Theodore didn't know why he was walking towards where he knew the Thestrals were kept. He hated the very sight of those creatures. He hated who they reminded him of, his mother, his beloved, sweet mother.

As Theodore drew nearer to the Thestrals, one of them looked at him with what could almost be considered gentle, sorrowful eyes. It was almost as if it was saying, "I know that you can see me, and I'm sorry that you are able to."

Theodore shook his head in disgust. Now he was just imaging things, which wasn't like him at all. No, he was usually realistic and logical and not one to give in to fantastical thoughts.

"Oh, you can see them too," a girl's voice spoke dreamily from behind him.

Out of instinct (which came from being the child of a Death Eater), Theodore pulled out his wand as he spun around.

He found himself face-to-face with a girl with long blond hair.

Theodore noticed several things about the girl. For one thing, she was wearing a necklace of Butterbeer caps. For another thing, she had her wand stuck behind her left ear.

But what Theodore really noticed was that the expression on the girl's face was a dreamy as her voice had been.

Despite the fact that the girl was not a Slytherin, Theodore recognized her. Her name was Luna Lovegood. Most people, however, called her "Loony Lovegood." Apparently, she was weird, even for a Ravenclaw. She kept mostly to herself, and she didn't really have any friends.

Theodore was considered different as well, even among his fellow Slytherins. The Slytherin boys were heavily into Quidditch, while Theodore preferred to have his nose in a book. As a result, Theodore was typically a loner, but that was just fine with him. He didn't really like the company of others.

Theodore lowered his wand, even though Luna had not seemed at all fazed by the sight of it being pointed at her.

She really is in dream-world, Theodore couldn't help thinking. Anyone else would have reacted in some way to having a wand being pointed at them, especially if it was a Slytherin pointing the wand.

And especially if it was the child of someone who had been accused of being a Death Eater pointing the wand.

"I thought you looked familiar," Luna spoke, her voice still as dreamy as ever. "I've seen you around. You're often alone."

"I could say the same of you," Theodore snapped.

"I like being alone," Luna replied calmly. "I get easily distracted when I'm around others."

"Yes, I also find company to be distracting, especially when I'm trying to study," Theodore sneered.

"I don't like that either," Luna responded, her voice still calm.

She then walked past Theodore, a dreamy expression still on her face, and closer towards the Thestrals.

Theodore couldn't help but notice, though, that there was a trace of sadness in Luna's eyes as she looked at the Thestrals. She clearly was not quite as unbothered by her environment as she led people to believe, even though she was very good at hiding it. Theodore knew that most people would have only seen the dreaminess in Luna's eyes but not the sadness.

As a Slytherin and the Pureblood child of a Death Eater, Theodore was used to being around people that were able to hide their emotions with remarkable skill. It was refreshing, therefore, to see someone from another House who also was not an open book.

"They really are beautiful creatures," Luna suddenly said, nodding her head at the Thestrals.

Theodore looked at her in disbelief.

"How can you find them to be beautiful?" he hissed.

"It's not their fault that my mum is dead," Luna said simply.

Theodore was dumbfounded for a moment, which was not normal for him. He was usually the one who made others feel dumbfounded, not the other way around.

"Still, though," he spoke, "does it not make you at least a little sad when you look at them, especially considering that you know why you are able to see them in the first place?"

Luna looked at Theodore for a long moment before finally saying, "I guess looking at them makes me a bit sad, but whenever I start feeling sad, I remember that I still have my dad and that he loves me very much."

Theodore looked away from Luna. He still had his father, but he knew that his father did not love or care about him.

Theodore suddenly felt his hand being grabbed. He jumped slightly before he could help himself.

"I sometimes feel alone as well," Luna spoke, "but if you would like, you can feel alone with me."

Theodore hesitated for a long moment before finally saying something that he would not normally say to anyone, much less someone from another House.

"I would like that."

Luna just smiled dreamily at him.