Tʜᴇᴏᴅᴏʀᴇ Nᴏᴛᴛ (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
undoubtedly) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
riddlelog2017-11-10 08:55 am
undoubtedly) wrote in riddlelog2017-11-10 08:55 am
Now the future's staring at me | Like a vision from the past
WHO Theo Nott and Elektra Burke (Closed)
WHAT Theo finds out his mum has opened her home to registered time deviants. Naturally this means he's going to make a few questionable life choices so he can move into her place. Don't judge him.
WHEN November 4, 1980
WHERE Elektra's home
WARNING Too many feelings
STATUS Incomplete
In many ways Theo almost wished Lucius had not interfered. He had known the kind of risk he'd been trying to take, that the consequences of such a bold play would have been disastrous if he'd not succeeded. He'd known, in the back of his mind, that they'd likely be disastrous even if he had because Theo is a fool sometimes but even he isn't stupid enough to think that he could keep up a lie as intricate as impersonating his father indefinitely. But at least then his goal had been clear. At least then he'd known the shape of the biggest risks, and now--
And now he's registered into a world he had no intention of being known to simply because he was weak enough to be jarred by his mother's name being dropped in front of him like bait he knows it was meant to be.
If Theo had any doubts about the legitimacy of the visions Lucius claimed to have seen they'd been well subdued in the face of the other man knowing exactly how to play him. He should be angrier about such blatant manipulation aimed at him by someone that, against his better judgement, he still wants to trust but at the end of the day he knows that this Lucius Malfoy owes him nothing. Their meeting could have ended much, much differently than Lucius letting him go unscathed with a few strong suggestions to consider while he was free to do so.
It's not lost on him that this Elektra Burke owes him nothing, too. She's not his mother here, not anymore than the man she's been lucky enough to avoid marrying is truly his father despite their shared name, and he knows it's an incredibly foolish idea to come anywhere near her like this when he can't trust himself to separate the past he knows from the reality he's stuck in.
And yet he finds himself with her address in hand anyway after a few sleepless nights battling himself over what how he wants to proceed. He's weak and desperate and stupid to be swayed like this, to put himself at risk just to get nearer to her than he should let himself. He'd considered, briefly, seeking her out another way, to coordinate a chance meeting just to get a glimpse, just to see for himself that the woman who may one day become his mother yet is really still alive and well, but--
It wouldn't have been enough. He knows it, and he expects Lucius knew it, too. Damn him.
And so here he is, standing outside her front door with as much dignity as he can muster when he knows how poorly this is likely to end for everyone involved, trying to scrape together the necessary backbone he needs to meet the woman he's missed near every day for the last twenty-two years. This is hands down the worst idea he's ever had and, considering the list it tops, that is certainly saying something.
But he straightens anyway, taking a steadying breath, and brings his hand up to knock.
WHAT Theo finds out his mum has opened her home to registered time deviants. Naturally this means he's going to make a few questionable life choices so he can move into her place. Don't judge him.
WHEN November 4, 1980
WHERE Elektra's home
WARNING Too many feelings
STATUS Incomplete
In many ways Theo almost wished Lucius had not interfered. He had known the kind of risk he'd been trying to take, that the consequences of such a bold play would have been disastrous if he'd not succeeded. He'd known, in the back of his mind, that they'd likely be disastrous even if he had because Theo is a fool sometimes but even he isn't stupid enough to think that he could keep up a lie as intricate as impersonating his father indefinitely. But at least then his goal had been clear. At least then he'd known the shape of the biggest risks, and now--
And now he's registered into a world he had no intention of being known to simply because he was weak enough to be jarred by his mother's name being dropped in front of him like bait he knows it was meant to be.
If Theo had any doubts about the legitimacy of the visions Lucius claimed to have seen they'd been well subdued in the face of the other man knowing exactly how to play him. He should be angrier about such blatant manipulation aimed at him by someone that, against his better judgement, he still wants to trust but at the end of the day he knows that this Lucius Malfoy owes him nothing. Their meeting could have ended much, much differently than Lucius letting him go unscathed with a few strong suggestions to consider while he was free to do so.
It's not lost on him that this Elektra Burke owes him nothing, too. She's not his mother here, not anymore than the man she's been lucky enough to avoid marrying is truly his father despite their shared name, and he knows it's an incredibly foolish idea to come anywhere near her like this when he can't trust himself to separate the past he knows from the reality he's stuck in.
And yet he finds himself with her address in hand anyway after a few sleepless nights battling himself over what how he wants to proceed. He's weak and desperate and stupid to be swayed like this, to put himself at risk just to get nearer to her than he should let himself. He'd considered, briefly, seeking her out another way, to coordinate a chance meeting just to get a glimpse, just to see for himself that the woman who may one day become his mother yet is really still alive and well, but--
It wouldn't have been enough. He knows it, and he expects Lucius knew it, too. Damn him.
And so here he is, standing outside her front door with as much dignity as he can muster when he knows how poorly this is likely to end for everyone involved, trying to scrape together the necessary backbone he needs to meet the woman he's missed near every day for the last twenty-two years. This is hands down the worst idea he's ever had and, considering the list it tops, that is certainly saying something.
But he straightens anyway, taking a steadying breath, and brings his hand up to knock.
no subject
But that's a different Elektra. This one had gotten a note from Deviant Registration that her address had been provided to a Theodore Nott, Jr., from a future time, and the name only brings to mind an extremely irritating man nearly old enough to be her father who keeps determinedly flirting in her direction when he comes to the Ministry to confer with Mr. Riddle. This one has been expecting a guest for the last two days and isn't all that surprised at the knock on the door. This one opens the door in jeans and an oversized sweater and raises her brows at the man on the other side. "Theodore Nott, is it?" she asks as she looks him up and down before stepping aside to let him in. "You're welcome to come in."
no subject
But, Merlin, if he ever thought he was ready to see her standing on the other side of that door he was dead wrong.
Elektra looks as she does in the best of his memories, young and beautiful and unmarked from the curse that ate at her so deeply during his childhood, and it feels like taking a blow to the chest to take her in now. He knew it would hurt to see her again. He knew it would, but nothing could prepare him for the way it roots him to the spot, his heart aching so desperately he can barely breathe around it and any words he could possibly think to say locked tightly in his throat.
This is going to be a disaster if he can't pull himself together. He can't imagine she wasn't already told to expect him when he picked her address to stay at, which means he's already days late in actually showing his face. As far as first impressions go, he's making about as big of an arse of himself as he could.
He clears his throat and offers her an apologetic smile that's only a little tight around the edges. "You'll have to excuse me, Ms Burke. It's been....quite a jarring few days as I'm sure you can imagine." It's a thin excuse but there's little else he can say to save face before he steps inside. "It's kind of you to open your home us, ah-- deviants, I suppose we're being called."
no subject
"I'm not sure I care much for deviant as a word, much," she says as she shuts the door firmly behind her. "Seems too prone to making people scared without any reason." Which in turn makes them panicky, which then makes her job a pain.
"I'm Elektra," she says. "Have you eaten? Morty's about to serve me dinner."
no subject
The urge to just...watch her is almost unbearable. It's been so long since he last saw her, since he heard her voice, and every time she opens her mouth it feels like he's being cut open a little wider for it, every painful emotion he's bottled up for the last two decades finally starting to crack through the dam he walked them up behind. He doesn't want to know what it'll look like if it finally breaks but being here like this...he's choosing to pretend he doesn't know he's looking that risk directly in its face.
Still he can't help but smile for the invitation no matter how tightly wound he feels, grateful and genuine, before he follows her. "Dinner sounds lovely." The Leaky Cauldron has left quite a bit to be desired on the meal front by his(admittedly high) standards. "Are there any others here? Like myself, I mean."
no subject
Theodore Nott is not looking at her the way wizards who've decided they're in love with the elusive Burke heiress.
"Mm, no," she tells him as they enter the smaller of the two dining rooms - and the only one she really uses. Much as her family might wish otherwise, she's never been the sort to throw a dinner party. "My understanding is there aren't too many takers in general. The lack of trust goes both ways. Do you go by Theodore?" She asks. "Or something else?" He looks like a Theo, she thinks.
no subject
There isn't, of course, any way for Elektra to know that. All she can do is work with what's in front of her, which is a strange wizard in her home who is off his game too much to keep himself entirely in line with the social graces that would keep him from appearing too odd. If he had enough perspective maybe he'd be able to see why this doubtfully paints the most flattering image of him.
He can't help but wonder if she's asking to see if he'll distance himself from his father. There's a certain amount of haughty pride that's suppose to come with carrying your father's name, after all. Or, at least, he's always assumed. He can imagine how much more unbearable Draco might have been when they were young if he'd been named after Lucius, boasting his name with an obnoxiousness that dwarfed even the near critical levels he reached while in Hogwarts when it would only call to mind a crisper image of the older Malfoy man so many people feared. "Only when I have to." He says instead, waiting for her to sit before he follows suit. No one who knows him outside of the Ministry would ever think to call him by his full name these days. "Theo is better. If you call me Teddy I may have to take my chances on the streets."
Or maybe he's just paranoid over a simple question. It wouldn't be the first time. "So as I understand it I'm going to be under some sort of curfew." If he's honest he's still more than a little offended by it. He hasn't been on a curfew since he was a child. "And, of course, any ground rules you have for you home."
no subject
"The curfew definitely puts a damper on nightlife," she says dryly. More of the magical population than not is under the curfew, after all. There are not as many purebloods as most of the rest of them like to think. "I don't have many rules, and you're my first tenant. As long as you keep quiet and I don't come home to find blond witches hanging from Grandmama's favorite chandelier, I don't expect there to be a problem."
no subject
He has a hard time imaging he'll be bringing anyone home with him, salacious intents in mind or otherwise, but he still has a few crystal clear images in his head of the sort of blonds he's normally attracted to hanging off anyone's chandelier with her words and he can't help but laugh for it. "As a rule I try to only be a menace to book stacks so I think it's safe to say that your grandmother's chandelier may be in good hands."
It's probably a little pathetic how nice Theo thinks it is to just...talk to her again. He doesn't know how this is going to end, or what the hell he expects to say if she starts asking him questions about the future he calls home, but he still can't bring himself to regret coming here. Not yet, anyway. "Has it been going on long? I was under the impression that the curfews only started with the displaced."
no subject
"The curfews have been going on for...oh, a decade. It's a safety measure, to deal with the disappearances of Muggleborn wizards since the forties. I suppose it's worked." Certainly there aren't the number of disappearances there once were. Though half-bloods didn't often disappear, and they're under curfew too. She's always wondered a bit about that one. "Basically, pureblooded witches and wizards from this time are the only ones who can run free at all hours. Everyone else has a trace and a curfew."
She picks up a bottle of red wine Morty had put on the table and uncorks it with a brief spell before pouring two glasses. "It's understandably chafing to those who have it, I think," Elektra says. "I don't know what it's like, but I can't say I'd like it much."