A/N Hello everyone! Thank you for your continued support.


Third Year - Part Five

Professor Snape regarded Theo sharply as he took in his request. Theo made sure to meet his gaze: he was breaking no rules in what he'd asked for and he had made this particular request before, but he still needed the permission of his Head of House. Snape seemed to come to the conclusion that it was nothing more than an innocent plea because his features became indifferent. "Just don't go and get yourself drowned or eaten by the giant squid - I don't wish to deal with the endless parchment your death would involve."

Theo nodded, successfully hiding how pleased he was. "Thank you, Professor."

Snape made a dismissive gesture with his hand and Theo walked away at a controlled pace.

It was easy to find Granger in the library because he had come to know her preferred study tables well over the last few weeks. There was, as ever, a large pile of books that partially hid her from view but there was no mistaking that bushy brown hair.

He pulled out the chair opposite her and sat without a word, waiting for her to look up when she'd come to a natural stopping point in her homework. He scrutinised her while her quill flew rapidly across her parchment, noticing that the dark circles under her eyes were more pronounced than ever. Over the last few days her face seemed constantly pinched with stress and her body was always tense - even in their ballet classes with the Vittozzis. The sight had annoyed him at first because he knew that it was her own stubbornness that was to blame - she'd taken on too much but refused to neither acknowledge it nor do anything to combat it. She was being pig-headed and appeared too proud to admit that she'd made a misjudgement about her body's ability to hold up after months of overexertion. Theo could relate to the pride - a common trait of his house - but every member of Slytherin knew that self-preservation took precedence. Luckily, Granger seemed to have finally come to that conclusion too. It wasn't as though Theo particularly cared for her well-being - he certainly wouldn't call her a friend. No, he just lamented the loss of his liberating dancing sessions with her and Tam, that was all. The day after their discussion in the library about her time-turner and her health, Granger had tried to convince Theo that their rehearsals could and should continue, but she'd had to pause in her arguments twice as her body was wracked with barking coughs that almost made him wince. Unsurprisingly, she failed to convince him to change his mind and he'd assumed that was that: their strange alliance over.

But then something had happened. Theo didn't know what exactly but he suspected it had something to do with Potter and Weasley. During his discrete observations of Granger whilst he went through his personal crisis about blood, Theo had noticed that the three friends weren't on speaking terms - or, more accurately, Potter and Weasley weren't speaking to her and vice versa. Theo hadn't particularly cared. However, just yesterday, Theo noticed a deterioration in Hermione's emotional state and Weasley was openly glaring at her every chance he got. Again, Theo wasn't particularly interested in their squabbles but he couldn't prevent himself from feeling something when Granger came to him that evening looking meek, broken and so unlike herself.

"Y-you're right," she told him quietly between the shelves of the Arithmancy section. She dabbed at her nose with a handkerchief and he suspected that this was more due to the unshed tears glistening in her eyes than the lingering effects of her cold. "I can't go on like this anymore."

"What are you going to do?" he asked her, uncomfortable at being near someone who looked ready to burst into tears at any moment.

"I can't drop one of my subjects," she insisted.

"So you want to take some time back for yourself?" he asked.

She paused and then nodded. "But I don't know the best way to do it. I don't want anyone to find out I've been abusing the time-turner - a lot of trust was put into me to have it. I thought you might have some ideas about how I could go about it, what with you being a, um-"

"Sneaky Slytherin?" Theo provided and despite her emotional state, her lips pulled into a small smile even though it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Yes, I suppose."

And that was why he'd been to see Professor Snape straight after breakfast that morning.

Granger put down her quill, rubbed her eyes and then looked over at him, blinking a couple of times to bring him into focus.

"We're all set," Theo told her simply.

Instead of the relieved look he'd anticipated, Granger bit her lip and looked anxious. "Really? And you don't think he knows that I'll be with you, that I'll be using it to get a few hours rest?"

"Unless he can read minds, I don't think he'd guess that in a hundred years," Theo replied with a small smirk. "Does he even know you have one?"

She shrugged her shoulders slightly. "I don't know. Professor McGonagall obviously does because she gave it to me, and I'm sure Professor Dumbledore must be aware, but as for the rest of the staff?" She shrugged her shoulders again and then sighed. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Nott?"

"No offence, Granger, but you look like shit," he told her bluntly. Her mouth tightened and her cheeks flushed red but Theo continued, "You need this. As long as we're careful about getting to and from the boathouse, no one's going to have the faintest idea that we've gone out on a boat together. I told you: I've been a few times over the years and I've never met anyone from school."

Granger held his gaze, looking like she desperately wanted to believe him, and he kept his expression honest, giving her no reason to doubt him.

"OK," she breathed eventually and he couldn't stop the small smile that pulled at his lips. "As long as I get enough work done today and the quidditch match doesn't go on too long, we'll go tomorrow morning." She sent him a hesitant smile. "You promise you really know how to sail a boat?"

"I spent half my childhood on boats, Granger. I know what I'm doing," he said confidently.

Theo rose early the next morning in order to get the boat prepared by the time Granger arrived, so he didn't hear about Sirius Black's latest foray into the castle until she told him. If it was possible, she looked even more tired than ever with her red, puffy eyes. He strongly suspected she'd cried over the incident and how close Weasley had apparently come to death at the hands of Black. Despite the fact that she and Weasley seemed to have had a significant falling out, it was apparent that Granger still cared about him.

"But they found no sign of Black?" Theo asked as he helped Granger step into the boat.

She shook her head. "None. He vanished again." She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. It was a fine spring day but there was a distinct chill in the air even within the shelter of the boathouse. Once they had moved onto the lake properly, the wind would be much stronger and though that was great for sailing, it wouldn't make the temperature very pleasant for her.

"Here," he said, handing over a blanket that he had put a warming charm on. She took it gratefully and wrapped it tightly around her body. "What about you - won't you be cold?"

"Not really," he answered. "I like it." He made a last couple of checks and then untied the ropes that kept the boat secured in the boathouse. With a tap from his wand, the boat started to slowly glide towards the opening. He could sense Granger's eyes on him as he worked but he was intent on making sure that he took them out onto the lake smoothly. It was one thing to go sailing on his own but quite another to take a passenger that had put a lot of faith in his abilities.

The boat wasn't the same as the little ones the first years used but was a relatively small wooden dinghy complete with a mainsail, jib sail and rudder. It was the same boat he'd taken out whenever he went sailing and he knew it was reliable and responded well to him. When they were well clear of the boathouse, he released the sails and set to work to get them sailing comfortably into the lake. It took a lot of concentration and a fair amount of skill but Theo had sailed so much that he was able to move around the boat without hardly even thinking about what he was doing. His use of magic helped, of course, particularly when the boom would just swing through himself or Granger like they weren't really there. Apart from that, Theo liked to do most of the sailing work himself and only used his magic when necessary. He loved the feeling of working with the elements around him and although the smoothness of the lake wasn't the same as the crashing waves of home, the feel of the boat skimming through the water took him back there all the same. It was a feeling that was just as blissful and freeing as when he was dancing.

"How on earth do you know how to sail so well?" Granger asked him, her eyes wide and intrigued as she watched him move quickly around the boat.

"My family home is on the Cornish coast," he replied, adjusting the tiller slightly so that they changed course. "We have our own cove and everything. The sea - it's part of you when you live so close to it like we do, like the Notts have for centuries; it's practically in our blood." He leant over so that his fingers could glide through the water. "I've been told my father first took me out in his boat when I was just a few hours old and he taught me to swim and sail from an early age - to know how to respect the sea and her moods."

He withdrew his fingers from the icy water and glanced over at Granger. She was watching him keenly and he felt a wave of relief. He'd never really told anyone about his love for being on the water. The other Slytherins in his year knew that he occasionally went sailing on the lake at weekends but he doubted they knew how much it was a part of him. He didn't think his friends would understand but he felt completely at ease sharing with Granger. Perhaps it was because she already knew something about him that the rest of his house, save Tam, didn't. Still, it was extremely strange that the person he felt most able to open up to, to be his true self around, was a muggleborn Gryffindor that he would barely let himself look at, let alone touch, a few weeks ago.

"Do you still sail with your father now?" she asked.

Theo shook his head. "No, he prefers to be left alone with his thoughts - at one with the sea."

Granger frowned. "But you can't use magic when you're home. Surely it's pretty dangerous for you to go out on your own."

Theo shrugged. "It's best to get to know how to sail a boat without magic first," he explained, "and I can tell when the conditions aren't safe to sail. Besides, I'm never completely alone - I always have Carenza with me."

"Carenza?" Granger asked.

"My crup," Theo explained and then paused. "Do you know what a crup is?"

Granger frowned. "I don't think they're in the textbook that Hagrid gave us."

Theo refrained from rolling his eyes. "No, they're not in the 'Monster Book of Monsters' because they're not monsters. They're a wizarding breed of dog. Hang on, I think I've got a picture of her," he paused a moment to make sure that everything was OK with the boat and then reached inside his cloak to withdraw a couple of photographs that he handed carefully to her.

"Oh, she looks like a, um, a Jack Russell," Granger told him, her eyes following the movements of Carenza as she chased the waves on their cove. "She's so sweet."

"She can be," Theo agreed, "and she can also be a bloody menace but that's crups for you."

He looked back to their position on the lake and tried to determine a good place to stop. He wondered if Granger would rather go onto one of the islands rather than bob around on the boat for a few hours.

"Oh, is this your mother?" she asked and Theo's heart clenched painfully. "She's so beautiful."

"Yeah, she was," he said softly but Granger still heard him.

"Was?" she repeated in confusion and then her eyes widened. "Oh, she's not...is she?"

"My mother died when I was a child," he told her but kept his eyes focused on the surface of the lake. "She was sick for a very long time. The healers tried everything they could think of but, in the end, there was nothing they could do."

"Theo, I'm, I'm so sorry to hear that," Granger said, sounding like she meant it even though she didn't know his mother and, in all honesty, his mother wouldn't have liked Granger - she had been equally as fanatic about pureblood supremacy as his father.

"Thank you," he murmured. "It's not something I like to talk about."

"No, of course, I understand," she said. "Here." She held out the photographs to him and he tucked them securely back inside his cloak.

The mood had turned sombre and stagnant. Theo hated the feeling of it against his chest. He turned to Granger and forced a brighter tone to his voice as he said, "I know we came out here so you could rest but how about I put this boat through its paces first - show you what it's made of?"

Granger's eyes searched his face for a moment and then she nodded. "Alright. But if I end up in the water I'm not going to be pleased, Nott."

He nearly grinned. "Just keep a tight hold onto the side and you should be fine." He paused. "Wait - you can swim, right?"

She looked at him sharply but her voice was wary as she said, "Yes..."

"Then like I said, you should be fine." He waited until he had seen her grip the side of the boat and brace herself before he altered their course so that the full force of the wind was spurring them onwards. When he was confident he had the dinghy under control, he took out his wand and tapped the side of the boat to increase their speed.

Theo gave a whoop of delight as they raced through the water, the wind whipping madly around him. He deftly maneuvered around the boat to make sure they were safe as his soul practically sung with the joy of it. He glanced over at Granger, worried that she might not be enjoying their fast-paced ride but he found it hard to tell at first because the wind was blowing her hair wildly across her face. He tapped the side of the boat again and it slowed down a little. Granger drew a hand over her face to keep her hair out of the way and Theo was relieved to see that her eyes were bright and excited.

"That was incredible," she said with a laugh and then focused her gaze on him. "You're amazing."

Her words created a strange feeling in his chest and he was aware of his cheeks growing warm despite the bracing wind. He averted his eyes and noticed some familiar ripples in the water.

Before he could give Granger a warning, a couple of tentacles broke through the water and playfully nudged the side of the boat. She gave a gasp of alarm and shrank away from it, nearly falling onto Theo's legs.

"It's OK," he reassured her. "It won't hurt you." He aimed a charm at the sails which allowed the wind to flow right through them as though they were no longer there and tapped the side of the boat twice to make it stay in place on the surface of the lake. "The giant squid normally comes out to play when I'm sailing. It's perfectly harmless."

Granger sent him a disbelieving look but Theo reached down into the bottom of the boat and withdrew a small bundle from the picnic basket he'd requested from the kitchens.

"You brought the giant squid some lunch?" she asked faintly as she watched him unwrap a collection of raw fish.

"It would be rude not to," he told her with a hint of a smirk and she let out a breath of laughter.

The squid could tell that food was on its way because a couple more of the tentacles were sticking out of the water.

"Here you go, pal," Theo said, picking up a slippery bit of salmon and chucking it so that it landed a few feet away in the water. The fish disappeared instantly. Theo picked up another bit and threw it in the opposite direction.

"Do you want to throw some?" he asked Granger as she continued to watch him a little mystified.

"Uh, sure." She selected a chunk of tuna and flung it as hard as she could straight ahead of them. It landed with a small splash and they felt their boat bob in the water slightly thanks to the movements of the squid below them.

Theo threw a couple more pieces and then levitated a sardine into the air. "Watch this," he told her, making the small fish fly across the water in a random pattern. The surface of the lake was still for a few moments and then a tentacle burst upwards, slapping the fish down into the water.

They spent a couple more minutes feeding the giant squid until all the pieces of fish were gone.

Granger smiled at him as she scourgified the fish goop from her hands. "There's much more to you than meets the eye, isn't there, Nott?"

Theo shrugged because he couldn't think of anything to say in response.

There was a splashing noise behind them as the giant squid raised a couple of tentacles in farewell and they both waved.

Theo shrugged off his outer cloak and toed-off his shoes.

"What are you doing?" Granger asked.

"The safest time to go for a swim is after the giant squid's been around - lots of the other creatures in the lake are terrified of it," he explained simply.

Granger's eyes widened. "You're going for a swim?" she repeated incredulously as he took off his sweater. "The water's freezing - you're crazy!"

Theo laughed. "I always go for a swim when I take a boat out:I told you, water's practically in my blood." Granger continued to gape at him but for some reason this made him stand taller, carry himself with more confidence. "The temperature doesn't bother me," he claimed as he took off his shirt and strapped his wand into a holder on his forearm, "but I don't mind if you cast some warming charms on my clothes whilst I'm in the water."

"Oh, er, of course," she replied, still staring at him.

He gave her a nod, steadied himself for a moment, and then dived smoothly into the water.

OK, it was pretty bloody cold in the lake but it wasn't unbearable by any stretch. In fact, he welcomed the familiar sensation that zipped through his body like a spark of magic, bringing forth a feeling of vitality and vigour that he'd always loved. He swept his arms wide and kicked his legs powerfully to propel himself downwards into the murky water of the lake. Despite his claim to Granger that he would be safe, he would be a fool not to check that he wasn't interrupting a hunt by the merpeople or whether a swarm of grindylows were close by. He swivelled gracefully in the water but could see nothing to worry him so he kicked to take himself back up to the surface.

He heard Granger gasp as his head broke through a few feet away from the boat. "Thank Merlin - you were down there for ages - I thought something had happened."

"Worried about me, Granger?" he teased, flicking a little water her way but it didn't land anywhere close to her.

"Yes, but only because I would've been stuck on this boat without any way of getting back," she replied, her tone equally playful. "If you'd drowned or got yourself eaten it would've been your own silly fault for entering that icy water."

Theo swam a little closer. "Honestly, Granger, it's not that bad. You should come in."

She gave a short laugh. "No way. You might have a special bond with water that stops you from freezing to death but I can assure you that I don't." She suddenly seemed to realise that he was closer to her and that there was mischief in his eyes because she backed away a little and said, "Nott, don't you dare - I have a cold, remember?"

Theo held his hands up in a pacifying gesture to show that he meant no harm and wasn't going to splash her as he'd intended. "Fine. But when you're well again there's no excuse - particularly in summer." Her eyes searched his face for a moment and his confidence waned a little. "You know… if you want to come out again… there's no obligation or anything," he murmured and then submerged the lower part of his face in the water to hide some of his awkwardness.

Granger nodded and gave him a small smile. "I, er, bet it's lovely out on the lake in the summer."

Theo lifted his head again, buoyed by her words. "It is." He turned to the side slightly and gestured to a small island with his chin. "You see that island over there - it's got a little clearing that's perfect for studying in peace. That's where I thought we could go today so you can rest."

Granger turned to look at it and then switched her gaze back to Theo. "All right," she agreed.

"Let me just dive down once more and then we'll go," he promised.

Getting out of the water was actually much colder than being in it and he tried to repress any shivers as he accepted the warmth-charmed blanket from Granger. He rubbed it roughly over his torso and head to get rid of most of the water and then cast a drying charm on his trousers.

"Here," she said, handing over his heated shirt.

"Thanks," he said gratefully before tugging it over his shoulders.

"I still think you're a little crazy," she told him but there was amusement in her voice.

"And I think you're crazy for taking all the elective subjects so I guess that makes us even," Theo replied lightly as he accepted his cloak from her.

It didn't take him long to sail the boat over to the island and he magically moored it in place before helping her levitate their possessions over to dry land. He was about to offer to levitate Granger too, but she had already removed her shoes and socks and rolled up the legs of her trousers. She sat on the edge of the boat, took a deep breath and then lowered herself into the shallow water. She shrieked loudly. "Nott - it's freezing!" She turned astonished eyes on him briefly and then quickly waded out of the water, muttering under her breath.

Theo laughed and then half-jumped over the side to follow her.

"I swear my feet have gone numb already," she claimed, sitting on the stony shore and rubbing her feet in the warm blanket. "I'm not convinced that this excursion of yours is going to rid me of my cold after all."

Theo was about to make a retort but he was distracted by the weight of her bag. "Granger - have you brought homework with you?" he asked in an accusatorial tone. "You're supposed to be here to rest."

She let out a huff as she pulled her socks back on. "It's not work," she insisted. "It's just a little something else that I need to work on."

Judging by the weight of her bag, it certainly wasn't 'a little something' and he told her as much but she just ignored him and took the satchel from his hands once her shoes had been replaced. He led the way through the trees to the little clearing he'd discovered and they spent a couple of minutes making themselves comfortable by laying out the blanket and Granger charmed a portable blue fire that wouldn't damage the wildlife.

"So, what's this side project you're working on?" Theo asked as he poured her a cup of tea from the flask in the picnic basket.

Her mouth tightened and her eyes became a touch defensive. She reached into her bag with her spare hand and pulled out a hefty book which she placed on the blanket between them. He rotated the tome so that he could see the title. "Dangerous Animal Hearings of the Seventeenth Century," Theo read and then raised his eyes to her. "I don't understand."

"Buckbeak's hearing is in a few weeks," she explained primly. "I'm researching similar cases that will help Hagrid win."

Theo stared at her for a moment, trying to understand what she was talking about. He raised his eyebrows when he figured it out. "The hippogriff that attacked Draco? That's what this is about?"

She nodded curtly, her posture still defensive, but Theo couldn't stop himself from letting out a surprised laugh. "Why are you wasting your time on that?"

"To prevent a miscarriage of justice, of course," she declared. "Buckbeak's not dangerous - "

"He seemed pretty dangerous when he nearly ripped Draco's arm off," Theo pointed out.

"Only because Malfoy insulted him," she argued hotly. "Do you not remember Hagrid saying how proud they were? Why should Buckbeak be punished just because Malfoy is too arrogant to listen to instructions?"

"Oh, yeah, I forgot that you said Hagrid's your friend," Theo said, thankfully keeping his instinctive sneer out of his voice.

"I'm not doing this because Hagrid's my friend," Granger denied quickly and then sighed. "I'm not just helping him because he's my friend," she clarified, "It's not fair - Buckbeak's no more dangerous than any other hippogriff." She blew angrily on her tea to cool it down. "You remember Hagrid saying that they were proud, don't you?"

"Does it matter?" Theo asked.

"Of course the truth matters," she retorted.

"It won't make any difference to the outcome," he told her.

"Why not?"

"Because, if his son was injured, I know Lucius Malfoy will be there to see those responsible are punished," Theo said.

"So?" she asked moodily but he could tell that she knew what he was trying to say.

"Lucius has a lot of friends in the right places and a lot of sway within the Ministry," he explained. "Anyone that's judging in that hearing is more than likely to be one of his acquaintances or someone wanting to hold favour with him."

Granger scoffed and took an angry sip of tea. "Like that's justice," she muttered.

"Maybe it's not," Theo agreed, "But that's how the Ministry works according to my father."

Granger looked darkly at her tea. "Let me guess: the purer your blood, the more influence you have."

Theo recalled his conversation with signor Vittozzi about blood discrimination - about how it almost didn't matter that there wasn't a distinction between the actual blood because as long as people believed muggleborns to be inferior then it was enough to make it true; that purebloods would maintain the belief to keep the power between themselves. He had never really thought about that trickling down to a hearing for an alleged dangerous animal. He didn't think that Hagrid was muggleborn but that didn't really matter as he wasn't a pureblood either and therefore Lucius would win. It wasn't even worth the fight and he told her so.

"So Hagrid and I should just give up, should we?" she asked indignantly. "You do realise they'll almost certainly execute Buckbeak."

Theo shrugged. "Why fight something that's inevitable?"

Granger stared at him. "Wow," she said flatly. She shook her head and drank some tea and Theo did likewise. He wasn't sorry for what he'd said - he knew more about wizarding politics than she did and he knew that he was right.

"What if it was your crup?" she posed.

Theo looked at her sharply. "What do you mean?"

"You said she can be a menace - do crups ever attack people?"

"Not if they're well trained."

"Well, what if Carenza was provoked into hurting someone and then someone like Lucius Malfoy wanted to have her executed? Wouldn't you fight it if she means that much to you?"

His insides writhed at the very thought. "That's different," he claimed.

"Because you're a pureblood?" she queried and he nodded. "But I'm asking you to put yourself in Hagrid's position. Would a change in your blood status mean you'd be happy to hand her over without trying to stop her death?"

"Carenza's been with me since my mother died - silly as it sounds, she's my best friend. You can't compare that bond to a teacher and his hippogriff."

"Well, you don't know Hagrid like I do. He has a bond with animals like no other person I've ever met. Losing Buckbeak would completely devastate him and if there's a chance I can prevent that from happening, no matter how small, I'm going to do whatever I can."

She held his gaze challengingly for a moment then pulled another large book from her bag about dangerous animal hearings and started to look through it.

Theo just stared at her, taken aback by the passion with which she'd argued about someone else's hippogriff. As a Slytherin, he wasn't used to witnessing people put others before themselves in such a selfless manner. Granger didn't get anything in return from helping Hagrid, and Theo was still convinced that her efforts would be met with no reward. She was on the brink of an exhausted breakdown but she was still helping her friend. It would be easy to scoff at her Gryffindor traits rising to the fore and her naivety about how the world worked, but he found himself quite affected by her words. Maybe it was because she had involved Carenza - Theo's weak spot for sure.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, each looking at books that they'd brought with them until a wide yawn from Granger caught his attention. "You should catch up on some sleep," he told her. "That's why we came out here, remember?"

She didn't raise her eyes from the piece of parchment that she was making notes on. "I know but I want to finish looking through this section. I'm not even that tired anyway." She yawned again and then raised her eyes sheepishly as he sent her a pointed glance.

"You can finish that when you redo your morning," he reminded her, nodding at her notes.

"But what will you be doing?" she asked.

"Don't you trust me?" He forced his tone to be light but he felt unexpectedly hurt by her wariness.

"Oh, no, it's not that," she said easily and Theo's unhappiness was instantly swept away. "Are you not going to be really bored if I sleep for a couple of hours?"

"Hardly," Theo responded, indicating the book on Egyptian wizards he'd brought with him. "I can easily forget about the rest of the world when I'm reading." She held his gaze for a moment as though checking his sincerity. "Honestly, Granger. It's fine - get some rest."

"OK." She stoppered her ink and placed her book, parchment and quill to one side before lying back on the blanket with a sigh.

Theo was surprised to hear her breathing become steadier within just a couple of minutes but that only proved how exhausted she really was. It was a strange feeling to realise that Hermione Granger was comfortable enough to sleep in his presence but, then again, he'd thought nothing of stripping off half of his clothes in front of her. Well, that wasn't entirely true - diving into the cold water had been showing off a little bit because he'd enjoyed her admiring gaze when he'd sailed the boat so well and revealed his affinity with the giant squid.

Somehow, in a matter of weeks, Granger had come to know more about who he truly was than anyone else in his life and a part of him needed some approval in the early stages of his journey of self-discovery.

There was plenty to admire about her in return. Her intelligence and magical ability couldn't be argued with. He was also a little envious of her bravery, too - he didn't think he'd be able to endure the signora's obvious disdain week after week or the taunts she received from the rest of the Slytherins. And, though it was a little foreign to him, he was a little awed by the passion that burned within her for her friends and life in general. There was no sign of that inner fire while she slept - her face was quite calm.

His gaze flicked down to her notes. They were never going to see eye to eye on everything - their upbringings had been too different for that and their opposing houses were also indicative of their dissimilar personalities - but that didn't mean that there wasn't room for growth on both sides.

Theo put his own book to one side and reached for the animal tome and parchment instead. After reading a few pages, he picked up the quill and ink and started to write.


A/N Writing this story makes me happy. It's so interesting to write about two characters that have had such different experiences in their lives so far. I'd love to know what you think of this chapter and the story so far.

Love,

Red