After slogging through more meetings on the day I owled Draco to ask if he wanted to catch up over tea sometime. I don't know why, he had given little indication he had wanted my company from anything he said or did at the ball, but some part of me was distraught at the idea he was still angry at me. That he might've not forgiven me for whatever I did wrong. That there was ill feeling between us. Some part of me couldn't stand his silence or frostiness so I yearned for things to be normal between us again. By owling him and perhaps hanging out with him a few times in person, seeing him talk to me and interact with me normally, I would feel forgiven and in a better mood. It didn't have to be anything heavy, just a bit of normal chatter. Even if I didn't understand the reason he had been angry yet.

I swore it was a misinterpretation. I hadn't meant to be controlling of who he was friends with or wasn't, I was just surprised he hated Theo so much. I frowned, remembering my mother's words. If Theo was the only person so similar to Draco, especially through something not others our age understood - being a deatheater - and my mother said Draco relied on Theo or would rely on him for some things, then why would he also hate Theo at the same time? People were complicated I suppose. Did Draco rely on Theo for a reason, and hate him for another?

I frowned. I knew that if I hated somebody's guts but found myself relying on them for a sense of normalcy because I did something like join the deatheaters I would feel quite terrible. I was glad that as much as Tracey or Celestia annoyed me, at least my reason for relying on them was nothing similar to finding normalcy from them due to something like joining the deatheaters.

Of course I couldn't ask Draco these outright, we still didn't talk of the deatheaters between us or the war, so I owled him a polite conversation starter, asking if he'd wanted to meet and chat for a bit. He would get my drift that it was nothing important besides wanting to maintain good relations with him.

I stared a little forlornly of into the cold grey skies past my study as I waited for a reply back. Dusk was already here and it would likely be dark by the time an owl came back, if it did today at all. Draco had mentioned he wasn't particularly busy in the few days after the ball so I didn't need to worry about disrupting him then.

Draco had been so silent about matters relating to the war that he had not spoken about Crabbe's death at all, which I was sure was something that was affecting him. As much as I hated Celestia and Tracey, a part of me would feel distraught if they died too. The idea of Crabbe, someone in our year, dying in the war, was horrifying. I couldn't believe it was real when I heard the news from Tracey over the summer holidays between the end of the war and this year. No one had told me immediately after the war, it seemed no one that knew was quick or eager to spread it around, but eventually when I found out...I still remembered the cold feeling deep in my gut I had at the news.

Although I wasn't close to Crabbe or Goyle, I had barely spoken to them, I was around them sometimes because they were around Draco, especially in the younger years. I was probably the Slytherin girl who knew them the best, and a part of me was distraught that they died as well. Crabbe and Goyle were a bit like Millicent, they were not particularly flashy nor sharp, but they were not idiots, were part nobility, and should've had a long life in front of them. They were to Draco what Millicent and Daphne were to me, and I was always under the impression Draco found a bit of real friendship from them. They were his rock through Hogwarts.

Draco had kept completely silent about Crabbe but a part of me suspected he had been grieving inside. I could not ask him about it however. Draco didn't like talking about many things and I suspected he would simply say it was none of my business if I did bring it up. A part of me hurt for Draco hurting for Crabbe as well.

The reply came back in about thirty minutes. My heart fell as I read it. A sharp tone, witty, but caustic. He reminded me that the upcoming ball Daphne was holding was quite major and that we were expected to dance well there so I better get practicing (he had known of my dislike of dancing and reuse of a tutor, I had mentioned it to him at some point in chatter) and a declination of any invitation to hang out. The letter had a nasty sting to it, as if he was going to hate me if I did anything but prepare for the ball in an ordinary manner and then carry out the appearances we were supposed to have there. If I did anything out of line he would hate me further.

I sighed before penning a response.

Draco had not made me feel better but he had not exactly ignored me entirely and so I found myself in the grey again.

I was sorry I asked him about Theo, about his friends, as he clearly didn't want to talk about it. I hadn't meant to come of as controlling but I didn't think he wanted to hear me bring it up again.

After I sent the letter I got up and wondered about the house again, taking in the beautiful sights and thinking about the centuries of successful marriages that lead to a stable and formidable couple that grew our wealth, and how difficult it was to replicate it with Draco. Why did romance seem to elude me when my parents had a picture perfect relationship, and so did Draco's parents, and Daphne's, and a lot of society couples that I knew? Why was my life so hard?

The next morning I had not expected there to be any joy out of the ordinary for me but Theo had sent me an owl asking if we could meet up to discuss a business proposal. Although I had not thought it would have anything truly interesting, perhaps just his attempt at maintaining good relations between purebloods by discussing his business matters or updating us on it, that I would have to decline politely and compliment at the same time, but upon reading it, it was actually a rather sharp idea.

Although a part of me thought it might still be boring or not ultimately something I was interested in after I heard Theo's offer to explain it in more depth later on, a part of me was also interested by the ideas he presented in the letter.

Deciding that it would do no harm to hear them out I answered him an affirmative and found myself looking forward to his presence after a gathering with my family that day where I'd learnt several cousins had made a lot of money modelling and that it had been a good season for them. The one job that was acceptable for pureblood society housewives to get was apparently modelling, because it was seen as a way of showing the world how much better we were than the others. It wasn't really a job, just a show-off affair, and unfortunately it only went to those with beauty to show of.

I felt the usual mix of stabbing jealousy and hatred when I heard it. I would never be beautiful enough for it. I merely pretended to not be interested in it everytime the topic came up as if it was too much work and boring to me. Even though a part of the reason was because I knew I would be unlikely to truly fit the criteria for it.

After the day I found myself looking forward to the meeting with Theo with lukewarm feelings. It was at his Manor but his parents were out.

"Horribly annoying, parents," he had said when I arrived, "I don't see why we have to introduce ourselves to them and keep up good relations everytime we simply wanted to talk. It's too much fuss for a casual friendship."

"Do they not know I'm here?" I asked.

The Nott Manor was a tall rectangular building with a flat roof, full of grey, with the same rectangular windows across all the walls and bright lights shining from within. It was large and looked a little like a muggle prison from the scandalous tabloid magazines my father had bought at some point, but it had housed the Nott family for generations, housed a lot of magical artefacts and magical doings in there, and also lead to greatness, even if Theo was less show-offy about it than Draco was.

Tall blackened trees surrounded the Manor. They were leafless and their twisted boughs spiralled into the sky like they were desperate to reach the heavens. I had been there for balls and met his father before, though I had not particularly been close to them or made much of an impression on them to my memory, and it had been as gloomy as I'd remembered it, but there were some small green ivy with flowering white flowers hung up like banners near the outside, and a new pot plants of white roses as we'd walked in.

They hadn't been there last time so I wondered if Theo had put them there on purpose to make it a little nicer. I wondered when was the last time he had company over. He had always been such a loner I found it hard to imagine any of the Slytherin boys from Hogwarts going to his house much even though I suppose he must've had at least a handful of people over throughout his entire years at Hogwarts.

"Father knows I'm having an old friend from Hogwarts over but it's of no importance that he must meet us and I could do without the politeness I must put on if he was here," said Theo as he lead me past rooms and rooms of his manor, a lot of coffee rooms, sitting and living rooms, until we arrived in what looked like a pleasant tea room.

I had remembered seeing the tall squarish form of his father alone at a ball when I was 7 years old and my mother giving me a glance that said to not comment on it and later hearing about how his mother had died when he was 5 and that I was forbidden to ask why, how, or whatever feelings he had towards the affair, which my mother assured me was likely a lot even if he said little about it. Nott Sr had not married and although I was left to conclude that the Nott Manor had likely not seen a female decorating it for about that many years I did not think the tea room was unpleasant at all.

It was a mix of grey, white and black, a glass coffee table, glass accent tables, glass chandeliers, plush velvet black couch with a few splotches of orange ornaments and vases for colour. It gave the appearance of a generic set of items one purchased from a store, but the taste matched a somewhat modern and current trend and it did not look indecent.

Of course the Notts could've had relatives decorate the manor for them but in the few tidbits my parents mentioned about that family since that initial conversation they had been of the opinion Nott Sr was particularly secluded for a wealthy pureblood socialite and they wouldn't be surprised if they kept to just themselves and seldom had much company over.

"Tea?" he asked as he plumped up some cushions. I took a spot on the velvet couch opposite him.

"As what's fit for the situation," I said with a bit of a tight smile at him, "your proposal was interesting because I didn't usually think about combining our wealth in an investment. Though you are right in that what you've pointed about about this particular business proposal that's come your way is incredibly profitable, but you lack the capital to fully fund the investment. You are sharp about the combined power of our fortunes being enough to fully fund it, and truthful about the fact that I would have to be fully comfortable with this decision before I invested in it, as it is my fortune it is touching on. That is very true."

"That would be in order, Electrum," said Theo as a middle aged house elf with a white beard, butler's suit and shoes appeared. "Fetch the prepared tea," he instructed Electrum.

The house elf nodded before disappearing and reappearing almost a few seconds later with a crack. The tea table was suddenly filled with a white porcelain teapot, cups and saucers, and a wide variety of tea foods - sandwiches, meat pies, cakes, biscuits, and crystal clear vases of soft pink flowers.

"Thank you," said Theo as Electrum nodded before disappearing. "I'm glad you understand the gist behind the proposal. What I wanted to talk about today was exactly how it's more profitable than the other investments so you agree to invest your money in it for the best reason," he said with a nod as he poured the tea.

"I thought house elves were out of fashion," I said, "only a handful of families still use them now. It's controversial."

"The Notts are one of the lucky ones who know how to employ a house elf correctly under the new politics," said Theo with a nod, "and it's more forgivable than most others in society because everyone is quite aware of the demise of the late Mrs Nott."

Theo was blunt as he said it but he did not offer any more information and I did not think it was a good idea to ask. Electrum was clearly male but I house elves always had a knack to them when it came to well, house chores so I was not surprised at Electrum's efficiency with the tasks. The fact that he was wearing clothes however suggested Theo might've arranged a way of paying the house elf as he was now freed but he could've been working with the family for decades before he was freed.

"The house looks amazing," I complimented, meaning to intend that I approved of Electrum's work. I could understand why Electrum was so important to the Notts now.

"I'm glad it looks decent," said Theo. He had his arms spread wide, sprawled about, one leg crossed over the other and resting on his knee as if he lived in luxury and splendour and owned every drop of the greatness he was within. The more time I spent with Theo the more I became aware that he was just as wealthy, just as rich, just as snobby, as Malfoy had been, and that he had not forgotten about wealthy socialite arrogance at all, just boasted about it less than Malfoy did at Hogwarts, but he did not give of an air of being less inwardly sure of himself and his wealth. He seemed to own it no less.

"So, the business proposal..."

Theo had an intelligent way of explaining things to me. It was like he predicted what I was going to think about everything and supplied a supple explanation and example before I'd even asked, meaning the discussion flowed smoother than I predicted and the few questions I did have were gone into more depth than I expected because we had time on our side. Although I had little opinion of Theo at Hogwarts by the end of the conversation I did not think Theo was unintelligent at all.

Rather a part of me mistrusted him. I felt like he was devious and intelligent enough to potentially pull tricks on others, try to scam them out of their money, or become very tricky later on. He gave of the distinct aura of being capable of doing that and I found myself filing it all away carefully. Grey, just like my relationship with Malfoy. Theo was not somebody I could totally trust, but he was not useless to me either. He was not someone I could feel completely happy about, but not someone I could bring myself to hate either.

"That's a really intelligent way for that business to earn money," I said, "how did you even find such a company to invest in? It's got to be one of the better investments in all of the wizarding world at current."

Theo chuckled, "it is and I like business. It is where I want to spend the next few decades of my life doing - growing the Nott fortune. It has always been dwarfed by the Malfoy and Parkinson fortune and I lived my whole life wishing to see it overtake yours. No offense, but you don't know the feeling of second best like I have, and I have an interest and thirst for business that makes it interesting to find these investments. I'm in correspondence with many other people as well as yourself."

The Malfoys and Parkinsons were the most wealthy families for several generations, it was a well-known fact and many families looked up to us, so this comment was not offense to me, just an honest admission of a likely thought of Theo's, but I had been a bit surprised he cared so much about growing his fortune. Draco and I were the next in line to our respective fortunes and it seemed we both preferred to do the bare minimum to invest it, but Theo had the drive with it we didn't.

"Why not Malfoy? He could've contributed some of his fortune and it would've been a joint deal between the three of us. It could've worked out to be more profit," I said before sipping my tea a little. The spread had been nice whilst we chatted.

"He doesn't have a lot of wealth in the form of cash at the moment," said Theo, "he has been busy attending to matters after the war. His wealth is tied up with things. Our fortunes are better suited for this."

"Well. It is a profitable idea. The Parkinsons always consider that. You have made it convenient and easy for me to understand what's going on. It would be foolish of me to turn down this offer of collaboration," I said.

I did not invest my parents fortune, just the portion of it in my bank account which was a hefty amount compared to the amount of cash other wizarding family's had to play around with in their bank accounts and we sighed a magical contract on it. Contract magic, another branch of magic purebloods were almost experts in and one I had known well. It was father's favourite branch of magic and he'd explained a lot of it to me in dribs and drabs over the years growing up. I knew how to recognise a good one, how to read the contract and make sure the terms and conditions were in my favour.

After we signed we shook hands a bit more, exchanged more pleasantries, before he escorted me out.

"Thank you for making this business investment easy for me," he said.

"Thank you for making it easy for me. I could've been more confused," I said in response with a small smile.

When I got home I had more letters to answer which preoccupied me until dinner. I was in a generally mellow mood except reflecting on the ebb and flow of my life and the new addition to it. Wealthy socialite families tended to grow their own wealth separately, in their own investments, but sometimes they did come together, to exchange advice or knowledge, to sometimes combine capital if a business deal was extremely profitable, and I would have to get used to the ebb and flow of things. Perhaps I would be seeing and hearing more of Theo now that we were out of Hogwarts and in this stage of our lives where we had more to do with each other.

I didn't feel any happier or more miserable at that. Theo was easy to work with, but I also did not trust him nor find him friendly, welcoming or truly pleasant in any regard. He was neither here nor there, but just another change in the scenery of the people I interacted with in my life.

After stewing in the feelings from that relevation for a few more moments it was soon time for dinner. I put down my quill for now and headed out of my darkened office. What a day that was neither here nor there.

Author's Note: Pansy doesn't like him yet but as we can see, Theo can be charismatic and finds chemistry with people when he wants to be.