Chapter 4

All was silent by the time Theo made it back to his dorm in the Gryffindor Tower; the travel of the day had truly exhausted everyone and prevented them from staying up past midnight for whatever reason, but despite the fact that he was just as tired as any of his already asleep house members, the Malfoy knew that he could not drift off into oblivion.

He quietly entered the room he shared with Teddy, Dragon and Bertie and made his way to his bed, drawing the curtains hanging on all four sides close so that he could enjoy uninterrupted privacy, a tactic that wasn't necessary; his best friend's low snores from his right assured him that no one would be able to bother him any way.

The blonde Gryffindor settled himself carelessly on the bed and shifted his gaze to the large window that was on his left, thinking about what the Herbology Professor had confided in him.

"Her name was Adele Arielle Cabret, and she loved you."

"What?" Theo hadn't been able to grasp what had been said and just stood in the doorway of the teacher's office , gaping at it's inhabitant with an expression bordering on incredulous.

Now that he had taken enough time to think about it, the teen realized that his mother had been French, a discovery that had taken him by complete surprise.

Properly judging his countenance, Neville had continued. "I knew her. Basically, we all did, more or less." Waiting a beat, he added, "She doesn't deserve the blame of leaving you, nor for all the other rumors that people spread about her. But you see, those rumors were exactly what protected all three of you at the time. Today it doesn't matter, but Adele's reputation is so tainted that we can't change it now. I'm terribly sorry about what you had to endure because of us."

Theo had many, many questions, but the one that managed to make it out of his mouth was, "Three of us?"

"Your mother, Draco and you." Professor Longbottom had clarified with an apologetic shrug.

"But… why did people go to such an extent to protect us? From what? And why?"

Instead of answering the motherless child's questions, the adult continued as if he hadn't heard the inquiries. "I remember meeting her like it was yesterday. It had been purely accidental— I had caused us both to fall down a flight of stairs." He smiled as if seeing the disaster with his eyes instead of his mind. "And when she'd come asking for that one favor…"

His voice had trailed of as he looked at the still-absorbing Theo, as if finally making up his mind.

Theo glanced away from the inky night and instead sifted through the small satchel he had brought back with him from Professor Longbottom's office. With all the care of an artifact collector, Theo Malfoy pulled out a thick journal.

The image of an intricately designed tree without any leaves adorned the hard cover of the book, which was bound by a fancy string of the same color scheme; the pages were yellowed with age. A delicate pen was attached to the spine and upon seeing the stationery, Theo raised an eyebrow.

It was not a quill of any kind, upon closer inspection, the Malfoy found it to be a Muggle ballpoint pen. He felt an uneasiness shift inside of him and he placed the book on the bed.

Professor Longbottom had sighed and motioned for his once-student to close the door, after which, the former swished his wand, and they were locked in. "Muffliato." He murmured and turned to stride towards the fireplace.

The 6th Year could only look on as the teacher fixed his gaze on the wall just above the picture-covered mantle. A calculated wave of his wand was followed by a series of clicks that came from with in the ancient structure and a pocket extracted itself from the wall, landing in front of the boy on the main desk that was already messy with paperwork.

"Theodore Malfoy." His head of curls had instinctively snapped up at the professor's use of his standard full name. Neville walked towards him, stopping on the opposite side of the desk, keeping all his attention focused on the confused teen who stared back at him.

"What I'm about to give you, I shouldn't just yet. Your mother had specifically requested that I hand it over when you came of age and graduated Hogwarts, but I think you have proved that you are more than ready to understand and accept what she has left you."

The apprehension Theo had felt at hearing those words found him yet again; he fought to keep the uncertainty and anxiety at bay as he also removed from the satchel a smaller bag, upon opening which a series of delicate vials tumbled soundlessly on to the comforter. On each was a date; realizing that all were in chronological order, a kind of silly comfort overcame Theo— at least he didn't have to sort them first.

After his mysterious monologue, Neville Longbottom had removed from the pocket an innocent looking bag. It was adorned with the Slytherin colors, but on each side, the boy found stripes of red and gold as well. Knowing well that the animosity between both houses had been at its peak during the 2nd Great War, the teenager was more than perplexed. He had begun to pull the string of the satchel to open it; however, his Head of House stopped his actions with a wave of his hand. "I want you to explore it when you're on your own." He said by way of explanation. "I just want you to know," continued he, leaning towards his student, the trepidation in his brown eyes almost palpable, "I have never opened this bag. I have merely kept it in my custody. And I also want you to know that, no matter what you find in this satchel, your mother loved you very much, and so does you're father, no matter what he says or does."

Curiosity had been tearing away at Theo's insides and he had stiffly excused himself from the office to go back to the Gryffindor Tower, his head swimming with the information Neville Longbottom had just confided in him.

Theo put the vials back inside their container and once again picked up the book to inspect it more closely. It was obvious that it used to be someone's diary at one point, and the boy couldn't help but marvel at the expensive taste his mother must have had. Suddenly, it struck him that the journal had been her's once; she had held it, written in it her thoughts and dreams— he had never felt so close to someone in his life. He realized that she had always been painted the antagonist in his story, by his grandfather and those of many of his class fellows. Even his father had never bothered to clarify him on the particular topic. But after listening to Neville's explanation, Theo was ready to give her another chance.

Taking in a deep breath, Theo Malfoy opened the book with utmost care and began to read.