Heirs of darkness || Theodore Nott

Shattered trust(6)

Aurora stormed through the Slytherin common room, her footsteps echoing loudly against the cold stone floor. Her mind was a whirl of emotions anger, pain, and a twisted sense of triumph all battling for dominance. She had done it. She had taken Tracey Davis out of the equation, removed the obstacle that had stood between her and Theo, and yet, as she made her way to the dormitory, the victory felt hollow. The exhilaration she had expected to feel was replaced by a gnawing emptiness.

As she reached the entrance to the Slytherin dormitory, the heavy silence of the dungeons was broken by the sound of footsteps behind her. Aurora froze, her hand still on the doorknob, her breath catching in her throat. She knew who it was even before she turned around.

Theo.

He approached her with a mixture of fury and disbelief written all over his face. "What the fuck, Aurora?" His voice was low, strained with anger, yet there was an underlying tremor of something more fear.

Aurora scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest as she met his gaze. "Don't start with me, Theo."

"Don't play dumb with me," Theo snapped, his eyes flashing. "You poisoned Tracey. She's dead because of you!"

Aurora rolled her eyes, feigning indifference. "I don't even care if you fucked her."

Theo's jaw clenched, his hands balling into fists at his sides. "It sure as hell seems like you care, Aurora. You wouldn't have gone to such lengths if you didn't."

Aurora's expression hardened, her eyes narrowing as she regarded him with a mixture of contempt and sadness. "Were you obsessed with her, Theo?" she asked, her voice dripping with bitterness.

"It wasn't like that," Theo protested, his voice defensive.

"Then what was it like?" Aurora shot back, her tone challenging, daring him to explain. When he didn't respond immediately, she scoffed, turning away from him, her frustration boiling over. "I'm done with this conversation."

As she began to walk away, Theo called out her name, his voice laced with urgency. "Aurora, wait!"

She stopped, her back still to him, but she didn't turn around. "Why don't you love me anymore?" The question slipped out before she could stop it, her voice cracking with the weight of her pain. She turned around, her eyes filled with tears, the vulnerability she had been trying to hide now on full display.

Theo stared at her, his expression softening as he took in the sight of her tear-streaked face. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. How could he explain something he didn't fully understand himself? "Aurora...of course I still love you."

"No, you don't," Aurora shot back, her voice rising with anger. "You knew how much I disliked Tracey, how much it would hurt me to see you with her, and yet you went for her anyway, right after we broke up! It's like you were waiting for it all along!"

Theo shook his head, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "Aurora, you made out with Adrian Pucey in front of me! We're even! It was a bad moment for both of us."

Aurora's face twisted with rage, her hands clenching into fists at her sides. "Fuck you, Theo! Fuck you!" she spat, her voice shaking. "You act so pure and noble, like you have reasons for everything you do, but when I do it, I'm crazy, right? I'm just some manic, unstable girl who's lost her mind. But you... you're allowed to hurt me and walk away unscathed."

Theo's expression darkened, a mixture of guilt and defensiveness flashing in his eyes. "Aurora, you're not—"

"Oh, save it," she cut him off, her voice filled with venom. " "Oh, she's the Dark Lord's favorite, I guess I can't hurt her" The only reason I'm still alive is because of him. How do you think that makes me feel? I can't even trust you, Theo."

Theo's eyes softened, but there was a hardness in them that hadn't been there before. "And you think I can trust you?" he asked, his voice low. "You just killed a girl, Aurora. You took her life like it was nothing. How do you expect me to feel?"

"I killed Tracey for you!" Aurora cried, the tears spilling over once more. "I did it because I thought it would bring us back together, because I thought maybe... maybe if she was gone, you'd come back to me."

Theo's face twisted with a mixture of pain and frustration. He stepped closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. "You don't get it, do you? That's exactly why I'm scared of you, Aurora. I'm terrified of what you might do next, of who you might hurt just because you think it'll make things right between us. That's not love, Aurora. That's... that's something else entirely."

Aurora's breath hitched in her throat, the weight of his words crashing down on her. She felt a sob rise in her chest, but she fought to keep it down, her whole body trembling with the effort. "I... I did it for us, Theo," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "I thought... I thought it would make things better."

Theo shook his head slowly, the sadness in his eyes cutting her deeper than any insult ever could. "It didn't," he said simply. "It made everything worse."

Aurora's heart shattered at his words. She had been willing to do anything anything to keep Theo in her life, to make him love her the way he once did. But now, standing here, she realized she had lost him completely. Not because of Tracey, or Draco, or the Dark Lord. But because of herself.

"Please," she begged, her voice breaking. "Please don't do this, Theo."

But Theo just shook his head, his expression resolute. "Aurora... I can't... I can't do this anymore. I can't be with someone who makes me feel like I have to watch my back all the time. I'm sorry."

The words hit her like a physical blow, knocking the wind out of her lungs. She stared at him, wide-eyed, as the reality of what he was saying sank in.

She wanted to scream, to lash out, to do something anything to make the pain stop. But all she could do was stand there, her heart breaking into a million pieces as the tears streamed down her face.

Theo turned and walked away, leaving her standing alone in the cold, empty corridor.

Aurora watched him go, her vision blurred by tears. She wanted to run after him, to beg him to stay, but her legs felt like lead, her body rooted to the spot. The sound of his footsteps grew fainter and fainter, until finally, she was left in silence.

And in that silence, Aurora broke.

The sobs she had been holding back finally tore free, racking her body with their intensity. She fell to her knees, the cold stone floor unforgiving beneath her as she cried, the sound of her anguish echoing through the empty corridor.

She had lost him.

And it was all her fault.