A/N Thank you for all your support, as always.


Fourth Year - Part Four

The rehearsal room was buzzing with an atmosphere that Theo had never experienced before. It was also incredibly crowded. The reason behind both of these observations was that Hogwarts' dance students had been joined by their counterparts from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Small groups of pupils were dotted around the studio, whispering and staring at the guests. The foreign students had been resident at Hogwarts for just over a month now and both schools had been given rehearsal slots for their dance students because there was hardly room for ballet classes aboard the Beauxbatons carriage or the Durmstrang ship. However, today all three schools would be dancing together for the first time as it had been decided that a cross-school dance would be performed at the Yule Ball. It wouldn't be ballet in the classical sense of pointe shoes and tutus - the students were to perform in their dress robes because the Vittozzis didn't want the pupils to miss out on enjoying the special occasion along with everyone else. All Hogwarts ballet students from the Fourth Year up who would be attending the Ball were expected to take part, and any of the students that studied dance at Beauxbatons or Durmstrang were invited too. Just like everyone else, Theo was excited to see what the foreign dancers were like - not much was known about either school but it was common knowledge in pureblood circles that they both produced exceptional ballet dancers.

The level of whispered buzzing increased as Fleur Delacour glided into the room, flanked by a couple of her friends. Theo wasn't surprised to see her because she had obvious grace and a good posture that spoke of a ballet background. However, he wasn't expecting any of the other champions to join her. As far as Theo knew, their interests lay on the quidditch pitch rather than the dance studio. That was certainly true of Potter but Theo had heard that Cedric Diggory had been a ballet student for a couple of years. Theo also wouldn't have been surprised to hear that Krum might have studied ballet at Durmstrang because he thought the class might be compulsory there, but the international seeker was notably awkward-looking. Someone could get away with round shoulders on a broomstick but it would drive a ballet instructor barmy.

As he was thinking about the male Triwizard champions, Granger walked past with a couple of older students from her house. The timing was quite apt, really, considering that he now came to associate each one of the male champions with her.

The Potter connection was obvious. After the Gryffindor had been unexpectedly announced as a champion, he'd attached himself to Granger like a limpet, much to Theo's annoyance. He didn't really understand why Potter had decided to distance himself from Weasley and the rest of his house and nor did he care. Potter was just an attention-seeking, glory-hunting show off. All the Gryffindors and most of the staff worshipped the ground he walked on. He'd treated Granger awfully last year but she was staunchly loyal towards Potter and wouldn't hear a word against him. It was ridiculous. Theo had really begun to resent the way Potter took Granger's time away from him, and he'd realised just how alone and dependent he was on regular meetings with her to help get him through each week. Times spent rehearsing, studying or relaxing with Granger were the only moments when he didn't have to pretend to be someone he wasn't. Sometimes his housemates made him so annoyed with all their ignorant, bigoted comments that he wanted to scream. But he didn't. What would be the point? They were perfectly happy with their prejudiced views and the privilege they received because of them. At least Theo's views remained unknown to the rest of his house. He had feared that Potter's discovery of his friendship with Granger would create trouble but she had convinced Potter to keep quiet. Not only that, but she and Theo had been able to spend more time with each other again. He wouldn't go as far as saying he was grateful to Potter for accepting his friendship with her - Granger was her own person and could be friends with whoever she wanted - but he appreciated that Potter had kept his mouth shut and his nose out of other people's business… relatively speaking.

A couple of days after he'd walked into their rehearsal, Potter had confronted Theo in a random, deserted corridor. Theo had rolled his eyes when the Gryffindor stepped out behind a suit of armour.

"What do you want, Potter?" Theo sneered.

The other boy set his jaw, glaring at him. "Look, Nott, this thing you have with Hermione - I don't like it. At all."

"Good to know," Nott answered sarcastically and made to move past him, but Potter blocked his way.

"She wants me to trust you, but that's not going to happen any time soon," he said. "So, I'm going to have to trust her instead. She's got faith in you - that you're not like everyone else in your house, you don't think like them and you won't hurt her."

Theo felt an uneasy spasm in his gut and he re-experienced the fear that he would let Granger down one day, that he couldn't be the person she thought she saw when she looked at him. He gritted his teeth, partly to stave off that despair but also in irritation at having to endure this conversation with Potter. "I won't," he said shortly.

Potter nodded stiffly. "I'll make you regret it if you do."

"Piss off, Potter - you don't scare me," Theo scoffed, as he pushed past him.

For Granger's sake, Theo was only mildly disappointed when Potter wasn't taken out by his dragon during the first task.

The link to Diggory was new, and quite bizarre. It had only come about thanks to Granger's obsession with helping house elves. He and Granger had met with the Hogwarts elves a few days ago and the meeting had been interesting to say the least.

All had begun as expected as the elves enthusiastically welcomed their guests into the kitchens, showering them with food and drinks, much to Granger's distaste. It was obvious that the elves were delighted to serve the students and he hoped that Granger could actually see how happy they were without claiming that they were brainwashed.

"No, really, we don't want anything," she said, almost wincing as the elves listed even more ostentatious beverages and snacks in an attempt to please their guests.

"Just a pot of tea and a slice of carrot cake each will do," Theo instructed the elves. He felt Granger's eyes flash to him in annoyance as a couple of elves hurried away from the crowd to carry out the order. "If you didn't accept any of their offerings they would have become either grossly offended or anxious, Granger," he told her quietly so that the remaining creatures wouldn't overhear them as they escorted the students to one of the four long tables that mimicked their replicas in the Great Hall.

She let out a little huff and murmured back, "You could've at least said please."

Theo shrugged. He couldn't ever recall saying please to Corm or Wenna before but he wasn't about to admit that to Granger.

She instinctively took a seat at the 'Gryffindor' table and Theo only hesitated for a few seconds before sitting opposite her. Clearly house affiliations ran deep even in the kitchens and he couldn't help a little smirk as he promised himself that this would be the only time he sat at this table.

Granger shuffled up her side of the bench to leave room for more people to sit next to her, but when she saw the rest of the elves still standing at the end of the table she stopped. "Aren't you going to take a seat too?" she asked, gesturing to the space beside her. A number of elf ears flapped in surprise and anxiety at such a proposal.

"Oh, no, Missy Herminny, that wouldn't be right," Juni, the apparent leader of the elf delegation, told her with wide eyes. "You and the young Master just sit right there and, look, here comes your refreshment." The elves beamed at them, their earlier discomfort of a few seconds ago erased by their pleasure at serving guests. Theo had the grace not to look in Granger's direction as she slid back down the bench to a position opposite him once more.

She hid her embarrassment by making a loud show of thanking the elves for the tea and cake that was settled on the table in front of them. Theo could feel her gaze boring into his skull and he was sure a swift kick to his shins would have followed if he hadn't also thanked the elves for their service.

"Now, Juni, I believe Professor Dumbledore informed you that I wanted to talk to yourself and the other elves about your working conditions," she said as she poured herself a cup of tea from the large pot before replacing it and rotating the pot so that the handle was pointed towards Theo so that he could help himself.

From the corner of his eye, Theo saw Juni nod happily. "Yes, Missy Herminny. We are greatly honoured to serve Headmaster Dumbledore and all those who live within these walls."

Granger's lips pressed into a thin line at the gushing enthusiasm but Theo's pulled into a slight smirk around his first mouthful of cake. For a while, things didn't really improve from there. No matter what Granger asked about employee rights, holiday time or sick leave Juni saw no fault at all with the current system. The elf's overflowing praise of his employer was so obsequious that it actually started to unsettle Theo. From his Granger-encouraged research on the matter, Theo knew that elves were an intelligent race with their own magical capabilities, and to hear Juni sing the praises of wizarding kind with such awe and reverence was a little sickening. What was worse was that the elf wasn't being sycophantic or oily in his praise of his masters in order to win favour from Granger or anyone else: the elf genuinely believed every word that was coming out of its mouth. For the first time, Theo actually fully comprehended how problematic the enslavement of house-elves was - how witches and wizards had made the decision at some point to put themselves above house elves and now everyone accepted as fact that this was how it should be. Theo had certainly seen no problem with it, almost like his former view of blood supremacy… His gut clenched at the revelation and he pushed the rest of his cake aside, feeling nauseated.

He glanced over at Granger and saw frustration written all over her face in response to Juni's comments. While Theo still thought that it was good for her to actually talk to an elf to get an insight into their views, he could see that her line of questioning wasn't going to get her anywhere. Call it brainwashing or long-held societal beliefs, but the vast, vast majority of elves were happy and accepting of their standing in life. No line of questioning to elves like Juni was going to further SPHERE's cause. They needed someone from the tiny minority: an elf that wasn't like the others and actually wanted change. If they could find an elf like that, then maybe he or she could make some of the other elves open their minds to the truth.

In response to that thought, Theo instinctively glanced over at where the rest of the elves were busily working away amid giant pots and pans, but he hardly expected a suitably minded elf to appear out of nowhere. There was a sudden squeak and a mixture of bright colours darted out of view. Theo would've thought nothing of it but the very fact that there was such an assortment of colours amidst the standard uniform he'd seen all the elves wear piqued his curiosity.

"What is it?" Granger asked, noticing the expression on his face.

He didn't answer her for a few moments, but continued to stare where the disturbance had come from. After a couple of seconds a small, anxious face peered around the side of a large saucepan. Bizarrely, the elf was wearing a tea-cosy on its head like a hat but, just as strangely, Theo was quite sure that he'd seen the elf somewhere before.

The elf took another tentative step forwards, inadvertently revealing more of its outfit. Granger gasped softly and Theo's eyebrows rose in faint disbelief at the odd assortment of bright clothes: tie, shorts and mismatched socks. The very fact that this elf was wearing clothes at all was astonishing because everyone knew that to free an elf you simply had to give them an item of clothing.

"Hello," Granger greeted the elf gently. "I'm Hermione and this is Theo. Who are you?"

The elf hesitated a moment and then said, "My name is Dobby, Miss."

"Dobby?" the witch and wizard repeated in unison. Theo finally made the connection: this was Draco's elf. Theo had seen him a few times at Malfoy Manor when the boys had been growing up but he couldn't recall seeing the elf on his more recent visits. He'd thought nothing of it at the time but now it was clear that the elf had been released from his servitude of the Malfoy family.

"You're Harry's friend!" Granger exclaimed excitedly, breaking Theo from his thoughts as he turned to her curiously. "The one who warned him about the Chamber of Secrets."

This was such a surprising turn of events that Theo wouldn't be surprised if his eyebrows had disappeared into his hairline. Dobby seemed to grow a few inches taller at Granger's words and his face looked set to burst with joy.

"Yes, Miss Herminny, that was Dobby!" he responded eagerly, nodding his head rapidly. "Dobby had to keep Harry Potter safe and away from danger."

"It was very brave of you to defy your masters the way you did," Hermione told him earnestly, "And I'm particularly glad that Harry was able to trick them into freeing you." At these words the elf shot a quick, nervous glance at Theo.

He frowned. "Do you remember me, Dobby?"

The elf nodded, still clearly nervous. "Yes, Master Theo. You is one of Master Draco's friends."

Theo shook his head. "Not anymore. Not really."

Dobby's face became cautiously optimistic at these words and he glanced over at Granger before returning his gaze to Theo. "Then...you is friends with Harry Potter too?"

Theo scoffed. "Certainly not."

"But he is friends with me," Granger told Dobby reassuringly. "And he would never do anything to put you in jeopardy, would you, Theo?"

He didn't even hesitate. "No, I wouldn't." If what Granger said was true about the means of Dobby's dismissal, then it was likely that the elf held little fondness for his previous life with the Malfoys. Theo also felt confident in predicting that Draco would make the elf's life a misery if he knew he was somewhere in the castle. "I have absolutely no intention of telling Draco that you're here, Dobby."

The elf visibly relaxed at these words but his relief made Theo frown. Had the elf's time with the Malfoys really been so terrible? He didn't remember seeing anything untoward when he was at the Manor. But then he remembered what Granger had said about an elf that had beaten and burnt itself as punishment for defying its masters, and he realised that she must have been talking about Dobby.

The elf gave him a tentative smile. "Thank you, Master Theo."

It transpired that Dobby was exactly the elf that SPHERE needed for its campaign. Dobby was a free elf who was being paid by Professor Dumbledore for his services, and the elf's life was infinitely happier because of it. Theo could tell that Granger was absolutely thrilled to find proof that SPHERE's aims were worthy and Theo was actually pleased for her to receive some validation for her impassioned crusade. Unfortunately, there were still many mountains to climb. Juni's embarrassed reaction to Dobby's new way of life spoke volumes of the attitudes of the other elves to such radical ideas as wages and days off. Not only that, but Dobby had not been the only elf recently hired by Dumbledore. An elf from the Crouch family had also been given clothes but she was visibly still distraught over the ordeal even though the incident had happened months previously. Granger had described the events following the Quidditch World Cup to him in detail once the two of them had left the kitchens and moved to an abandoned classroom close by. Theo wasn't particularly surprised by Winky's reaction. In truth, it mirrored how he expected most elves would react to the apparent shame of being freed from serving their family. Dobby might be a rare exception - and a fortunate find - but they had to be very careful not to upset or put off the elves when changes to their way of life were proposed. The conditioning they had been subjected to ran deep and it would be very difficult to coax them out of it without offending their pride or causing them undue distress.

"So, Diggory works in the department then," Theo mused, reflecting on his previous advice that she try and find someone within the Ministry to support SPHERE's cause.

She frowned. "I wouldn't count on Amos Diggory signing up to SPHERE," she said, realising what Theo had been referring to. "He was incredibly stern and unsympathetic when he was interviewing poor Winky. He just called her 'Elf' the whole time, never bothered with her name. I'm telling you, he's not our way in."

Theo shrugged, accepting her view on the matter. "Do you know anyone else who works in that department?"

She shook her head. "Not a soul."

"Well, you'll have to sound Diggory out - "

"I told you - he won't listen," she interrupted.

"Not him," Theo said. "Cedric Diggory. If he knows anything about the people his father works with then he might be able to give you the name of someone in the department who'd be more open to listening to you."

She stared at him for a moment and then glanced away. "I hadn't considered that," she murmured but then she shook her head. "I doubt that he'll want to help me - he's a Hogwarts champion, he's got enough on his plate."

Theo shrugged. "You won't know unless you ask him."

"True," she conceded thoughtfully. "And all he'd have to do is give me a name - providing that he knows one, of course..."

They had parted company not much later. He knew that she had left with every intention of talking to Diggory but, so far, she didn't seem to have done so. Whenever Theo had spotted Diggory ever since, the Hufflepuff always moved within a large group of friends. Given Theo's naturally shy demeanour, he would have found it excruciating to approach such a gathering of older, more popular students (even if they were Hufflepuffs) but Granger was made of more confident stuff and was unlikely to be put off as easily. So, a much more likely explanation for the delay was that they had been finalising for their mid-year ballet exam until a couple of days ago so she probably hadn't had the time. Theo was pleased with how he had performed in yesterday's exam, and Granger had sent him a note last night to tell him that she was happy too.

The Granger link to the third male Triwizard champion, Krum, was also new and if he was honest with himself, Theo wasn't quite sure how he felt about it.

A few days before the planned meeting with the house elves, Theo had looked up from the essay he'd been working on in the library to find Viktor Krum standing just a couple of feet away from him. Theo started in shock at the sudden awareness of having the world-famous seeker so close. The Durmstrang students had been eating their meals at the Slytherin table since they had arrived so Theo had gotten used to seeing Krum regularly throughout the day, but always from afar. To have someone he admired right in front of him was very disconcerting. "Can I help you?" Theo asked, his surprise making his voice sound curt and unfriendly.

Krum hesitated and then nodded. He offered his hand to Theo. "I am Viktor."

Theo shook it, still feeling bewildered. "Theo Nott," he replied, then indicated the empty chair next to him. "Take a seat."

Krum sat saying, "I see you in library many times."

Theo nodded. "Yes, my studies are important to me."

"That is good," Krum murmured and then an awkward silence settled between them. Theo tried not to let his discomfiture show, and waited and hoped that Krum would say something else soon. "Sometimes when I am seeing you in library, you are not alone. There is girl with you."

Theo was so surprised with the route the conversation was taking that he said nothing for a few seconds. Why was Krum bringing up his study sessions with Granger? They always took care to meet in remote places in the library so the fact that Krum had seen them on more than one occasion was a little unsettling. Who else could have seen them together? "Yes, sometimes," Theo replied cautiously.

"She is your girlfriend?" Krum asked.

"No," Theo denied quickly. He opened his mouth to state that Granger was just a friend but it wouldn't be wise to admit his friendship with her to anyone. "We just study together every now and then, that's all."

Krum nodded. "I see. She is Harry Potter's girlfriend?"

Theo frowned. What was this? "No," he said again. "She's his best friend."

Krum seemed pleased with this answer and he looked at Theo a little sheepishly. "I am hoping she will attend Yule Ball with me," he explained.

A strange feeling swept through Theo's body at Krum's words even as his brain struggled to truly take them in. "Oh," he replied vaguely. "Right."

"I was not sure if she already had boyfriend, I didn't want to get in middle of anything," Krum continued, noticeably more talkative now that his concerns had been addressed. "I am seeing her study a lot and she is quite beautiful. I would be honoured to attend ball with her."

The conversation was making Theo very uncomfortable but he didn't want to offend Krum by bluntly asking him to leave, so he simply remained silent.

"What is her name?" Krum asked.

"Granger, er, Hermione Granger."

Krum fumbled over the name as he repeated it, and Theo tried not to wince.

"Thank you for your time, Theo," Krum said, holding his hand out to shake again. "I hope we can be friends."

Theo shook Krum's hand. "Yes, I'd like that," he replied and under different circumstances that would have been very true. "But, um, please don't let on to anyone else that Granger and I study together. There's a lot of house rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor - people wouldn't understand."

Krum looked at him curiously but nodded. "Your secret friendship with Hermyowninny is safe with me, Theo Nott." Krum left with a curt tilting of his head and Theo watched him disappear amongst the bookshelves. Theo turned his gaze back to his essay but his mind was a jumble of thoughts and feelings.

Even now, a little over two weeks later, the thought of Granger attending the Yule Ball with Krum left an unpleasant sensation in his gut. At first he tried to deny the presence of the feeling and its implications, but eventually after many restless nights pondering over the situation, he had to admit the truth to himself - the reason Theo was so affected by a potential relationship between Granger and Krum was because he liked her. Very much. Quite when this had happened, he couldn't exactly pinpoint - after all, a year ago he had still been immersed in his old ridiculous views about blood. Theo recalled his irritation with Potter taking up so much of her time and his unsettled feelings about the Rita Skeeter article that portrayed Granger as his girlfriend. Perhaps he should've realised the depths of his feelings even then. He also distinctly remembered trying to impress her out on the lake and his clumsy compliments about her hair last summer.

Had he been kidding himself all along?

Was his connection to Granger nothing more than an infatuation with the first girl who had paid him the slightest bit of attention?

The thought left him feeling cold and cheated.

A few more hours of almost torturous self-examination led him to the realisation that there was more to his bond with Hermione Granger than a 'passing fancy' as his Aunt Lavinia might say. The fact that he had feelings for Granger that went beyond friendship didn't have to demean the strength of their bond. Theirs was a connection of great respect and trust; they valued each other intellectually and artistically. It was dance, after all, that had brought them together, and he was at his absolute happiest in life when he was dancing with her. Nothing could beat the feeling of working so seamlessly with another person to create something beautiful.

And yet, the self-revelation was irrelevant in the end. He could never act on those feelings. He had never heard of a Slytherin and Gryffindor dating before, let alone when the Gryffindor in question was muggleborn. Life would not be worth living for himself or Granger if they ever entered into a relationship - their housemates would make sure of that. And if his family ever found out? Well, it wasn't worth thinking about.

Besides, he didn't know if Granger reciprocated his feelings. She liked him, he was quite certain of that, but as more than a friend? He really had no idea. It would be better if he never found out. There was no hope of them having anything beyond their current deep friendship and he would never want to do anything to risk it, so it was for the best if he just tried to ignore his feelings and hope they faded away.

Spending time with her since his conversation with Krum had been uncomfortable at first but that feeling always faded within the first few minutes as he slotted back into their familiar companionship. She hadn't told him about Krum but Theo was sure that she was attending the ball with him. He still wasn't overly happy about the idea but no matter how many times he fantasised about going with Granger himself, he knew it couldn't happen. In the end, Theo had asked Daphne Greengrass to go to the Yule Ball with him. Much to his relief, she had agreed. It wasn't that he was particularly keen to go with her, more that he would have just been embarrassed if he were turned down. He knew Daphne reasonably well given that they danced together for ballet and he liked her the most out of the Slytherin girls in his year, but that wasn't exactly saying much compared to the likes of Pansy and Millicent.

He had almost been tempted to change his mind and go home for the entirety of the Christmas holidays. His father had not been happy about letting him stay - though Theo couldn't understand why when his father would spend most of the time shut away in his study as usual - and had written to Professor Snape insisting that Theo return home the day after Christmas to spend the rest of the break at Hanternoss Hall. It was mostly his desire to spend as little time as possible with his cold family (and partly the certain knowledge that his imagination would plague him with unsavoury scenarios regarding the ball) that convinced him to stay for Christmas Day.

As Daphne looped her arm through his to steer him to the opening positions the Vittozzis were pointing them all towards, he just hoped he didn't come to regret his decision.


A/N I fully admit that this was a very odd chapter because absolutely nothing happened in the present but it felt like the only way to get those snapshots back to Harry, the house elves and Krum. I hope you liked it anyway.

Next up - the Yule Ball!