This is a birthday present to the wonderful Tiggs, Happy bday! I know how much you love Theo, sorry that I didn't do a better job with writing it.

Abandoned

He got up in the morning, like every day. A steady beat to his life, or what was left of it. The only thing that kept him going was the hopeful feeling he had about tonight. He could stop being lonely, tonight was the night he could change it all.

It had been months since his father had left. According to the news, he had been captured and taken away to Azkaban. Because of the secrecy surrounding his mother's death, Theo had been abandoned. There was no other family to speak of unless you counted the distant relatives all purebloods have. Theo was eight-years-old, and therefore, didn't know anyone outside of his immediate family, and now they were both gone.

His only company had been the house elf, Klutzy. But, Klutzy was a good house elf and therefore stayed out of sight. That was unless he needed to be seen.

Theo had one secret weapon against his loneliness, he was well read on the dark arts, on everything really.

Other kids grew up wanting candy and adventure, or so he had read in his books, but all he wanted was to read and learn. The library was his candy store.

His father had forbidden him to enter it, and tried to put up enchantments to keep him away. But Theo always found a way to get in. The first time he had done so was the first time he had ever used magic. His dad had only said, "Good, you're not a squib. That means I don't have to leave you alone out in the woods."

He still wasn't allowed in, but now that his father was locked up, he could feast on the stories all he wanted, and no one could stop that.

Theo was so caught up in the book he was reading that he didn't notice the pop as Klutzy appeared next to him.

"Master Theo, you needs to eat," the house elf said.

"I don't want to," he responded without looking up from his book.

The elf took his hand in his and squeezed it. "You just be skin and bones, Master Theo, please. You need to fatten up."

"After this book."

"You said that four books since," Klutzy pleaded while he wrung his ears and scuffled his feet together.

"I'm the Master, I decide!" Theo yelled.

Klutzy jumped back and looked at Theo with his huge blue eyes. "As you wish."

Theo was once more left to his own devices. He felt guilty for a second, but the work he was doing was more important than sparing the house elf's feelings. If he did it right, he didn't have to be alone anymore.

He continued to study and prepare for the ritual he was performing.

Tonight it all changes.

It was time, the moon was full and he could hear the distant howl of a werewolf.

The library had been his sanctuary for these last weeks, a promise of escape into any other world; a place where he could have friends and family. He could have a mother, like the amazing one he had lost years ago, and he could have a nice dad, unlike the one he had been forced to live with.

Of course, an eight-year-old could never be anything but a disappointment to the great Death Eater Nott. After all, he wasn't bloodthirsty at all, Theo was more interested in books than anything else in the world. One day, when his father had talked about Mudbloods and how they were destroying the Wizarding World, Theo had said, "But don't muggles have books too?" His childish naivety had earned him a beating he would never forget.

Trying to forget the past, and focus on what he needed to do, he put the book next to him and started to copy the runes from it down to the floor.

It was all drawn in a mixture he had read about. It was his own blood, perfect rose, lethe river water, hairy caterpillars, hemlock essence, asphodel and unicorn horn, mixed together and then put outside every night during an entire moon cycle.

After he had finished drawing the runes, he started chanting. He had practiced the chant every day whenever he wasn't reading a book. It was the first thing he thought of in the morning, and the last thing he thought of as he fell asleep. Now, the latin words were so ingrained he knew them better than he knew the names of his favorite books.

When he finished the chant, he did a few spells with his departed mom's wand. He had found it locked away in a drawer one day, and practiced with it so he was ready for this.

Everything had gone according to plan.

A sound broke the silence, it sounded like a bell ringing underwater.

The strange bell chimed 13 times before Death stood before him. Death was not unlike a Dementor in appearance, (Theo had seen a picture in the newspaper) but seemed more solid since Death stood on the ground. Theo could see Death's skeletal form, yet Death was almost transparent at times as if Death's presence wasn't guaranteed in this world.

"Who dares summon me?" The voice was grave and sounded like it came from a distant place. It made chills go down Theo's spine.

"Theodore Nott."

Death's skull swiveled quickly and the empty sockets seemed to stare into Theo's soul. "How old are you, boy?"

"Eight!" Theo said with conviction.

"And you managed to summon me?"

"Yes."

Death seemed to contemplate that for a moment. Death moved in close and towered over Theo. He tried to summon every ounce of courage in the face of who stood before him, but could feel fear creeping into his thoughts, poisoning them.

"What do you want, Theodore Nott?"

"I want my mom back."

That made Death pause once more. The immortal presence looked around the room, to the books scattered from Theo's research to the runes that were drawn on the floor. At last, Death questioned, "What will you give me for it?"

Theo had read about it extensively, there was one thing that would get his wish. He didn't really understand the concept of it, but he still said, "My soul."

What was the price of his soul compared to the life of his mother? He had already made peace with the fact that he would lose his soul tonight.

Death nodded slowly. "It is done."

Death cut through the air with his Scythe. Through the ripple, a ring fell out into Death's waiting skeletal hand. The hand was then lowered so Theo could grab the ring. When he did, he could have sworn Death smiled, but how does a skull smile?

Death bowed to him and then vanished.

Theo shook the feeling of dread away, he could get his mom back!

He slipped the ring on, giddy with anticipation that it would bring his mother back to him. His hand turned black at once, the curse traveling up his arm, leaving black charred skin and rotting flesh in its wake. Pain followed in the curse's wake, but he didn't feel it. His entire focus was on the shimmer in the air in front of him and the silhouette of his mother forming.

"Mom," he uttered and collapsed. The curse had taken too strong a hold of him to stay upright. He was laying on his side, looking up as the silhouette turned into the ghost of his mother.

The curse had finally taken a hold of his heart and killed him just as he saw his mother smile down at him. At least he had gotten his dying wish.

He wasn't alone.

Written for:

Diagon Alley:

Bingo - Theodore Nott

Versatility - 100 Characters - Theo Nott

Fairytale Challenge - Hansel and Gretel: Write about abandonment

Fairytale Challenge - song - Lose your soul - Dead Man's chest

Hogwarts:

Hedge Maze - Theo Nott

Treasure Hunt - abandoned!AU

Special thanks to Ned for helping me figure out the plot, sorry about killing your favorite. :P