In Too Deep (Blairon)

Only One

The silence in the room was so evident it made everybody uncomfortable. Except for the Mer of course. Theodore was sat on the couch, his hands handcuffed together. He was marveling at the ragged red couch as if it were a spaceship, poking and stroking it like a four year old would do to a dog. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Draco all sat opposite him. All tense and all at a loss as to what to say. Ron cleared his throat a little, attracting the attention of his friends. But not the Mer. "Theodore?" He called and the man frowned as he prodded at the couch. "It's Theo," he stated flatly and Ron squirmed where he sat, uncomfortable.  "Coruscare means blaze in Latin," Harry said and Theo sighed. "I know," he said, clearly unknowing of where they were going with this interrogation. "Do you know anyone with that name?" Draco asked and Theo scoffed, now marveling at Draco's car keys that he had somehow acquired from the blonde's pocket. "With what name?" He asked blankly and Ron groaned silently. "Blaise," Hermione said loudly and Theo cocked an eyebrow. "Who's Blaise?"

"I can't do this," Ron dead panned, extremely irritated. The four of them had retreated to his bedroom to figure out how they were even supposed to get a straight answer from the Mer. "He's definitely playing with us," Harry said and Draco shook his head. "But what if he isn't? The word blaze is still an ordinary word unless spelt differently. He might not even know the Blaise that we know at all !" He said, running a hand through his soft, platinum hair. "He thinks this is a game," Hermione said quietly and everyone turned to her. "If he does know who Blaise is, he doesn't want us to know. He's either trying to protect him or he's just having fun," she said and Ron thought for a long time. She was right. "Just, let me talk to him?" She asked the the three boys nodded before the four of them left Ron's bedroom and returned to the living room where they found the Mer sitting upside down, his legs hanging over the back of the comfortable red chair. "Theodore-" she started and Theo tutted, frowning. Which upside down looked like he were smiling weirdly. "Sorry. Theo. You are a Merman yes?" She asked and Theo rolled his eyes. "Mer. I am a Mer. Most of us dismiss gender. It's a stupid ideology," he said as if it were obvious and Hermione rose an eyebrow, blinking a few times before continuing. "Do you have any pod siblings?" She asked and Theo inclined his head to the side, sitting up straight. "How do you know about pod siblings?" He asked curiously and Hermione smiled to herself. It was working. "So you do have pod siblings?" She said and Theo thought for a long time before nodding. "Where are they?" She inquired and Theo sighed. "The ocean," he said and Hermione smirked.
"This ocean?"

Theo went quiet. As if he were trying to calculate something inside his head but nothing made sense. "I-I don't know," he whispered, scratching his jaw. His ethereal ocean coloured eyes full of dispair. Suddenly, she asked a question that made Ron, Harry and Draco all shocked.

"Do you like fire, Theo?"

"Only one,"

"That was brilliant 'Mione!" Ron grinned as the four of them returned to Ron's room to deliberate. "That was amazing. At least now we know he knows who Blaise is. Now we just have to figure out why he's here and not with him and Pansy," Harry said and Hermione, Draco and Ron all nodded. "How do we do that exactly?" The ginger asked and they all went blank. Suddenly, Ron had a thought. "In the dream I had about him, I think he was looking for someone. Maybe Blaise was who he was looking for?" He suggested and they all shared glances.

"When will you let me go?" Theo asked as the four of them sat back down before him. "We'll let you go when you tell us what you were doing naked on the beach last night," Draco stated and Theo rolled his eyes, rolling around on the couch. "I was going home," he hissed and Ron rose an eyebrow. "Where is home?" He asked and Theo suddenly looked extremely sad. As if he were to cry. "Coruscare," he whispered and Ron's eyes widened. He turned to the others enough so Theo wouldn't see what he was saying. "So he was  looking for-"

There was a loud crash and Ron, Hermione, Harry and Draco all whipped their heads towards the source of the sound.

Theo had just lept through the sliding glass door.