell her to lie, to take, to do what she could to survive; for Ginny, for Luna; for someone else, to tell her to run -

"Nobody," she said, swallowing. "There's nobody there."

"I see that," Theo ventured slowly, as though he wished very much to say something considerably more direct. "Was there somebody there?"

"No," she murmured quietly. "Not really."

He crossed his arms in the doorway, leaning against the frame.

"Draco doesn't know about this, then," he deduced, looking thoughtful. "Does he?"

She shook her head. "Nothing to tell," she muttered, and he scoffed, taking the few long strides to reach her and leaning back against the bedpost.

"Clearly," he enunciated loudly, "I must look stupid, because everybody insists on lying to me." He stared at her; she lowered her gaze to her bare feet. "He mentioned you'd been" - he paused, thinking - "unsteady."

She said nothing.

"I take it this has been going on for a while," he estimated. "Since they took you, I'm guessing?"

She winced. A flicker passed over his face, like he regretted the word choice.

"Sorry," he murmured. "I just meant - "

He exhaled, abandoning the effort. "Who is it?" he asked instead. "The person you're talking to."

She looked up at him, considering the value of an answer. Green eyes, she noted, dark hair; if he were a touch less lanky, if he ever opted for a smile over a smirk, he might look a lot like -

"I can see that you don't trust me," Theo announced, nodding at her as though he'd settled something for himself. "Fair enough. But permit me to make some assumptions." He glanced warily at her - checking if she were listening, she guessed - and then squared his shoulders, continuing. "Clearly you trust Draco. If I were you," he postulated loudly, "and I were as smart as you are - which I am," he told her brusquely, "Hogwarts years aside - "

She fought a smile.

"I would trust him too, I think, but mostly because I had no choice," he wagered, "and only to the point where I became vulnerable by my trust." He shrugged. "You need him, of course, because your life depends on him - "

He waited, watching for a reaction. She didn't give him one.

" - and so you've probably only told him as much as he needs to know. And you're probably aware that hearing voices is never a good sign, and so you haven't told him that, and for whatever reason, he hasn't caught you." He paused, taking a breath. "Perhaps you've recently gotten comfortable with him," he murmured, "and now you've let down your guard - so maybe he was bound to catch you, if I hadn't done it first. Maybe you're realizing that now." He looked up, meeting her eye. "Right?"

Right, she tried desperately not to say.

"Well," he said, straightening, "that's all well and good, except now something has happened, hasn't it? You didn't want him to go," he wagered, "and I think it's because you know more than you're telling him. And despite the fact that I have told him this countless times - " he broke off, looking haughtily irritated, "I'm almost positive he has invested far more of himself than he should have done. Am I cor- " he stopped, shaking his head. "No, never mind. I know I'm right."