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Zacharias Smith ([info]puffheir) wrote in [info]wished,
@ 2010-09-06 14:21:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:!2003: 09, gregory goyle, theodore nott, zacharias smith

Who: Zacharias Smith, Theodore Nott & Gregory Goyle.
When: September 6th. Afternoon.
Where: Greg's cottage type thing.
What: A visit.
Rating: Low?
Status: Incomplete/Closed.



It had taken some organization, what was just going to be a bit of a visit. First a discussion with Malfoy, then Snape, then Goyle, but finally it was arranged. Zacharias had Flooed to Hogsmeade, and was going to make the walk up to the school, as it had been decided that that would be the easiest way.

It was a relatively nice day out, he noticed as he walked along at a steady clip. The sun was peeking out from behind clouds, and the air was warm, although not hot like it sometimes could be in the dead of summer. Hints of fall were there, a sign of things to come in the weeks that followed.

Zacharias looked at the school as he approached it, striding along. He didn't go up to the school though but rather veered off towards the Caretaker's cottage. The grounds were relatively quiet, because students would be off in class - which was why this time of day had been closing, not long in the afternoon after classes had resumed from lunch time.

He reached the small cottage, where Theodore was now living - with Goyle, that was still an odd idea to wrap his head around - and knocked on the door.


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[info]booksmart_devil
2010-09-06 05:58 pm UTC (link)
Theo hadn't eaten lunch and was where he usually was these days, curled up in his big fluffy bed asleep.

Okay, curled up on Greg's big fluffy bed asleep; he hadn't wanted to sleep alone since he'd moved in, but he still had to at times because all he seemed to do was sleep. The lack of military organisation in the hut threw him off, so he woke up at the times when he was supposed to be showered and started stripping down, would get antsy and pace when it was the times that they'd force fed him. His system was still very much in shock and he still wasn't really eating, and so he slept.

The knock on the door woke him up though and he started awake, his hair a riot, blinking owlishly around. "Greg?!" he called out, slipped away in a nightmare for a moment and panicked.

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[info]a_reticent_git
2010-09-06 06:28 pm UTC (link)
Greg was up; he'd been up for hours and hours. The routine wasn't really set, with Theo and all. But Greg had duties he was supposed to do, so he still rose early, sneaking out of the bed to make Theo tea that he would leave by the bed. Tea with loads of sugar and cream, all to try to entice Theo to eat more. Greg had made that his mission in life: to ply Theo with enticing things to eat to fatten him up.

So far, they seemed to be settling in well enough. Theo would stir and wake at odd hours, and get restless. All Greg could think to do was get books from the Library for him, offer him good things in cups with spoons (most of it coming from the kitchen in the school) and hold him when Theo seemed to need that reassurance. It was a pretty quiet life, and suited Greg better than he'd ever dreamed.

Greg had come back to the cottage, his duties done for the day, and had been sitting in a chair near the bed, reading one of the many books that were spread out about the place. He rose, "Theo. I'm here. It might be Zach," he said as he moved out of the room, closing the door slightly. He crossed the one large living room/kitchen space and opened the door, not sure if it would indeed be Zach or a student with a request.

Greg paused, "Smith," he said and he stepped back, inviting the other man inside, "You came."

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[info]puffheir
2010-09-06 06:32 pm UTC (link)
Zacharias waited with surprising patience outside of the door. He could hear stirrings from within, enough to let him know that there was life inside. Theodore and Greg, he assumed, although it could have been an animal if they had a pet of some sort.

It was Zacharias! No students in tow. He nodded his head in greeting when the door opened to reveal Goyle on the other side. Looking older than when he had seen him last - well, that had been at the end of their Seventh Year, five years ago, so it was no wonder.

"Goyle," he replied, stepping through the doorway when he was invited in. "How are you?" He had been raised with good manners and they always came out of habit.

And then, the more important question, "How is he?"

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[info]booksmart_devil
2010-09-06 06:40 pm UTC (link)
Theo had satisfied himself that Greg was there and then looked around to make sure he was still in Greg's head.

It all seemed okay, so he curled back up on the bed, his head ducked down towards his chest with his arms up over it protectively, as though he was waiting for something to come tumbling down.

He didn't fall back to sleep but started singing something softly, more spells that he couldn't cast; he felt like half a person without his wand sometimes.

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[info]a_reticent_git
2010-09-06 06:48 pm UTC (link)
Greg paused; he had been raised with manners but just hadn't been required to use them as much as all of that. He extended his hand, in a greeting of familiarity, to shake Zach's hand should he offer it back, "I'm good. Better. Much better now," and Greg let his guard slip slightly and he smiled at Zach, a real smile.

"Theo's...well....he's better than he was. It's going to be a long journey, back from whatever hell he threw himself into. He...," and Greg lowered his voice. He didn't really want Theo to hear, "I found out that he killed his dad. In battle. That's what did this. His fucking dad. Even dead, the bastard haunts him. So, don't be alarmed if he talks some weird shit. He's...it's his way of cooping."

Greg offered this to Zach, knowing it might help soften some of the shock. Zach was Theo's friend; he'd visited him in St. Mungo's and he was here now. It was clear he cared for Theo, and Greg had to respect that.

"I can go get him, or you can visit him there?"

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[info]puffheir
2010-09-06 06:52 pm UTC (link)
Zacharias took the offered hand, and shook it. He and Goyle had never been friends back in the school days but, well, things could change, couldn't they? Theodore was important to Greg, clearly, and a friend of his, so they would become acquianted, at least.

"He deserved it?" Zacharias guessed in an equally quiet voice when presented with the news that Theodore had killed his father. Because he just didn't see Theo killing someone for no reason.

"It's no wonder he couldn't cope, not in Mungo's," he said. Theodore had seemed scared witless, and how could anyone cope when they were frightened?

"I can go see him." No need to make him less comfortable. He drifted across the room - glancing about as he did - and opened the door to the bedroom. Where he found a lump of blankets and a softly singing Theo. "Theodore?" he said quietly. "It's me. Zacharias."

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[info]booksmart_devil
2010-09-06 07:10 pm UTC (link)
The spell-songs cut off as Theo stopped singing on hearing his name, uncurling and then sitting up sleepily to sit cross-legged on the bed. He watched Zach for a just-too-long amount of time before pointing to him. "I'm Zacharias..." and back to himself. "You're Theod-dore... Sir" he stumbled on his first name, unsure on it. "Sir? You're in Greg's head to?" he asked, and just for a second there was a flash of the old Theo, a sharp searching look with a clarity there hadn't been before that came and went like a falling leaf.

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[info]a_reticent_git
2010-09-06 07:26 pm UTC (link)
Greg stood in the doorway, ever being a fretting caretaker as much as he tried not to. He didn't speak though, instead leaving the door open and turning to the kitchen to put together a bit of a tea for the three of them. There were some cakes, and custards in cups that Greg knew Theo enjoyed.

He got the kettle going, and began to assemble everything onto a tray for them, to take into the room for the three of them. He could hear the conversation going between Theo and Zach, and Greg held his breath slightly, wondering what Zack would answer to Theo's odd comments.

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[info]puffheir
2010-09-06 07:29 pm UTC (link)
"Well, I'm in Greg's house, at least," Zacharias replied. It felt strange to call Goyle 'Greg', but that was how Theo had referred to him as. He didn't want to be confusing.

He went across the room and found a chair, pulling it up, close to the bed and sitting down on it. "How are you?" he asked him, as if Theodore wasn't acting at all strange. "You look good." He didn't, in fact, but at least he didn't have a bruise on his face like he had when Zacharias had gone to visit him at St. Mungo's.

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[info]booksmart_devil
2010-09-06 07:46 pm UTC (link)
Theo watched with a careful feline-like gaze as Greg moved away, then came back into the conversation with Zach, leaning back against the wall as the boy took a seat nearby.

He tilted his head to think about the question. "Hmm the hands haven't seen him for many days." he decided. "No one has come. No thestrals." he looked a little perturbed by this but carried on. "No fingers inside. Nothing. You look like a vision through a cloudy glass."

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[info]a_reticent_git
2010-09-06 08:16 pm UTC (link)
Greg could hear Zach's inquiry and then Theo's clear voice. He shook his head wondering as he looked down at his own hands, wondering what the hell Theo was talking about. Sometimes the symbolism made sense to Greg; most of the time, it didn't.

He couldn't help but grimace slightly, hoping Zach was following along okay.

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[info]puffheir
2010-09-06 08:56 pm UTC (link)
Zacharias was not entirely sure what Theodore was on about, but the same had been true the last time he had seen him - and when they had spoken via the magical journals. So it wasn't anything new.

He wondered if the 'clouded glass' meant that he was somewhat familiar to him, in a fuzzy way. Well, that would be progress.

"No thestrals? Well, I'm sure you'll see them soon enough," he said. "I'm sure they miss you, like you miss them."

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[info]booksmart_devil
2010-09-06 09:46 pm UTC (link)
"Thestrals..." Theo echoed, a definite tone of wistfulness in his voice. He slide sideways against the wall to lie in a half curl against it, apparently too tired to remain upright anymore. He looked young and sleepy, like one of the first years just climbed out of bed.

"Dark dreams, dark against the sky, darkening, but somehow, it wasn't a terrible thing." he remarked, lifting his hand against the air like he was following something moving through it. "They haven't come back. They won't. Torn apart."

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[info]puffheir
2010-09-06 10:12 pm UTC (link)
Zacharias had the urge to smooth down Theodore's hair, and to brush his rumpled sleep clothes into some semblance of tidiness, but he kept his hands to himself.

Who was the 'they'? The thestrals, were they still talking about thestrals? It was hard to tell with Theodore, who jumped subjects like a rabbit. "The thestrals will come back," he said, making sure to clarify before he asked,

"Do you like it here?"

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[info]booksmart_devil
2010-09-07 07:05 pm UTC (link)
Theo hummed a happy little sound at Zach's reassurance that his precious thestrals would be back soon, quieting at the question.

"Hmm, Greg's head?" he asked somewhat drowsily. He yawned and stretched a little, smiling at Zach in a way that was a little too knifelike to be entirely innocent, too unadulterated to be cynical. "He says they won't come for us here. That we're safe."

He righted himself suddenly and stretched out from his place at the side of the bed to reach for Zach, and his voice when it came was hushed and wary. "Do you think we're safe? Really? Do you really think we're safe?" He was insistent, incredulous, but he relaxed again in the next moment, almost drained of the energy that had allowed him to stretch over the bed. "Big hands, big heart here, good touches, warm, good, don't have to, don't HAVE to, or eat."

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[info]puffheir
2010-09-07 07:14 pm UTC (link)
"Yes, you're safe here," Zacharias agreed with that. Even if he wasn't in Greg's head, he was in a place where he was safe.

He let Theodore reach for him, pressing out a hand to meet his halfway. "Yes, I think we're safe. You're safe, Go- Greg's safe-" It was still weird to call him that. "I'm safe. Everyone's safe here."

He was glad that Theodore felt safe, that he felt comfortable here. "You don't have to do anything you don't want," he agreed. "But don't you like to eat?"

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[info]booksmart_devil
2010-09-07 07:59 pm UTC (link)
Theo's thin, cold fingers fluttered like torn scraps over Zach's knuckles, never really curling around them as though they were something forbidden.

"He doesn't come here." he agreed before Zach's question about food.

He tried to sit up but nothing agreed with his mind so he just kind of shuffled a little before lying back down. "Nothing, nothing get's inside, nothing." he said, looking at Zach with the madness in him clear.

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[info]puffheir
2010-09-07 11:36 pm UTC (link)
Zacharias made a soft humming noise. Theo had some fear of eating, and he had no idea what that was, why that was. He couldn't possibly know. Not from just a few visits.

"But you're in Greg's head now," he reminded and he leaned forward to help prop up some pillows for Theodore to lean against, so that he would be partially sitting.

"And eating wouldn't be bad in Greg's head, right?"

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[info]booksmart_devil
2010-09-08 07:52 pm UTC (link)
Theo flinched as Zach moved to get the pillows but once they were there he curled up around them, almost keeping Zach's hand with them.

Zach's argument cleverly followed Theo's lines of thinking, but there were some things that even that same crazy logic couldn't work around. He shook his head, his voice falling into a whisper like something rusted scraping across the ground.

"Nothing's going in." he said firmly.

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[info]puffheir
2010-09-08 07:59 pm UTC (link)
Zacharias let Theodore keep a hold of his hand, if that was what he wanted. There were not many people in the world he was particularly gentle with, but Theo was a friend, and a vulnerable one at that, all soft and needy, like a kitten.

"But food is good, for being healthy," he reminded, letting his thumb slide over the back of the other's knuckles.

"And Greg would only give you good things."

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[info]booksmart_devil
2010-09-08 09:51 pm UTC (link)
Theo shuddered at Zach's touch against his knuckles - it might have been the mention of food, but the unbalanced boy drew in a slight hiss of breath and withdrew his hand gingerly, curling it up safely under one of the pillows, tucking it away out of sight, the boy now so made up of metaphor and symbolism.

"Greg is good things." Theo agreed with a slightly loose smile that faded away like chalk in the rain. "Nothing's going in." he said again. "Nothing I don't want."

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[info]puffheir
2010-09-08 09:54 pm UTC (link)
His fingers released and let Theodore take his hand back, returning his own to his lap as he sound there, slightly hunched forward. "Greg is good things." It was weird to think about Goyle like that, speak of him like that - he had always seemed nothing more than one of Draco's hulking sidekicks back in school days.

But he was doing good things. He was taking care of Theodore - cared about Theodore. So he couldn't fault him.

"Nothing you don't want," he agreed. "But maybe you'll want something. You used to like to eat. What foods did you like?"

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[info]booksmart_devil
2010-09-10 09:35 pm UTC (link)
The parts of Theo that were still, if not sane, then a little more lucid than the rest really did like Zach coming to visit him. Theo had never really cared for friends before he'd lost himself, but since then he'd lived in a world where his own company had to make do for conversations and situations; having another body around was pleasant.

Unfortunately, Theo was still very predominantly insane and something Zach said definitely triggered something inside him, because the next thing he did was try, painfully pathetic, to struggle up.

"No!" he shouted, his voice should have been aggressive but it was just desperate, and a little afraid. "No, I didn't want it, I don't want it! Ever! I NEVER WANTED IT!" He screamed now, still trying to push away but lacking the physical strength to do so.

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[info]a_reticent_git
2010-09-10 11:44 pm UTC (link)
Greg was in the kitchenette, making their tea and putting some cakes out on a plate, with two bowls of banana pudding to entice Theo. He could hear the sound of their voices, and it seemed like it was all going well. To a point, at least, from the sound of things. He felt domestic as he got out the tray, setting the steaming mugs of tea on the tray, with the sugar and cream. He was lifting it, stepping to the room when he heard that tone, that familiar panic.

He moved quickly, entering the room to catch the look on Theo's face, "So, hey. What's all the fuss about in here," he said smoothly as he set down the tray, "Theo, shshsh," he said as he moved to sit on the bed, Lnothing's going in if you don't want it to," he said, giving Zac an understanding look.

"This is his worst subject, Zach."

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[info]puffheir
2010-09-11 01:55 am UTC (link)
Zacharias's eyes flickered at the sudden out burst, but he just nodded his head. Surprisingly calm - and surprisingly patient. At least, people who didn't know him well and thought he was a giant prat (aka most of the world) would be surprised.

"Zacharias," he corrected absently, a reflex more than anything due to not liking short forms of his name before he added, "I'm beginning to notice. Just a worriesome one," he murmured. Because obviously food was necessary.

He looked to Theodore then. "No one's going to make you do anything you don't want to. You're safe here."

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[info]booksmart_devil
2010-09-11 02:58 pm UTC (link)
Theo shut his mouth when Greg came in, the smell of food making his stomach twist but the feeling of sanctuary that Greg offered something that had Theo reaching out and clinging hold of Greg for, his ragged breathing from all that exertion easing out.

He looked up warily as Zach spoke to him, nodding at what Zach said but unable to really trust that. He'd had five years doing nothing but what others wanted and his life before that was a struggle for his own freedom within the walls that his father had constructed around him; here he had a chance to be really free for the first time, but he was once again trapped, a prisoner in his own mind.

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[info]a_reticent_git
2010-09-11 05:28 pm UTC (link)
"Zacharius."

Greg repeated the name dutifully; some habits, like taking directions, were hard to break. And if Greg was anything, he was a follower for the most part, all of his life really. It didn't bother him, being corrected in his own place; he was more concerned with Theo and his state of mind.

Putting an arm around Theo's thin frame and letting his hand rest against Theo's lower back, Greg gave a small sigh before speaking in an encouraging tone, "So, how's the visit going? I thought you might like a cup of tea," he said, addressing Zach and Theo, "It's bloody brilliant of you to come over, Zacharius. Really," he said as he sat with Theo,"How are things? I guess you are working. What are you doing?" Greg asked, steering the conversation gently towardS normal things

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[info]puffheir
2010-09-11 06:52 pm UTC (link)
"Tea sounds great," Zacharias said with a smile, and he took one of the cups and added a spot of milk to it before taking a sip.

"I'm glad to come over. I always like to catch up with friends." Well friend. He and Greg hadn't been in the past - becauase Zacharias hadn't been friends with Malfoy during school. That had come after. But now.. they could become friends.

"I'm playing Quidditch. Chaser, for Puddlemere," he explained as he sipped at his tea, letting the conversation shift. "How are you liking this job?" he asked.

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[info]a_reticent_git
2010-09-11 10:35 pm UTC (link)
Greg pat Theo's back again and then slipped from him to get his own mug of tea he'd made for himself, loaded with sugar and cream. He hoped Theo might accept a bit, and with his other hand he got a blueberry scone, setting it on his lap as he retook his position.

"You know, I thought as much. Must have read your name in the paper. I wasn't sure it was you though," Greg added, "Must be pretty cool. Can't think of another job I'd like better," and he paused for a moment, "Except for this one of course."

He tilted his head to look at Theo before going on, "I'm finding that I like the job. Course, with it being here, who couldn't like it? Plus, I fly everywhere. Makes it all great fun, actually. And then there's this place," Greg said, gesturing with the hand that held his cup. He almost sloshed some tea out, the treat still sitting on his lap untouched as he'd put his arm back around Theo, "I get the use of the cottage and it's just the perfect place to bring Theo home to. This our Hogwarts's home now, and it makes him feel safe."

Greg turned his eyes to Zach, "Safe is good. Now, to work on hungry. That is," and he gave a small sigh and shook his head slightly, pursing his lips before he took a sip of tea, "That is going to be a hell of a challenge. But I'm not giving up," he added, with some grimness, "I've got some strategies that seem to be helping. He'll come around," he said, touching Theo's back again in a comforting gesture.

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[info]booksmart_devil
2010-09-12 12:00 am UTC (link)
Theo echoed the name after Greg quietly, barely audible, leaning in to the arm Greg put around his shoulders and resting against Greg's chest, that small amount of excitement having exhausted him.

He shook his head determinedly to the idea of tea; he wasn't in any mood to even take liquids. He watched Zach take some, feeling his stomach turn at the sight of the milk but unable to tear his eyes away.

"There aren't any jobs." he put in, confused. "We're too young for work." He'd been living in the past less and less since having moved in with Greg, but his illness still sheltered him there from time to time, now being one of them.

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[info]puffheir
2010-09-12 01:21 pm UTC (link)
"It's pretty brilliant," Zacharias agreed. He couldn't think of any job he liked better, but then, he had always been rather obsessed with Quidditch. If it wasn't Quidditch, he would likely be doing some high faluting finance thing or just sitting around being rich.

Nope, he definitely liked Quidditch.

"This isn't a bad little place," he said of the cottage. "You must like it," he said to Theodore, because, although he still seemed... well, mentally unstable, he seemed happier than the last time Zacharias had seen him.

He didn't argue Theodore's assessment of their age, per se. Just smiled at him. "We make do," he assured him.

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[info]a_reticent_git
2010-09-12 02:39 pm UTC (link)
Greg sipped his own tea, thinking about what Zach had said. They were making due, even if Theo didn't realize the reality of the time. And he felt a small pang of jealousy, wondering if he could have gone for a pro Quidditch job. That was, if he hadn't gone to Azkaban, if he hadn't taken the mark.
Those ifs were huge in his head at the moment. It was all sort of tangled together when Greg let his mind drift there: not taking a mark, not going to prison, not letting Theo fight his dad, not being gone and away for so long. Usually Greg's mind was more occupied with the present, but right now, he sat there and felt that odd envy for Zach's life, similar to how he'd felt a moment with Draco.

He said quietly, almost more for his own ears, "This is a good job. I'm lucky to be here, lucky to have Theo here."

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[info]booksmart_devil
2010-09-12 03:20 pm UTC (link)
Like it? Of course he did, and he nodded to indicate that. "It's better in Greg's head than in mine, a lot more... safer, nothing goes in. No hands as much, not as much." he shook his head and then nuzzled against Greg's chest a little.

He caught the words Greg said and felt a slight change in his boyfriend's body language, making him tilt his head at the other man in concern. "I'm lucky to have you." he said insistently.

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