Chapter Text
Please, he whispered, his voice barely holding together. Please, help me.
Narcissa’s face softened in a way he hadn’t seen since he was a boy, since the first time she had ever patched him up after a particularly cruel punishment from his father, smoothing a cloth over his bruises while pretending not to notice his tears.
She was looking at him now like he was her own blood.
Like he was Draco, standing there pleading for something she couldn’t bear to deny.
Theo watched the shimmer of unshed tears gathering in her pale blue eyes before she cleared her throat sharply, blinking them away.
Her voice was steady, but her hands trembled slightly as she stepped back. "I’ll get Draco," she said, smoothing invisible wrinkles from her robes to keep herself composed. "Meet me in the sitting room."
He nodded mutely, trying to breathe through the panic clawing up his spine.
Narcissa turned, her heels clicking softly against the stone floor as she moved toward the dining room doors. But just before she crossed the threshold, she paused, glancing back over her shoulder.
Her voice, when she spoke again, was soft but fierce, filled with a kind of burning determination that rooted Theo to the spot.
"This isn’t going to be a simple plan, Theodore," she said, her gaze locking with his, holding him together when he felt like he might fall apart. "It’s going to be agonizing."
He swallowed hard, feeling the truth of it settle deep in his bones.
"But," she continued, her voice breaking slightly at the edges, "I feel it’s the only way. And I am going to do everything in my power to help you."
Her expression softened even further, the tenderness almost undoing him completely.
"You are my son," she said simply. "And I love you. I want your happiness above all else."
Theo’s knees nearly buckled as the tears welled up again, spilling freely down his cheeks.
He nodded, chest caving in on itself with the force of it, unable to speak past the lump in his throat.
Narcissa gave him one last small, steady smile before disappearing down the hall to find Draco.
Theo stood there, alone, arms wrapped around himself as he stared at the empty doorway, wondering what other impossible thing she was about to suggest.
And how much more his heart could take.
The sitting room felt colder than it had any right to.
Theo sat hunched forward on the edge of one of the armchairs, elbows braced on his knees, his hands laced so tightly together his knuckles had gone white. His heart thudded painfully against his ribs, loud in the heavy, echoing silence.
He tried to calm his breathing, to slow the frantic pacing of his mind, but it was impossible. Every few seconds, he caught himself glancing at the doorway, stomach twisting tighter each time it remained empty.
The minutes dragged, each one heavier than the last.
He wasn’t sure how long he sat there, replaying every moment with Hermione in his mind, the way she’d smiled at him that morning, the sound of her laugh as she teased him, the way her body had trembled under his hands, and how easily it could all be taken from him.
By a dead man’s last cruel joke.
He pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes, breathing raggedly against the threat of another wave of tears.
Finally, mercifully, he heard footsteps in the hall.
Theo sat up straighter immediately, heart hammering harder as Narcissa and Draco entered the room.
Draco looked tense, his brow furrowed deeply, confusion and frustration written plainly across his face. He didn’t know the full truth yet. Didn’t understand why Theo had begged for privacy earlier.
But Narcissa, Narcissa was calm. Steeled by something sharper than fear. Purpose.
She gave Theo a look, a steady, anchoring glance that felt like a hand on his back, and moved gracefully toward the hearth, her robes whispering against the floor.
Theo swallowed hard, sitting frozen, waiting.
Narcissa turned to face him and Draco, folding her hands neatly in front of her, every inch the composed, strategic matriarch she was born to be.
"Theodore," she said softly, meeting his eyes. "We have a great deal to discuss."
Draco opened his mouth, but Narcissa lifted a hand, silencing him before he could demand answers.
"This situation is dire," she continued, voice firm but not unkind. "And the path forward will not be simple. It will be painful."
Theo nodded stiffly, his throat too tight to speak.
"But," she said, voice softening just a fraction, "I believe there is a way."
Draco looked between them, frowning harder. "A way to what, exactly?"
Narcissa’s eyes didn’t leave Theo’s.
"A way to break the contract," she said quietly. "And to protect what Theodore holds dear."
Theo’s fingers tightened around the arms of the chair, his heart thudding painfully.
Finally, finally, Narcissa moved closer, perching delicately on the edge of the chair across from him.
Her voice dropped low, serious. "But you must be prepared, Theo. What I’m about to suggest will require a level of sacrifice... and pain... that will test every part of you."
He nodded immediately, his voice rough when he finally found it.
"I'll do whatever it takes," he rasped. "Whatever it costs. I don't care. I just... I just can't lose her."
Narcissa’s expression softened, pride and sorrow flickering across her elegant features.
"Good," she said simply.
Then she folded her hands in her lap, gave him a small, almost maternal smile, and said:
"Let me tell you what we must do."
Theo could barely sit still.