Heirs of darkness || Theodore Nott

Dark pledges(6)

Aurora sat alone by the Slytherin common room fireplace, her gaze fixed on the flickering flames. The warmth did nothing to chase away the cold emptiness in her chest. Everything was falling apart: Theo, Draco, their entire world. The plans they had made, the promises they had whispered in the dark, all seemed like distant memories now. Draco had been shutting everyone out, and it was tearing their fragile alliance to pieces.

Lost in her thoughts, Aurora didn't notice Theo until he was standing right in front of her. His presence startled her out of her reverie, and she looked up, meeting his eyes with a mixture of surprise and wariness.

"We need to talk," Theo said, his voice tense but soft, as if he was trying not to break the brittle peace between them.

Aurora didn't say anything, just nodded and followed him out of the common room and down the dimly lit corridors to the Prefects' room. As they approached, she noticed the door was slightly ajar, and a familiar figure was inside, hunched over a book he wasn't really reading.

Draco.

Theo pushed the door open and walked in, with Aurora following close behind. The tension in the room was palpable, a silent storm ready to break at any moment.

"What the hell are you doing, Draco?" Theo demanded, his voice low but intense. "Why are you shutting us out? We're supposed to be in this together."

Draco didn't look up from the book, his irritation clear in the way his shoulders tensed at Theo's words. "I'm trying to survive, Theo. That's what I'm doing."

Theo clenched his fists, struggling to keep his voice steady. "We're all trying to survive, Draco. But you're acting like you're the only one with something to lose."

Aurora had been standing near the fireplace, watching the exchange with growing frustration. She couldn't stay silent any longer. Stepping forward, she fixed Draco with a cold, determined stare. "If you'd let me do what I said, Draco, we'd be in the clear by now. We're running out of time, and I'm not about to let us be the ones who get crushed in the crossfire."

Draco finally looked up, his grey eyes flashing with irritation and something else—something darker, more resigned. He laughed bitterly, a hollow sound that echoed in the dimly lit room. "Easy for you to say, Aurora. You've got everything the dragon, the wandless power, all these abilities that no one else has. You've got the Dark Lord's favor. What do I have? Nothing."

Aurora's temper flared at his words, the accusation in his tone striking a nerve. She stepped closer to him, her voice shaking with barely controlled emotion. "Nothing? You have nothing? I have nothing!" Her voice was sharp, laced with a bitterness that made Theo wince. "At least you've got a lovely girlfriend. Theo won't even talk to me anymore. You've got a family a loving mother and father. The only family I had was Walburga, who treated me horribly. Now she's dead too. My mother and father were killed by Death Eaters who attend those meetings every day."

Theo's eyes widened in shock at her words, and for a moment, the tension between them froze, the weight of her confession hanging in the air. He had always thought of Aurora as someone who had it all together, who was favored by fate despite their dire circumstances. But now, he realized how wrong he had been.

Aurora continued, her voice breaking slightly. "You think it's easy for me to sit there, surrounded by Death Eaters, pretending that I'm one of them? Pretending that I don't want to hex Bellatrix into oblivion every time I see her?"

Theo stared at her, his mind reeling from the revelation. He had always assumed Aurora hated her father, that her bitterness toward him was rooted in a long history of resentment. But now, he realized that there was more to her than he had ever understood.

"You hated him," Theo said quietly, trying to make sense of it. "I thought you hated your father."

Aurora shook her head, the anger in her eyes replaced by a deep sadness. "I thought I did too. But last winter, I was with him." Aurora's voice broke as she continued, her grief and anger spilling over. "He promised me that he was going to be here, that we'd get through this together. Well, where is he now?!"

Theo and Draco both stood silent, guilt gnawing at them. They had seen Aurora as someone who always had everything under control, someone who was strong enough to handle anything that came her way. But now, they realized just how much she had been hiding, how deeply she had been hurting.

"I didn't know," Draco said finally, his voice barely above a whisper. "I didn't know it was like that for you."

Aurora gave a small, bitter smile. "None of us really knows what the others are going through, do we? We're all too wrapped up in our own nightmares." Her gaze drifted to Theo, the unspoken tension between them filling the room.

Draco shifted uncomfortably, feeling the weight of the unspoken words between Aurora and Theo. He knew when it was time to leave. "I... I'll leave you two to talk," he muttered, quickly gathering his things and slipping out of the room, leaving them alone.

Silence filled the space after Draco's departure, heavy and suffocating. Aurora stared into the fireplace, her arms wrapped around herself as if trying to hold herself together.

Theo broke the silence first, his voice soft and hesitant. "Aurora... I love you."

Aurora's heart clenched at his words, but she forced herself to remain calm. She turned to face him, her expression guarded. "You don't love me, Theo. If you did, you wouldn't have made me feel like I wasn't enough."

Theo took a deep breath, stepping closer to her. "I'm sorry. I was scared, Aurora. Scared of what you were becoming. But that doesn't mean I stopped loving you. I've been a fool, and I know that now."

Aurora's eyes glistened with unshed tears. "You made me feel bad for being myself, Theo. You made me feel like I was too much, too dark... like I was a monster."

Theo dropped to his knees in front of her, his hands gripping her legs as if she was the only thing anchoring him to the world. "Please, Aurora. Forgive me. I was wrong, I was so wrong. We belong together, no matter what. I see that now. Please, just give me another chance."

Aurora looked down at him, her emotions a turbulent mix of anger, pain, and a deep, abiding love. She wanted to believe him, wanted to trust him again. But the wounds were still fresh, and she wasn't sure if she could let them heal so easily.

"If you want another chance, Theo, you're going to have to prove it," she said, her voice firm but tinged with the vulnerability she rarely allowed herself to show.

Theo nodded, determination lighting up his eyes. "I will. I promise."

Aurora didn't respond, just turned away from him, letting him leave the room with the weight of his promise hanging between them.