Heirs of darkness

Stranger(6)

Theo sat on the edge of his bed, the familiar surroundings of his prefect room doing little to calm his nerves. The fire crackled softly in the hearth, casting flickering shadows across the walls, but it was Aurora's presence that commanded the room. She sat across from him, her face partially obscured by the low light, yet the tension in her posture was unmistakable. Theo's eyes flicked to her hands, noticing the way she absentmindedly picked at the skin around her fingers a habit he'd seen her do only when she was deeply troubled.

He was about to ask her what was on her mind when she spoke, her voice breaking the silence like a knife. "Theo, we need to talk."

Theo straightened, feeling a knot form in his stomach. He knew that tone, the one she used when she had been thinking too much, when her thoughts had spiraled into dark places. He didn't interrupt, though every instinct told him that whatever she was about to say would change everything.

"If Draco doesn't want to include us in his plan, fine. But we need to come up with something on our own," she said, her words sharp, decisive. She paused, glancing at him as if gauging his reaction before continuing. "I've been thinking... We need to act. If Draco fails... If he can't do it... We need to have a plan to kill Dumbledore ourselves."

The words hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. Theo felt his blood run cold. She spoke of murder so casually, as if it were just another strategy in their fight for survival. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He just stared at her, trying to reconcile the girl he had once known with the person sitting before him.

"And I want you with me, Theo," Aurora continued, her eyes searching his. "We've always done everything together. This... this shouldn't be any different."

Theo remained silent, his mind racing. Aurora mistook his silence for reluctance, and she quickly added, "If you won't like it, we can come up with something else. I'm open to ideas, really, but we need to do something. We can't just sit here and wait for everything to fall apart."

"Aurora, would you listen to yourself?" Theo finally said, his voice trembling with a mixture of disbelief and anger.

Aurora blinked, clearly taken aback by his tone. "What do you mean?" she asked, confusion flickering across her face.

But before he could respond, she was already explaining another plan, her words spilling out in a frantic rush. Theo could hardly keep up. It wasn't just the words, though it was the way she spoke them, the way her eyes gleamed with a determination that bordered on madness. When she finished, she looked at him expectantly, her breathing slightly ragged.

"Do you understand?" she asked, her voice softer now, almost pleading.

"I wish I did. I wish I could reach out and touch the part of you that had once been kind, the part of you that had once been my Aurora. But that part of you seems so far away now, buried beneath layers of anger, fear, and desperation," Theo admitted.

Aurora flinched as if he had struck her. "I'm still the same girl I was," she insisted, though there was a tremor in her voice that betrayed her uncertainty.

Theo scoffed, shaking his head. "No, you're not. And I don't think I can be in this relationship anymore."

Her reaction was immediate, visceral. She looked at him with wide eyes, the color draining from her face as if he had just pulled the ground out from under her. "What are you saying?" she whispered, her voice laced with hurt and disbelief. "No one will ever love you like I do, Theo."

Theo couldn't help but laugh, though there was no humor in it. "You have this image of yourself," he said, his voice low and bitter. "You think you're so fucking sweet and innocent, but it's all bullshit. If you were really a good person, you wouldn't join the Dark Lord."

Aurora's eyes narrowed, a harsh chuckle escaping her lips. "Don't you dare judge me, Theo. You're a Death Eater too."

"That's a comfort to nobody but you," Theo snapped, his frustration bubbling over. "Besides, you enjoy it."

"I do what I have to do to protect myself. To protect my friends," Aurora shot back, her voice rising in defiance.

Theo shook his head, his expression filled with disappointment. "No, Aurora. You're doing this for yourself. You don't care about anyone but yourself."

She stared at him, her breath coming in short, sharp bursts. "You know what you don't realize, Theo? I don't care what happens to me. I don't care what the Dark Lord does to me."

Theo felt a wave of despair wash over him. "Right. The Dark Lord is crazy, which you can't seem to fucking comprehend."

Aurora's eyes darkened, a cold smile curving her lips. "No, Theo. You don't understand. I'm crazier."

Theo's heart twisted painfully in his chest. This was the girl he had once loved, the girl he had sworn to protect, and now she was slipping further and further away from him, into a darkness he couldn't follow. "That's not something to be fucking proud of, Aurora."

"No," she said, her voice dropping to a whisper, "but it is something you should be scared of."

Theo felt something inside him snap. "What the fuck, Aurora? This... this is why I can't be in this relationship anymore. My father was right about you. You're a bitch."

The slap was sudden, sharp, and stinging. Theo's head snapped to the side, but he didn't retaliate. He just stood there, breathing heavily, his cheek burning from the impact. Aurora's hand trembled as she looked at him with wild eyes.

"Go on, hit me," she dared, her voice shaking with anger and desperation.

But Theo didn't. He couldn't. Instead, he let go of her arm, stepping back as if the very sight of her was too much to bear. "We're done," he said, his voice hollow. "You should leave."

Aurora stared at him, her eyes wide and uncomprehending. "Theo—"

"Leave, Aurora," he repeated, his voice a mere whisper now. "We're done."

For a moment, she just stood there, her breath coming in ragged gasps as she tried to process his words. But then something in her seemed to break. Without another word, she turned and stormed out of the room, the door slamming shut behind her with a deafening finality.

Theo stood there for a long time, the silence of the room pressing in on him from all sides. The fire in the hearth had died down to embers, casting the room in a dim, fading light. He stared at the door she had just walked through, feeling the weight of what had just happened settle over him like a heavy, suffocating blanket.

Aurora was gone, and with her, any hope he had of saving her from the darkness she had embraced. And as he stood there, alone in the quiet of his room, Theo couldn't help but wonder if there had ever been a chance to save her at all.