This is my new Zacharias-centric fic, yay! Zacharias Smith is a pretty cool character, you know? Okay, the way I'm telling this is in parts. There will be 4-5 big parts, each will be divided into bits. Each "part", while coming together with other parts, is its own miniplot in the overall life of Zacharias Smith. Some of the "bits" (the chapters within each part) are short, some are long. It could honestly read like a set of oneshots if you wanted it to.
General notes: In this piece, Zacharias is one year older than Harry, Ron and Hermione. He's in Cho Chang's year. It was just a personal preference, as we are never outright told what year he's in, and in my mind, he's either a year above Harry or in Ginny's year, most people lean towards him being in Ginny's year, but for the purposes of this piece, he's in the year above Harry. There will be multiple pairings. All of them are just cracktastic.
The Heir of Hufflepuff
Part 1: A Great Hufflepuff Someday
Bit 1: Dead and Gone
The Healer said something to Mr. Smith that Zacharias didn't hear; he was too busy talking to an old man in a portrait to listen.
"Come on, Zach, we're leaving," Mr. Smith said.
Ten year old Zacharias Smith looked up at his father and nodded, following fast alongside him. "Is Mum coming home today?" he asked.
Mr. Smith looked down at his only son, frowning. "No, I'm sorry. Mum had to go away, Zacharias," he lied reasonably. How would a ten-year-old understand death, anyway? He would have to explain it fully later.
"Is she ever coming back?"
"I'm afraid not," he said, turning around the corner and walking down the London sidewalk. "Walk a little faster, okay? If you get lost in the middle of London, it's your fault," he chided.
The ride on the underground was noisy and Zacharias thought his seat was lumpy.
They finally arrived back at the countryside mansion.
"Dad, I'm still going to be able to go to Hogwarts, even if I don't have a mum, right?" Zacharias asked his father abruptly.
"They'll still let you in, you're related to Helga Hufflepuff," Mr. Smith said.
"That was just a bedtime story, Dad, I don't fall for that kind of stuff anymore."
"It is not just a bedtime story," he chuckled, opening a drawer and pulling out an ancient looking scroll. "See? Here's our family tree," he said, flattening the old scroll across the table. "See there's you, me and your mother, my parents, my grandparents and my Great-Aunt Hepzibah, see? Keep following her and your Great-Great Grandfather's lines and look, traced right back to Helga Hufflepuff," he explained, pointing to the very top of the old parchment.
"Who is Mum descended from?" he asked.
"No one as important as Helga Hufflepuff," Mr. Smith answered haughtily.
Zacharias stared at the old worn in parchment as his father rolled it back up and sealed it. He looked up at his father.
"You'll be a great Hufflepuff someday," Mr. Smith said. "The best since I was there."