Blaise Alexandros Mordred Zabini (widows_child) wrote in unforeseen_rpg, @ 2007-09-22 14:39:00 |
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Entry tags: | blaise, flashback, qas, theo |
Rescued from Nott Manor (Flashback)
Who: Blaise Zabini, Theo Nott
Where: Nott Estate
When: May 22nd 1998, late afternoon (Flashback)
What: Blaise worries when Theo doesn’t come back on time and goes to find him; A house-elf gets a name.
Notes: Lots and lots of angst. Set a few hours after this flashback here. Queer As Slytherin, folks.
Status: Complete
~ ~ ~
Blaise was worried. It had been several hours past the time that Theo had promised to return to Hogwarts from Nott Manor, with no word at all. Blaise had known he should have insisted upon going with him, but Theo had been so adamant about needing to do this on his own. Cursing a little, Blaise decided it was time to take matters into his own hands.
Taking up wand and donning a travelling cloak, he made his way out of the dungeons and up to the front gates of the school. Luckily he'd made Theo tell him exactly where the Manor was before he left, as a precaution. It seemed that it had been more than prudent. Fixing the location in his mind, he stepped into nothing and emerged a bit shakily in front of the gate of the rambling old Manor.
The Nott estate was old and it showed; the vaulting gables and chimneys of the ancient manse were crumbling and covered in masses of ivy, and the cobbled walkway to the front doors was overgrown with weeds. Clearly Nott Sr. had not cared about appearances. The woods of the estate were crowding close to the house, giving the place a cloistered, ominous air. There was no sign of life at all. Warily, Blaise muttered a few protection wards on himself and carefully made his way to the front door.
A slight touch was all it took to push them open; it seemed as though Theo had taken down whatever guardian magicks had been holding them during the family's absence. The inside of the place was even worse than the out - books and papers lying haphazardly about, dust everywhere. Again, no life at all.
"Theo!" Blaise called out, raising his wand and lighting it silently. "Theo! It's Blaise! Where are you?"
When no answer came to him, Blaise felt his heart skip a bit. He advanced further into the house, his wand kept at the ready and illuminating his path. The corridors reminded him of the deeper dungeons in the castle, dark and dank like caverns. The carpeting and wall hangings did nothing to change the feel of the place, and it served only to heighten the sense that the house was closing in around him. It was nothing like Zabini Manor, which was open, airy and beautiful, and always sparkling clean.
"Theo?" he called again, a little more desperately. If something had happened, he'd never forgive himself for not going with him.
The elf, who had been sitting in the same spot for nearly four hours, long fingers covering its eyes in fear, pricked up it's ears, hearing a noise. It glanced worriedly at Young Master, still not daring to disobey his order and move. Master may have been gone for a while, but his punishments were still fresh in his mind. It glanced again at Young Master and then back in the direction the new voice had come from. "Hello?" it called out quietly, pulling nervously on it's long ears.
A voice! It wasn't Theo's, but it certainly didn't sound like Nott Sr.'s either. In fact, the high and nasally tones probably meant a house-elf, which was good news, Blaise hoped. "Where are you?" Blaise called out. "I'm looking for Theo Nott Jr.!"
The elf shook his head, covering his eyes again. "He's here... the basement," it called, slightly muffled, fear filling his voice. It didn't know whether Theo was dead or alive, and it was too dark to check.
Quickly following the sound of the voice, Blaise found the stairs down into the lower level, and the light from his wand fell over the huddled form of the elf sitting next to a crumpled Theo. Silently, Blaise fell to his knees next to Theo and checked his pulse. Thank Merlin, he was alive. Just unconscious. Biting back a small sob of relief, he looked over at the elf. "What happened?" he rasped quietly, his voice harsh with restrained emotion.
The elf blinked in the light. It studied Blaise. "He... he c-collapsed," it stammered.
"That's blatantly obvious," hissed Blaise caustically. "Do you know why?"
The elf shuddered at the new man's harsh tone. "N-no, sir," it squeaked, terrified.
Blaise let out a short breath in frustration, running his hand through his hair. He could try to Ennervate Theo, but he wasn't sure what had caused the boy to collapse. Not to mention that down here in this prison-like basement would not be the best place to wake up. The elf seemed less than useless in telling him anything. "We need to get him out of here," Blaise decided aloud. "I need you to help me take him back to the upper levels."
The elf shook his head. "Can't move," it muttered, squeezing it's eyes shut. It knew terrible things would happen if he disobeyed this order, any order. "Young Master... ordered..."
"For the love of Merlin," muttered Blaise. "Look, if you don't move, your Young Master will die. You will receive far worse punishment for that than for disobeying an order to help him when his closest friend is ordering you to. He will not punish you for doing as I tell you, do you understand?"
The elf slowly looked up at Blaise. It stared at him for a while, considering. It nodded ever so slightly, and stood up cautiously, wincing. It was surprised to find it wasn't immediately punished, and again glanced up at Blaise. "What... what should I do, sir?" it asked, a new level of respect in it's voice.
"Are you strong enough to apparate with him outside?" asked Blaise, elated at this small victory over the sensibilities of a house-elf. "I want to take him into the open air."
The elf paused for a moment, testing his strength. "Yes, sir," it decided. "Shall I take him out now, sir?"
"Yes. Then you will wait for me there, and I'll give you more instructions." Blaise smoothed Theo's hair away from his face gently, relieved that the boy was once again in his possession. He'd be able to take care of him again, now. Nodding at the elf, he began ascending back out of the basement again.
The elf nodded, pleased it finally had someone to take orders from again. It has been helpless these past few months, not knowing what to do now Master had gone; scared and alone. It grabbed Theo's hand and concentrated, disappearing and reappearing outside with a sharp crack. It looked around, and snapped its fingers. Grabbing the blanket that had appeared there, it laid it out on the hard ground and pulled Theo onto it. It snapped it's fingers again and put the second blanket atop Theo, in order to keep him warm. It then sat down on the ground, and waited for the man to arrive.
Elated but still concerned for Theo's well-being, Blaise moved as swiftly as was safe through the Manor, relieved when he finally emerged back into the sunlight and fresh air outside. Theo was lying wrapped in blankets with the elf sitting next to him, looking at him expectantly. "Good," Blaise said. "Now, you need to tell me exactly what happened before he collapsed. I need to understand why so I can know how to help him. Tell me whatever you can."
The elf nodded, and thought back. "He... he came into room," it started. "And saw me and started... muttering, moaning; holding his head. Scared, maybe. I don't know why, though, sir." It looked up at Blaise, worried. "And then Young Master collapsed on the floor."
Odd, Blaise reflected. From the elf's story, it seemed as though Theo had actually been afraid of the elf. But that was silly! Elves were nothing to be afraid of, they were completely obedient creatures who loved their wizard charges. Moopsy had been taking care of him for as long as he could remember. Hopefully this confirmed that it had not been magic that had overwhelmed Theo. "Alright," Blaise said after thinking for a moment. "I'm going to try to revive him. It would be best if you waited over near the door, so as not to startle him when he awakes, alright?"
The elf nodded and stood up, edging around Blaise and walking to the door. He sat down carefully and waited.
Placing the tip of his wand on Theo's forehead, Blaise murmured very softly, "Ennervate," and waited for Theo to rouse.
Theo's eyes snapped open and he scrambled backwards with a shout. He looked around wildly before his eyes settled on Blaise and he relaxed. "Blaise," he whispered. "Oh, thank Merlin." Looking around, Theo looked down at the blanket he was on. "Where are we?" he asked quietly.
Blaise drew close to Theo, claiming the boy's hand with his own. "Outside your Manor," he explained. "You were late coming home to me, so I came to find you. You were unconscious down in the basement. Your house elf helped me get you outside."
"Unconscious?" Theo frowned. "Elf?" He shook his head, squeezing Blaise's hand. "What happened to me?" He looked down at himself, studying the cut on his hand; the rip in his shirt. "How long was I out? Do you know?" he asked, meeting Blaise's eyes.
"I'm not sure," Blaise answered. "I just found you collapsed with the elf shivering next to you." He indicated the nervous creature waiting near the door.
Theo looked over at the elf and his eyes widened. Everything came rushing back to him: the library, the basement, the elf, the memories. Squeezing his eyes shut, he doubled over. "Shit," he whispered. Theo felt like he was going to be sick. He desperately tried to think of other things, instead of focusing on the memories.
"Theo?" cried Blaise in concern as the boy began to panic. He reached out and pulled him close, turning his face up to look him in the eye. "Theo it's alright, I'm here. It's alright."
Theo looked up at Blaise, focusing on his face to take his mind of his memories. Cold floor, dark basement. Alone, all alone. No, I'm not alone, thought Theo frantically. I have Blaise. Bleeding; so much pain. No... Theo gripped Blaise's shirt, closing his eyes. So empty... Theo took a deep breath, shaking his head. That night flashed before his eyes. So much pain yet so little tears. Why was that? He willed the scene away, clawing at Blaise; clawing as in an attempt to hold onto reality, to keep himself from falling over the edge.
Helplessly, Blaise let Theo's fingers scrabble at him, just holding him close and willing the boy's pain to wash away. How could he fight this for him, how could he work against an enemy that was so clearly inside Theo's mind? "I'm here," he whispered again. "It's just me."
Theo felt Blaise words penetrate the shield that seemed to have been put up about him, cutting him off from the real world. He latched onto them, as if they were life rings and he was drowning at sea. That's how it felt. He was drowning; asphyxiated. Drowning in his memories. But Blaise was reeling him back in and he breathed slightly easier, focusing on Blaise, filling his mind with Blaise, nothing else.
"Theo, my Theo," murmured Blaise, his fingers caressing his lover softly. Sometimes this was all too much, too overwhelming for him. He didn't understand where such anguish and pain came from inside Theo or Draco. He did not understand the horrors that they had gone through, or how they lived afterwards. All he wanted was to just be with them, to move forward happily like they had done before everything had gone so wrong. "Come back to me, Theo," he said softly.
Theo breathed easier, Blaise's voice calming him. He sat like that for a long moment until he felt strong enough to talk. Looking up at Blaise, he whispered, "Thank you. For everything."
Saying nothing, Blaise just brushed a kiss over Theo's cheek and hugged him close. After a moment like that, he relaxed a little and met Theo's gaze again. "We don't need to talk about it now, but we probably should later. Do you want to go home?"
Theo nodded. "Yes." He leaned into Blaise. "What about the... e-elf?"
"I'll take care of it," whispered Blaise. "Wait here a moment." He gently disentangled himself from Theo and let the boy rest on the blanket. Coming over to the elf, Blaise looked down at it and assumed a look of gentle dominance on his face, as Mother had taught him. The best way to deal with elves was to be firm but kindly mild; it engendered total obedience and loyalty in them. "What is your name?" he asked.
The elf looked up at Blaise. It had been watching the scene before him with a certain amount of concerned interest and confusion. "Master never used names, sir," it squeaked.
That surprised Blaise. He'd always thought that names were just something that elves had; he'd never thought about where they got them from. "Well, that is going to change," he said firmly. "Your name is now... Flipsy," he improvised, secretly amused at the silly sounding name, but keeping his face very serious as he regarded the elf.
The elf frowned, getting used to the idea. "Alright, sir," Flipsy said warily.
"I have a task for you, Flipsy," continued Blaise. "I am taking your young Master home with me. He is unwell and needs my care. But he needs your help as well. He needs you to gather up all of his personal possessions and up to five hundred Galleons' worth of furnishings from the Manor, pack them neatly, and then take them to Zabini Manor in Somerset. When you arrive you ask for my elf, Moopsy, and tell her that Master Blaise sent you, and you're to stay with her until Master Theo and I come for you. Do you understand?"
Flipsy brightened, pleased with the prospect of having a job to do. He nodded. "I shall do it straight away, sir." He bowed and disappeared with a crack.
Blaise was pleased that the elf had so quickly acceded to his authority. When he and Theo returned to Hogwarts he would write an owl to Mother explaining what he'd done. It would be better to keep the elf away from the Nott Estate until things were a little more stable with the Ministry. Turning back to Theo, he smiled broadly and knelt down next to him. Picking up the wand that Flipsy had brought up from the basement with them, he pressed it into Theo's hand. "All better now," he said.
Theo rolled the wand around his fingers. "No," he said. "But I'll be fine for now." He stood up and gripped Blaise's hand. "Let's just go," he muttered, running a hand through his hair wearily.
“Alright,” agreed Blaise, pulling Theo close to his side and fixing Hogwarts in his mind. There’d be time to figure this all out later. For now, he wanted to get Theo home to Slytherin.