Inglorious Bastards [Theodore Nott]

Chapter Seventy

When Theodore was a boy, his mother would always tell him the story of Prometheus, how the Titan was sentenced by the gods to a mountain in Caucasus where an eagle would be sent to eat his immortal liver for all eternity, and all because he gave fire to mortals. As a boy, he enjoyed the story, though he did not enjoy the dreams he would get of an eagle pecking out his own liver. But, as his mother's son, he knew that there was more to the story. She would not simply tell him the tale without a lesson to be learned. He never figured out the lesson in it. That was until his mother died, where she told him the story again, not caring if she was tired and out of breath. She told him the story until she finally rested.

He thought it was a code for him to remember. He tried decrypting the story as he has memorized it word for word, but no matter how hard he tried, the story was just a story. But he carried that story in memory in everything he did, and in every decision, he was to make. Especially now. Theodore never imagined standing before the iron doors of the Room of Requirement. Back when Harry Potter created the D.A. as a way to get around Umbridge and the Ministry's foolish educational reform, he always thought that the room would bring nothing but trouble and made sure to stand clear of it. But it seems no matter how hard he tried, he would find himself entering the room that brought pain and freedom to his friends.

"Come on, we don't have time," Malfoy said.

They entered the room, and the doors closed behind him. It was different from what he managed to see when he was flying around the halls spying on Roman and Carina last year. Unlike last year where the room was created for a defense training room, this time it looked like a large room filled with lost things.

"And who's going to stand guard?" Theodore asked.

"No one's going to know that we're even inside."

"What about Potter and his friends – what if they come inside while we're here?"

"I'm sure you'll manage to figure something out," Malfoy sneered.

"What does that suppose to mean?" Theodore glared at him.

Malfoy ignored him, "This way."

Malfoy led him to what seems to be a large object, standing far taller than them. He pulled the blanket that covered it. It was a cabinet.

"It's where those Weasleys stuck Montague last year," Malfoy said as he inspected the thing.

"It's the vanishing cabinet... the twin of the one at Borgin and Burkes," Theodore said. His body numb as he finally realized what it was they were to bring into the castle.

"Yes... we need to fix it."

Malfoy took the first shift in trying to fix the cabinet, and after a few more tries, he would. He hated every second of it. He hated every second he spent in the room. He hated every second he was wasting in fixing the cabinet. If he hadn't agreed... if he hadn't promised to Narcissa that he would look after Malfoy, then he could easily... no, he couldn't.

His hand trailed up to his left arm. His thumb tracing the Dark Mark. A mark that would forever be imprinted on his skin. The memory of how he got the mark came to his mind. People do remember their nightmares clearer than dreams, he thought, and that day when Voldemort gave him the mark was clear in his mind, especially the day the Dark Lord managed to enter his mind and show to him the consequences if he failed. Since then, he would return to his earlier studies that his father would have him do, Occlumency. But it wasn't just his father's lessons that he remembered, but as well as his mother's story of Prometheus as well.

Prometheus went against the gods to give the mortals fire, even though he knew he would be punished brutally for his crimes. It wasn't the story that his mother wanted him to understand, but rather Prometheus' act that brought him to his eternal suffering. Our righteous acts will always be seen as treason to the eyes of the enemies, that was what he learned from the story. In this case, he was Prometheus, and no matter what he did right now, no matter how hard he tried, he can't find a way to save himself from the suffering he was going to face once judgment comes. Once Malfoy found out about his plan. Once his friends... once Carina found out about what he was doing.