The Father and the Son
written by Lizzie Scamander
Tiberius Nott's first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has arrived. As the son of the Death Eater Theodore Nott, it will be hard for him to settle in. But maybe he will be able to help others ignore his past and find out, eventually, that the son is not the same as the father. IN PROGRESS
Last Updated
05/31/21
Chapters
14
Reads
855
They're Coming
Chapter 10
Tiberius found himself frozen at the top of the stairs. Crouching behind the banister, he watched his mother stand there in the front hall, tears silently cascading down her cheeks, until she stumbled back into the kitchen. Brutus did not emerge from the living room.
Tiberius didn't know how long he stayed there, but suddenly he was jerked into focus by Maya's appearance. She had slowly come out of the bedroom, and said quietly, "Tiberius?"
He looked around, startled. "M-Maya!" He said. "I -" He didn't know what to say, for he was so shocked at Brutus's fear, his mother's crying, and everything else that his voice had caught in his throat.
"Tiberius, are vou okay?" Maya asked concernedly. "Vou look very white."
"I - I do?" Tiberius asked. "It's - it's nothing." He swallowed. He had to find out what was going on. He wasn't going to let his mother sit in the kitchen crying. He stood up. "I - I'm going to go and find out why mother's - I mean, when's dinner." With that, he practically tripped down the stairs and burst into the kitchen.
His mother whirled around when he entered. Her face was tear-stained and her eyes were brimming with more, but when she saw him she hastily wiped her face and stammered, "T-Tiberius, I - go back up to your room."
"Mother, what's going on?" Tiberius said urgently. "I - why're you -"
"Nothing," his mother replied, wiping her eyes desperately. "I - I -" she sank down onto a chair and buried her face in her hands. "Oh, Tiberius!" She sobbed.
Tiberius hurried over to her. "Mother, you have to tell me," he said. "Please."
"N-No, if he knows y-you know he'll m-make you g-go t-too!" She sobbed. "I - I c-can't." She looked up at him, tears trickling down her cheeks, and wrapped him in a tight embrace. It was rare that Tiberius and his mother hugged - they expressed their affection in a different way, but now his mother hugged him, and desperately, it seemed.
"They're - they're d-doing it t-tonight," his mother said, breaking away to look at him. She swallowed, trying to control herself, but more tears only slipped down her cheeks. "They're - they're getting the b-boy - this is why I w-wanted y-you to c-come home, because I knew they were - were doing it." She broke into a fresh torrent of tears.
"Mother, what are they doing?" Tiberius asked. He wanted to comfort her, but he had to find out what was going on. "And whose they?"
His mother swallowed, wiping her eyes again. "The - the Serpent Society," she said. She didn't care about keeping information from him anymore, she was too upset. "Your - your father's in it. Yaxley st-started it because h-he thinks the D-Dark Lord can be brought b-back to life."
"But Yaxley's in Azkaban," Tiberius said.
"He - he escaped, b-but it's not in the newspapers because the M-Ministry doesn't want to upset everyone b-by Christmas. Yaxley's g-gathering all the old Death Eaters together to tr-try and bring back the D-Dark Lord. He - he thinks it c-can be done. They think if they g-get the Potter boy - Harry P-Potter's son, they can resurrect him. Of course I s-said it was im-impossible, b-but they're so d-desperate t-to have the Dark Lord back they w-wouldn't listen. And - oh Tiberius! - your father wants Br-Brutus to help! They're going to sn-sneak into Hogwarts tonight, to kidnap the boy, and they n-need as many p-people as possible. But Brutus is only fifteen!" She buried her face into Tiberius's shoulder.
Tiberius felt numb with shock. He couldn't believe this was going to happen - but it was. He swallowed, and took a deep breath. "Mother, it's all right," he said. That was all he could think to say.
"N-No it isn't!" She sobbed. "It will n-never be all right." She gave a loud wail. "And Theodore will come b-back with the other Death Eaters any m-moment now, to get Brutus and go t-to Hogwarts."
"But they won't be able to get into Hogwarts," Tiberius said. He was alarmed by all that his mother had told him, but he had managed to find a reassuring thing to say. "Remember? Hogwarts has those protective enchantments and stuff -"
But his mother interrupted him. "B-But Tiberius, they've pl-planned it all! T-Today the enchantments w-were lifted, so all the students g-going home for Chr-Christmas c-could exit the school. It t-takes t-a while t-to put them all back and by that t-time -" more tears ran down her cheeks - "Theodore and - and the others will be there! Oh Tiberius!" She shook as she sobbed, wailing, "I don't want Brutus to go! He's s-so young!"
Tiberius felt a lump rise in his throat. He had never been faced with such shock, but now was not the time to contemplate it. He had to do something. He stood up. "Mother, Brutus can hide. You can apparate us to - to - well, somewhere, and then -"
But at that moment the front door banged open, and Tiberius knew, with a sinking heart, that all possibilities were now lost.
