A/N So sorry for the long wait, guys! Thanks for all your support over the last few months.

Fourth Year - Part One

Hermione couldn't fight back the grin that spread over her face as she stepped into the ballet classroom for the first time in months.

She honestly hadn't expected to miss her dance classes so much over summer. Her third year had been so intense and exhausting, and ballet had played a significant part in that, so she'd been looking forward to having a relaxed summer break. That mindset had lasted all of a week until her mother had mentioned that a local dance school was holding a two week summer intensive programme in July. The following morning, Hermione had signed up and rented various ballet VHS tapes from her local store to practise with so that she wouldn't embarrass herself in front of the other dancers.

She needn't have worried though: she may have only been taking ballet for nine months (and at a significantly older age than most serious dancers) but her tutelage from the Vittozzis had left her on an equal footing with her peers. It had been very interesting to receive guidance from new teachers and Hermione took on board everything she was told. Her dance teachers appeared to be impressed because they seemed disappointed when she told them she couldn't sign up to their school for the rest of the year.

The performance their school gave at the end of the fortnight was certainly satisfying: she wasn't shunned by any of her classmates, which made a nice change, and her mum and dad were able to watch - something they'd almost certainly never get to do at Hogwarts. She was also involved a lot more in her summer holiday show than she was at the Hogwarts performance they'd completed just before the academic exams, but that was to be expected - Tam had told her that Third Years only took part in the large group numbers because it was more of an opportunity for the older students to be showcased. Even so, she'd still been very nervous before stepping onto the conjured stage in the Great Hall to perform before her friends and the rest of the school for the first time. She knew that it was unlikely they would see much of her when the stage was so crowded with other dancers but the butterflies in her stomach had persisted. As she'd waited in the wings, she was able to watch Tam take centre stage and she looked on in awe as he leapt effortlessly through the air, pirouetted at dizzying speeds and commanded the spotlight with complete confidence, making her own fears fade away.

Her actual time on stage had been something of a blur, but she distinctly remembered catching Nott's eye during the opening polonaise and flashing him a grin that he'd returned in his own modest way. Ron and Harry were each able to churn out a few clumsy compliments after the show and Hermione tried not to laugh as they attempted to commend her on her dancing using vocabulary they were not particularly familiar with. Fred and George were a little more teasing with their comments about buns and sequins, but just as they were getting on her nerves they complimented her on sticking it to pureblood tradition and encouraged her to keep on smashing down their ridiculous barriers.

She had little time to appreciate the twins' comments because the Vittozzis were holding an afterparty for the ballet students and the specially invited friends and guests. Given that there were just a couple of days left before the start of her academic exams, Hermione was reluctant to take any more time away from revision but she had promised Neville weeks earlier that she'd go. Despite Fred and George's earlier words, she was still a little intimidated entering a room containing so many people who were openly prejudiced against her. There were a handful of Gryffindors as well as Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students, but they were severely outnumbered by those from Slytherin. Hermione could sense the stares and whispers as she and Neville walked through the crowd to get themselves a glass of pumpkin juice, but she held her head high and ignored them. She and Neville were quite content to talk to their friends from the third-year class because only fourth year students and up were allowed to invite family members and therefore they didn't have many other people to talk to. They spent a few minutes analysing that day's performance and then compared revision progress and exam expectations.

Later, Hermione found herself being introduced to Tam's family when he'd caught her elbow as she'd walked by. She'd felt her cheeks warming as the unfairly attractive Davies clan complimented her on her academic achievements and fortitude in sticking with ballet. They were not the relatives that she expected a Slytherin to have, but it turned out that Tam was something of the odd one out in that respect as the rest of his family were all Ravenclaws.

It was then that Tam revealed to her that he'd been accepted as an apprentice with the prestigious Ballet du Monde - the most revered magical ballet company in the wizarding world and the very same one where the Vittozzis had made their careers. Hermione was absolutely thrilled for him and the opportunities that would give him for the future, but she knew that she would miss Tam's tutelage and support. Perhaps he'd sensed that because his parting words to her were, "No matter what, stay strong and keep showing them what you can do."

Hermione repeated Tam's words to herself as the Slytherins in her ballet class all gave her looks of revulsion. Her first class of the new school year was only for fourth year girls and focused mainly on pointe work. This wasn't a completely new experience though because a week after their ballet exam had been completed last year, the students who wanted to continue the art had moved onto the next grade. Hermione had discovered that she would now be formally examined in ballet much more frequently than in her other subjects: her progress in general ballet, pointe work and partner dancing would next be assessed in December.

She was also having to dance with a new partner. While Neville had scraped through his ballet exam with a passing grade, he had not signed up to continue the classes beyond the initial level which, after all, had always been his intention. Hermione had danced with Neville in their performance to the school but, in class, she had been paired with Terry Boot. The Ravenclaw was a much more competent dancer than Neville and she got on well with him, but she secretly wished she could dance with Nott. It was a futile hope and she knew it; the fallout from the Slytherins and even her friends in Gryffindor would likely create an unpleasant situation that could ruin their unique friendship and her love of dance - and they were two things she was very keen to hold on to. Besides, Nott probably didn't want to dance with her in front of others anyway.

She was looking forward to seeing him though. Well, she'd seen him a few times already, even though it was the first day back: she'd glimpsed him in the Great Hall a couple of times and he'd been in her Care of Magical Creatures and Arithmancy classes that day, but when they'd been surrounded by their classmates they weren't able to do much more than catch each other's eyes to share an incredulous look about the dangerous new creatures Hagrid had introduced to them.

On multiple occasions over the summer, Hermione had considered sending him a letter via owl because she could tell that he hadn't been looking forward to spending time with his relatives, and she wanted him to know that he could turn to her. The only reason she hadn't written to him was because of her unfamiliarity with his home life - what if his father or one of his aunts discovered her letter? From what Nott had told her, she knew that his family would be outraged and disgusted at him befriending a muggleborn.

She wished he was here in her first ballet class of the year, because she felt like she could take strength from his silent presence and she felt a tiny bit vulnerable in the female class. It probably wasn't helped by the fact that signora Vittozzi always led the pointe lessons. While Hermione was fairly confident in stating that signor Vittozzi was in her corner, she still didn't know where she stood with his wife. When Hermione's shoes had been cursed, the signora had shown compassion and even displayed some pride during her rescheduled test, but if the Gryffindor had expected this softening to continue then she was sorely mistaken. Signora merely looked on Hermione with something akin to exasperation rather than the thinly-veiled disgust and disapproval she'd had to endure before. What was more, signora Vittozzi did nothing to discourage the Slytherin girls from insulting Hermione at least half a dozen times each lesson - the ballet mistress just pretended she was unable to see or hear it. Hermione stayed close to the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff girls, but the whispers and sneers still reached her ears however much she tried to tune them out. The situation had been particularly nasty last term because Pansy Parkinson and the other Slytherin girls had been horrified to discover that not only had Hermione still been able to take her exam, but she also achieved a very good grade - and her score (whilst not nearly as high as Nott's outstanding score) was higher than most of theirs. Hermione hoped that the animosity had cooled over the summer but she wasn't getting her hopes up.

Ignoring the hostile stares of the Slytherins, Hermione maintained her smile and joined Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones by the window to stow away her belongings and put on her normal ballet shoes to warm up in. The girls chatted about their respective summers - the two Hufflepuff girls surprised to hear that Hermione had completed an extra dance course during the break.

"But, isn't muggle ballet really different?" Hannah asked. "I'm sure I heard that their style is far less expressive and pretty basic in technique."

Hermione paused for a moment. There was no contempt behind Hannah's words: she just stated that view as fact, which was somehow more shocking in its ignorance than the open disgust of the Slytherins who hated anything muggle-related on principle. But should Hermione really be surprised that someone like Hannah wouldn't know anything about muggle ballet? It wasn't as though the Hufflepuff girl would have had the chance to watch a performance if she kept away from muggle society as much as your typical witch or wizard. And that's where the historical beliefs of blood prejudices would show themselves even amongst those that claimed and believed that they were tolerant: being open to someone else's culture was all well and good, but educating yourself was the best way to avoid making ignorant statements like Hannah's.

"There really isn't that much difference between muggle and magical ballet in terms of technique," Hermione told her, trying to keep any trace of her frustration out of her voice. "Muggles can't produce the effects during performances that we can but that means the dancers themselves actually have to be more expressive."

Hannah's expression was politely surprised.

"I'd like to see a muggle ballet production," Susan said musingly.

"You should," Hermione encouraged. "I think you'd be pleasantly surprised at what you'd see. Muggles have pushed the boundaries of what ballet can be far more than the magical community have."

The Hufflepuff girls looked intrigued but signora Vittozzi walked into the studio and quickly called the girls to ready themselves for the start of the class. Hermione was eager to show the signora that her form hadn't diminished over the summer break. She'd picked up a few daily exercises to improve her flexibility from the muggle dancers on her course and Hermione had seen it as a personal challenge that summer to get her legs as close to vertical as possible. For some reason, her right leg had progressed much further than her left, but both had moved on significantly since the end of third year. And her efforts were well worth it when Signora stopped dead to stare at her during their rond de jambe exercise when Hermione's foot reached a height higher than her head when she was required to perform a rond de jambe jeté - an action that would look something like a sideways kick to those unfamiliar to ballet . Aware that she had Signora's attention, Hermione concentrated with utmost care through the rest of the exercise to show her dance mistress that it wasn't a fluke; that she wasn't just throwing her leg up in an ungainly fashion but she had control over what she was doing.

Hermione couldn't resist looking over at the signora again as the twinkling notes of the music faded away at the end of the exercise. Signora Vittozzi's mouth tightened a little but then she held her right arm up in fifth position as she came to stand in front of Hermione. "Don't forget about your arms - if you're going to throw your leg up that high then you need to ensure that your whole body is up to standard."

Hermione nodded and repeated the move, making sure her fingers were raised slightly in the way Signora liked and her arm was gently curved. The ballet mistress watched closely again, then made an indeterminable noise in her throat before walking away. Hermione tried not to smile too openly at what was almost certainly the best interaction she'd had with signora Vittozzi. Things were already off to a great start for Fourth Year.

Theo was nervous about seeing her.

He'd spent most of his summer looking forward to the moment when he could breathe a little easier; when he could be himself with the person who knew him best. But, for some reason, from the moment he'd caught a glimpse of her vivacious hair on the platform at King's Cross, he'd felt a slight apprehension at being reunited with Granger again. His time at home hadn't exactly been miserable but it had definitely been a little stifling, and he'd distracted himself from the overwhelming feeling in a few different ways: having Carenza by his side as much as possible, sailing on the sea, practising his ballet and thinking about his secret friend. He'd come to think of Granger as a sort of lifeline to his true self but self-doubt began to creep into his mind, trying to persuade him that his friendship with her had run its course; that she would have no interest in spending time with him once the new school year had started. Why would she? After all, she had plenty of friends in her own house, she had a decent partner in ballet class now that Longbottom had quit and nor was Tam there to tutor them. And, to top it all, there were greater demands on her time now that she had given back the time turner.

She'd informed him of her decision to hand back the device during their last trip on the lake, claiming that she wanted her life to go back to normal. And this was quickly followed by an assurance that they'd still go out on the lake and study together. At the time, Theo had believed her, but endless weeks at home had forced him to come to the conclusion that this wasn't possible. Granger had been busy enough completing all her schoolwork and ballet classes with the time turner and he couldn't see how she was going to have time for him without it.

They were only able to share the odd glance here or there during their first few days of lessons and Theo had seen her studying in the library on a couple of occasions, but he hadn't found the courage to go and talk to her incase his fears were realised and she no longer had any wish to be his friend. On Friday morning the matter was taken out of his hands because an owl delivered a note to him during breakfast asking him to meet at the table at the back of the History of Magic section at six o'clock that evening. It wasn't signed by anyone but he knew who it was from. He looked over to the Gryffindor table where Granger was sat with her idiotic friends. After a few moments, she sensed his gaze and he gave her a small nod as their eyes met. She smiled widely and his worries momentarily dissipated in the face of her pleasure and he felt foolish for doubting the strength of their unusual bond. However, as the day progressed, his uncertainty returned and he approached the library that evening with a racing heart.

It wasn't very busy between the shelves but that was unsurprising given that it was a Friday evening on the first week back. Granger's chosen table was at the rear of the library and they were highly unlikely to be discovered there together, which was precisely why they often met there.

He saw her before she saw him and he was unsurprised to see her making notes from a large book onto a piece of parchment. This very typical view helped to calm him a little, and he was even more reassured when she looked up and greeted him with another enthusiastic smile.

"Hi," she said warmly, dropping her quill down a little clumsily and causing a few spots of ink to splatter onto her parchment in her eagerness to talk to him. "It's so good to see you. How was your summer? I really wanted to write to you but I didn't think it would be safe with your family."

Theo pulled out the other chair to her table and took a seat, feeling relieved once more. "I would've liked to hear from you but that was probably for the best," he replied and she nodded. "My summer was quiet, really. I went out in the boat most days and practised my ballet a lot. I just kept to myself, which was fine. My father and aunts didn't seem to notice anything different."

"Good," she said with a sigh and another smile. "And Carenza - was she excited to see you?"

Theo chuckled at the memory of Carenza leaping up into his arms and licking his face all over when he got home from the Hogwarts Express at the start of summer. "You could say that," he told her and she grinned. "She tried to smuggle herself into my trunk more than once when I packed last week."

Granger held a hand to her heart and her face showed how adorable she thought that was. "How sweet!"

Theo shook his head with a smile. "Maybe, but you don't want a crup running around Hogwarts, believe me - she'd be an absolute nuisance."

"I'll take your word for it."

"And what about you - how was your summer?" he asked. She told him about her muggle dance course, which he found very interesting, and then she spent a few minutes attempting to explain how muggles were able to watch moving images on a box called a 'TV'.

"So, you can watch past performances of ballets on this box whenever you want?" Theo asked, trying to get his head around the concept.

"Yes," she told him. She went on to describe how other things could be seen on the box, too, like sports, factual programmes, news, dramas and music, and he was very surprised that muggles knew how to show you moving images of something that was happening on the other side of the world at that very moment. He hoped he'd get to see a TV one day.

"But I spent the last week of the holidays at Ron's house because his father got tickets to the final of the Quidditch World Cup," she told him. Theo had nothing positive to say about Ron Weasley but he perked up at the mention of the final.

"I was there too - my dad got tickets," he said excitedly. They spent a couple of minutes talking about the match. Theo was very jealous to hear that she had seen the players up close and personal in the top box, but he refrained from going through the actual match with her when she complained that Potter and Weasley had talked of it so often ever since.

"I hope you weren't caught up in that awful rampage afterwards," she said solemnly and she shuddered. "What they were doing to that muggle family was just disgusting."

Ice shot through Theo's veins. "Er, no," he said a little hoarsely and cleared his throat. "No, my father and I went home about an hour after the match ended. I didn't know anything about the attack until we saw it in the paper the next day," he told her honestly. However, what Theo didn't mention was that he couldn't be sure that his father hadn't returned to the campsite once Theo had gone to bed. He had no glaring evidence to support his father's involvement in the incident but he just had a gut feeling that he couldn't shake off. His Aunt Lavinia had spent the following days praising the actions of the attackers and lamenting, once again, that the country had gone to the dogs after the fall of the Dark Lord.

"The Dark Lord is gone," Theo's father had barked sharply at his sister during dinner one evening.

Lavinia had taken to keeping the copy of the Daily Prophet by her side and she enthusiastically brandished the front page image of the Dark Mark at her brother. "People are using his sign, Emory. There are those that still believe after all this time!"

"Enough!" his father insisted, refusing to look at the newspaper and Aunt Lavinia moodily returned her attention to her soup.

He had been quite surprised by his father's reluctance to discuss the Dark Lord and his supporters given Theo's belief that he'd been one of the Dark Lord's followers. Surely he'd be in favour of the attack at the World Cup even if he hadn't taken any part in it?

The whole incident had worried Theo but he had no wish to share those fears with Granger - she'd never speak to him again if she found out that his father might have been a Death Eater.

To distract himself from that alarming thought, he asked her whether she was going to audition for the welcoming dance performances for the arrivals of the delegates from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang in October. During their first combined lesson of the year, all of the Fourth Year ballet students had been shocked and surprised to hear that there would be extra performances over the coming months to mark the special competition. However, their enthusiasm was tempered by the further explanation that any students that wished to take part would have to audition in front of the Vittozzis if they wanted to be selected.

Granger pulled a conflicted face at the prospect. "I don't know," she said slowly, shaking her head. "I'd really like to, but I'm sure that they're going to pick all of the older students, which I get because they're far more advanced than me - especially at pointe work. Besides, I know Signora won't be looking to do me any favours by giving me a chance. You should definitely go for it though - I'm sure you'll be chosen."

Theo shrugged. "I'll definitely audition but I'm not so sure about my chances as you are - there are lots of really good older students and we don't know how many dancers they want to include."

"That's true," she agreed.

"But you have to audition - you know you'll regret it if you don't give yourself a chance," he pointed out. "And Signor has got your back, hasn't he? I'm sure I heard him saying in class yesterday that you've improved over the summer and I already told you that I could tell you've been working on your flexibility."

She blushed and smiled modestly at hearing the compliments, and Theo felt a rush of pleasure at making her smile.

"Yes, all right, I'll probably audition," she admitted and then her eyes became bright as a thought popped into her head. "Do you want to practise together when they've taught us the audition steps? I know we won't have Tam there to tell us if we're doing it right but two heads are better than one, right?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea," he said, "but we might find it harder to get access to one of the rehearsal rooms without Tam's early access to the sign-up sheet."

She sighed. "True. I wonder how he's getting on. It must be so exciting for him to be surrounded by dance all the time."

"We can write to him if you want," Theo suggested and her eyes lit up again.

"Yes, but," she paused, "maybe we'd better give it a week or two - we don't need to let him think that we miss him after just a few days back at school!"

Theo laughed. "Yeah, good point. Let's wait until the auditions are done and then we'll hopefully have some good news to share with him."

"All right," she agreed. "But I think we should go out on the lake soon before the weather gets cold."

He was taken a little by surprise at that announcement. "You still want to go sailing?"

Granger frowned. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Well, you don't have it anymore," he explained with a vague gesture at her neck. "You won't be able to redo your Sunday so I didn't think you'd have time."

"I'll make time," she told him confidently.

"But Potter and Weasley -"

"Nott, those days on the lake saved me last year," she said in a calm but heartfelt tone and Theo found himself caught in her gaze. "You saved me. I'll never forget it and I'll always be grateful. I know this year is going to be almost as hectic as last year was, but I still think that it's important that I remember to take time away from my studies every now and then. I really enjoy spending time with you so, if you're willing to accompany me, I'd really like to continue with our little voyages."

After a few seconds, Theo realised that he was just staring at her and he quickly nodded his head. "Yeah, er, yes, I'd like that." Her face had been a little concerned at his silence but at his words she broke into a brilliant smile and his spirits soared. He couldn't believe that he'd been so worried about seeing her again.

"But I'm not getting into that water again without some sort of warming charm on my body," she told him, still smiling.

He laughed. "All right, I'll see what I can come up with."

"Good," she nodded but then her face became thoughtful. "Actually, I have a question about our boat trips."

"What's that?" he enquired.

"The food we take with us - for our lunch and the giant squid - where does it come from?" she asked.

Theo's eyebrows rose in surprise at the unexpected question. "From the kitchens, where else?"

"The house elves prepare it for us?"

"Well, yeah, I presume so. It's not like I go in and ask them, I just leave them an order the day before and it's delivered to my room overnight."

For some reason, she didn't look very happy with this answer.

"But don't you think it's wrong?" she asked him in a tone of voice that showed that she certainly did.

"I don't understand what you mean," Theo said, feeling quite confused.

"The enslavement of house elves, of course!" she told him passionately. "The poor creatures have been exploited by witches and wizards for centuries. They get no wages, next to nothing in terms of rights and they're kept out of sight like a dirty little secret. There's no mention of them in Hogwarts: A History. I only found out that there are house elves working here the other day - I've been here for three years and haven't seen a single one!"

"Well, that's the mark of a good elf, isn't it? You're not supposed to know they're there," Theo pointed out. Clearly, this was not the right thing to say but he didn't really understand what was happening.

Granger fixed him with a pointed look. "Your home - there's a house elf there, isn't there?"

"Of course," he replied. "We have two: Wenna and Corm. They've lived in Hanternoss Hall longer than I have."

"But why didn't you mention them when you were telling me about your family?" she asked.

"Because they're not my family - they're my house elves," he explained.

Judging by the disappointed look on Granger's face, that was an even worse thing to say.

"But- but they take care of you, don't they?" she asked.

"Yeah, because that's their job."

"Do you pay them? Give them benefits like holidays and sick leave?"

Theo almost laughed but managed to stop himself because he strongly suspected that it would upset her. "Of course not."

"That's not a job - that's enslavement," she told him boldly.

Theo shook his head. "You've got it all wrong. They're not slaves - they enjoy serving others."

"That's because of centuries of brainwashing and conditioning," she argued. "Just because they think they're happy that doesn't make them free."

Theo stared at her. "Are we seriously having a disagreement about house elves?"

"Why shouldn't we?" she countered. "Nobody else seems to be doing anything to help them."

"And what exactly are you doing?" he said.

"I'm glad you asked," she replied pointedly. From the library table she picked up and flourished a piece of parchment at him. "I've founded an organisation."

Theo took the parchment and let his eyes scan over the title - the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare - and the organisation's short and long-term aims. He could feel Granger's eyes on him, waiting for his reaction, and he lowered the parchment with a sigh.

"Well?" she asked. "Our aims are fair, don't you think? We must stop the mistreatment and abuse of elves, Theo." She popped open a small tin she had in her lap and showed him a collection of badges labelled S.P.E.W. "I was thinking that you could become a member and help with the campaign, especially if you have house elf contacts. We can keep your membership anonymous if you wish, but you can have a badge for two sickles and that will fund our leaflet campaign."

She held out a badge towards him but he held up his hand in frustration. "Stop. You asked me what I thought but you didn't actually give me a chance to respond. You can't just force somebody to agree with you, Granger. I will admit that house elves are creatures that I've barely given a second thought to. I know I don't have the best record when it comes to prejudices and attitudes, but I'm not going to blindly support you when I don't think you're right."

"But - " she began urgently.

"I haven't finished," he told her calmly. "I don't think you're right but that doesn't mean my mind is made up. I want to come to an informed decision but that's going to take time and more than just your say so."

She still looked rather put-out but his willingness to keep an open mind on the matter had pacified her for now. She closed her fingers around the proffered badge and then silently returned it to the tin where it clinked slightly as it rejoined the others.

"Fine," she said in a clipped tone that matched the sharpness of the lid being re-sealed on the tin. "But I expect you to keep to your word and we'll carry on the debate when you're more informed." She swapped the tin for a different item on her desk: a rather hefty book. She forced the tome into his hands before he could refuse it. "That'll be a good starting point for getting you caught up on how the abuse of house elves became institutionalised in magical society."

She gave him that familiar, challenging look of stubbornness that had marked their early encounters last year, and he could tell that she was daring him to show whether he meant what he'd said. Maybe she expected him to refuse the extra work, most other people their age certainly would have. Instead, Theo tucked the book under his arm. "Thank you," he said smoothly.

"You're very welcome," she said, smiling at him sweetly.

"But if you want anyone to take your cause seriously, you have to change the acronym," he told her, as he got to his feet. "Nobody's going to wear a badge proclaiming support for vomit, Granger."

He could feel her scowling at his back as he walked away.

A/N I would say that I purposefully kept this update back until the start of the academic year to match with what's going on in the chapter but that would have been very cruel to intentionally make you wait that long! I just really wasn't in a fic-writing mood for so long - something that's very unusual for me. Hopefully, that phase is over with now.

Anyway, I know that house elves aren't everyone's favourite story line but it's fun to play around with how Theo would see the matter and if that has any impact on Hermione's crusade.

Let me know what you think of the chapter - you guys said lots of lovely, reassuring things last time. Thank you!

Love,

Red