Although he'd never admit as such, Theodore Nott felt like a weight left his shoulders the second he stepped inside the Hogwarts' Express— whenever it was meant to make the long journey to Scotland, anyway.

Whenever the train got him back to London, though, the story is different.

It was like a matching wound with Mattheo, smoking in silence on the way back— dreading the moment they come back to their respective houses. The Nott Mansion had long stopped feeling like home for Theodore, due to his abusive father, and the estate haunted by the memory of his mother's death.

December is a month that takes months from Theodore's life, given how anxious it makes him feel, day after day, until he has to step inside the castle to spend two weeks at home. His stomach twists with the thought, the idea of spending such a long time with his father, fearing the lack of his absence, and being punished for his sour mood or being judged as an unsatisfactory Nott heir, never enough on his father's eyes.

So imagine his relief, and utter confusion, when you so kindly suggested that Theodore spends Christmas with you. Two weeks in your house, with your family, away from his father. Two weeks with you.

Theodore was all too eager, until he woke up this morning and his brain started overthinking. If he's spending days in your house, that means that he'll meet your family; meeting your family means that they might judge Theodore's introvert, reserved nature as a red flag or impoliteness. Worse— his surname might doom him! And if Theodore is doomed, then so is your relationship, in your family's eyes.

Today was the day; luggages are already being organized inside the train, bags on students' hands and arms, ready for the journey back to London. Theodore aches for a cigarette to calm his mind, if only for mere ten minutes.