XVIII.

If Dorathea had spent her entire morning wondering about Theo's cryptic comment, she didn't have to wait long to have her questions answered. In fact, the whole school was buzzing with the answer by lunch.

"I heard that he shoved Malfoy against the Herbology table, grabbed his lapels, lifted him onto his toes and then swore if Malfoy ever insulted him again it would be the last thing he ever did," an older Ravenclaw told her friend breathlessly as they took their seats a little further up the table from Dorathea. Her friend shook his head and leaned forward conspiratorially. Dorathea leaned in slightly herself- amazed at how quickly the School's gossip mill had moved away from her and onto another subject.

"I heard that he threw Malfoy through a Greenhouse window," He said with a delight snicker, "Burst out after him, stomped his head on the ground, and vowed that he would pluck Malfoy's eyes from his head if he ever even looked at his sister-"

The rest of the words faded into meaningless noise as Dorathea sunk into shock. His sister. Malfoy. That could only mean-

She glanced wildly across the great hall to the Slytherin Table- scanning the green and silver robes for some sign of her brother. But instead of seeing his familiar frame, she caught sight of Pansy saying something to a girl next to her and pointing right at Dorathea.

The whole school was looking at her. Not everyone was as obvious as Pansy- with her point and sneer. But she could feel the weight of their eyes on her- could imagine what they were saying. Dorathea stared down at her plate, feeling light-headed. Would it be better to run from the room and attract more notice? Or to eat her lunch and pretend nothing was happening and hope that the stares died away.

But what about Theo? If what those girls were right and he had attacked Draco, what if he was hurt? The pounding in her ears increased along with her indecision.

"Do you want a distraction?"

Dorathea looked up to see Lisa taking a seat across the table from her. Of all the people Dorathea wanted to see, Lisa was not among them. "I beg your pardon?"

"A distraction," Lisa said. Her smirk must be patented, Dorothea decided, otherwise it would leave her face more often, "Give them something else to talk about while you escape?"

Escape- Dorathea latched onto the world like a lifeline. She might not trust Lisa, but she needed to escape the scrutiny of the school and find Theo. So, she gave a small nod. Lisa grinned.

"YOU!" Lisa stood up so fast that the bench she was sitting on flew back- almost hitting the Hufflepuff table. The conversation around them ceased as every eye was drawn to the shout. Lisa was standing- one leg braced on the table- arm outstretched and pointed at the confused and terrified Mandy who had just walked into the hall.

"Wha-" Mandy looked around trying to figure out what she had done.

"YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID!" Lisa shouted, "DON'T PLEAD INNOCENT!"

Now even more of the Great Hall was focused on the Ravenclaw. Along with the astonished looks, Dorothea was amazed to seem some enjoyment- especially from the Slytherin table. She ducked her head and collected her bag. If someone noticed that she slipped out of the Great Hall, she hadn't seen.

. . . . .

In the first atrium, the air seemed about ten degrees cooler. She could still hear the shouts from the Great Hall behind her which attracted any straggling students towards the dining hall. Soon, Dorothea was by herself.

But where was Theo? She took a half step towards the dungeons and then paused. Would Theo be in the Slytherin Common room? Something in her heart said no. Theo found no sanctuary in Hogwarts- not even in his own common room.

Inspiration struck. Dorathea dug through her bag- she carried so many more things now that she was a girl- and produced a spool of simple, white thread. The Nott manor had a book of old myths which she had been reading in the evenings. What worked for Ariadne could work for her.

Dorathea clasped the spool of thread to her chest and reached into her heart- where the Nott Family magic lay. Theo had shown her how to access this deep well of magic a few days after her arrival.

Every wizard and witch had access to two forms of magic- their own which they were born with and their families which they were either born or married into. Harry had only ever relied on his own personal magic. This was the magic that Hogwarts taught their students to access and shape to their will. It was lively and changeable- suitable for the many schools of magic Hogwarts offered. But its was limited in their application.

Family magic, on the other hand, was shared. It was deep and connected to every member of the family. Family members could share their magic and lend each other aid during times of crisis. While its applications were fewer than personal magic- Dorathea couldn't ask her family magic to help transfigure a spoon into a sock- but within its own confines, it allowed almost endless creativity.

Dorathea couldn't be sure and Theo would never say, but she had an inkling that her twin was a genius- the once in a century- when it came to their family magic- no matter what his grades were at Hogwarts. She hoped that genius had transferred.

Please, she thought, cupping the spool of thread in her palms and pressing her hands against her heart. She thought hard of Theo- picturing his face and the way that he felt, how empty she felt when she didn't know where he was. Please help me find him.

The spool warmed in her palms and she opened her hands to show that it was glowing faintly in the dimness of the castle. Suddenly, it hopped out of her hand and began rolling down the hallway. Dorathea suppressed a squeak of delight and picked up the trailing end of white thread.

Winding it around her hand, she set off after the enchanted spool.

The thread led her on a merry dance throughout the castle. It jumped nimbly up and downstairs and around corners, but Dorathea had to open closed doors so it could continue its journey. She continued to wind the thread around her other hand creating first a white band and then a thicker coil as the thread transferred from the spool. The spool grew thinner and thinner and she began to wonder at how large Hogwarts really was, how well Theo had hidden.

As she descended another set of stairs (yet another part of the castle Harry had never seen), the spool finally gave out. The magic faded from the thread and the small wooden bobbin clattered to a stop on the landing.

Dorathea sighed. Now, what was she-

"Thea?" Theo peeked his head from around the corner. "What are you doing here?"

"Theo!" Her heart lightened and she ran down the last set of steps towards him, "I was looking for you!"

"How-" His voice trailed off as he looked at first the white thread wrapped around her hand and then the empty bobbin on the stairs. He cocked his head in thought for a moment and then an appreciative smile lit his face. "Oh- well done, Thea! That's really clever. Ariadne's guide right? But how did you? I mean, we never discussed it-"

"I just felt the spool of thread and remembered the story- then it just made sense." That was another difference between family and personal magic. Personal magic had to be taught and trained - it had no inherent shape but the shape that your will gave it and that was a difficult skill to learn. Family magic, on the other hand, flowed almost spontaneously. It was next to impossible to teach. Theo had been able to show her how to braid or which knots to make, but to imbue them with magic? That came naturally or not at all.

"You're brilliant!" Theo said and Dorathea felt an answering grin spread across her face. Then she remembered why she had sought Theo out and the grin faded.

"Theo- everyone in the Great Hall was saying that you attacked Draco - is that true?"

Theo's face clouded over and he looked away- shoving his hands into his pockets. "I didn't attack him." He said, in a curiously distinct way. There was a slight emphasis on the verb that caused Dorathea to narrow her eyes.

"What did you do?"

"I challenged him to a duel," Theo said simply. Seeing her shock, he was quick to explain. "He insulted you, Thea. The whole Malfoy family did. Trying to trick you into an engagement without your knowledge. That's an insult to our whole family and I can't let that stand. He has to pay for it."

"With a duel?" Dorathea asked incredulously.

Theo frowned, "How would you have them pay?"

Dorathea didn't have an answer for him. She had thought that with fixing her hair and maybe a stern talking-to with Draco later on, the affair was behind them. But to challenge Draco to a duel? What if Theo got hurt? What if Draco did?

"Did Draco accept?" She asked

"Of course he did. He'd be a coward to refuse in front of so many people."

An old memory rose in Dorathea's brain - of Draco challenging Harry to a duel in their first year then never showing. Harry had almost been caught by Filtch and gotten in trouble in the first week of school.

"Theo do you-" Dorathea hesitated, struggling with how to phrase this without arousing Theo's suspicions. "Theo, Draco was bragging over the holidays about how he challenged Harry Potter to a duel."

That caused Theo to scoff and roll his eyes, "Oh yeah. I remember that. He went on and on about how great a prank it would be when Filtch caught Potter. Wouldn't shut up about it all night."

Dorathea breathed a silent sigh of relief, "Yes, well, how do you know he won't stand you up?"

"Because I'm a Nott," Theo said.

"Yes, but Potter was a- Potter."

"He was a half-blood." Theo corrected her. "If he had been a full-blooded Potter, then Draco would have had to abide by the old laws and met him for a duel. But a half-blood." Theo shrugged a shoulder as if that explained everything. It didn't. But Dorathea didn't know how to push the issue.

"Alright- if you are sure-" She said, "When is the duel?"

"Tonight!" Theo brightened, "You'll come right? You don't have Astronomy, do you? You need to be there as the subject of the duel."

"I do?" Dorathea asked then sighed, "Yeah, of course, I'll be there Theo. We're family."

A/N: Thank you all for your follows, favs and especially reviews. They are the spark that keeps me writing! What would your family magic be if your family had magic?