mind over matter - theodore nott

40. silence

SILENCE

Draco hadn't spoken to Florence since they had their meeting in the corridor. Not that he ever did, anyway. They weren't that close, but they were close enough for Florence to know he wasn't doing so good. Even though almost everyone who laid an eye on Draco before and then after sixth year started could tell he wasn't a hundred percent okay.

In the gloomy, dimly-lit common room in the dungeons of Hogwarts which was home to the Slytherins, sat Florence Mortimer and Blaise Zabini on the round table, along with a few other students who were irrelevant to them both, being in the years below and the two sixth year Slytherins not even knowing their last names, never mind their first.

They were both waiting for Theodore and Draco, who had suspiciously been out god knows where ever since that day of school ended. Of course, Florence and Blaise both knew partly why they were never with them anymore, but they didn't want to bother them too much about it seen as though the whole scheme they were playing off was already a hell of a lot to deal with.

"Hey, Flo, can I ask you a question?" Blaise broke the silence and Florence's attention immediately darted to him, allowing him to speak.

"What's up?" The brunette asked, locking eyes with Blaise as he leant back in his chair and looked deep in thought whilst he began to speak again.

"Does Theo ever... You know- Talk to you? About that thing? I know you two are very close now so I just wondered if you knew anything I didn't," Blaise went on, "But if you do and he doesn't want me to know, that's fine. I just-"

"I don't know a lot," Florence let out a small chuckle, but it didn't really read happiness at that, "I probably know just as much as you do," She assured, breaking the eye contact and looks down at her lap, nervously beginning to pick on the loose threads on the ends of the sleeves of her dark grey, knitted jumper that she found herself wearing more often than not recently. That jumper was like her comfort jumper.

Blaise took a moment to answer and leaned forward onto the table, resting his arms crossed in front of him as his eyes flickered from person to person, trying to piece together his thoughts like they were a puzzle he just could not put together. "You know," He said after a short while, looking down at his arms before turning his head towards Florence, who sat to his right, eyes still locked to her lap. "He really does love you,"

Florence fully-earned attention was attracted by this statement, forcing her to shoot her head up to look at her friend. Blaise took her silence as an opportunity to analyse his words, a small, genuine smile appearing on his face as he locked eyes with the hopeful yet confused girl. "Even though he may not have said it, he does. You gotta know, with him... love... it's not really something he understands. You probably already know that seen as though you two aren't such strangers anymore but, he needs you the most at this time. He's going through an awful lot and he just needs someone there for him, that will love him no matter what, but in his mind, he doesn't really believe it's possible for him to be loved, but he seriously needs you the most even if he's confused,"

Blaise's words stuck to Florence as if they were both magnets that could never seem to let the other go, the force refusing to break. She knew Theo had a hell of a rough time growing up. Especially, due to the fact that he lost the first and only person who ever loved him at such a young age, before he could even begin to describe what love was.

But that could've been done at any time of age in his life that he has already lived. If she had died in that very moment Blaise and Florence were sitting in, she still would've died before Theo could describe what love truly was.