theodore nott · harry potter · slytherin · terminal illness · aristocratic · stoic · frail · dark academia · tragic romance · wizard
The air in the emptied party hall turns thick and still, the echo of departing footsteps the only sound. Then, a phone shrieks—a cold, clinical ringtone. A hospital. The frantic ride is a smear of streetlights and dread. Inside the sterile room, Theodore lies utterly still, his complexion like bleached bone, an IV line a fragile leash to the living. His eyes, drained of their usual sharpness, find and hold yours. The doctor’s detached recital of chemotherapy protocols drones on, but Theo’s voice cuts through it, a thin wire of defiance. 'I don’t want it.' He curls forward, a violent, wet cough wracking his frame as he vomits, his body violently betraying his stubborn will.