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Tweak says, "I...LOVE...mother...!!"

Theodore Nott (theodore_or) wrote in hogwarts_or,
@ 2008-01-01 10:42:00

Theodore wakes up [hospital wing]

The first time Theodore Nott opened his eyes a ray of sunlight had just managed to sneak through the curtains and land directly on his nose. Convinced that he was still at home at the manor, the young man grumbled, then – as the offending light didn't go away – opened his eyes a slit and groggily glared at the window.

"Cinque nuovi minuti di sonno," he begged for five more minutes of sleep, turned around and buried his face in his pillow. And promptly slipped back into oblivion.

The second time Theodore opened his eyes, it was night. Outside the last fireworks greeting the new year went off and it might have been that combination of noise and light that woke the Slytherin. His eyes snapped open abruptly, leaving him wide awake and aware. With severe difficulties, Theodore calmed his breath and looked around. He was at Hogwarts. Judging from the noise outside the fighting was still going on.

Theodore paled. And he was without a wand. Frantically, the young man sat up and started searching. There was no way he was going to go down without a fight.

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dumbledore_or
2008-01-01 07:10 pm UTC (link)

Only two of them left.

Why these two boys had slept so much longer than the rest, Albus had no idea. Nor was he entirely sure why he insisted on keeping vigil until they woke. He supposed that he felt responsible for their being here, in a way. None of the children had explicitly stated he was the one who had cast the spell that sent them into the past, of course. They likely would not know. Seeing as he was one of the few living wizards capable of magic on that scale, however, Albus was almost certain he had to have been the one.

The darker-haired boy had been restless and mumbling in his sleep for a few days now. Albus hoped that meant he would be waking up soon. No sooner had the thought drifted through his mind than the boy sat upright in bed, a panicked expression on his face, his eyes darting about the room. Despite being a touch startled, he managed to compose himself enough to reassure the body.

"Calm yourself, my dear boy," he said gently. "The battle is over."

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theodore_or
2008-01-01 08:27 pm UTC (link)

That voice!

Theodore froze in mid-movement and turned to the speaker ever so slowly. This couldn't be! The young man steeled himself, mentally preparing himself to face his headmaster and yet, when his eyes settled on Dumbledore's face, Theodore couldn't suppress a gasp. "You're dead." Theodore whispered, his voice hoarse and unfamiliar from lack of use.

And yet, there the headmaster sat, being anything but dead. Theodore blinked, trying to make sense of a fact that didn't make sense. "Why aren't you dead?" he asked in an unnecessarily accusatory tone, then cleared his throat. "Not that I'm not glad you're alive but-" Theodore made a vague gesture as words apparently weren't enough to convey his surprise.

Ever so carefully the Slytherin reached out and poked Dumbledore. The headmaster was solid. Not a ghost then. "Am I...did I go crazy?" Perhaps he had and now he was talking to the walls and the pillows.

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dumbledore_or
2008-01-01 09:50 pm UTC (link)

Well, that was certainly blunt.

Dead. On the other hand, that would explain quite a bit. The power of the time travel spell, for one thing. The surprise of all the other students upon seeing him. Their suspicions that he might be a Death Eater in disguise. Now it all made sense. Surprisingly, Albus was not as devastated by the news of his death as he probably ought to have been.

"No, you have not gone crazy," he said quietly, his lips twitching as he tried not to grin too obviously, "although you may think I have soon enough." Then again, the majority of the Wizarding World already thought him a bit mad. What was one more?

[OOC: Oops! I meant boy, not body. *blushes* But I'm sure you figured that out. ;-)]

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theodore_or
2008-01-01 10:14 pm UTC (link)

Theodore leaned back on his arms. Dumbledore was an extraordinary wizard. Even Nero Nott admitted to that fact, so it was entirely possible that the headmaster had found a way to cheat death. Theodore resisted the urge to poke Dumbledore again just to make sure.

On the other hand, Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling again in that mischievous way only the headmaster seemed to be able to pull of. Theodore frowned, unsure of what to think. "I'm not dead either, right? Because if this is the afterworld or anything equally ridiculous and we start off by you pulling my wand - I'm not amused!" Unfortunately, his weak voice deluded the stern impression Theodore intended to give his words.

Beside, he thought with a wry smile, he already thought Dumbledore mad. He should be prepared for anything the headmaster would confront him with. He thought.

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dumbledore_or
2008-01-02 12:14 am UTC (link)

"No, you aren't dead," Albus answered, smiling again, "and this is not the afterworld, but I do fear things are a bit different than how you remember." He took a deep breath, clasping his hands in his lap. "You and eleven of your peers--" He nodded at the red-headed boy at the other end of the ward. "--have been transported to 1975. The year 1975, that is. Or, rather, 1976 -- since it is now just after midnight on New Year's Eve. So, allow me to be the first to wish you a Happy New Year, as well." He stated all of this matter-of-factly, although he fully expected the boy to argue.

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theodore_or
2008-01-02 09:38 pm UTC (link)

"Happy New - what?!?" The last word definitely came out an octave too high. Theodore looked around frantically and shook his head. "No. No."

He closed his eyes for a moment, thoughts swirling through his head far too quickly to follow. In fact, Theodore felt dizzy, trying to wrap his head around it. "That's impossible," he finally whispered. "How? I mean, I'm not born - not even planned in 1976." Theodore never noticed how he started hyperventilating at the mere thought.

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dumbledore_or
2008-01-02 10:29 pm UTC (link)

"Impossible?" Albus answered, smiling. "Alas, no, although I would have to agree that it was highly improbable. As far as these things go, however, before one is -- as you say -- planned, is rather one of the better times in the past to visit. One is far less likely to inadvertently kill one's past self that way." He neglected to add that one could, of course, accidentally keep one's self from being born, but that was a much less dramatic and violent end, and so he did not feel that it necessarily required comment.

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theodore_or
2008-01-08 08:00 pm UTC (link)

Theodore blinked, clutching the bed for support. "Excuse me, Headmaster," he whispered, very pale around the nose. "But thinking about this time travel thing makes me kind of nauseous."

And indeed, as the young man tried to wrap his mind around the fact that he wasn't where he was supposed to be any more, he had a distinctly sinking feeling in his stomach. "I'll try not to kill anyone," Theodore finally reassured the Headmaster.

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	dumbledore_or 2008-01-09 08:33 am UTC (link)
	"I was not exactly worried regarding that eventuality," Albus said, trying not to smile. This was, after all, serious business. "You seem to be in much poorer shape than your friends," he added, nodding toward the boy's legs. "Would you care to tell me what happened?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

theodore_or
2008-01-10 07:23 pm UTC (link)

Theodore's eyes followed Dumbledore's gaze and the Slytherin found himself blushing in embarrassment. "I was..." He made a face and started fidgeting. He was barely ready to admit to himself that things between his father and himself had escalated that quickly and that violently and saying it out loud? Theodore sighed. Admitting it to Dumbledore might even be a good thing.

"Headmaster, I trust this will stay between the two of us." Theodore finally said very quietly. "My father was...is...is going to be a Death Eater and everyone assumed I was going to follow his lead." He took a deep breath. "The short story is that I didn't. I fought on your side, he didn't take it too well, disinherited me and tried to kill me but botched the thing up and merely hit me with a curse that caused an atrophy of the muscles in my legs." A curse that would have killed him if he hadn't ducked in time, though.

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dumbledore_or
2008-01-11 05:47 pm UTC (link)

"I see," Albus said, frowning with concern. Certain as he was that Poppy could deal with mending the boy's legs, the non-physical wounds this boy had suffered were no doubt much more traumatic. "Your secret is safe with me, m'boy." He frowned again, however, as another problem occurred to him. "I do hope you will forgive me, but I feel compelled to ask: if everyone believe you were going to follow in your father's footsteps, then am I to take it that your fellow Slytherins were not exactly pleased with your choice?"

Of course, he ought not to simply assume that if the boy was 'destined' to be a Death Eater, he must be a Slytherin, although given his past experience, it did seem more likely than not. Then again, if this conversation had taken place before Christmas dinner, he probably would never have doubted himself jumping to that conclusion. So, even this old dog was capable of learning a new trick or two.

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