Shadow of the Prophecy

Ch. 12 - Hope That You're Good to Me

Theodore Sallow

November of 7th Year

Theo is already looking for Helena when he hears the news of a boy turning up in the infirmary. At first he isn't sure he believes it - he has seen so little of her the past week; he finds it hard to believe she would cease hiding just to attack another student. Still, if the rumors are true, there is a very distinct letter carved into the boy's face, and the boy's name is one he recognizes as the boy who had taken Helena on a date. He is already frustrated with her, but these new pieces of information slide him straight over into furious.

He knows that he forgot himself on the quidditch pitch; the thrill of beating Gryffindor two straight years in a row made him reckless. Though Theo doesn't regret the kiss, if he had known it would upset her, he would have readily and furtively apologized. The display was public, and Helena has held on tightly to the idea of their friendship no matter how earnest he has made his attempts to court her. It had not been the time or place for what he had done. Still, there was no taking it back, and she has avoided him instead of giving him a chance to explain.

Now, there is a boy from his house in the infirmary. He tries very hard not to think about why that might be. His blood boils as he checks all the usual places, and he does his best to breathe through it and keep it from spilling over and into the open air.

The darkness has been a problem since Nott, and Theo had made the discovery over the summer that other people can feel it. It had surfaced each time Solomon had gotten under his skin, and it had disturbed him how very close he had come to the same level of violence against one of his own family; what it could mean if he ever had a family of his own; if Theo ever did prove worthy of Helena's affections and love after botching things so spectacularly last year.

Before, the darkness had always just felt like heat in his blood. But as Anne had told him: where there is fire, there is usually smoke.

She had been the one to bring it up to him, a few days into Theo avoiding Solomon by milling about London in his sister's absence while she worked. He had come a little too close to throttling Solomon when Solomon had torn apart their father's study - Theo's study - looking for something. That space was Theo's now, he had earned it with all that he had suffered, and he'd had to leave the house in a hurry when he realized the atmosphere was so thick that even he could scarcely breathe. Theo isn't sure how Anne had known, but she had intercepted him in the garden. She had been able to feel it, but she had not been frightened. Instead, to his surprise, she had comforted him.

It was something their entire family had, she had explained, tucked in some dark recess. A powerful tool to use for destruction or to protect that which is most important. A force that could make the Sallows terrible wolves or fierce sheepdogs. The choice had always been up to them, and even the worst of the Sallows had opted for defense. There was some comfort in that, Theo supposed - no matter how dark any of them became, there was always a pull towards the light, if not towards love.

Theo had spent all summer on the training regimen Anne had given him to work on storing it away; shaping and honing darkness into something usable when it was necessary and wanted only; like a hidden blade ready at the press of a switch. It had been difficult and had required a lot of discipline and self-introspection, on top of all the other duties he'd picked up from his father. Still, Theo had mostly managed it. Except, it seemed, where Helena was concerned.

He'd felt it fan to flame in the great hall, when Basil had told him that Helena had a date, and again the day after on the pitch. Theo had felt it curling and twisting, pressing outward, and he'd had to quit the space as fast as possible to keep it in check.