XXIX

Dorothea arrived at the library for her usual study hall and paused at the entrance to begin looking for her brother. A task made harder given Theo's tendency to wander the library and that so many Slytherins preferred to sit in odd solitary places. She caught sight of Draco and Pansy chatting animatedly at one of the tables- a magazine spread before them. Daphne was nowhere to be seen. The table that Hermione had used to monopolize with Ron and Harry's reluctant accompaniment had been taken over by older Hufflepuffs- which pricked Dora's conscience once more. There was still no word from her-

"Dorathea?" Morag was crossing towards her, a folded piece of paper outstretched in her hand. When the taller girl was close enough that she wouldn't be shouting across the room, she asked, "You're looking for your brother, right?"

Dorothea nodded. Had Moraga seen him? Before she could ask if the other Ravenclaw had seen him, Morgan continued. "Boot- Terry Boot- approached him and struck up a conversation. They left the library about ten minutes ago. Theo gave me this note for you."

She handed Dorathea the folded scrap of paper which Dora quickly opened to see her brother's familiar script.

Dora-

Gone to art room with Boot. Says he's a friend of yours? Talk later.

- Theo

"There's an art room at Hogwarts?" Dorothea asked in surprise. Even with all of Harry's wanderings last year, she'd never heard of an art room.

Morag nodded, "Up on the fifth floor. Near the East tower. There's a nice gallery wall there too for students to display their work."

"Interesting," Dora folded the piece of paper between her fingers. Maybe it was less of a surprise that Harry had never ventured that far. Neither Ron nor Hermione were terribly artistically inclined, after all. If they had known about the room, either through a careful study of Hogwarts a History or from family members, they wouldn't have made a point to visit. Hermione probably considered an art room outside her scope of interest and if Ron knew, he probably thought it was boring.

Harry would have too, Dora realized a little sadly. It wasn't until she'd become Dorothea and Theo had explained the family magic in the Nott tapestries that she'd ever considered how much art decorated the wizarding world. The magical portraits, of course, but also the care and detail that went into every aspect of the construction of these halls- from the filagree on the suits of armor to the detailing on the wood molding. Would she lose that after she became Harry?

She shook off the melancholy mood with effort and tried to focus on the other surprise of the note. Terry had approached Theo? She and Boot had struck up an easy, ongoing conversation about art and color between classes and in the common room, but while she'd been meaning to introduce Terry to her brother, she hadn't found the right time or place. Terry seemed allergic to the library, despite his sorting, and was always arriving late to meals. Probably, she realized, because of so much time spent in the aforementioned art room.

Well, nevertheless, he must have impressed or intrigued Theo enough to lure him out of the library which worked perfectly for her plans. She just hoped that Theo didn't get the wrong idea and decide to hex Terry because he considered friendly half-bloods to be a poor match for a Nott-

"Would you like to study with us?" Morag said, interrupting her thoughts. Dorathea looked up in surprise. She'd assumed that with Theo's vanishing, she'd be forced to study by herself- an unappealing prospect at the best of times. Especially considering that the only other people she felt comfortable interrupting were Draco and Pansy and that was out of the question; she'd already inserted herself between them once too many times.

"Us?" Dora asked. Morag ducked her head, a small blush rising on her pale face.

"I study with the Hufflepuffs," She said like she was admitting to some great sin. Before Dora could react, she continued forcefully, "They're actually very good study partners. They stay very focused and organized. And they-"

Dora held up her hands placatingly. "Morag, don't worry! I've seen how well the Hufflepuffs do during the practical exams." To a one, the house of the Bader was invariably well prepared any time a teacher called them up to perform a charm or spell before the class. Dorothea couldn't speak to their test grades- because, unlike certain other bespeckled Ravenclaws, she wasn't in the habit of peering at others' papers when they were handed back. So, she had no issues with the Hufflepuffs- no matter the Gryffindors general perception of them. Plus, this might be her only chance to meet her classmates of that house, thereby making a few more acquaintances for Harry when he returned.

Dora smiled and hoisted her bag further up her shoulder. "Thank you for the invitation," She said, falling back on the proper etiquette that Lady Malfoy instilled in her during their time together. "I would be delighted to study with your group. I've got a few questions about the potions essay Professor Snape assigned. I think the Third variation on the Pepper-up potion was something you went over before I arrived?"

Morag's shoulders relaxed at her acceptance, "Yes. We did that potion last November. You can ask Susan about it- she's great at Potions."

…

While Morag might have been pleased about Dorothea joining their study group, the sentiment was not universal. As the two girls approached the huddle of yellow and black, the happy buzz of conversation abruptly quieted as every head turned to look at them. Dorathea stiffened but didn't let the pleasant expression drop from her face. Already, she'd had too much experience being at the center of attention.

"Dorathea, please meet Susan Bones, Hannah Abbot, Megan Jones, Zacharias Smith, and Wayne Hopkins." Morag introduced the Hufflepuffs in order and Dorothea gave them each a quick nod of greeting. Some faces she recognized from Harry's time at Hogwarts, and others were completely new. The anti-social git. "Everyone, this is Dorothea Nott. My friend."

Dorathea resisted the urge to raise her eyebrows in surprise but mentally upgraded Morag from close acquaintance to friend in her mental reckoning. Morag was clearly going out on a limb for her with this unexpected and undiscussed invitation. Well. That was interesting. Dorathea decided she'd be even more on her best behavior.

"Hello everyone," She said politely, taking a seat at the table. "Thank you for letting me study with you, Morag said you were some of the hardest working students."

"Well, we are Hufflepuffs," said one of the girls- Megan something? Dorothea couldn't tell if her tone was sarcastic or serious. The Hufflepuff's skepticism seemed shared by the rest of the table who seemed to alternate between glaring at Morag, staring at Dorothea with distaste, or maintaining a carefully neutral expression. It was the neutral expression that worried Dora the most.

Should she leave? Studying alone for one study hall wouldn't kill her and she could thank Morag later. But a stubborn part of Dorathea's soul dug its heels in. How dare these Hufflepuffs make such unwarranted judgments about her when they'd never spoken together once! If it was Harry Potter joining the table, they'd probably have fallen over themselves to befriend him.

Instead of reflecting the bad attitude, Dorothea put on her best smile and turned to the girl with the most controlled expression, "Susan Bones, right? Morag said you were amazing at potions and I had a question about the essay Professor Snape assigned-"

"Don't answer her, Sue." One of the boys hissed in a voice that didn't even try to be quiet. "She's probably trying to do something awful."

"With her potions homework?" Susan - Sue?- answered sardonically. She had a deep voice even as a second year and Dorothea could already see she'd be a force to be reckoned with by the time she graduated. "Grow up, Zach."

The boy flushed hotly but refused to back down. His glare transferred to Dorothea and she suddenly recognized the name. Zacharias Smith. Of the Smith family. An ancient and noble house that could trace its roots back to Lady Hufflepuff herself. Why was he being such an ass if he was on the same social level as her? Even Daphne had treated her politely - if viciously- when they first met and she had far more reason to dislike Dorothea.

"Grow up?" He demanded, voice rising shrilly, "Grow up? Your family might be fine mucking about with corpses, Susan-" Dorateha didn't miss the flinch from the other members of the group or the blank expression that fell over Susan's face again. The dark-haired boy put a restraining hand on Smith's arm, but Zacharias shook it off as he continued. "- but some of us have standards. Some of us refuse to consort with the Dark families, lest we lose our claim to the Light!"

His speech had attracted the attention of the surrounding students- much to the other Hufflepuff's embarrassment - though no one spoke up to correct him. Luckily, Dorothea had become rather used to being the center of attention.

"What does it mean to be a dark family?" Dorathea asked, widening her eyes slightly. When in doubt, Lady Malfoy had counseled, it never hurts to play dumb. At worst, they will learn to underestimate you. At best, you will gain valuable information and disarm an enemy. From shocked expressions on the Hufflepuff's faces and the way Smith deflated, Dorathea knew she'd chosen the right approach. So, she upped the ante.

Tilting her head to the side in a way reminiscent of Daphne at her most coy, she continued, "I mean, I know I'm new here and don't know all the intricacies of the world, but I haven't seen any evidence of dark magic. And when I visited Nott keep, all the torches worked just fine."

Before Zacharias had time to collect himself, the curly-haired girl jumped in.

"See, I told you," she said overt-riding Zachariah's sputtering. "I told you that she was different. Morag wouldn't make a mistake like that."

"Yes, but-"

"Plus, Terry said that she has excellent taste in art and he would know." This made the other Hufflepuffs pause and nod seriously as though that was a valid point. Artistic preference, Dorathea privately thought, wasn't a great indicator of moral character, but she'd take it right now. The girl, she now noticed, had colorful paint flecks around her cuffs. She must be another one who knew about the mysterious art room.

"How does that-"

"Nott, you said you had a potions question?" Now it was Susan who interrupted the increasingly irate pureblood as she fixed her pale eyes on Dorothea. Dorothea nodded. "Excellent, let's have a look at it. The rest of you- let's keep reviewing the charms notes for this next week."

And that was that. Susan was clearly the voice of some authority in their group and once she'd accepted Dorothea, the rest fell into line. Only Zacharias seemed irritated, but the artistic girl, Megan, and the dark-haired boy, Wayne, kept him effectively distracted with quiz questions while Morag and Hannah graded each other's essays and Susan broke down last November's potion almost as well as Hermione.

As Morag promised, the Hufflepuffs were diligent if a bit pedantic. Dorothea personally didn't think they needed to memorize the exact definitions found in the textbook if the general meaning was grasped, but she was in the minority at this table. Still, it wasn't so bad. She'd been able to explain a tricky charm variation to Megan, Hannah had somehow managed to sneak in cookies for everyone during their five-minute break and by the end, her potion's essay was one of the strongest she'd written.

When the study hall ended, she bid adieu to the Hufflepuffs and accepted their offer to study with them again next week with pleasure. But she was a little disappointed to still not have a better answer to what made a dark or light family.