A/N Hi guys! Thanks for all your support. I'm glad the last chapter cheered lots of you up!

Third Year - Part Seven

On the last Sunday of the school year, Hermione finally fulfilled her promise and joined Theo in the lake water.

"I never actually promised," she'd argued on more than one occasion. "It was more an acknowledgement that going swimming was a possibility."

"Whatever you say, Granger," he would reply airily and she'd pretend to scowl at him.

It was set to be a warm and sunny day, so they made sure to leave earlier than normal to avoid being seen going out in the boat together before the other students celebrated the end of the year by the lakeside. Neither of them had ever expressed a wish to keep their friendship a secret because it was a given: they weren't prepared to deal with the outrage from their friends and their houses, and nor was Theo keen for word to reach his family about his change in attitude when he was due to spend the whole summer back in Hanternoss Hall with them. No, it was much easier to keep things to themselves.

Theo was looking forward to getting the chance to talk to her. Their exams had finished just a couple of days before and a lot had happened since then. He waited until he'd sailed them clear of the rocks by the boathouse before saying, "I heard that Buckbeak escaped. Draco's furious about it."

Granger grinned at him. "I know! Isn't it brilliant that he managed to free himself?"

Theo adjusted the tiller slightly and looked at her suspiciously. "Yes, it's almost unbelievably fortunate that he should escape just moments before his sentence was due to be carried out. Draco is sure that Hagrid managed to smuggle him away somehow."

"Well, I'm one hundred percent sure that he didn't," Granger replied confidently, her hair fluttering in the wind. "Hagrid told me himself that he was with Professor Dumbledore and the committee members when Buckbeak escaped so he couldn't have helped him"

"Doesn't mean that someone else didn't release the hippogriff for him," Theo pointed out, watching her closely.

"If they did then I'm very grateful to them," she said smoothly. "Buckbeak didn't deserve to die and if it annoys Malfoy then that's just an added bonus." She smirked at him with a distinctly Slytherin air.

He pointed at her expression. "Careful - you wouldn't want people knowing that spending time with Slytherins is starting to rub off on you."

She laughed and then pretended to shudder. "What a horrible thought."

They sailed in companionable silence for a couple of minutes until she said, "I take it you heard about Professor Lupin."

Theo nodded. "Snape announced it to our whole table at breakfast yesterday - it was the only thing people were talking about in Hogsmeade. I heard a rumour that he was out roaming the grounds on Friday night. Can you believe that? An actual werewolf right there," he said, nodding his head in the direction of the lawns and forest beyond.

"I wish he didn't have to go," Granger said sadly, "He's easily the best defence teacher we've had."

With his shabby clothes and mild manner, Lupin had been an easy target for the snobby attitudes of most Slytherins, but Theo had found his lessons engaging and educational. "I agree, but everyone knows it's incredibly dangerous to be around a werewolf even when it's not the full moon."

"How can you say that when we've been having lessons from a werewolf all year and he hasn't hurt a single person?" she asked. "Professor Dumbledore wouldn't have hired Professor Lupin if he thought it would put us in danger."

"You can't trust werewolves, everyone knows that."

"Like 'everyone knows' purebloods are superior to muggleborns?" Granger asked him pointedly and Theo clamped his mouth shut. "You've got to stop believing all these prejudices just because other people think that way. Use your own experiences to form your opinions: did you ever feel unsafe around Professor Lupin?"

Theo frowned. "No," he admitted, feeling a little unnerved by the way she had called him out. "But that doesn't change the fact that he could have hurt someone on Friday night if the rumours are true."

She sighed. "No, you're right. We were so lucky nobody got hurt."

Something about her words and tone felt off and Theo watched as she looked contemplatively out over the grounds. "I didn't see you, Potter and Weasley at breakfast yesterday - or around Hogsmeade. What happened?"

She looked over at him. "I forgot how observant you are."

"Well?" he asked after there was a long pause.

"Well what?"

"Where were you yesterday?"

"We just didn't fancy going," she told him simply. "Harry hasn't got permission, and it would be a bit unkind if Ron and I just left him here on his own."

"So it didn't have anything to do with Buckbeak or Lupin then?" he asked and her eyes widened.

"Why would it?" she asked defensively.

Theo shrugged. "It just seems a bit of a coincidence that's all: Buckbeak escaping, Lupin running about in the forest, the Dementors being recalled from the grounds without any explanation and you, Potter and Weasley are mysteriously absent - all within a few hours."

"That's - " she began but he cut her off.

"Please don't lie to me, Granger," he said calmly. "Not you." She was like some strange beacon of truth to him after he'd spent so much of his life in the shadow of lies, prejudice and manipulation. She'd rebuked him with his opinions on werewolves a few moments before. He couldn't bear the idea of her trying to deceive him. Something of his feelings must have shown on his face because she could only hold his gaze for a moment before looking down at her knees.

"You know, you three really do attract trouble," he told her lightly as he switched his concentration to the dinghy in order to distract himself from the stilted atmosphere he'd created.

"I can't really tell you anything," she said after a few minutes. "I want to," she added quickly when he turned to face her, "and it's not that I don't trust you, but it isn't just my truth to tell. There are others involved and it wouldn't be right for me to tell you if they don't know that I've done so."

He nodded. "I understand." He didn't need to know everything she got up to with Potter and Weasley. "You don't have to tell me anything."

He didn't realise he was staring at her until she said with amusement, "I didn't get bitten by Professor Lupin, Nott, so stop your gawping."

Theo looked away at once, his face warming. "Sorry," he muttered. "I didn't mean to."

"It's fine," she replied. "I know I'm not really giving you any answers."

"Just tell me you weren't in any danger," Theo requested.

She smiled and looked to be on the verge of rolling her eyes as she shook her head a little. "I'm fine, Nott," she insisted.

He frowned. "You didn't answer my question," he pointed out and felt sure that had been her intention.

She huffed slightly and momentarily glanced away from him, all but confirming his suspicion. He blamed Potter and Weasley for endangering her - she'd come to no harm when she'd been away from them for a few months, but after resuming her friendship with those idiots she appeared to have encountered a werewolf and he dreaded to think what else.

Something of his thoughts seemed to show on his face (which was unsettling since he considered himself to be a master of hiding his inner feelings) because her face was earnest as she said, "We didn't go looking for trouble this time, I swear, not like with the Chamber or the Stone."

Theo made a quick adjustment to the sail. "You know, the rest of the school were never really told the truth about either of those incidents," he told her. "Dumbledore just threw points at you and your friends, and left us in the dark with nothing but a lot of rather wild rumours."

"Wild rumours?" she repeated with a touch of amusement.

Theo didn't share her humour. "You think people didn't notice that Professor Quirrell suddenly vanished at the end of First Year? Or that we were never told who was attacking students last year?"

Her light-hearted gaze faded and she frowned. "I never thought about it from an outsider's point of view," she murmured, which didn't exactly make him feel better. She noticed because she said, "I suppose Dumbledore was just trying to protect the students and prevent panic."

"We have a right to know the truth," Theo argued. "How do we know there won't be any more attacks linked to the Chamber, how do we know we're safe if we don't know what happened? I mean, we weren't even told why Black's been trying to get into the castle - though it's pretty obvious it has something to do with Potter."

Granger considered him and he distracted himself by focusing on sailing the boat.

"There won't be anymore attacks from the Chamber because the beast is dead," she told him after a couple of minutes of awkward silence. His gaze darted over to her and stayed there as she continued, "It was a basilisk. It was stabbed through the head with the sword of Godric Gryffindor. You-Know-Who had created a cursed object and left it to one of his followers. This item was given to a student last year and the curse within the object possessed them, leading to the attacks. The item has also been destroyed and the student made a complete recovery. If Professor Dumbledore had released that information, everyone would want to know who the student was and they may have been blamed for something that wasn't their fault."

Theo frowned as he absorbed what she'd told him. "Yes, I suppose you're right." He sent her a disbelieving look. "Potter really stabbed a giant snake with an ancient sword?"

"Who said anything about Harry?" she responded innocently. At the flat look he sent her in response, her facade crumbled and she laughed. "Well, I was lying petrified in the Hospital Wing at the time but, yes, that's what happened."

Theo sobered up instantly. He hadn't exactly forgotten that she'd been the victim of one of the attacks but it suddenly dawned on him how insensitive he was being in bringing up what was likely to be a traumatic memory for her. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have - " he began but she waved his words away.

"It's fine," she told him earnestly.

Theo doubted that he would sound so calm if he'd been in her position but she was obviously a Gryffindor for a reason. "And the Stone?" he prodded tentatively. "What the hell was that all about?"

"The Philosopher's Stone," she said and Theo's eyes widened at the confirmation of one of those crazy rumours. He'd never heard of one before but soon everyone had found out about the extraordinary magical stone as the rumours flew around the castle.

"It was in the castle?" he asked and she nodded. "Why?"

"To protect it," she replied. "Someone wanted to steal it."

"Quirrell?"

She made a conflicted expression. "But not for himself," she explained.

"For who?" he asked with a frown.

Granger looked at him in disbelief for a moment then said, "For You-Know-Who."

"The Dark Lord is gone," Theo insisted, ignoring the chill that was crawling down his spine. "He was destroyed the night that Potter was attacked - everyone knows that."

Granger shook her head. "He was here, trying to get the Stone so it could give him a new body."

"A new body?" he asked in alarm. The idea of the Dark Lord walking the halls of Hogwarts was scary enough as it was without her unusual words. "How was he here without a body?"

She hesitated a moment, obviously uncomfortable with how much she was revealing, before replying quietly, "He was in Quirrell's body - that's why he always wore that turban. Harry said that You-Know-Who's face was on the back of his head."

Theo could only gape at her in horror. He wanted to exclaim that she had to be joking but he knew she wouldn't jest about something so serious. She had to be mistaken then. "The Dark Lord is gone," he repeated.

Her expression looked almost sorrowful. "You think I don't wish that was true?" she asked him. "I can't prove it to you and I know I didn't see him myself, but I don't doubt what Harry told me at all. His body might have been destroyed all those years ago but some part of him remains."

Theo shook his head - not at her words, but in rejection of the very idea of the Dark Lord returning. Obviously, he had been only a baby when You-Know-Who had been destroyed but he had heard so much about the Dark Lord growing up. His aunts always spoke so highly of him, especially Lavinia, and she would often lament about what might have been when she saw something in the Daily Prophet that wasn't to her liking. And as for his father's thoughts on the Dark Lord… Well, they had never had a proper conversation about it, but from his knowledge of his father's views on blood and other hints he'd picked up at home and from students like Draco, Theo had a strong suspicion that his father had been a firm supporter of the Dark Lord - perhaps even one of his chosen followers: a Death Eater. Theo's father had given him no indication to suggest that he thought You-Know-Who was alive and the elder wizard kept very much to himself these days, but if what Granger said was true, would his father welcome the news? Would he seek to support the man who had championed Pureblood supremacy and promoted the Dark Arts? Theo felt pretty certain he knew the answer and dread swept through his gut. He couldn't tell Granger what he feared about his father - there was a very real chance that she wouldn't want anything to do with him.

"I shouldn't have said anything," Granger said quietly, shaking her head.

"N-no," he stuttered slightly, trying to push his disquiet away. "I asked, didn't I? Besides, I- I think it's better to know the truth, however unsettling it might be..." He gave himself a little shake. "I can see what you mean about Dumbledore not wanting to cause any panic - if people found out that the Dark Lord was alive after all and had been right here in the castle right under the headmaster's nose - well, they'd be uproar wouldn't there?"

"If they believed it even happened," she told him. "Like I said, there's no proof and no one wants to believe that You-Know-Who isn't dead - that he'll be looking for a way to come back."

Theo considered this. "That's true," he agreed. "I didn't want to believe you - I still don't want to - but…" he paused and moved his gaze away from her to focus on sailing the boat. "But I know you wouldn't lie to me about this."

"I wouldn't," she agreed firmly. "I…" and then it was her turn to pause and he looked over at her. A sort of determination outlined the edges of her face and body. "I won't ever lie to you, Nott, I promise," she vowed solemnly, looking him square in the eyes.

Theo felt his face grow warm. "You don't have to do that - I know I asked you not to lie but you don't have to promise or anything."

"I want to," she told him easily. "It feels right."

Theo didn't know how to respond to such a gesture. A mere 'thank you' didn't seem an appropriate response but he said it anyway. They smiled shyly at each other for a few seconds before each looking away to focus on something else as the boat continued to glide through the smooth water of the lake.

"I won't tell anyone," Theo abruptly said a couple of minutes later and she turned back to him. "The things you told me about the Stone and the Chamber, I mean. I still think the other students might have a right to know but, well, it's not my place to tell them so if you're worried that I'm going to stir things up for Potter - "

"I wasn't worried about that," she interrupted, looking almost amused.

"You're putting a lot of trust into a Slytherin - I wouldn't normally recommend it," he warned her.

She shrugged, clearly unconcerned. "You're not just any Slytherin though, are you? Your house doesn't define you." She apparently believed this statement to be true, but he wasn't quite sold on the idea and he knew that the majority of Hogwarts' students would agree with him. What was the point in Sorting the students into the house they 'belonged' to if it didn't hold the key to their identity? He was a Slytherin, he didn't doubt that, and yet, he supposed, there was more to his personality than that - his friendship with Granger was proof. And she wasn't exactly a typical Gryffindor either - he doubted he'd be able to stand her if she was.

"Besides," she said brightly, interrupting his musings. "I don't think anyone would believe you even if you did tell them the truth."

Theo briefly imagined telling Blaise and Draco about the Dark Lord's face being underneath Professor Quirrel's turban - the Slytherin boys would probably laugh (despite the chilling image) at something that sounded so preposterous. "No," he agreed, "they definitely wouldn't."

"And, well, I know we've never actually discussed it but I've always viewed that what you and I discuss is strictly between us: I wouldn't dream of telling anyone else what you confided in me about your family - and not just because it would cause a whole host of problems revealing that I'm friends with you," she added with a conspiratorial smile.

Theo lips were momentarily tugged upwards in agreement at the necessity of their secret friendship but his thoughts remained on what she had said before that. "I've thought that too," he replied, "about what we've said staying between us. I won't betray your trust, Granger."

She gave him a short nod and shuffled up the boat slightly so that she could hold out a hand. "Likewise."

After checking that all was still well with the dinghy, he grasped her hand and gave it a firm shake.

After that, they didn't speak about the Dark Lord, Professor Lupin or Buckbeak again. Theo was still unsettled by what she had revealed but he refused to let it ruin their trip - his last chance to be his true self before he would be returning to his family in Cornwall for the first time since his change in beliefs. He wasn't looking forward to it - apart from seeing Carenza, of course. He knew that most of the time he would be left to his own devices, but the legacy of Hanternoss Hall and his childhood there seemed tainted now. If he didn't belong in his own home then where did he fit in? He had no answer for that and that's why he was determined to be free while he could.

After they paid their respects to the Giant Squid by feeding it the usual assortment of treats, Theo turned to Granger, the challenge clear in his expression. She noticed and sighed noisily.

"All right," she said but he suspected that her reluctance wasn't entirely genuine. He sensed that if she really didn't want to go in the water then she wouldn't.

Theo double-checked that the boat was secure, discreetly turning away from her so that she could prepare herself for the swim. He shrugged off his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt, before removing his socks and shoes. He welcomed the gentle lick of warming sunlight against his bare skin but still cast a warming charm on his clothes before tucking his wand into his holster.

"See you in there," he half-called over his shoulder and then dived over the side. He savoured the familiar rush that swept through him at being reunited with the water once more and propelled himself deeper under the lake to look for any sign of danger. On seeing that all was safe, he kicked upwards and took in a big lungful of air as his head broke through the surface.

There was a slight splash behind him and he turned back towards the boat just as Granger's head resurfaced.

"Nott!" she screeched, her eyes blazing and her hair a tangled mess about her face. "It's freezing in here!"

He tried not to laugh and took a couple of strokes towards her. "You'll warm up in a minute, I swear. You just need to get your body moving." She made a contemptuous noise at that suggestion but started to swim around anyway.

"Ugh, I can't believe you swim in here in the middle of winter," she muttered as she started to jerkily swim away from the boat with him.

"I told you," he said, his tone as easy as his strokes.

"Yes, yes, there's water in your blood," she interrupted impatiently. "Well, we can say for sure that it's definitely not in mine."

Theo tried not to smirk at her uncharacteristic grumpiness because he knew she wouldn't appreciate it, and instead kept his lips below the level of the water.

After a couple of minutes he noticed that her complaints had stopped and he saw that she was peering down into the water.

"We can dive down if you want a closer look," he suggested. "There's not going to be much to see in terms of creatures so soon after the squid has passed through but, as I've said before, that's probably for the best - the grindylows can be little devils if they decide you're there for the taking."

"OK," Granger agreed. "But I probably can't hold my breath as long as you."

"That's fine," he told her. "Ready?"

She nodded and then they dove under the water. The world below the lake surface was clearer than usual thanks to the bright sunlight, and he watched Granger's face as she turned her head round eagerly to take in as much as possible - her hair blossoming around her face like the petals on a flower. She surfaced a couple of times and then returned to look further and further across the bottom of the lake, but their visibility only stretched for a hundred yards or so in each direction.

They rose to get some air together and he was amused that her hair now lay flat and slick against her neck and cheeks.

"What?" she asked, catching his expression as they trod water.

"Your hair looks so different when it's wet," he said simply. "Not as wild."

"Oh." She brushed some of the sopping locks away from her eyes and Theo sensed that he'd made her self-conscious.

"I don't mean it looks bad - just different, because you can see the rest of your face more clearly now," he told her quickly. Unfortunately, he sensed that he was making things worse and his face began to flush, but he couldn't stop his mouth from continuing to run away from him. "Not that there's anything wrong with your normal hair - the wildness suits you - like when you have to tie it up for ballet class but a few unruly strands always rebel and escape: it reminds me of you coming into the magical world and trying to fit in, but not compromising on what you believe or what you want to do…" He trailed off awkwardly and had to fight the overwhelming urge to hide his face under the water. Granger's cheeks had turned pink too but Theo didn't know if it was because she was embarrassed or flattered by his words - he hoped it was the latter: he was embarrassed enough for the both of them.

"You know, I think that's the first time anyone's complimented my hair," she told him with a small laugh. "Thanks."

Theo's desire to drown himself still persisted, but he toughed it out and suggested a race back to the boat instead. He won easily without going anywhere near his top speed, and even had time to flip onto his back and take the last few strokes at a leisurely pace as he watched her try to keep up. He received a face full of water for his cockiness though, because she splashed him when she got close enough with a muttered, "Show off." Far from taking this lying down, Theo initiated a full-on war that lasted for several minutes, and a truce was only called when Theo caught sight of one of the merpeople watching them from the depths when he took evasive action to avoid one of Granger's attacks.

"Merpeople?" she gasped, her soaked hair releasing droplets of water down her face. "Really?" She peered down into the water and looked ready to dive but he reached out for her arm before she could. She looked at him quizzically.

"Best not," he advised, gently tugging her back towards the direction of the boat. "The lake is their home, after all. We don't want to do anything to antagonise them."

"Oh," she looked troubled. "Have we offended them?"

"I think maybe we were just making too much noise," he replied. "They probably sent someone to see what the fuss was about. If they were really mad, we wouldn't be in any doubt from what I've heard." He hauled himself easily back onto the dinghy and then bent over to help Granger in too. She slipped slightly as her wet feet met the floor of the boat but he held her firmly, realising only when her hand touched his bare chest to steady herself how closely they were standing together. "Here," he said, reaching around her to grab her bathing towel.

"Thanks," she said gratefully, her head bent away from him as she wrapped it around herself.

They spent the next couple of minutes in an awkward silence as they dried themselves off and changed into warm clothes, until Granger asked him what he knew about the merpeople, and their ease with each other soon returned. He told her everything he knew about the lake's different inhabitants as they resumed their journey to the island.

The sheltered clearing was quite warm with the sun beaming down on them and they eagerly shared a flask of pumpkin juice to quench their thirst.

Granger held her cup up and toasted, "To surviving our Third Year at Hogwarts!"

Theo obligingly tapped his drink against hers. "And the new friends we've made along the way," he added and she grinned at him before taking a sip of the refreshing juice.

"Yes, to that most of all," she agreed earnestly. "I honestly don't know how I would've gotten through the year without you and Tam. Thank you, Theo."

She didn't use his first name very often and it always sounded so strange on her tongue when she did, but he liked it. "You're welcome. And I should thank you too - for opening my eyes to the truth."

She shook her head. "I don't think I had very much to do with it - that was probably Tam. Besides, you had to be willing to see; plenty of others in your shoes would've ignored it."

"But you didn't turn me away," he pointed out. "You forgave me, and I don't think I would've done the same if the situation had been reversed."

"Oh, I don't know about that," she denied, her brown eyes peering intently into his soul. "I think there's far more compassion inside of you than you realise."

He stared at her for a few moments, hardly breathing, then glanced down at his juice and took another swig. "Thanks," he muttered, his thoughts and feelings a little scrambled by her words. It often unsettled him that she held him in such high regard, but he was recently trying to coach himself into believing her words because, after all, she had become the one person who knew him better than anyone these last few months. And hadn't he done so many things this year that he never would've dreamed himself doing back in September - and all because of her...

He suddenly became aware of a new worry creeping over him, that one day he would let her down; that he wouldn't live up to the person she saw inside of him. He quickly pushed the thought out of his mind, determined as he was to enjoy their time together: the last chance he had to be himself before an entire summer of pretending to be someone that he wasn't anymore.

A/N Kinda fluffy again but mostly a key step forwards in their relationship. I'm really interested on your take on what Hermione revealed to him about her exploits with Harry and Ron. When I wrote this chapter I asked my sister's opinion on that section. She thought Hermione was telling him too much/it's not her place to share, but my sister is not a reader of this story so she didn't understand the level of friendship that the two of them have developed. Do you think Hermione went too far or was it about right? Let me know!

I hope you're all keeping safe.

Love,

Red

PS Forgot to mention last time that the curse on Hermione's shoes last chapter was inspired by something I heard that dancers put bits of glass in other rival ballerinas' shoes! Could just be an urban legend but I don't know for sure! Ouch! There's a hierarchy in most professional dance companies so it's hardly surprising that it brings out jealousy and competitiveness, but I think we can all agree that's going way too far!