Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Author's Note: This is for two different things on the Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges forum. First, this is for the Guilty Pleasure Fic Exchange II, where I was assigned to write for spiral nebula. Spiral nebula, I hope you like this! I used the prompts 'glamorous', 'teal', 'dawn', and 'shimmer', by the way. This is also for the School Subjects Competition, Potions division, where the fic had to be over 2K.

When Theodore Nott truly notices Daphne Greengrass for the first time, they're in fourth year.

He's at the Yule Ball, which has just started, and he's thinking about how ridiculous this whole thing is. Really, what teenage boy wants to dance? He finds the whole premise to be incredibly silly, and he's annoyed that he even decided to go. Tracey Davis had asked him a couple of weeks previously, and he had accepted. He didn't want to be the only person old enough to attend who didn't end up attending; he'd look like an idiot.

Now, though, he's regretting it. Tracey isn't even paying attention to him. While he doesn't fancy her at all, it would at least be nice if she would talk to him. Instead, she's staring across the room at some Ravenclaw - Corner, he thinks - who's engrossed in a conversation with the youngest Weasley. Malfoy and Parkinson are dancing with each other, not that Theodore particularly wants to talk to either of them. Crabbe, Goyle, and Bulstrode are each alone, sulking in separate corners because no one is dancing with them. Not that he would ever have a decent conversation with any of them, anyway.

Theodore looks around for Blaise. Blaise, at least, is tolerable. He doesn't suck up to Malfoy, and he's intelligent enough to hold a normal conversation. He's probably the closest thing that Theodore has to a friend - not that he would ever say that, since Slytherins have allies, not friends. It's strange that Blaise isn't there yet; Theodore was sure that all of the Slytherins in their year were going.

It's at that moment that Blaise walks in, a proud, smug look on his face. Right beside him, holding his arm, is Daphne Greengrass - but wow, she looks much better than she usually does. She's wearing shimmering teal dress robes that nicely set off her blue eyes, and her blonde hair is wavy. She looks older than her fourteen years, and for the first time, Theodore envies Blaise. When did Greengrass get this hot? She's glamorous, looking more and more like a celebrity on the cover of a magazine as she gets closer to where Theodore and Tracey are getting.

He can't take his eyes off of her.

o0o0o0o0o

Theodore has a meaningful conversation with Daphne for the first time in fifth year.

They're sitting in the back of the library, as close to the Restricted Section as someone could get without actually being in there. There's only two tables this far back there, and the light is so dim that no one comes there to study. It's the perfect area for talking, and both of them know it. Theodore doesn't exactly know why he sat down across from Daphne, but he did, and now they're alone and silent, neither one saying a word for several minutes.

"You know," Daphne says quietly and suddenly, "basically all of the other Slytherins are falling over in an attempt to kiss Umbridge's arse."

Theodore makes a face at that mental image before reverting back to a serious expression. "That they are," he says, trying to erase the picture of Umbridge's arse - and students kissing it - from his head. "But you aren't."

"And neither are you," she answers. "I feel...I don't know. I feel like I'm the outcast in my own House because I don't like her. I'm not rebelling against her like some of the Gryffindors, but I'm not happy that she's here like all of the other Slytherins. I think -" Daphne cuts herself off, looking around nervously for anyone else. Once she's satisfied that no one is even in the general vicinity, she continues, her voice even quieter than before. "I think she's annoying and a bitch and she treats all of the students like first years."

Theodore nods. Daphne's characterization of Umbridge is certainly accurate. "You're right," he says. "And you do know what she does to people who've earned detention with her, right?"

"Yeah. She makes them cut their own hand open, basically. I've seen some of the Gryffindors." She shudders. "I want to stay out of trouble. But sometimes...it's just hard." She shakes her head. "I don't even know why I'm telling you this - we don't talk much."

He shrugs in response. "Maybe we should."

She sighs. "Do you think it feels like something big is going to happen? Like...I don't know. All of what's going on with Potter and Dumbledore and the breakout at the Ministry...it just feels like the time right before shit hits the fan."

Her hair is up in a messy bun, she's wearing the school uniform, and she's cursing like an Auror. It's the exact opposite of how she was at the Yule Ball the previous year, but it might just be that moment that Theodore once again notices Daphne Greengrass - and this time, it's for who she truly is.

o0o0o0o0o

Through the rest of fifth year, and through sixth year, Theodore and Daphne grow closer. That one conversation in the library - which wasn't even that long - has led to more and more conversations. Some are meaningful, and others are definitely not. It just depends on the day, what's going on and what they want to talk about. Theodore would even say he's closer to Daphne than to Blaise now. Blaise has become almost entirely focused on who he's going to shag next, and because Theodore doesn't particularly want to hear about Blaise's sexual exploits, they're not as close as they used to be. That's all right, though - Theodore has Daphne now.

He sees all sides of Daphne. He sees her when she's angry or upset, which usually results in more cursing than Theodore's ever heard in his whole life. He sees her when she's happy and pleased, and he sees her when she's unsure. She doesn't hide anything from him - an odd thing for a Slytherin, yes, but Daphne is no typical Slytherin, and he knows that. She's different from them, and she doesn't give a damn about it.

Theodore tells her more than he's used to telling someone. He and Blaise never talked about anything serious; most of their conversations were limited to classes or other Hogwarts students. They would never talk about much beyond that, but with Daphne, he does. He tells her that he's not scared of the Dark Lord's return, because he knows that he - as the son of a Death Eater - is one of the safest people in the United Kingdom. He tells her that despite this, though, he is scared of one thing about the Dark Lord. He's scared of becoming a Death Eater himself; he doesn't want to, and he's terrified that his father will make him.

Daphne tells him that she would never become a Death Eater, even if it meant dying rather than joining. She says that pureblood mania is complete bullshit, and she would never support that. She tells him that she's only in Slytherin because she's cunning, ambitious, and pureblood, not because she puts any value in her blood status. She says that she hopes the Dark Lord gets defeated, and he hopes so too. Not just because he's scared of joining up - because Daphne wants the Dark Lord gone, and Theodore wants Daphne to be happy.

o0o0o0o0o

Seventh year dawns, and everything else has changed. Dumbledore is dead. Snape is Headmaster. The Carrows - who are Death Eaters and not ashamed to admit it - are in charge of discipline, and they're even worse than Umbridge. All the Muggle-borns - Theodore doesn't even think the word Mudblood anymore, that's how much Daphne has rubbed off on him - are gone from the school. Potter, Weasley, and Granger, the Trio That's Always In The Midst Of Everything, are no longer there. The Dark Lord and his Death Eaters are effectively controlling everything.

One thing hasn't changed - Daphne and Theodore remain friends. They're no longer free to talk in corridors, or in the library, about anything important or serious. Carrows and Carrow-supporters are always listening in, and Daphne and Theodore aren't going to risk getting tortured for simply talking. They stick to the back corners of their own common room, and often even up to the boys' dormitory. No one can hear them there.

Theodore's laying in his bed, half-reading a Dark Arts textbook, half-dozing off, when Daphne comes storming in one day. She's breathing heavily, her eyes flashing. "I hate them," she hisses as she slams the door behind her. "I absolutely despise them. I'm going to freaking kill them, you hear me? The - the -" She shakes her head, not able to come up with a swear word strong enough to describe whoever she's talking about.

"What's wrong?" Theodore shuts the book, all thoughts of studying pushed away, and gets off of his bed. "Who are 'they'?"

"The Carrows," she snaps. "The arseholes, that is. Motherfu-"

"What did they do?" He interrupts before she can launch into a list of names to call the Carrows. Amusing as that would be, it isn't helpful.

"I was walking back to the Slytherin common rooms. Passing through the dungeons, of course, where the Carrows do their freaking detentions and disturb the peace. I overheard both Carrows in there, which as you know is pretty strange. Usually only one of them does detention. So I opened the door a crack, and who did I see? My freaking sister. The arses were torturing my freaking sister." She looks ready to rush out of there and go through with her threat to kill the Carrows, and Theodore really doesn't want her to do anything rash that she'll regret later.

"What did she do?" Theodore asks. He doesn't really know Astoria Greengrass personally, but he's heard enough about her from Daphne. Enough to know, that is, that she - despite being in Slytherin as well - was almost Sorted into Gryffindor, and for a reason. According to Daphne, Astoria is bold and reckless and only in Slytherin because she's pureblood, ambitious, and begged the Hat for about three minutes to put her in Slytherin. Which means that there's any number of things Astoria could have done to earn herself a detention.

"I don't know," Daphne replies, her eyes still flashing. "Good for her, though, standing up to those bastards. I really hope it was something worthwhile."

"I'm sure it was," Theodore reassures her. "Look, she'll be all right."

"She better be," Daphne mutters darkly, "or else."

o0o0o0o0o

May second starts off like a normal day. It doesn't end like one.

Theodore leaves with the rest of the Slytherins. He's not brave enough to fight. He doesn't want to die, he doesn't want to get injured, and he definitely doesn't want to see his father. It might be that he's afraid of most of all - seeing his father fighting for the opposite side. He doesn't want to be forced to duel with his own flesh and blood. In his heart, he wants the Death Eaters to lose, but he doesn't want to be there when everything happens.

It's in that moment, hurrying through the passageway to the Hog's Head, that he remembers Daphne's words from a couple of years previously. 'It just feels like the time right before shit hits the fan'. It had made sense then - after all, at the end of that year, the Dark Lord had returned - but it makes even more sense now. The proverbial shit was just about to hit the proverbial fan in about an hour.

He looks around for her when he gets there. They've lost each other in the crowd of Slytherins, but as the passageway closes behind him he looks around the overcrowded establishment. He can't see her. He can't see Astoria, either, and he shakes his head in frustration. Did they seriously sneak back to fight in the battle?

It wouldn't surprise him.

He tries to leave, but no one will let him. The others say that he's being an idiot, and that if the Greengrass sisters want to be idiots, that's fine, but they aren't going to stand by and let one of their own give himself up. It's almost seventy against one - even if many of those are younger than him - and no one can fight through nearly seventy other people. He resigns himself to wait, cursing himself, Daphne, the Dark Lord, and the Death Eaters all at once.

o0o0o0o0o

The Slytherins are finally allowed back to Hogwarts when the battle is over. They don't go through the Hog's Head passageway; apparently the Room of Requirement suffered damage from Fiendfyre. They trudge through Hogsmeade and back to Hogwarts. No one comments on the fact that it's a beautiful day. The sun is shining, and it's that perfect temperature between hot and cold. No one says anything. No one cares. They're all worried, because they all know someone who was there. Parents, friends, siblings...someone was fighting that day. Someone could have died that day.

There's a nervous tension in the air because of this. Theodore can feel it. He's tense himself. He's worried about his father - who, if he survived the battle, is going to Azkaban - and about Daphne. He's even worried about Astoria, simply because of how much Daphne loves her. He knows that if anything happened to Astoria, Daphne would be depressed.

A person standing in the Entrance Hall says that mostly everyone is in the Great Hall. Theodore hurries in, along with the rest of his House, and looks around. All around there are people who are injured, people who are dying, and people who are dead. Even the people who are assisting have minor injuries. No one has escaped unscathed, it seems. He's looking and looking, and then a blur flies into him, knocking him back a couple steps. "It's over," Daphne shrieks, her arms encircling him. She embraces him, and then steps back, looking him over.

She looks fine. There's a scar along her neck, but it's been healed already, and all that remains is a pink line. Her robes are torn in many places, and she looks incredibly disheveled, but she's not hurt. He feels an overwhelming sense of relief. "You're all right," he says.

"Yeah," she answers. "Astoria is, too - she snuck back with me. We survived," she says. There's a small note of wonder in her tone, as if she can't believe it herself. She looks beautiful, even disheveled as she is, and he feels the need to do something, to say something special.

"I was...I was worried about you," he says quietly, and she moves closer to him so that her face is near his. "I was scared that you were going to die, and..." He takes a deep breath, and summons up all his courage. He has to tell her now. "I was scared I would never get to tell you how I feel about you."

She leans closer to him; her face is barely an inch from his now, and in the back of his mind he remembers the days when he had a couple inches of height over her. "Dammit, Theodore," she whispers. "It took you long enough." He smiles at that, and she does too, rolling her eyes at the same time, entwining her arms around him again. "Will you just kiss me already?"

He does, and, at least for that moment, everything is perfect.