Theodore wanted to talk to Blaise, desperately. However, there was a slight problem. Theodore had no way to get in contact with him. The house, obviously, was not connected to the Floo Network and he didn't own an owl or a broomstick. Nor was he approved by the Ministry to make portkeys and he didn't even know to use the Portus spell.

"Aunt Laurette," asked Theodore, "Er, how do you reach people without magic?" He felt a bit stupid, well, more like ashamed.

She laughed. "Well, we write letters and send them by mail or you could use the telephone."

"The what?" He raised an eyebrow.

"The telephone." She said, "Here. Let me show you," and led him over to a small table in the corner of the room. There was a black… thing… on the table. "You pick up the receiver and talk into it like this," she said while demonstrating. "You can hear what the other person says in response and carry on a conversation."

"But how does the," he hesitated, "telephone know who you want to talk to?"

"You dial a number," she said, "Everyone has a specific number that goes to their telephone. It's actually easier than using the Floo system in my opinion."

"Probably a lot less dizzy, too," Theodore agreed.

She nodded and smiled at him. "You still have a lot to learn, Theo," she said as she headed into the kitchen.

Theodore sat down on one of the couches and stared out the window. He was certain that Blaise definitely did not own a telephone.

Aunt Laurette stuck her head in the doorway, "Say, Theo, I have to go down into London later today. Do you want to go to Diagon Alley for a while? School is coming soon and I know you have books and things to buy."

He jumped at the thought. "Sure."

"The Ministry left me the key to your family safe; I'll give it to you so you can get as much money as you need. Okay?"

"Yes, thank you," Theodore said quietly, mind racing with the prospect of getting just a small taste of the Wizarding World.

- - -

She dropped him off in front of the Leaky Cauldron, with a set meeting time of 6:00 where he was standing now.

He pushed open the doors and looked around, the Leaky Cauldron was empty. Not even Tom was in sight. The floorboards creaked beneath his feet as he walked into the room, glancing around for a sign of life. He found nothing.

The back door to the Leaky Cauldron was already open and Theodore could see that all of the trashcans in the alley were knocked over, garbage spilling out. He didn't like the feeling that was fluttering around in his stomach. With a tap of his wand, the wall opened up to reveal Diagon Alley or at least a shadow of what it once was.

The street lacked its usual chatter and small talk as others walked close together and did not bother to even acknowledge the presence of others outside of their groups. There were, of course, many suspicious glances. Theodore imagined that he was the only one to walk by himself and without the security and comfort of others around him. The threat of someone recognizing him as a Death Eater's son hung heavily over his thoughts.

He cast his eyes downward to his feet and started walking to the first place on his list – Gringotts. He recited the lines from memory on the doors in his mind as he walked.

"Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there."

The white marble was clean beneath his feet as he trudged up the steps leaving a guilty trail of dust and dirt behind. The goblin on guard duty glared at him then reluctantly pushed open the bronze doors. He repeated the poem again in his head to try to forget his surroundings. Goblins had always frightened him when he was younger and now he didn't have his father to hide behind. He suddenly wished that he had paid attention in History of Magic and knew something about them… or at least enough to know how to survive if one of them were to, well, attack him.

He scolded himself for thinking such ludicrous thoughts. After all, they didn't have a reason to attack him.

He stood before the long counter and faced a rather sickly looking goblin.

"Err," he hesitated, "I need to get money from my vault.

The goblin stared at him with unmoving eyes. "Key?"

He held up the small key and the goblin nodded, motioning with his hand for another one to approach the two. "This is Griphook. He will escort you down to your vault."

Theodore wordlessly nodded and began to follow Griphook to the carts. He squeezed his legs in the cart, which was definitely smaller or he was larger than the last time he had been here. Without a warning, the cart took off and Theodore's stomach began to turn as he gripped the sides tightly.

Finally, the cart came to a jerking halt in front of his vault. Griphook stepped out and held out his hand for the key. Theodore complied and dropped the key into his hand, making sure not to accidentally touch the goblin by accident.

He watched as the door to his vault opened and followed the cue to step inside. He gathered everything he guessed he would need – a handful of galleons and how ever many sickles and knuts he could fit into his pouch.

The ride back was more bearable. The cart didn't jerk as much and was slightly slower. Plus, the relief from the thought that he would be able to escape Gringotts soon eased some of the tension in his muscles.

Theodore let out a pent-up breath as he pushed open the door to Gringotts and stepped back out into Diagon Alley. He took the list of school items out of his pocket and eyed the things he needed. The first place to stop would be Madam Malkin's. He was far too tall for last year's robes and definitely sick of having to charm them past his ankles every morning.

He approached the building slowly taking his time to soak in all of the differences that had been made.

"Well, Nott," a smooth voice said, "so we meet again."

Theodore found himself staring down at the slightly taller blonde with apprehension.

"It seems we do, Malfoy," said Theodore quietly.