A/N: Thanks Jay Desi for reviewing! Yeah, I will try my best to watch out for any grammar mistakes. Anyways, don't try to predict this story, it's not that predictable.
Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Harry Potter, it belongs to J. K. Rowling. It's called Fanfiction for a reason.
The day of the funeral, there are no classes in session as students are expected to attend Dumbledore's funeral, much to most of the Slytherins' displeasure. Flowers and carnations line across the middle of the walls and at every corners and edges of the room. Crying and sobbing gradually grow louder as time passes under the gloomy, dim light. It is mainly the Gryffindors who do the crying and sobbing in the front rows, as most Slytherins sit quietly in the back, near the exit. In the corner of Theodore's eye, he sees Pansy smirks. 'That's awfully respectful.' He thinks, sarcastically.
After what seems like forever, the funeral ends. Slytherins, without much comes as a shock, are the first to leave. Theodore is about to walk back to his dormitory when he notices Blaise Zabini still lingers at the door of the funeral room. He glances at the direction that Zabini is staring and sees the two Weasley siblings along with the four-eyed dork and the bushy hair nerd. Blaise is looking at the younger Weasley, particularly. Theodore notices and smirks.
"In love with a blood traitor, huh?" Theodore says, not really expecting any answers.
Snapping away from his daze, Blaise turns to him and asks, "Did you say something?"
"Nevermind," he shakes his head, "but here's a piece of advice: Forget the weaselette, it will never work." He pats Blaise's shoulder.
Blaise puzzles at his words, and then pushes away his hand. "Are you saying that I like the weaselette?"
"It seems that way." He shrugs. "But whatever."
"Let's get one thing straight here, Nott." He grabs the collar of Theodore's shirt and pulls him to against the wall outside the funeral room. The words grind through his teeth, "I don't associate with blood traitors."
"Well, then there's no reason to be so un-gentleman like here." He pushes Blaise back, glaring at him.
The glaring contest lasts awhile between the two Slytherins before it breaks off. Theodore straighten himself and is about to leave when Blaise calls him.
"Hey, Theodore! Where are you staying during the summer?" Blaise asks, no mockery in his voice.
Theodore looks back at the tall black boy for awhile, not a word slips out of his mouth. He is suspicious why Blaise is suddenly so interested of his whereabouts. Then the obvious strikes him. Blaise is probably afraid the entire Slytherin house will find out his little obsession of the weaselette. Suddenly he sees Pansy walks out of the funeral with Daphane Greengrass. Didn't she already left? The same smirk that he saw at beginning of the funeral is still on her face. He realizes he still hasn't answer Blaise yet. Finally he just gives him a shrug and walks down the hall. By the time he's about half way down the hall, he hears a scream. He turns around just in time to see Blaise dashes back into the room. He assumes it must be another typical year-end prank pulls by Parkinson on the weaselette.
At the train station, Theodore pulls his luggages close to one of the poles, waiting for his aunt. He actually doesn't recall much of Aunt Mary. He imagines she will have the same sandy blonde hair like his mother and also the same pair of light hazel eyes. Just then, a woman around her mid-thirties dressed in a green flowery dress approaches him.
"Theodore?" The woman asks.
"Yes..." He answers suspiciously. Is this woman his aunt? She doesn't have the same sandy blonde hair like his mother. Her hair is brown and is tied back in a messy bun. Then again, he doesn't have much of his mother's physical features except for a slightly lighter shade of eye colour than his father. "Are you----?"
His words are interrupted by the woman's sudden embrace. She hugs him so hard that he is nearly knocked down to the ground. "Yes, yes! I'm Aunt Mary! It been so long since I last saw you! Oh, let me have a good look at you!" She finally pulls away from the embrace. "Oh, look how tall you are now----Merlin! Your skin's pale! Didn't you eat? Didn't your father feed you? Didn't----"
"Can we get on the train first, Aunt Mary." He fakes a smile. He decides that this woman is indeed his aunt. The fade memory of her being a quite the chatterbox is slowly coming back to him.
"Oh, of course!" She helps to carry some of the luggages. "It's just been so long...you were just turning six!"
He sits by the window as soon as they get in the train. His aunt settles the luggages properly in the luggage space before taking a seat next to him. Theodore moves closer to the window, attempts to avoid anymore unnecessary contacts with his aunt if possible.
"Oh, you'll just love the place! Your room is lime green..." The voice fades and she covers her mouth, "Oops, don't suppose to slip that out! It is supposed to be a surprise. You do like lime green, right?"
"Does the room have a door?" He responds with a question.
"Of course!"
"Oh..." He stares out the window, relieves to learn that there will be a door. This makes his plan to lock himself in his room all summer long much easier. "Lime green's fine."
"Theodore, you know I used to go to Hogwarts..." Aunt Mary says with a playful smile on her face.
"Oh really?" He replies nonchalantly.
"Yes, I was in Hufflepuff." She turns to him, "What about you?"
Hufflepuff? Now he knows why his parents never mention her much.
"Theodore?"
"Oh, I'm in Slytherin." He looks at her straight in the eyes, for once interested to see her reaction.
"Oh..." She sounds both surprised and disappointed. "Just like your father..."
'Just like your father...'
The phrase stuns him. Even though his aunt is quiet now, her words are still replaying themselves over and over again in his head.
'Just like your father...'
Is he really just like his father? He looks at his aunt who's trying to clear away tears without him noticing. She isn't very good at hiding her emotions.
"Aunt Mary? Are you alright?" He tries to sound serene, so his aunt would stop sobbing. He has enough of that in one day.
"Yes, I'm alright." She cleans the last of her tears and beams at him, "Do you know what house your mother was in?"
"She went to Hogwarts?" He tries to sink in this piece of information. He remembers that his mother could speak perfect French and he always assumes that she went to Beaux batons.
"We're sisters. Of course, we went to the same school!" She laughs heartily.
"So what house was she in?" He asks. His aunt still hasn't stop laughing. It starts to frustrate him. "Well?"
"What's with the attitude, Theodore?" She smiles, obviously teasing him. "You must really miss your mother..."
He turns to the window again, "Yeah...sometimes..." The words just slip and he regrets it. He can feel his aunt's sympathetic look on him. He hates it.
"Your mother..." She stops, a sad smile slowly forming on her face, "She was a...no, she still is...a very beautiful Ravenclaw."
He always recognizes his mother as very intelligent, sharp woman who can always make him laugh. 'I bet she is...' He closes his eyes, imagining being in her warm embrace and drifts to dreamland.
Comments? Criticism? Don't worry, take your time...--Smirks--