laconic • t.nott ✓

37 ➺ knives and confessions

「 KNIVES AND CONFESSIONS 」

AFTER THE CARROWS' THREATS OF reducing their regular meals, things had somewhat stabilised at Hogwarts.

Dumbledore's Army was now subdued but perhaps that was more due to the fact that Neville Longbottom has mysteriously disappeared. On the night of their search, Theo hadn't taken the Carrows seriously - he thought that perhaps Neville was in the dorms sleeping peacefully, just like Blaise had said. Or maybe he had been injured and was keeping low in an obscure hiding place.

But when two days passed and there was still no sign of Neville, people started to accept that maybe he really had found an escape from the castle. Or maybe there was a secret place that the Carrows didn't know about. Regardless, Neville Longbottom did not reappear and Dumbledore's Army seemed to have been squashed by the loss of their two major members.

Theo longed to talk to Seamus about it but since the day he and Blaise had taken Theo to McGonagall, he hadn't had the opportunity to meet him. The Carrows' threats hung over them like a stormcloud and Theo wasn't willing to risk hurting Seamus.

With the suppression of Dumbledore's Army, it had suddenly dawned upon the entire population of Hogwarts that they were students and that they had their exams in less than a month. It didn't bother Theo as much as it did the other students. He had been consistently completing his homework as a way to keep his mind from racing, but he was still quite behind in his revisions.

Thus, he and Blaise have started to go to the library to cram some information into their heads. It wasn't very effective - their workload has piled up too high and there was far too little time. But Theo found himself caring less and less about his exams. All he wanted was to get out of Hogwarts. Nevertheless, keeping himself busy with schoolwork helped him forget about the war that was surely drawing nearer.

It was one weekend that Theo woke to an empty dormitory. The left side of his bed carried a prominent depression where Blaise had slept but there was no sign of him. The curtain around the bed had been pulled open. The other beds were empty as well.

He dragged himself to the bathroom to get fresh. When he returned, he deliberated about whether or not to go to the Great Hall or stay and wait for Blaise. Chances were he wouldn't be able to find Blaise anyway, so he decided to stay. To pass the time, he folded the blanket and pushed it toward the foot of his bed, then scattered his books around to study.

He was flipping idly through his Astronomy books when Blaise returned, a tray in hand. Although Dumbledore's Army has more or less stopped operating, there had been no improvement in their meals. The Carrows, when asked, had stated that they should be grateful that their ration wasn't being cut further.

Paying no heed to the books and parchment pieces, Blaise placed the tray squarely in the middle of his bed. Theo smiled at him from behind his Astronomy book. "You're spoiling me, Zabini."

Blaise gave the briefest of smiles. He climbed onto the bed and tucked his legs neatly underneath him. On the tray were sausages, tomatoes, and Brussels sprouts. Theo gave an extended sigh at the sight of his breakfast, but it was enough to satisfy his hunger, so he scooted closer and dug in.

The plate was empty within minutes. As Blaise set aside the tray, Theo leaned against his headboard and picked up his Astronomy book again. "So where is everyone?"

Blaise took his time to clear the table and return to the bed. "Alecto Carrow wanted us to find her knife."

Theo arched a brow. "Her knife?" The last word unwittingly came out in a whisper. He didn't have very good experiences with the knife.