The Internal Devices

Chapter 3

It was late October, and Theo was enjoying a leisurely stroll around the Black Lake. The afternoon was surprisingly mild for fall, and Theo wanted to soak up as much sun as he could. Winter would be coming soon.

Beside him sauntered Draco Malfoy, cold mask in place, but Theo didn't mind. The entire school might be fooled into believing Draco was some heartless monster due to his Occlumency, but Theo knew better. It wasn't that Theo was some accomplished Legilimens so he saw beyond the ice, but rather that Theo had been acquainted with Draco Malfoy for a very long time. Since birth, really.

Both of the boys descended from one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight families, the purest of the pure. They were inordinately wealthy, abnormally privileged, and insurmountably unhappy. They had bonded over such unhappiness at a young age and each learned how to hide it in their own ways.

Draco had perfected the aristocratic aura. His nose turned up, his responses clipped, and his eyes shone with disdain; a perfect mirror of his chilly father. Malfoy was perfection itself when it came to pureblood practices. He was a graceful dancer, and elegant speaker, and socialized with exquisite manners. His suits were nicely pressed, his hair perfectly in place. This was Draco's prison of choice. It was tidy, and it was unbreakable.

Theo took a far different approach. While Draco opted for cool, Theo preferred warmth. He smothered his pains with smiles and kindness. When faced with the darkness of his own life, Theo turned to pouring light into others' lives. He learned to sit with a First Year when they cried over Professor Snape's harsh words. He learned to answer "Yes I'm doing quite well, thank you so much for asking" regardless of the truth. He learned to give love freely to anyone around him when he could not give it to himself. He learned to lie, just as well as Draco. They were not so different.

Adopting these personas was done early in life out of necessity, but the one solace the boys had was each other. Now, over fifteen years later, the two boys still found each other's company preferable to all others.

Theo slowed his pace around the lake, and Draco matched it without comment. The boys were quite a distance from any other students now. Theo glanced over and noticed the grey in his friend's eyes growing brighter, into a light blue. Good. Draco was letting go of the Occlumency walls then. A small smile bloomed on Theo's face at the sight.

"Welcome back, mate. I trust your holiday was splendid?"

The corner of Draco's mouth twitched up. "Very funny, Theo."

"You know you don't have to do that."

"Neither do you."

Theodore let out a sigh but kept walking forward. It was an old argument, muttered out of habit. "Thank you for walking with me today, Draco. I know you were busy."

At this Draco finally looked into Theo's eyes for a moment, all signs of grey gone. The splash of blue added so much warmth to his countenance that Theo couldn't help but grin. Draco reluctantly chuckled and grinned back, reaching over to squeeze his friend's shoulder briefly. The past few years had been so dark for Draco, and it was nice to see him smile again. Draco faced forward and inhaled a long breath of the warm air. His eyes flitted closed, even as they walked on, trusting the path they had trailed hundreds of times over the years.

"We must be getting back soon, I'm sure," Draco muttered.

"Yes, the dinner bell should ring soon. But not yet."

"No, not yet."

"Draco?"

"Theo?" Draco teasingly mimicked back. Theo rolled his eyes.

"Tell me something good."

"Something good..." Draco repeated. The Malfoy heir thought for a moment, absentmindedly running his pointer finger over his bottom lip. His face lit up. "Oh! Oh, Theo, I must tell you about the most ridiculous story I've read recently. I quite enjoyed it actually."

"Oh, yes?"

"Yes. It was simply dazzling, I read it front to back in three hours."

Theo huffed out a laugh that sent him into a fit of coughing. Draco paled, then lunged for Theo's elbows, struggling to keep him upright. The brown-eyed boy convulsed violently and blood seeped out of the corner of his mouth. Draco held his friend steady, never faltering, until the coughs subsided. After a few moments passed, Draco turned Theo around and started leading him back to the school. For a minute, neither of them spoke.

"I'm sorry, Draco. I didn't mean to ruin the mood."

Draco turned his face to his friend quickly. "Never. You didn't ruin anything." The tall blond boy dug out a crisp white handkerchief from his jacket pocket, and quickly wiped the trail of blood off his friend's chin. Theo smiled in quiet thanks and kept trudging forward, Draco's hand hovering for a moment as if he wanted to place it on the small of Theo's back as a precaution. Instead, he curled his fingers tightly into a fist and shoved it into his trousers pocket.

"Would you tell me that story now?" Theo finally asked. The two of them passed through the Hogwarts entrance and started down the corridors. The entire castle smelled of the roast being prepared for dinner. Theo loved this meal. It made him think of home.

They continued down to the lower levels of the castle, hoping to freshen up before the bell summoned hordes of starving students. Theo began humming a tune as they walked, waiting for his friend. Draco's shoulders relaxed a bit and a spark of amusement reentered his expression. It was a tune they knew well, for he and Theo had made it up to bother Narcissa when she was busy around the manor. The boys would trail her regal form and sing,

Search the manor low

Search the manor high

It's a grand ole day

For a Malfoy crime

Set a niffler free

In the ballroom now

Steal the gold right off

Of Mother's gown

The two of them would inevitably erupt in giggles when Narcissa finally lost her cool and chased them into the yard. One time, Draco's mother even got so flustered she locked them out of the manor for three hours so she could take a hot bath in peace. Such a humorous memory was needed today, and Theo heard the shaky exhale before his friend spoke.

"Very well," Draco began, in his most petulant tone, "I will present to you this fine story as long as you promise not to rudely interrupt me again."

Theo smiled. "I will do my very best." He was quite used to this form of Draco. Another performance, but a welcome one. This was Draco trying to cheer up his friend.

"Please see that you do."

"Well?"

"Well, what? Already interrupting again, are we?"

"Not quite. You haven't even told me the name of this story, and I feel that is a bit of important information for your audience, is it not?"

"Indeed, good sir. Very true. You shall have your title." Draco gestured wildly to an imaginary audience, beckoning them to be silent for his grand reveal. "In this tale, you will travel far and wide, experience hardships beyond imagining and love far greater than your small shriveled hearts could fathom. For this is 'A Tale of Two Cities' and it begs to be heard."

Over the next hour, the portraits on the walls witnessed a Death Eater's son regale the trials of Lucie Mannette, Charles Darnay, and Sydney Carton in a most superfluous manner to a pureblooded boy who knew nothing of the Muggle French Revolution. Yet the boy laughed with glee when his friend reenacted the beheadings, and neither of them noticed that they had missed their dinner or that there was another set of brown eyes watching the exchange in wonder through a crack in the walls.