Ouroboros - Green_Roses - Harry Potter (2024)

Chapter 1: Prologue

Chapter Text

June, 1998

Hermione Granger had a secret.

A secret she had kept hidden from Harry and Ron. From Ginny. From Neville, Luna and frankly almost everyone in her life.

It was a secret that she would be forced to reveal in approximately sixty second’s time.

“Please state your name for the court.” The prosecutors shrill voice echoed through the court room and Hermione shifted uncomfortably on her wooden seat.

The courtroom was exactly as she remembered, walls made of dark stone, dimly lit by torches. But this time, the benches on either side of the room were not empty. Today’s trial in front of a full Wizengamot had drawn quite a crowd with many witches and wizards eager to bare witness to the trial of the heir, or perhaps more correctly, new Lord, to one of the oldest and wealthiest wizarding families. And many more faces in the crowd were here demanding retribution.

By default, he was considered a sympathiser to the death eater cause. And with so many actual death eaters dead or missing following the battle of Hogwarts, justice had been sparsely served. Whatever brought the many faces of the wizarding community here today, every one of them had something in common. A trait shared by her oldest friends who were staring back at her just as confused and intrigued as everyone else as to why she had felt so compelled as to have demanded to speak in today’s trial. And more importantly, where she had been since the battle and why she had kept her desire to testify a secret until this very moment.

Hermione took a deep breath and wiped her clammy palms against the skirt of her black dress. She recalled how earlier that morning; the solemn faced wizard had helped her zip up the back before placing a featherlight kiss to her neck before parting with her through the floo.

“Hermione Jean Granger.” She kept her voice as strong and steady as she could manage. It wasn’t often nerves got to her like this and she hoped it wasn’t obvious to the rest of the room.

“Could you please state for the record your intentions at today’s trial as this is quite unprecedented.”

“I wish to act as character witness and provide evidence proving the innocence of this wizard who is accused of sympathising with Voldemort and the Death Eater cause. I wish to ask for his full pardon.”

Since there was little evidence of any crimes committed by him, she was confident the worst-case scenario would be a year or two in Azkaban. That is if they indeed chose to overlook the smaller matter of patricide. But in her eyes, even a day would be too greater sentence for this wizard.

She could feel Harry and Ron’s gaze burrowing into her skull trying to figure out what she was doing. The prosecutor continued her questioning, “Miss Granger, perhaps you could help the court understand why you, specifically, feel able to provide this evidence when neither Mr Potter, Mr Weasley, nor any other member of the Order of the Phoenix were inclined to also come forwards in defence of this individual?”

The heat began to rise on the back of her neck beneath her unruly curls. There had been no hope of controlling them today. They always joked her curls were sentient, feeding off her emotions but perhaps there was some truth in it.

Hermione closed her eyes briefly to avoid rolling them, “Because they didn’t know,” she ground out.

The prosecutor was growing tired of her evasiveness already. Hermione knew it was pointless and she lost her Gryffindor courage only for a few seconds, knowing the ramifications of her next words could be her undoing. She was clinging to the last few moments of life as it was.

“Didn’t know what exactly, Miss Granger?”

She took a deep breath.

“They didn’t know Theodore Nott is my best friend.”

Chapter 2: Always Cappuccino

Chapter Text

June, 1996

Three days had passed since she had stormed the Ministry of Magic with Harry, Ron, Neville, Ginny and Luna. Three days eating soggy cereal for breakfast and overly sweet pink apples. Three days, stuck in a rather uncomfortable hospital bed at St. Mungo’s. Hermione was really quite bored.

She looked around the clinical, white room she had been assigned – a small mercy not to be on a bustling ward. The only source of colour was the vase of wildflowers from the Weasley garden. As her gaze settled on the forget-me-not’s she wished she could forget what had been done to her.

As soon as Dolohov had hit her with the jet of purple light from his curse she had known it wasn’t good. She had felt something deep within her sever and immediately passed out from the blinding pain.

Once stabilised by Madame Pomfrey, she had been transferred to St Mungo’s for more extensive testing. It was here that Molly Weasley had sat with her each day as the rest of her friends and the Weasley brood finished up the remaining week of term at Hogwarts. Hermione felt unendingly grateful to the matronly witch who, along with her husband Arthur, had agreed to act as magical guardians for both herself, and Harry until they came of age.

That said, in the moment she received her prognosis from the healing staff, and the emotions had poured out from Mrs Weasley, Hermione wished she was alone.

The curse Dolohov had case was something new he had been developing with the presumed goal to rid the world of muggle borns. He’d attempted to sever her fallopian tubes. Well, he had successfully severed the right on and left her with a gruesome scar that was proving resistant to the usual treatment methods.

When the Healer advised that Hermione might struggle to conceive children in the future, Mrs Weasley had wept. Hermione didn’t. She was only sixteen. She had no idea if she wanted children and to be honest, she was just happy to be alive after all that had happened. The implication that this should be something she should be upset about irked her. Especially since it wasn’t black and white. She could still have them, children, it just might not be easy.

Was it wrong of her to think the Weasley matriarch’s reaction was selfish? Hermione knew being a mother was the most important thing in the world to her so hearing that someone else might not have that would of course be upsetting but Hermione couldn’t shake the feeling the tears had more to do with Ron. She knew everyone around them was watching them, waiting for something romantic to occur. So, the implication that she wouldn’t be able to provide the youngest Weasley son with a child carried a lot more weight in her reaction. She knew if they did indeed end up together, Ron wouldn’t care. He was good like that. They’d make it work, or she hoped they would.

“Forget about it Hermione” she murmured to herself as she plucked one of. The books from the stack she’d convinced Ginny to send her. Thank Merlin for Ginny packing up her things back at Hogwarts. She hated to think what might have happened, how many precious books would have been forgotten, if it had been left to Ron and Harry, or worse, Lavender and Pavarti, the two girls she had shared a dorm with the past five years.

Knowing she had another two days to remain under observation – a formality since it was technically an unknown curse – Hermione decided to make a start on the required reading for the next school year.

She knew she had subscribed to an ungodly amount of classes but she hadn’t been able to help herself from ticking the small boxes against; Arithmancy, Astrology, Ancient. Runes, Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions and of course, Transfiguration. This year, she’d also been made prefect again alongside Ron so she knew her time would be limited.

Since she was a little worse for wear at the moment, Hermione allowed herself to indulge in one of her favourite subjects, potions, and selected to review the chapters on Goldpallot’s Third Law, which would be key in class this year. She was only a few paragraphs in when a flash of platinum blonde hair caught her eye.

She’d recognise that signature shade anywhere but, what was Malfoy doing in St Mungo’s she wondered. She didn’t recall Lucius being injured in the duelling at the Ministry so who was he visiting?

Still too weak to haul herself out of bed, let alone argue with the ferret, she decided to return to her reading.

**

The next day, Hermione woke feeling much brighter. Anxious to return to the Burrow the following morning, she began packing the few belongings she had with her until she got distracted again by the same platinum blonde head.

This time however, curiosity got the better of her, so she quietly opened the door to her room and slipped out, making her way down the hospital hallway. Thankfully her trusty cream slippers cushioned her steps nicely so there was no need to cast any spells to muffle the noise.

Despite her best efforts, she still wasn’t as quick on her feet and found herself unable to catch up to Malfoy before he turned a corner. As she grew closer, she heard him mutter something before a door clicked shut. Intent to find out who he was here to see, she continued on but failed to notice that as she rounded the corner, she was walking directly into someone.

Hermione collided into a warm, hard body and felt strong arms reach out to grab her waist before she hit the ground. The wizard before her furrowed his brows in surprise to see her, “Granger?”

She replied as stiffly as possible not wanting to give away anything, choosing instead to mirror his greeting, “Nott.”

His hands lingered on her waist, a gesture that was surprising but undoubtedly indicative of his upbringing. She couldn’t help but be rendered speechless that a pure-blooded Slytherin, a Sacred-28, pure blooded, son of a death eater and heir to an ancient and noble housed Slytherin at that, would willingly put his hands on her.

But perhaps what shocked her the most was the warmth of his larger, veined hands which had started to creep through her hospital gown. Was it childish of her to think all Slytherin’s would be cold like their reptilian house symbol? Either way, it had not been a feeling she was expecting.

Convinced she was upright on her own, he released her and thrust his hands back into his trouser pockets quickly, but the movement caused her to hiss out in pain.

He’d accidently snagged the edge of her wound with his hand, “sh*t, sorry, are you alright?” he asked, genuine concern in his eyes.

“Uhm yes, well, I’m on the mend, thank you” she replied, daring a glance into the olive green eyes staring back at her.

She didn’t know much about Theodore Nott other than he was never behind her in grades and also chosen to spend his time in the library rather than on the Quidditch pitch. Nevertheless, she stories of his father, Thoros Nott, inspired almost as much terror as Bellatrix Lestrange. She assumed this was why the majority of the school gave Nott a wide berth. The rather imposing stature he’d developed over the past year probably contributed to his status amongst their peers as well. Before this year, she could have sworn he was incredibly thin and almost willowy given his height.

The wizard who stood before her however had grown into quite a nice young man. Or that is most likely how her mother would have described him.

He was tall, around six foot if she had to guess, broad shoulders and a strong chest and limbs despite the lack of Quidditch. His body certainly reflected one thing, but in this moment, his face reflected nothing but a gentle kindness. Chocolate brown hair that seemed effortlessly tousled with soft curls falling slightly into his eyes. He was, rather annoyingly, a very handsome wizard. The sort of boy girls dreamed of – traditionally tall, dark and handsome. And there was an unmistakeable warm and homely scent that clung to him, cutting through the stark antiseptic smell of the hospital. It was like Christmas in a log cabin way up in the mountains.

She almost forgot she had been following Malfoy. What in Godric’s name was Nott doing here with him?

She didn’t think she had seen the pair interact much at school. Nott was certainly one of the only Slytherin’s who didn’t join in the torments shot her way over the years but he’d certainly shot a glare or two Harry and Rons way if they passed him in the halls for whatever reason. Nott seemed to have been something of a loner till he started hanging around with Marcus Flint, Adrian Pucey and Graham Montague as well as a few of the other older boys rather than Malfoy’s crowd.

“So, Granger…would you like to get a coffee with me?”

Hermione was shaken from her thoughts, “w-what?”

He chuckled softly and she spied a dimple creeping on to his left cheek. “Would you, Hermione Granger, like to join me, Theodore Nott for a coffee?”

“Uhm alright then, yes. Although, I’m not exactly dressed for it,” she glanced down at her light blue hospital gown slightly embarrassed.

“Pfft” he waved his hand, “don’t worry about it, I’m hardly dressed appropriately to escort a witch such as yourself for a drink.”

Hermione scoffed. Nott was wearing impeccably tailored, charcoal grey trousers and a crisp white button-down shirt. Hardly every day attire for a teenage boy but what did she know?

“Thank you,” she said softly as they turned and began walking the hallway in search of the cafeteria, “They won’t give me back my clothes until I am discharged in fear that I’ll make a break for it.”

He co*cked and thick eyebrow at her, “I’m surprised you’re letting something as mundane as a lack of clothes stop you, Granger.”

**

Once in the cafeteria, Nott guided her towards a table in the back. She felt sure the palm of his hand was inches from the curve of her lower back, but she shook the thought from her mind almost as quickly as it had appeared. He pulled out a chair for her to sit before striding straight back to the counter leaving her somewhat speechless again. The warm spicey scent of him, lingering subtly behind and she felt lost in it.

She assumed aristocratic pureblood manners must be ingrained into him deeply if he had made such an unconscious number of them even towards her in such a short period of time.

Upon his return to their table, she saw he’d ordered a cappuccino for her and a double espresso for himself. How did he know her coffee order? A slide of lemon and chocolate cake also sat on the tray he’d levitated with him, and she desperately hoped one wasn’t supposed to be for her. As much as she loved chocolate cake, she didn’t feel up to eating anything that decadent. But, she decided to use this as opportunity to work out his motives.

“Who is the second slide for?” she asked as he moved the chocolate cake in front of himself, “jealous girlfriend on her way to join us any second?” She eyed him warily, unsure how he’d react to her pressing. It’s not like she was someone he would consider a friend.

Or would he? He had invited her for coffee after all, not the other way around.

He began wrapping the lemon cake in napkins and cast a stasis charm on it as he answered, “Alas no, Drake has the most infuriating ability to sniff out sweer things. He’s like a dog with a bone that one. If he knew I had cake without him he would be royally pissed. Consider this an act of self-preservation.”

“Who’s Drake?” she asked curiously as she took the first sip of her coffee.

“Oh you know, arrogant brooding blonde that we’ve shared classes with since we were eleven.”

Malfoy?! If she didn’t know he was in the same building she wouldn’t have believed him, but it only made her more curious, she couldn’t imagine Crabbe or Goyle referring to him in such a way.

Nott took a huge chunk of his cake with a fork and proceeded to eat it with more grace than she’d ever seen anyone eat in her entire life. Save her grandparents perhaps when she was younger.

“Hmm right, sorry, I just never heard anyone call him Drake before. To be honest, I didn’t even know you were friends.”

“You wouldn’t. He absolutely hates the name which is why I simply must call him it. Got to have fun somehow” he winked, “plus, didn’t you notice what a prat he is in school? Why would I want to associate with him when he’s playing pretend Lord Malfoy.” Hermione barked out a laugh and he continued with his tirade, “honestly, any shred of decency seems to evaporate out of his body when he steps foot onto the Hogwarts Express and we’re left with a mini Lucius without nearly as good hair.” The dimple reappeared as he joined Hermione in polite laughter.

She took this as a good sign and continued her questioning, “so, you are friends then? Just not so much in school?”

Theo finished the cake and settled back into his chair, crossing his legs at the knee pulling his trousers tight and exposing the outline of muscle on his thigh. Gods, she was going to have to asked him for his workout routine as whatever he did seemed more effective than Quidditch.

“Yeah, he’s actually been my best mate since we were born. Both our mothers were high society pureblood wives whose husbands were too boys fawning over he-who-needs-more-attention-than-a-pureblood-housewife to pay them any mind so they grew close. Lucius was actually much nicer than my own father and so we would spend a lot of time at the Manor.” The brunette wizard paused, his eyes glassed over and he diverted his gaze quickly to where he toyed with his cup on the table.

“My mother died when I was ten. The year after her death were difficult, my father grew more…strict, shall we say. He though Narcissa, Draco’s mother, was too soft on us like my mother had been so he banned me from the Manor. I didn’t see anyone except the house elves till I went to Hogwarts. It was quite a shock for me.”

“I-I’m so sorry Nott” she hesitated before reaching out and grasping his hand in hers, squeezing it slightly in support.

“I think we can dispense with the formalities now since I just bared my soul to you. f*cking embarrassing really” he sat back in his chair before letting out a long sigh, “sorry about that. Please, call me Theo.”

“Theo…” she gave a small smile, “are you okay now?”

“Yeah, thank you. Drake, he’s a bit of a brat you see.” He huffed in amusem*nt, “doesn’t take kindly to people disrespecting something he considers to be his. And well, after that many years of friendship he considered me to be his. Wrote to his parents every day until Christmas that first years of school to beg them to convince my father to let me spend Christmas with them. He agreed, but I think he was just happy not to have me in the house with him for a while longer. Then, when term ended and neither my father nor any of the elves were there to collect me, Narcissa insisted I come home with them and well, I’ve been there ever since.” His voice soften at the end thinking of them, his saviours.

“Do you see your father at all now?”

“Heavens no! We’re related by name only. The Malfoy's are my family by choice.”

Hermione hummed and her brow furrowed. He co*cked his head in response, an indication for her to share what was on her mind.

“Forgive me, it’s just strange to hear someone talk about the Malfoy family as if they are kind and generous people when I only them as’”

Theo cut her off, “Don’t apologised, I know how they’ve treated you and your friends. And I’m sorry for that. I promise you I don’t hold the same values and beliefs you think they do. They’re good people behind it all. Sometimes I wonder if I’d survived without them to be honest. The friendship I had with Draco was really the open happy part of my life. The Manor was the only place I felt safe.”

Hermione considered this. She tried to remind herself that you never know what someone is truly like behind closed doors. It was something her mother had drilled into her as a child after her aunt killed herself.

“Don’t worry, there’s no need to explain yourself. Your secret friendship is safe with me. I promise, scouts honour” she teased gently, holding three fingers up. She was desperately trying to lighten the mood but quickly realised the muggle reference would have gone straight over his head. He remained silent, his coffee now cold and forgotten alongside hers.

“I’ve never told anyone about all of this. Draco knows obviously and Blaise and Pansy know that I live at the Manor but that’s it. They don’t really know why. I’m not even sure why I told you. You’re just, well, easy to talk to I suppose.” Hermione gave him a warm smile in reassurance. His expression was so pained that she could only see a scared boy who lost his mother and was abused by his father. A stark contrast to who had been sitting before her only a few minutes before.

“Theo, I won’t tell a soul, I promise. And, just because the Malfoy’s have been incredibly awful to me, I don’t believe in judging anyone for the actions of their family. So, we can be, uhm, friends, if you’d like?” She wasn’t quite sure what possessed her to say it but when his posture immediately relaxed eyes warmed back to the olive green and his smile returned, she knew it was the right thing to say.

“I’d like that very much Granger.” His lips twitched upwards.

“Hermione” she corrected.

“Well, alright then, Hermione.”

She giggled slightly at the use of her first name. It sounded so different said in such as deep, aristocratic voice. Most people had given up these days and called her ‘Mione, which she didn’t love but also didn’t have the heart to correct any of them, especially Ron.

“So then friend,” she used the same inflexion he had, “what are you doing in St Mungo’s?” she co*cked her eyebrow slightly, a tactic that always worked on Harry and Ron when she wanted them to spill secrets.

But Theo was no Gryffindor, “sorry Princess, not for me to tell. I’m just accompanying Drake. Speaking of which, he’ll be done soon and if I’m not waiting where he left me, he’ll have a tantrum, so I’ll have to say goodbye. But would we be able to write to each other over this summer?”

“I’d love that!” she answered honestly as they rose from their chairs and walked back towards the corridor, “I should be out of here tomorrow and then I’ll be with Ron’s family for a few days. Then it’s back to my parents in muggle London for the remainder of summer.”

She turned before walking back to her room, “Goodbye for now then, Theo.

“Goodbye, Hermione.”

Chapter 3: Letters from a friend

Chapter Text

June, 1996

Hermione awoke from a less than satisfying nap in Ginny’s room to a tapping noise on the window. A large, regal looking owl she didn’t recognise was trying to get in. There was a letter clutched tightly in its beak.

She shuffled over to the window, collected the letter, giving the bird a scratch on its wing before settling back on the bed to read its contents. The paper of the envelope felt thick and luxurious with a navy wax seal. She hurriedly opened it to see who it was from before Ginny, or worse, Harry and Ron, might burst into the room.

Dearest Hermione,

I hope you are recovering well in the home of the Weasel’s.

You’ll be relieved to hear the lemon cake saved my arse when Draco sniffed out the chocolate that I had eaten. Tosser threatened to hex me for not sharing. As if he’s ever shared anything a day in his life.

He was rather irritated by the news of our little meeting. Poor baby really does not like having to share, although curiously, he did ask a lot of questions after you.

But enough of barmy blondes, I’d be delighted if you truly would continue to owl me this summer. Any exciting tales or secrets from the Gryffindor Princess would do wonders to life the spirits of this poor Slytherin boy. My own, Ulysses will wait with you until you are ready to respond unless you dismiss him. It was my understanding that you keep a cat as your familiar rather than an owl if I’m not mistaken.

Your friend,

Theo

Her heart swelled. She had been idly wondering if the whole coffee incident was some kind of experiment or a prank. But, his letter, like his words, seemed genuine. The contents however seemed rather perplexing but she responded right away all the same.

Dear Theo,

Ulysses is a lovely owl indeed. Thank you for letting me borrow him.

I am however rather disappointed to have to start this letter scolding you for the jibe at my best friend and his family. Whilst I am lucky to have my parents in the muggle world, I was without a magical guardian for my first two years at Hogwarts and after I was petrified, the Weasley’s kindly decided it could no longer continue and so they took myself and Harry under their wing – much like the Malfoy’s did for you. With this in mind, I would appreciate it if you would extend the same curtesy to them as you would like from me.

I find it hard to believe Malfoy would be quite so put out regarding anything to do with a mudblood other than when I beat his test scores. I imagine he was deeply wounded that he had not been the one to best me himself and felt robbed of his birth right. But, if you do believe there is any lingering concern, do reassure him that my wound is healing well and I shall return to school later this year to continue to best him in all our classes, including potions.

And as for a secret, during second year I broke unto Professor Snape’s private potions stores and successfully brewed Polyjuice potion for Harry, Ron and myself. And to prove to Malfoy that I am the superior potioneer, please feel free to pass along that little tid-bit. And if he wants proof of my success, ask him about the time he caught Goyle in reading glasses.

Best wishes,

Hermione

As she watched Ulysses fly off into the distance, she felt really quite pleased with her response and began packing her trunk to return home. She would miss the and bustle of the Burrow, but she was desperate for some peace and quiet as well as a hug from her mum.

**

Jean and Richard Granger lived a traditional middle-class life in a suburb outside of London called Hampstead. They had a three-bedroom detached 1920s style home complete with a home office, double garage, bay windows and a rather expansive garden.

Their home was a contrast to the Burrow. It was neutral, classic and above all simple. The only similarity was the amount of photo’s that graced every available surface filled mainly with their family vacations over the years – yachting in the south of France, ski trips to the Alps, the road trip they took around America last summer and not forgetting, their annual easter weekend in the Cotswolds, pre-Hogwarts of course.

Hermione always marvelled at her parents. Somehow, they managed to run their own dental practice, raise her without much help, maintain a beautiful home with fresh meals served everyday all whilst ensuring she had a life full of happy memories and adventures.

Whilst her life in the magical world had left them perhaps not as close as they might have been, she settled back into muggle life with ease each summer. Having a lunatic trying to kill you and your friends at school every year did rather put a hindrance on how much she could tell them about her time at school. Especially when none of her friends ever asked to spend time in her muggle home, always expecting her to come to the Burrow instead.

“Hermione dear,” her father called up the stairs, “you’ve got a letter here.”

A letter? Already? Harry and Ron never wrote to her this early in the holidays and she wasn’t sure they would since she’d only just left them. Who on earth could possibly be writing to her so soon?

As she skipped down the stairs, a thought suddenly occurred to her – Theo? Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard her mother shriek upon entering the kitchen to see Ulysses perched on the windowsill. Hermione hadn’t really considered how much larger he was than Hedwig or Erol until that moment.

Her ginger half-kneazle, Crookshanks hissed as the bird from across the room.

“Sorry mum,” she winced, “I made a new friend at the end of term. This is his owl, Ulysses. I promise he’s quite friendly and much better behaved than Erol.” She retrieved the letter from the bird and handed him a treat, now recognising Theo’s neat handwriting on the envelope instantly.

Before she could dart up the stairs though, her mother stopped her in her tracks. “Who is it that’s got you grinning like this before you’ve even read the letter darling?”

Hermione blushed; she could never keep anything hidden from her parents. They saw through it right away. “His names Theo. He’s not in Gryffindor so we’d never really spoke until recently despite being in the same year and we exchanged a letter whilst I was the Burrow. He’s asked me to keep writing to him this summer.”

“He’s not one of those awful slither-somethings that bully you, is he?” she asked with the tone most mothers probably adopt when they think their daughter is treading dangers waters with a boy.

“No mum. Well, he is in Slytherin. But he’s not like them. He’s never been mean to me.”

“Has he ever stood up for you though?”

Well… her mother had her there. Hermione shifted uncomfortably and her mother continued, “I won’t tell you what to do darling. You’re a smart girl. Just don’t go diving straight in before you know him. Make sure his actions meet his words.”

Hermione smiled and hugged her before going back to her room. She settled on her bed and opened the letter.

Dearest Hermione,

I’ll consent to be nice to the Weasley’s (see!) if you’ll consider giving Draco and Narcissa at least another chance. I’m not foolish enough to include Lucius in this deal. Give Draco a chance to show you the side of him outside of Hogwarts. I promise he’s only a prat around 80% of the time. And if he steps so much as a toe out of line, do feel free to hex is bollocks off.

I hope you are enjoying being back in the muggle world with your parents. I’ve never been myself, but I’d love to sometime… if only there was a witch who could show me around? If it’s not too presumptuous of me, I wondered if I might be able to see you this summer? In your world, that is.

Fondly,

Theo

P.s. The look on Draco’s face when I told him about Goyle and the Polyjuice was certainly one I’ll be reviewing in a pensieve for many years to come. Thank you, Princess.

Hermione was beaming. Theo wanted to spend time with her, in the muggle world no less. She immediately raced downstairs to ask her parents permission if he could join them a few days throughout the summer.

She would however need to have a serious conversation with him about calling her ‘princess’, it was marginally worse than ‘Mione.

Or maybe, if it were only Theo, it might be alright?

**

The next few weeks passed by blissfully.

Theo had joined the Grangers for Sunday dinner at their house only two days after his letter, and had in a word, been absolutely charming.

He arrived at their front door with a huge bouquet of white lilies for her mother and a bottle of 25 year scotch for her father. Hermione hadn’t even had to suggest them to him, he had the idea and researched it himself. Then he’d allowed them to serve him multiple portions of the beef whilst her father tried to explain both golf and rugby to him. He nodded his head at all the right times and asked probing questions in all the right places. And when Crooks didn’t try and scratch his eyeballs out the moment he arrived, she took this as a huge endorsem*nt indeed. Being part kneazle, he was an exceptional judge of character… never did like Ron much though but perhaps the company of Wormtail in rat form left a sour impression.

This was followed by a day out in London, shopping in oxford street, taking Theo on the London Eye, watching a matinee showing of The Lion King followed by dinner at Covent Gardens. And, today, he joined them at the Hickstead Derby.

The pair had just left her parents following the burgers they’d eaten for lunch and were enjoying a walk around the stalls and Hermione lost herself in front of a wall of riding boots in the Ariat store.

“Why did you never tell me you rode yourself?” Theo asked stalking up beside her and she tore her eyes from the brown pair that had caught her attention. How Theo had worked that out she had no idea… was it really so obvious just from the way she coveted these boots?

“It’s just easier I guess.” It seemed simpler than saying that riding was her happy place. A place her brain could switch off and her instincts take over. Simpler than saying it’s a place I know I can’t stay once the upcoming war reaches its peak. Simpler than saying if he knows about who she really is then she has nowhere to hide.

“Don’t you realise that I’m not the sort of wiz-the type of guy” he corrected quickly, “that doesn’t mind a bit of hard work. I want to know you Hermione” he stepped closer, and her breath hitched in her throat, “the real you.”

Not knowing what to say, she turned and strode out of the store. With his long legs it didn’t take Theo long to catch up to her.

“Take me riding with you Hermione”

Could she? It was her most sacred place. A small smile graced her lips as they continued to walk through the busy crowds in search of a good jump to stand by for the next few riders.

**

“Call me when you’re done darling” Hermione’s dad called from the car as he reversed.

“Thanks Dad!” Hermione unlocked the gate and gestured for Theo to follow her.

“I look ridiculous. Are you sure this isn’t some elaborate prank little witch?” Theo deadpanned as they walked through the gate onto the yard. She’d found him some men’s breeches, riding boots and instructed him to wear a polo top. The breeches made his thighs look excellent. Not that she was looking.

She laughed, “No, now come on will you.”

She showed him the arena she would teach him to ride in and Theo got that devilish glint in her eye she’d become so accustomed to. “I don’t think so, Princess. Given that I am a wizard and actually half decent on a broom even if I don’t play Quidditch, I think I’ll do just fine. Let’s go have fun, shall we?”

“This isn’t a joke Theo. You could hurt yourself.” She’d fallen off more than enough times to know that were true.

He held out a small pouch tucked into the pocket of his shirt. Inside there were a few tiny phials that had been shrunk down. “I’ve got dittany, 2 pain potions and skelegrow. And my wand. Now, little witch, let’s go.” He strode off confidently.

“It’s this way, idiot. The horses are in the barn.”

Theo turned around immediately and strode back past her with even more determination. Hermione quickly jogged to catch back up as he waltzed into the barn just as her mum’s friend Amanda who owned the stables emerged from the tack room.

“Hermione darling it’s been too long!” She pulled her in for a warm hug, “and how wonderful that you’ve bought a friend from school.”

“Yes, Amanda this is Theo” the wizard smiled as she gestured at him, “he’s not ridden much before but-“

Theo cut her off, “but I’m quite adept at other sporting endeavours and a quick study. Thank you, again” he flashed her a charming dimpled smile.

“Of course, anything for Hermione here. Now darling, I’ve got Hercules and Patch ready for you. You can either go in the arena or around fields. Just don’t go off the yard property, yes?”

“Yes Amanda. I think we will go for a slow hack through the fields” Hermione confirmed.

“Good. I’ll leave you to it. I’ve got to go and pick up some feed from Taylor’s down the road. Call me if you need me.”

Before Amanda was barely out of sight, Theo was already grinning, “Hercules. I’m riding Hercules.”

Hermione smiled to herself, “Whatever you say Theodore, but are you sure you’ll be able to handle him?”

He raised a brow at her, co*cking his head in challenge “Come now Hermione, I think we both know I’ll be able to handle whatever you can you throw at me.” She didn’t respond before turning and walking deeper into the barn.

The look on Theo’s face when she returned with a small pony was priceless. “Oh, for f*cks sake, you can’t be serious? I’ll crush the poor thing.”

Hermione waved her wand and cast a featherlight charm on him before levitating him onto the pony. She knew it was technically against the rules but no one had ever bothered her about use of magic outside school when she was alone and not using it on a muggle. That was where Harry had gone wrong with his Aunt.

Theo did not look amused and as she turned to retrieve Patch, she thought she heard him murmuring to himself. Having mounted the large shire horse and sided up next to Theo who now looked both furious and slightly embarrassed.

Their ride was a complete disaster with Hercules bolting off with Theo every 10 minutes or so, and when the little pony decided he tired of not unseating his rider thanks to the sticking charm Hermione also cast, he decided to lay down on the ground and refused to get back up.

It only took a few minutes for Theo to give in and ask to swap.

Hermione had ridden Hercules enough times growing up to deal with the ponies cheekiness. Truth be told he was her favourite on the yard. She never had been interested in anything that did as it was told easily.

**

Hermione laid on her the sofa daydreaming about the most unexpectedly wonderful summer she’d ever had. Despite how new it was, her friendship with Theo was just so easy, it was like breathing.

Theo had shown himself to be kind, thoughtful, funny and my gods was he a total flirt! Whilst Hermione wasn’t a girly girl by any means, it was a refreshing change to at least be in the company of a boy who actually registered she was a girl.

And best of all, he never made her feel bad about being clever and enjoying books because he seemed too almost as much as she did. They’d agreed to try and study together when the library was quiet since Theo was taking as many classes as she was only swapping Care of Magical Creatures for Alchemy the same as Malfoy.

Sadly, Theo also lost out on prefect to Malfoy as well alongside Pansy Parkinson. Hermione wished more than anything it had been Theo so they could have stolen time together to do rounds without having to hide it.

She was apprehensive about returning to school this year for that very reason. Hiding Theo and the friendship that had blossomed between them. But, they had both agreed it was for the best, his friends wouldn’t take kindly to a muggle born Gryffindor and Harry and Ron would likely accuse her of fraternising with the enemy though that was very much set by his house and who his family was. Chosen or otherwise.

As she began daydreaming about the handsome brunette, a familiar tapping noise came from the kitchen. Theo had written to her again already.

Princess,

How is it possible that I find myself missing you already? Gods, witch, you’ve turned me into a bleeding Hufflepuff!

Things at the manor are getting, well, busy. I fear I’m running out of opportunities to sneak away and see you before term starts. I’ll be in Diagon Alley on Tuesday to pick up a few final school supplies and I found a café on the muggle side of the Leaky Cauldron, just a few stores down if you would like to join me for a coffee again?

And when I say me, I should really say us as I will be with mr tall, blonde and pointy. It would mean a lot to me Hermione if you would give him just a single opportunity to not be a total prat. I really believe that if he lets you see through this bravado he’s forced to put on, you and he would actually have a lot in common. I’ve told him so much myself. Please, just say you’ll consider it at least?

Owl me back with an answer. I’ll be here, fingers crossed.

Yours,

Theo

His new love for muggle phrases warmed her heart every time. Today at least he had gotten it correctly. She considered his request hard, and Merlin help her she must be mad, or very desperate, because she owled him back immediately agreeing to meet both him and the platinum blonde. She handed the letter back to Ulysses and made her way up to her bedroom to make a start on the ancient runes texts for the year.

As she opened the door to her room she sensed immediately that something was different. Gingerly, she peeked through the crack in the door but no one was inside and nothing looked obviously a miss so she figured it was safe to enter.

She hated that she even felt unsure about entering her own room for even a fraction of a second.

Having plucked the textbook from her overfilled bookshelf, she turned to sit down on the bed when she noticed the white hyacinth flower, preserved in a stasis charm lying on her pillow.

Where on earth had it come from? And more worryingly what did it mean?

**

The next day, two letters were waiting for her on the breakfast bar in the kitchen set out by the fruit and pastries left by her parents before they went to work that morning. The first was an excitable note from Theo as she accepted the meeting.

The second was almost identical however the wax seal was emerald green and sported a ‘M’ embossed in the centre, and the handwriting much more flamboyant cursive – Malfoy.

What did the bloody ferret want writing letters to her at home. Surely, the thought of meeting her in his personal time was hell enough, let alone sending her mail. Or perhaps this was it, now he knew where she lived, he could torment her all year long.

With that thought about to send her spiralling, she ripped open the letter and began to read.

Granger,

I was most pleased to hear that not even Dolohov could tarnish your Gryffindor spirit. Merlin knows next year would be exceedingly dull without it.

Theodore has also expressed to me repeatedly, at great length and quite an impressive volume that he believes you and I have rather a lot in common and that we should practice civility with each other.

Well, I’m sure it won’t surprise you when I say that I have always believed you and I shared absolutely nothing in common aside from the same school.

And if this was one of those pathetic romance novels my mother reads then the contents of this letter would probably be filled with declarations of my secret love for you all these years and that I was only teasing you so that you’d notice me. But, it’s not. And if you read those stupid books then this cease fire will be over before it’s even began.

What I will offer you however is an apology. I’ve recently become aware in some rather large gaps in the knowledge of what I believe to be true – particularly where yourself and the wider muggle world are concerned which leads me to a realisation. Knowledge. Or specifically, the desire for knowledge and facts on which to form our own opinion, is something we both have in common. Knowledge is power as they say. And we Malfoy’s value power.

With this, I propose a trade of sorts. If you would consent to teach me about the muggle world, I will loan you books from my family’s personal library. I have it on good authority you have all but exhausted the Hogwarts reading materials and find even the restricted section somewhat lacking. If you’re still unconvinced, perhaps the permanent donation of a first edition Hogwarts: A History, would sweeten the deal?

Now, don’t run ahead of yourself thinking we’ll be making each other friendship bracelets anytime soon. And the offer does not extend to the two morons you allow to follow you around. It’s only you, Granger.

Think about it till we meet in a few day’s time.

D.M

She pinched herself, hard, on the arm. Surely she must be dreaming if Malfoy had offered her an apology – without actually saying sorry or what the apology was specifically for, she noted. But she wasn’t sure she’d ever heard Malfoy admit he was wrong about anything in his life so she classed it as a win in her favour all the same.

Her parents had always taught her to grant people a second chance when asked, but never a third. She’d done this for Ron right at the start of their friendship after the troll incident with how mean he had been at the start of the year. And then, against her mother’s advice, granted him a third chance when he and Harry stopped speaking with her over the firebolt last year and goodness knows how many other tiffs she’d had with them over the years.

With Theo, it was easy, there was nothing to forgive. But Malfoy had a list a mile long of misgivings towards her. Just as she had with Theo, she would wait to ensure his actions matched his words before getting too caught up in whatever civil arrangement they had agreed to, and she was prepared to be patient.

With this settled somewhat uncertain in her mind, she folded up the letter and took it back up to her room to deposit in the small wooden box she’d been keeping all the letters and mementos from Theo in alongside the mystery flower.

Chapter 4: New Beginnings

Chapter Text

June, 1996

Tuesday morning came around quicker than she’d expected. She woke early, around seven which was quite unlike her, and hopped straight into the shower.

Hermione decided that she would treat today as a fresh start. If the Slytherin wanted one, maybe she did too. She wanted a chance to show people that there was more to Hermione Granger than just books and cleverness.

She had never admitted to anyone how much it hurt that people were so surprised to see her looking ‘nice’ at the Yule Ball in fourth year. Just because she was one of the only girls who didn’t apply a full face of makeup or style her hair perfectly everyday did not mean it needed to be a hugely dramatic, ugly duckling to beautiful swan moment when she came down those stairs.

Anyone would think she looked like a flobberworm on a daily basis judging by the hoards of slack jaws and unbelieving eyes that had followed her in the Great Hall that night. Perhaps, that was why she cared for Viktor so much. He had charming good looks, fame, and was really very talented but he never once saw her as less than. Never forced her into a specific box like everyone else, Ron and Harry included. He let her just be Hermione.

So, as she vigorously scrubbed herself in the shower with her honey and almond scented body wash she let the water wash away her nerves. Once clean and dry, she stood in front of her floor length mirror in just her black underwear and took stock of her appearance.

Overall, she thought she didn’t look too bad. Not ample and curvaceous like Lavender nor tall and athletic like Ginny. She was rather plain and very average in both height and dress size.

There was nothing she could do about it so she dressed quickly in a mid-length, pale blue tea dress, brown sandals and a cross body bag just large enough to store her wand whilst she would be in the muggle part of London.

Almost ready, she applied a spritz of her favourite rose and vanilla scented perfume and charmed her hair into loose curls, pinning it back from her face by a pair of tortoiseshell sunglasses. She wasn’t really one for jewellery, there were a few nicer items she saved for special occasions, but jewellery wasn’t something she bought herself. And probably since her mum was a dentist, she didn’t wear much so Hermione wasn’t used to seeing people in it. She did however always wear a small brown leather wristwatch which had been a gift before she started Hogwarts.

Years without makeup also meant she naturally had a good complexion, but she applied just a small amount of concealer under her eyes, a flick of brown mascara and some lip balm before deciding she would do. It was only coffee after all.

If she were meeting Harry and Ron, jeans and a t shirt would have more than sufficed but Hermione was not one to be found lacking and she assumed Malfoy would sport similar attire to Theo. He had been dressed impeccably every time she had seen him. She quickly ran downstairs, picking a green apple to eat on her walk to the station.

**

It was half past ten when Hermione stepped out of the station and into central London giving her plenty of time to wander towards the Leaky Cauldron. She’d given herself enough time to get lost, twice, just in case. Brilliant as she was, directions were never really her strong suit. But alas, today was a good day and she was on track to arrive ten minutes early.

As she walked past the unsuspecting Leaky Cauldron, the café Theo suggested came into view. It was a quaint little place painted all pink adorned with floral displays arching over the door and filled to the brin with China tea sets, petite fours and all manner of other baked goods.

Opting to wait inside for the Slytherins, she pushed open the door. When the overheard bell signalled her arrival, she was surprised to see them turn around to see her, having already been inside quite some time and ordered for her.

She made her way over to their table idly wondering if there was some pureblood rule that wizards must arrive before meeting a witch. She suspected there was a great number of ridiculous rules they had been taught in the same way aristocratic British muggle men were. She couldn’t contain the eye roll and small laugh that escaped her as they both rose to greet her when she reached the table.

“Granger, do they not teach you any manners or has too much time with Potty and the Weasel rubbed off on you? Honestly, you’re already making me rethink my apology. I thought I’d last five minutes at least.” Malfoy’s tone was sarcastic but there was no real bite behind it like she was used to. In fact, the devilish look in his eyes when he smirked at her led her to believe he was teasing her playfully.

“Drake, stop it, you’ll give the poor girl whiplash from your personality disorder if you don’t give her a minute” Theo said pressing a kiss to her cheek and pulling out the remaining chair for her to sit down, “Hermione, you look wonderful as always. And certainly, a damn sight better than our first coffee date. I got you a cappuccino again, I hope that’s alright?”

Date? Was this a date? Is that why Malfoy was here? Did they need a chaperone?

She realised Theo had asked her a question when he co*cked his head at her questioningly.

“Yes perfect, that was very kind of you Theo, thank you. And hello to you too, Malfoy.” She took a large sip of her coffee, allowing her gaze to finally meet the cool grey eyes staring back at her.

Draco Malfoy had always been unfairly attractive considering what a huge arse he was. She noted his frame was still lean and lithe – a total contrast to Theo’s bulkier build. And of course, his platinum blonde locks were still styled to perfection as always. Thankfully, he was wearing it looser these days than he had in the first few years at Hogwarts when he had it plastered down with hair gel. Now, grown out a little, he wore it pushed back with the same effortlessness as Theo. It suited him. Made his whole face much less slappable.

And she was right to have put some effort into her appearance since Draco wore tailored navy trousers and a crisp white shirt, sleeves artfully rolled to his elbows. Theo opted for cream tailored trousers, white shirt and a three quarter zip navy fleece over the top. They complemented each other quite nicely… perhaps Narcissa still picked out their clothes for them. Though she couldn’t help but think Theo’s look had got a little more ‘muggle’ throughout the summer. She could see navy robes hanging by the door which must be Malfoys, but nothing in sight for Theo.

**

Half an hour passed, and Hermione was surprised at how easily conversation flowed, it helped that Theo was quite frankly charming. Still the same perfect blend of humour, intelligence and unashamed flirting.

Malfoy on the other hand was more reserved than she expected, but she found she enjoyed his sarcastic, witty humour now she was not constantly the butt of the joke. Hermione wasn’t convinced she was overly comfortable with him just yet. Surprisingly she found she was relishing in the conversation with company who not only understood what she was saying but could challenge her, contest her opinions, push her deeper into the conversation and never once look bored. In fact, she thought Malfoy might be enjoying a debate on the pros and cons of different binding agents in potions more than she was.

When Theo asked if she’d like another drink she didn’t hesitate to say yes. Theo of course, returned not only with more coffee but 3 muffins as well. The boys really did have a sweet tooth. The trio reached for the baked goods all at the same time and she couldn’t believe that Theo had perfectly picked out what each of them would reach for without having to ask. Triple chocolate of course for himself, lemon for Draco and a normal chocolate chip one for her.She was seriously considering that he might be a Legilimens or the world's most thoughtful stalker.

Even now, her Gryffindor friends always assumed she’d reach for blueberry muffins. And when it wasn’t muffins, it was the rum and raisin ice cream, or the almond croissant, or worse yet, the slice of carrot cake.

And yet she couldn’t care for any of it.

Her Granny had been a self-confessed chocoholic and that had followed into Hermione. But she wasn’t in it for the sweetness overload that Theo obviously was. No, she genuinely enjoyed the bitterness of the cocoa, often opting for a piece of dark chocolate over milk or white.

And somehow Theo had just known to leave the blueberry muffin where it belonged… on the counter.

**

Conversation quickly moved to their sixth year that was now quickly approaching. She already knew they shared nearly all the same classes but Draco also let slip he’d been made Quidditch captain this year too so he had actually dropped a subject - Divination. They too thought it a ridiculously woolly subject and Malfoy had only taken it because he thought it might be an easy grade. Apparently, Trelawney was convinced anyone with Black blood had the gift of ‘sight’ and always granted him exceptionally high marks. But this year he just couldn’t even afford the time to turn in something half way decent.

Immediately Hermione had offered to prepare them study schedules and instead of teasing her like Harry and Ron always did, they looked genuinely elated.

Hermione actually found herself reluctant to leave once she finished her second coffee but she’d already been here far longer than she expected.

“Thank you both for today. It’s been… rather refreshing.” She said, rising from her chair. Both the boys also stood from their seats.

“Indeed, it’s been wonderful.” Theo’s tone was overly bright as he pressed a small kiss to her knuckles causing her to giggle softly under her breath and quickly pull her hand away.

“Really Theodore, there’s no need.” Theo just shot her a cheeky smile in response as Malfoy scoffed.

“Honestly Granger, first we’re giving away potions tips and now we’re having to teach you how a witch should be treated. I thought you were meant to know everything?”

It was odd. Malfoy sounded almost sincere if not a little disappointed that she didn’t expect the affection. She was grateful he didn’t attempt the same gesture at least.

“Well, we will just have to continue educating her mustn’t we Drake.” Theo raised his eyebrow suggestively.

Hermione's eyes widened in shock at the brazen inuendo. “Right, erm, well I best be off. Thank you again.” She turned quickly on her heel, but Theo grabbed at her hand stopping her momentarily.

“Will you still write?” The brunette asked almost hesitantly.

“Yes.” She signed. “To both of you, if you play your cards right.” The second part slipped out before she could even stop it. She didn’t look backwards to note their reactions to her acceptance of Malfoy.

As soon as she entered Diagon Alley she headed straight to Flourish and Blotts to collect the remaining books she needed. Once she made her purchase, she only needed to visit Madame Malkins for some new school robes and then she headed home.

As she stood in the fitting, she forced all her courage to the surface and asked the seamstress to hem her skirt just a a half inch above regulation length, her trousers tailored a little tighter and she took her shirt true to size rather than one above. It wasn’t that she was trying to show off or compete with the other girls, but she finally had enough of actively trying to hide away under her clothes. If Malfoy was willing to play nice this year, perhaps he and Theo would keep the other Slytherins like Pansy in line and Hermione wouldn’t want to drown in the fabric of her uniform. Maybe it would be a good year after all.

**

“Hermione darling is that you?”

The warmth of her mother’s voice welcomed her home. Her parents always tried to make sure one of them finished their day at the practice mid-afternoon during the holiday’s so she wasn’t alone too long. Not because she wasn’t old enough, at least not anymore, but because they genuinely enjoyed spending time with their daughter.

“Hi mum!” She called from the porch where she toed off her sandals. She’d take them upstairs later. The sound of her mum chopping vegetables ready for dinner that night beckoned her to the kitchen.

“How was Theodore? Will we be seeing him again before you go back to school?”

Hermione took a seat at the breakfast bar and immediately began picking her nail beds, “he was good, but his home life is tricky. So I don’t think it will be possible for him to come over again. When he last wrote he said it was getting busier for him which is why he suggested our meeting today.”

Her mum found her gaze between slices to the potato, “that’s a shame, your father and I liked him. Very polite young man, that one. He’ll go far. As long as you know he’s welcome anytime. All your friends are.”

Hermione smiled.

“Thanks mum. Have you seen Crookshanks since you got home?”

She’d been worrying about him the past few days, it wasn’t like her familiar to go wandering so long without returning home.

“Sorry love. I'm sure he’s alright. You bought a cat just as smart as you are.”

Chapter 5: Return to the Burrow

Chapter Text

August, 1996

As the next two weeks passed, letters from both Theo and Malfoy continued with regularity and Hermione found herself longing for them to arrive.

Harry and Ron had each only written once over the summer, and Ginny’s arrived weekly with her small owl, Pigwidgeon, but unlike most years where this would usually leave her feeling isolated from the wizarding world, the new friendship with the Slytherins kept loneliness at bay.

That was until the letters from the Slytherins stopped in mid-August and Hermione grew anxious. Maybe this whole thing had been a joke and they’d finally grown tired of it. She found herself unable to settle as she grew more anxious. Sleep became a distant memory.

The only thing that remained consistent these final weeks were the single flower stems that had been appearing on her pillow. After the hyacinth came a pansy, then a peony and foxglove together and most recently a crocus and daisy.

Her gut told her it was Theo sending them to her, but she really would like to know for sure. And how it was that he was sending them without Ulysses or access to her room.

**

With less than a week to go before term resumed, Hermione’s anxiousness was at a new high. Her nail beds were red raw, bags were forming under her eyes from a lack of sleep and her appetite was dwindling by the day.

It was on one of the late summer evenings that she lay awake yet again tossing and turning that Ulysses arrived with a long awaited letter.

Hermione,

I’m sorry we haven’t written. Things here haven’t been easy. Something’s happened. I can’t put it into writing, it’s not safe. Meet me on the Hogwarts Express in compartment sixty three exactly one hour into the journey. Come alone and don’t tell anyone.

You also can’t reply to this letter, I’m sorry, it’s not safe. And, Draco, it could be difficult if he is seen speaking with you when we return to school. He asked me to tell you how sorry he is. This year might not go exactly as he hoped.

Please don’t hate us Hermione. We’re trying to protect you. Trust us.

Yours,

Theo

Hermione’s head shot up and sure enough Ulysses had already gone, and she instantly felt sick with worry for Theo. And, for Malfoy too which surprised her.

She trusted Theo of course she did. Perhaps foolishly after only a few months of friendship. But he hadn’t asked her to trust only him. His wording had been quite specific… us.

She couldn’t even begin to hold back the tears that streamed down her cheeks, so she trudged to the bathroom to wash her face before attempting to get some sleep tonight seeing as she needed to be up early to pack before departing for the Burrow once more ahead of term resuming.

When she returned to bed, a sprig of hawthorn, olive and rue laid on her pillow. What on earth did he mean by this, she wondered? Flowers were one thing, a nice token gesture but these were essentially twigs. Not particularly endearing.

**

When she arrived at the Burrow, Mrs Weasley thought her ill because she’d lost her appetite almost completely and was sporting dark circles under her eyes from a lack of sleep.

In truth she’d been worried sick over Theo, and quite possibly, slightly concerned for Malfoy too. But Crookshanks still hadn’t returned and at this point she’d have to journey back to Hogwarts without him and hope he returned before she was home for the Christmas break.

Hermione lied of course and said that she’d just been having a touch of nerves going into N.E.W.T years and had overdone it on the preparations up late reading. Luckily, she bought it as did Harry and Ron.

But not Ginny.

“Alright Hermione, what the hell’s going on?” Ginny snapped as she slammed her bedroom door shut and cast a locking charm on the door and silenced the room. Hermione fidgeted on the bed uncomfortably as the tall red-headed witch rounded on her.

“Gin, please, it’s nothing to worry about I promise you. Some of my friends that you don’t know have some stuff going on and I don’t know what to do about it or how to help them, that’s all.”

“Oh Hermione” she sighed, “you have to stop taking the weight of everyone else’s problems on your shoulders. But, if you were ever in trouble, you know you can always talk to me, don’t you? I would never judge you and Harry and Ron don’t need to know.”

She wished in that very moment that she could tell Ginny. And she might if it were only Theo. But with Malfoy involved it was too greater risk.

“Yeah, I know. Thank you, Gin.”

She settled back into bed across from the younger witch grateful that for once, she’d took Hermione’s explanation at face value. She just needed to focus on the next few days until she could meet Theo on the train to find out what in Godric’s name was going on.

**

A short while later as she was preparing for bed, she heard a commotion from the staircase, the moment she cracked the door open to the bathroom, she heard the sound of an owl chirping from the kitchen.

Harry

Hermione made her way out into the stairwell of the Burrow. She could see Ron already out on the landing a few floors below and Ginny looking up from the ground level with Molly descending to her.

“Is that a bird I hear?” She called down.

”Apparently, Harry’s wandering about the house somewhere”

”Really?”

“Really.” Harry’s warm voice echoed up through the Burrow and it was all she needed to fly down the stairs and pull him into a tight hug.

“You’ve got a little-“ Ron’s calloused hands brushed gently at her mouth to wipe a little toothpaste she must of missed. She would never understand how someone so large could be so gentle with his touches. What surprised her was how her heart would have fluttered in her chest if he had done that to her at the start of the summer. But now, she felt nothing more than she did when Harry showed her affection.

Their trio headed back up through the labyrinth that was the Burrow and into Ron's room which now permanently held two single beds given the amount of time Harry spent here. The warm, comforting smell of nutmeg, orange blossom and cedar filled her senses as she settled on the floor in the room.

“When did you get here Hermione?” The raven haired wizard asked, as usual he had been a little out of touch since term ended.

”Just this morning, although for a while I wasn’t sure I was coming.” She looked to Ron for him to continue.

”Mum sort of lost it last week… said me and Ginny had no business going back to Hogwarts. That it was no longer safe. Dad talked to her and she came round eventually but she’s still a little rattled.”

“But that’s absurd, it’s Hogwarts…there is nowhere safer.” Harry’s blind faith in Dumbledore never failed to surprise her. She was going to need to break this to him carefully.

“There’s been a lot of talk recently Harry. Even my parents as muggles know what something is up. And here in this world, the prophet hasn’t exactly been kind to you and Dumbledore, they refuse to believe that he’s really back. And it’s making people wonder if Dumbledore’s still up for it. He is getting a little old and everything.”

”Nonsense… how old is he?” Harry asked jovially as if only thinking it himself now for the first time.

”150?” Ron offered causing them all to fall about laughing.

The Summer with Theo had been a whirlwind but it was nice to return to the comfort of the two boys. It felt good to laugh with them. The way they had before Voldemort had returned. Before it all got too real.

**

The next day, she went with Harry, Ron and Ginny to Diagon Alley despite having all of her school things from her last visit. Selfishly she hoped Theo might be in need of something too and she could coincidentally bump into him and convince him to tell her everything sooner.

When they stepped out of the floo at Gringotts and made their withdrawal, the group stepped out into the Alley.

What was usually a lively scene full of children excitedly preparing for their first year of Hogwarts, teenagers fighting over the latest quidditch gear and parents desperately trying to shepherd their masses was now a derelict wasteland.

Over half the alley has closed down. Even Olivanders didn’t seem to have survived the pillaging. Such a shame, everyone got their wands from Olivanders. How on earth were the Weasley twins doing it?

As if reading her thoughts as they made their way towards the only thriving shop on the street - Weasleys Wizard Wheezes. It was Ron who broke through the silence, “Fred and George reckon people need a laugh these days.”

As they pushed their way through what felt like the entire student population at Hogwarts amongst the shelves of WWW, Hermione noticed a familiar dirty blonde haired witch with curls to rival her own desperately trying to catch Ron’s eye.

Hermione didn’t much like Lavender Brown. She was a terrible gossip and her favourite subject was divination. Two of Hermione’s least favourite things.

Lavender was also best friends with Parvati Patil, who unlike her Ravenclaw twin Padma, who Hermione did like, shared the same passions as Miss Brown. This made sharing a dorm with them borderline unbearable.

As Ron tried his hand at bartering with his brothers, she and Ginny wandered over the stand of supposed love potions the twins had cooked up. She was so busy daydreaming she hadn’t even noticed them sneak up behind her.

“Love potions eh?” It was George.

“The way we hear it sis, you’re doing just fine on your own.” Fred sounded almost proud despite the teasing.

“Meaning?” Their younger sister glared at them through gritted teeth, ready to defend herself to her older siblings.

“Are you not currently dating Dean Thomas?” George finished with a wink.

“It’s none of your business.” Ginny snapped but her cheeks flushed pink. She was dating Dean. Hermione knew they’d started dating at the end of last year after the department of mystery’s.

She nudged Ginny's elbow playful and gave her friend a conspiratorial smile. But as her eyes left the red heads, she noticed a rather tall boy in Ginny’s year with sandy blonde hair giving her a creepy smile she assumed was meant to be suggestive. The whole ordeal made her shiver.

At that moment, Ginny's head snapped up as Dean came into view. He was a kind muggle born boy also in both her house and year. He was quiet and Hermione felt rather bad now that she knew very little about him other than he must have the patience of a saint since he happily paired with Seamus in almost every class. Never once had he got frustrated with the amount of cauldrons that got blown up in the Irishman’s presence.

As the trio stepped out of the shop sans Ginny, a flash of platinum caught her eye. “Harry, is it me or do Draco and Mummy look like two people who don’t want to be followed?” Ron asked slyly.

Before she could stop them, he and Harry took off after them intent on finding out what Malfoy was up to. She really hoped she hadn’t been foolish to have started to think perhaps he’d changed.

The three of them climbed on to a neighbouring roof of the shop they’d gone into so they could try and get a better view but it was useless.

Whatever he was doing in Borgin and Burkes with his mother, the werewolf Fenrir Greyback and a few other Death Eaters she wasn’t sure, but it certainly did not look good.

Chapter 6: A New Term

Chapter Text

September, 1996

The recent escapade sparked a new obsession over Malfoy within Harry. As they sat in their compartment on the way back to Hogwarts with Ron, Hermione found herself desperately trying to defend the blonde wizard.

“So, what was Draco doing with that weird looking cabinet? And why were all those other people there? It must have been a ceremony of some kind…”

“Stop it Harry,” she cautioned, “I know where you’re going with this.”

Ron looked perplexed so she caught him up to speed, “Harry is under the impression Draco Malfoy is now a death eater.”

Ron snickered. “What would you know who want with a sod like Malfoy?”

“I don’t know, it’s a creepy shop and he’s a creepy bloke.” Harry shrugged as if that answered everything. “His Father is a death eater, it just makes sense. Besides, you saw it with your own eyes.” He said pointedly to her.

“I told you, I don’t know what I saw.” She said with finality. He couldn’t be – could he?

After precisely one hour, Hermione came up with an excuse about going to find Ginny and Luna to get away from the boys and stepped into compartment sixty three, locked the door whilst Theo cast a silencing charm. The second the spell was cast, all the anxiety since his letter consumed her and she flung herself on him rather ungracefully and gave him a bone shattering hug.

Immediately she wished she hadn’t. Theo was cold, and stiff. Drawing back, she noticed his skin looked pale and lifeless and the devilish glint in his eyes was gone.

Theo sat her down on the seat next to him and she pressed him for details about what had happened that summer. She made sure to keep hold of his hand in both of hers as he told her all about Voldemort invading Malfoy Manor, turning into death eater headquarters. He told her how he’d imprisoned Narcissa in her own home and made the boys watch as he performed the cruciatus curse on her daily in penance for Lucius’s failings with the prophecy and getting himself locked in Azkaban. It had been going on all Summer. That’s why Draco had been at St Mungo’s. He was trying to convince them to part with higher potency pain potions. Poor Narcissa. She was surprised Lucius didn’t stand up for his wife more… clearly his sense of self-preservation ran so deeply it didn’t even extend to his wife.

But since the last letter everything had gotten so much worse.

Hermione held him as his voice cracked and tears escaped his eyes despite his best efforts to keep it bottled up. All he could do was tell her Draco didn’t want to do it, that he’d only gone through with it to spare his mother. Hermione knew what he was saying. Harry was right, Malfoy had taken the dark mark. But he was just a boy. How was any of this fair?

Hermione tried her best to calm the wizard beside her, “Theo it’s okay. Hush. We’ll help him I promise. You and me. It’s okay. You’re safe now. He can’t hurt you whilst you’re at Hogwarts. Draco will be okay.”

Theo just shook his head and went very, very still.

He stayed in an almost catatonic state for 30 minutes before she saw his eyes begin to glaze over. He was occluding. She’d never seen someone actively doing it before, but she’d read about it. His olive green eyes turned murky and dull.

Eventually, Theo regained enough of himself to tell her of the task Draco had been set, the task he needed to do to save his mother and father from being murdered. Likely himself too.

Theo wasn’t even meant to know but Malfoy had apparently been so overwhelmed and angry he’d been having nightmares and had blurted it out in his sleep when Theo had been trying to wake him.

Voldemort ordered Malfoy to kill Albus Dumbledore.

Hermione threw up all over the floor of the train compartment. She cast a quick scourgify on the carpet and sat there in silence with Theo, holding each other gently until her wand alarm went off indicating they only had 45 minutes until the train arrived.

She hugged him again and promised him that she would help them. That together they could figure out a way to help him.

Hermione stopped in the toilets on board, changed into her school robes and made her way back to the compartment with Harry and Ron. The boys barely even questioned her extended absence before she ushered them off to change, leaving her to ponder Malfoy’s predicament.

She thought back to how she assumed the Slytherins didn’t need her, how wrong she was. But the difference was, she didn’t feel like they expected her help which only made her more determined to give it.

Ron came back eventually claiming Harry had rushed off somewhere and said he’d meet them at the castle. Where he’d gone, she wasn’t quite sure, but she didn’t have a good feeling about it.

**

The Great Hall was charmed as it was every year for the start of term feast. The ceiling resembled the night sky with candles floating overhead. This room always felt special to Hermione. It was the moment she felt accepted into the wizarding world. The moment she truly acknowledged this was all real. Those moments when the sorting hat labelled her as brave, determined and bold. A true Gryffindor.

True, she knew she had qualities that lent themselves to the other houses, ambition, wisdom, resourcefulness, loyalty. But Gryffindor was her home.

Warm with the memory, Hermione settled herself at the Gryffindor table beside Ginny and opposite Ron and Neville, ensuring she had a view to the Slytherin table. Between the heads of various Ravenclaws, she saw Theo settling in near Marcus, Adrian, Graham, and a couple of students but no sign of Malfoy.

After the sorting, the feast appeared in front of them. She cast another glance to the Slytherin’s, still missing a platinum blonde head and saw Theo’s face reflecting the same concerns.

A second later, both their heads turned to the entrance doors as if by some shared connection as Malfoy entered. She hadn’t seen him since the coffee shop but if she thought Theo looked rough on the train, he had nothing on how lifeless Malfoy looked already. He was without his school uniform, in a black suit that once probably fitted him immaculately but now hung from his too slim and angular frame.

At this point Hermione was about to get up from the table and go in search of Harry. Ron however couldn’t look less concerned as he stuffed his face with chicken drumsticks.

“Will. You. Stop. Eating.” She punctuated each word with a hard smack with a book, “Your best friend is missing and-“

“Calm down will you! Look!” Harry was striding down the hall clutching a broken nose, blood already covering his robes.Luna gliding into the room ethereally behind him.

“Why is it he’s always covered in blood” Ginny sighed.

Hermione knew she should be worried for the raven-haired wizard walking towards them, but she couldn’t help letting her eyes flick across to the blonde. If he’d done that to Harry, she would be having a stern word with him about his behaviour.

But for now, she sat through another start of term speech by their headmaster as well as the introduction of a new Potions master, Professor Snape filling the post of DADA this year. Perhaps he’d finally be the one to break the curse on the position.

She drew her concentration back to their headmaster as he wrapped up. “Every day, every hour dark forces attempt to penetrate these walls. In the end their greatest weapon is you. Just something to think about.”

“That was cheerful” Ron sighed before diving into his dessert.

**

The next morning, Hermione found herself already mere moments away from casting a silencing charm on one of her room mates, Lavender Brown. The same witch who’d suddenly decided Ron was interesting and had proceeded to interrogate Hermione about him last night when she was trying to fall asleep and was now bickering about how they needed to leave immediately so that they could walk slowly down to breakfast so as not to get sweaty before making their way to the potions classroom.

Stupid cow, how had she even gotten the grades for potions year?

When Hermione opened the door from their shared bathroom, Lavender then changed direction and began another interrogation but this time wondering why Hermione had put on a little bit of make up and why her hair was not resembling a crows nest. On and on it went till she finally used her fat mouth to chew on a breakfast pastry.

Hermione huffed with irritation as she ate her toast.

Not even half an hour later, Hermione was lined up alongside Lavender and Padma, in their first potions class of their year whilst they were introduced to their new professor when Harry and Ron burst in late. She didn’t even realise they were taking the subject.

A certain blonde witch next to her looked a little too happy though to see Ronald in the classroom. Hermione could only roll her eyes at the display as she tugged Padma into seats closest to the boys.

This left Hermione to sit next to Neville. Potions was perhaps the only class where Hermione did not opt for a seat closest to their Professor, for obvious reasons in the past. But also, she liked the table in a far corner near all the supply shelves as it let her readily pick the best ingredients without fighting past her classmates. In the past, when class sizes had been larger, Harry and Ron would have joined her but now they occupied a different table, no longer under Snapes tutelage they weren’t concerned with their proximity to their Professor. Besides, Harry had apparently been encouraged to ingratiate himself to the returning Professor Slughorn.

As she began unpacking her equipment, she noticed Neville’s face pale just as the drawl of Malfoy’s voice floated from behind her friend. She peered round Neville, surprised to find that Theo and Malfoy had chosen to occupy the table next to theirs. Casting them from her mind she got to work.

The class was nothing difficult for their first back. She was teetering on boredom watching her blood replenishing potion simmer when a small origami bird landed on her desk.

H-
Meet us Thursday evenings before dinner during Gryffindor quidditch practice at your table in the library.
-T & D

Hermione nodded her head slowly hoping one of them was watching but too scared to be seen to send a note back. Hopefully anyone who had seen it would think Draco was just teasing her again as usual.

**

That Thursday, Hermione raced through central hall and down the stairs to the library the second the Charms class she shared with the Hufflepuffs was over.

As she entered, she nodded a quiet hello to the pinched faced librarian, Madam Pince, before making her way through the stacks to a small, secluded table near the restricted section that she’d become rather attached to in the past few years. As she rounded the corner, both boys were craned over her favourite table deep in conversation with each other.

Hermione forced herself to continue walking towards the wizards, throwing a quick glance over her shoulder to check no one else was around.

They must have sensed someone approaching and looked up with furrowed brows. Hermione was about to start apologising and back away in fear that she’d intruded on something only to stall when she noticed both boys' faces relax when their eyes landed on her, a small smile tugging on the edges of Theo’s mouth.

What unsettled Hermione slightly was how Malfoy seemed to be looking at her. That day at the coffee shop, he’d been friendly enough but now he seemed relieved and uncomfortable with her presence in equal measure. But there was something heavy in the gaze of his stormy eyes. She knew that look well. It was one Harry gave her far too often. As though he could finally breathe. Like she was the only person in the world who might have some idea on how to save him.

In unison they both rose to greet her as she approached the table.

Theo pulled her in for a tight hug and the smell of him wafted over her immediately. She wished she could bottle it.

Until she had met him, she had never thought someone could smell exactly how they looked. Always dressed smart in tailored clothes, soft woollen jumpers, with the tell tale click of his dragonhide shoes announcing his presence. He was even more enticing with how lazily he pulled it off - all loose curls, dimples and charming smiles. A picture perfect pure blood. Except for the cigarettes that found their way onto his person far too often.

Her initial assessment of him smelling like Christmas wasn’t quite right, no that was much too simplistic. He smelt so distinguished, smoky and sombre to match. The smell transported her back to a vintage smoking room she visited once with her late grandfather, with precious tobacco leaves, age-worn leather chairs and precious antique books – she assumed this was from an ingredient like cedar wood or oak moss. Whatever the combination was, it was utterly divine. But there was always the warmth she found comforting about Ron and Harry from the clove of his cigarettes but also something more rich and exotic. Perhaps cumin, cardamom and saffron? Her olfactory senses desperately tried to pick it apart like one would a potion.

And when she was in Theo’s presence, Hermione began to feel much the same way she did with Ron before things had changed. Like he could be her absolute best friend in the world although, not quite the strictly brotherly affection she shared with Harry. But there was something about him, guarded, sure he flirted with her almost constantly but there was something else, something deeper behind his eyes that she couldn’t work out yet.

As he released her, he reached down, fingers gripping the wooden back of the chair before drawing it out for her to sit.

“For you.”

Hermione sat, albeit awkwardly, still not entirely comfortable by the tendencies of the pure blood wizards before her having barely got decent manners out of Harry and Ron at the best of times.

Draco meanwhile, had taken her bag from her shoulder and placed it down next to where Theo was sitting before moving to the other side of the table.

Wait what? She had just called him Draco.

Thankfully it was just inside her own head but she couldn’t help but wonder when Malfoy became Draco to her?

Well, she knew exactly when. Draco Malfoy had just become a real person to Hermione. More than just her school bully, a blood supremacist, more than his family name and everything people thought he should be. A boy who needed help just like anyone else. Only like Harry, this boy in front of her didn’t just need help with his homework or how to talk to girls, it was a matter of life and death.

The look they shared when she sat down at the table told her everything she needed to know. Tonight, they didn’t want to discuss it. They just wanted to sit as they studied with only some idle chit chat about their reading to stave away the awkward silence.

Before she left them for the night Hermione decided they needed a back story to cover them should any of their friends spot them together knowing how attached Harry was to the Marauders Map.

She cleared her throat and both boys focussed their attention on her rather than their books almost immediately. It was as if they already knew she was about to lecture them on something or another.

“I don’t know about you both, but I rather enjoyed tonight and would very much like to make this a regular occurrence. So, if you’re agreeable, should anyone find us or ask about our little, study group, then we shall say that we’ve been grouped together for various projects in astrology as a trio, then some partnered projects in Ancient Runes and Arithmancy this year. That should give us sufficient cover since none of our friends are in those classes. Agreed?”

Both boys nodded.

“Perfect. Goodnight.” Hermione swept out of the library before she got carried away. She was secretly quite glad she’d spent the extra bit of time on her appearance today. Even if it was only Lavender who seemed to notice.

**

That first weekend of term brought Quidditch team try-outs. Hermione wasn’t even sure why she still went at this point. She hated Quidditch.

But still, like the dutiful friend that she was, she donned her muggle jeans and a thick sweatshirt and traipsed down the track to the pitch. They passed Pavarti and Lavender on the walk and Hermione had to coach her features into a cool and distant expression when Pavarti nudged Lavender to indicate Ron. But more than anything it was the way Ronald straightened out and his walk turned into a strut that resembled Draco more than anyone else. She hastily made her way into the stands without wishing the red head luck.

Since it was still early in the term, she wasn’t yet in need of a coat but with the Scottish winds whipping against her so high up in the stands but she did cast a warming charm for good measure. She absolutely despised being cold.

Hermione sat by herself, watching as Ron very fell from his broom in yet another undignified defence. His face turning pale and almost green.

He was no match for McLaggen.

Ron was tall and broad but not classically sporty. McLaggen on the other hand looked like he had been designed by the gods themselves. A traditional keeper in every sense of the word.

But, she knew what it meant to Ron, to make the team. Which is why she had no qualms about a quick confundus charm muttered under her breath at McLaggen, securing her friend the spot in the team.

Ron’s bragging later that evening almost made her regret it.

Almost…

Chapter 7: What Makes a Slytherin?

Chapter Text

October, 1996

As the first two months of term passed, Hermione found herself falling into a routine. She’d wake up early everyday, shower and dress before heading to the library to research everything she could on that might help Draco or Harry.

Then she’d meet Harry, Ron, Ginny and the other Gryffindors for breakfast - most days. Meal times were perhaps the only time of the day that Harry wasn’t engrossed in the potions book he had found in the back of Slughorn's cupboard. She really would like to take a look at it since Harry’s potions skills had improved vastly under his tutelage.

After a day full of classes, she’d spend her evenings in the library – Theo would join her on Tuesday’s when Slytherin had Quidditch, Wednesdays were the only days Ron and Harry joined her and then she’d spend Thursdays with both Slytherins as agreed, alternating between N.E.W.T work in the library and helping Draco mend the vanishing cabinet in the room of hidden things. Occasionally one or both of the Slytherin boys would find her in the library on other evenings and they’d work for a few hours on the tables next to each other just in case Harry or Ron came looking.

With their regular proximity to each other, Hermione found Draco began to open up, although not as easily as Theo had. She sometimes wondered whether it was a new feeling, having someone outside of each other to trust. And even then, they boys never had each other during term time till now.

He’d acquiesced the information pretty quickly about his trip to Borgin & Burkes but he still wasn’t clear on why Voldemort was so keen for him to mend the cabinets pair that resided here at the school. Whilst Hermione did not like aiding Voldemort's mission, they needed Draco to have proof should he ever review Draco’s memories to be sure of his commitment. His safety was at present, their top priority but, she knew she needed to figure out how to tell Dumbledore before things progressed too far.

She also offered to take rounds with Draco whenever anyone asked to swap with them, brushing it off as an opportunity to show good inter house unity putting her in a better position to be appointed Head Girl next year.

Luckily everyone either hated or feared Draco too much that they didn’t question her why she would be so eager to pair with him.They also knew better than to get in the way of Hermione and her mission for head girl.

The other part of her life back at Hogwarts that Hermione was growing fond of was the flowers. First, on her birthday a single white and pink floribunda rose. Then, on the first of October, a small buttercup.

**

Over the course of the term, Theo and Draco began to return to what Hermione assumed was more like their usual selves. Theo was back to the funny, chatty and quite flirtatious boy he’d been over summer and Draco, well he was back to sneering at first years and marching round with Crabbe and Goyle like he owned the place. Though he’d stopped accosting her, and even seemed to be giving Harry and Ron less of a hard time.

The more time she spent with them, she realised how much she enjoyed their company despite how different they were to her Gryffindor friends. It was like how Draco described muggles and wizards to her only a few days ago after she’d shown him examples of muggle art and literature.

Not necessarily better, just different.

She’d be hard pressed to explain it to anyone. The closest she could get was that Gryffindors always do what they believe is right, even if it’s hard. They are full laughs and high fives after winning a Quidditch game. They’re clinking of butterbeer bottles with friends. They’re cosy, hand knitted sweaters and silly hats at Christmas. They’re stepping in front of friends in an attempt at protection, even if it means sacrificing yourself. They’re nestling in comfy armchairs telling late night stories of great heroes around a fire. They are rage because of injustice and holding everyone accountable. They’re warmth and shelter and that special kind of loving you think will keep you safer than anywhere else on earth.

But Slytherins? Slytherin’s are full bodied wine and glances that will make you blush. They’re slow movements and bruising touches and dark chocolate. They’re secret notes and singular flower stems. Slytherin’s are the ones you imagine could conquer a whole continent with just one look. They’re union and isolation at the same time. They’re mystery and secret and the goal you want to reach. They’re the deepest depths of the lake and the darkest parts of a starry sky. They’re architecture, and power and white roses. They’re everything you want them to be, but still, they’re always just themselves. And they’d let the entire world burn to save the ones they love.

At some point, Hermione had stopped punishing herself for being drawn to them. Their inner strength and the courage they must have to face each day was like nothing she had ever experienced in her life. Sure, it was easy to do what you had to do when it was right, but to do it when it was wrong to protect those you love, sacrificing pieces of yourself to do it. That took real courage.

And she admired how capable they were. Never having to correct their essays, force them to study or remind them to tuck in their shirts. It was refreshing.

The only thing Hermione lectured Theo for was his bloody awful smoking habit. The brunette was rarely without one of his clove cigarettes even during term time. Without fail, he’d always light one up the second the stepped a toe outside the library. Once, he’d attempted to light it whilst they studied but Hermione had sent a stinging jinx a touch too high on his thigh and he put it out immediately.

Despite her dislike for it, the smell of clove and tobacco had become oddly comforting. That and she rather enjoyed that he had a seemingly endless supply of spearmints on him at all times since he always offered one to her too once he’d finished smoking.

**

Transfiguration was still her favourite subject, and one they shared with Ravenclaws but now more than ever, potions held her second favourite spot. It was the one class she could steal glances at both Theo and Draco. She opted to partner with Neville almost every week and positioned them in the same spot away from Harry and Ron so they wouldn’t notice what she was looking at and Neville was always concentrating too hard to notice.

By sheer determination she’d also managed to get herself seated beside them in Arithmancy. Professor Vector was known to seat students in threes so when Hermione arrived ‘accidentally’ last to the lesson, she’d casually taken the only spot left since no one else wanted to partner with the Slytherins.

Seated beside Theo at the back of the room, she began to notice how he’d splay his knees under the desk, letting his rest against hers. How, he’d too often ‘forget a quill’ and let his finger catch hers when she’d lend him one of hers.

She began to wonder if perhaps Theo felt something for her the way she did him. Was that silly?

Either way, Tuesday evenings in the library with the brunette were becoming her favourite as the weeks went on.

The pair of them could sit for hours talking about anything and everything. It helped immensely that he was perhaps the only boy in her year that was not completely obsessed with Quidditch. Her wizarding life thus far had been surrounded by those obsessed with the sport and she’d rather had her fill of pretending to care about the ruddy thing.

Hermione tried to convince herself it was Theo’s mind that she enjoyed but she wasn’t blind, it definitely helped that he looked like, well, that. Gods, how could someone look so attractive just reading potions textbooks? The way his large, hands caressed each page, causing his Slytherin ring and the black signet ring he wore on each hand to glint in the light. She couldn’t stop watching him.

And it felt wrong to think about Theo that way. She was sure she liked Ron, had done since their third year really. A love like that didn’t just disappear.

But she couldn’t lie to herself and say Theo didn’t intrigue her. One night as they were putting away their books Hermione decided to brave a question that had been plaguing her mind.

“Why did you make Malfoy apologise to me over the Summer?”

Theo froze for a moment before remembering himself and collecting his bag from the table.

“I’d had enough. Enough of him forcing himself to stay in the box he’d been squeezed into trying to be like his father and his father’s father and so on. Draco’s not stupid and he’s questioned things about how we were raised in private for a few years now. With his father, uhm… preoccupied for the foreseeable, I had wanted to give him the chance to explore it for himself and he needed a push to do so. I figured you were the closest thing to the source and perhaps the only person brave enough to take him on. Had I known then what would happen this summer I probably wouldn’t have made the same choice, but we can’t change the past. Even if I could, I’m not sure we’d want to if it meant losing you for myself too.”

His last comment made her blush slightly as they reached the entry to the library. Cautious of their surroundings, they walked a few more inches apart through the corridors back to the main staircases where they’d have to part ways.

“Theo, I’ve been thinking and I don’t think this is something we can do on our own. We need to tell someone about what is expected of Malfoy. Dumbledore, he can help-“

Theo stopped walking abruptly and ran his hands down his face in exasperation, “it’s sweet how you think the old man can make everything perfect, but not this. He can’t know.”

“We’ll not Dumbledore then but McGonagall perhaps? Or I could contact the order.” She knew she was frustrating him but she just wanted to help.

“Leave it alone Hermione, promise me you’ll tell no one.”

“Theo…” Her voice was quiet as she looked into the searing gaze of the brunette wizard. Seeing anything other than a charming albeit cheeky glint was unnerving. But, any hint of giving up Malfoys secret always earned her a similar reaction.

Theo didn’t even give her the chance to respond fully as he turned to walk back towards the dungeons.

She’d give it time, but she promised herself, if it ever got too close to really happening she’d go straight to Dumbledore.

**

November, 1996

All too soon the first Saturday in November was upon them which meant the opening Quidditch game of the season – Gryffindor versus Slytherin.

The Great Hall was full of excitement with members of both teams sending pointed glares back and forth whilst the rest of the students’ placed bets on the outcome. It was guaranteed the Hufflepuffs would support Gryffindor whilst the Ravenclaws were somewhat split. Luna and Padma of course always sided with the Gryffindors.

The trio were just finishing up their breakfast when a voice called out from the Slytherin table behind them. “You best hurry up Potter. They’ll be waiting for ‘the chosen captain’, ‘the boy who scored’ or whatever it is they call you these days.”

Good Godric, Draco could be an arse sometimes.

Hermione did not like Quidditch at all, it was no secret actually that she hated flying full stop. And the fact that everyone seemed to resort to childish insults and get so dramatic about the whole thing only put her off more. Despite this, she always came down to support Harry, Ron and Ginny in their matches even if she did tuck a book under her arm.

As she made her way amongst the crowds, she smelled the clove before she felt Theo’s arm brush against her own. “Granger.” He drawled in a manner not too dissimilar to Draco and she wasn’t used to hearing him speak so indifferently towards her. She assumed it had something to do with the odd looks they were already starting to attract.

“Nott.” She responded with equal indifference in her voice, playing the game as he had instructed many times, despite her insistence she didn’t give a toss what other people thought.

“Can’t even keep your nose out of a book for match? How unsporting of you. I suggest you try glancing up every once in a while, it’d be a shame for you to miss out on all the action.”

Prat. He hates these games almost as much as she did.

He didn’t wait for a response before increasing his stride to catch up to Pansy Parkinson, a taller Slytherin girl who in their younger years Hermione would have described as pug-faced but now she too had grown into her features and looked absolutely beautiful. The sort of girl most people would dream to look like with her flowing pin straight raven hair, bright green eyes, skin a light olive colour and eyeliner drawn so precise it looked like the sharp edge of a knife. They were surrounded by other Slytherin girls like Daphne Greengrass and Millicent Bullstrode. The others in their group - Blaise Zabini, Gregory Goyle, Vincent Crabbe and Tracey Davis- would be joining Draco on the pitch.

During the game she found herself reading the same paragraph three or four times over before giving in and actually watching for a change. She’d often keep an eye on her friends but today she found herself tracking Draco amongst the blurs of red and green as he circled around the pitch. Even the distant singing from the rest of Slytherin House taunting Ron wasn’t enough to draw her attention.

As she watched, she was mesmerised by the way he flew. He was precise and methodical. She could see him working through the different plays in his mind as he circled high above the pitch.

Despite her on and off again feelings for Ron and the period in fourth year when she’d briefly dated Krum, she realised this might be the first time ever she felt invested in a game of Quidditch. She continued watched intently as he zipped through the players on the field, his body tense and alert looking for the snitch.

Another hour so later, the Gryffindor team were sprinting from all over the pitch to congratulate Harry on yet another spectacular win even if Zacharis Smith who’d taken over commentary from Lee Jordan was less than enthusiastic about it. In all honesty, he wasn’t even trying to hide his disappointment.

Hermione flew out of her seat however as she saw Ginny speed right on past Harry and most of the team until she collided with an almighty crash into the commentator’s podium. The crowd in other stands shrieked and laughed whilst Hermione raced with Neville and Luna down onto the pitch where the rest of the team landed beside the wreckage of wood under which Zacharias Smith was feebily stirring.

Hermione heard Ginny apologising to a very irate Professor McGonagall, “Forgot to brake, Professor, sorry.” McGonagall absolutely did not fall for it, but, Hermione assumed her lack of punishment meant she was secretly quite impressed with the red haired witch.

Once she realised Ginny was alright, she found herself oddly deflated when Gryffindor won the match. She knew how desperate Draco was to finally catch the snitch.

He was truly a very gifted seeker and Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw teams never stood a chance against him but somehow Harry always got one over on him. Having actually paid attention, she realised that it was mostly dumb luck and a complete disregard for his own life that had allowed Harry to come out on top. Not that she’d ever tell him that.

She also found herself wondering how much longer Draco was going to be able to continue in his role as Seeker. Surely his growing frame would put him at a disadvantage to the other teams Seekers.

She knew he probably loved the glory of the number 7 on his back, but she thought he could probably be exceptional at almost any of the positions. Quick and agile like the Keepers, devious and cunning certainly to be a good chaser. He didn’t have the traditional beaters build, but neither did Fred and George and that never stopped them from being gifted at it.

The match itself had been touch and go for a while since Slytherin’s beaters were relentless and it had to be said their main Chaser, Blaise Zabini, was rather a good match for Ginny meeting her goal for goal.

Ron however was considered the star of the show in his debut as Keeper since Oliver Wood left last year – also leaving Harry as captain, a role he was honoured to fill but she felt certain he’d be passing it over to Ginny next year as soon as she became eligible. Harry always hated people looking to him for what to do.

**

That evening, there was a huge party in Gryffindor common room to celebrate the win. They even revised the lyrics to Slytherins song for the occasion.

Weasley can save anything

He never leaves a single ring

That’s why Gryffindors all sing

Weasley is our King

Ron of course stood on a table, revelling in the chants of his name whilst Harry stood back against the wall looking on proudly at his friend. She wondered if the boys could be any more different.

As Hermione stood chatting to Harry butterbeer in hand, the sudden uproar of cheers caught her attention. She looked up to see Lavender Brown snogging Ron.

Tears pricked in her eyes, and she fled.

She wasn’t quite sure where she was running to, but she needed to leave the tower. As she settled in at the base of a stairwell and conjured her favourite little birds, she’d learnt from Flitwick last year.

Gods what an idiot. She’d had all these feelings for Ron for so many years. Always sought him out in her time of need. But why hadn’t she ever felt compelled to grab him and kiss him like Lavender had?

Well frankly because that kind of public display was not something she liked thought of. But what troubled her more was how she didn’t necessarily wish she had been the one kissing Ronald in that scene.

Ron was safe, kind, funny. True, beyond Harry they had very little in common. They despised each others hobbies, she hated his table manner and he hated her obsessive need for control and organisation.

In all her daydreams, the man she’d walk towards waiting for her at the end of an aisle had always been Ron. Well, an older version of Ron. But over the past few weeks, the face waiting for her had become blurry. More of an idea.

She knew since the day in St Mungo’s she had a soft spot for Theo which was growing the more time they spent together.

Was it possible then that part of her was upset that she couldn’t just walk up to Theo and declare her feelings for him in that way? If he was anyone else then maybe she could… She longed for days where they would be allowed to just act like teenagers, without fear of a war looming ahead of them.

She was really quite a mess when Harry found her a few minutes later trying to figure it all out.

Of course, having had a crush on Ginny Weasley for over a year now, Hermione knew he understood the pain of longing for someone you know you shouldn’t. So, they sat together and mourned their broken hearts for a little while until the new love birds interrupted them looking for a place to snog in private and Hermione felt her magic overwhelm her as she sent the birds straight at Ron’s head.

Safe to say, Hermione got very little sleep that night as she wrestled with herself intensely. And that morning, for the first time in her life, she decided to hide out in her room rather than face the endless snogging between Ron and Lavender that was sure to await her and sent a note to McGonagall claiming illness and that she would see Madame Pomfrey if she wasn’t feeling better soon.

Chapter 8: Butterflies

Chapter Text

November, 1996

The next night Hermione was due to take rounds with Draco. They hardly talked but she could feel him glancing over at her more than normal as they walked. They were about halfway through their usual route when he suddenly grabbed her by the elbow and dragged her into an empty classroom.

“What the hell are you doing Malfoy?” she screeched as he rounded on her, blocking the door from her view.

“I’m worried about you Granger. What’s happened? Did someone hurt you? Why weren’t you in class yesterday – me and Theo looked for you everywhere including the f*cking hospital wing” he said running his eyes all over her frantically.

“What? Why would you care?” Her voice was sharper than she intended but she didn’t like being interrogated. Especially by Draco of all people.

“Sweet Salazar” he sighed running his hand through his hair. “I thought we were friends now Granger. Come on, you're meant to be better at this than I am, you should know friends care about each other. Now tell me, what the f*ck happened?”

Why did he have to act like he cared all of a sudden?

Hermione cast her gaze down at the floor and began picking at the hem of her cardigan. “Nothing, I’m fine really. There has just been a small change in a friendship that I wasn’t expecting and it’s taken some adjustment. Nothing for you to worry about I can assure you.”

“Oh, so you’re the Gryffindor girl everyone’s been saying is snogging the Weasel?” Draco said quietly.

“No” she said quickly, and Draco turned his gaze on to her, softening slightly before she continued, “No, it’s just well, you probably don’t know there’s been a certain expectation for a while now amongst our friends and probably Ron's family too that we’d, well, that we’d start dating eventually. The same as people think about you and Pansy. And if I’m honest, my feelings for Ron were a little more than friendship the last few years but I realise we’re very much just friends. Am I sad that it’s not me… possibly. But more than that, it hurts to see him being so freely happy, able to show his feelings to the world when I feel like I have so many secrets. Does that make any sense?” she paused, “Gods I sound pathetic don’t I?”

“No Granger, that’s not pathetic. And I would never seriously date Pansy. She's a good friend and we were a good distraction for each other but that’s all.” he said, giving her a smile. They stood in an awkward silence.

“So,” he said cautiously, “you’re definitely not dating Weasley?”

“No”

“That’s good”

“Is it?”

Draco blushed slightly and rubbed the back of his neck, “Yes, um, you could do a lot better than the Weasel is all.”

“Oh” was all she could reply as Draco opened the classroom door and held it open for her to walk through. She wondered if he was asking on behalf of Theo.

As they continued walking down the corridor, he looked over to her “So, you’re really alright?” he asked.

She didn’t understand this entire interaction. “Yes, I’m fine, you don’t need to worry about me.”

“Okay, good,” he said more softly than she had expected.

They walked in companionable silence for the next hour, till Hermione gave in and asked Draco for his help to teach her occlumency. She had read books on it of course whilst trying to help Harry but she didn’t find the instructions all that helpful.

Trying to clear one’s mind was rather difficult for someone like her. The closest she ever got to that experience was whilst she rode the horses, but she didn’t think she could do that every time she needed to occlude.

To her surprise, Draco agreed without much begging on her part. Starting next week, they would meet in the astronomy tour at midnight after their rounds concluded, making sure to be seen re-entering their respective common rooms before sneaking out again.

As they finished their rounds and were just about to say goodbye when she couldn’t help herself, “Why don’t you let people see the good in you? It’s not a weakness to show that you care.”

“Oh, but it is Granger,” he replied. “I’ve found the best way to not get your heart broken is to pretend that you don’t have one.”

He lowered his head, bringing his hand to the side of her face with more tenderness than she’d ever expect from him. The smell of his aftershave consumed her senses as her brain dissected the scents.

All she could do was to think that somehow the platinum blonde smelled like the infinity of the ocean and the silence of a virgin forest. He was crisp and almost salty but with a neutral freshness like ivy-no, it was mint. But there was a definite warm and woody aroma that lingered in the air around them on her skin creating a sense of calm, grounding her like an anchor to a ship.

All in all, it smelled like an ode to a man’s sophistication, providing a sense of power and comfort. A balance between strength and sensitivity. Before she’d even had time to right herself, Draco was already taking off down the stairs towards the dungeons.

**

As Hermione climbed back through the portrait of the fat lady, Harry, Ron and a few other Gryffindors in her year including Lavender Brown were still up, revising around the fire together. Lavender was practically sat on top of Ron. Pathetic.

“Oh Pavarti, look! I think I’ve got an unaspected planet, which one is it?” Lavender exclaimed. Hermione simply rolled her eyes as she walked past them. Divination really was such a woolly subject.

“It’s Uranus I think Lav.” Parvati replied warmly.

Ron’s head whipping round to his girlfriend, a huge grin forming on his face. “Can I have a look at Uranus too, Lavender?”

Lavender squealed, swatting Ron flirtatiously on the arm. Hermione felt the vomit rising in her throat.

“No but seriously, I’ve got two Neptunes here,” Ron said after a moment pulling his lips from Lavenders, frowning down at his piece of parchment, “that can’t be right can it?”

“Aaah,” said Harry, imitating Professor Trelawney's mystical whisper, “when two Neptunes appear in the sky, it is a sure sign a red headed wizard has his tongue too far down a blondes throat.”

Hermione laughed quietly and made her way up to bed. Since she saw him snogging Lavender it was as if every interaction with him made her more and more aware of how different they were.

Once she had changed into her pyjamas, just a simple blue tartan button up shirt and matching drawstring trousers, she pushed all thoughts of Ron Weasley from her mind allowed herself instead to replay the interaction with Draco until she drifted off to sleep.

**

That weekend, Hermione and Ginny chose to take a girls day in Hogsmeade together. With them both in exam years, Ginny’s quidditch practice and Hermione’s meetings in the library, the pair had found very little time for each other since the Summer.

Almost as soon as they walked through the southern exit of the castle the red haired witch linked arms with her and began her coy attempt at questioning. “So ‘Mione, what’s new with you? You’ve not been spending much time with the boys recently?”

She had in fact being spending plenty of time with the boys. Just a very different pair than the ones Ginny was thinking of.

“Well, your brother is likely devoid of oxygen at this very moment and Harry is forming an unnervingly close relationship to both the marauders map and his blasted potions book” she huffed. She spotted the bushes just outside the Hogwarts grounds that were perfect for collecting lacewing flies and made a mental reminder to collect some at the weekend ready for potions next week. Slughorn’s were not as fresh as the ones Snape used to stock and both her and Malfoy agreed it was having negative effects on the effectiveness of their brews.

“Tell me about. By the way, Harry’s getting antsy about how often your name pops up near to Malfoy’s and someone else… Nott I think he said. Since when do you willing spend time with snakes?” the redhead asked with an air of mischief

Hermione rolled her eyes. “It’s not like I have a choice, Ginny. I’ve been partnered with them for several projects already this year and I refuse to allow my grades to slip just because of who I’ve been partnered with.”

“I know. And I told Harry as much. Ron still wasn’t happy about it though.”

“Ronald has no right to tell me who I’m allowed to work with, and neither does Harry for that matter” Hermione scoffed, “If he tries to lecture me perhaps I’ll put him in a body bind and leave him in there” she jerked her head towards the forbidden forest which made her friend cackle with laughter knowing how much Ron hated the forest, especially after the Acromantula incident in second year.

“Hermione, I’m sorry you know I’m not trying to start an argument. You know the boys are just worried about you. I worry about you. Just remember how Malfoy’s behaved towards you all these years but-“

“I’ve not forgotten” Hermione snapped but I’m trying to move on, “Draco has been, well, civil…Theo too. And, considering how awful Ronald was to me in first year and continues to be on occasion and no one bats an eyelid when I forgive him time and time again, I’ll thank you to be a little more understanding of my position in the future.”She knew she was edging dangerously close to saying too much but she couldn’t say nothing at all.

“sh*t…” Ginny said shocked, “when did Malfoy become Draco?” Merlin’s beard, she’d slipped up. She’d gotten so used to referring to him as Draco in her own head that she hadn’t even realised she said it aloud.

She couldn’t meet her friend’s eyes so instead she picked at the skin around her nails. “Oh uhm, I guess I just got so used to hearing Theo call him by Draco rather than Malfoy that I picked it up.”

“Reaaalllyyy” the witch drawled out sarcastically. She was not convinced in the slightest.

“Yes. Nothing else. Now, when we reach Hogsmeade I just need to pop into Tombs & Scrolls…” Hermione continued waffling about new books and parchment to fill the awkward void hoping she could stop her pushing at least.

Mercifully Ginny filled the rest of the long walk into the village with talk of Dean, quidditch and more Dean.

**

The girls separated as lunch time approached and Ginny went off to meet Dean at the Three Broomsticks, Hermione was heading there shortly with Harry and Ron, but she wanted to stop in at Honeydukes and treat herself to some more sugar quills.

She had to admit, she was looking forward to some time with her best friends, Ron in particular since she’d barely seen him since his face had become glued to Lavenders.

As she stepped out of the shop, happy with her purchase, she could see Harry and Ron waiting for her on the corner.Her heart swelled at the sight of her friends.

Sadly, her good mood didn’t last long once they reached the village pub.

Slughorn sauntered over to their table in the three broomsticks and invited her and Harry specifically to one of his upcoming dinner parties. ‘Wallenby’ however was not on the guest list. The fumbling of his name tickled her and she made a mental not to tell Theo and Draco who would be in fits of laughter at the tale.

Sadly, after that, Ronald continued to be a complete arse the entire time they sat in the pub because he could see Dean ‘running his hands over his sister’.

On their way back to the castle things only got worse. Katie Bell, Gryffindor chaser in the year above them, had been walking a few feet in front of them with fellow chaser Alicia Spinnet and had touched a cursed necklace inside a parcel she was apparently meant to deliver to Dumbledore. If it weren’t for Hagrid’s quick thinking in rushing her to the hospital wing she most certainly would have died.

It wasn’t like Hermione not to be so slow to jump into action but she knew, she knew in her gut who had done this and she couldn’t quite get her brain to cooperate.

Surely Theo didn’t know about this?

She had to hope that he wouldn’t have let Draco do this no matter how desperate he was. They’d been making progress on the cabinet, slow progress sure but to jump to such an ill thought out attempt. She couldn’t understand it.

**

The next day after Charms she took advantage of Theo being caught up in a conversation with Blaise and disillusioned herself and snuck after Draco as he headed up to Alchemy since she had a free period. She’d have to be quick as Theo wouldn’t be far behind him.

As he rounded into an empty corridor she quickly cancelled the charm and grabbed at the back of his robe pulling him into an empty classroom – quite the feat since he had a good few inches on her height wise.

“What in Merlin’s name are you playing at Malfoy!” she barked, shoving her fists at his chest.

“Back to physically assaulting me now are we Granger?” he drawled.

“I know what you did Malfoy, but why, why would you do that? She could have died. You almost killed another student…” Tears were now gushing down Hermione’s cheeks, her lip trembling as she willed herself not to completely breakdown.

“HE WAS GOING TO TORTURE HIM GRANGER. WHAT THE f*ck SHOULD I HAVE DONE?” Draco raged, upturning the desk to the right of where Hermione stood rooted in fear.

His breathing slowed and he slumped his head on Hermione’s shoulder, her heart racing.

“I’m sorry, I- he, he summoned me home last night to report back. He thinks perhaps I’m not motivated enough. Dear Aunt Bella suggested he find someone in addition to my mother to play with since I hadn’t been able to give him good enough progress on the cabinet or any other attempts on the old man's life.” Hermione saw the muscles twitch along his jaw.

“He crucio’d me whilst he looked through my memories… I couldn’t let him- he saw Theo, he saw that I care about him a great deal.” Draco finally looked at Hermione although he couldn’t quite meet her eye. “I had to come up with something. He told me I only had the day and that I had to send him my memories regardless of the outcome. I was desperate. Theo would have been taken to the Manor with my mother for torture. He was spared but since it was such a piss poor attempt, I imagine Mother has still been punished. Theo, he, he doesn’t know, he can’t know what I did. It’ll break him. Please Granger, you can’t tell him. You don’t know Theo… his father… Please, Granger, pl-“

“Okay, okay, hush” she soothed, running her hand through the back of his hair as he continued to break apart around her.

Later that night she cast a silencing charm on her bed and cried. She cried for Theo and the threat he didn’t even know he was facing. He’d become so important to her that she didn’t know what she’d do if anything happened to him.

But she also cried for Draco. For the boy being forced to do unimaginable things to protect his family. She missed Crooks on nights like these.

**

Hermione woke before her alarm the next morning, and once again, she chose to get out of bed and spend a little extra time on her appearance.

She hadn’t slept well and was sure she’d have dark circles under her eyes to prove it. If Draco saw, he’d know why, and she didn’t want to add to his long list of concerns.

She brushed some concealer under her eyes and carefully blended it into her skin, applied her usual lip balm and spritz of rose perfume. She was just about to head out of the dorm when she did a double take of herself in the mirror.

Without thinking too much about it, she rifled through the cosmetics bag her mum had made for her in fourth year ready for the ball. She pulled out the small tube of mascara and waved it through her lashes carefully. Next, she dusted a small bit of pink blush on her cheeks. She decided to plait her hair carefully today in a French braid, leaving a few small curls loose to frame her face.

She couldn’t help but think she looked a little more put together than she would usually. And on the way to the great hall for breakfast, she idly wondered if Theo might notice.

She chose a spot on the Gryffindor table where she could see the Slytherins and happily, Theo was already there and in her direct line of sight. The moment her honey brown eyes connected with his olive green she saw his lips twitch slightly and he shifted looking slightly uncomfortable at the table. At his reaction, she felt butterflies erupt in her stomach. No one had ever given her butterflies before. Not even Ron.

Chapter 9: Building Character

Chapter Text

November, 1996

Despite the secrets shared between her and Draco, he still kept her at arms length most of the time. Never allowing himself to become overly familiar. Perhaps that’s just who he was? Even when Pansy used to drape herself all over him, she didn’t remember Draco returning her affections.

But with Theo, things were still easy. And for perhaps the first time in her life, Hermione felt like she had someone who cared for her the way she did for others. Sure, Harry and Ron were her oldest friends, but they had each other and she always felt like the odd one out. Plus, it often felt more like she needed to take care of them or mother them, but rarely received the same treatment.

Even when she’d been petrified, they admitted to only visiting her once or twice. And it sure as hell wasn’t either of them who had left copies of all the class notes for her… now that she thought about it- Hermione pulled her gaze from the ancient runes translation they were working on at their usual table deep in the back of the library.

“Theo?” she asked with a tone as casual as she could muster.

“Yes Princess.” Prat. His use of the nickname was still as insufferable as ever so she threw him a quick eyeroll. Her heart really wasn’t in it though as the glint in his eye and dimple on his cheek made it utterly impossible to be cross.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Always…”

She fidgeted with her legs as she began to lose her nerve. “Do you promise to answer honestly?”

“Pinky promise” he held out his littlest finger and wrapped it around hers just like she’d taught him over summer.

Satisfied, she finally spoke her mind, “back in second year, when I was petrified, someone copied all our class notes that I missed over those last months. I know it wasn’t anyone in Gryffindor. I initially suspected Padma but now I know how studious you are…” he stiffened, “was it you?”

“Yeah” he looked shy and a blush flared across his cheeks. Nothing ever made Theo blush. He slowly lifted his gaze back to hers and continued with more confidence, “Yes. It was me.”

“But why?” She stared into her lap, “You didn’t know me?”

Theo turned in his chair to face her and wrapped his finger in one of her curls, “I knew enough to know how important school was to you and that you’d run yourself into the ground trying to catch up without them.”

He smiled at her so sweetly it warmed her heart.

“Thank you. I mean it. Thank you for taking care of me even before I knew you.”

“Anytime Princess” his smile turned smug as he said this and rather than returning to his work he continued to play with her hair.

Theo continued to procrastinate for the next half hour till Draco joined them unexpectedly. Apparently the increasingly harsh winter weather had been too much for practice to run any later.

They worked in a comfortable silence, but it wasn’t long before she noticed Theo in particular had almost entirely given up on his studies.

Theo,” she hissed. “We’re supposed to be studying.” His hand was toying with one of the curls that had slipped loose from the bun on her head, distracting her from charms homework. Draco chuckled under his breath as Theo moved closer to Hermione. “Theo, we need to get this finished,” she hissed.

“It’s been hours, Hermione.” He pouted. “I never knew what a cruel punishment working with you on a runes assignment could be.”

“You’re being dramatic” she laughed, “we’ve only been at this for two hours and besides you like this class so stop complaining”

“I like playing with your hair more though.” He said, waggling his eyebrows.

“Keep this up and I may have to insist on new rules about sitting on opposite sides of the table whilst we study.”

“Rules were meant to be broken, Hermione,” Theo replied cheekily. “And don’t pretend you’re some prissy, goody-two shoes. Sneaking into the restricted section, brewing polyjuice …should I go on?”

“Merlin. I never would’ve told you those stories had I known you’d toss them back in my face. But yes, I’ve broken a few rules,” hundreds was a closer estimate, “but usually for a good reason, one that serves a purpose a tad more respectable and altruistic. Just because I’d like to—“ She bit her lip.

Draco grinned and gestured for her to finish. “Do go on. I’d like to hear you finish that.” The boys glanced at each other then back to her.

“You’d like to…” Theo prompted.

She rolled her eyes. “The both of you are insufferable.” Theo’s work matched hers, so she passed him back his parchment and shut her book with a sigh.

“Are we done? Can we all go to the room now so we can actually talk to each other properly? I know it’s not cabinet week but this is getting really boring now.” Theo asked hopefully.

“I’m not spending all night with you both,” she said. “Unlike you, I don’t have a free period tomorrow morning. I’ve got Care of Magical Creatures so I’d like a good night's sleep. Our Occamy eggs are due to hatch you see.”

“Just come for a little while Hermione, we promise we won’t keep you past curfew.” Theo begged.

She worried her lip. For all she’d hemmed about the rules, it wasn’t like it wouldn’t be the first time she was away from her dorm late into the night. Besides, would it really be so terrible to spend another night working on the cabinet? No, especially not when it meant more time with Theo and Draco.

“Fine. I’ll head out and grab some new research I found. Meet you there?”

They nodded and began packing up their books. She quickly took her leave, making her way down the corridor and up the Grand Staircase to the seventh floor.

“Sherbet Lemon,” she told the Fat Lady, who let her pass. Hermione entered the common room, striding off with a single-minded purpose because as much as she’d put up a fight, she really was looking forward to another night in the in the come and go room. If she hurried, maybe she wouldn’t even run into anyone and then—

“’Mione!” Oh Merlin… turning slowly on her heel in the direction of the fireplace, Hermione held her breath. She'd hoped to sneak past without them noticing.

Ron and Harry were both slouched on one of the couches, with Ginny pressed to Harry’s side. Ron, too oblivious to notice their proximity.“There you are! It feels like we barely see you these days, what've you been doing?” Harry chastened gently. Hermione took a seat in the red velvet arm chair beside the couch because she didn’t really have another choice.

If she was here much longer, Theo and Draco would be wondering what was taking her so long, but when they found out, they’d understand that this interruption couldn’t be avoided.

Her friends were staring, obviously waiting for her to speak. “Right, let’s see…Ancient Runes has been particularly fascinating so far. We’ve been working on Norse texts, I was just working on them now actually, and we’ll really I have a lot to do so I was just gathering a few extra things before heading back to —”

“The library” Ron and Harry chorused in unison before descending into fits of laughter. “Go on Hermione, we know where we stand in the pecking order. But promise us you’ll spend some time with us before the holidays?”

“Sure. I promise.” Hermione leapt from her seat before they decided to question her any further.

**

“Ah Granger so nice of you to join us.” Draco drawled.

“f*ck off Draco, you’re the one who’s been bleeting on like some harpy about where Hermione could have possibly gotten off to for the past half an hour.” Theo teased.

Hermione was still often surprised Draco let anyone speak to him that way but Theo seemed to be a bit of an exception when it came to the blonde wizard's patience. Best friends could do that to a person - Merlin knows she’d put up with Harry and Ron for years.

“And now why on earth would you be getting your wand in a knot about that?” she said, eyebrow raised as she made her way towards the cabinet the boys had already begun work on for the night.

“No reason.” He replied curtly. Wonderful, he was in an exceptionally happy mood now then.

“Fine, if you won’t tell me, perhaps we could at least spend some time getting to know each other. I realised on my way down here that I spend the majority of my time with you both, know some of your deepest darkest secrets and yet I don’t even know some of the simplest things.”

The boys looked at each other as if considering their reaction. “What did you have in mind Princess, unlike Drake I’m quite the open book.” Theo smiled from his seat next to her on the chaise.

Draco snorted in derision from behind the cabinet. As he came back into view, Hermione noticed he had his sleeves rolled up. He was usually so cautious about revealing his forearms but Hermione now got her first look at the ugly black brand that marred his porcelain skin. It threw her momentarily.

“Uhm, let’s start with what’s your favourite colour?”

“Well now that’s just unacceptable” Draco scoffed sarcastically.

“Toss pots over there is green. Shockingly. And mine is blue.” Theo said proudly before hastily clarifying. “Not Ravenclaw blue, something softer. Like periwinkle.”

Hermione blushed at the mention of her Yule Ball dress colour.

“Okay, now, don’t get ahead of yourselves but mine is actually green. Emerald green to be exact.” Both boys eyes flashed to her, but she swiftly progressed the conversation along, “I must say, the way you two dress you’d never believe you even know what colours are. It’s quite depressing. Really, must you only wear black Draco? Theo at least branches out into navy blue or grey, you just look like you’re going to a funeral.”

At this his smile turned wolfish, “Maybe I’ve just not decided whose funeral it will be yet. Weaslebees most likely”

Hermione rolled her eyes so hard she thought she might need to see Madame Pomfrey to have them looked at. “And what about your favourite food?”

“Apples” Draco huffed.

“Don’t lie, it’s cake and we all know it.” Hermione thought Theo seemed intent on winding him up tonight until his expression softened, clearly enjoying something he was remembering. “Mine would be these cookies that my mum used to make for me before she died.”

“Oh Theo,” she placed her hand affectionately on his forearm and he gave her a doe eyed smile in return.

“It seems we all have rather a sweet tooth then” she replied. I love a chocolate lava cake, especially at Christmas. My parents are dentists you see - they’re like healers for people’s teeth - and so I was only allowed sweet things at home as a special treat and it rather built up my excitement to eat them. Uhhh okay what did you want to be when you were little?”

Draco let out a long-suffering sigh. “Another question? I already answered one and I’m nearly faint from the exertion.”

“It’s good for you. Think of the character building.”

“I’m too rich to need to build character. If I need more, I can just buy it.” At this Theo let out a barking laugh.

Hermione huffed. “Is there anything you’re not arrogant about?”

He considered the question for a moment before shrugging. “Nope" he said popping the 'p' the way he did when he said 'Potter'.

“Remind me again why I willingly spend my evenings with you.”

“Come now Granger, I know you’re obsessed with me.” His stormy eyes sparkled when he was in one of these rare cheeky moods. It was perhaps her favourite side of the usually uptight wizard. But she could never let him know that.

She rolled her eyes. “Merlin…”

“Just ‘Draco’ is fine thanks” he said with a smirk. Prat.

**

The slugclub dinner party was an incredibly dull affair.

Harry and her were the only sixth years aside from Blaise Zabini who looked incredibly bored and merely picked at his meal all evening. Contributing absolutely nothing to the conversation.

The rest of the guest list were almost all in the year above, not that Hermione recognised any of them, McLaggen and Ginny the only fifth years to make the list. Him for his family name and whilst Ginny was clever, she was no Hermione. Clearly Slughorn kept his ear to the ground with Madame Hooch and new Ginny was gunning to be a professional Quidditch player - he always talked about Gwenog Jones highly and perhaps assumed Ginny would be of equal fame someday.

But the red head's current absence from the table was hard not to notice since Harry’s gaze flicked to the door every few mouthfuls as he tried to anticipate her arrival.

When she finally did make an appearance, Hermione was startled to see Harry jump out from his chair and stand to greet her, much the same way Theo and Draco always did for her.

She cast an amused smirk at the raven haired wizard who flushed pink at having given himself away. Hermione knew that although she was dating Dean, she’d held a candle for Harry since she was a little girl and would likely be delighted if he now returned the same affections.

But as she tried to catch Ginny's brilliant blue eyes she noticed they were red rimmed and faint tear tracks could be seen marking her cheeks.

“She’s been crying. Her and Dean must be fighting again.” She spoke quietly enough so only Harry could hear. He said nothing but the tightening of his jaw made it clear he was deeply concerned.

Hermione had no idea what it was they fought about. Dean seemed such a nice guy, sure Ginny could be fiery but still, all they seemed to do at the moment was argue.

Pushing it from her mind, she returned to the profiteroles still towering in front of her till an unfamiliar, deep warm voice filled the room catching her attention.

Blaise had suddenly erupted into lively and engaging conversation drawing in everyone around him. She watched as she noted how he must have listened to everyone all evening and then found a way to steer the conversation to include them accordingly. Quite a skill she would admit.

Just as she began to wonder what prompted this show of enthusiasm, she noticed his gaze flick in Ginny’s direction one time too many to be a coincidence.

Curses.

McLaggen was seated beside Blaise and must have mistaken her looks to the wizard as ones to himself. He began making lewd eyes at her across the table as he licked cream from the end of his finger. She visibly recoiled at the display.

As the evening finally wrapped up, Harry insisted she and Ginny go back to the common room without him as he needed to talk to Slughorn about something for Dumbledore.

McLaggen of course insisted on escorting them back to the tower.

**

The following Tuesday, Hermione walked to their usual table in the library where Theo was already waiting.

She had grown used to their routine now, Theo always standing to great her with a chaste kiss to her cheek before he would pull out a chair for her. Always beside him.

As they caught each other up on the minutia of their days apart, Hermione proceeded to tell Theo all about the slugclub dinner before they began work on their potions essay debating the pros and cons of different binding agents when considering different potion use.

Even by Hermione’s standards, it was not the most complex of assignments and they were able to essentially write down the exact discussion that had taken place between their trio in the coffee shop. And for the first time in her life, she found herself utterly distracted by the wizard beside her. More than once, she found herself gazing at him, taking mental notes on all the small details of his person that she’d not noticed before; how long his eyelashes were for example. Unfairly long for a guy. Then, a small mole on the back of his neck, a mark on his ear where it looked like it might have been pierced once, the faint line of a scar cutting through his eyebrow.

“Hermione?” she shook her head slightly and noticed Theo had caught her staring, his cheeky smile completed by the dimple that only appeared when he smiled like this. “Enjoying the view, darling?”

She blushed furiously squirming in her seat at both the new pet name and that he’d caught her. Hermione quickly returned to her essay.

As curfew drew closer, Theo walked Hermione back to the Gryffindor dorm under a disillusionment charm. As he kissed her briefly on the cheek before she disappeared through the portrait, Hermione felt the butterflies return and her skin flush.

Realising that Theodore Nott might have burrowed under her skin deeper than she expected, Hermione made a pro con list. It was the only thing she could think to do in that moment.

Pro: kind, loyal to his friends, attractive, caring, funny, academic, magically talented from what she’d seen, interesting conversationalist, indifferent to quidditch, liked by her parents, ambitious, BUTTERFLIES!

Cons: father is awful, disliked by her friends, she was disliked by his friends except Draco (she drew an arrow and noted ‘prejudice assumptions’ next to these points). Then clutching at straws, she wrote mysterious and cunning with question marks.

With a woefully imbalanced list in his favour, Hermione was able to rationalise that she did indeed like the wizard. With that settled, she drifted off into a giddy yet content sleep.

Chapter 10: Amortentia

Chapter Text

December, 1996

December had almost come and gone in the blink of an eye. Hermione only registered the month had even arrived when she’d returned to her dorm a few weeks ago to find sprigs of fern and foxglove in her bed.

She really must find the time to figure out who was sending them to her.

It would all feel so much simpler if Theo had been the one to send the flowers. But surely he’d have mentioned it by now if it was him? Gods, she hoped it wasn’t McLaggen. Whatever was happening between her and Theo was definitely moving beyond friendship and Hermione couldn’t help but feel that it was just another thing the upcoming war was taking from her.

Deep in thought on the mystery with the flower deliveries, she made her way down to the final potions class of the winter term with Harry and Ron. Just as they settled into their seats, Slughorn called them all to crowd around his desk where three cauldrons sat bubbling away.

When the old professor asked if anyone knew what the potions on display were, Hermione’s hand flew into the air immediately - Felix Felicis, Draught of the Living Death and Amortentia.

“Very good Miss Granger, now I’m sure you know that Amortentia can be tricky to distinguish since it smells differently to every person. Now, would you mind sharing with the class what it smells like to you?”

Hermione stepped forward gingerly, she couldn’t help but be intrigued. “Uhm I smell, new parchment, freshly mown grass, and…”

“Yes, Miss Granger do go on”

“-and mint”. Hermione felt like she couldn’t breathe and immediately stepped back into the group of students as Slughorn continued his lecture.

She could feel too many sets of eyes on her.

Harry firstly, looking at her full of regret. He must think those smells reminded her of Ron. She wasn’t quite sure how exactly since the only possible, albeit tenuous connection was the spearmint toothpaste he used every day.

But then so did the rest of the Weasley family. And probably over half of Britain, wizarding or otherwise.

And worse, Ronald’s own eyes were looking at her. Was he trying to figure out who it was that she was thinking of? And if he hadn’t been so busy ramming his tongue down Lavenders throat every chance he got she might have mistaken the look for that of jealousy.

Draco’s own face reflected something very similar. Except he was also desperately trying to hide a smirk no doubt having figured out exactly whom was the route of her attraction.

And then there were the green eyes causing it all. Did he know?

Fresh parchment reminding her of all their study periods and letters. Freshly mown grass reminiscent of their summer adventures together, and the spearmint. That was blatantly obvious. The look Draco was giving her made her think that he knew as well.

The double period passed slowly as they brewed draught of the living death together. And with each passing moment Hermione’s frustrations were growing. As was her hair.

Thanks to the tatty old potions book Harry couldn’t bare to be apart from, his brew was progressing much more smoothly than her own. Even Draco looked to be having a little trouble with this one and he was truly brilliant at potions. A natural really. Even if she did say so herself.

But having Harry be presented with a vial of Felix Felicis for his efforts really took the ruddy pumpkin.

Potions prodigy my arse.

**

She was in no mood to listen to Harry and Ron gloat back in the common room so she made her way outside and took the long walk down to the edge of the black lake.

It had been a while since she’d come down here but in her early years it had become somewhat of a secret hiding place. Everyone would think to look for her in the library but never out here. And the edge of the treeline provided just enough cover from anyone else straying so far from the castle.

It was a place she’d come when she needed to breathe. When she needed space and quiet to process something big.

She shouldn’t really have been all that surprised by the scents of her Amortentia. Not only were they so fitting for Theo, but they perfectly summarised who she was. She valued things that were fresh, clean and orderly. Things that were pure and untainted.

A crack of a branch from behind startled her. She whipped around wand outstretched and a hex on the tip of her tongue.

“Easy Princess. It’s only me.” Theo approached through the treeline with his hands held up to his chest in surrender.

“I’m sorry. You just frightened me. How did you know I was here?” she asked as he made his way towards her

“You’re not the only one who pays attention you know.” Gods, he was irresistible when he smirked like that.

“You’ve seen me here before then? I didn’t think anyone knew I came here.”

He ran his hand through his chocolate brown hair messing it up more than usual, biting his lip and brow furrowing. He clearly was arguing with himself over what to say.

“I-uh-followed you once, it was third year and you were upset about something. I’d never seen you so angry and I was worried. I couldn’t exactly come up to you and ask if you were okay, you’d have hexed me on the spot. Then a few more times over the years, I saw you heading this way but I never followed you again. I figured you wanted your privacy. Then usually in a few days time the stories would circulate about what the three of you had been up to and I assumed this is where you’d come to process it”.

She remembered that day in third year well. It was right after Hagrid told her Buckbeak would be sentenced to death.

“What made you follow me today then?”

Theo took a final step towards her and entwined his hand with her own, leading them both to sit on a large boulder closer to the water’s edge.

“I’ve dragged you into a lot of stuff this year Hermione. And I’d completely get it if you wanted out and to forget all about me. About both of us. But I had to know… I need to know how you feel about your Amortentia.”

“Theo-I…” for the first time in her life, words failed her. How did he know she’d thought of him?

The look in his eyes almost cracked her heart in two.

“It’s okay Hermione. I get it. Don’t worry about it.” His eyes were beginning to glaze over from occluding and he turned to walk away.

“Theo, please. It’s complicated. I like you… I really do like you. But there’s so much at stake right now, and we both know what’s coming. There just isn’t room for it right now. Every second of my existence is taken up trying to keep you all alive.”

“You like me?” He echoed her words quietly. Of course that was all he picked up on.

“Yes, Theodore. I like you. Quite a lot actually.” That comment produced a dimpled smile from the wizard staring back at her.

“Well then Princess, I can be patient. When you have the time, I’ll be waiting.”

He rose from the rock they were seated on with a smug look on his face and began the walk back towards the castle. When he was almost out of ear shot she heard him call back, “but until then, you’re mine Hermione. Don’t go giving that Gryffindor heart of yours to anyone else!”

As if she could ever.

Chapter 11: Almost Kisses

Chapter Text

December, 1996

As the season grew colder, Hermione felt that she was making real progress with both Occlumency and also teaching Draco about muggle life. She imagined his response to almost everything she told him was infuriating her just as much as she would have been infuriating as a toddler. Always asking why and how.

The problem with Draco was that since he was an adult only now learning about things such as pens, he wanted to know all the pros and cons between fountain, ball point and gel. He wouldn’t simply take Hermione’s recommendation that whilst fountain pens were the nicest, gel were by far the most practical. And he wanted to know the specific mechanics of how they all worked. More than once, Hermione had had to confess that she didn’t know herself.

And anytime this happened, she could be certain Draco would set about researching and he’d either come to their next meeting incredibly smug having found out or, more often than not, in a foul mood because Hogwarts didn’t have the text and he couldn’t very well ask one of the Malfoy elves to nip off into the muggle world to get one for him in case they were noticed by his father.

Before long, the festive period was upon them and Christmas eve, eve, brought Slughorn’s annual soirée - an elite invite only party which he used to network with the students he deemed the bright stars of the future.

Hermione, Harry and Ginny had been invited following the dinner party earlier in the term and as a result, each were afforded a plus one. She’d hoped to use the occasion to piss off Ronald since he’d begged her to be invited along but really she didn’t care to be used as a chance to get himself a touch more glory this year.

She’d have loved to turn up with Theo or even Draco, on her arm but she knew it would only cause speculation on their friendship which they had agreed with. It was only as she thought back to the dinner party that inspiration struck.

On paper he was perfect - tall, broad, good at quidditch, from a well-connected family and had looks that were considered charming but in reality he was a bit of a letch. This really would get Ron’s wand in a knot.

Ginny attended with Dean, and Harry brought Luna as a friend. Stupidly, Hermione hadn’t even thought of attending with Harry until he’d brought it up in the library two nights ago. But she’d already asked McLaggen so there was nothing to be done.

Roughly twenty minutes into the party and Hermione was regretting her decision immensely as she escaped Cormac from under the mistletoe he’d conjured. She was joking to Harry that he had more tentacles than a snarfalar plant when a commotion broke out from the other side of the room.

Filch was dragging Draco in front of Professor Slughorn.“Caught this one lurking outside Professor, says he was invited but-“

“Alright alright, I was gate crashing okay!” Draco snapped.

“Shall I escort him to the headmaster Professor?” Filch’s eyes began to fill with glee.

What on earth was Draco doing here and, in a full, black tux no less?

Hermione would be lying to herself if she didn’t admit he looked really quite handsome. Not as good as he’d looked at the Yule Ball since he was still terribly underweight and had permanent dark circles under his eyes but it was close. He might be a prat but he was a handsome prat. A prat she now might actually consider a friend.

“That’s quite alright, I will vouch for Mr Malfoy. Come along now” came the dulcet tones of Professor Snape to his rescue as Slughorn desperately tried to restart the party.

Hermione noticed Harry slip on the invisibility cloak and follow them so she decided to do the same and cast a disillusionment charm on herself. She watched Harry’s brow furrow as he overheard parts of the conversation between Draco and Snape.

Hermione knew she’d have to try and run some damage control on Harry tomorrow, but for now, she decided to follow Draco back towards the dungeons until they were in a place private enough to talk.

Just as he reached the T-junction on the corridor where they’d usually say goodbye on their rounds, Hermione removed the charm and called out to him. He spun around immediately to face her.

“What are you doing here Granger? Go back to the party!” he spat.

“Don’t take this out on me Malfoy, what on earth were you doing there? I thought we talked about this, I couldn’t take Theo even if I wanted to. It wouldn’t be safe-“

“But you weren’t safe Granger.” His eyes now pleading with her and she crossed the corridor towards him.

“What are you talking about? Of course I was safe, Ginny and Harry were there with their dates.”

“Yes, but you went with McLaggen as yours. Don’t you know what people say about him? Anything could have happened to you.”

“What rumours? What are you talking about?” she said as she closed the distance between them.

Draco sighed heavily, “Pansy told me once that he takes girls on dates, then drugs them or confounds them so that he can take advantage of them… we didn’t have time to warn you when we found out you were taking him as your plus one so we both snuck out to keep an eye out in case he tried to leave the party with you. Theo’s waiting near the Gryffindor common room in case he tried to take you there. We just needed to know you were safe.”

Hermione’s eyes filled with tears.

Gods how could she be so stupid. She didn’t know the first thing about McLaggen but the way he’d been so adamantly trying to snog her inside the party led her to believe there may be an unsettling amount of truth in the rumours.

“Thank you. I mean it, you’re a good person Draco.” she said smiling as she put her hand on the top of his arm.

“You, uhm, you called me Draco?” His eyes were blown wide.

“Yes, I suppose I did, didn’t I?” she chuckled nervously, “Is that okay?”

“It’s more than okay Granger.” Before she even knew what was happening, he’d pressed his lips to her forehead. A gentle and uncertain kiss, his hands either side of her head tilting it up towards him. Even with him bending down, she’d had to rise slightly on her tiptoes to prolong it. As he pulled away, his eyes flickered across hers and she noticed his eyes weren’t in fact a cool grey, they were a beautiful icy storm with the faintest flecks of blue. She wondered if he’d been occluding almost every other time she’d spoken to him this year.

Theo was right, he was going to give her whiplash with his personality.
**

Hermione quickly made her way back towards the common room and as she approached the portrait of the fat lady, she checked no one else was around.

“Theo? Theo? Are you there?” she whispered, all at once strong arms were round her waist, warm breath against her neck. The scent of cloves overwhelming her senses in the most delicious way.

“Hello Princess.” He cooed, “Just how did you know where to find me?”

“Draco, he got caught outside the party. He’s okay, Snape vouched for him, but I followed him and he told me about McLaggen.” Hermione turned around to face him and caught the faint blush that scuttled across his face. She didn’t pull away from his embrace, instead she pressed a hand to his cheek “I’ll tell you what I told Draco. You, Theodore Nott, are a good person.”

His brow furrowed slightly. “You- you called him Draco?”

“Yes Theo, that is his name. You sound just as surprised as he did” she smirked.

“Mhm I can imagine. But thank you, Hermione” he spun her round to face him, “thank you for seeing him as more than just his father’s name. More than a Malfoy. You both mean a great deal to me, so I’m glad you see him this way.”

“We’re friends Theo, of course.”

Theo reached up a hand and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. “Just so long as you don’t start preferring him over me”

The glint in his eye and the slight raise of his eyebrow made her stomach flip.

“Theo… I, we…”

“I’m teasing, I told you I can be patient, Hermione. But that doesn’t mean I can pause my feelings for you whilst I wait. So, since I won’t see you, have a good Christmas, love.”

Before she could answer Theo lent forward and pressed his lips delicately against the corner of her mouth. Her eyes fluttered closed as she basked in the moment. They were beautifully soft and warm and in that moment she wished he’d kissed her properly, fully.

Before she even reopened her eyes, Theo had disillusioned himself again and disappeared from sight.

Hermione wished she could talk to Ginny right about now.

**

On the train home for the holidays, Hermione shared her usual compartment with Harry and Ron as they recounted the nights events to their red headed friend.

“An unbreakable vow? Are you sure that’s what Snape said?” Ron asked perturbed.

“Positive. Why?”

“Because you can’t break an unbreakable vow.” Ron said, still seeming unconvinced.

“I’d worked that out for myself funnily enough.”

“I don’t understand. Oh bloody hell...” Ron trailed off as Lavender drew sappy ‘I love Ron’ art into her breath on the compartment window.

“Lovely.” Harry muttered amused. Hermione merely rolled her eyes and returned to her book. She hated lying to the boys so she just chose to remain quiet in most conversations around Draco.

“So, what happens if you break an unbreakable vow?” Gods Harry could be dim sometimes.

Ron’s voice was barely above a whisper as he replied, “You die.”

**

Christmas was a quiet affair for Hermione whilst she was with her parents. Thankfully Crookshanks had returned home a week or so after Hermione left, seemingly well fed and completely fine. Not knowing how old he was when she purchased him, she agreed with her parents that he should stay with them for the remainder of the year. Just in case.

They spent Christmas Eve the same way they did every year, eating takeaway Indian food and playing board games. It wasn’t traditional but they loved it.

Hermione wondered how Theo and Draco spent the evening. Would Voldemort's presence put a dampener on any Yule traditions in the Malfoy home?

Having a very small family, and only a small circle of friends, Hermione never minded that their Christmas tree was never overflowing with gifts. She rather thought some children these days forgot the meaning of Christmas, amongst piles of gifts. Harry’s cousin Dudley came to mind from what Harry told her about him.

Still, she was touched to find a collection of small gifts waiting for her when she awoke – an assortment of thoughtful gifts from her parents, the usual jumper from Mr and Mrs Weasley, some sugar quills from Ginny, books from Harry and a bottle of sickeningly sweet Rose perfume from Ron. A sweet gesture, and so close to her usual scent that she truly appreciated the thought but she knew she’d never wear it.

What had pleasantly surprised her were two packages wrapped in black paper. One with a dark green bow and the other slightly larger with a silver one. How the boys snuck these to her she wasn’t sure.

The first smaller gift was from Theo – a truly beautiful if not much too expensive necklace. It was dainty and understated with a thin gold chain and an emerald pendant. The note simply read,

Princess,

Merry Christmas. I hope you get everything and more that you deserve and don’t mind me gifting this to you, it once belonged to my mother and I can think of no one more worthy.

I hope you’ll appreciate the perfect balance of green and gold. It should be small enough to wear everyday - a small token towards your Slytherin side.

Wear it and think of me?

Yours, patiently as ever,

Theo x

Next, she opened the gift from Draco and immediately burst into tears. He’d gifted her the original manuscript of Hogwarts: A History. The very same one he’d promised her all those months ago.

Merry Christmas Granger,

Seems only fair to finally gift this to you since you’ve held up your end of our little arrangement thus far.

Before you even start moaning about how much I spent on this please stop. Firstly, both Theo and I are disgustingly wealthy so I could probably buy you a million manuscripts and not even make a dent in my inheritance.

Secondly, I didn’t buy it. My family have long been procurers of historical magical texts and we happen to have two manuscripts of the same book gathering dust in our library. The version of the book you have already is the copy I’ve kept here. The one I have gifted to you is the original which includes an additional chapter that never made it to print covering house elves which I thought you’d very much like to read.

Don’t go knitting anymore of those tea cosy’s you call hats though Granger.

Fondly,

Draco

Hermione hadn’t been quite sure whether she should get the boys anything for Christmas but knowing that they would struggle with owls communication whilst at home so she’d charmed a set of notebooks to allow them to speak to each other directly.

She hated that she’d actually took the inspiration from Tom Riddle’s diary that possessed Ginny in second year and the spell work had been incredibly complicated but she’d been able to work it so that the boys could hold one notebook each whilst she had one that connected to them both individually or at the same time if she so needed. There was also the option to save the messages or remove them immediately which she thought would be important if the Manor was still overrun with Death Eaters.

She wandered idly over to where her notebook lay to see two messages waiting for her.

Granger you incredible witch, you’ve truly outdone yourself. Thank you for the most thoughtful gift I’ve ever received. Hope you’re having a wonderful time with your parents, and please be safe in those deathly contraptions you call cars – I’ve been doing some research and I’m really not convinced it should be a legal mode of transportation. Also, having become accustomed to sharing intellectual conversations with you I am now finding myself bashing my head against the wall whilst speaking with anyone but Theo. He also doesn’t shut up talking about you. He’s truly insufferable and it’s all your fault. D.M
*

Well Princess – it seems the wizarding community is right to call you the Brightest Witch of our Age. Thank you for the journal. I’ll keep it next to me at all times and whilst I know you did it to keep an eye on us, if you ever need anything we’re right here waiting. Although do be extra kind to Drake please, I think I might throw myself off the roof if I have to spend another day with him brooding quite so much – I think he might miss you. Although I miss you more of course. We can’t wait to see you next week. T x

She smiled to herself and penned a quick note in response before enjoying the last of the day with her parents.

Chapter 12: Let's Try

Chapter Text

January, 1997

The train ride back to school was…difficult.

Harry was still as obsessive about Draco as he had been before the holidays and it seems talking with Lupin and Mr Weasley had done nothing but stoke the fire.

And since the Burrow had been attacked by Bellatrix and Greyback, the dial had been turned up to an eleven.

Hermione knew they were beyond lucky to have all remained alive and uninjured, but her heart went out to the Weasleys who’s home had been set on fire. Ron seemed confident that with the help of his brothers, his parents would have their home restored by the summer.

The journey was however improved since she could write to Theo and Draco in secret using the journal and everyone just assumed she was studying.

So besides Pothead and Weaslebee who else is worthy of your time Granger? D

*

Besides Harry and Ron? Ginny Weasley is probably my closest friend and we spend a good amount of time with the other Weasley brothers, Neville and Luna who’s also in Ginny’s year. I quite like Padma too actually but I don’t see her much outside of class. H

*

Not one for hufflepuffs then love? T x

*

Nor snakes it seems. D

*

I have my hands full with you two! And badgers are a little too excitable for me if I’m honest. H

*

No response came for a little while and Hermione assume being teenage boys they were trying to figure out a not entirely inappropriate response to her ‘handful’ comment.

*

You don’t need to convince us Princess. So, if things were different, would Ginerva be the first person we’d need to gain favour with? T x

*

Most likely. H x

*

Good to know. So, tell me about Ginerva. T x

*

She loves quidditch - wants to play professionally for the Holyhead harpies, she likes pumpkin pasties, her owl is called pigwidgeon and she has a pink Pygmy puff that her brothers invented. She’s sharp and unfairly funny, growing up with six brothers she’s not afraid of much and never backs down from a fight… speaking of which, she has a mean bat bogey hex so watch yourself. H x

*

Is she single? D

*

Why? Are you interested? H

*

No. Asking for a friend. D

*

Well, for your friend’s information, she’s currently dating Dean Thomas. But she’s also been in love with Harry since she were ten so the answer is most definitely not. H

*

Pity. D

*

I’ll owl your friend some condolence chocolates shall I? H

*

It really is for a friend. T x

*

If you say so. See you soon. H x

*

Not soon enough. T x

*

You two are going to make me vomit. See you soon Granger. D

In almost no time at all, they were sharing a carriage back up to the castle with Ginny, Luna and Neville. Ron absent already having wandered off on the train to find Lavender.

As the group made their way through the castle to their dorms, they spotted Lavender fastening a necklace around Ron’s neck. How she wished Theo had been able to give her the beautiful gift in person just like that. It was enough to bring tears to her eyes.

Hermione stopped, pulling back from the group. She had to admit, the assumption that she was heartbroken over Ron provided her a nice excuse not to be around her friends as much as she once was. And given how complicated it all was, she wasn’t in a hurry to correct them.

**

As Hermione nibbled on a slice of toast the next morning she toyed with the necklace anxiously trying not to look over at the Slytherin table too often.

Cheeky devil. Hermione all but skipped through the castle. Gods she had missed them.

The moment she stepped through the hidden door, she was sandwiched between a tall platinum blonde and an even taller brunette – the scent of cloves, mixed woods, leather and mint enveloping her tightly. They made her feel like she was home.

Theo dropped his head and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead as they both continued to hold her tightly. Theo to her front and Draco, her back.

“We’ve missed you Hermione” Theo sighed into her curls. They remained standing there, holding each other for a few moments. “We’re turning into bloody Hufflepuffs,” he mumbled.

Draco scoffed but he didn’t let go. “Speak for yourself. Imagine being in Hufflepuff. I think I’d leave wouldn’t you?”

“I’m joking,” Theo whispered in response.

“I actually like hugs,” she purred.
As she felt Draco pulling away, clearly at his limit of affection for the day, Hermione stepped back to review what state two weeks back in the clutches of Voldemort had left them in.

She felt sick.

Theo looked a little worse for wear, his skin and eyes a little dull as they had been at the start of the year and but otherwise okay. But Draco, well, the sight of him had a tear threatening to escape Hermione’s eye so she quickly brushed it away.

The Draco Malfoy who stood before her was breaking and she had no idea how to fix him.

She could see her friend slipping away from her again, more time with Voldemort and his followers had not gone well for him – she realised now that must also include his depraved Aunt Bellatrix. Was Theo’s father amongst the group too?

Over the next few hours they worked together on the vanishing cabinet falling back into the same easy rhythm they had found before the holidays. Hermione felt desperate to try to convince them to speak with Dumbledore but she just couldn’t bring herself to enter into an argument with them that night.

Draco eventually begged off for a meeting with Professor Snape. Even though Draco was apparently an exceptionally gifted natural occlumens, his mother still liked to have the professor test him from time to time. Hermione made a mental note to ask Draco about teaching her the basics. Harry was having dreadful luck trying to learn the skill but Hermione hoped under Draco’s tutelage she might fare better and would then be able to coach Harry herself.

With roughly an hour left until curfew, her and Theo were left alone in the room of hidden things. She stood rather awkwardly toying with the hem of her school jumper pretending to admire the stack of random objects in front her.

Her ears pricked as she heard Theo stand up from the sofa and walk up behind her, she knew he was close as the cloves filled her senses and her breathing began to quicken as he gently toyed with the curls cascading over her shoulder.

“Hermione, I’ve missed you.” He sighed, nuzzling slightly into her neck, obviously trying to fight the urge to kiss her skin.

“I’ve missed you too.” There was no point trying to deny it.

From his viewpoint, he must have noticed the glint of her necklace, “I’m glad you like the necklace love. I worried it might be too much for you, but it looks absolutely divine. Promise me you’ll wear it every day?”

“It’s beautiful Theo, of course I’ll wear it.”

“Good. It has some protective enchantments and stuff on it that I hope will keep you safe. I promise to tell you all about it one day when you’re ready.”

Hermione was stupid. She knew what it was. When she was younger, she’d been so desperate to fit into the wizarding world she’d read up on all the pureblood traditions just in case. Which meant, she knew what Theo had given her was a show of intent; a courtship gift.

But surely it was much too soon for this? They weren’t even dating. Yes, Theo had told her she meant more to him than friends but he’d said he could be patient… cunning thing her wizard.

Gods, she was already calling him her wizard. Pull yourself together Hermione.

She turned in the hold he had on her hips, gasping slightly at how close they were now since his head was tilted down where he’d been nuzzling against her mane of curls.

Hermione looked up at him through her lashes. His green eyes searched her honey brown for any indication of what she was thinking.

“I want to try.”

She hadn’t expected to tell him that so soon. Merlin, she had barely even made up her own mind about it but the feeling she got when she saw him again tonight told her what she felt for him was too important to ignore.

“Forgive me Hermione, I’m not quite up to the same intellectual standards as you, my angel. What is it you would like to try?” He was teasing her gently.

The blush crept up her cheeks, “Us.”

Theo blinked back at her, mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping for air.

“Come again?”

“I would like to have a go at us. You and me. Together, if you’ll still have me?”

Hermione had barely finished speaking before Theo had taken her face in his hands and his lips crashed into hers.

No one had ever kissed her like this before. And it was better than she could have ever imagined. She felt him smile against her mouth. And then he devoured her whole. Theodore Nott kissed her like he was a man suffocating and she were his oxygen. The goal wasn’t to just kiss Hermione, it was to devour her whole.

An electric shock coursed through her so violently that she would not have been surprised to see her hair standing on end. The kiss turned into melted nerves and hot gasps as Theo took Hermione’s bottom lip in his mouth and nipped at it.

His hand snaked up to wrap itself in the tangle of her curls and he dipped her head back nestling his head into her neck. Knowing they were on the cusp of going much too far, she pulled back slowly settling herself back on to the balls of her feet.

“Hermione, you know now that I’m never going to get enough of you right? There’s no going back from here?” His words were thick and raspy as he pulled her tight against his chest and wrapped his arms around her.

It felt strangely like being home. “Then it’s a good job that right here is exactly where I want to be” she replied, smiling into his chest.

**

The days that followed were a much needed reprieve from the usual monotony of seriousness that she found herself caught up in with both Slytherins and Gryffindors.

Her confession had sparked a side of Theo she had hoped existed. He relished in finding discreet ways of touching her leg or her arm in class without anyone noticing. He also kept her up late in the evenings writing to her in the diaries, poor Draco got a front row seat at their back and forth.

When Thursday evening finally rolled around, Hermione missed dinner in favour of racing to the library as quickly as possible, desperate for every moment she could get with her Slytherins.

Both boysstood to greet her as she knew they would but it and it felt nice to have Theo pull her in for a sweet, chaste kiss as Draco placed her bag in the chair as usual.

Together they worked through the mountain of arithmancy homework they’d been set and also completed their astronomy star charts for the month. It still surprised her how adept Draco was at astrology, but then again, he was named after a star so perhaps his whole family had an interest in the subject.

They were just about to start getting a head start on their upcoming DADA assignment since Draco had pulled some strings with Snape to have them grouped together - a fact they’d have to complain about loudly and dramatically when it was announced in class - when Hermione remembered she had offered to study with Neville this evening on their herbology assignment so had to leave if she were to avoid being late.

Theo pulled her against his chest so tightly she could hardly breathe but as he readjusted himself slightly, he caught her scar with his hands and she hissed in pain. Panic immediately filled the eyes of both the wizards staring back at her.

“Sorry” she winced, “the damn curse from Dolohov simply refuses to heal itself completely and you just caught it a bit funny, that’s all. I’m fine really.”

“Show me.” Theo glared at her.

“Show you? I’m not going to show you Theo don’t be ridiculous” she scoffed.

“Hermione, stop being difficult will you and show me your damned scar.” Theo’s chest was heaving now, fury raging in his eyes.

She looked to Draco for support and found none as he himself had his jaw clenched tightly together and a pained expression on his face. Gingerly, she pulled up her jumper to reveal the angry red scar that stretched from beside her belly button to her lower stomach ending on the cusp of her right hip bone. It was still so ugly and sore nearly a year on.

She could sense the repulsion in the boys faces. “I’ll get you a balm that should soothe it. Next time you’re hurt Princess, do tell us.” Theo drawled in a tone far too close to Draco’s for her liking before storming away from them and out of the library. She noticed his eyes glaze over as he did - did the scar really disgust him so much he had to occlude?

Draco continued with his homework in silence but promised to check on Theo an hour later to see if he had returned to his senses so Hermione made her way back to Gryffindor tour irate with the behaviour Theo was already displaying.

**

Hermione woke extra early the next morning as the sun began to rise. She had barely got any sleep, tossing and turning all night deeply unsettled by the way she and Theo had left things in the library.

Needing a breath of fresh air, she wrapped up in one of her thick jumpers knitted by Mrs Weasley and pulled on her jeans and trainers before heading down to her spot by the lake.

It was a Saturday so she knew she’d have a few hours still before the rest of the castle woke up.

Only ten or twenty minutes had passed before the warm scent of clove drifted towards her. She turned to see Theo walking towards her, vanishing the end of his cigarette.

She turned her gaze back to the lake and he settled down on the rock beside her and thrust the packet of spearmint’s under her gaze. It was always the small things.

“I owe you an apology, Hermione.”

“Yes. You do. But what specifically is it that you are apologising for.” She snapped back.

He chuckled. It wasn’t quiet the reaction she had been expecting. Ron and Harry would usually buckle if she took that tone with them.

“You’re not going to make this easy for me are you?” Out the corner of her eye she could see his mouth twist into a smirk.

She huffed.

“I won’t apologise for being worried about you. You kept this from me, Hermione. You should have told me the scar was still causing you issues. Me and Draco, we could have been working on something to help,” his hand snaked into her loose curls, “but, I am incredibly sorry that I made you think I was angry at you. I could never, ever be upset with you, love. I was angry at Dolohov for doing this to you in the first place. Angry at myself for not reaching out to you last year. Maybe if I had you wouldn’t have gone and you wouldn’t have had to go through that.”

She rested her head against his shoulder and he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

“Can you forgive me?”

“Yes.” At those three letters she felt his body instantly relax, but only for a second before she needed to check with him, “does it bother you that I’m scarred Theo? I would understand if it put you off…”

Theo looked pained, “No love, I hate that you had to go through that pain but the scar itself doesn’t stop me from thinking you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I’ve got plenty of scars myself to match.”

At that, she allowed herself to ask the question that had been plaguing her thoughts for weeks, “Theo, was your father one of the wizards they broke out from Azkaban?”

The immediate stiffness that overtook his entire body was all the confirmation she needed.

“I’ll never let him hurt you. I promise Hermione, he doesn’t know what you mean to me and as long as it stays that way you won’t have more of a target on your back. I can occlude. No matter what he does to me, I will always protect you from him.”

She nestled into his shoulder, “I know Theo.”

She wanted to tell him she would protect him and that she was perfectly capable of looking after herself but she knew what Theo needed to hear. He needed to feel in control of the dynamic with his father.

She settled herself deeper into his hold and they spent the next hour curled around each other by the black lake, basking in the silence of a still sleepy school.

Chapter 13: A Snake in the Grass

Chapter Text

March, 1997

Draco had continued to regress back into himself further still. Their prefect rounds were increasingly left for Hermione to complete alone and she missed the time with him.

She’d never admit it to his face but Draco had quickly become one of her closest friends and she had really enjoyed tutoring him in all things muggle. Despite is constant questioning.

They had covered muggle history - both world wars, and summaries of Egyptians, Romans and Greeks with their gods - religion, art, entertainment - he hadn’t much liked the idea of tv’s, household items - pens he did like the sound of- and finally, although quite reluctantly from her side, they had discussed muggle sports. Though this had been some weeks ago now.

The other students didn’t take kindly to this shift in Draco's priorities and felt he was shirking his responsibilities and assumed the novelty of prefect had worn off. Between this, Draco’s rapidly declining grades and non-existent attendance to quidditch practice, he was stripped of both his role on the team and as Slytherin prefect.

Thankfully, it was Theo selected to take his place in the latter. If it was Blaise she thought she might have thrown herself from the Astronomy tower out of boredom. He seemed like such a vapid boy. Why they were friends with him she had no idea.

Whilst she missed Draco, she couldn’t help but enjoy the extra time alone with Theo. They would stroll the empty corridors hand in hand, asking each other questions they’d never thought to ask before.

Ever the opportunist, Theo also quickly decided that every time they found an alcove empty, they simply must snog in it. Apparently, it was important to make sure they were familiar with all the different spots and a practical example could only improve their patrolling abilities. Safe to say, rounds started taking much longer than they used to.

In the stolen moments together, their relationship blossomed, never losing the easy, warmth they’d had as friends but now those moments were peppered with kisses. Like Hermione, Theo seemed to freely give his physical affections. He would always be touching her in some way either playing with her curls, wrapping his arm over her shoulder or around her waist, running his hand over her knee and thigh under a desk or pulling her close to his chest as they sat in her spot by the black lake.

She longed to know what it would be like to be loved by Theodore Nott if they didn’t have to hide. To be able to hold his hand through the halls, take him for tea with Hagrid or rotate meals at each other's house table for meals.

If there wasn’t a war brewing, how different life could be.

**

April, 1997

Hermione and Theo clung to each other on the Thursday nights in the library. Nights which had once been between the three of them – they both knew Draco was spending every waking moment he could without risking expulsion trying to fix that cabinet.

Over Easter, Draco had been summoned home and learnt he was to allow ‘the family’ into Hogwarts to ensure he completed his task. Hermione hoped somewhere deep within her that should the worst happen, at least one of them would step in and save their son from doing something unforgivable.

With every passing week bringing them closer to the end of the year, any mention of seeking help from Dumbledore became an increasing point of contention for the trio. Hermione was still strongly of the opinion that he should go to the Headmaster, confess everything and ask for his help. Draco point blank refused.

“Granger, I know you believe Dumbledore has the power to fix, well, everything. That he would go to the end of the earth to protect a student, but have you ever stopped to think maybe that’s just you? You, Potty and the Weasel.”

“No! You’re wrong! If you’d just listen-“ she cried but Draco had heard enough.

“Gods, Granger, he encourages your reckless pursuit of saving the world. He doesn’t give a damn about us. Any of us. He just likes to sit up in his tower playing with us as pawns the same as Voldemort. You’re just too blind to see it. Or too coward to admit it.”

For the second time in their lives, Hermione slapped him square across the face and stormed from the room of hidden things only to find she was never again able to enter whilst Draco worked.

He’d cast her out.

Rejected her.

Ignoring the distance Draco had imposed upon her, Hermione and Theo still spent many hours tucked away together in the library, both determined to work out a plan to save Draco under layers of silencing and notice me-not-charms around their table. But they too soon became at odds the more time that ticked away.

The problem was Theo had lost any desire to try and spare Dumbledore’s life, apparently the old man could drop dead for all he cared. Hermione, of course, was determined no harm would come to either.

By June, the warmth that had existed in their relationship was beginning to fade. He began occluding more and more heavily when he saw her and she stopped returning his affections with any form of enthusiasm. They were very much going through the motions.

One night on rounds, the topic reared its head again. Hermione's tone was growing weary with the wizard before her.

“Theodore, if Draco won’t go to Dumbledore I’ll go myself. Right now. I’m not going to be a part of this any longer.”

“No. Absolutely not. If you dare Hermione and anything happens to him we’re done. I mean it” he snarled. Hermione had never heard him like this. Sweet Theo. This was twisting him into something dark. For all their disagreements on the topic, he’d never once threatened their relationship over it, what had changed?

“You do NOT get to tell me what to do Theodore!”

“I WILL NOT LOSE HIM HERMIONE,” he roared, chest heaving, “You will listen to me. You will do as you are f*cking told and that is the end of it. So, let me be exceedingly clear. You will not utter so much as one single word to anyone about what Draco has to do. You will no longer have any say in the matter and you will not try to stop it.”

She was scared but she would not back down. “No you listen. If you’re okay with damning Draco’s soul so be it but I’m not. So I’ll make this easy for you. This ‘thing’ between us, it’s over. Done. Until you pull your head from whichever Hippogriff's arse you’ve stuffed it up and apologise.”

“I’m trying to keep him safe Hermione. I’m trying to keep both of you safe. I will never apologise for that.” He turned from her and walked away.

Unsure what else to do, Hermione walked herself to the Gargoyle outside Dumbledore’s office each night desperate to seek an audience. A request which was left unanswered every night that week.

**

Monday – Leave it alone Granger, there’s no saving everyone, D

*

Tuesday – I’m sorry, T x

*

Wednesday – You need to forget me Granger, D

*

Thursday – I miss you, T x

*

Friday – Be safe, D

*

Saturday – We need you, T x

*

Every message had her heart aching.

Not even six months ago, she’d been so completely happy, cherishing even the shortest of moments with them. She couldn’t even think about how her heart was aching for the brunette even after so little time.

The further the boys went from her, she realised the irreconcilable differences between them.

At their core they were Slytherins and she was a Gryffindor.

She thought about the teachings of the bible and what one must to do enter heaven, not that she was religious herself, and also of the stories of Greek mythology with Icarus and the sun and she felt she empathised with many of the teachings.

But that was just it wasn’t it. A Gryffindor was meant to represent someone who was truly good and would but the needs of the many over the needs of a few. The ones truly deserving of a spot in heaven should such a place exist. But Slytherin’s would be more likely to drag heaven and the angels from their place in the sky and force the gates open to allow those they cared about to gain entry.

Wasn’t this just what Theo was doing for Draco? f*ck the rest of the world so long as he made it? But where did she sit in this? She warred heavily with herself as to whether she could understand his way of thinking but she just couldn’t. And she knew if she reunited with them, they’d tear down her walls and she wasn’t sure she could let either of them go no matter what they did after that.

The snakes had routed themselves under her skin and she hated herself for it. Maybe befriending them had been a huge mistake.

In an attempt to fill the gaps in her heart, she threw herself back into the lion's den, surrounding herself with the warmth of Gryffindors. She remained close to Harry’s side but the redhead beside them was now more often than not Ginny since Ronald remained glued to Lavender's face.

Although, she did start to suspect he was beginning to tire of her affections. As Hermione’s time back in the common room and watching their quidditch practice increased, she found his gaze wandering back over to her as it had done many times before.

Maybe Ron was it for her after all? Every girl danced with the devil once before settling down and finding Prince Charming - right?

**

“I’m surprised to see you haven’t given up eating yet.” Ginny remarked to Hermione across the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall.

“Excuse me?” She snapped at the younger witch.

“Only, isn’t that what girls do when they’re heartbroken or pining for their one true love?”

Hermione scoffed and stuffed another fork of carrots into her mouth. She knew she couldn’t outright lie to Ginny so the less she said the better.

“Oh, we’ve gone for the eating your feelings route. I see. Well, if I might suggest dabbling in some quidditch to combat the excess of food … we wouldn’t want your mystery boyfriend to think you let yourself go..”

“Actually, Ginerva,” Hermione huffed in exasperation, “nothing of the sort is going on. Besides, they were just carrots. And my weight is none of your concern thank you. Or theirs. I’m not quite sure what you think is going on but there’s no tales of broken hearts here. Honestly I thought you didn’t buy in to all this sappy love story nonsense like Lavender and Parvati… or do you now also believe there’s any sense in divination too”

“So I was right.” Ginny said co*cking her brow.

“Ugh did you not hear what I said.”

The red hairs witch smiled sweetly back at her. “I heard exactly what you said. And don’t worry I was only trying to goad you into finally telling me what’s going on. Divination is still a load of sh*te and you’re still hot. So keep eating your damn carrots. But, interesting that you said ‘theirs’ rather than ‘his’… didn’t peg you as someone into threesomes? Well actually you have always been a part of one I guess..”

“Ginny!” she exclaimed, slapping her hand over their redheads mouth. Hermione shoved her hard in the shoulder. “I’m not having a threesome and I’m not heartbroken, there’s no secret love story I’m hiding from you. Those friends I told you about over the summer have just, gone off the deep end a little and now I-“

Ginny's face contorted with laughter. “Relax Hermione, it’s cool. So you miss them?”

“Yes, him and his friend. They mean so much to me, Ginny, even after so little time. I know it’s stupid to miss them so much…”

“What do you mean more than you should? Who dictates how much you should miss someone?”

“Well this time last year I barely knew him.” she said, sighing.

“It’s okay to miss him, or both of them ‘Mione. Just make him sweat a bit longer before you forgive them for whatever stupid sh*t they’ve done.”

“It’s not that simple Gin. But thank you all the same.” Hermione gave her a small smile and squeezed her hand before finishing her meal.

**

Harry had just left through the portrait of the Fat Lady on his mission to find out just what Professor Slughorn had been hiding.

Given her absence from them more than usual, it seemed Harry had neglected to tell her until now that Dumbledore needed him to uncover a secret held by their professor. A secret that could finally tell them just how Voldemort had returned.

She was itching to run straight to the library to figure out what it could be but she realised this would be the first time her and Ron had been alone all year.

Tonight provided the opportunity for her to decide once and for all if there was any chance of something romantic between her and Ron and she had to take it.

Even if Theo wasn’t it for her either, she couldn’t live her life wondering ‘what if’.

Hermione sat down next to Ron on the cosy sofa opposite the fire in their common room. She nestled her back up against the arm and curled her feet under her so she could watch him subtly as she pretended to read.

He’d really grown into himself this year she thought as she ran her eyes over his auburn locks, the strong line of his jaw and his thick neck; Adam’s apple bobbing as he spoke. With all the quidditch he’d filled out quite a bit too - no longer gangly. And then he turned and smiled at her. That soft smile he gave only to her. His dazzling blue eyes glinting at her.

Her heart swelled.

Was this love? Was what she felt for Theo only lust? She was only seventeen, how could she be sure? She’d never been in love before. Viktor had been only a school girl crush and nothing more.

She decided in that moment to try not to overthink it. ‘Whatever is meant to be will be’ she tried to tell herself and then quickly decided that sounded much to similar to divination and promptly began making a pro con list for Ron.

Upon careful examination against Theo’s she saw they were the complete opposite in almost every way. Ron was loved by her friends and came from a large, warm, caring family but, he was not academic, they shared no interests, he was forgetful and clung tightly to traditional family values (if they had children in the future would she be expected to give up work?) and his ambition had been proven to extend only to recognition and not genuine hard work.

She read her lists over and over but could not bring herself to determine which she valued more.

**

May, 1997

A month of joy amongst the red and gold was all she was given before reality came crashing around her again.

“Where is he? Where’s my Ron Ron?” Lavenders shrill voice rang out as she ran into the doors of the hospital wing, “Has he been asking for me?” Her eyes locked on to Hermione’s. “What is she doing here?”

“I might ask you the same question” Hermione snapped.

Lavender’s face contorted into one of disgust. She was entirely taken aback at the implication that she was not nearly as important to Ron as she thought she was. “I happen to be his girlfriend.”

“I happen to be his…” Hermione found herself unsure for a second quite how to respond having never had to quantify her relationship with Ron before “…friend.”

“Don’t make me laugh, you’ve barely spoken this year,” Lavender retorted, “I suppose you suddenly find him all interesting again now –“ Hermione had heard quite enough and cut off the stupid girl.

“He’s been poisoned you daft bimbo!”

“Her…” Hermione glanced first to Harry and Ginny who were standing on the opposite side of the bed and then down to Ron.

“You see he senses my presence, don’t worry Ron Ron, I’m here” Lavender said leering over Ron’s hospital bed.

“Her… Her-mio-ne. Hermione” Ron stuttered out. Hermione felt a little smug as she clasped Ron’s hand and Lavender ran from the hospital wing in floods of tears. Hermione was sure she saw a glint of amusem*nt in not only McGonagall’s eyes but in that of Dumbledore and Snape’s also.

It transpired that Romilda Vane had been trying to slip Harry a love potion which arrived in the form of a box of chocolates. Ron unfortunately had helped himself to the entire box so Harry had taken him to Professor Slughorn for remedying.

In celebration, old Sluggy had cracked open a bottle of mature meade of which one sip had Ron collapsed on the floor, foaming at the mouth. Thanks to Harry, a bezoar had been shoved tightly in Ron’s mouth saving him from imminent death. In the hospital wing moments before Lavender's rude interruption, Slughorn confessed he had intended the bottle to be a gift to Dumbledore although he couldn’t remember why or from whom he had purchased it. But Hermione knew.

This reeked of Theo all over.

Until that moment she’d almost questioned the boy's placement in Slytherin but she’d be damned if this wasn’t the most heart wrenching act of betrayal she’d ever experienced.

Theo Nott was a snake in the grass. A poisonous one at that.

**

Hermione barely slept that night. Nor the nights that followed.

She’d removed the necklace gifted to her by Theo for Christmas and made a point to arrive at all her classes just before the lectures began and was out of her seat again the moment they finished, not giving him a second of her time.

Gone were late nights in the library where she knew he would find her. Merlin, she couldn’t even go down by the lake since he’d burrowed himself into every single part of her.

Hermione even swapped all of her prefect duties with Hannah Abbott, the Hufflepuff prefect and instead took rounds with Michael Corner from Ravenclaw instead.

This avoidance continued for almost a week and Hermione was well aware she was hurting herself more than anyone else.

Each time she caught a glimpse in Theo’s eyes he was occluding so heavily she was sure he must feel entirely numb. She couldn’t do that, wouldn’t do that. She needed to feel the hurt and the hatred.

Well, what she really needed was to speak with Dumbledore.

Chapter 14: Atop the Astronomy Tower

Chapter Text

May, 1997

That night Hermione snuck out of her dorm after curfew with the map and the cloak she’d taken from Harry a week ago under the ruse of spending the nights watching over Ron as he still recovered in the hospital wing.

She was fully prepared to sleep against the damned statue if she had to. She would get her audience with the Headmaster that night.

Dumbledore must have known he couldn’t avoid her and the Gargoyle granted her access to his office.

“Ah Miss Granger, I’ve been expecting you.”

Hermione prided herself on her manners and respect for both elders and authority but with the lives of her best friends on the line she was not in the mood to be treated like a child tonight.

“Well Headmaster that shouldn’t be a surprise since I’ve been trying to meet with you for weeks. Your diary must be quite busy for it to have taken till now.”

He simply gestured, unamused, to the chair in front of him before asking if Harry knew she was here. She simply shook her head and refused to break eye contact with him.

“Very well. Miss Granger, I shall cut to the chase. I know the Malfoy boy has been ordered to murder me. I know you and Mr Nott have been attempting to help him find a solution but all I will say to you is that you should leave it well alone. Keep your distance from these boys. You may be an exceedingly bright witch, there are things at play which you cannot even begin to understand.” Dumbledore said to her dismissively, she couldn’t imagine him ever speaking to Harry in this way.

“Well then Professor, please enlighten me as I seem to be the only one trying to find a way to keep everyone alive but since I do not know all the cards on the table how in Merlin’s name can I be expected to play the game?” her eyes steeled at the Headmaster.

“Miss Granger…I am dying. I will die whether the Malfoy boy succeeds or not.”

Hermione felt her breath catch in her throat and a tear threatened to escape her eye. “I won’t pretend to think this display of emotion is for an old man. You will, I'm sure, along with Mr Nott, be relieved to hear there are already plans in place to protect Mr Malfoy. I won’t say more than that. To risk a leak would ruin everything. But trust Severus, he knows what must be done.”

Hermione nodded, she suddenly felt a pang of guilt towards the wizard looking back at her, “I’m sorry Headmaster. Harry trusts you implicitly, I should have done the same. Is there really nothing to be done for you?”

“Sadly not. But no pity, I’ve lived an exceedingly long and interesting life. Everything will happen exactly as it is supposed to and in time, all will become clear.”

Dumbledore gave her a curt nod and she knew immediately she was being excused. That night Hermione was again restless, unsure whether to tell any of the boys what she knew and she resigned herself to finding Theo in the morning. She knew Harry and Ron would do something foolish and to tell Draco would risk Voldemort finding out should he look into his mind again.

She sent a quick note in the journal hoping Theo would still keep it close by considering she hadn’t wrote to either of them in a long time.

Theo, I have news. Tomorrow, 6am - you know the spot. Come Alone. H

Hermione got little sleep that night.

She was dressed in her uniform, her hair piled lazily in a bun atop her head held together with her wand as she walked towards the lake, the sun only starting to rise across the lake. As she neared, she could already see the outline of someone skipping rocks by the waters edge and her tummy flipped.

Butterflies.

“Hey” she spoke softly as she edged closer to him. Last night she had been ready to scream bloody murder after what they did. But after speaking with Dumbledore, she found herself too exhausted to fight.

“Hi Princess” he said, pulling her into a tight hug. The scent of cloves retaking her body and she felt her mind clear for the first time in weeks.

Gods, she had missed him. She knew then and there, that her mind, body and soul was screaming at her that she wanted to be with him. She’d never felt like this with Viktor or even with Ron.

“He’s safe Theo. It’s going to be okay” she breathed into his chest as he continued his hold on her.

“Hermione? What did you do?” She pulled away and the pair settled onto the grass at the edge of the lake as she told him everything. Before she could stop herself she’d burst into tears, again, and he hauled her close to him, apologies tumbling from his mouth, soft kisses pressed against her head.

“You could have killed him Theo, he’s my best friend and he almost died.”

“I know Hermione, I know I’m so sorry. I was trying to be direct, keep it away from as few people as possible. Professor Slughorn, he’s old and not entirely a good man himself. I thought of anyone here he was the one I’d sacrifice most easily if anything went wrong and all I needed was a few more days for him to give it to Dumbledore when he’d returned from his travels.

I didn’t mean for anyone else to get hurt. And I’m so sorry it ended up hurting you as well my love. I just wanted to make it go away. Take the pressure off Draco. You’ve not seen him Hermione, not really. He’s not sleeping, barely eating, he just wanders aimlessly around in the shadows, a shell of the person he was before. All he does is obsess over that damn cabinet and I don’t know what else to do.”

Hermione pulled herself from where she’d been burrowed into his chest, wiped away the tears fallen against his cheeks and a hand through his brown curls. “Oh Theo” she breathed “I know. I know you just want to protect him but there’s nothing we can do now. We need to trust in Dumbledore. And I can’t believe I’m saying this but we need to trust in Snape too. He’ll be okay Theo. Draco will be okay.”

Theo’s eyes softened slightly, “But will we be okay? Can you ever forgive me?”

Hermione said nothing but pulled out the necklace from under her shirt. She wasn’t quite ready to forgive him but she needed him to know she was willing to try.

Theo placed the emerald between his fingers and his eyes searched her own, “Promise me you will never take this off again. No matter how angry you are with me. Whether we’re together or not, this stays on Hermione.” He was not asking.

She nodded in understanding.

He smiled at her softly. “Come on then Princess. We’ve got work to do.” And with that, the pair carefully made their way back to the castle before separating to take different routes to the Great Hall for breakfast.

**

Hermione sat in her usual place at the Gryffindor table with Harry and Ron and poured herself a glass of orange juice when a group of girls passing by them caught her eye.

“Harry, Harry!” she snapped, shaking him from his daydream, “there’s Katie Bell. I hear she’s back today from St Mungos.” With that Harry shot up and walked over to Katie. Hermione couldn’t make out the conversation but she followed Harry’s gaze towards doors to the Great Hall where they landed on Malfoy.

God, Theo was right. He looked like sh*t.He was too thin, face gaunt and any trace of the muscle he’d put on from Quidditch had long gone. The circles under his eyes were a harsh purple in contrast from his pale skin which was once a dazzling alabaster colour like ancient roman statues, but now held an almost translucent grey hue, devoid of any colour or life.

Draco turned on his heel and fled, Harry following quickly behind. She knew the look in his green eyes too well, he was about to do something utterly stupid.

Luckily, she still had the map from where she’d snuck out this morning so Hermione raced to the dungeons, glanced quickly at the map to see Harry following Draco into Myrtle’s bathroom before tucking it away as she barged into Snape’s office.

“Miss Granger, what do you-“ he began, his dulcet tones harsher than usual at this uninvited interruption.

“It’s Draco. Harry’s gone after him. He knows Sir. He knows what Draco did to Katie. They’re in the girls bathrooms on the fifth floor. Please Sir, help me.”

Snape flew into action immediately and as they hastened through the corridors and up the many flights of stairs, Hermione wondered what her fellow students must think. It was no secret how much Snape hated her and now here she was, willingly trailing after him as quickly as she could manage without all out sprinting. At this point she didn’t even care.

She summoned her patronus and sent her otter off to find Theo with only the message ‘Girls bathroom, 5^th floor. Come quickly and come alone.’ She knew Theo had a free period and since so few people knew her patronus took the form of an otter that any students in his vicinity would just think he was on his way to getting lucky – not a stretch of the imagination with someone as sought after as Theo.

As Snape passed through the bathroom door and dropped to his knees, Hermione’s legs began to give way as she saw Draco lying on the flooded stone floor, blood seeping from his chest and torso at an alarming rate. He looked like he was dying. Snape was desperately muttering something in an attempt to draw the blood back inside.

Harry’s eyes had not left the ground, his wand shaking in his hand at what he’d done. He hadn’t seen her yet.

Hermione was seconds away from hitting the ground herself when two strong arms were around her waist holding her up and dragging her into a nearby classroom.

“Breathe Hermione, I’ve got you.”

Theo. Theo was here.

“Theo I’m so sorry, I went to get Snape, I should have followed Harry right away. I should have stopped him. This is all my fault Theo. Draco’s going to die and it’s all my fault” she was choking on her own tears and panic, “I just started to think he was safe. Theo, it’s my fault. I’m so sorry.”

Theo stroked her hair and shushed her, she wondered how he could be so calm. That was his best friend laying there on the floor dying. The pair stayed entwined on the floor for what felt like hours, but in reality was probably a few minutes at most.
Eventually they heard the commotion outside fade and decided it was time. They slowly made their way to the hospital wing, the fear of what they might find holding them back.

As prefects, it was not inconceivable that they would be walking together, but it took every ounce of strength from Hermione, not to walk the halls clutching on to him. Around the corner from the hospital wing, they each cast a disillusionment charm on themselves before allowing their hands to find each other. As they made their way down the line of empty beds, their hearts were in their mouths and threatening to break at any moment.

The ward was quiet and Madame Pomfrey was busy in her office so they were able to slip unnoticed through the curtains drawn around the only occupied bed.

They cancelled their spells and made their way to the side of the bed, hands still grasped tightly together. Hermione didn’t even dare to breathe until the boy laid before them, covered in heavy bandages, opened his eyes. The grey-blue locking directly onto hers.

“f*ck. I must be dead because it appears our little lion has come back to us.”

All Hermione could do was let out a small shaky laugh as yet more tears escaped her.

“She never left us, Drake, not really. She’s been fighting for you all along.” Theo promised him and pressed his hand to Draco’s shoulder before transfiguring two chairs and blankets from various items on the small table next to the bed.

Hermione and Theo remained there all night beside Draco refusing to let him out of their sights – each taking it in turns to take watch whilst the other slept, casting more disillusionment and silencing spells on themselves anytime Madame Pomfrey came to administer more treatment to Draco.

The next day after dropping some lunch to Theo who remained in the hospital wing, Hermione strode back into the common room and ripped into Harry in front of anyone who had the misfortune to be in the vicinity at the time. Ginny convinced Harry to give up the blasted potions book he’d found the curse in.

In closer inspection, they found the book was property of someone called the ‘Half Blood Prince’. Hermione thought it was a rather self absorbed name to give one’s self. Who might it be?

Ginny took him to hide it and Hermione made her excuses to Ron that she wanted to look it up in the library. It was only a half lie really. She did want to look it up, and she also wanted to give Headmaster a lecture on how appalling it was that Harry was receiving absolutely no punishment despite almost murdering a fellow student. She felt sure had it been the other way around, Draco would already be in a cell at Azkaban. But all of that would have to wait as Hermione was desperate to return to Draco’s side.

When she arrived, he was now fully awake and sporting less bandages. Theo informed her that he’d be released in the morning although he was to be left with permanent scars across his chest and torso from the Sectumsempra curse slicing through his flesh so deeply.

Hermione was about to lower herself into the chair beside Theo when a large hand grasped her tightly at the wrist.

“Come on Granger, does this not earn me even an ounce of sympathy?” Draco asked coyly, an eyebrow raised slightly as his renowned smirk graced his lips once more.

“And why on earth would you think that Draco?” She wasn’t sure what she expected, some stupid co*cky remark perhaps but Draco Malfoy wandlessly and non verbally widening the small bed and shuffling himself back to the furthest edge was not it. Quite an impressive display of magic especially given his weakened state.

“Get in Granger” he instructed, pulling back the duvet.

She looked back to Theo, seeking his approval. It was only fair since his almost girlfriend was asking to climb into the bed of his best friend. When he nodded slightly, Hermione abandoned any sense she might have had and did exactly that.

It had been months since they’d spoken, not a single friendly conversation and then he’d been seconds away from death right before her eyes and she needed him. She needed to feel the warmth of his skin, smell the fresh woody scent that was Draco Malfoy and remind herself he was alright.

It was only as Hermione burrowed down next to him, her head resting gently on his shoulder, tucked under his jaw careful not to touch any of his scars did she realise quite how thin he was. Theo simply conjured another blanket over himself and drifted off to sleep in the chair beside them. The three of them stayed that way all night.

Madame Pomfrey would most certainly find them but none of them quite had the energy to care. They’d spent too many months apart and cried too many tears to remain apart any longer.

**

In the weeks that followed, Hermione felt unsettled that neither Slytherin brought up the fact that Draco had asked her to share his bed and she’d done so willingly.

It wasn’t as if she made a habit of claiming into hospital beds beside Harry or Ron. But then again, she didn’t feel the same about them as she did Draco… f*ck. What was she thinking?

She long accepted Theo held a special place in her heart and was very definitely more than a friend, even if their relationship was somewhat shaky after he poisoned her best friend. She knew that ought to be it, finished for good, but despite all her morals and her better judgement she couldn’t find it in herself to end things with such finality.

She would also be lying if she thought there wasn’t a hint of more with Draco too, not that he’d ever return the feeling… sure he’d become affectionate with her at times but perhaps purebloods were a little more traditional and prone to physical displays?

Draco had also been under so much pressure this year, it would be surprising if his emotions weren’t out of whack and well, Hermione was the only female besides his mother who knew what he was facing.

As soon as his head was clearer, she’d lose him. He’d probably crawl straight back to Parkinson. No matter if they were friends, she knew dating a muggle born would be a step too far for the Malfoy heir. And besides, she had Theo, why was she even thinking of Draco in this way?

He wasn’t hers to lose in the first place.

**

With some semblance of normality returning with the snakes, Hermione began to cram for the end of year exams. She’d opted to figure out all the emotional stuff once term ended and she had the capacity to face her feelings.

Draco wasn’t taking his studies as seriously as she had expected but he had at least resumed Thursday study sessions with her and Theo, even if the brunette did spend most of his time playing with her hair or stroking her hand as it rested on the desk.

Something about the weight of his touch and the warmth of his skin made Hermione feel grounded.

In all her years at Hogwarts, no one had ever ‘managed’ Hermione and her pre exam stress quite like Theo.

The quiet of one of the trio’s study sessions in the library was promptly ended when Draco’s mark burned and he hissed in pain.

“Theo, it’s time. Get Granger to safety. She can’t be found. Neither of you can be found, do you hear me?” Theo nodded and grabbed Hermione’s hand pulling her sharply from the table as Draco began striding away from them without looking back.

“What’s happening Theo? What’s he talking about?”

Theo just looked down at Hermione with sadness in his eyes. No. He couldn’t mean… Theo didn’t even dignify her with a response. He cast a quick charm on them both so they wouldn’t be seen and silenced her to put an end to her cries before they even began. Theo pulled her through the castle as quickly as he could without a second thought.

She fought with all her might to pull away from him but it was useless. She was five foot six with absolutely no upper body strength attempting to pull away from the grasp of someone a good six inches taller and built like a brick wall.

Clearly not satisfied with her slowing them down, he hauled her up over his shoulder and ran with her into the dungeons only stopping at the entrance to Slytherin common room. He set her back down, his hand still gripped tightly around her arm as the door swung open and the sea of blue green light washed over them both and he tugged her inside the Slytherin common room.

The room was cold and unfeeling with a very apparent musty damp smell but light from the huge stained glass window looking out to the depths of the black lake made it feel alive. The expanse of the common room was far larger than the Gryffindor tower. Black leather arm chairs and sofas were nestled around walnut tables and there were several large black mark left fireplaces with intricate silver detailing that warmed the room.

As Hermione looked around Theo must have sensed her apprehension. “Don’t panic love, this is the safest place. The Malfoy’s won’t come down here. It’s considered loyal. Me and Draco only share a room with Blaise and he won’t harm you. I promise. I’ve been making it safe for you Hermione, please just trust me.”

She didn’t have much chance to look around in great detail and only caught a few horrified stares from students lounging who must have recognised her immediately. Godric only knew what they thought she was doing down here with Theo. She tried not to dwell on it as he pulled her up the marble staircase that she presumed led to the dorms. Ordinarily she wouldn’t care at all to be seen with Theo, she wasn’t ashamed of him and would have been happy for people to know they were together, but with everything happening, it wouldn’t make either of them safer.

Curious that Slytherin’s didn’t have the same charms on them preventing members of the opposite sex entering each other’s suites.

They stopped abruptly at a tall walnut door near the end of the corridor. The moment she stepped into their dorm room she felt the wards admit her and she turned to Theo questioningly.

“Old families like ours have a lot of tricks up our sleeves Hermione. No one will get in here, only I can give people the right to access and other than you, Blaise and Pansy, no one else can set foot in this room.”

Knowing Pansy Parkinson could get in did little to reassure Hermione, but she didn’t dwell on it for long, too consumed with thoughts of what might be going on.

Theo finally ended the silencing spell. Hermione Granger wasn’t prone to using foul language, she rather felt it was how only the uneducated communicated but right now, every expletive longed to be spat from her lips.

“For f*cks sake, you f*cking arse Theodore! What about my friends? Who’s going to protect them? I can’t hide here with you, you foul, selfish bastard.” She hissed striding back across the room towards the door only to find it locked and she was unable to open it.

“I’m sorry Princess, that’s not happening. You are staying down here until it's safe. I’m not going to let anything happen to you I promise.”

Hermione wanted to punch him straight in the face the way she had Draco in third year. She wanted to scream the place down. She wanted to blow the door off the dorm and race to find her friends but she could feel the magic radiating around the room and she knew any effort she made to escape would be futile.

When Theo eventually told Hermione it was safe, her hand clasped the door to the dorm and pulled it open. Just as she was about to pass the threshold Theo’s voice called to her. “I’m sorry, Hermione. We just needed you safe.”

She took a deep breath, something told her this would be goodbye for now. “I know Theo. Keep him safe too though, okay? And look after yourself.”

And Hermione lost all her nerve to look at the wizard who’d undoubtedly saved her life that night and she raced through the common room, up the stairs to find hordes of students making their way out into the courtyard.

Dumbledore laid dead surrounded by students and staff.

She learned later from Harry that it had not been the family reunion Draco had expected. Voldemort clearly felt Lucius and Narcissa would be too soft a touch for such an important task and so Bellatrix, her husband Rodolphus, his brother Rabastan and Greyback, were the ones to storm the castle.

Apparently, Harry had witnessed Draco disarm Dumbledore atop the Astronomy Tower only when the time came to cast the killing curse, he had begun lowering his wand. It was Snape who cast the final blow. And then chaos and destruction had followed the group of Death Eaters through the castle as they smashed and burned anything in sight. Harry said he saw Snape and Malfoy leaving with them.

**

That night, the trio made their way to the top of the astronomy tower. They knew it was morbid but for some reason it felt right.

Hermione had only been up here a few times outside of lessons. There had been a special project her and Draco were working on. He’d told her she needed to be able to relax and feel free to be successful. She hadn’t wanted to take him down to the lake so he offered to bring her to his special place.

She had felt bad all year for keeping the secret from Theo, sneaking off in the middle of the night but she was doing it for him. And Draco was the only one who could teach her.

As the trio spoke at length about what Dumbledore revealed to Harry before their trip to find the locket, Hermione wondered where Draco was right now. Was he safe with his Aunt Bellatrix?

What Harry told them wasn’t all new information to Hermione but she played along.

Eventually Ron got bored and went and stood on the other side of the tower. Harry thrust the open locket into her hands and encouraged her to read the note within.

“R.A.B? Who’s R.A.B Harry? What does this mean?”

“It means it was all a waste. Whoever this R.A.B is, they have the real horcrux and there’s no way of knowing if they actually destroyed it.”

“We’ll figure it out, Harry, we always do.” She tried to comfort her heartbroken friend.

“I’m not coming back to school Hermione. I need to finish what Dumbledore started. I’ve got to find these horcruxes if we’re ever going to have a chance at defeating him. I’ll write to you and Ron when I can, let you know I’m safe.”

“I’ve always admired your courage Harry, but sometimes you can be really thick.” She teased good naturedly, “you don’t really think you can find all those horcruxes by yourself do you? You need us, Harry.”

The relief in his face was clear as day. The answer to the question he’d never ask them of his own accord.

She knew he was moments from losing himself to his thoughts, “Ron’s okay with it you know, you and Ginny. But if I were you, I’d keep the snogging to a minimum when he’s around.”

Together they walked over to where Ron stood gazing out across the lake as the sun set, filling the sky with glorious washes of pink and orange.

“I never realised how beautiful this place was.” Harry said as he looked between her and Ron.

Despite the distance between them this year Hermione knew she’d follow Harry to the ends of the earth if she had to.

But privately,Hermione’s heart broke as she knew she certainly wouldn’t see either of her snakes for quite some time.Possibly never again as she wasn’t sure the three of them would all be lucky enough to survive what lay ahead.

If only she’d been able to tell them- tell Theo how she truly felt.

Three little words she never had the chance to say.

Chapter 15: The Horcrux Hunt

Chapter Text

July, 1997

“Miss Granger if you would.” The deep growl of Madeye Moody, the famous ex-Auror and now unofficial leader of the order of the phoenix’s voice bellowed across the room.

Hermione marched forward confidently and ripped a chunk of hair from the nape of Harry’s neck, depositing it directly into the flask Madeye held out in front of him.

As she predicted he was not at all happy about the idea of six of them polyjuicing themselves into him.

She had tried to suggest, on more than one occasion, that Harry polyjuiced into someone else but apparently the plan was not up for discussion. Madeye was clearly not a fan on teenage girls coming up with better tactics than highly trained aurors.

The transition to Harry was much more pleasant than it had been into the cat during her second year. But she was shocked by what she discovered.

“Harry, your eyesight really is awful” she exclaimed. How on earth, had he never done anything about this? Madame Pomfrey could literally regrow bones, surely she could fix his eyesight.

She tried not to think about all the other parts of Harry she could now feel. Soon there really would be no secrets Harry would have from her. Though she was aware she still had plenty from him.

She knew which Harry was actually Fleur by the mirrored reaction of horror as she too felt something foreign between her legs.

Fleur was perhaps the most surprising addition to the Order this Summer. That was until Hermione learned she was engaged to Ron's oldest brother Bill, she hadn’t even realised they were dating. Together they would be the first pair travelling by Thestral.

Herself and Kingsley Shacklebolt were the other pair since neither of the witches were comfortable on brooms. Kingsley was an incredible Auror, and the Order were working hard to ensure once Voldemort was overthrown, that he would be the next minister of magic.

Fred and George rode on brooms with Mr Weasley and Lupin respectively, Ron was with Tonks, Madeye with a strange little dealer called Mundungus who Hermione did not trust at all. And Harry would be in the sidecar of Hagrid's motorbike.

It was a daring play to pair Harry with Hagrid. He was by far the best flyer of the group and Hagrid had very little magic to protect Harry but apparently the hopes was it would seem too stupid to be a passable option to the death eaters should they run into trouble.

They all knew the plan, everyone had agreed that should they be attacked they’d all stay and fight until Mr Weasley was alerted to Harry arriving into the Burrow wards.

As Kingsley lifted her onto the Thestrals back, anxiousness ripped its way through Hermione’s stomach. He’d given her private duelling practice the day before so she felt confident now bolstered by a few additional spells.

But as they flew higher into the skies above London, she realised nothing could have prepared her for what they faced.

At once, over fifty death eaters were surrounding them. Dark curses flashed through the sky like lightning. They were the last pair to join the skies only ahead of Hagrid and Harry so many of the death eaters were already pursuing the others.

Hermione began firing off spells as quickly as she could, unaware of the path the Thestral was flying them.

“Hermione what are you doing?” Kingsley called from behind her, “we need to keep fighting.”

He was right, they were heading away from the masses.

“It’s not me, I’m not doing anything!” She pulled with all her might to turn the Thestral but the damned thing would not cooperate. Suddenly, two cloaked figures dropped from above them. f*ck she hadn’t even checked if they were being followed.

But it was strange, the figures were casting blank spells only lighting up the sky around them, making absolutely no effort to attack her or Kingsley whilst dodging every shot Kingsley took.

She gulped.

Was Draco the death eater pursuing her? And if so, then it would be safe to assume the other figure was Theo. Before she could call out to them, the Thestral took off, seemingly sensing the draw to the Burrow which meant Harry must have landed.

Had Theo been forced to take the mark? Would she ever be able to repay them both for keeping her alive yet again?

**

August 1997

The next evening at the Burrow was a stark contrast to the night before.

Hermione found herself in the warm, comforting hold of Ron Weasley as they swayed together on the dance floor at Bill and Fleurs wedding.

Her mind drifted once more to Theo. She wondered what it would be like to dance in his arms. She bet he would be the most beautiful dancer given the years of classes he’d taken during the summers away from Hogwarts. Draco too.

With a touch of melancholy, she also began to wonder what her life would be like if she had never stepped foot outside her hospital room that day. Would she stand here feeling hopelessly in love with the red head as she once had been? Would it be that the smell of cinnamon, vanilla and sandalwood calm her the way Theo’s warm, spicy scent did? The mintyness of the Weasley family toothpaste did at least remind her of Theo’s spearmint habit.

She thought her life would probably seem much simpler.

**

September 1997

Much had happened since she danced in Ron Weasley's arms and Kingsley’s lynx patronus had leapt into the reception tent warning that the ministry was under attack and the death eaters were coming.

The trio had made a quick escape, Ron wrenching Harry away from Ginny and into Hermione’s grasp where she apparated them to muggle London.

After a quick duel in a coffee shop with two death eaters, Raul and Dolohov, Harry had led them to Grimmauld place. She just couldn’t understand how they found them so quickly.

It had been keeping her up at night trying to figure it out.

They had been here a few nights now and she was attempting to teach Ron to play the piano. He was trying, truly he was, but he was just too heavy handed and impatient.

Draco had told her once that he could play the piano. She thought of his long, slender fingers as they would cut up ingredients carefully in potions, or the way they would grasp his quill perfectly to form the elegant cursive of his handwriting.

She wondered why she never asked Theo what instrument he played. She’d ask him, if she ever got the chance.

They were interrupted by a commotion in the kitchen. Together, they made their way towards the clattering of pots and pans, wands outstretched. Of all the sights she expected, seeing two house elves, Dobby and Kreacher hanging off Mundungus was not it.

After a quick, interrogation of the slimy git, they had the location of the next horcrux. Problem was, it was around the neck of someone who would never ever help the trio.

Dolores Umbridge.

**

Breaking into the ministry to retrieve the locket had not gone quite to plan. Well, when had any of their plans worked out?

Their Polyjuice had worn off a little sooner than expected and left them in the atrium looking rather too much like themselves.

As Hermione had apparated them out of the crowds, Yaxley had grabbed hold of them. The moment they landed at Grimmauld place she knew he had seen where they were and they couldn’t stay so she jumped again.

It was a risky move especially when side along apparating two people and Ron paid the price. His arm was almost completely ripped from his shoulder where Yaxley tried to grab them again.

He’d spent the past few hours recovering all the while Hermione cursed herself for not learning more healing spells. They would have to be extra careful from here on as she’d used most of the dittany she had purchased trying to mend the wound.

The sound of the muggle radio she’d brought with them crackled from inside the tent, the signal wasn’t very good from their spot deep in the woods but she’d charmed it to pick up a wizarding frequency that she read had been active in most of the first wizarding war. Seemingly the order had re-started it knowing Voldemort’s followers would never even consider this method of communication.

Just as Ron adjusted it to pick up the station as clearly as possible, Harry’s head whipped round on edge.

“It comforts him, Harry.” She pleaded. The tension between the two boys was reaching uncomfortable levels.

“What’s he expecting to hear? Good news?” The wizard shot back at her.

“I think he’s just hoping he doesn’t hear bad news..”

“How long before he can travel?” Harry’s tone was getting increasingly snappy.

She tried her best to appease him, her voice remaining low and steady “I’m doing everything I can…”

“You’re not doing enough!”

This wasn’t Harry. He would never speak to her in such a way.

“Take it off. Take it off now.” She told him sternly. For once, Harry listened and quickly removed the locket from his neck and handed it to her. “Better?”

Harry simply nodded.

“We’ll take it in turns, okay?”

The moment the locket was around her neck, Hermione felt her frustration and anxiety rise so she stood from the forest ground and headed away from their clearing to check the protective enchantments she’d placed.

She tried to calm her thoughts and focus on occluding. She was grateful in times like these that Draco had been able to give her a few lessons. Lessons which she’d been able to work on herself in these quiet moments alone.

Upon re-reading Sherlock Holmes over the summer, she realised it was a practice not to dissimilar from the ‘mind palace’ he and his brother constructed for themselves.

Draco had told her people often used rooms in their home, a gallery of portraits, castles and such as the mental image of their mind. He said it was important this was a place the person knew well, somewhere they felt safe and comfortable but also somewhere that made them feel strong.

She knew it was the obvious choice but there was absolutely nothing on this earth that made her feel closer to this that the Hogwarts library. So that’s what she had began constructing. There were books organised by person or by moments in her life. Draco even had his own series, everything before sixth year was in one book, everything after in another. The second book she’d placed somewhere safe.

Draco had stressed the importance of closing portions mind off to those invading it. She needed to protect moments with Draco and Theo as well as everything she was doing with Harry and Ron.

Most of memories were all locked away deep in the library inside her own restricted section.

But the biggest secret Draco had told her was that she should not place the most important ones here. She should instead keep them floating, able to be moved from place to place at a moments notice whilst offering other related memories to the forefront to distract the person invading her mind.

The theory was simple, a skilled legilimens would find her restricted section without much effort. And keeping someone out of your memories was incredibly painful. The harder she pushed back the more determined they would be that there was something there worth finding. He had also suggested she litter it with some less important moments, ones that a normal teenager might think to hide. Embarrassing moments like polyjuicing into a cat, moments reflecting her past crush on Ron and the hurt watching him snogging Lavender.

She was still working on organising which items needed to be in the restricted section and which were damning enough to be left floating around when male voices she didn’t recognise echoed closer beyond the wards.

Snatchers.

She stood in shock as the group came into view. One of them, an eccentric looking red haired man began walking closer to where she stood.

Hermione held her breath.

He began to look right at her from beyond the wards. He couldn’t see or hear her of course but he knew someone was around. Her perfume. He must be able to smell her perfume.

She could almost hear Draco and Theo chastising her for the stupidity.

As soon as the snatcher decided there was nothing to be found, she released her breath and Harry stepped beside her. She hadn’t even known he’d been approaching.

“We need to move on.”

“I told you Ron isn’t strong enough to apparate.” She reminded him.

“We’ll go on foot.”

There was no room for discussion when Harry got like this. And now he wasn’t even wearing the locket.

Over the next few weeks, their trio walked hundreds of miles through fields, along beaches and deserted marshes across Britain. She was grateful for the summer weather but even then, it was tough going.

Her feet ached, blisters layered themselves over each other and every night she collapsed with exhaustion. The heat some days made the walk unbearable but the downpour of rain was never very many days away and always slowed their progress.

How would they fair when the colder months arrived?

**

December 1997

One night, as they camped somewhere on a cliff edge in the north west, Hermione had a break through.

For months she had been so sure there must be more to the items Dumbledore had left them in his will but she was yet to make any progress at all until today. She had been idly re-reading Hogwarts: A History and all the information it offered on the Sword of Gryffindor. In a particular passage it detailed that it was made of Goblin silver, when she recalled something Bill had said once that Goblin silver items were particularly tricky to break curses on because they take in that which makes them stronger.

“Harry, I’ve found something. In second year when you defeated Tom Riddle in the Chamber, you stabbed the diary with a basilisk fang and the venom killed the horcrux. Why that is, I’m not quite sure and I will figure that out later..” she digressed, “but, you said you also stabbed the Basilisk with the sword meaning-“

Harry cut her off excitedly, “meaning the sword is now impregnated with basilisk venom. It can destroy horcruxes. Hermione you’re brilliant!”

“Thanks Harry. That must be why Dumbledore wanted to leave it to you, but there’s only one problem.”

“The sword was stolen… yeah I’m still here. Don’t let me spoil your fun” Ron’s icy tone ripped through the tent.

“What’s wrong?” She asked hesitantly.

Harry however was not so gentle, “Spit it out”

Ron proceeded to rant about how after months they’d made no progress. Hermione knew he wasn’t wrong, this was one of the first leads they had made since deserting the Burrow after the wedding. But still it hurt.

How long it had even been now she didn’t know? She’d long stopped keeping count of the days. It hurt too much.

“I thought you knew what you signed up for?” Harry asked frustrated. She knew he wasn’t really expecting a reply but it didn’t stop Ron from spitting back at him.

“Yeah, I did too”

“Sorry, what about this isn’t living up to your expectations? What? Did you think we’d be staying in five star hotels, finding horcruxes every other day, back with your mum by Christmas?”

“Stop it, both of you please,” She hated it when they fought like this. “Ron, give me the locket”. She tried to snatch the locket from him before things got any worse but he backed away.

“I just thought we’d have more of a plan than this. A plan to spare Mum and Ginny and everyone else who is f*cking counting on us. That’s why I listen to the radio every night. So I don’t hear their names.”

“You think I don’t know how this feels?” Harry asked with annoyance.

“No you don’t know how this feels” Ron bellows, “Your parents are dead. You don’t have anyone!”

With a loud smack, Harry punched Ron in the face. Blood spurted immediately from Ron’s nose and she threw herself between them intent on wrenching them apart before it could get any worse.

At this Ron glared at her, “Are you coming?” His chest heaving.

”Ron I-“

Without the immediate ‘yes’ he had been looking for, the red haired wizard stormed out from the tent and Hermione couldn't help but follow, screaming and begging for him to stay. Ron can’t leave them. Not now.

They’d been through so much together. How could he leave? How could he leave her?

The second the crack of his apparition filled the air she couldn’t help but wonder if their trio will be too fractured now to ever fully repair?

As she walked back into the tent, Harry looked up at her from all the parchment she left sprawled out across the table, “I think we need to go to Godric's Hollow.”

There was nothing else to do so she agreed.

**

Hermione woke herself screaming again. This was the third time she’s fallen asleep tonight only to wake up quickly, drenched in sweat and screaming herself hoarse.

Visiting Godric's Hollow had been nothing short of a complete sh*t show.

Visions of a dead Bathilda Bagshot hanging bloodied and mutilated from the pantry ceiling followed by Nagini diving out from the floor boards to attack them filler her mind every time she closed her eyes.

“Can’t sleep?” Harry asked softly as he peered round the entrance to the room she slept in, she shook her head.

“Me either. Mind if I join you? I don’t particularly feel like being alone.”

Hermione pulls back the cover on her camp bed in invitation. She instantly felt more peaceful as bergamot, leather and tonka beans filled her lungs.

She’d never shared a bed with a boy before. Well, other than the hospital bed with Draco. But this was just Harry. Her best friend. The closest thing she had to a brother.

It wasn’t weird. Was it?

As they settled back to back, she whispered to him the same words she had said to him only a few hours before as they stood at his parents grave, “Merry Christmas Harry.”

“Merry Christmas Hermione.”

Sleep finally washes over her, Harry’s presence beside her keeping her grounded in her dreams. After that night, they push their camp beds together, in the cold of the night they begin holding each other as they sleep, snuggled up close for both warmth and comfort.

Several nights later, Hermione counted that it must be New Year’s Eve. At the thought, tears escaped from her eyes as she realised they might be all each other had left. There’s no telling which of their friends or the Weasley’s had survived. For all they knew, they are the only two left.

And it crushed her to wonder if Theo was still alive, and would they be able to find each other when this was all over.

Would Harry accept their relationship? Would he accept Draco? And if he doesn’t will she choose him or them? She couldn’t even count the number of times over the past year her answer would have changed. And right now, she really didn’t know.

Did she even care as long as she wasn’t alone?

Chapter 16: Weak

Chapter Text

April, 1998

The desperate cold chill of an early spring morning roused Hermione from her sleep yet again. Her teeth immediately began to chatter, and her chapped lips trembled.

She reached across for her wand and cast a warming charm over herself. From her camp bed she could see the sun was not yet peeking through the entrance of their tent yet.

Desperate for another hour or so of sleep, she closed her eyes again and tried to quieten her mind the way Draco had once taught her, but it was useless. Gods, those days seemed so long ago now. Time seemed to bleed together out here now more than ever. But there was an uneasiness inside her that she couldn’t ignore.

The morning of Bill Weasley's wedding to Fleur Delacour, Hermione had woken with the same pit in her stomach as something told her it would be the day they’d run – her, Harry and Ron.

This was back in July, which meant they’d been on the run for just over eight months now. Well Harry and Hermione had. Ron had only returned the day before, having abandoned them when it got ‘too much’ for him. Coward.

Hermione gave in and crawled from her sleeping bag to dress for the day.

Feeling the weariness deep in her bones, she sat with her back pressed against the tree, both the necklace from Theo and the horcrux locket around her neck like a noose.

When Harry wore the locket he would retreat into himself so deeply, veering into a nest catatonic state. He would overthink and worry obsessively about everything that was happening and the guilt would almost consume up. And Ron, Ron’s anger and jealousy increased tenfold. It was almost unbearable.

For Hermione however, she felt the small patches of darkness that lived deep inside her rise up to the surface. Those patches that had pushed her to trap Rita Skeeter in a jar whilst in Animagus form, to curse the sign up sheet for the DA causing Marietta Edgecomb to breakout in boils spelling ‘sneak’ across her face in scars that wouldn’t disappear for many years still to come. The darkness that felt so at home with the Slytherins.

It wasn’t the darkness that scared her but how with every time she wore it, it never returned quite as deeply buried as it once had been.

She felt it now more than she ever had. The disappointment in her oldest friends. Ron especially. They always needed her. Needed her and her mind to be exceptional.

Try being exceptional when you’re slowly starving to death and constantly exhausting your magic.

With Ron’s return, she couldn’t understand how Harry could forgive him so easily. Tosser hadn’t even made it through winter before begging off home to Mummy.

Merlin, they were living in the Weasley family tent with camp beds, a small kitchenette and a bathroom for goodness sake. Between the tent, her bluebell flames and warming charms they had decent shelter to survive in. Honestly, what was he expecting?

Hadn’t Harry asked him that very same question the night he left…

And beyond that it wasn’t exactly like he had a hard time of their camping experience.

It was Hermione who had foraged most of their food, cooked the meals that Ron always complained about, cleaned the tent, charmed the hot water whenever she could and spent any time remaining either on watch or researching. All the while Ron listened to the damn radio and Harry stared off into the distance.

Not to mention in the beginning when she would have to side along apparate them all every few days across the country since Ron failed his apparition exam and Harry hadn’t learned yet since he only just turned seventeen. Not that when he decided to leave Ron was able to apparate no problem at all.

He’d only just returned to them and already his snippy comments and whinging was making her irate.

Of course, Ronald hadn’t thought to bring any supplies back with him when he finally returned from his stint back home. Nor did the fact that he'd had warm, full meals for the past few months stop him from helping himself to a much larger portion of the little food they had upon his return.

Hermione and Harry had essentially survived the winter on foraged mushrooms and berries with the occasional meal pilfered from a nearby dwelling on the occasion they’d got so hungry they’d choose to take the excessive risk.

She knew at this point she was becoming dangerously thin. She could see her skin becoming grey and she’d notice her ribs and hip bones protruding when she bathed.

She promised herself to never resent Harry. He had the weight of the wizarding world on his shoulders and needed to focus on surviving. But Ron, he was meant to be her partner. The two of them behind Harry no matter what. And he’d left.

He’d left her.

She was so tired of feeling angry for how much she’d been taken for granted.

Draco used to ask her why she was friends with them. He thought they used her. Taking all her brain power and energy without giving anything in return. At the time she’d scoffed at him, they’d given her their friendship. And for so long they were the only real friends she had. She would do anything for them.

But now, she thought of Ginny and Luna and Neville. They never took from her the way the boys did. Then she thought of Theo and Draco, they certainly showed her the value they placed on her friendship with them more than anyone had ever shown her before. They cared for her the very same way she cared for them.

Here, no one ever asked about her parents, they didn’t know she’d had to obliviate them and how painful it was every time she then had to be the one to obliviate a rogue death eater they crossed paths with or an innocent muggle they had to steal from. Not once did they ask her how she was coping. Harry would occasionally offer to help her with research if he were feeling up to it, but she couldn’t ever count on it and nearly always had to double check the information herself.

As the sun began to rise through the trees, Hermione stood and made her way back into the tent to prepare breakfast. Mercifully Harry was now awake so she could pass the locket to him to wear till lunch time, Ron would then take it till dinner and she’d wear it overnight again. Falling back into the same rotation.

Whenever respite from the locket came Hermione knew it was just exhaustion and her loneliness feeding the darkness.

In her mind, her thoughts often daydreamed of the Slytherins she’d left behind. She wondered what life would be like if they were here.

She could almost hear Draco’s snark in her own voice these days. And she missed Theo endlessly, the way his eyes glistened with mischief, the way the ‘r’ in her name rolled off his tongue, the dimple on his left cheek when he smiled wide enough. She missed the clove cigarettes and the way he’d pull her in tight.

It hurt too much to think of them.

As she sat down at the table, she could barely muster the energy to lift her spoon into the porridge. For the first time in her life Hermione Granger felt not just exhausted but weak.

It was probably the reason that the afternoon the trio got collared by snatchers after Ron triggered the taboo on Voldemort’s name, she found she barely had the energy to run.

She knew their attempt to flee was futile so she turned and shot Harry with a stinging jinx. It was all she could do to try and hide who he was. There was no time to cast one to herself or Ron as the huge, hairy arms of Fenrir Greyback closed around her.

“You’re mine now you filthy little bitch” he goaded in her ear. His breath smelt like decay and if she’d had any food inside her, Hermione was sure she would have vomited.

Suddenly she felt the familiar tug on her navel as they apparated.

She knew she ought to be trying to figure out where they were but Greyback had her pulled so tightly to him, whispering all the disgusting and depraved things he planned to do with her as his prize from the capture.

“I’m going to have such fun with you. Oh yes, I’m quite sure it is you. Don’t mind rolling in the mud myself, and I’m going to take my time with you. Carve you up nice and slowly, watching your filthy blood run over your tiny pathetic body. I’m going to make you bleed, you little c*nt. And then, only when you’re begging me, will I ram my co*ck in whatever hole I please and then just as you're clinging on to life, I’ll heal you, lock you up in a tiny little cage on the floor where you belong until I decide to do it all over again. You’ll be nothing but a dirty whor* for me to sink my teeth and my co*ck in whenever I like.”

Hermione wished in that moment she could Avada herself. Anything would be better than becoming Greyback’s plaything.

She was seriously about to try it when the familiar voice of Bellatrix Lestrange called out from the black iron gates in front of them.

“Get Draco…”

She hoped and prayed Draco would hold it together. If Bellatrix knew, Merlin, if any of them knew Draco and her were close he would be dead – they’d all be dead. Or they’d wish they were.

**

The three of them were pushed down onto their knees on the cold hard ebony floors of the Malfoy’s drawing room. She didn’t have the energy to take in the rest of her surroundings. Across the room, Lucius and Bellatrix were discussing payment to the snatches and negotiating terms with Greyback for Hermione when the huge ebony doors swung open and in strode Draco with his mother.

Hermione searched his eyes... Grey, they were such a dark grey. Any of the silver and tiny blue flecks had vanished.

As his aunt and father pushed Draco to identify them, he just looked bored. He did his best to cast doubt on their identities stating that he’d assume Ron was indeed a Weasley but which one he couldn’t say ‘since the family are such filth and have such an unnecessary number of children he’d never bothered to learn which was which’.

And when asked about her and if she were indeed ‘Potters mudblood’ he again said he’d ‘never paid her enough attention to be able to be sure’ but that there was a half blood girl he’d shared a few classes with that ‘bared an uncanny resemblance.’ She knew he was trying to save her, by them some time at least without giving the game away.

When it came to Harry however, Lucius was pushing more determinedly, desperate to positively identify and capture Harry to earn favour with Voldemort. They were seconds away from the summons when Bellatrix spotted the sword glinting in the grasp of one of the Snatchers.

And that was the last thing Hermione remembered before she lay alone on the floor of the drawing room, the effects of Bellatrix’s cruciatus still ripping through her veins.

The curse was like nothing she had ever experienced before. It was like having every blood cell, every nerve ending set on fire inside her, all at the same time. She felt like she was being torn apart from the inside out. Every muscle went into a harsh spasm. Her body convulsed on the floor of its own accord. It was hell.

The same witch now kneeling over the top of her, carving into her arm with a knife, torturing her for information on where they’d got the sword of Gryffindor from. Apparently, it should have been in her vault at Gringotts.

Apparently in need of a reminder, Bellatrix carved MUDBLOOD into her arm. The cuts burned like fiendfyre and Hermione knew it was no ordinary blade.

As she was sliced up, her brain was flooded with the sounds of depraved cackling, shouts from Ron in the cellar and her own screams. The taste of iron filled her mouth where she was biting down into her own tongue. And only the mad witches foul breathe to fill her lungs.

She had no idea how long she’d been at the mercy of Bellatrix but Draco’s eyes hadn’t once left hers and she could feel him willing her to hold on. She thanked all the Gods that Bellatrix wasn’t proficient in legilimency else they’d be royally screwed.

As she laid there, she half hoped death would come for her. Even the thought of Harry, Ron and their mission was enough to provide the strength to continue. So, she allowed her mind to wander, if she was about to die, why not allow herself some final moments of peace. She began to think of Theo and Draco. These thoughts stirred something in her. She considered what she was willing to survive to get back to them some day.

Her conclusion?

Anything.

Chapter 17: A Male Point of View

Chapter Text

April, 1998

Draco was in his room reading some old books on dark magic that had been passed down through his family over the generations. He was desperate to learn anything that might allow him to keep those he cared for safe in the world they were being forced to live in by the deranged mad man who’d essentially taken control of his home the past year.

“Draco, darling come quickly” his mother hastened as she burst into his room. “I’m sorry my dragon, this isn’t going to be easy. Walls up and don’t do anything reckless, do you hear me?”

“Mother what-“

“She’s here Draco, the snatchers found her, Potter and the Weasley boy. But your witch is smart. She shot the Potter boy with a stinging jinx in the face. Thankfully both your father and Bella have never paid close enough attention to the other two to be confident enough that it’s them. My darling, this means they want you to identify them. I’m sorry but you have to come with me.”

Horror washed over Draco as he was pulled through the Manor but his mother. “I-I can’t Mother. Bella will kill her.”

“I know, I know my sweet Prince.” His mother paused at the top of the stairs, her hands clasping tight around Draco’s own. “You don’t need to say it’s her. Just take a good look and tell them you can’t be sure. That you don’t want to risk calling the Dark Lord if we’re wrong. Your father may be desperate but he’d rather save our skins than suffer another embarrassing mishap and we shall use that to our advantage.”

Draco was momentarily taken aback. His mother was helping him? Helping Hermione? And she’d called her ‘his witch’?

From a young age, he had known his mother had a special gift. She wasn’t a seer but she could certainly read more from people then they would ever deem to share. And she always seemed to know things before you knew them yourself. It also helped that she was possibly one of the most skilled legilimens and occlumens in the world.

It was like Draco’s world suddenly erupted into colour at her words. Of course she was his witch. He loved Hermione. Looking back, perhaps in some twisted way it always had been something akin to love, even when he was too blind and prejudiced to see it himself. He’d known for a while that he cared about her more than most people as he did Theo, but love? He’d never dared put a name to the emotion till now.

Since that very first day on the train when they were eleven, he’d been curious about the Gryffindor. She was sharp, witty, intelligent and so bloody passionate about everything. She was almost more passionate about what she hated which amused him - he never thought he’d feel sorry for Umbridge, Skeeter and frankly anyone who practised divination but knowing how much Hermione detested them, he almost did.

Sometime in fifth year he’d got past the uppity, swotty, goodie two shoes side of Granger that he abhorred, he found that she was actually a bright, shining beacon of light. He felt drawn to her like a moth to a flame. Like she was the sun he was bound to orbit.

But like the sun, he knew if he got too close he’d get burned. She was Potter's best friend, there’s no way she’d ever return his feelings. He was sure she’d only been cordial to him the last year of school for Theo’s benefit. When Theo mentioned his meeting with the witch that day at St Mungo’s he knew this was his in with her because it was frankly impossible for someone not to like Theo and he was just the sort to appeal to her bleeding Gryffindor heart.

And that made it all so much worse. Here he was, finally realising he desperately adored a little muggle born witch knowing full well she was in love with his best friend. She was Theo’s witch. Not his. She’d never be his…

His mother had never outright asked him about his feelings towards the witch now in their drawing room, but over the years where his father had become enraged by Draco’s tales of the trio during the school year and his inability to overtake her in grades, his mother had pursed her lips and looked him inquisitively. The subtle signs of her in his mind throughout these conversations were always so warm and comforting unlike the cold exterior she portrayed.

Since he’d been marked he felt her in his mind more often than usual. And since Granger had barrelled into his life, he was sure she’d stumbled upon a few embarrassingly sappy conversations between himself and Theo about her and more than likely some unsavoury moments of relief in the shower to thoughts of Granger. He might not have realised he loved her till now, but he certainly wasn’t blind to the fact she’d grown into a beautiful creature the past few years.

He was quite certain that Narcissa Malfoy knew that her only son was completely besotted with the muggle born witch hell bent on defeating Voldemort, but what she intended to do about that remained to be seen.

Draco knew his Mother felt sure of her beliefs that Purebloods were indeed better than anyone else and in fact that the Malfoy’s were the very best of them, but whether she truly believed muggle borns were filthy vermin that deserved to die like his Aunt Bella did was something he’d need to unravel if they survived his whole mess – his mother’s approval meant everything to him. And the fact that she was coming up with a plan to help him through this now, allowed a little spark of hope to ignite inside of him.

**

As Draco strode into the drawing room beside his mother, he built his occlumency walls high just as instructed. And he was glad he did so because when his eyes fell on her, his heart shattered. What had happened to her?

The witch looked as though all the fight within her had vanished. Her hair was dull and lifeless, and the matted curls covered her face slightly. It was only as he stood in front of her, and she lifted her face to meet his eyes did he see how gaunt she had become. The beautiful witch who’s honey brown eyes bewitched him, who’s freckles he’d counted a million times across their table in the library and who’s smile he was sure could muster armies into battle was now little more than a skeleton staring back at him encased within dull grey skin.

There was no fire in this witch's eyes. He barely had to put any effort into pretending he wasn’t sure if it was Granger because at that moment, he did feel almost uncertain.

The Golden Girl wasn’t quite so golden anymore.

His plan might have worked if only his blasted father hadn’t chosen today to feel rather bold, rolling up his sleeve to summon the Dark Lord regardless of the concern that it indeed might not be Potter.

Draco frantically wracked his brain for what to do. Trying to work out how quickly he could cross the room, stun Greyback, take Hermione and apparate them out of there without being Avada’d by his own aunt. The same aunt whom at that very moment lost all sense she had when she spotted a sword glinting in the hands of some gormless snatcher.

“Where did you get that?” His aunt hissed.

In seconds Bellatrix had wiped out most of the snatchers and sent Greyback running for the hills. His mother was instructed to put Potter and the Weasel in the cellar and as Bella made her way towards Hermione, hand outstretched, Draco began to draw his wand. His mother must have sensed his growing anger because not a moment later, Draco found himself wandless, silenced, with a sticking spell cast to his feet keeping him routed to the spot.

And that’s where he remained hour after hour that Granger was tortured before him. He was completely powerless to help her. His wandless and non verbal magic was not strong enough to go toe to toe with his aunt and possibly his father.

So, Draco stood there whilst Hermione was carved up like a turkey. Her screams rooting themselves so deep into his brain, he knew he’d be hearing them for the rest of his life.

And the Weasel was shouting for her from the cellar, pain and regret hung heavy in his voice, and Draco was sure that f*cking useless prick had been the cause of the trio’s capture.

Bile rose in Draco’s throat as he watched Hermione twitch on the ground. In her weak state he had no idea how she wasn’t dead.

What the f*ck was he going to tell Theo?

**

Theodore Nott had loved Hermione Granger since they were twelve years old.

As a young boy, he had very few friends. Draco was the only one really. By the time he started at Hogwarts, Theo knew he was pretty screwed up from years of abuse at his fathers hand. Not to even mention how much worse this got after witnessing his mother’s murder right before his eyes when he’d turned ten.

He was frankly pretty pathetic. He was quite sure he only ended up in Slytherin because the sorting hat knew he’d go to any lengths to be able to stay at Draco’s side. Sadly, this didn’t lend him as an ideal candidate to bolster the image Draco was trying desperately hard to cultivate in pursuit of praise from his father. So, the boys went their separate ways during term time.

A lack of friends gave Theo a lot of time to think. It’s amazing what you notice when you watch from the shadows.

In first year, he noticed how Hermione Granger collected up the waifs and strays in her own house - she was so kind to Neville and Harry. Then Weasley and his million siblings. He longed for that to be him too only he wouldn’t take her for granted as they seemed to. And he certainly wouldn’t allow her to get involved in whatever madness they pulled at the end of the year to earn so many house points.

In second year, it was Theo who checked on her daily whilst she was petrified, he had no idea where stupid Potter and the Weasley boy were whilst their best friend lay in a death like state in the hospital wing. Theo knew she’d be disadvantaged come their end of year exams so he duplicated all of his notes and placed them in a binder for her each week so that she could catch up.

At this point he loved her in the way young boys love things. She was the toy all the popular kids got to play with and he didn’t. But they were breaking her and didn’t even realise it. He swore then, if he ever got the chance to be Hermione’s friend, he would look after her.

It was only as they entered third year however, that his affections for the swotty muggle born witch developed into something closer to physical attraction. She’d started becoming bolder, no longer hiding in the shadows herself. He noticed she was more assured and the storm that swirled within her honey brown eyes mesmerised him. Not that she even knew he existed of course. But when word spread of her breaking Draco’s nose, he knew he was well and truly in awe of the little lioness.

So, in fourth year when Hermione blossomed, he watched her at the Yule Ball on the arm of Viktor Krum. As he stood on the side lines as she danced in the Bulgarian Bon-Bon’s arms, and his eyes met stormy blue ones staring back at him, Theodore Nott realised Draco had caught him staring.They spent hours that night talking about her after Blaise fell asleep and Theo confessed everything to the platinum blonde.

Truth be told, watching Hermione go toe to toe with Umbridge was what truly forced him into action. He’d talked all Summer about the little witch and with the return Voldemort now very very real, Draco agreed to help Theo keep her safe. Theo wasn’t sure what spurred this unusual act of selflessness from the Malfoy heir, but he’d take all the help he could get.

In fifth year, it hadn’t been easy to keep their promise to the witch. Draco’s father had been rather insistent that he make himself enthusiastically available to Umbridge and thus joined her inquisitorial squad. Draco hadn’t had much option knowing that Crabbe and Goyle would likely report back anything less than enthusiasm for the new regime to his father.

The only advantage meant Draco could steer the helm of the ship to some degree. He could lead the group down dead end inquiries or away from where he knew Granger and her merry band of helpless idiots were meeting.

Theo on the other hand, did not receive the same level of scrutiny from Lucius and he knew if he were ever to be able to help Hermione, he would need to play a much longer game.

Without the Malfoy name to back him up, or access to endless vaults of gold to buy someone out, he’d need to broaden his reach. It wasn’t that the Notts weren’t wealthy, they were one of the wealthiest families in Britain but with his father casting him aside he was somewhat cut off, the Lordship wouldn’t pass to Theo till he became of age and his father died or received a life sentence to Azkaban.

So, he befriended a sixth year, Marcus Flint and convinced the surly wizard to train him in duelling in return for help on his N.E.W.T.S. Marcus’s methods were intense and to get Theo’s fitness up enough to become an excellent dueller, he had him participate in the quidditch drills, hand to hand combat and other physical activities such as running.

Although physical alterations weren’t common in the wizarding world, especially among pureblood circles, Theo assumed that should the need ever arise it would be important not to have anyone get the better of them.

The intensive schedule of training mixed with his growth spurt that Summer had given him the impressive stature he now sported – 6 foot 2, broad with lean muscles and tight abs. And with his confidence bolstered by Marcus and a few other older Slytherin boys who quickly took Theo under their wing too when they saw how much the girls began flocking towards him, Theo finally found his voice. He became cheeky. Flirtatious even.

It didn’t matter that it felt like more of a mask he wore each day. He wasn’t interested in any of the girls who invited him to Hogsmeade or offered to study with him. But with his new found confidence, Draco started spending time with him at school and his friends became more accepting of him too.

And so, Theo found himself once again closer with his blonde friend, his thoughts never faltering from how to protect him or the little lioness. He knew he’d stop at nothing to keep either of them safe for they were the only people in the world that Theodore Nott cared for.

Over fifth and sixth year, Theo suspected Draco had also started to become curious about Hermione. For years he’d been obsessed with her, but motivated purely by hate. But since that summer, the day at the cafe especially, the more Draco would sing her praises, or tell Theo about something she did that day he found amusing or comment on how not bush like her hair had looked that day, did he realised Draco was also falling in love with her.

He knew he should feel threatened or angry that he and his best friend had fallen for the same girl, but he didn’t. If anything, it warmed his heart to know someone else in the world would be determined to keep Hermione safe. Especially knowing she was prone to run head first into danger.

So, when Draco sent a message in the journal demanding a meeting in Hogsmeade after sunset, Theo didn’t know whether to be relieved to finally see his friend again or filled with dread by the directness of his message.

The pit in his stomach grew when he rounded the last corner on the path to the small village and saw Draco pacing in the gentle moonlight that came at dusk.

“Draco, mate. Is everything okay?”

The wizard stopped immediately and locked eyes with him. His face was pale, eyes bloodshot and his chest was rising and falling rapidly. “She’s hurt Theo. She’s so hurt. Aunt Bella…I couldn’t do anything. Theo I’m so sorry. I don’t know what to do.”

Hermione was hurt. His Hermione.

**

Theo forced Draco to tell him everything that happened that day at the manor. The pale wizard cried gently until he was physically sick retelling the details of witnessing their beloved witch writhing on the floor, screaming in agony. The more he talked the more Theo’s rage burned inside of him.

It was only when he’d finally stopped speaking that Theo was able to find any words.

“You were meant to keep her safe.” He roared, his face inches from the platinum blondes.

“I know. I know. I failed.”

“I trusted you. How could you Draco? I would have died to protect her. DIED!” he roared.

“I know. I f*cking know that Theo. But she’d have killed mother. They’d have come for you too if they knew. f*ck, I spent so long trying to figure something out that before I could do anything Bella was already carving her up and then I was stuck. I felt like my heart was being ripped from my chest standing there. So tell me, what would you have done?”

He was furious that this had happened to his girl, but Theo couldn’t ever bring himself to wish that Draco would have given his life to save her. He knew himself that he’d gladly give his for either of theirs but he could never imagine a world without Draco and Hermione both in it.

”f*ck. Mate, I don’t know, anything? Was she wearing the necklace?”

Draco nodded and Theo sighed in relief. Theo had spent weeks tinkering with the protective enchantments on it to give her some semblance of protection without the traditional courtship agreements usually required for old magic such as this.

Only the two of them could remove the necklace. Technically anyone who was a blood relative of the Le Feys could by birth right, but his mother had been the only family member to have remained in Britain during the last war. The rest all fled to France and America so he wasn’t too concerned about that.

Since they weren’t officially courting the enchantments weren’t at full strength but he hoped the help it had given her was what allowed Hermione to survive the attack. 4 hours she’d been tortured for. The same length of time as Neville Longbottom’s parents and their brains were mush. Gods only knows what state his little witch would be in. Not that it mattered, he’d take care of her.

The blonde wizard was still pacing and he realised he had never clarified that she was definitely still alive.

“Do you know if she’s alright?” He asked cautiously.

“Bella, she threw the cursed dagger into the portal as they apparated. I have no idea Theo. It’s f*cking killing me.” Tears were now streaming down his face.

“If she’s dead Draco… if she’s dead I will come for you. I will burn this whole f*cking world to the ground.” Theo was seething now. Eyes dark and teeth clenched.

“Theo, please…”

Overcome by the rage Theo pulled back his fist and plunged it straight into the face of his best friend knocking him flat to the ground.

He never even returned a backwards glance at the unconscious body lying on the cobbled street as marched back towards the castle. Theo felt like he’d lost everything.

Chapter 18: The Battle of Hogwarts

Chapter Text

May, 1998

Theo had been wallowing in a constant cycle of rage, worry and heartache since he’d met with Draco.

Blaise and Pansy were still seemingly none the wiser about his affections for the Gryffindor witch and assumed his distress was something to do with his wretched father.

Whilst Pansy’s sharp tongue and penchant for the dramatics amused him no end, he did not yet know if he could trust her. But he knew Blaise would understand. His mother had stayed neutral throughout the war by staying hidden at their villa in Italy. Blaise seemed trustworthy, never one to partake in school gossip but, he was quiet. Almost too quiet. And it still caused just enough unease in him not to spill all his secrets.

Their evening of fire whiskey and cigarettes in the common room was suddenly interrupted by the entrance of Alecto Carrow summoning the students to the great hall.

Alecto and Amycus Carrow were twins about five or six years his senior, their entire family loyal to the dark lord. They had been appointed head of discipline at the school under the new headmaster whilst they revolutionised ‘The Dark Arts’ class as it was now known and ‘Muggle Studies’ respectively. The new aim of muggle studies was to ensure it was well established how one ought to deal with the inferior race.

Both twins were tall and lithe, with sharp features and jet black hair. He often thought they wouldn’t look out of place partaking in some kinky dungeon p*rn. He shuddered at the thought. Both himself and Blaise had received, invitation, from Alecto and he felt confident Pansy had received the same from Amycus. Though some nights, the state Pansy arrived back to the common room in, he wondered if things hadn’t come too close for comfort for the girl.

As he marched with the rest of his house towards the great hall, himself and Blaise flanking Pansy, he schooled his features carefully. Occluding just enough to dull any thoughts of his witch.

He didn’t have to wait long to find out if she had survived the ordeal with Bellatrix. Into the great hall she strode commanding a fleet of Order members. He was not in the least surprised to see almost half of them bore bright red hair…

The next few minutes were a flurry of action. Potter accusing Snape of killing Dumbledore, seemingly news to everyone else in the room accept for Theo. Then a rather one sided duel between the aforementioned headmaster and Professor McGonagall before the all powerful Dark Lord graciously decided to invade all their minds at once whispering promises of forgiveness and mercy if they handed over Potter.

“What are you waiting for? Someone grab him!” The shrill voice of Pansy Parkinson rang out through the hall. Stupid bitch, he was right not to trust her.

And then of course Hermione would be one of the first to stand between her and the chosen one.

When McGonagall called Filch to lead all of Slytherin house to the dungeons he felt a pang of hurt bury in his chest. Just like that the entire house were deemed to be evil and disloyal.

He watched as Hermione’s eyes searched for him in the crowd, when her honey brown finally met his, he felt a wave of relief wash over him and he hoped she felt the same. He tried to pour everything into the look that they shared, he didn’t care in the moment who might see them.

As he was pushed past her from the hall, he mouthed “I’ll find you”. She gave a quick nod in response.

He thanked Merlin that she did at least seem to be okay all things considered.

**

Once back in the common room, Pansy collapsed to her knees, tears streaming and breathed ragged. Blaise was on the floor beside her in an instant. There was nothing romantic between the pair but where Theo and Draco had each other, Blaise and Pansy had been there to hold each other up.

She confessed everything. How Voldemort had spoken a different message to her. How he’d taken her mother and younger sister over Easter to ensure she and her father had the proper motivations. Apparently, he had done the same for many pureblood families to ensure their loyalty. She was tasked to hand over Potter else they would pay the price.

Theo immediately regretted his dismissal of her. She was only doing the same as he and Draco would - anything to keep those you love alive.

Hermione. He needed to find Hermione.

Without another glance he raced back towards the entrance to the dungeons and disillusioned himself to sneak past Filch.

He made his way through the castle, the air was thick and full of apprehension for the battle that was surely to begin any moment. He searched every corridor until he saw a glimpse of riotous curls disappearing around a corner towards the girls bathrooms. The one Draco had been nearly murdered in only a year ago.

When he entered it was as if she had disappeared, there was no sign of his little witch. Impossible.

He decided to wait fifteen minutes and if she didn’t show herself he would resume his search. He hastily pulled out the charmed notebooks and sent a quick note to Draco.

Lioness is alive. Find us when you can. T

**

When Hermione and the bloody Weasel emerged from within the sink he was surprised to say the least. Just how many secrets did this witch have?

He had kept his disillusionment up just in case since anyone who spotted him, other than Hermione, would likely incapacitate him on the spot.

As he followed them both through the school towards the room of hidden things he noticed how much she had changed. She had always been rather slight but now his love looked tired and much too thin. If he didn’t know her as well he’d have said weak, but this witch could never be classed as weak even on her worst day.

Along the way, Theo spotted a flash of platinum blonde as they passed through the now eerily quiet seventh floor of the school and he knew Draco would have spotted her. Trouble was, Crabbe and Goyle were with him. He swore to Circe, Salazar and Merlin himself.

Hermione and Ron entered the room first, followed closely by Draco and the two oafs. Draco had issued stern warnings not to harm them, they were for the Dark Lord after all.

Just as the door to the room of hidden things was closing, Theo snuck inside. He quickly found a spot behind a pile of chairs so he could keep a closer eye on both Hermione and Draco, ready to jump in if either of them needed him.

Cautiously, he watched on as the golden trio reunited inside the room before being joined by the snakes. His 6 classmates were now faced off against each other. His wand was also drawn ready to act.

“You’ve got something that belongs to me” Draco drawled towards Harry, “and I’d like it back.”

The two wizards were having entirely different conversations, of that Theo was sure. But he could deny that hearing Draco refer to Hermione as ‘his’ didn’t stir something inside of him.

Theo knew Potter had taken Draco’s wand after the incident at the Manor so Draco was currently stuck with his mothers. Whilst the Draco was incredibly gifted, the result of a wand that did not properly submit to you could be devastating.

The blonde was in fact, not bothered about his wand at all. Just like dragons after which he was named, Theo knew Draco was possessive and knowing his best friend, all he wanted in that moment was to grab Hermione in his arms and run. Make no mistake, he also wanted to do the exact same.

As he watched he could see Hermione glancing around. Was she looking for him? Or forming a cunning plan?

Lost in thought, Theo almost missed Crabbe cast Fiendfyre. Not that it was any cause for concern, heavens no. Crabbe was truly a gifted wizard and Fiendfyre was just so easy to control. Pffftt, what a f*cking idiot. Theo had no idea how Draco could even stand to be in the same vicinity of those morons for so many years.

Potter, Weasley and Hermione took off sharpish after that but the f*cking chosen one flicked the pile of chairs Theo was crouching behind down around them so they couldn’t directly follow.

Draco darted off in one direction with Goyle hot on his heels and so Theo went the other hoping one of them would meet up back with Hermione and be able to get her out of there. With the fiendfyre shooting chimaeras into the room, seeking out their prey to engulf into the flames, time was running out.

But, sweet Salazar the Gods were smiling on them today it seemed as they all congregated in the same spot. With Crabbe consumed in his own flames, the only remaining problem was Goyle.

Thankfully, Theo had still managed to go unnoticed so when the oaf shot a bolt of green aiming right for Hermione, Theo was able to grab hold and pull her out of the way in the nick of him silently shooting a diffindo in return slicing Goyles spinal cord exactly as Marcus had taught him.

He didn’t even let himself stop and think that he’d just killed someone. He’d do it again for her. A million times over.

“Hello Princess”

Her honey brown eyes sparkled when they met with his.

“Theo…”

They’d remained stationary for too long though and the Fiendfyre was closing in on them, Theo and Draco both looked around protecting Hermione on either side whilst the two Gryffindor boys watched them with utter confusion on their faces. Now was not the time for this conversation.

“Brooms, over there, quick!” Weasley panted as they all stifled, coughing with the hands clutching around their mouths.

There were only four brooms and five of them – considering their houses, one would have thought it would be Theo or Draco kicking off their brooms without a second thought, self preservation and all that, leaving the Gryffindors to save the day. But no, Potter and the Weasel were in the air quicker than you could say Quidditch, too busy wittering on about what they should do about the tiara to which they were so desperately clinging.

Almost unconsciously they both reached for Hermione.

“Drake, I’ve got her, we don’t know who or what is waiting for us outside the doors and if anyone sees you with her you’re a dead man. I’ve got her I promise.”

Theo watched as his best friend looked at him so conflicted, he had wanted to save the girl. But, ever the gentleman, he nodded in understanding at Theo. She was his girl to look after when all said and done.

“You’re with me love” Theo smirked, not even waiting for Hermione to respond as he pulled her on the broom in front of him, wrapped his arms tightly around her and kicked off as hard as he could. Draco wandlessly cast a bubble head charm on each of them as they sped through the burning room as quickly as the brooms would allow – Merlin only knows how old these things were.

They were only seconds behind Potter and Weasel so the force of two boys launching whatever that tiara was back into the room and the subsequent black mist that erupted out of it threw Theo, Hermione and Draco off the brooms with such force. Theo wrapped himself around Hermione as tight as he could to break her fall.

**

“Hermione, care to explain what the f*ck is going on here?” came the Weasel’s harsh voice as he stood above them where Hermione was still tightly wrapped in his arms as they spluttered on the floor, drawing in as much air as they could. Her tiny hands were clutching his shirt tightly in a fist.

“It’s okay Ronald, we can trust them I promise. There’s no time now but I’ll tell you everything soon.” Hermione was pleading with him and Theo knew instantly this wasn’t going to be a pleasant interaction.

“What the hell is going on ‘Mione.”

His little witch was pleasing with her doe eyes, “Ron please, I-“

Potter chose this opportune moment to cut in “She’s right, we don’t have time for this right now. But Ron’s right, Hermione, we will be talking about this. Now, all we’ve got left is the snake and then it’s just him.”

What in Salazar’s name were they talking about? Theo wondered looking at Draco who just shook his head equally confused.

Potter caught on quickly, it seemed Hermione’s vote of confidence was all he needed to hear. “Voldemort was immortal, we’ve been making him not immortal. If you see the snake, kill it. You two likely won’t be able to use the sword since you aren’t in Gryffindor and I don’t think any of us want to try Fiendfyre after that. Hermione, give them a basilisk fang each if you’re sure about them.” Basilisk fangs? What the hell had these three been doing all these months?

Seconds later, the unlikely quintet were jogging back down the halls. Ron was storming ahead clearly furious with everyone except Potter.

Out of nowhere a flash of green whizzed past Hermione’s head. Both he and Draco whipped round to face the caster.

Immediately his throat constricted and he struggled to draw breath as he stared into his fathers eyes.

He couldn’t let him hurt Hermione.

He saw Draco’s face contort with a similar rage, his wand raised with the tip already shining red with the tip of a particular spell on his tongue. Like Theo, he had never been able to cast an Avada. Neither of them had ever meant it enough to cast the killing curse.

But in this moment Theo did mean it. He meant it for trying to kill Hermione. For killing his mother. And for every time he had beaten him.

So the very second after Draco's crucio hit, Theo sent a flash of green of his own. Together, they ensure Nott Snr’s final seconds on this earth were filled with the most unimaginable pain.

“Theo-“ Hermione began, pain laced in her gaze, but Potter cut her off.

“We have to keep moving.”

And so they resumed running. In his peripheral vision, he caught the look Draco was sending him. He’d just committed patricide. Theo couldn’t deny the Avada had felt different from killing Goyle. The darkness now attaching itself into his very soul.

As they ran, Theo could see Hermione was in a deep discussion with Harry when she stopped on the stairs and burst into tears throwing her arms around the raven haired wizard.

“I’ll go with you” Hermione sobbed, clinging to Potter as if her life depended on it. That stopped the Weasel in his tracks as he turned back to his two friends. The trio were discussing something in hushed tones, tears streaming down their faces.

Both Theo and Draco stood not really sure they should be here for whatever was going on but they’d be damned if they’d let Hermione out of their sight.

Potter was pulling back from the hug as he looked over to where he and Draco stood sombrely. “I’ve known for a while now and I think Hermione has too. These things that we’ve been destroying that make Voldemort mortal again. I can hear them you see, sense them. And all my life I’ve had this connection to him like how I can speak to snakes and see into his mind in my dreams. I’m one of them. I’m the horcrux he never meant to make.”

Hermione was broken, holding on to Weasley for dear life. All Theo wanted to do at that moment was scoop up his little witch and take her far far away from all this pain but Harry continued his explanation.

“Malfoy, the prophecy your Father was meant to get. It said that neither of us could live whilst the other survived. And earlier, I was viewing Snape’s memories in the pensieve when it all clicked.” Harry clenched down hard on his back teeth. “Dumbledore has been raising me like a pig for f*cking slaughter to ensure I die at the proper moment. Voldemort will destroy another horcrux when he kills me. So it’s down to you four to kill the snake and then it’s just him.”

“I’ll come with you Potter” but this time it wasn’t Hermione who spoke, it was the platinum blonde to his right. No. “Theo mate, don’t look at me like that. It’s a good plan. Since I’m supposed to be a death eater, I’ll be able to get close to Voldemort with Potter, hell we could even pretend I was handing him over,” and then it clicked, Draco was still playing the game. He was ensuring himself a good position in Voldemort’s ranks should this all go wrong so that he could keep Hermione safe.

He'd look like a hero if he delivered Potter, especially if he were able to handover memories and evidence of what Potter had been up to. And Theo was sure that with Draco’s abilities, he’d be able to tweak the memories so that Hermione wouldn’t be included in any of them showing the trio’s activities over the year, “then that leaves the three of you to get the snake. And Potter, I’m assuming we’ll all be able to tell when the snake dies, there will be some kind of reaction right?” Harry nodded, “Good. Well, if it looks like that’s happened before he Avada’s you then I’ll kill him immediately after, when he’s mortal. If not, then I’ll just stick close by him until the Snake’s done for and then we’ll do it. Everyone clear?” Draco’s eyes snapped round the group and slowly they all nodded.

As Hermione and Weasel embraced Harry one last time, Draco spun to Theo’s side “Don’t even think about me for a second do you hear me. You think of her. Only of her. You make sure she survives this and then you take care of her for the rest of your life. Do you hear me, Theo? You can’t break, you can’t shut down, you don’t get to mourn me. You take care of her. Promise me?”

Theo knew what his best friend was saying. Draco wasn’t expecting to survive the night either. If Voldemort didn’t get him, he was fairly certain his aunt would if they were successful.

“I promise. But Draco I-…” it was all Theo could manage as he threw his arms around the blonde. In that moment he felt his heart crushing the way it had when he learned what happened to Hermione at the Manor.

As Grey eyes searched Green for a moment too long it was clear there was more that should be said but neither boy quite had the words.

And so, Theo watched, now cradling Hermione, as Draco escorted Potter to his death.

For the first time, Theo didn’t envy him. All he felt in that very moment was the utmost respect for Harry Potter.

He promised him too that he’d protect Hermione until his last breath for he knew she was like a sister to him and the wizard deserved some peace of mind at least as he walked willingly towards his death.

Chapter 19: Paybacks a Bitch

Chapter Text

“There you are, you filthy mudblood.” Theo looked up, over Hermione’s head to see Dolohov raising his wand. “Crucio!” the man bellowed.

Without a second thought, Theo spun Hermione and shoved her from his grasp into the arms of Weasley, taking the full hit of the curse himself. Gods, Dolohov was a dick.

Seemingly by the sheer agony of his crucio, he was still rather peeved that Hermione had not only survived his curse from the ministry attack but that he had served a stint in Azkaban for it. Despite not hitting his target, Dolohov held the curse and Theo buckled to his knees.

“Go. Run. I’ll find you.” He snarled as he wrenched over onto all fours.

He could hear Hermione screaming for him as Weasley dragged her away. Theo was no stranger to the curse, it was a favourite in the Nott household. He’d been a child the first time he’d been on the receiving end of it.

Just as the black spots began appearing in his vision, blood filling his mouth where he’d bitten down on his tongue, all of a sudden it stopped. And he drew a ragged breath before two sets of hands were hauling him to his feet.

“Now, it’s not that I don’t like to have a man on his knees, begging before me, but now's really not the time for it, Theodore.”

Pansy Parkinson.

Sweet Merlin, Pansy f*cking Parkinson and Blaise Zabini stood before him. Theo could cry.

“You good mate?” Blaise asked, clasping a hand to his shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah, uhm thanks for that. Couldn’t have got here a bit sooner though?” he said as he spat the blood from his mouth and Pansy simply snorted in derision.

“Look, I get it, you and Draco, with all of this” he gestured around them, “But we’re not sticking around. It’s not our fight. I’m taking Pans to Italy and we’ll stay with my mother. If you change your mind, you know where to find us.” Blaise said, wrapping his arm around the raven haired witch beside him.

Theo nodded in thanks and the pair hurried off behind a tapestry to take one of the secret passageways into the village. Now, he just needed to find Hermione. Again.

Theo set off towards the staircase he’d seen them fleeing to only moments before. And as he rounded the corner, ducking out of the way of a body on fire that came hurtling past him, he saw her, hand in hand with the Weasel as they both tripped over a rogue block of stone at the foot of the staircase only a metre or so from where he stood. The snake launching towards them.

All at once, everything was in slow motion.

He watched as supposedly one of the bravest wizards of their generation lay at the side of Hermione, the girl the world believed he loved, with his arms curled around her not doing a damn thing to protect her. Resigned to letting them both die together. Taking the cowards way out - not wanting to live without her but not brave enough to die protecting her either. Some Gryffindor he was turning out to be.

Theo threw himself in front of the pair of Gryffindors, once again all too happy to die for his witch. Thought he’d seriously underestimated how many times he’d be doing it in such quick succession.

As he hit the stone floor, he felt bizarrely okay. The snake hadn’t bitten him. Panicked, he looked round and saw Neville Longbottom standing above the three of them, the Sword of Godric Gryffindor in hand. The snakes head rolling across the stone floor.

Longbottom had killed the f*cking snake.

**

Narcissa Malfoy felt her mouth go dry as she stood in the forbidden forest beside her husband and her sister only a few feet from the Dark Lord. She built her occlumency walls up high as she watched her only son, dragging the Potter boy through the forest by his arm.

She willed her mind desperately towards Draco but for the first time in her life, she wasn’t able to break through his mental barriers.

She knew at once that her son had pushed himself to occlude this heavily because of something to do with the muggleborn witch he’d attached his heart to.

She’d seen how much the girl cared for her son whilst she was being tortured at the manor at her sister’s hand. Thoughts of her son and sweet Theodore had been her anchor.

Knowing this, and knowing how true a Gryffindors heart was, she doubted Draco’s had been hurt by her and he looked far too in control than he’d be if she’d been harmed. Theodore must be with the girl still. They must be up to something, and Draco was ensuring the Dark Lord couldn’t see into his mind. Whether Potter was in on it too remained to be seen, Draco never had cared for him.

”Harry. Harry no! What are you doing here?” The half giant called from behind them.

“Well done Draco” the snake-like wizard hissed as he stepped further away from the ranks of death eaters gathered in the clearing. “Finally, a Malfoy worthy of the name. You have served me well tonight.”

Draco bowed his head and stepped away and made his way towards her and his father. Narcissa had never felt so blinded by joy than to have her son safely within reach once more despite the horrors of the day and those still yet to come.

Narcissa heard her sister Bellatrix crackly with glee beside her before skipping off to find a better view. In these moments, where she was so completely happy, it was easy to recall the person she’d been as a young girl with wild curls and big ideas. Only now, Bella was squealing with glee at the thought of watching a young man die.

As the two wizards faced off against each other, his tone grew harsher, deeper, “Harry Potter, the boy who lived, will finally die.”

There was to be no show tonight, The Dark Lord’s wand raised high before the boy had a chance to escape.

“Avada Kedavra!”

The Dark Lord flew back hitting the forest floor before them from the strength of the curse.

Of course, Bellatrix was at his side in an instant, ever the faithful servant she was “My Lord, are you hurt?”

“I don’t need your help.” The Dark Lord snapped as he pushed her away as he stood, regaining his strength.

“The boy, is he dead?” Bellatrix whispered.

Immediately Narcissa pushed her thoughts to the boy laid lifelessly on the floor in front of them. It was faint but she could see the thoughts of his friends, feel the pain ripping through his body and she knew immediately this was their only chance.

Draco had bought Potter here for a reason, surely Miss Granger wouldn’t forgive him unless there was a bigger plan?

She stepped forward, making it clear she would be the one to announce the death of the chosen one.

As she neared his body, she was able to get a stronger grip on his thoughts and found the moments before he had departed for the forest. She saw her son speaking the plan, Theodore’s look of utter devastation when Draco had offered himself to walk Potter to his almost death.

She crouched down on the floor beside where the young man laid.

“Draco, will he expect you to be alive?” She whispered so quietly to him, careful not to be overheard by anyone.

Potter slowly moved his head to the right indicating Draco expected him to have died. She needed to maintain their plan.

”Dead.” She called out and around her elation boomed for their believed victory.

Just as Voldemort erupted into glee, he suddenly staggered to the floor once more, his eyes pained and clutching his chest. Something was happening to him. Draco suddenly shifted looking worried but she could not get inside his mind. Let me help you my dragon, she willed his mind to hear her.

**

f*ck.

They hadn’t anticipated almost the entirety of Voldemort’s army to have gathered here. There was no way he could kill the greatest dark wizard of all time whilst not only his aunt but a further fifty or so death eaters circled him not to mention all the beasts and giants.

If he was a sodding Gryffindor he might have but here, alone in the forest knowing his mother would have to watch him die, his self preservation won out.

“You see, my friends, we have prevailed. Harry Potter is dead! And, ever the generous leader that I am, I think it only right that young Draco here is rewarded for his service. The only one amongst you that was able to successfully deliver the boy to me after all this time. You, my boy, will walk beside me taking your rightful place besides Bellatrix, my two most loyal followers.”

f*ck, f*ck, f*ck. Here we go. You need to get back to Hermione and Theo.

Draco walked side by side with his Aunt Bella behind Voldemort as they crossed the bridge back towards the school. He could only hope that he’d be able to reunite with Theo and Hermione before they saw him to explain what had happened. And if not, he’d have to hope they still trusted him.

Trusted that he’d stayed true to his word and had not turned his back on them in favour of the Dark Lord.

As the Death Eaters fanned out into his courtyard, Draco couldn’t see them anywhere. His Mother must have been keeping an eye on him from wherever she hid within the pack as a thought flitted across his consciousness – I’ll find them my dragon.

His mothers attempts at accessing his mind had been giving him a headache since the forest, he’d only lowered the, slightly at the back of his mind when they’d entered the courtyard. It was their agreement, if he ever needed to guard his mind so carefully but needed her, he should lower them in this particular spot and she’d come to him.

Draco barely listened to the victory speech Voldemort was giving, that was until Longbottom hobbled forward with a rousing speech of his own. A speech so motivational it seemed to have woken Potter from being well, dead. And it dawned on him. His brilliant Mother. So skilled at both Occlumency and Legilimency she had been able to deceive Voldemort himself. Potter had never truly died in the forest, only the horcrux inside of him.

As Potter threw himself from Hagrid’s arms, Draco thanked Merlin that they both had exceptional seeker reflexes and made a break away from the pack of Death Eaters, launching Potter’s wand to him before they both dove over a pile of rubble.

“Thanks” Harry sighed in a brief moment of vulnerability before mustering all of his Gryffindor courage and leaping out from behind the rubble to resume the fight.

As Potter and Voldemort battled on, many of the Death Eaters chose to flee, disapperating on the spot. Those who didn’t were growing desperate in their fight.

Draco could feel anarchy ensuing all around him when his mother’s gentle nudge came again at his consciousness. They’re safe Draco, come quickly to the alcove besides the entrance to the Great Hall. We don’t have much time.

He disillusioned himself and hastened through the castle. He was very much aware he would likely be considered public enemy number one on both sides. The boy who started the war and then delivered Potter to Voldemort, and the boy who equipped Potter for the final fight.

He’d be dead within seconds if anyone saw him.

Just as he made his way to the castle doors, he watched as Potter’s spell crashed into that of Voldemort’s. Of course, stupid tosser chose to counter Avada Kedavra with Expelliarmus. Sodding Gryffindor.

He didn’t need to stay and watch to know that Potter somehow won. His dark mark erupted in pain before sizzling angrily and as he pulled up his sleeve he watched as the jet black faded down into his skin to be a dull grey.

They’d done it. It was finally over.

Overjoyed, he ducked and darted his way through the remaining fighters inside the castle, he glanced and saw a witch who he assumed was the Weasel’s Mother, freeze and then explode his Aunt Bella. Good riddance he thought as he snorted slightly.

He turned back to the corridor in front of him to see his mother beside Theo who was cradling Hermione to his chest tucked back slightly in the alcove safe from harm.

As his mother caught his eye, she muttered something to them before backing further away. At once, both eyes were upon him. Theo’s olive green and the rich warmth of Hermione’s honey brown.

At once he lurched towards the duo, pushing them back deeper into the alcove. Granger winding him slightly with the force of her hug, her head burrowing into his chest, Theo wrapping his long arms around them both protectively.

“We’re okay Draco, it’s okay, it’s over. We’re both fine.” Hermione soothed as she stroked her hand through the back of his hair.

After a moment, Theo dropped his arms from them both as Draco held her back at arms length, his eyes roving over her, searching desperately to make sure she wasn’t hurt and her heart swelled for the wizard before her.

Hermione pushed herself up on her toes, her lips pressed softly against his cheek. He felt her smile against his skin. The kiss was soft and gentle.

He was desperate for more

As she pulled away, his fingers tracing her arm, he glanced to her left and made eye contact with Theo who was still standing right next to them. He couldn’t quite read the expression on his best friend's face.

Hermione buried herself between Theo and Draco and the two boys embraced her.

They were safe.

“What is the meaning of this?” His father hissed from behind them.

Draco was about to draw his wand when his mother strode out towards Lucius. “Now is not the time, my love. We will explain everything. But Draco, we must go. You’ve seen they are safe and now let me and your father save you.” Draco’s brow furrowed, not understanding.

“Come now Draco,” his father drawled, “don’t be dense. You don’t think we’ll be allowed to walk free after this surely? The Aurors will be on their way if not here already. We must go, Draco.”

No one spoke for a moment, but Theo’s grip on his shoulder loosened and Hermione started to pull away. “They’re right mate, you can’t stick around” Theo breathed, Draco felt rage brewing inside his chest.

f*ck. This wasn’t fair.

“Go Draco, please” Hermione sobbed, leaning back into Theo and away from him, “We’ll figure this out I promise. We won’t let them arrest you. But for now, you need to go. It’s not safe for you. For any of you.”

“Draco, come” his mother spoke softly but sternly, as she reached out her hand for him before casting her gaze over him, "Theodore?"

His mother would want Theo to join them, but she had worked hard to make sure he was kept away from all of the Malfoy wrongdoings and since the distance between him and his father was well known, perhaps he would be afforded some level of protection.

He turned to the brunette wizard, and watched as his best friend gripped Hermione a little tighter, making his decision. “Theo, I-“ he began.

“No need Drake. I know. And I’ve got her, I promise.” Theo nodded gently, with only a quick squeeze of his hand. Draco lent forward and pressed a palm to Hermione’s face and a gentle kiss to her cheek.

“Be Safe Granger. And stay with Theo. Please. I-I need you to be safe.”

“Draco, I’ll-“ he didn’t let her finish. If she said anything close to the words he wanted to hear, he knew he’d never be able to walk away.

So instead, he reached out for his mother and the moment their fingers met, she disapperated them away.

Chapter 20: Broken Hearts and Battle Scars

Chapter Text

May, 1998

Theo and Hermione stood, hand in hand, as they surveyed the empty space in front of them where three platinum blondes had been standing seconds before.

“Wait here” Hermione whispered, pulling away from Theo towards the Great Hall where she walked the lines of the dead, mourning their fallen friends and teachers. Tears falling softly down both cheeks.

It only took a few steps for Hermione to feel bile rising in her throat as she took count of the dead… Pavarti, Lavender, Colin Creevey, Lee Jordan, Remus, Tonks, Snape. And so many more faces lost in a sea of dead bodies.

As she moved deeper through the crowds of people, Hermione’s eyes settled on the sea of red hair towards the end of the hall. She immediately sorted through the members of the Weasley family, stalling when she saw George and automatically counted that as 2 people safe, only to realise George was standing alone. Oh Fred… Hermione’s heart wept for the Weasley’s but given all that had come undone that night between her and Ron, she didn’t think she should go over. She’d leave them to grieve as a family.

Hermione slowly became aware of the eyes that followed her through the Great Hall, so she retreated back out to the comfort of the strong warm arms waiting for her.

People were looking to her to be the one with the answers. Decide what they should do now the war was over. But she wasn’t ready for that yet.

As she rounded the corner out of the hall, she barrelled into Theo much the same as she had the day they first properly met. But this time he didn’t release her.

“Hermione let’s get out of here, come on, I know where we can go” Theo whispered to her gently as she brushed more fallen tears away. She nodded at him and followed as he turned and led her away from the Great Hall.

She hadn’t really noticed where they were going until the chill in the air caught her neck and the damp smell wafted to her nose. He was taking her back down to the dungeons – to his dorm if she had to guess.

She followed him through the familiar route of the Slytherin common room until he pulled open the door of the dorm, gesturing with his hand to the small of her back to allow her to enter first.

She stood awkwardly in the centre of the room, her fingers picking at the skin around her nails as Theo fortified the wards on the door. Once satisfied, he walked towards her and wrapped his strong arms around her, snaking a hand through her hair to rest on the nape of her neck. Hermione stole a glance up at him, and his face softened enough that the dimple on his left cheek reappeared.

She could feel his eyes searching hers. “Theo, I-“ she began tentatively.

“It’s okay Hermione.”

“Theo. Let me finish. Please…” she sighed, unable to hide the irritation in her voice. “I’m sorry, it’s just.... Theo… I’m in love with you.” The boy beside her lifted his head and stared back at her in shock unblinking, “I do. I love you. I have for a long time now but I was too scared to admit it. I worry about you, all of the time in fact, and I missed you desperately whilst we were on the run. I’ve been hoping all this time that you loved me too, that what you said in sixth year was all true. But we didn’t get any time to discuss it, and I never figured out how my feelings fit around everything. But as much as it all feels too overwhelming right now, I just know I need you. Please, I need you in my life Theo.”

He pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. “I love you too, Hermione. I’ve loved you longer than you’ll ever know and after we get away from all this I’ll explain.”

Before he lost his nerve, he lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers. A delicate, soft kiss and nothing more. The first time he’d kissed her he’d not been gentle, he was so sure it was what she wanted.

But now, even after her declaration of love, he wanted to tread carefully. She’d been through so much since he was last able to hold her in his arms.

And so, he pulled her into his lap and held her close to his chest as he sat on his dorm room bed. He felt her crying into his shoulder. “What is it, love? What’s pushed you over the edge?”

“I-I, I know how many people have died, how many more are injured and surely traumatised but all I keep thinking about is him. And how much I miss him already… and how wrong that is because I’m here with you.” Theo didn’t need her to clarify who this ‘he’ was, “I am so incredibly relieved to be here with you, and that we’re both alright and I know that should be enough but-“

“I get it.” He interrupted, “Things with Draco are complicated… “ he dropped his gaze from hers and took a deep breath, “it’s complicated for all of us right now.”

An unknown amount of time passed as they remained there. But Theo knew the rest of the wizarding world would surely know by now of the tragedies that had occurred. Aurors would certainly be on their way and they needed a plan. He may not be a death eater but his father was and he’d be damned if they tried to take him from Hermione.

“Hermione love” he cooed gently in her ear, rousing her from where she rested against his chest, “the Aurors will most likely be here by now, you need to go back upstairs. They’ll want your statement or at the very least information from you so that they can follow up with you in the next few days to retrieve it.”

Hermione gave no response.

“Hermione, what’s wrong?” Theo asked nervously, sensing her trepidation.

“I don’t have an address to give them. I’ve nowhere to go. Before we left last year, I had to make… certain decisions…about my life in the muggle world so I no longer have a home there. Harry inherited Grimmauld Place from his Godfather but I assume that will likely be combed by the DMLE since it functioned as the headquarters for the order so that could be out for some time and I can’t very well reside at the Burrow since their family will be grieving and I essentially rejected Ron…”

Theo didn’t even hesitate before responding. “You can come live with me. Not permanently, if that scares you, but my home is yours for as long as you need. Tell me-“ he began again but more softly, “would you like to tell me what happened? Why can’t you go home?”

He watched as her eyes glistened with more unshed tears threatening to burst over. His heart was breaking for her and he didn’t even know why. He’d met the Grangers, they were nice people. They loved their daughter. And Draco had kept watch on their home, when the death eaters came calling they weren’t found. What could possibly have happened that they wouldn’t take her back home?

“Uhm, well I knew that being muggle born, whatever happened, I’d be a target. I couldn’t risk anything happening to them and I had no other ideas on how to keep them safe so I sent them away. I slightly modified the obliviate charm and instead erased myself from their minds completely and instead implanted the idea that they were packing up and moving to Australia that week. I set them up with new identities, a home, jobs, everything really. They have no idea I exist. And I had to arrange for everything in the house to be either sold or took into storage and the house put on the market…Crookshanks, he” the mention of her beloved albeit ugly familiar proved to be her undoing, “I sent Crooks with them, I hoped he’d protect them in whatever way he could.”

Theo’s arms stretched around her once again. It was so much worse than he thought. “f*ck, Hermione. I’m so sorry love. I’m so sorry. You’re going to come live with me, we’ll do what we need to do here and if you’ll let me, I’ll come with you to Australia, we’ll find your parents and do everything we can to bring them back. And then we’ll figure everything else out together. Okay?”

“Okay Theo.” Hermione rested her head against Theo’s chest as he rubbed soothing circles onto her back.

“But right now you need to go upstairs, tell Potter you’re going home and that you’ll owl him tomorrow. Tell the Aurors you’re staying with a friend at the Nott Estate and that you feel safe there. Let them know Nott Snr is dead but that you have no knowledge of how that happened to him during the battle. I’ll be right next to you the whole time but I’ll be disillusioned and then when we reach the edge of Hogwarts wards I’ll apparate us okay?”

Hermione nodded.

“Words love. Please, this is important. Tell me you understand what needs to happen now.”

“I understand Theo.”

He sighed in relief before casting the charm before they made their way from the safe seclusion of the dungeons back to the main part of the castle where Aurors and DMLE officers had gained control of the situation as expected.

They quickly found Harry and Ginny seated together in one of the alcoves by the Great Hall. “’Mione!” Harry sprung up from Ginny’s embrace, “we’ve been looking for you everywhere, are you alright?”

“Fine Harry, you?” she forced out.

“No, but I think I will be” his little witch smiled at this response from her friend,

It was Ginervra who spoke next, embracing Hermione, “do you want to come back to Grimmauld with me and Harry before we go to the burrow or shall we meet you there?”

Hermione pulled back from Harry and Ginervra, her shoulder almost brushing against his arm. “Thank you, both of you, but I’m not coming. There’s some things with my parents I need to take care of first. I’ll be with a friend and I’ll be safe. I promise.”

“Her-“ Harry began but the Weasley girl cut him off, “is this the friend you wouldn’t tell, me about in sixth year?” Hermione nodded, “I assume he’s nearby?” Again, she nodded looking slightly confused at her friend, “Oi dickhe*d, wherever you are, whoever you are, I bloody well hope you have apologised and you had better take damn good care of Hermione else you’ll be answering to me. And trust me, I’ll make Voldemort look like a Cornish pixie.”

Well damn, that was him told.

Hermione giggled and pulled her friend into a huge hug, Potter just looked perplexed. Poor thing.

Hermione said her goodbyes and then went to the nearest Auror and went through the motions just as he instructed and together they made their way from the castle.

**

They landed side by side with a crack just as the sun began to set in the sky above them. Hermione didn’t even think it was possible for a building to feel more bleak and full of dark magic than Malfoy Manor but Theo’s family had somehow got them beat.

Despite being considerably smaller than what she remembered of the Malfoy home, Nott Manor still loomed over her as Theo walked them to the front gates. “Sorry love, I know it's late and you’re exhausted but if I don’t add you to these wards you’ll be ripped apart the second we go inside, and I need a few drops of your blood for it to recognise you.”

Hermione nodded and held out her hand to him. Theo used his wand to make a small incision on her palm, syphoned out the blood he needed and then healed her back up immediately.

“How do you know what to do Theo? Are you sure it’s okay, me being here?” Hermione trusted Theo implicitly but she’d heard stories about Nott Snr. He was dark and twisted much like Bellatrix but with a slightly more sound mind.

“As heirs to our family lines, both Draco and myself received lessons from a young age about our families properties, the wards, blood magic and any gifts our family passed on to us.”

“What does that mean? Gifts? Is it like Harry inheriting the cloak of invisibility?” she asked inquisitively.

“No, not quite. Although you’re going to tell me about that later. What I mean is that sure, both mine and Draco’s homes are littered with magical objects and dark artefacts but some of the oldest families within the Sacred-28 have shown to have a specific proclivity for certain branches of magic. The Blacks for example, were exceptionally skilled at mind magic, the 3 Black sisters, born once every five hundred years especially. Three were born the generation before us – Andromeda, the eldest with Legilimency, Bellatrix was an exceptional occlumens until she went certifiably insane and then Narcissa, Draco’s mother, managed to get the knack for both. The Malfoys, they make incredibly strong duellers. Draco isn’t just a good seeker by chance, the two disciplines share similar requirements for quick thinking, fast reflexes and strong balance. But, selfish prick seems to also have picked up a fair amount of his mothers talents also.”

Hermione had never considered this before. If it were true then of course young purebloods would believe they were better than everyone else, because in some respects they just were. She assumed it was like selective breeding in livestock or pets that was all too common in the muggle world.

“What about the Notts?” she said, eyeing the wizard before her as he finished up the wards.

“There’s a reason I brought you here, Hermione. I hate Nott Manor. Loathe the place really and would burn it to the ground if I could. But, it has the strongest wards of any property in Britain and the longest lineage of blood magic protections. For those admitted, there is frankly no place safer.”

“I see… so this explains your dorm at Hogwarts?”

“Yeah, the security in that place was a joke.” he said, grasping her hand and leading her through the boundary line. She felt the faint hum in her magic around her as the wards accepted her.

“You should let me, Harry and Ron to test it out for you someday.” she chuckled as they walked up the drive and he looked at her confused “Whilst on the run we broke into the Ministry, Gringotts and Hogwarts. Three of supposedly the safest places in Britain.”

All Theo could do was shake his head in exasperation. “Sweet Salazar, you’re going to be the death of me aren’t you, witch?”

**

Theo showed her through the main part of the house which was gloomy, cold and reeked of dark magic. The walls were all a midnight blue with architrave and bronze framed portraits. Likely Nott ancestors but Theo had cast the same kind of silencing charm they had used on Walburga Black when they were Grimmauld so Hermione didn’t have to listen to their screaming that a mudblood was in this most noble and ancient house

He pulled her in the direction of the East corner.

“We’ll go to my Mother’s old wing. It’s where I lived until I moved in with the Malfoys. I don’t imagine my father ever set foot in there since so it should be more comfortable than the rest of the place. Then once everything with the war is over, I’ll write to the curse breakers at Gringotts and see if they can come and cleanse the place. I’m sure the DMLE will want to come in and have a look around too but that’s a problem for another day.”

“Theo, I – thank you. I’m sorry if it’s difficult for you to be here. We could try Malfoy Manor if that’s easier for you?”

“No Hermione. You’re not going back there. Draco told me what happened. And even if that were a possibility, just because I’m accepted on the wards and very good at manipulating them, I couldn’t change any of the blood wards erected since I’m not Lord of the Manor nor the heir so I couldn’t be certain of your safety.”

It suddenly hit her that since Theo committed patricide, he was now Lord Nott, one of most powerful and influential men in the wizarding world. They walked together through the corridors till they reached his late-mother’s wing. Once inside Hermione grasped his hand tightly knowing how hard this must be for him.

She followed quietly as Theo showed her around the lower floors. He slowed as he approached the first few doors on the second floor corridor.

“So, I don’t have a real room here and if it’s alright with you, I’d rather not go to the one I did have nor my mothers, so we have our pick of the guest rooms on this corridor. Choose whichever you prefer and I’ll take the one next door.”

Hermione shuffled slightly, “Would you, uhm, would you mind possibly if we shared the same room? I-I uhm just haven’t slept on my own in a really long time and-“ Hermione couldn’t even finish her sentence before the tears started again. How could she even begin to explain that she dreaded falling asleep through the fear of what nightmares might await her. Merlin knew her brain had lots of memories to choose from.

“Of course we can Hermione. Whatever you need. I’m here. I’ll always be here.” Theo smiled warmly and relief flooded through her.

As they stepped into the guest room, all of the candles ignited as the room acknowledged their presence.

A vast expanse of mahogany wood floors lay before her. The walls painted the darkest blue it looked almost black, covered with ornate bronze mouldings. It was so dark. Hermione made her way deeper into the room. She didn’t imagine it got much light even in the summer with thick heavy curtains lining each window. It was too dark outside to see the view but the pitch black expanse out of the window told her there was nothing around for miles.

She turned and surveyed the rest of the room. An obscenely large mahogany framed bed centred the wall to her left with a tall carved headboard, two small chests either side. On the opposite wall stood only a large wardrobe and a door that she supposed led to a bathroom.

“It’s not much compared with the rooms at Malfoy Manor but I hope it’ll do. I’m just sorry it’s so f*cking depressing in here. We could try and redecorate a bit if you like?”

“Theo, stop. You don’t need to keep apologising. I’ve been homeless for almost a year now, trust me, this is luxury.” What Hermione didn’t say was that regardless of her living situation this past year, the ‘small’ guest room would still seem impressive. If it wasn’t so dark….

He smiled back at her sheepishly.

“And the flowers are a lovely touch Theodore really. I knew it had been you all this time. But I don’t know how you did it so fast, you wouldn’t even know which room we would be in.” Hermione asked quizzically as she leant down to sniff the bouquet.

”I-uhm, that wasn’t me, Hermione. I thought you did that?” He said, brow furrowing in confusion when she shook her head.

”I’ve been receiving single stems of flowers since we started exchanging letters two summers ago. I just assumed it was you?”

“And why did you never mention it?” he said, stepping towards her as she examined the bouquet further.

“I was afraid if I did that you’d stop. I never knew how they arrived with me but they were always so beautiful. Well, apart from when branches were sent, that was a little odd...”

”So, you don’t know what they mean Hermione?” Theo’s voice was almost sad at the realisation and he must have known she had no idea what he meant because he continued speaking unprompted.

“As part of the etiquette classes almost all purebloods take such as learning to play instruments, ride horses, speak multiple languages, we were also taught old fashioned sentiments, like the language of flowers. Merlin forbid we were attempting to court a witch and accidentally sent her flowers that insinuated we wanted to start a war against her.” He chuckled softly. “Every flower or plant has a meaning, and sometimes those meanings can have subtle nuisances when paired together.”

Hermione couldn’t believe it. A whole language, an ancient practice she had heard of in the muggle world but had no idea it carried into the wizarding one.

“Can you help me, Theo? Help me understand what they mean and then maybe we can work out who’s been sending them?” She looked up at him with big doe eyes, he returned her look with another warm smile.

”This bouquet is sent with sympathies. The Chrysanthemums are for condolences, the Marigolds for grief, Cypress is for mourning, Mint for consolation and then Lily of the valley means better days are ahead. Do you remember the other flowers they sent you?”

Hermione pulled open her beaded bag that was still slung over her shoulder, diving her hand down deep for the wooden box she’d kept with her at all times. “I kept them all Theo, they were too beautiful not too. I kept all of the little notes from you as well.”

They sat quietly together on the edge of the bed as she pulled out each flower in order she was given them, giving Theo details on how it had arrived, if anything particular had happened around that time and he wrote her a list of what they had all meant.

The first letter: Hyacinth - please forgive me

The second letter: Pansy - you occupy my thoughts

The third letter: Peony and Foxglove - bashfulness and secrets; a gift for a secret admirer

The final letter before school: Hawthorn, Olive and Rue - hope, peace, and regret; asking for forgiveness

Her birthday: Floribunda Rose - birthday girl

October: Buttercup - you are radiant with charm

November: Gladiolus - you pierce my heart

December: Fern & foxglove - magic and secrecy; for a secret love

January: Honeysuckle - devotion and affection

February: Orchid - elegance or beauty

March: Camellia - longing for you

April: Fern & poppy - magic/secrecy and eternal sleep; to show the recipient you think of them in your dreams

May: Myrtle - love

June, right before their exams: Clematis, Clover and Rosemary - ingenuity and cleverness, good luck, remembrance

The morning of the Death Eater break in at school: Eucalyptus - protection

Hermione sat there, tears rolling down her cheeks. Theo took her hands in his. In that moment she felt awkward, Theo had told her he loved her, she said she loved him and yet here they were with undeniable evidence that someone else was trying to win her affections. What a mess.

“I’m sorry Theo, please don’t be angry with me. I didn’t know. I love you, Theo.”

“Gods, Hermione, I’m not angry at you. This, little situation of ours is driving me insane. I didn’t know Draco was ever planning on telling you how he felt. We both just counted ourselves lucky to be your friend. But he knew what you meant to me, so he agreed to back off. And here he f*cking is, my best friend secretly professing his feelings to the girl I love.”

Hermione wrung her hands together, “Theo, what are you saying? Draco doesn’t love me. We’re just friends, I know I said I felt something for him but it’s you I’m in love with Theo. You believe me, don’t you?” she asked shyly.

“Of course, love. But I know how he feels too.” he replied, taking her small hand in his.

“What-what do you mean?”

Theo sighed softly beside her before lighting a cigarette. “Hermione, I-I’ve told you before how my father beat me and tortured me even as a little boy and how Draco convinced his parents to let me live with them.” Hermione nodded in response.

“But, what you don’t know is that in first year when I saw what an arrogant, mean bully Drake turned into in an attempt to please his father, I found I couldn’t let him go.”

Theo began to tremble as all his secrets threatened to burst free. He took a long drag on the cigarette, steeling himself to continue.

“I couldn’t help but watch him intensely to try and find glimpses of the boy I knew. But I just ended up noticing he’d take three spoons of honey in his tea, but his coffee, always black and bitter. How he'd always take an extra slice of cake for dessert but then in the morning crunch down on the sourest of green apples. The gentle care he’d take of Ulysses in the privacy of the owlery but the blatant lack of respect for any of the creatures in class in front of his so called friends. The pure joy in his smile whilst riding his broom versus the scowl that marked his face whenever he saw Potter or Weasley. Draco was a walking contradiction. And those moments of innocence routed themselves deep under my skin. Right there besides where you were busy burrowing in with your kindness, unparalleled intellect and your unwavering loyalty.” Hermione smiled softly when he nudged her shoulder with his.

“Then, in third year, when you punched him. Well done on that by the way... well, I noticed how Draco began to watch you. Don’t get me wrong, he wasn’t watching you with hearts in his eyes, Salazar no, the prick still hated you at this point, I think. But, he began watching you more closely all the same.

My feelings for you were complicated. I never really noticed girls the way other boys in our year seemed to be. Except you. Without even holding an entire conversation with you I knew that our souls were the same. We’re two sides of the same coin you and I. But it was only as I watched you in the opening dance, knowing that everyone might finally be seeing you the way I saw you, that my eyes met with Draco’s across the floor as we both watched you. And for the first time I saw the desire in his eye that reflected my own. That night we talked, properly for the first time whilst at school together. And we talked about you. As you know, Drake doesn’t do feelings particularly well but when I confided in him about my feelings for you, the very fact he didn’t hex me on the spot told me all I needed to know that he had truly renounced his views on blood supremacy and that you intrigued him.

Hermione, you… f*ck you bewitched me. I couldn’t take my eyes off you. I learned how you take your tea differently depending on what it is – milk and two sugars in the morning with an English breakfast blend, a teaspoon of honey in your chamomile after dinner in the library, a plain peppermint if you’re feeling anxious or fresh ginger if you’re unwell. You take coffee only when you’re out – and always a cappuccino. Your kind heart and empathy pulled us to you like nothing we’ve ever felt. But sweet Circe, Granger, there were times you scared the hell out of me as well. You were brave, honest and loyal, the perfect Gryffindor Princess.

But, you were also cunning, resourceful and ambitious. I thought that just maybe you’d have made an excellent Slytherin too. Both you and Drake had parts of yourself that were entirely at odds with who the world thought you should be.

I’ll be honest, it was only in sixth year that I really realised what he felt for you was more than a passing fancy. I watched as he fell in love with you, it opened a whole new side of him I’d never seen. But then we were all forced apart with a war between us.”

Hermione paused, a sudden realisation breaking over her. Her gaze met Theo’s, a certain darkness now clouding his expression.

She wrapped him in her arms, her teeth cutting into her lip to keep herself from crying for him.

”It was difficult when he liked Pansy in the earlier years” he breathed, his voice shaking, “because I knew she would never love the way that he does: fully, selflessly, painfully.” He wiped a tear from. His cheek. "And in fifth year when his father started talks about betrothal contracts...that was hard. When I thought a loveless marriage might be all he ever got...because he deserves more. He deserves everything.”

Silence fell over them for a few moments before Theo adjusted himself on the edge of the bed to look straight at her and vanished his cigarette.

“That Summer after I saw you in St Mungo’s, we promised each other that we’d do anything we could to try and deserve you and your friendship. We never expected anything from you. We’d both heard Lucius talking all year and we knew something bad was coming and that we’d do anything to keep you safe. I truly believe we only tolerated each other's affection for you because we weren’t expecting both of us to live through sixth year and wanted to be sure there would be someone left on the earth to care for you in our place. Hermione, I love you. I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you. I know no amount of time nor distance would ever change the pull I feel towards you.”

”Then why does it sound like you’re trying to convince me to pick him? I love you Theo. You do not need to step aside for Draco. I won’t leave you for him. I fell for you first Theodore Nott. You and your chocolate muffins had me from the start.”

They smiled at each other.

“Well alright then” he stated firmly. He had enough of a conscience to give her the opportunity but he certainly would not offer more than once.

“But don’t think I’m thrilled about you keeping another man’s flowers, cheeky witch.” He tickled at her waist and she giggled slightly. It was the most glorious noise after such horrors, “Enough of the heavy stuff, we can talk about this more another day, time for bed. The bathroom is through there if you want to shower or something. If the Nott elves were anything like the Malfoys’ there should be some basic toiletries and towels that you could transfigure into some fresh clothes if you needed to. I’ll wait out here.”

Theo flopped back onto the bed as Hermione made her way into the adjoining bathroom.

Again she assumed this would be what Theo considered ‘small’. Directly across the room set back under an archway was a huge shower lined in the same black marble that covered the floor. The walls matched the same blue as in the bedroom with gold accents throughout including the taps, mirrors and pipes.

To her right was a dark his and hers sink unit and toilet. On the left, a huge claw foot bath. It looked divine. But months on the run had her longing to scrub herself raw under the piping hot stream of water from the rain shower head. As she scrubbed she tried to ignore the blood and dirt that spiralled the drain.

Once clean, Hermione changed into a pair of shorts and a comfortable t-shirt that she transfigured, brushed her teeth and tamed her curls into a long plait down her back. As she sleepily made her way back across the room to the bed where Theo was already waiting, he turned white as a ghost, eyes pinned to the mudblood scar on her right forearm that was still raised an angry red colour. sh*t.

“Hermione…” His voice was so small.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think. I completely forgot. I’ll cover it, just give me a moment.”

“No, it’s, it’s okay. I was just so shocked to see it for the first time.” Hermione settled gently beside him in the bed. “Does it hurt?” he asked, eyes still staring at it wide.

“Not anymore, not really. It itches occasionally but that’s all.” She was lying through her teeth, the damned thing was still woefully painful but he didn’t need to know that.

“Come on, let’s try and sleep. I’ll stay right here, I promise, and wake me, please, if you need anything.”

Hermione watched him as he slept, wondering how it was possible that her heart found new angles at which to break. She nestled in closer to his back.

“Theo?” She whispered softly.

No response, just drowsy inhales and exhales.

“I love you Theo,” she whispered. “Every single thing about you. Even the things about you that infuriate me. Make me want to rip my hair out. Force me to question my sanity. I love them. And you. So so much.” She sighed. “I know you think Draco deserves everything, and I don’t disagree. But, Theo, you deserve even more. And I’m going to fight like hell to make sure you realise it.”

She planted a kiss to his spine, and the room was still. But, unbeknownst to Hermione, Theo was very much awake, tears cascading down his cheeks.

True to his word, Theo held her close as they slept. Rousing her gently from her nightmares each and every time. Stroking gentle circles on her back with his fingers and whispering every reassurance that he had her, she was safe, it was over and she could rest.

Chapter 21: Figuring Out Tomorrow

Chapter Text

May, 1998

The next morning, the familiar sound of a bird tapping at the window woke them.

“Morning Princess.” Theo’s sleepy green eyes met hers. Gods how did he look so good in the morning? And not just any morning, the morning after a literal battle.

“Good morning you” she replied, brushing her curls away from her face as he gave her a lazy, lopsided smile.

Hermione watched as Theo climbed out from the bed, and she couldn’t help but admire how the muscles on his back flexed as he stretched to push open the window. Poor little Erol, the Weasley’s owl seemed to be rather weighed down with letters all addressed to Hermione. Well ,all except one.

As Theo sat back in the bed, leaning up against the headboard, she propped herself up and tucked in beside him so that they read the letters together. Instantly she steeled herself as she saw Ron’s messy writing and decided to get that one out of the way first.

Mione,

I don’t even know where to start. And I hate writing letters, you know I do, but Gin’s told me I have to do this else she’ll hex me.She’s actually watching me write this you know.

I have so many questions Mione. Why did you disappear after the battle? Why aren’t you here now? Where are you? Why did you think we could trust the Ferret and his friend?

Please just tell me what’s going on. This isn’t you. You have been my best friend since first year and I need us to all be here together. We get through everything together. How do we do this without you?

Please come back to us.

Mum and Dad think you should be here with us. At least for a bit…

Please Hermione.

Ron

---

Dearest Hermione,
We hope you are alright? Please remember you are family to us. You are welcome here whenever you need us.

Love,

Molly and Arthur

---

Hermione

I miss you. We all miss you. Ron’s being an arse about the whole thing of course but once he’s calmed down and someone’s given him some attention I’m sure he’ll be just fine.

You’re the closest thing I have to a sister Hermione so please don’t be a stranger.

But for once, look after yourself first. I need you to be okay. Harry needs you to be okay. Stay safe.

See you soon.

Love, Ginny x

---

Hermione,

We need to talk, can I floo you today? I just need to understand.

I really need my friend right now Hermione and I need to know that’s still you. The Hermione I knew wouldn’t have kept secrets and she certainly wouldn’t have left. You promised me you’d never leave.

Harry

Well, they were all exactly as she expected – she wondered how many drafts Ginny made Ron write before they reached the point that he wasn’t sending her a howler for siding with the snakes... fire whisky was the likely culprit of his sudden desire to advance further than the emotional range of a teaspoon. He was now a tablespoon at best.

Mr and Mrs Weasley’s note had touched her greatly though as they had every right to be a little cross with her for breaking their son's heart.

Her thoughts then turned to her darling Harry. She hated feeling like she had disappointed him. She hoped he knew she hadn’t left him, not really. But she’d given so many years of her life to him that now it was over, she needed to choose herself. To choose Theo.

Hermione was now absolutely beside herself crying into Theo’s chest for the millionth time. “Theo I’m so sorry, I’m not normally such a mess. It’s just everything that’s happened, I can’t keep it all in.” she hiccoughed softly between her tears.

“Hush. You have nothing to be sorry for. Now, would you like me to get us some tea?”

“Yes, I think I would.” She kissed him softly on the cheek. “Thank you, Theo.”

She didn’t know if Theo had ever made tea from scratch before but she was sure he’d figure it out.

**

As they walked through the overgrown and unkept grounds of the Nott Estate, Theo asked Hermione if she could tell him everything that had happened in the time they’d been apart.

She was hesitant at first, but Theo remained quiet, only nodding in understanding or asking her what happened next and she found it helped to talk about it.

It helped that Theo listened without judgement.

He gripped her hand tightly and would always pull her closer to his side or into a tight hug after she recounted something particularly traumatic.

When she reached the day at Malfoy Manor, he was quick to allow her to skip over it if she’d prefer. He’d already heard Draco’s retelling. And although she knew it wasn’t healthy, she was grateful to be allowed to skirt over that particular topic. She knew she’d need to revisit it one day. But perhaps it could wait till she wasn’t as tired.

He shed quiet tears with her when she told him how Dobby had died. Apparently he and Draco had played with Dobby a lot when they were younger.

He paled and his expression turned horror struck when she’d had to polyjuice into the same witch who’d tortured her.

He laughed heartily when he learned of their escape on the back of a dragon. For a witch who claimed not to like flying on brooms, she’d certainly flown on much less predictable means many many times.

And when she told him about Ron, and how broken she felt when he left them, he was kinder than she had expected.

When she told him how she’d thought of him whenever she was scared, lonely or in pain his resolve finally cracked.

Theo spun her in his arms, and grasped her face between his hands and kissed her harshly. This time he was back to delivering a searing hot kiss that ignited something deep within her. He walked them backwards through the grass till her back pressed up against a huge oak tree, the pace of his kiss still unrelenting as his tongue sought entry into her own.

He nipped and sucked at her bottom lip, smiling against her lips when a small whine escaped from her mouth.

“I love you Hermione. I will always love you. I’ll keep you safe now princess. You can rest.”

And for the first time, in a very long time, Hermione felt herself relax against his strong chest for she knew if she fell, he’d be right there waiting to catch her.

**

Later that day, she and Harry talked from the floo. She made the call given that he had absolutely no idea where in the world she was. And she hid Theo away out of sight so as not to give him up. She wasn’t quite ready for that conversation.

It certainly wasn’t their most productive talk. He wasn’t happy with how much she was keeping from him still.

“Blimey Hermione, I wish you would just tell me where you are. I just need to know you’re safe and that you’re not being kept against your will. There’s still so many death eaters out there and you’ll be at the top of their kill list right beside me and Ron.” He was using that tone of voice that riled her up something rotten. The voice he used when he thought he was right and expected her to roll over and give in to whatever he wanted. “Just tell us where you are and we can-“

“Help?” she snapped, “How can you help when you haven’t a clue what I’m going through. And don’t tell me again about how you know about loss and grief and guilt. Because you don’t. Not like this.”

“I don’t understand Hermione. Are you with your parents? Who’s looking out for you?”

Hermione stilled. It was time. She could answer this for him at least.

“They’re not here anymore. I obliviated myself from their memories and sent them somewhere safe on the other side of the world before I came with you and Ron. They don’t currently know I exist, Harry.”

Harry just stared at her, broken, through the flames. “Now, please don’t think I’m running away, Harry, because I’m not, but I need to go and find my parents. I need to go and try and reverse it before I can think about sorting out the mess that’s left here.”

The DMLE and Wizengamot had twenty or so Death Eaters to begin interrogating and sentencing before they began the task of rounding up those who escaped. Hermione knew instinctively that despite ranking lower than the Malfoys, the Aurors would be more likely to want to catch Greyback and Dolohov first since they were a more unhinged, and well, with Greyback, every full moon posed a chance for him to infect more of the population and grow his pack.

They guessed this meant they had a month at least till any real resources were pushed to find the Malfoys. Since Bellatrix was dead and it was common knowledge that Theo did not reside with his father, the pair assumed they wouldn’t even be needed at any trials for a while.

“I’ll come with you, if you want? Or Ginny?” Harry asked, his tone returning to normal.

“Thank you, Harry but I’m okay. I’m not alone. You should be here. Ron, Ginny, they need you. I think I’d just complicate everything.”

“And you’ll be safe? With whoever is with you…”

“Yes. I promise. I’ve never felt safer.” She looked at Theo across the room. “What will you do?”

“The same thing. I don’t think I’ll sleep till the Death Eaters are all in Azkaban so I am helping with the trials as much as I can. I think it’ll be a week or two before they move on to those who sympathised with Voldemort so a lot of our classmates will be there.”

No. He couldn’t mean?

“Who do you mean Harry?” her voice cracked slightly as she spoke.

“Narcissa Malfoy and some of the other wives, their children, almost all of the older Slytherins will be investigated but I imagine they’ll only trial those with obvious connections like Parkinson, Nott. I’d say Crabbe and Goyle too but we know what happened to them.”

Hermione wiped away the tears cascading down her cheeks.

“You know, I think more of them are innocent than you’d expect. I heard Pansy only tried to hand you over because they were holding her mother and sister as leverage. Voldemort, he specifically threatened them. She shouldn’t go to prison for protecting her family Harry.”

“Is that who you’re with? Parkinson?” He snapped.

“No-“

“Will you ever be able to tell me Hermione? Who you’re with?” The hurt in his voice was unmistakable.

“Soon. I promise. But not till it’s safe.”

“Come home Hermione.”

“Harry…” Hermione began but he ended the floo.

That evening she talked to Theo at length about what they should do next. It was inevitable that Theo was going to face a trial in front of the Wizengamot and they both knew his attempt on Dumbledore's life with the mess would be enough to convict him of at least five years in Azkaban if discovered. Even if they begged he was acting under duress.

And who could say how they’d view actually killing his own father. An unforgivable was a one way ticket to Azkaban but since Nott would have been convinced and he was doing it to save not only his own life but that of her own and likely Harry and Ron’s too if he had seen them, means surely Theo wouldn’t be charged.

“I’ll speak at your trial Theo, with my testimony and memories I can provide of us together they won’t be able to believe you agreed with Voldemort.”

“Thanks love but they’ll tear through your mind for anything and they’ll see not only what I did but everything Draco has ever done. It won’t help him.”

“I can block them Theo. I can adjust some of the memories so that it doesn’t implicate him further.”

“Hermione, are you saying what I think you are?” She could hear the hint of hope in his voice that he was trying to hide.

“Draco, he taught me occlumency in secret. Apparently I’m a natural. Legilimency I was pretty useless at but this I can do.”

“You brilliant witch!” He pressed a loud kiss to her cheek in glee.

“Always the tone of surprise Theodore” she said smugly, co*cking her brow at him as he grinned back at her.

“And you’d be okay with your friends finding out about us? Like this I mean?”

Hermione nodded, careful not to let him see that she was in fact, quite nervous about this. Harry would be hurt but eventually understand, Ron would be… well. And she hoped the others would see beyond their own prejudices too.

“So then, we go to Australia, find your parents, restore their memories and then come home and save my arse from prison?” The dimple on his cheek returned.

“Yes Theo” she said with mock derision.

“Good. Because I’m much too handsome for Azkaban!”

She had missed this side of him. The cheeky, flirtatious Theo. The Theo whose presence felt like sunlight on a warm summers day. It had been a long time since he’d been anything other than the serious, protective Theo. Angry at the world and everyone in it.

**

The next day, her request for an international portkey was approved and they were set to depart in an hour's time.

Hermione settled herself on the grey velvet couch opposite Theo as he read in the sitting room. She decided to make one last adjustment before they left and took out the dainty Emerald necklace he had gifted her what felt like a lifetime ago from under her shirt.

“You still wear it?” Theo asked softly as he watched her.

“Yes. I’ve never taken it off, not once since we had that argument.”

At the confession Theo’s eyes glistened brightly and placed the book he was reading on the table before coming round to sit beside her, pulling her close to him.

“Oh, love. Draco told me you wore it, that day at the manor. I hope it helped you withstand what that crazy bitch did to you.”

It took a few moments for her brain to catch up. Theo had said something once about protective enchantments but she hadn’t given it much consideration. If that necklace had taken some of the pain, she didn’t ever want to know what the curse felt like without it, she was certain there was no way she’d survive it.

“Theo-“ she began her voice shaking as she clutched his hand.

Sensing her mounting distress, he placed a quick kiss to her lips. “Hush. Now, tell me what utter brilliance you were about to do to that necklace?” he said, smiling down at her.

Hermione told him how she’d charmed it so she’d know when they had written but now with Ginny holding her journal, she wanted to adjust it to connect to his instead in case Draco wrote to them.

They had no idea if he kept the journal with him but they had to hope.

**

Five days had passed since they found her parents and performed the retrieval spell.

At first she’d been elated, her parents recognised her and indeed Theo, immediately. But when she’d barrelled into their arms the hug they’d returned was stiff and hesitant.

The original charm Hermione cast on them had worked well, a little too well. Whilst she and Theo were able to restore all of the lost memories, it seemed they hadn’t quite been able to return all of the emotions that went along with them.

Perhaps in time they would return but for now, whilst Hermione’s parents remembered her and knew that they must have loved her very much, they simply didn’t harbour the unconditional love a parent is supposed to have for their child anymore.

It wasn’t that they were unkind to Hermione during the stay, Merlin no, it was just all rather forced and formal, not at all what life had been like in the Granger household growing up.

And crookshanks… she wept when she found out crooks had passed away over the Christmas period. She had no idea how old he was when she bought him but she knew he’d lived a good long life.

Evidently there was little the Wilkins missed about their life as the Grangers.

So, it was no surprise to Hermione that her parents told her they wouldn’t be returning to London with them as they had a whole life here that they enjoyed – friends, a successful business. And without the lost emotions, they didn’t have much reason to return.

After that heartbreaking realisation, Hermione and Theo had chosen to excuse themselves and Theo booked them a suite at the nicest hotel in the area. He of course had scoffed slightly at the room – clearly the small seaside town outside of Adelaide was no match from the usual luxuries the Nott fortune had allowed him. She was glad Theo had insisted he come with her. She wasn’t sure how she would have coped by herself. Even with his presence she still felt quite lonely.

Ginny had only written once whilst they had been away to tell them Ron and Harry had received letters inviting them to return to Hogwarts to complete their N.E.W.T year and that it was being offered to all of students who were in seventh year during the battle, regardless of if they attended the school that year or not. This meant there was likely to be letters waiting for her and Theo upon their return also.

Ron and Harry apparently had already decided not to attend, favouring the offer of a fast-tracked induction into the Auror programme, all N.E.W.T requirements waived. Ginny also suggested the same offer might be waiting for Hermione since it was well known that she had been the brains of their trio.

Hermione was less than surprised at their decision since both boys hated school and had longed to be aurors the entire time she’d known them. Hermione did not share this sentiment in the slightest.

If anything she found herself rather disappointed in the Ministry because yes, Ron and Harry were pretty good in a fight – Harry was naturally intuitive with his magic and Ron exceptionally strategic in thinking when he put his mind to it – but to reduce their training from a year down to six months was foolish, despite the pressing need to round up the remaining death eaters and dark beasts that followed Voldemort into battle.

Her and Theo decided that together, they would return to Hogwarts.

**

On their last night in Adelaide, Hermione and Theo took a blanket and a bottle of white wine down to the beach to watch the sunset. They nestled in close together, backs leaning up against some rocks at the cliff base.

Theo lit one of his cigarettes and Hermione tucked herself tighter under his arm allowing the scent of clove and tobacco to wash over her. She hadn’t realised quite how much she missed the smell. Since the battle, she hadn’t complained once about the awful habit.

The beach was deserted being the middle of winter and all but they cast disillusionment, notice me not and silencing charms around them just to be sure.

“Theo, can I ask you something?” she asked shyly.

“Of course, Princess.” he replied, taking her small hand in his.

“What do you think will happen when we see him again?”

“I-I don’t know. Things are complicated… and now I know he wasn’t entirely truthful with me, that he does indeed love you. I don’t think I can go back to how things were between us…I don’t know if I want to. We might not see much of him.” He looked unsatisfied, “In fact no, I don’t want to see him. It’s too much.” He said resolved.

“Theo-“

“I said no Hermione.” He snapped, taking a long drag on his cigarette.

“Do I even get a choice?” Hermione rasped, her voice growing angry.

“No you don’t. Because if we go back into the way things used to be you’ll fall in love with him the way-. If you ever chose him over me I couldn’t bear it.”

Theo downed the remains of his wine, a scowl to rival Draco’s marred his face. Hermione felt her heart aching for him. She would find a way to reunite them, their friendship was too precious to fall by the wayside over her. But first, she needed to convince him she was planning to stick around.

At school, she’d found the very thought of settling down and feeling like she’d met ‘the one’ at such a young age quite unlikely. But now, having been through everything she had, she craved that love and reassurance.

“Why would I ever leave you?” She asked quietly.

“Let’s just hope you never do. Come on now, everything will be fine Hermione.” Theo gave the girl to his side a small earnest smile and vanished the cigarette.

They sat in silence and watched the sun set, both leaning back on their hands, legs outstretched. Only the gentle flicker of the blue flames Hermione had conjured in a jar provided any real light as she placed her hand atop his.

“I love you, Theodore Nott. More than I ever thought possible.”

Theo curled his arm around her waist and lifted her onto his lap so she was straddling him.

“And I love you, Hermione Granger. More than you’ll ever know.”

She ran her hand through his short, tousled curls. His rich woody scent and the salt from the sea filled her lungs, the wine on his tongue covering the clove cigarettes he’d smoked as she pressed her lips to his.

She deepened the kiss, pressing his back against the rock and pushing her breasts closer to his chest, grinding against him slowly. She wasn’t quite sure what possessed her but she felt so consumed by a need to be closer to him. To feel anything but hurt, loneliness and despair. Theo was the only thing that made her feel anything good anymore.

Theo snaked one hand up to her jaw clasping round to the nape of her neck. The other ran slowly down from her ribs, down her waist and back to the round of her arse. Her hands desperately undo the buttons on his shirt and she thanked Merlin for the gift of warming charms so there wasn’t a mountain of clothing to get through.

Her hands now roamed freely across the expanse of his broad, muscular chest and down over his abdominal muscles. Hermione stopped herself making any reaction to seeing the vast array of scares that littered his body. Her beautiful Theo. She knew instantly it was the work of his father.

As they continued kissing and exploring each other with their hands, she could feel Theo was now desperately hard beneath her. The small kisses with him were the furthest she’d ever gone with a boy but she knew right then she wanted everything with Theo.

Chapter 22: I want you

Chapter Text

He couldn’t help but smile at his girl, ever the impatient witch, she decided things were taking much too long and pulled her own dress over her head, shirking it somewhere to the side of them. His little witch now sat atop him in nothing but a black lace bra and panties.

She was still much too thin from the trials of the past year but he’d be damned if she wasn’t still the most beautiful creature he’d ever laid eyes on.

“Beautiful. Perfect.” He breathed between kisses peppered across her neck and collarbones. “Gods Hermione, you’re so beautiful, so perfect, I’ve wanted you for so long.” He purred against her skin.“If you mean it, I’m yours Hermione, for as long as you’ll have me.”

“Theo, I want you.” she rasped, hands clawing at his back.

“Are you, are you sure, love?” He’d curse himself later if she said no but he loved this witch and he needed her to be certain before he lost the restraint he was clinging to so desperately.

“Yes.”

Theo did not need to be told twice. He snaked his right hand currently kneading her arse down further between her legs and skimmed his fingers against her core. Her breath hitched in his ear and he took that as an invitation to continue.

At the same time as he pushed her panties aside, he reclaimed her mouth with his. Harsh, desperate kisses passing between them, his left hand now palming her breast. He felt her warm desire as he slid one finger slowly inside of her to the knuckle. She was soaking, but it was still a tight fit. That earned him a little groan from his witch.

“Is this okay love?”

“Gods yes, keep going.” Her voice was becoming breathy already.

As he began drawing his finger in and out of her with growing speed and intensity, he could feel her already tightening around him. Her breaths became heavier and heavier against his mouth.

He cast a charm to rid himself of his trousers and her underwear, sending the garments flying to wear his shirt and her dress were already piled in the sand. He stopped kissing her and stilled his hand inside her for only a moment, he wanted to drink in this site before him.

Hermione Granger and her perfect tit*.

Moving again, he pressed a second finger inside her tight c*nt. “Yes, f*ck, Theo” she moaned. He leant forward and his tongue traced a circle around one tight, hard nipple as his fingers began to tease the other one. “f*ck!” she cried when his teeth sank into the bud, soothing the ache immediately after with his tongue.

Her hips bucked, seeking friction, and her hands flew to his boxers. “Off,” she demanded, fumbling with the material “Impatient,” Theo chuckled against her breast as she simply vanished his boxers. His now free co*ck was hard, heavy and weeping already. Her eyes widened hungrily at the sight of his length as he gave himself a few long, languid strokes.

Already closer to the edge than he’d like to admit, Theo was desperate to make sure she finished at least once before he did. He began f*cking her harder, more deliberately with his fingers and he moved his hand from his co*ck to her core instead where he pressed the pad of his thumb to her cl*t, circling gently and he felt her immediately tighten further around the two fingers deep inside of her.

“So f*cking perfect love” he growled, his dark eyes fixed on hers. He wanted to see her when she fell apart, commit it to memory. “You feel so good Hermione. f*ck, so perfect. Let go. Let me make you feel good.”

The encouragement was all she needed to tip over the edge. “Oh Gods, Oh Theo” she cried as her first ever org*sm ripped through her. Theo slowed his motions inside of her, coaxing her gently through the aftershocks. “You’re incredible Hermione.” he purred into her neck.

**

Hermione could feel her breathing heavy and frantic, exhaustion consuming her body from her first org*sm. It had been the single most glorious moment of her life and it was all because of Theo.

She glanced down, resting her head to his shoulder to steady herself. Theo’s co*ck looked painfully hard where it rested between them.

She had absolutely nothing to compare it to but the size of him looked really quite impressive and had her questioning the logistics of what they were about to do.

The sight of it awoke something within her.

“Theo, I know we shouldn’t, it’s probably much too soon but I want more. But I-You know I’ve never.” her eyes were searching his. In this moment she was too afraid to ask for what she wanted. Theo thankfully could read her expression from years of careful observations.

“I know you’ve never done this before, Princess, neither have I. It’s okay, we don’t have to but if you want to, then you need to tell me. I need you to say it.”

She pressed her forehead to his, sweat beading down where he’d gotten her so worked up. “I want all of you Theo.”

“I’m the luckiest man in the world to have you allow me to be your first. And with any luck, I’ll be your last as well.”

Hermione allowed herself in that moment to feel quite caught up in the romance of it all, listening to the waves of the ocean crashing behind her whilst she kissed the warm sun beneath her.

“Theo?”

“Yes love.”

“I need you now. All of you. Please." she begged

A growl rumbled low in his throat, “I thought you’d never ask.”He cast a quick contraception charm and she felt the warm tingle on her lower abdomen confirming it had worked.

“We’ll take this nice and slow okay love. It will hurt, just a little bit at first, but we’ll stay like this with you on top so that you can control it okay?” All she could do was nod in response as she lifted herself slowly out of his lap as he guided his co*ck directly against her core.

She looked down again, this time the hunger of his size was replaced by trepidation and clearly she didn’t do a good job of masking her expression.

“Don’t worry, love. Just go nice and slow, okay, I don’t want to hurt you.”

Once his tip was sheathed within her Theo’s hands cupped her arse, helping her to determine when to push down more and when to still for a moment. It was an odd feeling, and it burned slightly where she stretched around him but after a while, once he’d broke through her virginity, and he was settled fully inside her, she decided she quite liked the fullness it brought.

**

“You’re so beautiful” he rasped as his fingers tightened against her. The urge to rut into her was so strong, and he was worried he was going to blow his load the instant she started to move inside of him. Instead he focussed back in on her pleasure, peppering kisses along her jaw and down her neck.

“Try and move for me now love. Do whatever feels good for you and I promise you it will feel truly divine for me.”

Slowly he felt his little witch begin to move and explore what it felt like to have him inside her.

f*ck, she was still tight around his co*ck.

With every motion, Theo slid out just a bit before pushing back in, her wetness coating his co*ck, making each glide easier and easier. Her gasps and whimpers turned into moans and cries of pleasure.With his encouraging hands on her arse, pulling her in to him, she quickened her pace, thrusting her his hips to meet hers as he pounded into her tight c*nt.

“f*ck me, Theo please, I want more,” she whined, and he obliged letting his instincts guide him.

Theo flipped them more gracefully than he could have hoped to so that her back was now pressed into the sand beneath them. One of his hands braced behind her head, the other gripping her hip for leverage. He f*cked into her, harder and harder at each gasped request until her c*nt tightened, squeezing the daylights out of his co*ck, she was close.

Soon, he felt his balls draw up tight and he was moments away from his own release. “f*ck, you’re doing so well, taking me so good. My good girl” he felt her inner walls clench around him at her response to his words and it was suddenly all too much, “I’m going to-.” The words were a choked warning.

He reached down to rub at her cl*t, wanting her to follow him off of that cliff. He pinched her cl*t between his thumb and forefinger, which sent her shattering. His own release followed immediately after, co*ck twitching as it pulsed into her, filling her.

He collapsed on top of her, trying to catch his breath, kissing her shoulders that were covered with a thin sheen of sweat. She chuckled and ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck, and Theo almost purred like a kitten at the sensation. He rolled off of her, his spent co*ck slipping out, and stretched out on the blanket next to her.

They were still for a moment until their breathing returned to a more normal rate and he tugged her arm to pull her into him.

Hermione settled onto him, her curls sticking to his damp chest, and brushed light kisses along the scars across his chest. He tucked her in close, cast a quick charm to cleanup both of their releases and her virginity, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

Merlin, his witch was perfect.

They fell asleep on the beach wrapped in blankets and each other, and for the first time in many years, neither of them had any nightmares.

Chapter 23: The Trial

Chapter Text

May, 1998

The night they returned to the Estate, Theo had gone to send their Hogwarts acceptance letters back with Ulysses leaving Hermione to get ready for bed when she heard a knock at the door. “Can I come in love?”

“Uhm, I’m in just my underwear but it’s fine, come in” Hermione called back slightly confused.

“I can close my eyes or wait out here if you prefer.” Theo said tentatively, still from behind the door.

Why is he being so strange?

“No, come in, it’s fine, it’s not like you’ve not seen me in underwear before” she said, opening the door to him.

Theo’s eyes lit up at the sight of her. “Truly, your benchmark for gentlemanly manners is much too low because that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t still ask your permission” he climbed between the sheets with a smirk on his face and lustful eyes.

Hermione’s heart lurched in her chest and she snuggled down into the bed beside Theo. The warmth of his skin against her instantly calmed her as the fresh scent of cloves mixed with his rich mossy scent. Heaven.

She was glad that even after he made love to her in Australia, he wasn’t expecting it every night. Things between them were still so new and feelings were so raw.

As they lay together, Theo’s fingers gently playing with her curls, she finds herself wondering what a world now without Voldemort could mean for them.

“Theo, what do you think our life might look like in ten years time? Will we still be together?” Her voice was wistful and full of hope.

“Of course we’ll still be together,” he chuckled, “unless you’ve grown bored of me already?”

“No!” She swatted at his chest, “but indulge me, please, what do you imagine?”

“Okay okay… well we wouldn’t be living here for starters. We’d find a nice cottage somewhere, nothing too small but we would still want it to feel cosy and warm. You’d be either teaching transfiguration at Hogwarts or well on your way to being Minister for Magic if you chose to stay in the brilliant job they would offer you after you get all O’s on your N.E.W.T.S. I’d work in research at St Mungo’s and you’d find my healers robes utterly irresistible. You’d have worn me down to attend Friday night drinks with Potter and Weasley every week, much to my continued complaints. We’d spend all the important holidays with your parents and travel the world together on luxurious holidays funded by yours truly. And most importantly, I’d be Mr Theodore Granger.”

“Granger?” She laughs in disbelief, “would you not want me to be Hermione Nott if we were married?”

“Gods no, I want absolutely nothing to do with my wretched father. The whole bloody line can die with me.”

Hermione’s breath catches in her throat at what he’s just insinuated.

Her voice is almost so small, she is surprised he hears when she tentatively probes him for more, “So you don’t want…”

“No. I-I can’t Hermione.” She can hear his voice cracking already, “My father was the single worst human in existence, Voldemort included. I promised myself from a young age it would all stop with me. It is the final act I can do to stick two fingers up at him and the line of vile, cruel and violent men who came before him. I will never ever be like him. I refuse.”

Hermione’s heart breaks for him, if only he could see what she sees. She can’t help the small sob that escapes her, prompting the wizard to continue.

“Oh love, I’m sorry. I didn’t even think, I’ve been so certain of it that I didn’t even realise you didn’t know it was something I didn’t want. Children that is… but you, my beautiful witch, you want them don’t you? If this is a make or break for you, I will step aside. I just want you to be happy. Do you need a future with children to be happy, love?”

Hermione rolled and pushed herself on her elbow so she could face the man beside her.

“I need you Theo. That is all. We’re young, I’m in no rush. And I honestly have no idea how I feel about kids. Every girl is conditioned by her family, by society to want them purely because that’s the norm. But I’m not normal am I? And I have so many things I want to accomplish. Why should my life success be bound by how many children I do or do not have?”

She knew she should tell him about Dolohov but that made it too real. If Theo didn’t think he wanted them then it was a moot point. She didn’t need him to pity her or look at her differently. Better it be her choice.

Before she can say anymore, Theo grabbed the back of her head and crashed his lips to her. The relief pouring from him in the kiss is overwhelming. But Hermione was adamant to finish her point and pulled away gently, being sure she still held his full attention before continuing.

“But, if you think you don’t want them purely to spite your father, or because you’re scared you’ll be like him, I only ask you to consider it carefully. You are nothing like him Theo. You are kind, gentle, funny, intelligent, loyal and fiercely protective. Qualities I happen to think would make a rather lovely father. But, I won’t push you. My choice is made, I will pick you every single time. But just remember, you don’t need to decide everything right now, and it’s also okay to change your mind. I’m happy whatever you decide.”

He pressed another quick kiss to her lips, “I promise you I’ll think about it. It means the world that you are so confident in me, but I’ve felt quite sure in my decision for over a decade now. I can’t promise to change my mind. But if you ever change yours, I will never hold it against you… how could I?”

Whispers of I love you and soft gentle kisses were exchanged between them before they fell asleep wrapped in each others embrace.

Hermione’s dreams were filled with images of a little boy with luscious soft brown curls and hazel eyes reflecting both his mothers honey brown and his fathers olive green. A boy whose warmth surrounds everyone he meets like sunshine on a summers day. A boy so full of energy and mischief. A boy who spends his days consuming as many books as he does slices of cake and cookies. Not just any boy. ‘Mummy’ he calls to her as the vision starts to fade.

When she awoke, Hermione felt a strange sense of loss she’s never experienced before. And for just a moment she felt sad that she might never meet this little boy. But then she looked at the wizard still snoring beside her and all sense of longing is forgotten. Her love for him is the most important thing she has.

Her forever.

**

In the week that followed, Hermione and Theo left the confines of his estate as little as possible. The horrors of the war still too fresh in their minds they both wanted to stay tucked up in their bubble for as long as they could.

Horrors that were dragged up every few days when she’d be summoned to testify against some death eater or another. Not that she had much to say about the ones they’d managed to capture after the battle… the clever ones had all vanished.

Unfortunately, Theo’s official court summons came sooner than expected. His was the first in the trials for those suspected to have sympathised or aided the cause without joining the death eaters themselves which meant lots of their classmates and the wives of the death eaters.

And now it was time to face Theo’s fate.

**

She took a deep breath.

“They didn’t know that Theodore Nott is my best friend.”

Gasps of shock and murmurs filled the court. There were enraged cries that she was under the imperius curse and that she was a traitor herself.

But what was worse than all of that was the look of hurt and betrayal that flashed across the faces of her two friends watching from the gallery.

Even with the select memories she provided - nothing showing quite how close she was to Theo in case they deemed her biassed - the Wizengamot still did not seem convinced. She cast a pleading look at her friends. If they said something, even just vocalising their agreement with her, it could help.

Surprisingly it was Ron who stood first and requested to be shown to the stands. Hermione’s stomach was in knots. She knew Ron could be unpredictable, especially when his emotions were involved.

Her hands were clasped into tight fists in her lap as she listened to what Ron was about to say.

“I’d like it to be known that I don’t like Theodore Nott. Until quite recently I’d thought of him as nothing but the son of a death eater. One of the bad guys. That was until he saved the life of my best friend, Hermione, in the room of hidden things at Hogwarts. He had no reason to be there, but he defended her against attacks from his housemates on multiple occasions.

And then, he and Draco Malfoy made the decision to stay and ensure she got out of the room and escape the fiendfyre when they could have just saved themselves. Hell, he even took a crucio to protect her and attempted to save both our lives from Nagini before Neville killed the snake. And whilst there might be reasons,” he visibly gulped hard as if to steady himself, “that I should hate him and wish him a life of eternal misery in Azkaban, I can’t in good conscience sit back and not say anything. Because Theodore Nott isn’t evil. And I owe him.”

Ron locked eyes with her and nodded. It was all he had to do for her to know he wasn’t happy but would never publicly go against her.

Harry took to the stand next reaffirming everything Ron had said. He too sent a quick smile in her direction as he retook his seat.

Next it was Ginny and Neville who demanded they provide statements.

Together they recounted how with Luna they had tried to take care of everyone at Hogwarts that last year. But, they’d faced difficulties getting the Slytherins to trust them. Apparently even their younger students weren’t always safe from the Carrows.

They pressed that it was Theo who looked after the entire house. They even praised Parkinson and Zabini too for their efforts, most likely knowing their trials would be taking place in the following days.

“But Theo, he saved the rest of us too.” Ginny spoke earnestly. “He used a charmed journal given to me by Hermione to help set up rendezvous to supply us with potions or the ingredients for them at least, so we could heal students without the Carrows finding out.” Theo had never told her this, surely if Ginny knew Theo was the owner of the other journal, she’d have figured out something was going on. But then again, they hadn’t exactly had time for a girly catch up since there was a literal war going on.

She listened as Neville continued. “He taught as many of us in the other houses as many healing spells as possible too. He risked his life every day reporting any snippets of conversations from the Slytherin students or messages from Malfoy to McGonagall in the hope it would help the Order.

And as soon as we got wind the battle was coming to Hogwarts he was the one who had the idea to get the younger students all into Ravenclaw Tower since it was one of the furthest away spots but not as targeted as Gryffindor tower was likely to be. So, no, I do not think there is a single evil bone in the body of Theodore Nott. And it would be an appalling act of prejudice if he is convicted simply because of who we assume him to be. Because of who his father was. It’s about time we stopped letting Hogwarts houses or family names and blood status define us.”

Neville’s closing statement was so simple. So elegant. She was momentarily cross with herself for not having said the very same thing.

Just as she thought they were finished, the Minister himself took to the witness stand.

“The night the Order of the Pheonix moved Harry Potter from his muggle home to the safe house, I was paired with Miss Granger. Together we flew on a Thestral with Miss Granger polyjuiced to look like Mr Potter. Sadly, we had been betrayed and the death eaters were from us from the very start.

During the fight, we were separated away from the main group by a death eater and a cloaked individual. Now hearing of Miss Grangers relationship to Mr Nott and seeing her friendship with Mr Malfoy, it is my belief that they were these two individuals. And if so, they risked a great deal to ensure her safety. And by that, they afforded me my own.”

Of course. So much had happened, Hermione had scarcely even thought of that night. The look on Theo’s face confirmed it.

After the bombshell from the Minister, the Wizengamot called for recess to deliberate their verdict.

**

As she walked out of the court room, she didn’t even manage a few seconds alone before the Gryffindors were calling for answers.

“‘Mione, mind telling us what the f*ck is going on?” Ron shouted across the court foyer.

“Ron, please, I thought you-?”

“Understood? How could I possibly understand you being friends with a snake like him? And for years you’ve hidden this from us” He was hurting, she could see that. Ron always lashed out when he was hurt the most, whilst Harry grew quieter.

“But you testified for him?” She whispered.

“I did that for you. I’m sorry Hermione, I can’t do this right now. I just need time.”

“Ron-“

He whirled back round to her, anger radiating from him, “we could have been something special. I loved you. I thought you felt something for me too? Guess I was wrong. Again” he paused for a second before lowering his voice, “Just tell me why. What does he have that I don’t.”

Hermione dropped her gaze to her feet, he always managed to make her feel small when he got like this.

“It’s not a particular thing Ronald. I did love you, for so many years, believe me I did. But we’re better off as friends. We wouldn’t work out, we’re too different. You want a big family, and you’d want to settle down and you know I-“ she swallowed and moved on, “I’d irritate you with all my reading, and the long hours I would do at work, whatever that may be and you’d get sick of my nagging and never coming to watch you play quidditch or to any of the canons games. We have absolutely nothing in common Ron besides our history and our friends. I will always love you, but as friends. As family. Nothing more… I’m sorry.”

She watched as Ron walked away, she turned next to face Harry as tears streamed down her face.

“Are you cross with me too Harry?”

The raven haired wizard shook his head. “I’m going to check on Ron.” He didn’t even acknowledge her before walking away.

She’s left now with only Ginny.

“It’ll be okay ‘Mi. They’ll come around, you know they will. Ron and Harry would never abandon you.”

“I know Ginny. And I know I should have told them, I just didn’t know how and I couldn’t risk putting Theo in danger.”

“You tried to tell me though didn’t you? You told me without revealing it was Theo? All those times you disappeared, every time you were caught in a daydream, when I accused you of pining over a boy. The one who had you worried over summer before your sixth year and the one you were with after the battle. It was always him wasn’t it?”

Hermione nodded and Ginny wrapped her slender arm around her shoulder. The two witches sat together in silence on the benches outside the court room.

After an agonising wait, the court was ready to deliver its verdict.

Hermione sat in the stands, Ginny grasping her hand tightly as Hermione could hear almost nothing except for the blood pumping round her head.

“Hermione, the sentencing” Ginny pulled her back into consciousness.

“… the court finds the defendant…”

Chapter 24: A Jersey

Chapter Text

June, 1998

‘Not Guilty’

That night as Hermione dressed for bed she couldn’t stop the broad smile that took over her face when she thought back to the complete and utter elation she felt at hearing those words.

Despite knowing that her wizard was only in the room, most likely waiting for her in bed, she was desperate to be wrapped up in him so began searching through the bag of clothes Theo had picked up from Malfoy Manor earlier that afternoon.

Suddenly a flash of green catches her eye and she pulled out the quidditch jersey in his house colours. He might not give a toss about the sport but she’s sure seeing her in his clothes and his school colours will make him smile.

Confident in her plan, she pulls it over her head and wearing nothing else but some simple lace knickers she sauntered out into the bedroom, tossing her curls over her shoulder as she did so.

His eyes darkened, “Green never looked so good Princess” Theo called out from where he’d already settled into the bed. Hermione chuckled softly as she made her way across the room and into the bed. “I imagine Draco would lose his sh*t you know, if he could see you here with his name across your back” Theo remarked pulling the duvet back to welcome her into the bed.

What-

Hermione ripped the jersey over her head and stared wide eyed at the silver ‘MALFOY’ letting across the back.

“Theo, I didn’t see it. I’m sorry. I thought it was one of your plain ones, you always had them on for games. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean-“

They might not care for the sport but even Hermione knew he wouldn’t take kindly to seeing the name of his best friend who is apparently in love with her, blazoned across her back in such an intimate way.

“Hush” he pressed a kiss atop her head and pulled her now almost completely naked body down beside him, “I’m not mad. Amused more than anything. You see, I remember him telling me in sixth year, after the Gryffindor match that he was secretly glad he didn’t win that day, because he wouldn’t have been able to celebrate the way he wanted to. Only now I can guess he would have liked to have presented you with the snitch.”

They settled down on their respective sides of the bed and Hermione smiled, “I never pegged Draco for such a romantic.”

Theo chuckled, “Probably also hoped you’d be waiting for him in the changing rooms as his prize, a green bow in your hair and nothing on except for his jersey” causing Hermione to swot him against his toned chest, “I know I would” he added with a smirk.

Hermione felt herself tingle in response to his tone and that look he had in his eyes, “What about you Theo?” she asked with a co*ck of her brow. Ginny’s account of his bravery at Hogwarts had got Hermione thinking about just how many layers there were to the wizard in bed beside her. And she liked that side of him. A lot.

“You know Quidditch isn’t my thing. Not that you don’t look adorable and rather sexy, but this is very much Drake’s fantast. If you were his witch-“

Immediately the tension in the room thickened. She’d had just about enough of this ridiculousness.

“Stop this right now. I decide who I will be with, not you” she chastened as she sat up in bed to look at him directly, “And as I have told you before, I chose you. I fell in love with you. I don’t even know how I feel about Draco, I only told you so that we didn’t start this with any secrets between us. And considering Draco isn’t here to confirm or deny the flowers, or actually even corroborate how you think he feels about me, I think we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves. What is it that you think is going to happen? Do you think I’ll see him again and immediately fall in love and toss you aside?”

Theo couldn’t meet her eye, “Yes Hermione…” she felt her heart breaking at his confession, “and my heart won’t take it if you say you love me now and then leave when he returns with his many many vaults of gold, his smirk and if the gossiping girls at school are to be believed, his delicious broom thighs.”

She’d never heard him talk this way about the blonde wizard, “I won’t. If anything happens between us it won’t be as a result of Draco okay? So just don’t piss me off and we’ll be just fine” she pressed a hand to his cheek encouraging him to meet her eyes.

“Alright,” Theo grasped her hands in his, “but don’t ever forget that your mine Hermione.”

She felt herself getting lost in the moment stirring between them and in his beautiful olive green eyes and the warmth of the clove smell that surrounded her in their room, “Okay”

“Okay,” he confirmed, “But I mean it when I say you’re mine.” Hermione was about to protest but he didn’t allow her the opportunity, “Don’t get all feminist on me. I know you’re not my possession. I just mean, you’re mine to care for, to protect and confide in. You’re mine to make smile, shower with gifts and buy flowers for just because I want to. You’re mine to laugh with, to cry with. You’re mine to love Hermione. As I am yours. I’ve told you, you’ve had my heart since we were twelve years old and I feel eternally grateful to be trusted with yours for as long as you’ll allow it.”

Her eyes were brimming with tears at his confession, “I am yours Thedore Nott.” She sighed, pressing her lips to his gently.

At her words however, Theo pushed himself up from the bed, rolling them so he was on top of her, his soft full lips turning their kiss into something hot and bruising. Unlike their kisses before, he was kissing her with such urgent desire she felt herself growing wet in response.

Theo pulled from their kiss and his eye was drawn to the side of the bed where the jersey lay discarded. He pushed it off the bed to the floor, “told you that’s not my fantasy.” He continued kissing her, one hand tangled in her curls cupping her head as he bore his weight on his forearm, the other holding her tightly against her hip.

“I,” kiss, “love,” kiss, “you,” kiss, “Hermione” he got out before trailing his path of kisses down her jaw and neck before starting on her collarbone and chest. He adjusted their positions so that he was now knelt on the mattress between her legs.

“Theo, please” she whined desperate for more.

“Have I told you how perfect these tit* are love?” his hands moved to massage her breasts before his fingers pinched her nipples tight. She couldn’t help the small gasp that escaped her. “These are mine too, right?” he said with a satisfied smile, his green eyes dark with desire.

“Yes Theo, I’m all yours.”

“Good girl” f*ck, those two words again. How could they make her so much wetter? “If you’re all mine, then I’d like to taste you at last.”

Her eyes shot to meet his, “Theo” she squirmed against his tight hold that was moving back down to her hips, “you don’t have to. Really. I heard most men don’t like to, uhm, you know…”

“No love, frankly I don’t know. We’ve been each others firsts, in everything.” Merlin, the only child in her was delighted to have been his first and only in all things.

Theo’s warm voice brought her back to reality, “…but I have every intention of finding out for myself. So, relax. Let me make you feel good okay? If you don’t like it, tell me. And if you do, well I’m pretty confident I’ll be able to tell” he said with a co*cky look.

Gods this man.

“Okay” she agreed because right now, she needed something, anything.

“Good girl” he said again as he nestled himself between her legs. His breath was warm against the apex of her thighs, “Salazar, Hermione you look so perfect like this. So wet for me already. Now just relax”

He began kissing from her right knee up her thigh till he was inches from her centre but he stopped and repeated the motions up the other leg. She could feel her anticipation building.

Slowly, he kissed down her stomach till he pressed his lips against her cl*t and she let out a light moan in satisfaction. With that, she felt him smile against her as he continued kissing her folds.

He pulled back for a second before pressing the flat of his tongue against her and took a long, languid lick of her, collecting her juices on his tongue.

His eyes flicked up to meet hers immediately, a devilish glint within them, “f*cking delicious.”

She chuckled at his reaction, throwing her arm over her eyes slightly embarrassed both by his brashness and how much it turned her on.

“Don’t believe me?” Hermione shook her head in response, “tsk tsk tsk, that won’t do” he ran his fingers through her folds and drew back up to be level with her, “taste yourself” he commanded.

She ought to feel embarrassed by his words. Turns out, Theodore Nott was filthy. But she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t starting to like it. Her nipples grew harder and she felt the need deep within her.

Immediately, she parted her lips to allow him to push his finger into her mouth. She was surprised by the way her brain followed his command. It was like nothing she’d ever experienced before. Those as she sucked, she remembered how quiet her brain was the first time they had sex. She had felt free.

She was also surprised by how she tasted. It wasn’t horrible like many of the older boys in Gryffindor had made it out to be. It was tangy and heady but not unpleasant. She flicked her tongue around his finger and Theo’s eyes looked heavy with lust. He pulled his fingers from her lips but immediately captured her lips with his own.

Once more, Theo trailed a path of kisses and licks back down her body paying extra attention to kissing the scar on her forearm and her stomach before resuming his efforts. This time, his tongue flicked and circled over her cl*t as he pressed two fingers inside her, pushing in and out and an increasing pace.

Hermione couldn’t control the moans coming out of her now and with every flick, she could feel the pressure inside of her building, desperate for release.

She was about to cry out when he pulled his mouth away but quickly replaced it with his thumb, “That’s it Princess, you’re doing so good.” He had stayed nestled between her thighs so the feel of his breathe added more stimulation to her core, “Now be a good girl and come for me, come for me and you can have my co*ck.” He immediately dropped his head back down and sucked hard on her cl*t.

It was all she needed to crash over the edge. Her org*sm consumed every part of her so much harder than it had the last time. Theo pulled away from her cl*t and slowed his fingers to coax her through the after waves.

As she regained her breath, she watched as he vanished his boxers and fisted himself a few times using her wetness.

He was truly magnificent. All olive skin, broad shoulders and hard lines of muscle. Even with the scars littering his body, he still resembled a Greek god in her eyes. How did she get so lucky?

Theo’s eyes found hers and he smiled at her full of love and adoration, “ready love?” she nodded for him to continue. “Say it Hermione. I want to hear you say it so I know this isn’t a dream.”

“Theo I need you. Now.”

He ran the head of his co*ck through her folds, still cautious to make sure he could easily slip inside of her without causing her too much discomfort. He pressed into her slowly.

She adjusted her hips to accommodate him better and he began thrusting into her deeply, taking all the time in the world. But she wanted more. Theo had been so gently with her the first time but after the heavy confessions, she wanted to feel how much he wanted her.

“More Theo. I want more. Faster. Please” she whined already breathless against his ear.

He stilled inside her, “are you asking me to f*ck you, little lioness?”

“Yes,” she wailed, “f*ck me, I want to feel you. Hard. Fast. f*ck me Theo, please”

“I don’t want to hurt you-“

“Theodore” he yelped as she sent a non verbal stinging jinx to catch him on his arse, “f*ck me right this second.”

“Crazy witch” he smiled, but she was momentarily confused when he began pulling out of her, “turn around and get onto all fours for me. I won’t be able to see your face so you need to promise to tell me to stop if it’s too much.”

“I promise” she said doing exactly as instructed.

“Good girl” he praised and she felt his hands grasp tightly around her hips as he sank his co*ck inside of her. With the deeper angle this new position allowed, she was glad her body had already stretched to somewhat accommodate him.

“f*ck Hermione. You’re so perfect” he growled as he thrust into her over and over without restraint or hesitation.

She could feel her knees beginning to shake and her arms buckle as the pressure rebuilt inside her and she was glad for his tight grip even if she might be left with bruises from his fingers.

“Theo” she moaned out breathily desperate for release.

“I know love. Just hold on for me, you’re going to cum with me okay?”

He began setting an unforgiving pace and he chased his own release. He must have sensed her limbs failing her as he pressed the palm of his hand between her shoulders, “go down with your chest against the bed beautiful” he instructed.

Fuuuck. This was even more intense. Her moans were turning into low growls. She should be embarrassed by how loud she was being but she was so consumed with pleasure she didn’t care. The need to org*sm was so intense she saw black spots forming at the edges of her vision. “Theo” she pleaded.

“Good girl, I’ve got you” immediately he bent forward and reached one arm around her hip so that his fingers could find the bundle of nerves between her thighs and be began circling it softly just the way she liked, “we’re right here love. Just hold on a little more until I tell you okay?”

Her brain didn’t even question the odd choice in pronoun, “Yes. f*ck yes. Theo it’s so good” she moaned out.

It only took a few more thrusts before he gave her the command to release. And by the gods was it incredible. The feeling of reaching the high together was like nothing she’d ever thought someone could experience.

The wizard pulled most of the way out and continued to thrust gently with just the tip of his co*ck as she came down from her second org*sm.

“I don’t think I’ll ever tire of hearing you cum. One day Princess, we’re going to see just how many of those I can get out of you till you pass out” he said as she finally slipped out of her completely and they collapsed on the bed beside each other. Theo laid on his back, one arm thrown back under his head with the other under Hermione’s head. His palm against her back, pressing her tightly against him where she laid on her side.

“Theo?” she asked sleepily, “why did you have Draco’s jersey in your bag of clothes?”

An odd silence filled the room for a few moments with only their still heavy breathing to fill the void before he finally took a long inhale, “I missed him.”

She buried her head into his muscular chest by way of agreement before sleep overtook her.

**

As Theo laid there, listening to Hermione’s breathing even out as she fell asleep, he couldn’t help but consider how lucky he was to call the witch that lay beside him, ‘his’.

She was utterly divine.

The time they spent in sixth year had shown him that as a friend, she was everything he’d suspected she would be – kind, caring, loyal, funny. But now, as his girlfriend, he was discovering she was so much more than he could ever have imagined.

He knew they still had the small matter of a certain blonde wizard to overcome and cross with Draco has he was, he couldn’t help but miss him. Life had been sh*t to them both but they’d always had each other.

He knew Hermione’s presence in his life would improve it tenfold and my Salazar, hearing her say that she loved him, that she chose him, was the single greatest moment of his miserable life so far.

**

The month of July passed by in a blur. Hermione managed to rebuild her strength and finally lost the gaunt look about her thanks to the Malfoy elves that had returned with Theo.

Mippy, Draco’s personal elf, was particularly pushy when it came to Hermione’s eating habits and was insistent she was still much too thin.

Hermione had been initially taken aback at the haughty tone from the little elf till she realised it was so similar to the blonde wizard whom she served. The question was, did Mippy learn it from Draco or did Draco learn from Mippy. Her money was on the latter.

She still could not in good conscience feel at ease with having house elves helping Theo and herself.

She approached the small elf as she was cleaning their room, “Mippy, if it’s alright, I’d like to make it very clear that I can help you. I can ask Draco to free you and the other elves so that you only work for the Malfoys if you really want to, without punishment and I’ll see to it that you are fairly compensated for that work.”

The elves eyes bugged out larger than they already were, “Mippy likes Mistress Hermione very much and is very grateful of course but Mistress Hermione doesn’t need to worry. Master Draco already freed Mippy and Mistress Narcissa freed the other elves.”

Hermione was taken aback, “How exactly do you mean they freed you Mippy? And if he did, why are you all still at the Manor when none of the family are there?”

“Well, Master Draco gave rather a long speech to Mippy and the other elves last year about what good elves we all were and how grateful they were to have us as part of their family. Master Draco and Mistress Narcissa had always been kind to us, even when Dobby caused trouble with his Master Lucius. They told us that they wanted to give us the choice and we could leave them and go wherever we wanted, or, we could stay as free elves. Mistress Narcissa told us that anyone who stayed would be paid fity galleons a month, that they would pay for new clothes and we would get one day off a week. Mistress said we could even change our minds at any time. Master was especially kind to Mippy he was, he told Mippy as soon as he became Lord Malfoy, Mippy would be paid ten galleons a month. Master Draco also forbade any elves who chose to stay from harming themselves, it is the only rule we must follow without question to remain employed. Master also promised he would never harm us like Master Abraxas had.”

Hermione couldn’t believe what she was hearing, “Abraxus is Lucius father?” the elf nodded, “and did Lucius ever harm you?”

Mippy shook her head frantically, “Master Lucius never hurt Mippy miss. Nor Mistress Narcissa’s elf Flora. He was always kind to us Miss. But, Mippy remembers he could be mean to some of the other elves but he only hurt Dobby Miss. Dobby was a good elf to Mr Harry Potter and Mippy was so sad to hear of his death. He was just a young elf.”

Hermione’s heart burst, she was desperate to learn more. Talking to Mippy made her feel closer to Dobby in a way, “how many of you stayed Mippy?” she said finally taking a seat in one of the chairs and gestured for Mippy to take the other. The elf hesitated before complying.

“Well Miss, a lot of the older elves left, they thought it was insulting and wanted to serve a more traditional family including Master Lucius’s personal elf. Flora stayed of course Miss and currently is our head elf until Master Draco becomes Lord Malfoy. There’s Tansy as head cook, Sonny and Maisy help her, Gordon is the head gardener, Juno looks after the horses and other estate animals. Then there’s Bonnie and Benny the cleaning elves. Would Miss like Mippy to get them?”

“No, but thank you” Hermione smiled at Mippy’s enthusiasm, “I assume the Malfoy’s have other properties, do they have their own elves too?”

“Yess Miss. But Mippy would go with Master Draco wherever he went.”

Hermione nodded, “I assume Draco and Narcissa freed them all too?”

The little elf paused for a moment, “Yes Miss. But Mippy thinks they are paid a bit less, no one visited the other houses for a long time what with…” Mippy didn’t even need to finish for Hermione to know she was referring to the war.

“Are there many of them Mippy?”

“About twenty Miss”

Hermione couldn’t believe it. They had freed all the elves and with that many employed it was over one thousand galleons a year on wages. Today, that was the equivalent of around sixty thousand pounds. Exactly how deep were the Malfoy fortunes if they decided they could afford to pay staff that amount for the foreseeable future?

“That’s good, thank you Mippy. Could you answer one more question for me,” the elf nodded, “Are you happy?”

The elf grinned, “Yes Miss. Mippy is very happy. Master Draco is so kind to Mippy. He bought Mippy this dress when she agreed to stay.” The efl showed off her purple smock dress proudly as she jumped up from the chair, “And Mippy loves helping Mister Theo and you too Miss.”

“Thank you Mippy. And your dress is beautiful.” Mippy’s smile widened, “I won’t take up anymore of your time. Please thank Tansy and the others for all their help too. And if you have the time, could you check on the elves at the other properties and thank them too. I know it will mean so much to Draco that you’ve all stayed even now despite being free.”

“Yes Miss, Mippy will be sure to Miss.” The elf beamed up at her before disappearing with a loud pop. Hermione felt much more settled knowing the elves were happy and taken care of.

**

Her and Theo spent the remainder of their summer researching the trials from the war to try and get a sense of how Lucius trial went back then and what sorts of charges Draco and his parents might face when they returned from wherever they had hidden away.

Upon reviewing coverage from Lucius’s trial, the pair weren’t filled with much hope. Their despair only worsened when the prophet reported the death eaters currently unaccounted for.

As suspected, Dolohov and Greybacks were to be sent for the dementors kiss as soon as they were captured. Then the likes of Crabbe and Goyle Senior, Yaxley, McNair and the two Lestrange brothers, Rabastan and Rodolpus, were expected to receive life sentences in Azkaban once captured along with some other names Hermione didn’t recognise.

But the Malfoys? Well, seemingly the Wizengamot wanted to make a show of the once most famed and feared family in the wizarding world. Their trial was pre-emptively set for 30 June 1999 - the anniversary of Dumbledore’s death… fitting. They weren’t going to make it easy for her and Theo to get him a pardon that was for sure.

“Ugh, this is terribly depressing, I just think if I could take a break for only a moment that some idea on how to protect Draco and his family would come to me. Only I can’t get my brain to turn off.” Hermione sighed in exasperation, throwing herself back against the back of the velvet sofa they were sat on.

“Hermione, don’t take this the wrong way, but does your brain ever turn off?” Theo chuckled lightly beside her.

“Well… when you do that thing with your-” she was brought to an abrupt halt as Theo grabbed the back of her head at the nape of her neck and crashed his lips to her.

Hermione pulled back and held her hand out to the wizard in front of her. “Come on. We go back to Hogwarts tomorrow and we both need to pack before we do anything else tonight.”

Theo smirked.

“Only on one condition.” Hermione narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips in response. “You let me eat only a bowl full of chocolate ice cream for dinner. None of this finger wagging about vegetables and rotting my teeth.”

How could she refuse when he looked at her with a smile that lit up the room, she still found herself desperately searching to give him as much happiness as she could possibly find.

“You’ve got yourself a deal, Theodore.” She said brightly. Theo lunged from the sofa, picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder causing Hermione to shriek with laughter.

“Come along then Princess, we’ve got to throw a load of stuff in our trunks as fast as we can so I can smother you in ice cream!”

“Theeeeoooooo!” She wailed, still laughing. Gods, he could make her laugh.

**

She lay awake long after Theo had dozed off.

Packing for Hogwarts had been more difficult than she expected. She no longer cared for the small library of books she usually lugged to the castle each year. They had only gotten her so far whilst on the run anyway. They hadn’t stopped her being tortured or Fred dying.

No, she’d take only the core curriculum texts and a few personal favourite works of fiction. And the first edition Draco gifted her of course.

She left her array of stolen Gryffindor quidditch jersey’s in the draw to her wardrobe. She didn’t imagine she’d much feel like watching it this year lest she remembered seeing Oliver Wood, Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet amongst others, whizzing through the air on their brooms trying to outrun dementors during the battle.

As she packed her pyjamas and toiletries she thought of how empty her dorm would feel with Lavender dead and Pavarti still in critical condition at St Mungo’s.

Admiring her Gryffindor robes hadn’t brought her the same joy as it once did.

Sure, they’d won the war, but the price of victory had been steep. She wasn’t entirely sure she was ready to face the masses just yet. Theo had even paid Madame Malkin to have their new robes sent directly to them at the estate. Hermione hadn’t even bothered to unwrap them before tossing them in her trunk.

She especially didn’t want to have to listen to the endless drivel of those who had avoided the war but thought they knew all about it. Thought they knew who she was and who Theo and Draco were.

The truth was, no one really did.

**

Hermione could feel her anxiety building as they prepared to apperate to Kings Cross.

“Theo, do you think the battle changed you as a person?” She’d been pondering this very thought for weeks now and whilst she knew Theo did not love her purely because of the person people thought she was, she longed to know that someone truly saw her.

”The battle itself? No. I think it gave me a chance to prove to myself that I was the person I felt like on the inside. But the war as a whole? Yes. It pushed me to grow beyond what I was taught. Much like you, there was a box that people tried to put me into that became too tight all of a sudden. I knew I couldn’t protect the people I cared about if I stayed the same. Don’t get me wrong, he was a proper git, but Marcus helped me a lot. I wouldn’t be who I am now without him. I was a cowardly, trembling mess, flinching at my own shadow. f*cking embarrassing really.” He laughed full of self depreciation.

“I’m sorry that you felt you had to change. But I’m glad you did. If you’d not had the courage to invite me for coffee that day, we might not be here together now. Or maybe we would? Who knows… I just feel different Theo, at the core of who I am. I feel less… restrained? All my life I’ve thought everything through, a million times, wrote a list of pros and cons, researched every detail I could find. But there was no time for that in the war. I had to trust myself and my magic. And now it’s finally sunk in how many times I nearly died. I just want to live Theo.”

He searched her eyes, waiting for her to say more. “If I told you about the darkness inside of me Theo, would you still look at me like I’m the sun?” Her voice was small and unsure.

Her confession did not deter him, “tell me every terrible thing you’ve ever done, ever thought… and let me love you anyway.”

She nestled into him, “I love you Theo.”

“I love you more.”

Chapter 25: Slytherin’s Princess

Chapter Text

September, 1998

The return to Hogwarts brought with it a touch of melancholy.

Theo and Hermione shared a compartment on the train with Neville, Luna and Ginny. From what they could surmise, the number of students returning for eighth year was extraordinarily low.

Hermione, of course had made a list of all the names they’d worked out already. Their findings made for rather depressing reading; Parvati, St. Mungo’s; Lavender, dead; Dean, muggle university; Seamus, back in Ireland; Crabbe, dead; Goyle, dead; Pansy and Blaise, Italy; Daphne, returning; Millicent and Tracey, unknown; Padma, Antony and Michael, returning; Mandy and Terry, dead; Hannah, Susan, Justin, Ernie and Zacharias, returning; Leanne, Megan and Wayne, dead.

Why does there have to be so many bloody Hufflepuffs returning? Draco would surely want to tell his father about this if he were here.

“So, who’s Head Girl and Head Boy do you reckon?” Theo asked cheerily, trying to make conversation with her friends.

Hermione however winced slightly at his question. She hadn’t told him that she’d been offered the position and turned it down.

Ginny shuffled uncomfortably from her seat on the opposite bench, “Uhm, it’s me, Hermione I hope you don’t mind?”

“Nonsense Gin. Of course I don’t mind! No one could be more deserving of it than you. I know you have Quidditch captain too though so if you do need any help, please just ask.”

Theo shot her an unconvinced look.

It was Neville who piped up next, “I imagine the Head Boy will be in your year too. Last year it was myself and Padma. But we all know it should have been you Hermione… if you had been there. I did the best I could in your place.”

“I know you did, Neville. No one could have done more. Honestly, I’m just happy without the extra responsibility this year.”

With the new eighth years, there would be two representatives, not prefects, to speak on behalf of their year group – herself and Theo. Funny how things work out when the headmistress considers you more of a friend than a student.

Hermione had initially found it odd but then they’d been instructed to wear black robes only like they did when they arrived in first year and Hermione assumed this was in some way connected to the efforts to improve interhouse unity that McGonagall had mentioned in her letters. Perhaps eighth years wouldn’t have houses and would instead share a co-ed dorm together since there were so few of them remaining?

Hours later, the train arrived at the all too familiar Hogsmeade station. Hermione felt comforted to see Hagrid brightly greeting the small cohort of first years as he led them towards the boats.

As her small group made their way towards the carriages, Theo grasped her arm pulling her back slightly from the group.

“I’m surprised you weren’t upset about not making Head Girl, is everything okay?” He questioned.

“Everything is fine Theo, stop fretting. Besides, McGonagall asked me, and I said no. I just didn’t want Ginny to feel second best so I acted surprised.”

“You never told me. Why?” Hermione couldn’t ignore how hurt he sounded that she’d kept something from him.

“Because you wouldn’t understand Theo. Can we drop it?”

“No love, please trust me with this. Why didn’t you want to be Head Girl? You worked so hard for it?”

Hermione whirled around stopping him in his tracks, “Because it isn’t me anymore. The whole Golden Girl, Gryffindor Princess, Brightest Witch of Her Age, Bookish Know-it-all, Potters mudblood best friend, Head Girl. They’re all just titles other people haven given me and they aren’t me. Not anymore. I don’t feel like the same girl who walked these halls two years ago Theo. And I don’t want to try and pretend that I am, to have everyone looking to me for all the answers” she could feel her panic rising and desperately tried to control her breathing.

When she was more sure of herself, she took a deep breath, “I want to be just Hermione for a little while… I only accepted the ambassador title because McGonagall insisted.”

Theo took her face between his hands and tilted her eyes up to meet his, “okay love, if that’s really what you need. I understand. But, you’re never ‘just’ Hermione. You’re my Hermione. My girlfriend. And that is a title you choose for yourself I do recall, and I’m sure it came with the promise of forever?”

A smile slowly crept its way to her lips as she marvelled at the way Theo could always drag her from the depths back into the light.

Together, they climbed into the last carriage with their friends and talked about how many more people would finally see the Thestrals pulling the carriages for the first time. It was rather sad to think about it, but they were such beautiful and deeply misunderstood creatures. Always associated with darkness just because of what it took to see them.

But Hermione didn’t see it that way, she always thought they were as beautiful and pure as Unicorns, if not perhaps more so.

**

Hermione felt her heart stop for a fraction of a second when the carriage pulled up in the entrance courtyard of the school.

A courtyard where only a few months ago, Harry had duelled Voldemort to the death.

A courtyard that had seen so much blood, so much darkness.

A courtyard that now stood as if nothing had occurred at all.

Their small group walked the halls of the school in silence. They didn’t need words to know how each other was feeling.

Hermione was also grateful that Theo recognised now was not the moment to confirm their relationship to the rest of school. He followed only a pace behind her, but she could feel his eyes on her the entire time, ready to step bedside her the moment she asked.

As they rounded the corner to the Great Hall entrance, Hermione spotted a familiar head of honey blonde hair lingering uncertainly by the door.

The blonde’s eyes fell on their little group and a spark of relief flashed through her eyes, “Theo!” she called.

Hermione’s jealousy flared. “I didn’t know you were friends” she whispered, her voice low so that only he could hear.

“Settle down little lion. We weren’t close.” The humour in his voice should have riled her but somehow, it calmed her, as he always did. “Daphne,” he continued much more loudly, “I believe you know Hermione and Neville. And in case your head has been stuck in your wardrobe for the past year, I’d officially like to introduce you to Ginerva and Luna.”

Ginny swatted him hard in the chest at the use of her full name. “It’s Ginny” she said sharply to the wizard before giving a tight smile to the blonde. Hermione knew Ginny would not take easily to anyone new but from what she could recall, Daphne Greengrass had always been quieter than most in her house. Studious, and never one to join in on the bullying.

In turn, Hermione gave the witch a warm smile before turning to Theo, “I’ll meet you after?”

“I’ll be waiting” he replied affectionately.

Hermione moved towards the Gryffindor table with Neville and Ginny flanking her. Around them, the whispers start as the younger students recognise the war hero’s have returned to school.

She hated it.

They settled themselves at the very end of the table, and Hermione took the opportunity before the welcome speech to study the remains of the teaching staff and some new faces she doesn’t recognise.

McGonagall was now headmistress with Flitwick taking over her duties as Deputy Head. Slughorn, Trelawney, Firenze, Vector, Babbling and Sprout also still remained. Of the new staff, Bill Weasleys face was a welcome addition as their new DADA professor and Head of Gryffindor house. Ginny let slip on the train that he and Fleur were expecting their first child and so he wanted a job less dangerous and without all the travel of course breaking.

McGonagall then introduced a new Bulgarian man - Professor Aleksander Histrova - as the Transfiguration professor who was formerly a student at Durmstrang. And most surprisingly, she’d secured Newt Scamander’s grandson Rolf, as the Care of Magical Creatures professor.

“Sprout wants to retire you know, at the end of the year that is.” Neville told them, “she offered me the opportunity to apprentice with her this year and then if my grades are good enough, McGonagall has said I can take over.”

Hermione was grateful to hear her friend so full of hope, “that’s great Neville, truly.”

”Thanks Hermione. Say-“

Neville was quickly cut off as the doors to the Great Hall opened and Professor Flitwick made his way down the centre aisle with a cluster of first years trailing behind him. Hermione watched as each of their eyes trailed up and looked in awe at the ceiling bewitched as it was every year to resemble a night sky full of floating candles.

Only fourteen children had joined Hogwarts this year… one of the many effects of the war.

After the sorting, the Headmistress began her first ever welcome back speech. As she listened to the promises that the school was a safe place for all who inhabited it, for the first time, despite all she had endured, Hermione felt inclined to believe it. This year there was no Voldemort, there were not threats of Basilisks or Dementors.

Maybe this year, they would get a chance to experience life as normal teenagers? Worrying about their school work, or if the boy they fancied would ask them to the school dance.

As McGonagall recited the new additions of two school dances this year aimed to improve interhouse unity - Halloween and Yule - Hermione found herself already slipping in to worries if Theo would ask her to the balls. Would she be able to dance the night away lost in his arms?

“Before I conclude and allow you all to begin the feast, the eagle eyed amongst you may have noticed we still have the sorting hat with us. You may also notice we have some seemingly in-sorted eighth years at the end of each of our tables.” Hermione’s ears pricked up at this and she began listening intently.

“The events of the past year especially hit those in their final year especially hard. And I do not wish to downplay the role our sixth and seventh years also played, but for our eighth years, they each had the opportunity to begin the next phase of their lives but instead chose to return here. Perhaps to finish what they worked so hard for, perhaps to find strength with their friends, or perhaps to re-establish who they are after such life altering experiences.”

Hermione found the Headmistresses eyes on her as she spoke that last piece. It was as if McGonagall knew what had been troubling Hermione from the very second she refused the offer of Head Girl.

“And to enable that, I would like to offer the opportunity to all eighth year students to be re-sorted. If you wish, please stand and I shall call you forwards. If you choose to remain seated, at the start of the feast your robes will return to your house colours. I would like to make it clear, this is a choice. Yours and yours alone.”

A deathly quiet fell over the students throughout the hall.

She was scarcely even aware of her own legs pushing up from under the bench until all eyes turned upon her and the comforting Scottish accent of their Headmistress reached her ears, “Come forward Hermione dear.”

**

As she settled onto the hard wooden stool they used for the sorting, Flitwick levitated the hat upon her head.

“Miss Granger, I knew we’d meet again.

You must remember all those years ago I told you there were a great many places that would be perfectly suitable for you. And all those years ago you were so desperate to prove yourself. And what wonderful things you achieved in Gryffindor.

But you need something else now eh? You remain immensely loyal and hardworking, that has always been true but now I see you wondering to what cost? And as the Brightest Witch of Her Age, I know you’re still as intelligent as ever but as was true then is still now. You already know this and you’ve never waivered from it.

Once again, we find ourselves between Gryffindor and Slytherin. In the past there were a great many things that stopped me from placing you in Slytherin but now there is a change in the air. A change that you helped ensure. Perhaps now is the right time to focus on yourself eh? To focus on your ambition, resourcefulness … it will all aid your desire to help others. But, it might just help you to help yourself more than you realise.

Yes, I think that sounds right… SLYTHERIN!”

The school erupted into chaos. The Gryffindor Princess was now a Slytherin.

She watched as Neville and Ginny’s faces went from shock, to regret before finally settling on a contented understanding. They would support her.

And settled with this knowledge, she allowed her eyes to find Theo’s. His big green eyes showed nothing but complete, unbridled joy.

She began moving down the hall, between the swirls of green and blue at the neighbouring tables before squeezing in besides her love just as her robes sprung green.

“Green truly never looked so good, Princess” he said with a grin.

“Miss Patil.” Hermione hadn’t even noticed Padma had risen from her seat too. In seconds after the hat was placed on her head, GRYFFINDOR was shouted across the hall. Hermione assumed the war had pushed her bravery to the surface, and the need to be closer to the house that held her best friends memory and to feel closer to her twin, Parvati who was still in St Mungo’s had led her to Gryffindor house.

Next, it was Zachariah Smith who stood up from the Hufflepuff table and was sorted into Ravenclaw. Hermione knew from speaking to him back in the days of Dumbledore’s Army that he felt unprepared for the world… perhaps now he valued knowledge more highly than he did loyalty?

A soft voice from across the table filled Hermione’s ears “I hope we can still be friends, and thank you for giving me the courage to do this.”

Daphne stood from the Slytherin table.

Once again, they all waited with bated breath to see where the Slytherin heiress would be placed.

“RAVENCLAW” the hat bellowed.

Hermione didn’t know the girl well enough to understand the reasoning but she vowed to herself she wanted to get to know her better this year.

**

It felt surreal entering the Slytherin common room for the third time in her life, knowing this time it was to be her home.

As they passed through the entry, Theo cleared his throat beside her.

“Before you all run off to your dorms, I’d like to speak with you all as the only returning member of our house from my year. It will only take a moment.”

Theo waited for the group of students quietened and huddled at the bottom of the steps at the entry to the common room. “I know Hermione’s move into our house is most unusual and it is the first time a muggle born has been sorted into Slytherin. But once there was a time when the first half blood was sorted here and that did us no harm. If the last year has shown us anything, it is that no matter a person’s blood status, their ability to do magic and their right to magic is equal. In fact, in the case of Hermione here, I’d argue she’s more magically talented than the rest of us put together.” The room remained silent.

“Now, I’m not a fool. I know there will be some of you who despite everything, still value blood purity and I can only hope that with time you are able to see past your prejudices. I would like to formally congratulate you Hermione on your placement here. And I can say with great certainty that were they with us, Draco, Pansy and Blaise would say the same for their own houses. Remember, that even though we are not Hufflepuffs,” a smug chuckle crossed the room, “we are loyal to our own. So, I know each of you will welcome Hermione the same you would our new first year students.”

As Theo continued, the tone of his voice turned more serious, if that were even possible and the timber dropped to a low, growling voice she’d never heard from him before.

“I know speak to you not as a fellow student but as Lord Nott and Hermione Grangers boyfriend so I implore you to listen to my words even more carefully. If a single person in this house uses the word mudblood or gives Hermione even an ounce of difficulty because of her blood status, her friendships with the other houses or her actions the past year, you will answer directly to me. Not to Slughorn, not to the Headmistress, not even to the Minister of Magic. She is mine. Any move against her, is a move against me and my house. Is that clear?”

Hermione watched as a sea of heads paled and nodded. She would never understand quite what being part of the Sacred-28 commanded, “Very good.”

His voice returned to its usual lightness, “Now if our sixth years could please show our first year students to their dorms. And the rest of you, enjoy your evenings. The prefects are here for anything you might need.

As the crowd dispersed, she turned to face him. “Theo, thank you. You didn’t have to say any of that, but thank you anyway.”

He reached forward and cupped her cheek with his hand, “Your mine Hermione. It’s about time I was able to show the world what that means.”

She could only smile up at the wizard before her and he took her hand leading her deeper into the common room. “Why did you ask the sixth years to help the new students, shouldn’t all the prefects do that?” She asked genuinely curious.

“Well since years two through four can’t be trusted not to play immature pranks, fifth years have their O.W.L’s and seventh years have N.E.W.Ts, we’ve always had sixth years take the first years under their wings to make sure they’re well looked after and then they’ll come to us if something more serious arises.”

“Oh, that’s such a good idea. Why did I never think of that?” She asks herself genuinely frustrated no other house, to her knowledge, had considered such a good system.

“Don’t beat yourself up love, you like helping everyone. It is literally a Gryffindor trait. We however, sometimes need a little extra incentive.”

Hermione realised that Theo had begun leading her towards the boys dorms.

“Theo, where are we going? I need to find my room.”

He ignored her and kept walking. It was only when she stopped and let go of his hand that he whirled around to face her. “Hermione, love, I don’t want to be apart from you for a second longer than I have to be. Do you really want to spend every night down here alone? I promise Slughorn won’t care and no one would dare say anything anyway. Share my room with me?”

“Okay Theo” she agreed, not that it took much convincing, “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

When they reached his dorm and levitated all her belongings from the room she had been assigned, they settled down for their first evening together in the dungeons. They were both surprised by how quickly sleep found them that night.

**

The next morning, they braced themselves before walking into the Great Hall, plopping down at what was the Ravenclaw table together with Ginny, Neville, Luna and Daphne who all knew about Theo and Hermione’s relationship. It seemed one night was all it had taken for Luna to pull Daphne into their group officially.

“So blondie, what caused you to leave the snake pit?” Ginny asked. That girl really had as much tact as a troll did grace.

“I was a hat stall my first year,” Daphne spoke without hesitation. “I asked the sorting hat to place me in Slytherin through fear of how my family would react if I were to be placed in Ravenclaw. But now, I find I no longer care. My parents may not have been loyal to you-know-who but they weren’t good people.”

“Good for you.” Neville offered kindly and they fell into conversation about lighter topics.

Theo began filling Hermione’s plate with a selection of fruits and mini pastries, a gesture he’d assured her time and time again over the summer was not an archaic demonstration of control but a loving gesture pureblood wizards showed towards all witches.

She was thankful that Theo noticed pretty early on over the summer that she steered well away from mushrooms after a year of eating them almost exclusively with Harry.

Hermione conceded on the food much like she had the carrying of her bags, and opening of doors back in sixth year. It was fairly harmless and made him happy so why not. As she sipped her orange juice she noticed a considerable number of the student body and teaching staff staring at them. A mixture of shock and disgust from the older students, but after the initial surprise, the teacher's expressions turned into more of a gentle acceptance.

Hermione was more than a little infuriated to see that the only students who’s gazes fell more harshly on her than the Slytherin’s were that of her old house who were clearly appalled that their muggle born, Princess of Gryffindor, saviour of the wizarding world and best friend to Harry Potter had not only chosen to be resorted but would be cosied up with the son of a death eater. What a load of hippogriff sh*t.

“Hermione, I really don’t think this was-“ Theo began

“Nonsense. We have nothing to be ashamed of in being seen together. If we show a positive, cheery attitude it may not solve all our problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.”

“Spoken like a true Gryffindor, Hermione” Ginny teased, bashing her on the shoulder good naturedly. And so, together they found their new normal.

As the week progressed, it seemed most of the student body were still split on whether sullying both the house of Slytherin and the noble house of Nott with a muggle born or the fact she was no longer in Gryffindor was the worst.

One night, after their first potions class of the year, Hermione felt overcome with how much she missed Draco. She thought it would be strange to talk to Theo about it so she pulled her charmed journal from her trunk knowing it would keep her secrets.

I missed you in potions. I miss the way you took your time assessing the best ingredients from each jar. I miss how you’d scribble notes in your book margins to make the recipe better. I miss...

Her hand paused, quill clutched tightly between her fingers. She couldn’t bring herself to write it.

Chapter 26: That's Lord Nott to You

Chapter Text

September, 1998

On the first Friday of term, Hermione made her way towards the Transfiguration classroom. It was one of the only subjects Theo would not join her in, he’d opted for Alchemy instead.

As usual, she was one of the first to arrive. As other seventh and eighth year students arrived, many unpleasant looks were thrown in her direction, mostly from seventh years who didn’t know her well. Only Justin Finch-Fletchley in her year seemed to have a real issue with it, but likely as he was the only other muggle born in their year. Probably took it as an affront to his own character or some other nonsense.

“So,” Ginny slumped down into the chair beside her. The only upshot to the new class structure was that the majority of lessons grouped them with seventh years which meant more time with Luna and Ginny, “Have you told my brother and Harry yet about your new status as Slytherin’s Princess?”

“Ginny, absolutely no one is calling me that.” She deadpanned.

“Why? You were a Princess in red, why not be one in green now instead?” Hermione only rolled her eyes in response. “‘Mi I’m serious, when are you going to tell them? Harry keeps asking how things are going and if I’ve gotten any sleep with your snoring”

“- I don’t snore!” She interrupts.

”-because he assumes we’re sharing a dorm. And yes, you do snore. A lot actually. And you talk and grind your teeth. Honestly, how does Nott put up with you?”

“I’ll tell them Ginny. Soon… I promise.”

Their conversation ended there as the new Professor entered the classroom.

The lesson today was spent doing a skills assessment on most of what they’d learned during sixth year; human transfiguration, conjuring, non-verbal skills and transfigurations such as teacups into gerbils and feather dusters into ferrets. The very mention of the animal caused her and Ginny to fall about laughing at the memory of Draco in ferret form.

At the very thought of him, Hermione felt tears prick in her eyes. It wasn’t fair. He should be here with them. Yes, things were complicated where he was concerned with her and Theo. But he was still their Draco. Their friend.

She hadn’t realised she had started daydreaming about the blonde till Ginny’s voice made its way into her thoughts, “will you tell me about him sometime?”

“Who?” She asked feinting ignorance.

“Malfoy. Hermione, if you had this whole friendship with Nott and none of us knew, considering how much Harry and Ron were harping on all summer about Malfoy and how he protected you in the room of requirement and then helping Harry, I’m assuming he was included in this?”

Hermione nodded.

“I trust you ‘Mi. If you believe Malfoy is a good person then I’m prepared to give him a chance. Whether he’s here to earn it or not. If he’s important to you then he’s important to me. Everyone deserves a second chance.”

“Thank you Gin. Truly.”

She meant it. From the very bottom of her heart. Having Ginny on board, even marginally would signal to Harry to have an open mind. And where Harry led, Ron usually followed.

As the witches packed up to leave, Professor Hristrova called for her to stay behind.

Once the rest of the class had left, the professors body notably relaxed and at once he suddenly appeared much younger. He was attractive in a traditionally masculine, rugged kind of way. Not Hermione’s type but she could now see why so many of the girls in the older years had been lusting after him during meals in the great hall.

”Miss Granger, I’m very happy to have the opportunity to tutor you this year. I vas a friend of Viktor’s from school, but I did not get chosen to attend Hogwarts. Karkaroff felt he should have no… distractions from the tasks you see. But he told me all about his Hermioninney.”

Hermione had pen-palled with Viktor a little over the year that followed but like many things, it had fallen by the way side with the war.

“How is Viktor? He was a very good friend to me indeed.” She offered politely.

The wizard gave her a beaming smile as he continued, ”He is vell. He is recently engaged to a lovely vitch from Bulgaria - Nadia. I think they vill be married next Spring. But, I did not ask you to stay to discuss Viktor.”

“How can I help you Professor?”

“Please, call me Aleksander. Viktor told me how gifted you vere. As did Professor McGonagall vhen I interviewed. She hopes you vill complete a transfiguration mastery you know? Vell, from vhat I saw today, I do not think either of them did you enough justice. I know from Professor Veasley that you are also very good in DADA but that you can sometimes struggle with the more intuitive nature of the spell casting.”

Hermione nodded in agreement. She hated it, but the war had shown her that she was often a predictable dueller and if it weren't for the strength of her protection spells, her reactions would have been the end of her.

“I would assume you’re also not a natural flyer?”

“No Professor. I absolutely hate flying…” she always hated confessing that to people. They never failed to look at her as though she’d let them down by not being perfect at everything.

He eyed her curiously as if silently requesting for her to elaborate.

“I’ve ridden Thestrals, a Hippogriff and a Dragon. I did not enjoy any of those experiences…not because of the riding, I can ride muggle horses just fine. But I’m terrified of heights. And riding a broom just seems to be a combination of everything I’m not great at… heights, intuitive magic and team sports.”

Aleksander barked out a laugh at this, “Hermionniney, it is not your magic that is the problem. I vas the same as you. I think you may also struggle because you do not actually vish to harm anyone? Either way, as part of my own mastery, I developed a form of duelling that stems from transfiguration. I’m in talks with the Ministry here to train their aurors on it but so far, I’m not having much headway. Never-the-less, I think it is a discipline you would enjoy and Professor Veasley, Slughorn and our Headmistress all granted me permission to offer you private tuition if you consent?”

“I’d love that, thank you.” She’d never heard of this application of transfiguration before but she was certainly excited to learn.

“Great! Ve’ll meet Vednesday’s at 4pm if that vorks?”

“Yes Prof- Aleksander. See you then.”

She felt giddy with anticipation on her way to the library that evening and couldn’t wait to tell Theo the good news. He’d likely be a little put out considering he was almost as keen to learn as she was but Theo wasn’t the most gifted in Transfiguration, hence dropping it this year to focus on everything he’d need should he actually pursue a career in healing.

The Alchemy course he’d only chosen as he knew it would be something Draco would have taken and he wanted to take notes on the entire course should the wizard ever return.

It was sweet, the care and attention Theo was taking to prepare for Draco’s return one day despite his initial reaction over the summer not to want to see him again. She wasn’t sure what shifted in his mind but she was pleased he seemed to be softening.

All of his notes for Alchemy, Potions, Herbology and Arithmancy were carefully copied and set aside for Draco each week. They weren’t sure which other subjects he’d have taken but if- when he returned, they knew between them they had everything except Divination covered. And he’d have never taken Divination anyway.

Hermione decided to leave another note of her own.

I miss the way you’d indulge Trelawney and her tea leaves. I miss the way Snape always complimented your brewing. I miss how McGonagall pronounced Mr Malfoy. I miss how Sinistra always tried to make every assignment link back to your family… I miss that I used to be able to look at the night sky and not instantly search for you.

**

As Theo arrived in the library, he could see his beautiful witch hunched over a stack of parchment. Her brow furrowed and quill hovering indecisively. To anyone else, they’d assume she was deep in thought, no doubt working on a complex Arithmancy problem or Ancient Rune translation.

But, as Theo looked closer, he could see her clenched jaw and the jiggling of her knee under the desk. She was angry about something and trying desperately to push it down. She was most likely angry at him for being late to their study session, especially as he hadn’t told her in advance.

She never explicitly told him, but he’d noticed how she’d always get twitchy if she didn’t know where he was. Not because she wanted to control him, but out of concern. A lingering effect of the war if he had to guess.

He noticed a group of seventh years glaring at him from a nearby table, he clenched his jaw and strode over, “What seems to be the problem?”

A smarmy Gryffindor boy closest to him spoke up, “You. Death Eater scum shouldn’t be allowed back here. Now do f*ck off back to daddykins Nott.”

Theo grabbed the boys shirt and pulled him from his seat, his patience was wearing thin after a week of this kind of sh*t.

“That’s Lord Nott to you, prick. And I’ll have you know, I never was or wanted to be a death eater. But, that didn’t stop me picking up on some of their more creative curses. Would you like a demonstration?”

“You don’t scare me” the Gryffindor boy spat.

Theo flicked his wand discreetly at his side, instantly the boys face began turning red, “Need I continue?” The boy shook his head, grabbing at Theo’s wrist for him to release him. His friends simply watched on in horror.

Theo released his grip eventually and cancelled the spell, “Pleasure to make your acquaintance boys” he smiled and walk back towards his watch. When he was a few feet away, he swallowed and made his way over, ready for the interrogation bound to await him.

“You’re late” Hermione remarked, “Will this become a habit?”

”Unfortunately love, it was unavoidable. And not a habit, but I won’t be able to study with you after dinner next week. I’m sorry” he reached across the table for her hand.

Hermione set the quill down and pushed the parchment to the side in order to give him her full attention. As he looked at her, there was still tension around her mouth and between her brows. Tension that despite everything she had endured, she didn’t usually carry. Not visibly at least.

“And why is that?”

Theo couldn’t hold her gaze. She was going to go full Granger on him when she found out. His eyes flicked down into his lap instead. A few moments ago, he was drawing the air slowly from a fellow students lungs, and here he sat like a small boy being chastised by his own girlfriend. Though, in his defence, Hermione Granger was f*cking terrifying.

She continued to glare at him so he murmured his response so quietly hoping she would mishear.

“Sorry I didn’t catch that. Why will you be unavailable to study with me Theodore?”

Ah sh*t, the full name. There was no point trying to delay any longer.

“Detention” He ground out from clenched teeth and chanced a look at her from the corner of his eye.

Her nose scrunched as she let out a sigh of disappointment, “What for?”

Theo blew out a breath. “There was a small misunderstanding that I needed to straighten out.”

Hermione raised a brown in a way that reminded him too much of Narcissa. “What sort of misunderstanding?”

“A little sh*t in seventh year didn’t quite understand when one should shut their mouth. I simply helped him with that.” He shrugged to try and downplay the incident. Obviously this did not work.

“What did you do Theo?”

A smirk crossed his face “Nothing much really” he paused in thought, “I wish I had done worse honestly” he pouted.

“Theodore!” She admonished, “Will you please tell me what happened?”

Theo signed and licked his lip nervously.

“As I said, f*ck face decided to make some rather unfavourable comments about you quite loudly to all his stupid friends. He only got more enthusiastic when I passed by. I told him if he didn’t shut his mouth, I’d gladly help him. I gave him fair warning and yet he decided to continue spouting utter Hippogriff sh*t.”

He watched the realisation form on her face, “So you…?”

Theo smiled sardonically, “I charmed his mouth shut. It’ll wear off in a few hours-“

“Theodore,” she hissed. This must be a new record he thought, using his full name three times in one conversation. “You could have gotten yourself expelled.”

“Well I didn’t. Though I likely have Professor Weasley to thank for that.” Theo cracked his knuckles and huffed, “Really, I think he ought to have awarded me points for services to the school for shutting him up. Now he’s just a gormless twat rather than a mouthy, gormless twat.”

Despite his speech to the Slytherins, Theo was struggling to bring the rest of the upper years in the school to heel when it came to his relationship with Hermione. And the Gryffindor he’d just encountered was proof a heavier hand was needed.

Hermione decided to press on with her interrogation, “What did he say?” Theo shook his head, jaw tense. “Tell me”

He tried desperately to keep his voice even, “He said that you were no longer worthy of the name Gryffindor Princess, and that Slytherin slag was more appropriate.”

“Oh well, I guess it could have been worse. I never liked the name anyway” she offered. Theo snorted, unamused.

Hermione took a deep breath and squeezed Theo’s hand, “As misguided as your approach might have been, I appreciate you… defending my honour. But really, you needn’t worry, I can do that myself.”

“I won’t apologise” he sighed, “But I can swear I’ll try harder not to get caught.”

“I don’t care what people say, Theo. I love you. And if anyone has a problem with that, they can speak to me themself and we’ll see just how they enjoy that conversation.” She smiled wickedly at him and it ignited something inside him to see her that way.

Bloody witch was going to be the death of him. It was going to be a busy year indeed.

**

It was only the start of eighth year and although things were good, she enjoyed her classes, was fitting in well in Slytherin and was hopelessly in love with Theo, she couldn’t deny she missed how things used to be.

The way McGonagall structured Transfiguration lectures.

The drawl of Snape’s voice.

Cosy nights by the fire in Gryffindor tower.

Dragging Harry and Ron to the library.

Visiting Hagrid for tea in his hut… she really ought to write to him and see how he was adapting to life in France with Madame Maxine.

She missed who she used to be.

**

Hermione and Theo were relaxing by one of the fireplaces in the common room reading that Saturday evening. Over the summer, she had introduced Theo to muggle fiction. She’d tried first with the classics like Pride and Prejudice, Frankenstein and Sherlock Holmes but none had piqued his interest. She tried fantasy next and he absolutely hated it. So, she had turned to tales from history about the gods. He enjoyed Roman and Egyptian tales but his favourite by far were the Greek mythologies.

He was currently reading the tales regarding Ares, God of War. Something he was enjoying a great deal too much. She meanwhile, was reading the theory papers Aleksander had given her on his transfiguration duelling in preparation for their first lesson the following week.

“Do you know love” he said, closing the book and settling it on the table in front of him, “reading all of these stories you’ve given me, makes me realise that the summer we started writing to each other, I asked you for stories but you never did tell me much of what you got up to over the years with Potter and Weasley without the rest of us knowing…”

“I was hoping you’d have forgotten all about that” she groaned, “Theo, it’s just that having lived it, I don’t think of any of what we did as particularly exciting. I promise it wasn’t nearly as interesting as you might think.”

“I’ll be the judge of that. I might even give you a few stories of my own if that would sweeten the deal?”

It did. It very much did.

“Well, you were with us for most of the battle, and I already told you about breaking into Gringotts and riding the dragon to escape. The break in at the Ministry was widely publicised since they were trying to capture us, as was our adventure into the department of mysteries back in fifth year. I’m sure Draco told you all about Umbridge - although, I did trick her into following me and Harry into the forest where she was carried away by the centaurs. That really was quite funny.”

“You’re friendly with centaurs?” He said in disbelief.

“Not really no, Firenze, our astrology professor maybe. But they like Harry. I am friends with Hagrid’s half brother, Grawp, he’s a very sweet giant who lives in the forest. He’s rather protective actually.”

“Merlin’s tit*… okay, so setting the fact you have a literal giant under your thumb aside for just a moment, that leaves us…?” He raked a hand through his chestnut curls.

“In fourth year,” she continued, “That was actually a terribly boring year for myself and Ronald. Harry was too busy trying not to die in the tournament. Although being held at the bottom of the Black Lake was no fun let me tell you.’ She shuddered at the memory.

Theo looked at her full of concern, “what did it feel like? None of us ever knew what they actually did to those of you kept down there.”

“When I was petrified by the Basilisk, I wasn’t aware of the passing of time. I was quite literally frozen as I was and woke up as if nothing had happened at all. To me it was quicker than falling asleep.” Theo nodded back at her in understanding, “but being in the lake for almost 8 hours… we were aware of everything. We couldn’t see or hear and all around us just felt this cold nothingness. But we were conscious. We were told since that we weren’t supposed to be… myself and Ron were the only ones affected. Barty Crouch Jnr, who we believed to be Professor Moody, was in charge of it. He specifically left us in a state of consciousness. It was agonising.”

She paused to collect herself, “when we freed the dragon and rode it up to Scotland earlier this year, we were dropped into a lake. Both me and Ron nearly drowned because we had a panic attack being plunged back into the water.”

Hermione didn’t realise, her tale had already captured the attention of more than just Theo as she continued.

“Any how, back in fourth year, I also discovered Rita Skeeter was an unregistered animagus. It was how she was getting all of the information for her articles. Not that most of what she wrote was true but still… I got so cross at rubbish she was writing about me and Harry and then me and Viktor that when I found out, I trapped her in a glass jar with just a few air holes and kept her there all summer.” She said with a smug grin.

“You scare me, you know?”

She chuckled slightly at the wide eyed brunette staring back at her on the couch. “Now you sound like Harry and Ron. Honestly” she scoffed, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Third year, now that was an interesting one” the tone of her voice joyous at the memory of it all. “If I’m completely truthful, as much as using a time turner to go back and save the life of Harry’s godfather, Sirius Black and Buckbeak, the Hippogriff Draco tried to have murdered for grazing his arm - do remind me to tell him off for that actually won’t you? Well, as good as that was, nothing quite beat punching Draco in his smug point face.”

The pair burst into laughter and her ears pricked when she her gasps and giggles from across the room. As soon as the younger students realised they’d been caught eavesdropping, they quickly scurried back to their own rooms.

Theo pressed her for all the details of how they saved Buckbeak and Sirius which only ended with him storming off to their room and going to sleep without speaking to her after learning that she knowingly called to a werewolf in an attempt to save her past self. Oh and that she ran head first into an attack from hundreds of dementors.

Despite his upset at her complete disregard for her own life, she still awoke the next morning to his arms wrapped tightly around her waist and his face buried in her curls.

It was only on their way to breakfast that he broke their silence, “so in all these heroics, did Weasley have any notable role. Or, did he merely tag along for the glory?”

Hermione used the walk from the dungeons to tell him about their first year and their efforts to protect the philosopher's stone. There was a reason Ron was considered the best player at Wizard’s Chess the school had seen since McGonagall herself was a student.

“All the years Hermione, we all believed Dumbledore was just biased towards Gryffindor’s and co*cky enough that he didn’t bother to hide it. That first year, it really hurt those of us in Slytherin who had worked hard for the house cup when it was snatched form us at the final moment with no explanation why.”

“Oh, I guess we never stopped to think what it all must have looked like to someone on the outside.” Was it really so easy for Slytherin’s to believe their headmaster regarded them so lowly? Did the other houses feel the same?

They discussed it with their friends over breakfast that morning. And what shocked Hermione most was that beyond the house prejudice, Neville and Ginny commented that Dumbledore, and to some extent McGonagall, had favoured their trio more than any other students… she couldn’t even argue. Harry being appointed a position on the Quidditch team first year, The lack of any real punishment when Harry and Ron risked the statute of secrecy in second year or any year that followed, the time turner, Harry casting the Sectumsempra curse on Draco… she couldn’t believe she’d been so blind to it.

Theo and Daphne were insistent that the only reason Snape had looked so biased towards the Slytherin’s was to make up for the prejudices of prefects and other teachers. Not even Quidditch seemed to have been a fair game with Slytherin’s tactics marked as dirty and underhanded, fouls given over the most minor of infractions. But, when Gryffindor deployed the same moves, it was considered a great show of strength.

Ginny promised to look into all of it as Head Girl and Captain of the Gryffindor team.

No wonder Theo had taken on so much last year. It still made her sick to think about first and second year Slytherin’s being refused help by other students purely because of the colour of their robes.

She couldn't help but think that more than any other house, they needed a way to communicate should they be in need of help.

She could charm the galleons but they were easily lost or forgotten. If she could teach them to cast corporeal patronuses strong enough to communicate with, that would be something they could use the rest of their lives.

Excitedly, she filled Theo in on her plans over dinner, confident that together they would easily be able to tutor the entirety of Slytherin house in a matter of weeks. Part of her thought if she could give them something, those in the house still not accepting of her placement there might feel they owed her enough to win their approval.

They were Slytherins after all. They understood transactional alliances better than most.

**

Theo felt nervous. He hated feeling nervous.

It wasn’t often these days that he had to ask someone for help, and somehow asking Hermione felt even worse.

He was meant to be the strong one, able to protect her and here he was practically sweating as he prepared to ask her to tutor him on the patronus charm before attempting to do so with the students.

It was widely known that death eaters could not cast the charm. And by default it was assumed most Slytherins or those allied with the death eaters would struggle or at the very least did not know how.

He waited until they returned to their dorm room where he undressed quickly and slipped quietly into their bed whilst Hermione pottered about the suite, too engrossed in her usual nightly routine to notice he was quieter than usual.

When she finally climbed into bed beside him, burying herself into his side as she did night after night, he rested his chin atop her head and readied himself. He just hoped she would not be too disappointed in him.

His voice was quiet as he spoke into her curls, “Hermione?”

“Yes love” she responded sleepily.

“I know you wanted to start tutoring the students right away but, uhm, would you be able to teach it to me first?”

He felt her stiffen as she became more alert. After a few seconds she shuffled in his hold to face him, “why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

His jaw clicked. He had no issue showing his emotions to the witch when he was professing his love but he was not so keen when it involved being so entirely vulnerable. Not that she’d ever hurt him mind. Unless he lied to her, then she would most definitely hurt him.

“I’m uncertain whether I’ll be able to produce the charm. I’ve dabbled, shall we say, in dark arts over the years… and well you’ve been in the estate, it’s swarming with dark magic. I know it can hold people back and-“

She cut him off before he spiralled. “You’re not a dark wizard Theo. Quite the opposite in fact. Don’t worry about a thing. Of course I’ll teach you.”

Her uncanny ability to remain positive despite all she’d been through never failed to amaze him.

His little witch pressed a soft kiss against his lips before she settled back against his chest, settling herself in for the night.

By the time the sun was peeking through the enchanted windows of the dungeon dorms, Theo realised he’d barely slept. All night he’d been plagued with worry over the blasted charm.

He knew enough about it to know that you had to draw from happy memories… something Theo did not have an ample selection to choose from.

The obvious choice were his memories of Hermione but he still worried that he wasn’t pure enough within himself to be able to conjure one. Certainly not one strong enough to be corporeal.

**

Teaching Theo how to cast a patronus reminded Hermione of Harry, how could it not?

They had tried over the course of several nights to help Theo conjure the charm but he couldn’t move beyond a whisp of light. It might do to fend off a single dementor but it wouldn’t suffice for what she intended the students use it for.

She had always been a gifted student and if the struggle to teach Theo the charm had been any indication, her talents did not extend to teaching quite as easily. She was not Harry.

In desperate need of advice from her oldest friend, she mustered the courage to finally write to him and quickly sent the letter off with Ulysses, Theo's owl, who had been growing restless with a lack of letters to carry - his beak was well and truly out of joint, so she took him a handful of treats to make up for it.

Dearest Harry,

I’m sorry for not writing sooner. I suppose I found for the first time in my life, that I really wasn’t sure what to say.

I know deceiving you and Ron the past two years really hurt you, and I am truly sorry for that. I always hoped to tell you but the war just made it so much more complicated.

I realise now what Ron said after the trial is true. I’m not the same girl I was. I’m not the girl you rescued from the troll. But, I am still your friend. I always have been Harry. I would still do anything for you and Ron - believe me when I say that never changed.

This year, when McGonagall asked me to be Head Girl.. I couldn’t do it. I didn’t want everyone looking to me, expecting me to help them heal when I wasn’t even sure who I was or how to move on. So when the eighth years were invited to be resorted at the start of term, I did it. I needed some kind of confirmation that the way I see the world had shifted and a way to leave the old Hermione in the past.

I was sorted into Slytherin, Harry. And please please don’t be angry. I’m happy here. It feels right. And I still have Ginny, Neville and Luna. That hasn’t changed.

But now Theo is included in that as well. And I hope that with time, you’ll be able to see what I saw in him that made me take a chance on his friendship.

And I know you are wondering but too polite (or afraid?) to ask, but I did love Ron once upon a time. You weren’t wrong about that. But in sixth year I realised our love was only meant as friends. What I began feeling for Theo was so much more. And I do love him Harry. He sees me in a way I’m not sure anyone else on this earth ever has. And with him I feel happy. I feel like I’m home.

With all of these new changes I find I’m seeing Hogwarts differently as well. There is so much we never noticed given our privileges. I find myself with the need to teach the Slytherins how to cast the patronus charm to communicate for emergencies but I’m not a natural tutor like you Harry.

I tried to explain it to Theo the way you taught me and Ron but it was easier for us. We had a bank of happy memories to choose from. And the more I learn, the more I realise, the supposed spoiled heirs in Slytherin are the unhappiest of us all. How can I help them Harry?

I hope I can see you when training finishes? There’s more I need to tell you so that there are no more secrets between us.

And please give my love to Ron - I’m not sure he’s ready to hear from me yet.

Stay safe,

Hermione

Chapter 27: Thestrals

Chapter Text

October, 1998

“I miss him Theo” she sighed, allowing her head to fall against the soft grey jumper he wore as it rested on his shoulder. “Is that wrong of me?”

She was cautious but she thought Theo had softened since the early days in summer where he was so angry Draco had lied that his knee jerk response had been to throw away his friendship with the blonde. Something she’d been working hard to unpick. It was the sort of thing that Harry or Ron would have done so she was used to guiding them back to reason however, she was not used to having to do this sort of thing with the snakes. There was no telling if the same approach would work but she had to try. If Theo was cutting off his own emotions about the loss of his friend over this, it told her something much deeper was happening than she’d initially realised but she didn’t know what.

She was about to worry that her comment had pushed Theo too quickly when he replied, “Not at all. I miss him too” settling her nerves immediately, “What do you miss most?”

”Honestly, I mainly miss the way he only ever called me Granger.” They both chuckled slightly at the confession.

“I miss the way I felt almost weightless when he was around, the way you do when you float in water knowing it’s all around you and will never let you drown,” his tone was pensive as he spoke but then he caught himself, hanging his head lightly and running a hand through his tousled locks he continued, “And before you say anything, yes, of course I know that sounds stupid because you can drown quite easily in water but it’s somewhere I’ve always found comfortable. Gods, I miss his stormy blue eyes and the sarcastic drawl of his voice. f*ck, I think I even miss his smirk.” He laughed slightly at this remembering his friend.

“I wish I got to know him like you did Theo. Sometimes I think it’s ridiculous to feel this way about someone I knew for so little time. Especially when I have you.”

“I know I was cross over the summer but it’s nice that you care about him Hermione. He deserves to come back knowing there are people who love him.”

“Yeah…” she didn’t say that Draco entered her thoughts more often than she thought he should. Especially since she was with Theo. She loved Theo.

The wizard released her hand for only a moment so that he could light one of his cigarettes. The smell of clove hit Hermione’s senses calming her thoughts that were about to run rampage.

**

“Hello Hermione” Luna’s dreamy voice caressed her ears.

“Hi Luna, how are you?”

Her friendship with the witch was… interesting. Sure Hermione didn’t truly believe half of the things she said, Nargles for example, are definitely not real. But, she couldn’t ignore that Luna had a way of seeing things, seeing people, differently and most of the time she was completely right. She also possessed immense kindness and bravery and Hermione just couldn’t help but adore her.

She hadn’t seen as much of Luna as she’d have liked as they didn’t share a great deal of classes and her spare time seemed to be quite occupied.

“I’m most content, are you? Have you been able to find some peace this year?”

Hermione thought on that wistfully, “Not yet. But I’m searching for it. I’m glad to hear you’re having a good year though Luna.”

“I thought as much. I told Harry once that lost things have a way of finding us again. Not that I think he listened to me. But I know you will Hermione. Just like you must have finally took my advice because there’s a lot less wrackspurts in your head this year.”

She knew. Somehow Luna knew he heart was missing Draco. He was her lost thing.

Luna gave her a warm smile still filled with innocence. How that was possible after what she had been through, Hermione wasn’t sure. The moment she thanked her friend, Luna skipped off in search of some creature or another.

Hermione made her way to DADA for another lesson on Defensive Transfiguration with Professor Hristrova.

**

It was now the middle of October and the first Hogsmeade weekend was upon them. Most of the school were descending on the small town as everyone was eager to find costumes for the upcoming Halloween Ball.

Hermione walked the long path from the castle hand in hand with Theo as they discussed what they might dress up as. It was nice, for once, to feel like any normal teenage girl and so for once, she let herself indulge in the cheesiness and the beauty of being young. Young and in love.

“Maybe you should go as a Princess, especially since you were once Gryffindors princess and now we snakes have claimed you as our own.” She smiled at him coyly as he continued, “Actually, Draco was always known as the Prince of Slytherin. Especially since his family are perhaps as close to royalty as we’ve ever got in the magical world.”

Hermione was just about to place a kiss to his jaw when she spied a group of fourth years sending death stares from where they were huddled on the small bridge. Theo wrapped his arm tightly around her shoulder and forced her to keep walking, she knew he could likely feel the magic radiating off her where she longed to lash out.

“Don’t pay them any mind love, anyway, I’ve been thinking, did you have any serious plans for our costume at the ball?” Theo took another long drag on the cigarette but kept his eyes on the group of students as if committing their faces to memory.

“Uhm no, I hadn’t. Why? What do you have in mind?” She asked with an air of curiosity.

“Well, a few of the books of yours I’ve been reading gave me a few ideas. At first I thought about Hades and Persephone but I thought that may be a little on the nose since everyone most likely thinks I have indeed tricked you into this relationship... But then I read about a duo that I think fits rather perfectly” The mischief in his voice was impossible to ignore.

“Well then, by all means, lead the way” she chimed.

**

When Hermione took Theo’s arm behind the doors of the now empty common room, she took a deep breath, and they prepared to make their way towards the Great Hall.

She paused before they made their way into the hall.

“Ready?” Theo asked, puffing his chest slightly. On nights like these, the twinkle returned to his olive green eyes and his dimple was out in full force. The result? Captivating.

She gave one last look to her love standing beside her and nodded. “Ready” she confirmed.

As they passed through the huge doors, the hall was rendered speechless.

Theo stood tall in a brown sleeveless tunic, a solid gold armour covering his chest and back of which the shoulder pieces had Cerberus faces built into them, his bracers and boots adorned with gold chains on them. His wand charmed for the night to look like a huge spear. Ares, the God of Bloodlust.

Hermione personally found this costume quite fitting for her boyfriend whom she’d always thought resembled a Greek god far too closely then could ever be fair.

And beside him she stood as Athena the Goddess of War, Reason and Wisdom, in a long white gown adorned with gold plaiting and an olive branch headdress made of gold perched on her head as her curls fell wildly around her shoulders.

She was too armed with her wand charmed into a spear, and wore the famed Aegis - a snake-trimmed cape adorned with the monstrous visage of the Gorgon Medusa over her shoulders.

She was making her allegiance to the snakes known and she didn’t care who knew it. She was a Slytherin now. And Hermione and Theo were done playing nice, no longer would the unkind opinions of others be tolerated.

Well Theo was. Hermione had still not told Harry and Ron about her relationship status or her friendship with Draco.

**

The Headmistress had been less than pleased about the implications of their costumes and after summoning them both for tea the next day and had thanked them both not to pull anything of the sort again at the upcoming Yule ball, Hermione’s mind wandered back to last night.

Theo would have panicked more at the way McGonagall’s brow arched and voice took on a shrill tone not normally associated with the former Head of Gryffindor house but Hermione’s features never faltered. It was as if she were challenging their Headmistress to say more. After more than a few uncomfortable seconds, McGonagall relaxed slightly.

“And don’t think I didn’t miss the nod to the Roman Goddess Minerva, Hermione.” she quipped, her mouth twitching slightly as if trying to repress a smile. “Now, have a biscuit you two and tell me, what do you plan to do when you leave Hogwarts?” The older witch said as she held out a box of shortbread.

What the hell was going on?

For the first time in his life, Theo was on the receiving end of the rather longer leash usually afforded to the Golden Trio.

The moment they stepped past the Gargoyle Theo pulled out a cigarette. Hermione shot him a look.

“Come on Princess. My nerves are in pieces here.” He tried to reason. Hermione sniffed and began walking away. “Fine. You win. It’s away.” He called after her. Somehow his little witch always got her way.

As they walked back to their dorm, Theo and Hermione noticed that the scathing looks and snide remarks had disappeared.

Instead, the students they passed in the halls looked at the pair as if they were indeed Gods able to rein chaos and destruction on them at any moment.

Theo was quite certain that this witch actually had the power to do just that and thanked Merlin she was his. Their outfits at the Halloween Ball, whilst slightly dramatic, they hoped it had the desired effect.

**

As Hermione licked the cream cheese frosting off her finger from her cinnamon roll at breakfast the next morning, Theo’s eyes darkened and his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat.

She’d never imagined herself as someone who was flirty, especially not in public, but with Theo it felt easy. She never felt silly or awkward. And she would be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy winding him up during the day.

She was just about to begin work on a strawberry when an unfamiliar owl landed in front of them.

Theo reached out and untied the letter from the birds foot and offered it a slice of bacon in lieu of a real treat.

“It’s for you” he said as he offered the letter across to her.

She recognised Harry’s chicken scratch writing immediately and tore open the response.

Hermione,

I’ve missed your essays.

I should be able to come to Hogsmeade around Christmas when training has finished and there is a break in our schedule. Perhaps Theo could join us for a drink? I’ve always trusted your judgement Hermione, and it’s not got me killed yet, so I’m inclined to continue trusting you on this too.

I mean it Hermione. You’re family. I could never stay angry with you. And I wasn’t angry at you in the first place to be honest. Only Ron was. I was shocked, disappointed you hadn’t been able to tell me, but most of all angry with myself that I hadn’t noticed my best friend had a whole other life and that she hadn’t felt able to tell me.

I love you Hermione. Nothing will change that. Ron will come around.

For your lessons, I can’t imagine what the baby snakes have been through that’s so awful but if the brightest witch of age says they need to learn it then who am I to question her?

Don’t put the emphasis on the memory itself. It’s more about the feeling that comes from it. For some, remembering can help focus the feeling. But if the memory they choose is clouded by something else then it won’t work.

I never told you and Ron what memory I used, because in truth I’m not even sure it’s real. But I focussed on the feeling of being with my parents, of being home and loved. And I allowed myself to feel it so strongly that it consumed my entire being. I didn’t focus on it in the past, I thought about every moment and moments yet to happen where I’d have this feeling. And that was enough for me.

But I’m curious Hermione, have you cast one recently? I’d bet you might be surprised by what you see.

Good luck Hermione, not that you need it.

Harry

“Brilliant…” Hermione hadn’t even realised she had spoken aloud until Theo questioned her. “I know how we can better teach the patronus charm.”

“Of course you do” the brunette wizard replied warmly.

“Come on then, I best start with you!” She beamed. Theo groaned, seemingly dejected that the little display had come to such an abrupt end. Stupid man, she’d need to talk to him about his priorities.

**

The moment the glistening white Thestral burst forth from Theo’s wand he knew the weeks of practising had been worth it. He’d had no idea what form his corporeal would take and whilst some might be disturbed at his, he knew there was nothing more perfect.

He sat that night reading about what it meant. Of all the forms, a Thestral was one of the rarest. It was written that those whose patronus took this form were empathetic, realistic and have the ability to look at the bigger picture making them deeply powerful. They’re also listed to be much like the physical being in that they are often misunderstood by others and are considered way ahead of their years, having contemplated ideas that most only consider on their death bed.

Frustratingly, it seemed Saint Potter was right. He didn’t need a memory. Just a feeling. One that consumed him to his very core. And for his entire existence, the only feeling Theo had ever wanted was to be home and to be loved.

The closest he’d come to this were days as a child in Malfoy Manor with Draco and then more recently, in the time spent with Hermione. So that was what he clung to. How it might feel to be surrounded by the two people closest to him without fear of war and discovery hanging over them.

When the thestral burst forth from his wand he was certainly surprised since having a magical creature as your patronus form was incredibly rare indeed. But they’d always been his favourite creature even as a child before he could actually see them. And seeing them in a dazzling white form rather than their usual black was really quite the sight to behold.

He knew Hermione’s had been an otter, so when he asked her to conjure hers so they could see how the two animals interacted, he was very surprised to see a small fox burst forth from her wand.

The moment they did some research on the animal, he found himself questioning why it hadn’t been a fox all along.

‘Those with a fox patronus find comfort in defying people’s expectations. You are highly gifted in cunning and resourcefulness. They can either use their abilities for the good or for bad though many cultural folklore insist on one or the other. The fox represents potential in a way similar to Yin-and-Yang.’

**

“I can’t believe it!” Hermione shrieked in exasperation, pacing across the Great Hall where she’d called an emergency meeting with the prefects including Ginny and their head boy who’s name she could never recall because he was so utterly useless. She’d also dragged Theo along for moral support.

“We have been blind for too long about the injustices taking place between houses, letting entire cohorts of students ride on preconceived notions and generalisations about the houses they belong to. And it’s not just Slytherin’s that are suffering because of it. Nor is it just the Gryffindors who need to be taught better.”

A sea of scared faces stared back at her as she continued her monologue.

“Earlier today, a fifth year Slytherin felt compelled to send a patronus charm to myself and Theo because a fellow fifth year in Hufflepuff was getting beaten up by a Ravenclaw all because he made a small mistake on a potions assignment and they received less than top marks. The boy was too nervous to intervene directly as he knew if they were caught, he’d have been assigned the blame purely for being in Slytherin. So, I have conferred with our Head Girl and more new guidance regarding patrols and point adjustments will be distributed along with a guide for tutoring all students the patronus charm which Professor Weasley will also be adding to the course curriculum for all years. But by the end of the month, any student unable to cast the charm will be issued a charmed galleon direct to their prefects until they are able to master a corporeal form… is this clear?”

The echoes of murmured ‘yes’ sounded through the hall and Hermione took a deep breath, “Should you not comply, I will be following up with you individually.” She was sure to make eye contact with each one of the prefects to ensure they knew full well how serious she was about this.

**

Theo watched in awe as his witch berated her fellow students.

Being told off by Hermione was f*cking terrifying. But watching Hermione tell someone off, well it turned out it was quite the turn on.

The minute they were walking the halls of Hogwarts after the meeting, Theo dragged Hermione into the first broom cupboard they came across. No later than the very second the door latched, he pushed her up against the wall, his lips on hers, with one hand tangled in her curls and the other squeezing her arse.

“f*cking, terrifying witch,” he breathed out, “making me so god damn horny” he began trailing kisses down her neck. He slotted his thigh between her legs allowing her to find friction on it.

“Theo, ah” she moaned, “Theo we, we shouldn’t”

“Say the word then love. Tell me to stop” he murmured against her skin. She made no effort to pull away he noticed.

“Theo…” he loved the way she panted his name when she was growing desperate.

He continued kissing and sucking on her neck. Ever since he first left a love bite on her neck quite by accident a few weeks ago, he’d wanked off a fair few times to the thought of it. Rationally he knew it was a bit weird to be turned on by such a display of ownership but he couldn’t help it. He wanted everyone to know she was completely and utterly his. He wondered how many he could leave on her now before she’d stop him. And how many could he convince her not to glamour the next day?

He squeezed her arse hard and then moved his hand round the front and pushed her lace knickers to the side. She was gloriously wet for him.

He teased her entrance with his finger, she moaned, “Fine. But make it quick.”

Theo didn’t need to be told twice. Getting Hermione Granger off in a broom closet at Hogwarts was something he’d thought about many many times.

And perhaps, if he was quick about it, and they weren’t caught, she’d let him do it again. With that thought, he cast a quick silencing charm and got to work.

**

A few days later, Theo was in the Hospital Wing during his free period. Both Hermione and the Headmistress had decided it would be a most excellent idea for Theo to talk with Madame Pomfrey about healing professions as options after school.

Theo hadn’t actually given it too much thought, sure he was fairly good at it from years of healing himself after disagreements with his father, but he mostly only took the meeting out of fear of Hermione. He’d spent years watching the way she chastised Ron and Harry about their futures. He wasn’t about to get on her bad side. As he was exchanging pleasantries with the Nurse, Hermione walked in covered in blood.

Madame Pomfrey rushed to her side. “Dear, are you alright?”

“Who did this to you?” Theo growled, the anger building inside of him. He frantically ran his eyes over her looking for sign of where the blood was coming from.

“Oh don’t worry. It’s not mine.” Hermione said with a smirk and with the flick of her wand she removed all the blood that had been dripping down her face, neck and most of her upper body. It had even gotten in her hair.

Seconds later a group of Gryffindors and a few Slytherins entered the room in various states of disarray. Theo was speechless. What the hell happened?

He strode forward and grasped hold Hermione's arm pulling her through the school towards their dorm away from the prying eyes and ears.

“What in Salazar's name are you playing at Hermione?” He sighed in exasperation as the portrait closed shut behind them.

“Well it’s quite similar to what you did at the start it of term Theodore. A student stepped out of line and I simply nudged them gently in the right direction?”

He co*cked his brow as he continued his questioning, “Okay but this doesn’t look like you were particularly gentle?”

“No. I wasn’t.” She sounded a little too proud of that.

“And what did a cluster of sixth years do to deserve the wrath of the great Hermione Granger?” he teased her a little.

“They had some rather loud opinions on both where they believed you ought to be and where they hoped Draco was spending his time.”

“Hermione you can’t just… Merlin’s balls” he sighed exasperated. Truthfully she was becoming quite the handful these days. “Hermione, I’m not even sure what you did to them. I’m not judging you either but do you really have to make it so obvious? I know you’re used to getting away with things but there’s no way McGonagall will overlook this.” Theo’s voice was almost shouting in frustration.

“Well it’s a good job there’s no proof I did anything then isn’t it. You and Draco always told me that a key to being a Slytherins was not getting caught.” She said glaring at him, arms crossed on her chest. Theo co*cked his brow before flopping back on the couch, crossing his ankle over his knee.

“Very well. But this has to stop Hermione. I’ve watched you grow angrier for weeks now. And I know we had our fun at the ball, declaring our intention to fight the injustice against the Malfoys but this,” he said gesturing to her, “this isn’t you. I will always love you Hermione. But don’t become someone you’re not out of spite. You’re the best of us, love. Don’t let all this drag you under. You might find you sink too far to come back up for air. If you need this, if you need people to pay, then let me do it.”

Theo sparked up one of his clove cigarettes not even caring when Hermione stomped off to their room and slammed the door shut.

Crazy f*cking witch indeed.

**

I miss how you were always so unapologetically you. Even when you were wrong.

**

Theo was roused from sleep by Hermione snuggling in close against his back.

“You okay Princess?” he asked as he attempted to roll over to face her but she pressed into him keeping him in position.

“Theo, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to lose control today. I know that’s not me. I just got so cross when I heard what they were saying about you both and my magic took me by surprise a little. I hadn’t intended to do anything. It was like before I knew I was a witch and I’d have bursts of accidental magic. I just exploded the windows in the artefact room without even meaning to. I was passing by on the way back from tea with the Headmistress when I’d overheard them talking whilst they waited outside the muggle studies classroom. They didn’t see me until afterwards, that’s why I knew McGonagall wouldn’t know I had anything to do with it”.

“Then why were you covered in their blood Hermione?”

“I-I tried to heal some of them, the glass had got them pretty badly and I couldn’t levitate them all to the hospital wing by myself. I promise Theo. That’s all that happened.”

Theo felt her grip soften slightly and he rolled over to face her tugging her in close to his chest. He heard her cry softly into his bare chest the way she’d done all too often over the early days of summer.

“Thank you for telling me, Hermione. I’ve been so worried about you. But I’m here. I’m always here. I’ll never leave you Hermione. I promise.” He pressed a gentle kiss to her head and held her as she fell back to sleep safe from nightmares in his embrace.

He however laid there, anger bubbling away underneath his skin.

The problem, he had realised, with the ‘good’ side having won is that being a Nott came to mean very little outside of Slytherin these days. Theo decided it was time to remind some of the students what it feels like to be out of favour with him.

Hermione probably had very little idea how the rest of the school was run. Their year was something of an anomaly having Draco attending - he was as close to wizarding royalty as it got. And between his obsession with the Golden Trio and their time fighting to defeat he-who-had-no-nose, and actual school work, they very rarely saw the tight order that Marcus and Aidrian kept the rest of the school in.

They weren’t like Draco, Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle. They did not bully people for their looks, who their families were or anything that trivial. No, they ensured everyone followed the correct order of things. Something Slytherin had been doing for years with the exception of when Potter's own father attended the school, then he and his merry bend were far worse than he had ever been.

Control of this nature was a very fine art. It relied on secrets and understanding motivations. Walking the delicate balance between fear and hope. Only then, can you bend others to your will.

And when they don’t comply?

Then, it’s time to make sure they understand the true meaning of fear. Something Gryffindors seem to have forgotten these days despite his many warnings. They all think they can ride on the coat tails of Hermione, Potter and Weasley’s success.

These days he wasn’t sure how Hermione would respond to this side of him. He’d been so careful in sixth year to never let her see it, but her repeat comments about the darkness inside of herself did make him wonder if on some deeper level she’d understand him. Certainly she’d still berate him about it, but maybe she wouldn’t hex him on the spot if he could convince her he wasn’t doing anything to those who didn’t deserve it. And that, it would benefit everyone in the long run, to have those sorts of people who spread hate and lies reminded of the damage it can do. After all, isn’t that what started the two wizarding wars anyway?

Since neither he nor Hermione much fancied attending the first quidditch game of the year - too many thoughts of someone they didn’t need to be missing more than they were already - they’d opted for a lie in. So, if he were careful, he’d be able to sneak out at dawn and make good on his promise.

And since he was the one volunteering with Madame Pomfrey, he could also take diligent care of his fellow students should they also have a run in with ‘karma’.

Karma is a c*nt.

A c*nt with green eyes like his.

**

Somehow, I miss hearing your taunts before a quidditch match. I miss the furrow of your brow whilst you observed the game. I miss the unbridled joy on your face when you caught the snitch. Or when Harry didn’t.

**

By early December reports were littering the Daily Prophet of the DMLE’s continuing failed attempts to capture a single death eater in the 6 months since the battle.

Ginny had confided in Hermione that any time she’d flooed Harry or Ron now their training was over, she noticed the circles under their eyes getting bigger from an obvious lack of sleep and growing exhaustion. The whole department were regularly working upwards of twelve hour days, seven days a week and still they were no closer to tracking down any of the major players.

It was a media circus at the ministry too by all accounts. And with the addition of a new column on the front page that seemed to report on the department's efforts daily, it seemed Rita Skeeter must have set up camp in the Ministry’s offices not wanting to risk missing any information that they would try and sweep under the carpet.

The news only made Hermione and Theo worry more about Draco. They still had no idea where he was or if he were even alive. But the lack of sightings of his parents gave them hope they were all safe and hiding out together.

This started a new game they would play whenever they worried too much. They would take it in turns to describe where in the world the Malfoys might be. Often this involved hopes that they were lounging around in the sun on their remote island in the Caribbean staying in the most luxurious hotels and getting well and truly sloshed every night on silly pink co*cktails with paper umbrellas. It helped for a while at least.

The pair did everything they could to keep a particular platinum blonde from their minds but the memories of him were everywhere. On more than one occasion Hermione found herself seconds from disaster in potions because of her daydreaming. It was simply impossible not to think of the way his brow would furrow trying to work out the most effective brewing method, or of his long elegant hands crushing, slicing and grinding different ingredients.

For their final lesson of the term, Slughorn allowed them to work freely in pairs to brew any potion they could within the double period. Grades would be assigned based on the quality of the brew and the skill level required to achieve it. It was risky given how complex it was but for Hermione there was only ever one potion she’d be brewing today.

She had wondered for a while now if the smell of her Amortentia would have changed. It wasn’t common, but from what she had read, there were notable cases where a life changing event had caused a change in the scent. Hermione was sure that if anything classed as life changing, the events since she last smelled this potion would.

Together, her and Theo worked as quickly as they dared, following all the suggestions Draco had scribbled in the margins of his potions text book - something Theo had collected from the Manor back in Summer.

They finished the potion with ten minutes to spare. Theo gestured for her to go first. “What do you smell, Hermione? And be careful, there’s only one right answer darling. If you tell me you smell Weasleys shampoo or something equally loathsome I will be forced to find Red and declare her my new girlfriend.” He was teasing her but she knew he was both eager and anxious for her response.

“It’s uhm, changed. I still smell spearmint and parchment but now it’s different - old books found in libraries rather than new.” There was a new scent too but she wanted him to work for it.

Theo squeezed her hand in his, his brow arched. “Nothing else there? Nothing for a particularly handsome wizard that’s been worshipping the ground you walk since he was just a young boy?”

She smiled at him sweetly. “No unfortunately that’s it.”

“Why you little minx, tell me right now.” He grabbed her by the waist and tickled her till she called for mercy.

“Alright alright! There’s cloves obviously! Will you stop now?” She shrieked breathlessly as half the class turned to see what the commotion was.

“Yes, much better now thank you.” He smiled smugly.

She decided to keep the fourth scent to herself. She knew it was rare to have that many and it was not lost on her that the smell reminded her of a Slytherin that was not her boyfriend. Their two smells were so distinctly them, where Theo was a warm fire, Draco was a peaceful lake. It wasn’t lost on her however that both had the ability to kill you if you weren’t careful.

Hermione had always wondered what it was they had each smelled two years ago.

“Well mine hasn’t changed a bit.” Theo said with a smug look on his face. “Knitting, Draco's hair gel and Harry Potters delicious-.” Hermione swotted him hard.

“Theo! Honestly. Now who’s winding who up.”

“Alright alright you crazy witch” he said stroking his arm where she’d bashed him.

“I was telling the truth though, it hasn’t changed a bit. Honey,” he winked knowing how many heaps of it she piled into their tea, “something floral, not Rose specifically, but almost a whole garden of scents and then the only way I can describe the last one is the smell of being beside a lake, specifically a salt water lake, surround by a forest. It reminds me of your spot here at the school and-”

“And what?”

“Nothing, nothing love.” He kissed her forehead. The pair sat for a few moments comforted by each other’s revelations.

As they walked back up the stairs from the class Hermione couldn’t help herself. “Theo, did Draco ever tell you what he smelt in his Amortentia.”

He shook his head.

**

“Daph, you don’t happen to be related to the witch dressed in green that currently is shooting daggers at Hermione and Theo do you?”

Hermione cast her eye to the Slytherin table to see who Ginny was referring to. Sure enough, there was a petite blonde which who bore an uncanny resemblance to Daphne who was undead glaring at her with a rather clenched jaw.

“Oh, Stori? Don’t worry about her, my little sister is harmless” Daph waved them all off.

“She looks bloody terrifying” Neville blushed having turned his round to steal a glance at the witch in question.

“Neville, darling, she’s 5”2, the worst she’ll do is hex your knee caps. You killed Nagini for Merlin’s sake. Astoria is as scary as Cornish pixies!” Daphne exclaimed amused at her own joke. Neville meanwhile grumbled something about pixies no doubt reliving the lesson with Lockhart their second year.

Hermione was happy to see Neville and Daphne had begun to soften towards each other. She’d always assumed he’d end up with Hannah or Susan but like most of them, the war had changed Neville. And Daphne too it seemed. Maybe they would be a good match for each other?

“Have I done something to offend her Daph? Should I apologise?”

Hermione didn’t like upsetting people without cause. And she liked Daphne so presumably her sister couldn’t be so bad?

Daphne opened her mouth to reply but in her hesitation, Theo began answering as he took the empty spot she’d saved behind her.

“Stori’s just pissed because she had a crush on Draco since we were all kids but Draco never paid her any attention. I think she had her heart set on things changing in sixth year but as you know Draco was a little... preoccupied.” She applauded the wizards ability to gloss over Draco’s less then pleasant past.

Hermione still did not understand her current predicament, “Yes but what does that have to do with me?”

“Stori’s always bought into the whole pureblood elitism thing. Her genuine goal in life is to be a well looked after heiress of the most noble family in Britain,” Daphne looked as Hermione as if she were two knuts short of a galleon. “With Draco missing, the title of most eligible pureblood currently sits with Theodore… who is currently wrapped around your muggle born fingers”

It was like a bludger to the chest. Would they never be free of this ridiculous notion? Sensing her unrest, Theo wrapped an arm around her waist and whispered into her ear “No matter, I’m yours forever love. As long as you’ll have me.”

Forever did sound nice to Hermione.

Chapter 28: Swear On Our Friendship

Chapter Text

December, 1998

The night of the Yule Ball arrived and Theo patiently waited for her at the foot of the girls staircase in the Slytherin dormitories. Hermione had insisted they get ready separately this time so she’d used her assigned room for the very first time that year.

As he heard a door click shut in the distance, Theo felt his heart beating harder in his chest and he tugged on the cuff of his deep green velvet jacket.

As she descended the few steps into the common room, he decided that his little witch had never looked more beautiful. The periwinkle gown she’d worn in fourth year were nothing compared to the vision that she was right now.

The bodice of her emerald green a-line gown glistened with over a thousand tiny emeralds that scattered softly into the tulle skirt. The sweetheart neckline allowed the pendent he bought her two Christmases ago to be proudly on display.

“You look beautiful love. Slytherin green really does suit you” he purred, placing a gentle kiss to her cheek not wanting so smudge her lipstick.

He didn’t miss her roving her eyes over him appreciatively before responding “why thank you Theodore. You look devilishly handsome if I may say so.”

His cheeky witch warmed his heart and with a smug grin knowing he had the most beautiful girl in the world on his arm, he led them up to the great hall.

This time, the faces watching as he twirled Hermione around the dance floor were filled with adoration for the witch. Theo could tell every boy in the room - save Longbottom perhaps - wanted her, and every girl wanted to be her.

They spent most of their evening in the usual company, Ginny and Luna both attended solo out of choice and Longbottom had finally summoned enough of his Gryffindor spirit to ask Daphne as his date.

He felt happy for his former house mate. Part of him wished he’d noticed years ago how like him, she was different from the rest of their peers. But, he was happy to have found her amongst his new friends all the same.

He often wondered what Draco might think of their little group. He would not believe Longbottom and Lovegood would be counted as close friends that was for sure. Still, no Hufflepuffs... that really would be taking things a little far.

That’s when he realised, their numbers weren’t adding up, “Has anyone seen Lovegood?” Theo hardly even recognised the amount of concern in his voice.

“Oh you don’t know?” Daphne asked surprised.

He felt the pressure increase on his hand where Hermione was now gripping it tight, her paranoia taking over, “Know what? Where’s Luna? Is she okay?”

At Hermione’s panic, Red’s face turned devilish, “I imagine she’s a little tied up right now…” He clicked on to the youngest Weasleys insinuation immediately.

“Tied up? By who? Come on we-“

He would have laughed at Hermione’s ignorance if she weren’t so distressed. Instead, he pulled her back close to him in a tight hold, as she started fighting against him he bent his neck to whisper in her ear “By a lover presumably Hermione. I’m sure she would sooner you didn’t go bursting in to save the day this time little lioness.”

Hermione blushed adorably as the realisation sunk in and Red snigg*red. Daph and Longbottom gave her a tight smile - they were always so understanding whenever the effects of the war reared its head. Ginny on the other hand had become more outspoken and brash than he’d recalled of her in their younger years. Or perhaps she’d always been this way behind closed doors judging by the glare Hermione shot her.

Red brushed off the look with an eye roll of her own, “Oh please, they have not been keeping it that well hidden. I’m surprised McGonagall doesn’t know yet.”

It always amused him to watch the girls go back and forth like this. They were both as stubborn as they came and had far too much spirit than was healthy.

At the news Luna had struck up a romance with the new CoMC professor, Rolf Scamander, Hermione talked herself into a deep moral quandary.

Theo allowed her to debate with herself over the ethics of a student dating a teacher even though the student was of legal age, the professor very young until it seemed the fact that Luna was her friend so of course she wanted her to be happy seemed to win out.

“Come on love, one more dance and then I’ll take you bed”

She smirked at him and took his offered arm, allowing him to lead her back onto the floor for one of Celestina Warbeck's slow numbers.

Their friends were all heading home for the holidays, Daphne with her beau to meet the infamous Grandma Longbottom. Given both were purebloods, sacred-28 purebloods, Theo knew the pair would recognise the implication of this.

It got Theo’s mind to wonder, when the time came for him and Hermione, there was no family for them to introduce each other to. Who should he ask for permission from? Who would oversee her side of the contractual agreement?

Not that he’d try and fleece her, Salazar no, but as a muggle born she’d have no idea about all the rather boring but necessary details that came with marrying into the pureblood elite.

He decided there and then that he’d make sure the contract favoured her heavily. She could have everything, there was nothing on the earth he desired more than the happiness of his witch. The gold, properties and alike of his family meant nothing to him. Save one very important piece of jewellery from his mothers side, but that would be hers anyway.

Merlin, would he have to ask bloody Potter for her hand?

He knew Potter was the closest thing she had to a brother and considering the wizards family was just as scarce he knew Potter would feel the same about Hermione.

f*ck, there was nothing for it. He’d have to befriend the-boy-who-didn’t-own-a-hairbrush.

**

I miss seeing your ginormous owl delivering gift baskets and treats to you every week. I miss how your eyes would seem a little brighter at Christmas time. I miss the minty hot chocolate you’d bring to class when it snowed.

I miss talking to you about our school work. I wish I could tell you about all the things I’m learning with Aleks, you’d find it so interesting. Although Theo’s adamant you’d prefer the Arithmancy syllabus.

**

They woke late the next morning and exchanged their Christmas gifts whilst they laid in bed.

Hermione had purchased Theo several books both magical and muggle on healing and obtained a copy of the application form for the graduate programme at St Mungo’s, filled out ready for him to send in if he decided he did indeed want to pursue healing.

Either way, she knew the books were something he’d enjoy. Where Hermione devoured information just out of pure joy, she’d come to notice Theo only studied something if he found it had purpose or would help him some-way. The mythology books were about the only exception to that rule.

When Theo placed a small black velvet box in Hermione’s lap she thought for a second she might pass out.

Daphne and Ginny had sought to inform her about pureblood traditions some weeks ago when she’d been surprised at Theos reaction to Longbottom announcing Daph would join him for the holidays.

It was much too soon for any type of courting gift surely? Her best friends didn’t even know they were dating, having been tucked away in training courses since the summer.

“Theo…” she said shakily.

He pressed a soft kiss to her head, “Just open it.”

Filled with nervous anxiety Hermione slowly opened the box. There on a velvet cushion sat a key.

And not some big old fashioned key like the Gringotts vaults, it was just a normal regular muggle key. “What is this? Are you asking me to move in with you?”

“Are we still pretending that you don’t already live with me?” He co*cked his head and smirked, “all summer and then a term wrapped up in my bed every night too much for you hm?”

She slapped his chest gently, “hush, well then, I hope you’ve not gone absolutely barmy and bought a new house for us?”

The room suddenly filled with thick tension, he hadn’t had he? Hermione waited with bated breath for the wizard to speak.

“It’s not just any house, Hermione. After Australia, I tracked down the estate agent you used and managed to convince the new owners to sell it .” Hermione’s heart was pounding, she desperately didn’t want to jump to conclusions so she remained quiet.

“I hated the thought that you had been forced to give up your home. I’ve only been back there once to set up wards to keep it safe for you should you ever want to go back there. And I’m not trying to force you,” he added quickly, “I just wanted to give you the choice back. I hope that’s okay?” Theo looked nervously at her, obviously unsure if he’d overstepped. Immediately she crawled onto his lap and flung her arms round his neck, her body shaking through how hard she cried.

“Thank you” she murmured into his neck before pulling away and looking him deep in the eye, “Theo truly. It’s far too much and I’ll pay back every galleon you spent, but, thank you.”

“You’ll do no such thing, love.” His lips found hers and whispered I love you’s.

**

After making love to each other slowly, they made their way to the deserted common room to open the few other gifts they each had.

Mrs Weasley had sent them both a Christmas jumper in Slytherin green with their initials as always. Bless Theo, he was so touched by the gesture having never received anything homemade before, Hermione swore she saw his eyes mist over. Mrs Weasley had always been insightful as a mother to so many, Hermione wondered if she’d recognised more than just friendship between them at the trial.

Blaise gifted Theo some Italian wine, a tradition apparently, as well as some rare books on obscure magic. And from Pansy, he received a new set of robes in such a dark green they were almost black, affixed with a note instructing him to wear them when he graduated. There was also a small package for Hermione with a maroon dress affixed with flowing robes from the shoulders also with instructions for graduation but also inviting her for tea over the summer. It certainly was not anything she had expected.

“Theo, I haven’t got anything for Pansy, she must think me so rude. But I didn’t think about it since we haven’t spoken directly.”

Theo rested his large hand on her knee calming her overactive thoughts immediately, “I sent her a crate of Veela made champagne and books on wizarding fashion from the both of us don’t worry. And Blaise’s quidditch garb too but he’s been an arse - don’t worry about it.”

She was grateful toTheo for being so thoughtful. In honesty, she hadn’t realised the ex-Slytherins knew about their relationship but that was Theo’s decision. It wasn’t like they were trying to hide it, Hermione was just being cautious with the boys.

They had of course addressed Neville, Daphne and Lunas gifts from them both. Hermione had also told Ginny hers were from Theo too but with her spending the holidays at the burrow the note read only Hermione’s name like the rest of the families would.

Harry had sent Hermione a book on wand law citing it as one of the only areas of magic she wasn’t well versed in. Ron sent only some sugar quills, clearly he was still miffed at her but had been forced to send something from one of the two female Weasleys.

And Ginny? Well, Ginny had outdone herself in Theo’s opinion. Addressed to them both had been a lacy green lingerie set complete with suspended belt and hold ups. Hermione blushed and raced back to the dorm to pen a strongly worded thank you note and sent it off with Ulysses. Truly the younger witch had no shame.

“Hermione love, you might want to come back here” Theo called nervously from down the hall. What on earth could be wrong?

As she returned to the common room, she saw Theo stood next to Mippy.

“Mippy, Merry Christmas! How lovely to see you” she exclaimed, not sure why the elf’s arrival had caused Theo quite so much concern. Clearly Draco wasn’t the only dramatic one.

“Merry Christmas Miss. Mippy has gifts for you Miss and for Master Theo. Mippy told Master Theo that Mippy had very specific instructions not to deliver them until Christmas Miss.” Hermione watched as the left produced two packages at the snap of her fingers. “Master Draco gave them to Mippy many months ago. Mippy is sorry she had to keep them from you but Mippy must follow orders.”

Hermione knelt down in front of the elf and spoke gently so as not to cause distress, “that’s okay Mippy, we’re so grateful you kept these for us. And thank you for bringing them today, please don’t let us keep you. Enjoy your day off.”

“Thank you Miss.” With a pop the elf disappeared and a stray tear ran down Hermione’s cheek.

They settled back on the leather chesterfield sofa together and looked at their identical black boxes with emerald green ribbons. Hermione was first to began unwrapping hers carefully. She tucked the ribbon into the pocket of her gown, an old habit from where her mother always liked to reuse them.

Inside the black box lay a note penned in Draco’s perfect handwriting.

In the hopes you haven’t forgotten me. Be safe and stay with Theo.

Yours, Draco x

Inside the box she found a white tulip preserved under a stasis charm.

“A declaration of love” Theo’s voice was almost airy beside her. At once he slammed his gift onto the table and stood, “f*cking pretentious prick. Even now, I’m having to compete with him for you and he’s not even f*cking here!” Hermione could see Theo was seething and her heart ached in her chest.

It was the final confirmation that all the passed flowers had been from Draco. And that the blonde did indeed harbour feelings for her.

She could kill Draco for his timing. She had finally got Theo to stop this nonsense and go back to admitting he missed his friend, now they’d be back to square one.

“You aren’t competing Theo, I am with you. Why won’t you believe that I love you, that I will always choose you.” She pulled on his arm to guide him back to his seat beside her on the sofa.

“Because you deserve each other.” Hermione would have been furious if he hadn’t sounded so defeated.

“What do you-“

“Nothing. Can we just move on please.”

Hermione very much did not want to move on but it wasn’t often Theo asked her for time and she didn’t want to ruin what she hoped was the nicest Christmas he’d had in a good few years. Well, up till his best friend confessed his love for her that was.

Instead she redirected, “are you going to open yours?” Bravely, she then chanced a joke to lighten the mood, “perhaps there will be a flower for you too?”

“Wouldn’t that be something…” he muttered before picking up the box and untying the ribbon, letting it drop mindlessly to the floor. Hermione fought the urge to pick it up immediately.

She looked over his shoulder to see what was inside.

Theo,

Thank you for everything. I recently found out my mother had this, she was saving it till you came of age but then the war got in the way. I’m sorry.

Yours, Draco

Hermione thought his choice of sign off was curious but she’d never seen a written interaction between the two before so cast it from her mind, more interested to see what the gift was.

She felt Theo stiffen beside her as he pulled out a silver jewellery box.

“What is it?” she asked concerned by the reaction the gift seemed to be eliciting.

“It was my mothers…”

Theo opened the box and inside was a small collection of things; an old, slightly torn photograph of Theo being held by his mother as a baby, looking up and smiling into the camera on repeat; a pair of silver cufflinks; a preserved sprig of gypsophila presumably when Theo was born; another preserved flower, a purple lilac which must have been a gift from a younger Thoros Nott – first love, and, a small deep purple box adorned with gold vine patterns that he picked up and tucked into the pocket of his trousers.

She looked at him for explanation, and he just gave her a genuine satisfied smile, dimple on full display, “you’ll find out some day.”

Hermione suddenly had a very good idea what was in that box. And the realisation that she absolutely hated waiting.

**

Theo and Hermione were not the only ones to receive an unexpected Christmas gift.

On Christmas night, Aurors had been summoned to the ministry when Kingsley, the recently elected Minister of Magic, had been alerted to a breach in the wards. They arrived to find Yaxley waiting for him in his office, bound and unable to move or speak.

The photo across the front page showed him positioned on the floor in front of the Ministers large oak desk with a large white bow stashed in his mouth and gift tag that was blank except for three white doves embossed on to the front.

It was a jibe at the DMLE and Ministry as a whole. Hermione wrote to Harry immediately and asked him to meet them on Boxing Day afternoon at the Three Broomsticks.

It couldn’t be a coincidence could it, the timing of Draco’s gifts and the first death eater capture since early June?

**

Theo pushed open the door to the Three Broomsticks, tucked into a booth in the back corner sat Harry and Ginny, although they weren’t as cosy as he’d have expected having spent so many months apart. He made a mental note to talk to Hermione about it when they left.

After unzipping her thick winter coat, she grasped Theo’s hand tightly and they made way through the pub cautiously not entirely certain in the reception they might be about to receive.

“Hey! Hermione, Theo” Ginny jumped up greeting them both with a warm hug. Harry made to stand but upon seeing her hand grasped in Theo’s, stayed seated and cast her a weak smile instead.

Once settled around the table, with himself and Harry diagonally opposite each other - the presumed safest arrangement - and butterbeers offered, they sat in silence for a few minutes until Harry spoke.

“So, uhm, what’s new?”

Hermione nervously took off rambling about all the new things she was learning in their classes but Harry quickly cut her off.

“Maybe not the school stuff?” He looked between her and Theo.

She sniffed, “well, I have been at school, Harry”

The raven haired wizard chuckled lightly, “and you’re really sure there’s nothing else new that is more important to fill me in on?” He suggested.

Theo tensed, “Oww” Potter shrieked, “what was that for Hermione?” His witch had clearly shot the-boy-who-he’d-never-be-rid-of with a stinging jinx.

“Don’t try and goad me Harry James Potter” Damn his witch could be scary.

“Well Hermione, what am I meant to do? You clearly weren’t going to be forthcoming about you and the walking trust fund sat next to you!”

At this Theo actually burst out into laughter, it hadn’t been at all what he expected the wizard to say, “excuse me, the potter fortune is legendary! Alright, I admit, not a whiff close to mine but still”

The air was thick with a conversation that needed to be had, but Theo knew Hermione would do anything to avoid it. Red thankfully had enough awareness to intervene, “Hermione, come let’s go see where our drinks have got to, yes?”

Hermione of course did not looked pleased at having her hand forced but after a reassuring squeeze to her hand, she went with the youngest Weasley.

Once the two were out of earshot, Harry stiffened and turned to face him directly. This was clearly his attempt to intimidate Theo as a big bad Auror and saviour of the wizarding world.

“Now then Nott” his voice was low, “I’m not sure what your game is here with Hermione but I am going to make damn sure that you’re genuine. Hermione is my oldest friend. Without her I’d have died, several times actually so I quite literally owe her my life. And I’ve had far too many people taken from me over the course of what to be honest has been a pretty sh*tty-“

“Oh cry me a f*cking river Potter!” Theo spat, “we all know about your sh*tty childhood, join the f*cking club mate. And don’t you dare suggest for a single moment that I’d ever harm Hermione.” Theo leaned closer to him over the table, “I’d gladly burn the whole world to the ground to keep that witch safe. Do you understand? I’ve loved her since the first day I laid eyes on her. I couldn’t give a figg if you like me or not but you will be polite and civil to me when she’s around because Hermione wants us to be friends, and I will not be the one to disappoint her.” He sat back to show his indifference, “Understood?”

Harry smirked, “Good, I just had to be sure. You’re alright Nott”.

That cunning little bastard.

“Touché Potter, sure you weren’t meant to be in Slytherin?” Theo asked suddenly much more relaxed.

Harry raised his brow, “I was actually.” Theo just shook his head. This was not going at all as he’d expected. Did he like Potter?

“Everything alright?” Hermione asked worried as they returned to the table, butterbeers in hand.

“Perfectly” he pressed a kiss to her cheek once she was seated.

Their group continued chatting for the next hour. Suddenly they found themselves all rather hungry, so Theo suggested the stay for lunch. He knew how much Hermione had worried over seeing Potter again and wanted to give her some time alone with her best friend.

“Pleasant Christmas then?” Theo asked as they waited to be served. He’d never known the pub to be so popular.

“Not as fun as yours hopefully” she replied with a wink.

His mouth pulled into a wolfish smile at the minor of f*cking Hermione many, many times in the green lace set. “Yes, thank you for that, Red. You’re quite the wing woman”

“Anytime, Teddy” absolutely not, no, that is not happening.

“How about you leave the nicknames to me?” he waved to the barmaid, “two steak pies with chips, one fish and chips and one cottage pie please. You can charge it to the tab under Nott”

“How generous of you Teddybear, however will your trust fund recover?” She teased.

“Do you know Red, I suddenly find with the inclusion of Potter, I’m now over the limit on the number of Gryffindors in my life. You’re out.”

The pair looked at each other grinning like idiots as they stalled to give Hermione and Harry a few more minutes alone. Ginny Weasley had quickly become a very dear friend to him, and he enjoyed her sense of humour immensely. But part of him hoped he’d be able to introduce her to Draco one day. Now that would certainly be an entertaining conversation - they were quite possibly two of the most opposingly sarcastic people he knew. Aside from Pansy of course. Sweet Circe, Pansy and Ginny together could be a dangerous combination.

Would it be as easy as he hoped? Blending his and Hermione’s lives together after Hogwarts… time would tell. But, Theo already knew Weasley wouldn’t make it easy.

**

Hermione looked for Theo across the bar as he waited in line with Ginny to place their orders.

“You love him don’t you?” came Harry’s soft tone across from her.

“Yes” she responded without hesitation. Harry simply nodded.

“How did you know?” she asked.

“You used to say his name in your sleep. I might be oblivious to some things, Hermione but give me some credit at least.” He took a swig of his beer.

Hermione picked at her nail beds, a nervous habit she desperately needed to break. “But you never said anything?”

“I knew you’d talk to me when you were ready, Hermione. I know better than to try and force you into anything - you shot me with a stinging jinx today and you’re not even stressed.”

She looked into the brilliant green eyes of her best friend, “even though you knew I was in love with the son of a death eater in the middle of a war?”

Harry rubbed the back of his head, “honestly, don’t tell him I said this, but I didn’t actually have a clue who you were referring too. Until his trial I had no idea who Theodore Nott was. And yes, I’m aware, I used to be terribly oblivious.”

Hermione laughed a little at this.

“I knew the Nott family name vaguely, I knew Malfoy had a mate that you got put with a bit in lessons that last year who saved you in the room of requirement, and I knew a boy named Theo that you’d call for when we slept in the tent. But I hadn’t realised they were all the same person”

This time it was Hermione who took a large sip of her beer, “did you think I had some random muggle boy stashed away somewhere I’d never told you and Ron about?”

“Something like that” he replied.

It felt good, having everything out in the open between them. Suddenly it felt like nothing had changed at all.

“Harry, I need to tell you something…but I need you to swear on our friendship you won’t do anything rash or tell anyone. Not even Ron.”

Harry paled, “oh come on Hermione, that’s worse than the unbreakable vow. You know I can never ever break that” She gave him her best glare as if to say, ‘that’s entirely the point dumb arse’. “Okay, fine, I swear on our friendship, now what is it?”

Theo and Ginny returned as Hermione finished filling Harry in on the friendship she had forged with Draco, the capture of Yaxley and the Christmas gift they received - although not the meaning behind it of course, he’d absolutely never understand even a sniff of anything romantic between her and the platinum blonde and considering he hadn’t completely blown his head already, she didn’t want to push it.

Harry agreed with her and Theo’s theory and promised to keep an ear out discreetly of course.

When it became time to part ways for the evening, Hermione found herself sad to part from her friend again till the Summer. It was still odd being a part from him after so many months alone together. But she at least had Theo and a group of friends around her. She hoped Harry wasn’t lonely - he had Ron of course - but she wasn’t sure if things had properly returned to normal between them.

**

As the holiday season passed and winter turned to spring, one by one, the missing death eaters started appearing at the ministry every few weeks, always the same, trussed up in ropes unable to move or speak. A white bow and dove tag affixed to them.

One Thursday evening, Theo was stuck in an intense study session with his group for Astrology so Hermione took the opportunity to have dinner on the Gryffindor table with Ginny, Luna, Daphne and Neville. It was no surprise to find the table still almost completely full with burgundy robes despite the new rules that allowed students to occupy any table through the majority of the school year.

The older students had been rather difficult over the whole interhouse unity thing this year and Hermione assumed the younger ones were a little nervous to go against the rest of their house. Some f*cking Gryffindors she thought. Especially since the Slytherins seemed quite fond of spending time with the Ravenclaw students especially. The Hufflepuffs not so much but Hermione could understand that. How things had changed she thought as she began tucking into some roast beef and potatoes.

“Well hello Granger.” Well some things hadn’t changed. Unfortunately.

“McLaggen.” she said briskly. Ginny simply flashed her classmate a filthy look. Cormac McLaggen remained largely unchanged since before the war which should indicate precisely how involved he was in it.

He was what Hermione supposed most girls would find attractive, tall and broad, a traditional keepers build despite playing as Chaser previously until Ron’s position had become available. He too liked the glory of it. Not that he needed it since his family were quite well connected as he liked to remind everyone. Hermione often thought he was desperately trying to emulate Malfoy in that sense but always rather lacking the proper means to really back it up.

He was, it seemed, rather thick, because ever since she had stupidly accepted his invitation to Slughorn's party back in sixth year, he’d taken that to mean she was open to his continuous advances. Mercifully Theo’s presence had held him at bay this year so Hermione assumed McLaggen had taken the empty seat beside her tonight as a sign to resume his efforts.

“So, don’t mind if I slither in here to do?” Ugh, already starting with horribly low attempts at flirting. Hermione ignored him and reached to pour herself some more pumpkin juice.

“Tsk Granger, has Nott been treating you so poorly you have to replenish your own glass?” He wrenched the goblet from her grasp and she turned to Ginny in dismay who simply shovelled more food in her mouth to avoid conversing with the man beside them who had about as much charm as a flobberworm.

Hermione finished her meal quickly, desperate to extract herself from present company, downing her drink and told Ginny she’d meet up with her and Theo in the library as usual after she had collected some things from her room first.

As Hermione made her way down the corridor she felt her vision go blurry, a weird buzzing sound in her ears and then the feeling she was being dragged under water. Her legs began to give way.

“I’ve got you Granger, you’re quite alright.” Theo?

No, the voice sounded wrong, and they smelled wrong too, there were no cloves. It was all citrusy. And their hands, Theo’s hands didn’t feel this rough. These were Quidditch hands.

sh*t.

Chapter 29: Cormac McLaggen

Chapter Text

March, 1999

“Ginerva, when did you say Hermione left dinner?” Theo’s quill was tapping nervously against their table in the library.

“Uhm about 5 minutes before I did.”

He nodded. “And she said she was just grabbing some books from our dorm before she came straight here?” His voice laced with concern.

“Yes Teddy, good Godric. Why the twenty questions?”

“She should be here by now. It’s been almost half an hour.”

“Theo. I’m sure she’s fine, this is Hermione. She’s probably got side tracked chastising some fourth years over the length of their tie. McLaggen will have put her in a foul mood over dinner.”

“McLaggen? Why the f*ck was she having dinner with that toss pot?” he huffed.

“She wasn’t having dinner with him you idiot, he was attempting to have dinner with her and Hermione was ignoring him as usual. You know what he can be like. After she left he lost interest and shoved off thank god. Not sure I’d have been able to stomach another second with him.”

Theo’s eyes widened. He shook his head, feeling his panic starting to shift into anger. “I think McLaggen’s done something to her.”

Ginny took a sharp beath, “f*ck seriously?” Theo nodded as they started rising from their seats, not even bothering to pack their things.

“He’s always been a f*cking letch with a weird obsession about her. Me and Draco, we had concerns when she went with him to the Slug club party a few years ago. We’d heard the rumours about him. And this year, well he seemed to respect her relationship with me and hasn’t come near her from what I know. I’ve seen the way he watches her though, he’s still pretty caught up on her.” He and Ginny broke into a run the minute they were outside the library.

“She’ll be okay Theo, it’s Hermione after all” Ginny panted as she struggled to keep pace with the tall wizard beside her as he took the stairs two at a time.

“Exactly Red. It’s Hermione. If anything has happened to her-“

“Stop Theo. We’ll find her. I’ll send a patronus to McGonagall and Bill.”

“Let’s split up. You go to Gryffindor Tower and I’ll check Slytherin. Patronus each other if we find her. If not, meet back here.” Theo didn’t even wait for a response before sprinting down the corridor.

A few minutes later Ginny was panting back down the stairs before him. There was no sign of Hermione. Or McLaggen. “f*cking arsehole.” Theo seethed. “f*ck!” he shouted.

“Maybe he didn’t take her. We can’t search the whole castle for Herm-“

“Shut the f*ck up!” Theo shouted at Ginny. “He took her. Think Ginny, where might they have gone?” With another snarl, his control failed entirely, rage corrupting every thought in his head as his fist smashed into the stone wall beside him. Pain ripped through his hand from an entirely shattered bone, tearing a growl from his throat as he fought the need to do it again.

“sh*t. Theo, I know where he might have taken her. He used to toy with Ron about it all the time.” Ginny pulled at Theo’s uninjured hand and began pulling him down the staircase towards the castle doors. She conjured another patronus.

“Brother, Headmistress, it’s Ginny again. We have reason to believe if McLaggen has Hermione that they are in the Gryffindor quidditch locker rooms. Myself and Theo Nott are on our way there now. Please hurry.”

The pair raced through the grounds, wands out stretched. Theo was first to reach the small hut at the foot of the Quidditch pitch. “f*ck Ginny, he’s f*cking warded it shut.”

“Oh gods. Hermione!” she screamed. “Hermione, it's Ginny, I’m with Theo. Hold on.” Theo worked through the wards in record time and crashed through the door. McLaggen stopped mid stride as they entered the dark room, the look of unending fury on his face turning to confusion for a fraction of a second before twisting into horror as Ginny shot a jinx straight to his chest knocking him flat on his arse.

“MCLAGGEN!” Theo roared, his wand forgotten as the need to hurt overrode every thought in his mind. In two strides he closed the gap between him and where McLaggen lay on the floor. His fist driving into the f*cks face with a crack.

He kicked him hard into his ribs, forcing a scream from McLaggen’s throat as another few cracks rang through the air from his bones fracturing.

“WHERE IS SHE?” he roared. His hand curled into McLaggen’s shirt pulling him upwards. He noticed deep scratches across his face. Hermione had clearly put up a fight.

Enraged, his fist drove directly into the pricks face and McLaggen screamed again. Theo kept going, Ginny's pleas fading into the background along side the pain in his hand. McLaggen needed to pay.

Suddenly a strong calloused hand closed round his arm as he pulled back again, snapping him back to reality. Theo spun round ready to drive his fist into their face instead till he saw Bill - Professor Weasley staring back at him, chest heaving.

“Stop!” Bill shouted. Theo snarled and jerked his arm away. “Homenum Revelio.”

“She’s in the showers, Theodore. Now, I suggest you take a deep f*cking breath and thank Merlin I got here before the Headmistress. I’ll cover for you just this once because it’s Hermione and she’s like a little sister to me. Ginny, I’ll stay here, run out to meet McGonagall will you and let her know Theo’s got Hermione and I’ve got this tosser. And send a patronus to Pomfrey just in case. Then, go to her dorm and get her some…things. Just in case. And floo Harry and Ron. McGonagall will want charges pressed.”

Tears were streaming down Ginny's face as she looked towards Theo.

“Ginny I-I’m sorry. I’m calm okay, I promise I won’t hurt Hermione. I’ve got her.” Theo wasn’t entirely convinced he was calm but Ginny didn’t question him and fled back towards the castle.

Bill cast a few quick healing spells on Theo’s hand taking away the brunt of the immediate pain. Theo nodded at the red haired professor in thanks as Bill cast various charms on McLaggen to ensure he remained still and quiet. Theo steeled himself and strode off down the corridor to get Hermione. Nothing else mattered besides her.

Theo felt his heart split in two the moment he saw her. Hermione lay in a heap on the floor of the shower in a puddle of blood, crying and shaking uncontrollably. Her shirt and trousers were missing. One of the straps on her bra was torn. I’m going to f*cking kill him.

He could feel the anger building again, then a loud sob wracked her chest and everything else was forced out of his mind. He knelt down next to her, his anger occluded away in an instant as she brushed his fingers against her arm.

“Stop” she mumbled through the tears.

He bit down the pain that tore through his chest at her words. “It’s me, love. It’s Theo.” Her sobbing paused for a moment. “Hermione, I’m going to pick you up and carry you.” He removed his shirt and transfigured it into a soft blanket wrapping it around her before lifting her into his arms. He felt her grow stiff immediately. “It’s me, love. It’s Theo.” he soothed. As he strode with her back into the main locker room relief flooded through him knowing she was finally safe.

“Is Hermione-?” Bill began.

“Her shirt was torn and open and her jeans… have been removed,” Theo snarled.

“No, no please,” Hermione’s voice was small and strangled and tried to flinch away.

There was a loud exhale and then as quietly as he could manage Theo whispered in her ear. “I’m not going to hurt you, Hermione. It’s me, it’s Theo.” She pressed further into his chest.

“Hang on, let me check her before we move her too far.” There were a few muttered words as Bill cast some kind of diagnostic over her. “Oh f*cking hell. Fractured jaw, bruised trachea, a broken nose, couple of ribs in varying states of injury and you’ve shattered his knee. It’ll be painful but since none of it is life threatening we need to wait for Madame Pomfrey so she can file a full report. He drugged her. And…” Theo made a move towards McLaggen. “No, you already f*cked him up.”

“Sir, respectfully, get out of my f*cking way or I will make you get out of my way.”

Hermione flinched again and Professor Weasley shot him with an icy glare, “Nott, get a hold of yourself and focus on Hermione.”

Theo occluded again more heavily and let out a sigh before their Professor continued.

“I understand how you feel, and I want to beat him to death as much as you do, but it’s my job to make sure that he’s properly dealt with. Speaking as not the Head of Gryffindor and DADA Professor for a moment. Thank you. I would’ve done it myself if I could’ve.”

**

Theo hardly remembered the long walk back into the castle as he fought to keep himself from crushing her against his chest with how tightly he held her against him. Never again. She would never be hurt again. f*ck, if this was how Draco felt having watched her be tortured in front of him Theo wasn’t sure how he was able to function.

He lay Hermione gently in the closest bed in the hospital wing where Pomfrey and McGonagall were waiting.

“Oh my, Mr Nott, thank you for your bravery tonight. I’m sure this wasn’t easy for you.” came the Scottish tones of their Headmistress. Theo couldn’t even bring himself to respond. It was painful watching Pomfrey fix Hermione's nose and jaw and Hermione stifled another scream. Watching as she was forced to swallow god knows how many potions, even more tears streaming down her face.

If Weasley hadn’t already taken McLaggen to the Headmistresses office he’d have killed him. He’d hurt her, his little witch. Gods, how could he ever forgive himself. Madame Pomfrey made her way from the bed to where he and the Headmistress stood.

“I’ve given her the antidote from the drugs Mr McLaggen used on her as well as pain relief, calming drought, dreamless sleep and an emergency contraceptive potion.” f*ck, no. Theo thought he was going to wretch all over the floor.

“Do we know if he?” The Headmistress couldn't even bring herself to say the word.

“It’s difficult to say.” The older witch swalled, “Mr Nott, I’m sorry, this is an uncomfortable question but since we are aware of your relationship with Miss Granger, have you been… intimate, in the last twenty four hours?”

“Yes.” he snapped.

“Then, I’m afraid there’s no way to know for sure without a confession but, from the bruising across her body and Miss Granger's emotional state when she arrived, I think there’s a chance. She’s a brave girl, it must take quite a lot to unnerve her.”

“Thank you, Madame Pomfrey” said McGonagall, unable to hold back the tears herself.

“I’ve applied some bruise paste to her arms, neck, and legs. I’ve left it by her bed with some more potions for when she wakes. I’d like her to spend the night here and then, if she’s comfortable, we can move her back into the dorm where she’ll have more privacy. But, Mr Nott, I’d advise you to prepare yourself. We don’t know how she’ll react to any male when she wakes. It may be advisable for Miss Weasley to temporarily move into your dorm in Slytherin to help her if that’s the case.” Theo nodded. “I’ll be in my office writing the report if you need anything Minerva.”

Theo made his way over to her bed. Tears swimming in his eyes, his anger forgotten entirely as he focussed on the girl he loved. How could he have failed her so badly?

He sat down in the chair beside her and clasped hold of her hand as she slept, self hatred clawing at him. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed as he whispered apologies into her hair. He promised her that he would never let her be hurt again. That he would do anything for her. That she was everything to him. That he loved her.

The moon was high in the sky shining brightly when the door cracked open. “Hermione?” Potter and Weasley whispered in unison.

“Ah there you are” the Headmistress greeted them as she moved out from behind the privacy curtain. “I assume you’ve spoken with Ginny and Professor Weasley - Bill?” she asked.

“Yeah, as soon as we got Ginny's message we rushed straight here with Robards who took Ginny and Bills statements before taking McLaggen into custody. Bill filled us in after he left.” Harry explained.

“Is ‘Mione alright?” Weasley asked. f*cking moron of course she wasn’t alright. Mercifully the Headmistress answered again.

“No. But she will be thanks to Mr Nott and your sister, Madame Pomfrey is quite certain. You may see her if you would like. Mr Nott is still with her and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. But I warn you, it’s rather upsetting.”

A moment later, two bodies stood on the opposite side of her bed. Theo tightened his jaw and took a slow breath in an attempt to calm the sudden anger that sparked in him. “I wanted to kill him.”

Potter nodded. “I couldn’t blame you for that. Hell, we would have helped if we were there. Damn Bill and his morals.” Theo let out a shaky laugh,

“Probably a good thing he was there.” Weasley shrugged. “We’d go to Azkaban for ‘Mione.”

Theo gave him a searching look for a long moment, before the red haired wizard continued, “I know I’ve not been there for her enough recently, and things have been tense since, well, you. But I still love her. Like a sister” he added quickly.

Theo rolled his eyes. “I know Weasley. I’m not worried you’re going to steal my witch.”

“Your witch?” he asked.

“Yes.” Theo snapped. Weasley stormed from the hospital wing sporting a very Gryffindor shade of red to his face. f*ck Hermione was going to Avada him for sure when she woke up.

It was just him and Potter now, “I’d say he’ll come around soon, but it’s Ron so who knows.” Theo couldn’t tell if he was amused or concerned. “Oh and you should know, we cast a few basic healing charms on McLaggen before Robards arrived to avoid any possibility of charges for you, you did quite the number on him”

“f*cking c*nt deserved it and more.” Theo grit out.

Harry slumped into the chair, “well yes but f*cking hell, Theodore... Two ribs fractured. One broken. A concussion. Fractured skull. Four broken fingers. Shattered collarbone. Oh and how the hell did you fracture his femur? Didn’t look like you punctured his lung with the broken ribs though.”

Silence fell over them for a while.

“I’m going to be in trouble when she wakes up and finds out I hurled it in Weasley’s face. He’s angry at her and it’s all my fault.”

“He’s just cross because you’re a Slytherin and because of who your father was. And honestly, probably it stung because he knows deep down you’re better for her than him in a way” Theo’s brows furrowed.

“What?”

Potter shrugged again. “You two… I don’t know…probably good for each other I guess. And her friendship with Malfoy too I suppose. You can both keep up with her, we know you were never far behind her in grades. And Malfoy’s so frickin’ up tight and bossy like she is but l guess you balance her out in that way. I suppose it just makes sense when you think about it. Ginny said it always seemed so effortless between you. Said she’s different, more relaxed than she ever can be because she always felt the need to be in charge and look after us.”

Theo was really rather taken aback by the confession.

“Here, Ginny gave me some things to pass on for Hermione. Ron isn’t staying, he’s going back to help interrogate McLaggen but I’ve been given permission to stay the night with Ginny and to be around this weekend if Hermione needs anything, I’ll collect her statement tomorrow when she’s ready.”

Theo heard Potter leave with the Headmistress. His eyes became heavy as the exhaustion washed over him.

**

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been asleep when he heard soft cries from where Hermione lay next to him. She was awake at last. He opened his eyes and saw Potter looking as worn out as he felt from the opposite side of the bed. When had he returned?

Madame Pomfrey was at their side in an instant, “Miss Granger, I’m going to heal you now.” Hermione hesitated and nodded through tears.

Her hand neared Hermione's face, and she flinched away. Madame Pomfrey looked like her heart broke in that very moment, “I promise I’m not going to hurt you, Miss Granger. It’ll make you feel better.”

Theo watched as she forced out a breath and tried to make herself stay where she was, but she couldn’t fight the reaction. The moment his fingers touched her cheek, she violently jerked away.

“Would you like Potter to do it love?” Theo prompted

Hermione shook her head and turned in his direction. “Okay, will you let me do it?” Theo asked her quietly.

She hesitated before whispering, “Yes.”

Theo shifted out of the chair and took the Murtlap from the nurse. Hermione watched his eyes, using the familiar blue to anchor herself as his fingers grazed lightly against her cheek. He took a sharp breath and clenched his jaw to the point that he was in danger of cracking teeth.

Harry’s voice shook with anger. “Theo, the marks…from McLaggen’s fingers...”

Theo’s murderous anger grew into a murderous fury as he finished rubbing the Murtlap into her cheek and throat and handed it back with shaking hands.

“I’m going to get you some more pain potion.” Her hand darted out to grab his as he started to step away, tears immediately filling her eyes again.

“Don’t go,” she whispered, her voice filled with desperation.

“Do you want-“

“Please don’t go” she repeated. He nodded and sat on the bed beside her. She climbed into his lap immediately.

His hand tangled in her hair as his other arm wrapped tightly around her and he pressed his forehead against hers. “I’m here, love. I won’t leave you.” Another sob escaped. He pulled her closer and held her as tightly as he could. “I’m here,” he repeated. “I’ll never leave you.” She sobbed as he ran his fingers through her hair.

“Here.” Potter said, handing him some water and more pain potions for Hermione. “I’ll give you both some space and let Ginny know she’s awake. Then I’ll come by your room in the morning if you’re back there to take her statement, I don’t think she’s ready yet.” Theo smiled and thanked the wizard.

With each passing moment, her sobs grew louder with every memory fragment she encountered until she was almost hyperventilating. Theo grabbed the potions left by her bed and uncorked them.

“Hermione love, you need to take these okay, they’ll help I promise.” She took them with trembling hands.

“Promise?” she whispered. He brushed a kiss against her forehead.

“Hermione Granger, I promise they will help and that I’m going to be right here.”

**

Hermione woke again in the early hours of morning with gasping breaths, her heart racing and hands shaking. In a burst of panic, she realised that there were arms wrapped tightly around her, preventing her from moving. She struggled against them, but they just pulled her in tighter.

She almost flew into a mad panic when the distinctive warm, woody cent coupled with cloves hit her senses and instantly she knew she was safe.

She felt Theo’s strong arms wrap around her gently sensing her unrest.

“Hey” he muttered sleepily, “Madame Pomfrey said you can stay here for as long as you need, or she can give you potions and bruise paste and you can go back to the dorm. She said… she said you may prefer Ginny to be with you after what happened. And Potters here too if you need him.”

“Harry’s here?” she asked, surprised.

“Yes love. Him and Weasley came right after it happened. Weasley left once he’d seen you to help with... Harry’s been here most of the night and can stay all weekend. Do you… would you prefer to be in your room Hermione? It’s still early so we can take you there without anyone seeing. I can get Gin-“

Hermione cut him off. “Theo, it’s okay. I don’t need Ginny. I trust you.” Theo looked at her bewildered. “Theo, take me back to our room. Please. I think I’d feel safer there.” He nodded.

“Okay, Uhm, Ginny she picked you some clothes. I’ll let you get changed and then I’ll take you. I’ll be right outside the curtain I promise.”

Hermione peeled back the sheet and was surprised by how much everything hurt. She felt her heart race as she looked down and saw the bruises covering her arms and legs. She tugged on some clean knickers, her loose pyjama trousers and a large long sleeved T-shirt as quickly as she could. Bless Ginny for knowing she’d need everything covered and loose. He pulled back the curtain and saw Theo stood tense waiting for her.

“Do you feel well enough to walk?” He asked. Hermione shook her head. Gods, she felt pathetic but everything hurt and she felt so exhausted. “Okay love. Don’t worry. Is it.. are you comfortable for me to carry you again?”

Again? When had Theo carried her? She nodded anyway and he scooped her up gently in his arms and carried her silently back to the dungeons. Once inside he started walking in the direction of her room.

“Theo stop. Please. Take me to your room. To our room. I don’t want to be in there. I want to be with you.” She sensed his reluctance, but he did as she asked. Once she was settled in bed, she watched as Theo sent off his Thestral with a message.

**

Harry stepped through the door to their room with dark circles under his eyes and impressively dishevelled hair. Hermione wasn’t certain he’d slept at all.

“Hey, Hermione. Doing okay?” he asked as he dropped heavily into the armchair in the corner of the room. She shrugged vaguely and then found the courage to look her best friend in the eye.

“Sorry,” she mumbled in Harry’s general direction. Harry’s eyes widened.

“Oh god, Hermione. Don’t apologise. You didn’t do anything wrong at all. Even if it wasn’t for you being one of my closest friends, this is my job.” he said with an exhausted grin. “Ginny, she’s just outside with Daph making some tea whilst we get this bit out of the way.”

She nodded mutely, the sliver of guilt still lodged in her brain from the night of hell that everyone had endured because of her.

“I’m really sorry to have to do this but officially, I need to ask if I can get your statement now? Of whatever you remember.”

With a deep breath and a nod to Harry, she said, “I’m ready.” She wasn’t but she needed to get this out of the way so she could move on.

“We can stop anytime,” he assured her. She nodded again.

As soon as she started speaking, Theo stiffened and clenched his jaw as the arm he had wrapped around her tightened. When she gave a vague memory of McLaggen hitting her, she thought his fingers would leave new bruises in her hip. By the time she had finished, he looked like he was tense enough to snap in half. She wasn’t sure her account would even do any good. She barely remembered any of it. It felt like someone had done a patchy obliviation and there were still a few scraps of memories that came through, but not enough to form entire concepts.

“Hermione, I have to ask this very clearly, okay? I’m sorry, there was no way for Madame Pomfrey to be sure last night. Did McLaggen rape you?”

Hermione shook her head, and she felt Theo breathe for the first time in minutes. “No. He- He tried to. A few times actually but I…”

“I saw the scratches down his face, love. I know you fought him back but McLaggen’s a big bloke and he’d hurt you a lot… how were you able to stop him? He wasn’t even in the same room as you when me and Ginny arrived.”

Hermione tensed for a moment but it was Harry who spoke, “You used your magic.”

“No, Potter, she couldn’t have. McLaggen didn’t let her keep her wand there’s-“

“Hermione can cast wandlessly, has been able to since fifth year and she was always trying to do it non verbally as well but it never worked as strongly before. Not strong enough to fight with anyway, but if I had to guess, her natural instincts kicked in. It probably brought back some of the trauma from Bellatrix and it must have took over somehow. The sheer fear willing her magic to become strong enough without her realising it.”

Hermione nodded. “Yes. Or at least that was my assumption too.

Harry closed his notebook with a tight jaw and a nod as she finished talking. “I’m really sorry for making you have to go through that again. But it’s done now, and you don’t have to think about it again. Between everything, he’s easily got at least five years ahead of him. But it’s you, so I imagine the Wizengamot would be agreeable to significantly more than that.” She nodded and sank back into Theo’s chest.

“Thank you, Harry. I…” She trailed off into silence, not sure how to express her appreciation for everything. Harry, thankfully, understood what she was trying to say as he smiled back at her.

“Course, Hermione. You have a lot of people who care about you and we’re all willing to do whatever it takes to help you. Speaking of which, Theo can we have a word? Hermione, we’ll send Ginny in to see you if that’s okay, she’s been up worried sick all night.”

Hermione released her grip from Theo as he rose from the bed towards the door. “I’ll be just in the common room Princess. I promise.”

**

Harry directed his attention to Theo once they reached the kitchenette. “According to my report and everyone who was there, McLaggen’s injuries were minimal, only things Hermione could have inflicted herself. No one is going to ask questions about why he was unable to... You did not step foot on the scene alone. Bill was with you the entire time. I’ve… taken steps to ensure that a specific portion of his memories will not paint you in a negative way. One punch. That was all.” Theo nodded stiffly.

Harry sighed. “I doubt anyone would have too many thoughts about it, considering the situation, but I don’t want someone to use this as an opportunity for revenge. There are still some bitter people out there and they don’t have anyone else to focus their anger on.”

“Thank you, Harry.”

He reached out a hand to grasp Theo’s. “Thank you for beating the absolute hell out of him. God, did I want to do it myself.” Theo nodded and then paused as he glanced away for a moment.

“I’ve seen her hurt too many times Theo. Dolohov, Greyback, Bellatrix… none of them got punished for what they did to her. I’m glad this time, she’ll be able to get some closure.”

**

Hermione was restless in bed that night beside him, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. Not that he wasn’t surprised.

“Hey, I’ve got an idea to help you feel better, but it involves getting out of bed and a fair amount of stairs so it’s your choice” he offered gently.

“Hmm” she scrunched her nose up as he knew she would, little witch hated leaving her bed for anything, “how many stairs?”

He chuckled.

“I’ll give you one of those pony back rides you said you used to love when you were younger if that sweetens the deal?”

Her smile broke out across her face, he loved that smile.

“Piggy back rides… you’ve got yourself a deal Mr Nott”

He pinched her bum lightly, “Don’t ever call me Mr Nott again you little minx… it’s future Mr Lord Nott to you” he finished as he hauled himself out of bed and pulled on some lounge trousers over his boxers and kneeled down in front of where Hermione laid still snuggled in the duvet.

He heated her throw back the covers before climbing herself onto his back. When he felt sure she was settled they set off from their dorm.

She was quieter than expected as he carried her up the stairs from the dungeons and made off towards the prefect bath. He had no idea if this was a good idea or not but Hermione had often said her mothers solution to everything was a nice hot bath.

As they neared the bathroom, he felt his right shoulder becoming damp. He twisted his head round to look at his little witch as much as he could, “Hey, what are you crying for my love, what’s upset you?” he truly hoped the answer wasn’t about to be McLaggen – prick had taken too much of her happiness already.

“I miss my mum, Theo” she sniffed, “you’ve been amazing but all I want right now is a hug from my mum to make it all feel better.”

He set her down just outside the door, and pulled her close to him, wrapping one arm around her back and snaking the other one around the back of her head, letting her empty her tears into his chest.

“Let’s go wash away these tears now hey?”

She nodded still sniffling slightly.

Whilst he sent Hermione to undress, he turned on all the taps in the bath. His hand immediately went for the lavender bubbles she normally opted for when she wanted to relax but he recalled how Hermione had said his smell was what kept her calm all throughout the stay in the hospital wing. She had said a few times how she felt very sensitive to scents and could often recall memories from them.

He didn’t ever want her to remember this night, or loose the calm that lavender brought her. Instead, he opted for the unscented bubbles that hardly anyone used.

There would be no funny business tonight in this bath, or for a while he decided. He needed to make sure Hermione was able to put this awfulness fully behind her. He couldn’t allow her to break.

*****

By the end of the weekend Hermione was back to full strength and Harry left to return to the Ministry. Theo and Ginny refused to leave her side. Ever. Ginny and Daphne even took up refuge in Hermione's room for the next week to make sure she was definitely alright.

Hermione’s only annoyance quickly became how Theo refused to handle her in a way that did not suggest she were made of glass. She knew it was just out of concern but it bothered her. She did not like to feel weak.

But night after night they took turns rousing each other from their nightmares. Finding Hermione laid motionless on the shower floor triggered memories for Theo of his childhood. The screams when he slept alternated between her name and his mums. Her poor, sweet Theo. She’d give anything to rid him of those nightmares. Even if it meant adding to her own.

**

As if someone could peer into her thoughts and knew who had been plaguing her nightmares, Dolohov who was delivered next.

And on the anniversary of the DA’s fight in the ministry no less. And whilst it wasn’t in the paper, Harry let slip in one of their regular floo calls that there had been something different about this delivery. Whilst the rest were seemingly unharmed, Dolohov was delivered sporting a large slash across his torso from an unknown curse. When Harry described it to her and the lengths it had taken to heal, Hermione knew then he’d been dealt the same curse he hit her with at the ministry all those years ago.

Very few people knew about what had happened to Hermione, and fewer still knew of the exact location of her scar - Ginny, Theo and… Draco. Hermione ended the floo with Harry and sent her Otter patronus to find Theo. There was no doubt in her mind now about who was hunting the death eaters now.

Surely capturing this many rogue death eaters more than made up for his wrong doings as a child. But how on earth was he doing it?

She knew Draco was more than a proficient dueller and naturally gifted at potions but the boy she remembered was not a fighter. And although she was rather fond of him, Hermione knew that Draco was well, not particularly courageous, always maintaining a keen sense of self preservation. Nor did he ever show a particular propensity for doing the right thing unless it served his own agenda.

He was Slytherin through and through.

And she couldn’t possibly understand given how weak and thin he’d become over the war, that he could possibly have the strength or stamina for something like this? Especially since he’d been on the run for over six months and Hermione knew how that felt only too well.

**

I miss you. I miss your smirking. I miss your smile, the soft quirk to it, the one reserved just for us. It’s ingrained in my mind, even though I sometimes wish it were not.

Chapter 30: Three White Doves

Chapter Text

May, 1998

Less than an hour after the battle ended, Draco finished packing a bag of essentials and shrank the bag down to fit in his pocket before summoning Mippy to his room.

”How can Mippy assist you Master Draco?” the little elf asked.

“Mippy, I shall be going away. I can’t say where or for how long. But, I’d be very grateful if you would stay here at the Manor until I return. And, if Theo or Hermione call for you, please help them in any way you can” he begged the elf.

She nodded, “Mippy will of course help Master Theo and Miss Hermione. Mippy wonders if there is something Mippy can do for you Master Draco, if Master allowed Mippy to come with him?”

”No, Mippy” he snapped, though he didn’t mean to, “I’m sorry, you can’t come with me. It’s too dangerous, you must not come looking for me. Stay here at the Manor and if the Aurors come, you must cooperate with them. But, if you could please look after these” he collected two boxes from his bed and thrust them into the little elf’s arms, “and deliver them to Theo and Hermione this Christmas that will be more than enough”

Mippy clicked her fingers and the boxes disappeared for safe keeping, “Yes Master. Mippy assumes Master Draco would not want Mippy to tell anyone about the boxes including Master Theo?”

He nodded.

”Thank you Mippy. And, could you please speak with the other elves, see if any of them will stay with you? My mother and father, they’ll be gone too but we promise, the payment for your work will not stop and we’ll do everything we can to return. If we’re not back in one years time, please go and see Theo, he’ll take care of you.”

”Yes Master Draco.” And with a pop the elf was gone.

”Are you ready, my dragon?” The gentle coaxing of his mothers voice spurred him back into action. He fastened the jacket of his black suit and strode to the doorway of his suite where his mother and father waited clutching a brass candlestick - an illegal portkey that was likely untraceable from the Ministry.

As soon as he touched it, he felt the familiar pull on his navel. But, Salazar, it felt like they were spinning forever. As he crashed to the floor, Draco was struck by the cold winds and almost complete silence surrounding them.

Where in Merlin’s name had his mother brought them?

**

Several days had passed since the Battle and Draco had learned they were deep in the mountainous forests of Romania.

When they first arrived, his mother used her legilimency to convince an old couple to leave their small cabin in the mountains and return only once a month bringing food and medicines with them and to tell nobody of their meeting.

Before they left, she had them prepare a week's worth of fresh meals and teach her some basic cooking skills. She’d altered their appearance in their memories as well for good measure should anyone come looking. The cabin was small, the only bedroom occupied by his parents, and he relegated to the couch which he’d at least been able to transfigure to be large enough to accommodate him.

Early one evening, Draco decided to experiment with the muggle writing implements in the cabin - pens Granger called them. It certainly didn’t have quite the same organicness that a quill and ink brought but he could certainly appreciate the efficiency of them. After a while he felt his father lingering over his shoulder.

“Yes?”

“What are you doing Draco?” he hissed.

“Well Father you see I’m writing in my diary. Would you like to hear? It’s so terribly interesting, listen. Dear Diary, a squirrel asked me my name today, I told him it was Joe. That lie will haunt me forever.”

“Why, you insolent little-“

His mothers voice cut in from behind them. “I’ve got a plan.”

**

Narcissa Malfoy did not like to be caught off guard. Her father, Orion, had always said the worst crime was that of being ill-prepared. So, naturally, she had spent her life trying to over prepare for every eventuality.

For the most part, this was simple for her to accomplish. Being as gifted with legilimency as she was, reading the intentions of others came easily.

But when her young husband first introduced her to the Dark Lord mere months after their marriage she found herself shut out from his thoughts. So, Narcissa lay like a snake in the grass, waiting for her time to strike. For years she played the role of Lady Malfoy perfectly. Pretending to turn a blind eye to her husbands activities and instead, did what ladies do best. She talked.

Narcissa garnered insights from many less suspecting wives through pureblood society and of course, Bella was only ever too happy to tell her older sister just how wonderful the Dark Lord was, how clever his latest scheme was or to show off with tales from her latest mission.

Perhaps if she weren’t actually in love with her husband she might have done something with the knowledge she stored in the deepest recesses of her mind but that wasn’t the case. Narcissa loved Lucius deeply and she sought nothing more than to protect him.

That was until the day she first saw the glowing ball of golden light shining over her womb. In that very moment, her entire world shifted on its axis and she vowed to Merlin and Morgana that she would allow no harm to come to her child. Even if it cost her, her husband.

A month after she gave birth to Draco, the dark lord was defeated and Narcissa finally found herself breathing freely for the first time in years. Her family had made it through the first wizarding war relatively unscathed and with some memory alterations, Lucius was able to plead innocence under claims he had been acting under the imperius curse to avoid Azkaban.

Prolonged use of the dark arts under their masters service had altered Lucius greatly. Thankfully, madness hadn’t taken hold like it had her sister, nor did he turn his violence on his family like Thoros Nott, but he became cold. Unattached even.

She knew something had occurred within the inner circle, but no matter how hard she tried, she was quite unable to uncover it.

Looking back, Narcissa wanted to hex herself for her stupidity. As the years passed, she’d become complacent. So, when Lucius’s mark had burned in the middle of dinner one evening during Draco’s fourth year of school, she found herself quite unsure what to do.

And pay for her unpreparedness they did. With Bellatrix and more recently, Thoros in Azkaban, it was Lucius who was blamed most for not ensuring the return of their master. Months of torture and torment followed until the Azkaban breakout was successful and it seemed Bellatrix’s return to his side sated the Dark Lords anger for a while.

Foolishly, her sister thought if Lucius performed well for the Dark Lord, all would be forgiven so she put him forward to lead the mission to retrieve the prophecy. Of course, when this failed, the Dark Lord was enraged with Lucius and turned his wand on her instead, to punish Lucius even further.

With each time his crucio hit her body, she felt the damage sustained becoming irreversible. By the end of the summer, the tremors in her hands were already too great to maintain accurate spell casting. So, when her only son was dragged in front of the Dark Lords bare feet and forced to swear his allegiance, Narcissa had to stand there and watch. In his new form, the Dark Lords mind was not as it once was and she was able to see what he intended to do should Draco not comply.

I’m sorry my Dragon, this is the only way

Upon hearing her thoughts in his mind, Draco had cooperated willingly.

With her son now also allied to the psychopath who had taken over her home, Narcissa knew it was time to return to her schemes.

So now, with the Dark Lord finally vanquished and her son and husband safe, she turned her attention to their future. The goal of course, was to return to their lives as Lord and Lady Malfoy, reclaim their standing as the most noble house in wizarding Britain and for Draco to continue the family legacy.

But to get there, they would most likely all face trial under the Wizengamot and she wasn’t foolish enough to think the trick with the imperius would work again. They would need to bargain for their freedom. Gold was no issue of course but she knew there was something much more important when dealing with politicians… favours and secrets.

She wasn’t short on information about the inner workings of the Dark Lords regime but assuming many had fled like they had, these secrets would not hold any value without the guilty party there to answer for their crimes.

That would be a problem for further down the road. For now, they needed to rebuild themselves - the war had left its mark on each of them.

**

Throughout the summer months, Narcissa had them keep to a rigid routine.

Each morning, she would tutor Draco in occlumency and legilimency. Thanks to Severus, he already mastered the basics of occluding his mind away and her heart burst with pride at the promise he showed in legilimency too. He may not be as naturally gifted in the arts as she had been herself, but he was nothing if not a dedicated student. She was interested to see how much he could progress the skills without fear of death surrounding him so closely.

After breakfast, Draco and Lucius would take to the forest to hunt whilst she researched. It was the part of the routine that had taken the most convincing especially when she banned their use of magic. For the first few weeks she began second guessing her choice… their hunting abilities were abysmal and the physical exertion was depleting their bodies without enough sources of protein to refuel.

In the end, she compromised and allowed magic only to complete the kill. At once they moved from fish and the odd rodent if they had been lucky, to regular hauls ensuring protein in all their meals each day. With their diet much improved, Draco and Lucius rebuilt their lean muscles and their speed and stamina quickly followed.

The physical changes in Draco were most prominent. She’d grown used to the slender, lithe stature he’d held the past few years. He had always been tall, taking after Lucius but with the way his body grew out here in the wild, she was deeply saddened to realise the debilitating stress he’d endured the past few years had surely stunted his growth in both height and stature. By the end of summer however, Draco easily took down a wild coyote on his own. He now towered over her and indeed Lucius so he must easily have been 6”3 or 4. It was almost comical watching him curl up on the transfigured sofa each night. But the moment his eyes closed, he still looked like her little boy.

It reminded her of what a tiny child Theodore had been when he first started to stay with them, and then as if overnight, he’d shot upwards and continued growing ever since.

In the afternoons whilst she’d cook - thanks to lessons from the elderly couple who brought their supplies - she had Draco practice duelling with Lucius. And each day she pretended not to notice the dark spells her husband taught their son. Knowing what needed to come next she wanted Draco to have every spell in their arsenal available to him

There was just one more step in their preparations before they could begin working towards earning their redemption to return home.

**

As the cold began to settle in, Draco couldn’t help but think of Hermione. She’d survived so many months through the winter whilst on the run with Potter and Weasley. He understood now why she’d returned so frail and broken. If it weren’t for his mother, he felt sure he’d have perished by now.

Suddenly, he was jolted from his thoughts as his mother held out three mandrake leaves in the palm of her hand. Merlin’s tit*…

**

When the electrical storm they had been long awaiting finally arrived, they raced to the cave where they’d hidden their phials and were relieved to discover a mouthful of blood-red potion inside it. Together, they moved back out to the edge of the cave, having no idea what form they were about to take.

“Now my loves, the final step. Once you’ve changed, and want to return to your human form, visualise your human self as clearly as you can. Don’t worry if you don’t change back immediately. With practice we’ll be able to slip in and out at will. Now, in a moment I want you to repeat after me, then drink your potion. It will be painful this first time, but you must show no fear. It will be too late to escape the change you have willed.” Well, that wasn’t ominous at all.

“Place your wand to your chest and repeat after me” his mothers voice was clear, “Amato Animo Animato Animagus.” Draco did as instructed, then placed his wand back safely inside the cave. Almost immediately he felt the fiery pain coursing through his veins and an intense double heartbeat. He could feel his bones breaking and his body hunching over onto all fours.

He must show no fear.

He became aware of all his sense heightening and Merlin, was that a tail he was growing? As the pain subsided Draco looked down at his hands. Only they weren’t hands, they were white paws. At first he thought he’d transformed into a damned ferret but then relief washed over him when he realised they were much too big for a creature that size. He leapt from the cave entrance and explored the way his new body felt. He could feel the strength and power in his legs. The tiniest sounds from the forest echoed in his ears. He felt free.

A glint in the distance caught his eye, the smell of fresh water and sounds of fish swimming beckoned Draco in its direction. He arrived at a vast lake he’d yet to find whilst exploring with his mother and father. Just how far had he run? As he padded down to the waters edge he caught sight of his own reflection in the moonlight.

**

As they made their way back to their cabin in their human forms, Draco contemplated the form his Animagus had taken. It wasn’t that he was disappointed. Merlin no, it was just that it surprised him a little.

“Mother, why do you think I transformed into what I did? It doesn’t seem like an animal I have anything in common with?” he asked quietly, not wanting his father to hear the weakness in his voice.

“Draco, darling, I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss yourself. They are loyal, fiercely protective of their family and known to be wise and intelligent creatures if not a little cunning at times. Does this truly not remind you of yourself?” He let his mother’s words wash over him for a moment before giving her a small smile.

**

“Lucius, Draco,” His mothers voice echoed from the kitchen, “it’s almost time to go. Last night marked the end of our time here.” Draco looked as his mother expectantly as he lent against the counter. “We’re going to clean up the mess we left back home Draco.”

He still hadn’t the faintest idea what she was talking about. Surely Potter had been all too eager to continue saving the wizarding world in the time since they had left?

“Your Mother is right Draco. We all saw how many Death Eaters disapperated before the battle was truly over. Your Uncle Rodolphus and his brother were among them. As was Greyback and Dolohov I’m sorry to say.”

“But your father and I know things Draco, safe houses many of them kept from fear one day they’d need to escape the Dark Lord. We’ve been gathering leverage for years now, every party, when they’d get drunk and their guards would come down I’d look into their minds and collect information, secrets, anything really that we could use against them if we needed to.”

Draco couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His parents wanted them to what, become the new golden trio and set off on a wild goose chase across the world in search of rogue Death Eaters? He didn’t like it, not one bit, but he’d do anything to get back home, even if he had to stare death in the face to get there.

He felt the apprehension rising within him. Even if they could do enough to ingratiate themselves back into society, he was not sure it would be enough to deserve his witch, the Golden Girl. He faintly became aware of his father leaving the cabin and then his mothers weight on the sofa beside him.

“Draco, darling, what troubles you? If you’re worried about what we’re going to do, you have no reason to-“ He shook his head silencing his mother.

“I don’t care about that. I’ll do whatever it takes mother, I’m just worried it won’t be enough.” For all Draco’s faults and inability to express his emotions, when he talked with his mother it came easily. Perhaps knowing she could simply look in his mind rendered any hopes of lying or omitting them pointless. With his mother, he felt free.

“Enough for whom my dragon? Your father and I are right here beside you. Your friends, they will stand by you as they always have, perhaps more if you let them. Mhm?” She gave him a small smile and Draco simply nodded in response to her efforts.

She continued on as if sensing his friends weren’t who he was worried about, “You just need to give them the chance to prove to you that they won’t leave you either. You are loved Draco.”

What? How could she-?

“How could I possibly know? Draco your occlumency may be exceptional now but it hasn’t always been. Fear not, my dragon, I support you. I know you worry about the judgement of others because of who you are but, from what I have seen, they are not the type to run from a little controversy. Mhm?”

Draco couldn’t believe what his mother was saying. He wiped the tears threatening to escape his eyes and his mother draped an arm around his shoulders, the way she would when he was a young boy, pulling him close to her. He had known, for longer than he cared to admit that his feelings had been growing… but love? Sure, he felt peaceful, happy, cared for, free…he would feel at home. Was that love?

“You worry that they may not feel quite the same still?” She asked him gently.

“Well, I never-“ He couldn’t find the words.

“Draco. Trust me. Think of all you have endured together. If that is not love, I don’t know what is.”

“Mother, before we left, I gave some things to Mippy and asked her to deliver them at Christmas. I hope my message is clear, that it’s not misunderstood…“

Before he could finish, his father returned. His mother whispered faintly, taking his hand in hers, “I’m so proud of you, my dragon.”

As they prepared to leave the safety of the cabin, his mother conjured their black Death Eater robes hoping the recognisable disguise might buy them a few precious moments to attack first before their opponent realised what was happening.

And, ever the penchant for the dramatics, with a flick of her wand, their masks turned white. Draco didn’t realise the significance of this till she affixed a white card to Yaxley’s body.

The symbol of their search for redemption.

Chapter 31: Graduation

Chapter Text

April, 1999

One morning towards the end of April, Theo, Hermione and Ginny walked through the grounds of the castle towards the black lake. It was the first time she’d ventured into the grounds since the battle… Ginny's voice stopped her thoughts in her tracks.

“I spoke with Harry again last night” she informed the pair. “He said the DMLE have been pressing them all hard to figure who the next target will be or when they might be dropped off. I think the symmetry of Dolohov’s capture has really thrown them. And to make it worse, they have no leads on who it is that’s been able to capture this many Death Eaters in such a short amount of time. I think the current count is eight in only four months and most of them have been high profile targets. Only the Lestrange brothers and Greyback remain. Impressive really.”

Hermione and Theo shared a knowing look – “What do you think they’ll do, Gin?” Hermione asked curiously.

“Well, Harry said one of the muggle born aurors, Travers I think his name was, suggested some kind of automated surveillance system that they use in policing operations? He’s trying to stall them but it’s hard without drawing suspicion to himself.”

“Does that sound familiar to you Hermione?” Theo, poor thing hadn’t a clue what Ginny was talking about.

“Yes, it makes perfect sense really. They’ll set up cameras across the ministry to record everything that happens and likely will have DMLE officers monitoring the footage round the clock.”

“But that means-“ he looked at her with panic across his face.

“Yes Theo, it means if they don’t capture them they will almost certainly be able to identify Draco if it really is him.”

The trio walked the remaining paths in relative silence. Neither wanted to imagine what might happen if Draco were caught.

Ginny eventually gave in, “And how are you doing now Hermione?”

Theo’s arm wrapped around her shoulders pulling her close.

“I’m okay Gin really. It’s no worse than I’ve been through before.” The red head nodded solemnly, her statement required no further explanation.

“That’s good Hermione. But- sh*t. I told Harry I didn’t want to have to be the one but he is insistent you know and he can’t get away.”

Theo and Hermione stopped walking and stared at her blankly.

“McLaggen got away. After the trial he was sentenced to a few years in Azkaban. Ron was the Auror escorting him but he doesn’t remember what happened and his memories have been wiped. They’re assuming one of his sleazy rich Uncles paid someone to get him out and Ron was outnumbered.”

“Ron is he?” Hermione asked. Her concern first and foremost for her friend.

“He’s okay. Just angry like Harry. But they’ve got a team searching for him. They're furious to have been banned but they’re too close to the investigation to remain impartial so they’re still working on the death eaters. Harry said it’s a good team.”

Hermione just nodded. She could feel the tension radiating through Theo as they continued their walk back to the castle.

**

A few days later, operatives at the Ministry had been able to figure out a way to get the surveillance cameras working. Getting any electrical muggle devices to work in the magical world was tricky, but not impossible.

It wasn’t until the 2 May, exactly one year on from the Battle of Hogwarts, that the next gift arrived. But this time, the Ministry were ready and although they hadn’t been able to set up anti apparition wards through fear of harming the workers in the building, the DMLE had decided to settle for merely having eyes on those who were responsible even if they couldn’t capture them at this stage.

The camera’s had worked perfectly however and there, on the front page of the Prophet was the image of three figures in hooded cloaks and ornate white beaked masks.

And in front of them knelt not one but two gifts on this important occasion. The Lestrange’s had finally been found.

As Hermione and Theo stared at the figures it took them a moment before they were sure. Something in them both told them that it was indeed Draco who stood front and centre.

He looked so different even behind the mask. Standing now much larger than his father. He looked fit and strong. If that were really Draco in the photo, then the time away had turned him from a boy into a man.

They had assumed there would be some kind of memorial, one year on from the battle but given the death eaters still at large and rumblings of werewolf packs growing, it didn’t seem right to celebrate a victory when realistically it was still far from over. Perhaps next year…

**

June, 1999

The delivery of the Lestrange brothers seemed to spark action into the DMLE. The hunt was on and the DMLE only had one real target left – Greyback. At every possible sighting or hideout, aurors were dispatched with instruction to recover not only Greyback but the masked wizards as well if they could.

Greyback remained Undesirable Number 1, but the doves quickly took the spots that followed pushing the lower ranking death eaters down the pile. Hermione thought it completely ridiculous that the Ministry and by extension, the Prophet saw fit to paint Draco and his family as the bad guys.

Stories about encounters with them from raids on werewolf hideouts were spreading like Fiendfyre.

As weeks passed Hermione and Theo found it impossible to sort fact from fiction as they built their defence case for the Malfoys.

It was said that the largest of the three was ruthless and relentless in a fight. Lethal if he wanted to be. More than once, Harry had told her how they reminded her of Bellatrix with the fluidity of movement. The wake of bodies left behind as they stalked across the field. Stunned, rather than dead at least.

Harry said the figure showed no hesitation as he moved through those around him, werewolf and Aurors alike.

It seemed obvious to Hermione that the two parties were simply getting in the way of one another and if they would only stop fighting each other they might stand a chance of capturing Greyback and the pack he was growing at an alarming rate.

**

If cramming for their N.E.W.T.S alone wasn’t stressful enough, Hermione and Theo also doubled down on their efforts to provide evidence to the Ministry to ensure Draco’s immunity.

They collected years of memories and the names of anyone who is willing to testify in their defence so that when the time came they would be ready for whatever the Wizengamot threw at them.

Anytime the pressure threatened to drag Theo or Hermione under, it was always Ginny that pulled them out. Granted it usually included a stinging jinx and some rather harsh words but it helped knowing someone else was on their side.

One night as the end of term dragged closer, Ginny sat with them late into the night working on the Mafloy’s case.

“I spoke to Harry again last night. He’s decided that whether or not it is the Malfoys that he’d like to support whomever it is should they be captured.” Ginny explained gently.

“Oh excellent, with Saint Potter on our side we have nothing to worry about. Books closed everyone, the jobs done.” Theo retorted.

“Theo, don’t be like that. Did he say why Gin?”

“He’s noticed things about them. Turns out werewolves don’t give a crap who Harry Potter is so the DMLE don’t feel the need to stick him at the front line in every battle and well, it’s allowed Harry to take in more of the bigger picture.”

Hermione knew he was not a forward thinking strategist like Ron. But, like when he’s on the quidditch pitch, he can keep an eye on the main action without being involved, pick up on the smallest nuance and know when the right time to react is.

Hermione nodded for her to continue whilst Theo just looked bored.

“Harry said that the wizards, the Malfoys, they never attack first. He’s certain every single wand cast is always defensive. And not once have they cast anything remotely life threatening. So in Harry’s mind, they aren’t doing anything wrong. Well more than that, they’re actively trying to help the ministry and quite successfully too despite having their lives repeatedly threatened by both sides. And you know how he feels about injustice, Hermione. Can’t help himself but get involved.” Hermione chuckled.

“That’s good. If Harry is willing to say that on record it could really help their case. Especially if he can provide memories to back it up.”

“I’ll suggest it to him, Hermione.” Ginny said, clasping Hermione's hand in her own.

“What about Ron? Has he-“ Hermione enquired tentatively. She still couldn’t find a reason for the distance from him. It had been months since he found out they were in a relationship, he couldn’t still be cross with her could he?

Ginny clenched her jaw tight, “Ronald is an arse. Won’t even speak to Harry apparently. Since Harry let slip that about your suspicions he’s become like a man processed. He’s spending 20+ hour days in the office, reviews memories of the fights over and over again plotting a way to capture them. At this point I don’t think he gives two sh*ts about Greyback. All he wants is them. And now Harry’s on their side, Ron’s decided that makes Harry just as bad as they are and has no interest being his friend.”

“Well now Draco will be really quaking in his boots if the Weasels plotting.” Theo drawled.

“Theo.” Hermione snapped, “I know you and Draco think Ron’s a blithering idiot but you would do well not to underestimate him. Whilst Ron does not possess an evil bone in his body, when he feels like his friends have betrayed him he gets angry. Reckless even. You don’t know what it was like those months on the run with him when he’d wear the locket. He wasn’t Ron anymore.”

Uncomfortable with the memories this dragged up, Hermione rose from her seat and pretended to hunt for a book she needed.

She just needed to get through their exams and then she could focus on Draco’s trial.

**

Exam season had been awful. Even by Hermione’s standards. She had been a ball of nervous energy for weeks. So, to celebrate the end of term and their last weekend at Hogwarts before the final few days of term, Theo took Hermione to celebrate.

Granted it was only to the Three Broomsticks but the pair were deliriously happy and a little drunk as they walked arm in arm back up the path towards the school.

“Thank you for a wonderful evening Theo, and thank you, for everything this year. Thank you for everything since that day I’m St Mungo’s really...” Hermione sighed. Theo stopped and pulled at Hermione's hand twirling her back to face him.

“Hermione, I-“

A flash of purple illuminated the air around them and Hermione watched as he crumpled before her eyes.

No. Theo.

Her eyes darted up, wand raised but she wasn’t quick enough. The second Hermione clasped eyes on a large hooded figure in front of her, a stunner hit her straight in the chest and everything went black.

**

Would he find them?

Without question.

Would he save them?

Always.

Chapter 32: The Beast Within

Chapter Text

June, 1999

It was the cold night air that brought Theo back to consciousness.

Hermione.

As he opened his eyes he wished he hadn’t. He was bound back to a post maybe 20 feet in the air. There was a huge open field surrounding him from what he could see and beyond that, a thick forest. He craned his neck to the left to try and get a better view and that’s when he saw her. Hermione was bound to her own post a few metres higher than his own.

Not that he minded. He’d give his life for hers in a heartbeat. He only wished he could save her from the horrors they were surely about to face. He tried to call out for her, but no sounds escaped him. He tried again, harder this time. Nothing.

Someone had placed a silencing spell on him.

Theo fought hard against his restraints but it was no good he couldn’t move and with every pull against them his restraints dug tighter into his skin like devils snare.

Why wasn’t Hermione doing the same?

He screamed for her again. Fear filled his eyes when she realised she was too still. Someone must have known about her magical abilities and decided she would be too volatile to remain awake. f*ck. Theo had never wished more that he were a Legilimens.

The distant howl of wolves sent shivers up his spine. No.

Theo knew Greyback had been the one to drag Hermione into Malfoy Manor. Draco had recounted all the vile, depraved things he said he wanted to do with her. His prize. And she’d been snatched from him.

They knew the werewolf had spent the past year building his pack and despite the recent ambushes from the DMLE the feud with the Malfoys meant that wolves were rarely caught. Theo couldn’t understand it himself, but Hermione and Harry had been so pleased that the pack were not being captured as gifts to the ministry. She’d argued that it wasn’t their fault they had to obey their Alpha. Even one as mad as Greyback.

The howls were almost deafening now. The smell of blood and decay filling Theo’s nostrils. He felt his podium shudder slightly.

As he cast his gaze down a fraction, he saw a few of the smaller wolves eagerly trying to jump to reach him. If he’d have been a foot lower he was sure they’d have been biting at his ankles. If Greyback came for him he was done for. As Theo thought on it, if Greyback had caught them why would they be strung up as bait? Unless it wasn’t Greyback who kidnapped them at all…

Before Theo could finish his thought, three thunderous cracks rang in the air.

Theo looked out across the field and there at the edge of the forest stood three wizards.

Immediately Theo felt the familiar touch of Narcissa in his mind. Theodore, what’s happening? You and Miss Granger shouldn’t be here. Theo thought as hard as he could. It’s a trap Narcissa. The Ministry, they’re baiting you. You have to leave us. They won’t let anything happen to Hermione. She’ll be safe. Get Draco out of here. GO.

He saw Narcissa’s whisper something to Draco and he began storming directly towards them.

We won’t leave you Theodore. You just have to hold on, there’s anti apparition wards up now and the wolves have the field almost entirely surrounded. We’ll save you my boy.

Theo watched as the wolves began turning towards the Malfoys. But it wasn’t only the wolves, it looked like the remainders of the death eaters had been convinced to side with Greyback.

Lucius grabbed hold of Narcissa and pulled her in for a kiss. He was preparing to say goodbye. As he pulled away, Theo watched as Narcissa transformed before their eyes into a black crowand took to the skies, watching over everyone and everything that was happening. Lucius too transformed but into a huge white snake and made its way across the field hiding in the grass to take up position. Well, that was new.

Flashes of red and purple shot passed Theo’s eyes in the distance and the field quickly became a sea of wolves and wizards alike. But still no sign of Greyback.

As Theo watched, powerless, he realised why no one had recognised them as the Malfoy family. Draco in particular had changed so much in the last year. He seemed to have reached his full potential in every possible way.

He was taller, leaner, faster … in general he possessed a much more impressive physical advantage on his opponents. His magic seemed greatly improved now as well.

Gone was the young man who would show off only to back down when things became too serious. Here, the stakes had never been higher and yet Draco fought with an unsettlingly calm precision.

He still did not cast a single Avada from what Theo could see but with any almost unnoticeable flick of his wrist, his opponents would fall before they’d even begun to cast.

No wonder the Aurors never managed to catch him.

After a barrage of quick spells blasting his opponent’s back, Draco must have realised they had all been commanded not to give up and with the sheer numbers they were facing he couldn’t possibly take them all out one by one.

He cast a bubblehead charm on himself, and his father. With another flick of his wrist, several wolves collapsed to the floor writhing in agony. He had no idea what Draco had done to the air surrounding them.

He continued to cast curse after curse, and the Death Eaters and werewolves began dropping all around him. Draco was fighting much the same as he danced, fluid and light on his feet ready to dive out the way of any spells coming his way.

Theo’s gaze turned back to Hermione, she was still limp against her post. At this angle he could see Lucius, now back in human form, who’s style of fighting was completely opposite from his son. The older Malfoy was quick but his movements more sharp and exacting. The spells he cast were messy but would certainly quench the yearn to spill blood that Theo knew Lucius had always searched for as he opted to sever heads and limbs rather than casting a quick diffindo to cut the spinal cord.

A flock of dozens of silver hummingbirds drew Theo’s attention back to the bulk of the fighting. The clever Avis charm had always been one of Hermione's favourites but his little witch was still unconscious so it must of been Draco who cast them.

Several wolves hesitated for a moment, visibly confused. The blonde whipped his wand forward, and the tiny birds shot through the air like a hail of bullets, burying themselves into throats and chests.

With his path almost clear, Theo watched as Draco’s eyes locked on to where he and Hermione stood. For a moment he allowed himself to become distracted. And a moment was all it took for the wolves to descend upon him. There were easily twenty of them and as Theo heard a growling cry from the wizard in front of him.

No… had Draco been bitten?

A mighty explosion erupted from the centre of the brawl and seconds later the earth below them gave way. Just as Theo thought all hope was lost, Draco came soaring up out of the cavern in the ground and landed poised and ready to strike again.

Theo knew Hermione would be trying to call Draco off his rampage if she were seeing this. Her Gryffindor spirit would long to save the wolves. Their beautiful witch still didn’t understand that they would set the world on fire to save her.

With a quick flick of his wrist anyone in his path was cut down. To cast so many spells non verbally had to be taking its toll on him surely?

He was within a few feet of them now. Theo willed Draco to hear him. Save Hermione. Get her out. She’s unconscious. Leave me. Save her.

Draco looked to Theo and nodded and cast an ascendio to climb the post Hermione was tethered to.

He’d heard him. She would be safe.

Theo looked back out across the field to see Auror’s storming onto the field. Potter was of course leading the charge. Weasley on the other hand, mysteriously absent. For once they did not seem interested in the Malfoys and began helping Lucius tackle the outlying death eaters and the mass of wolves still circling.

Draco had now reached Hermione and was cutting his way through the ropes that bound her. And then Theo felt it, wolves had once again surrounded him but these were bigger. The stronger wolves had finally joined the fight. Greyback was growing desperate.

Narcissa’s crow was soon overhead. Don’t worry Theodore. He won’t let them reach you. He's almost done with Hermione. Just hold on sweetheart.

Theo could see claws fighting to grip the ledge of his platform. They were so close to him now.

He turned his head back to Draco and Hermione as she was finally freed. If the wolves got him, Theo knew he could die peacefully knowing Hermione was safe.

Narcissa landed on Hermione's platform returning to her human form. With a quick kiss to Draco’s cheek she clasped hold of Hermione in one hand and removed a ring from her finger pressing it to Hermione’s arm. In a flash, Hermione and Narcissa were portkeyed from the field.

But it was too late for him. He could see a wolf heaving itself over the ledge.

Draco was too far away on Hermione’s ledge to get to him in time.

Thank you for saving her. Keep her safe. Love her. Be happy.

Draco’s eyes were searching his and he ripped off his mask finally revealing his identity to the rest of the field. Theo thought himself lucky that he would at least see his face in the moments before he died.

He watched as Draco began sprinting towards the end of the platform.

No.

Just as he reached the edge, Draco’s body morphed into the beast Theo knew had always laid within.

The power in his huge back legs propelled the huge, vicious white wolf that was Draco, forwards across the distance between the two podiums.

As soon as his paws made contact, Draco returned to his physical and began the same work on his ropes as he had Hermione’s. Theo could feel his mouth gaping open in shock.

“I’m here Theo. I’ve got you mate.” He spoke as if willing himself to believe it.

Seconds later Theo’s own bonds were free. He longed to pull his best friend into his arms after so many months apart. So much he wanted to say.

But Greyback was also now heaving himself onto the platform, growling and snapping his jaw ready to attack. Barely 6 feet of space between them and both of the wolves.

Without his wand, Theo was powerless to defend himself as both Greyback and the other wolf leapt forward.

Instantly Draco morphed back into his animagus form as the other wolf barrelled into him with such force they were both sent careening over the edge of the platform.

Warm salty tears spilled down Theo’s cheeks and he turned to see Greyback returned to his human form stalking towards him. Blood dripping from his mouth.

“You’re coming with me, pretty boy.”

Chapter 33: Saint Potter

Chapter Text

July, 1999

Draco slowly became aware of the sounds of crying.

Theo? Hermione?

Was he dead? Is that why they were crying? He certainly felt dead. Well, actually he couldn’t feel much at all. He desperately tried to open his eyes so he could find the source of the noise but his body would not comply. He couldn’t speak to comfort them. The sobs were heartbreaking. Draco couldn’t even find the strength within himself to call them a f*cking Hufflepuff.

He was hoping it would stop when a warm voice broke through the barrier to his consciousness.

“Please, Draco.” He’d have sold his soul to hear that voice a few minutes ago. Was it minutes? How long had he been out? It didn’t matter, he’d got there in time and he was alive.

Hermione.

“Draco… Don’t leave us. Please wake up. I need you.”

He fought so desperately to get back to them, but he felt his mind slipping back into sleep.

**

There is only pain. His head and chest… burning in pain tore down his left hand side. Draco could barely even feel his arm.

He faintly began to register hushed tones through all the pain and gloom. Still he could not convince his eyes to open.

“Mr Malfoy’s injuries are still severe but, we believe he is stable. There were a considerable number of lacerations and contusions across his body. We’ve done what we can but since werewolves were the cause, they will scar. His lower body showed only a broken knee, thank Merlin. His upper body however, sustained more considerable damage. There were several broken ribs which punctured his right lung, then there was the fractured collarbone, fractured skull and of course his missing arm…”

Oh f*ck. Greyback got me. f*ck f*ck f*ck.

“Will he?” A male voice he didn’t recognise stammered as female wept softly.

“No. Thanks to Mr Potter's quick thinking to sever Mr Malfoy's arm the moment he saw the wolf go to bite him, Mr Malfoy will be alright.”

Excellent. Saved by f*cking Saint Potter no less. Maybe being a werewolf would have been the better option…

“He will most likely present an increasingly violent and bad temper around the full moon and his steaks will be taken on the raw side now.”

No difference there then. The man gave a small chuckle as if amused by his own statement somewhat.

**

Why are the damn lights so bright. No wait. The light.

Musn’t go towards it.

**

“Healer Jones.” Ah Granger was back and sounding much more like herself. “Please explain to me why Draco will not wake up. It’s been considerably longer than-“

“Miss Granger. Do we need to have another discussion about your tone? I’d have thought a few days' exclusion from the hospital would be clear enough for you. Now, as I explained to you already, Mr Malfoy suffered a great number of injuries including a major contusion to his head. His brain activity is normal and there is no cerebral swelling. Just give it some more time.”

Ah good. Not a complete vegetable then. Now how to figure out this whole waking up thing. If only his witch could get in his brain, she’d surely figure it out.

Where in Merlin’s name is Theo?

**

Merlin those f*cking lights again. Well at least I know I’m not dead.

“I am not leaving him.” Hermione. Come on Draco, get a hold of yourself and wake up damn it.

“Hermione, you need to go home for a bit. Get some sleep. Eat something. Please. I’ll stay with him.”

Weaselette.

Why’s she here? She can f*ck off trying to get Granger to leave. Let her stay. Wherever this is.

**

“Please wake up Draco.” She whispered against his hand. “Come back to us please. We didn’t get any time. I need you.”

Those words. Those words he didn’t know he needed to hear until it was much too late. Draco focussed everything on trying to squeeze the hand he grasped. He must have succeeded on some level because he heard a sharp intake of breath from above him.

“Draco. Can you hear me?” She gasped.

“Gr-” was all he was able to croak out. But it was enough. His hand was quickly dropped uselessly on the bed beside him.

“Help! Someone help! He’s awake!” Her voice was further away now.

Suddenly a weight descended upon his chest. Arms flung around his neck. Kisses trailed down across his face. It was glorious but oh so painful. The pain on his chest was unbearable, and he let out a groan. Instantly the weight was gone and Draco whimpered in protest, desperate to feel it again.

“Gods, Draco I’m so sorry,”

Granger. Quickly, kisses were once again raining down across his face. “You’re okay, you’re safe. Gods, don’t ever do that to us again.”

Draco wanted desperately to protest that he hadn’t meant to almost die but he still didn’t quite have the energy for that many words.

“No promises, Granger” he managed to say hoarsely.

He was growing increasingly frustrated that he couldn’t open his eyes. He longed to see her beautiful face.

The relief of knowing she was alive, was overwhelming. The effort of trying to talk was draining him quickly. He could feel sleep pulling him back under. He didn’t have long.

“I’m tired. Sorry. And the lights. Too bright.” he murmured. “Of course. We’ll fix the lights Draco. Rest now. I’ll be here” she soothed. A hand caressed his forehead softly.

“Love. You.”

“I-I love you too… Draco.” Hermione so quietly he almost missed it.

**

“Draco. Darling, I know you’re awake. I can hear you thinking.” the sound of his mothers voice brought him out of his thoughts. Blissful thoughts of Hermione.

f*ck off Mother I was having a nice time.

“Language Draco.” she scolded.

He slowly opened his eyes and found a rather more stressed and dishevelled version of Narcissa Malfoy was at his bedside.

“Mother…” She took a deep sigh of relief and leaned over to place a kiss to his forehead.

“Oh, my dragon. We’ve been so worried.”

“I know Mother. I’m sorry.” Draco looked around the darkened room. Uncomfortable looking white chairs positioned behind his mother. A pile of blankets and two pillows on one of them. The rest of the room looked cold and sterile.

“Where am I?” Draco asked.

“Private suite in St Mungo’s” his mother sighed lowering herself into one of the uncomfortable looking chairs. He nodded his head a fraction in understanding but immediately regretted it as the pain tore across his skull.

“Hermione, Theo? How long have I been out?” He was sure he remembered hearing their voices. Speaking with them maybe.

“Miss Granger is safe. Potter and the Weasley girl dosed her with a sleeping draught. She’s at Potter's home. Stubborn girl has been here round the clock since you were admitted. Well except for a brief period when she got banned from the hospital for a few days. She has quite the temper on her.” Draco’s mouth twitched slightly in lieu of a smile.

Wait days?

“How long mother?” He asked more forcefully this time.

“Eleven days. Your father and I tried to come right back for you my darling as soon as we got them out. As soon as we apparated to the edge of the wards we were apprehended. Your father is still in custody. I only got released two days ago and I’ve been here ever since.”

“Do you know-“ he didn’t even have to finish his question before his mother responded.

“Greyback took him my dragon, I’m so sorry.” Her hand tightened its grip on his hand. Her mouth pursed in distaste. No Theo. Forgive me.

“Potter and the Aurors are working on it. We’ll explain everything, my darling. Give it time.”

The door to his room opened. Draco smiled when he saw Hermione walk into the room. She was just as he remembered. Her hair falling softly into those big beautiful doe eyes.

Sweet Salazar have mercy, she was wearing one of his old school quidditch jerseys under her jacket with those tight muggle jeans she always wore. And her hair… he watched mesmerised by the way her riotous curls hung over her shoulders.

The warmth of a summer's breeze rippled across his skin as their eyes locked and the brunette's honey eyes found his almost immediately. Her face lit up when she realised he was awake and alert.

She looked radiant.

Hermione move closer, eagerly taking his left hand in hers. Draco reached across himself to hold her in both hands, his right was shaking from the effort. What the f*ck was wrong with him?

Hermione leaned in and kissed his cheek softly. “I love you,” he murmured against her mouth. He knew it was wrong, there were a great many other things he should say but years of loving her and the fear he might never get to tell her suddenly made them the three most important words he could ever tell her.

“I know Draco” she whispered. Tears were sliding softly down her cheek.

“Hermione darling, why don’t I speak to the nurses about Draco’s schedule for release, and get Mr Potter back over here to explain everything to Draco once he’s feeling ready mhm?” his mother said gently. Hermione gave her a small smile before and his mother slowly made her way out of the room.

“Granger. Why am I so tired? And what the f*cks wrong with my arm?” he asked yawning.

“A lot happened Draco. You-You saved me. You tried to get- but Greyback he…And you were bitten by that other wolf that was with him” more tears fell down her cheeks.

“Oh perfect. I’m a rabid dog the rest of my life now, am I?” Draco drawled with as much contempt as he could muster. It drew a small chuckle from her at least.

“No. Well almost. You were scratched. A lot. So, there’s going to be some changes to your… charming personality.”

Draco co*cked his brow as she continued, “And the wolf, he had you,” panic etched her voice despite not witnessing the attack herself, perhaps she had seen it in a memory, “he was seconds away from biting your arm clean off but apparently Harry was able to sever it. You still lost your arm but it meant you weren’t infected. In the moment it took him to realise the rest of the Aurors overwhelmed him and were able to bring him down. They didn’t bother trying to contain him. They just Avada’d him on the spot.”

“My arm. I don’t understand?”

“It’s put a small dent into one of your vaults but turns out anything can be accomplished with enough galleons thrown at it. It’s still healing, that’s why you were shaking so much.”

He sat there in silence not really understanding the look on her face.

“Draco, I don’t think you realise…it was your left arm.”

Draco’s gaze shot down immediately. Sure enough, where the dark ugly mark had been now shone bright clean skin.

“It’s gone.” Tears now barrelled his own face. Draco looked up again into the witches eyes. “Granger-“ he reached his good hand out towards her.

“Draco... It’s-uhm. Let’s wait till you’re better?” She looked so full of nerves. Terrified of the conversation they needed to have.

“Granger.”

“Draco, please. There’s so much we need to talk about. I care about you. But-” she choked out a sob covering her mouth before stealing herself to continue, “I’m happy you’re alive and awake Draco, truly. I’m so happy that you’re safe-“

“Theo… I-I understand, I think. There are no words, Hermione. I’m sorry.” She needed him. And maybe she didn’t love him in the way he loved her, but he knew he’d be there for her anyway and that he’d do anything to get Theo back, no matter how slim the chances were that he was alive.

**

By the time Narcissa returned with Harry in tow, Draco and Hermione were talking quietly.

She made to stand, considering logistics in the room for a moment since there were only two chairs. “I’ll go find another chair, give me a minute.” Harry said from behind Narcissa.

“Potter wait. Granger…will you sit here with me.” Draco said as he shuffled over on the bed to make room for her. She looked at him uncertainly. “Please love.” Love. The longing in his was too much to refuse. Hermione positioned herself carefully onto the bed beside him and Draco tucked her in tight under his good arm. Desperate for his touch, she clasped his weaker left hand where it rested on her lap.

Harry looked a little sheepish but took the chair next to Narcissa anyway.

“Glad to see your awake Dra- Sorry Hermione I can’t do it. He’s Malfoy. I can’t call him Draco.” Hermione glared at him.

“Easy there, Granger.” Draco cooed in her ear. “Malfoy is just fine with me thanks Potter.” He directed to the wizard who was now fidgeting uncomfortably in his chair.

“Good. Yes. Well. As I was saying. I’m glad you’re alright. And before we start with the formal bit I just want to say we’re grateful to you and your family, you risked your life for Hermione.” Hermione shot him another glare.

“Oh, heavens Hermione. Fine. Thank you, Malfoy for saving the life of Hermione AND trying to rescue Theo. There I said it now stop looking at me like you’re about to Avada me on the spot.”

Content Hermione settled in closer to Draco’s shoulder, she knew it seemed strange seeking comfort in Draco after what he’d done, all the people he killed but she needed the weight of his body and the steady heartbeat of his chest to keep herself from spiralling. It wasn’t quite the peace she felt with Theo, surrounded by the warmth of his skin and the smell of cloves but it still felt like home.

Harry rose from his chair shaking his head as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “Why don’t I get us all a cup of tea before we begin?”

Till now Hermione hadn’t considered how this might look to anyone else. Despite all that became known last year, they’d managed to maintain that Hermione and Draco were merely friends by proxy of her relationship with Theo.

Not that her and Draco had a real and genuine friendship of their own. Or, a little closer than most friends on a few occasions.

If his confessions in the hospital were any indication it was certainly more for Draco. How much had he guessed about the progression of her relationship with Theo since they were last together?

**

“I’m sure you’ve got a lot of questions, Malfoy, and we can go through all of them in a moment, but Hermione here has been rather… insistent, that despite being a junior auror, that I be appointed as your liaison whilst we sort all this mess out. If you are uncomfortable with that at any time, I would usually tell you to speak with the Head Auror Robards but, frankly he’s now quite terrified of Hermione so speak to her and you’ll get whatever you want.”

“Thanks Potter. Sounds like everything’s in order then if Granger here is calling the shots.” Draco teased. He suddenly realised she had become awfully quiet again.

“Yeah you could say that.” Harry said with a glint in his eye. “So, your mother and Hermione know most of what I’m about to tell you already but it’s been a stressful week for everyone involved so I’ll go through it again now officially to make sure we’re all on the same page.” Draco, Hermione and Narcissa nodded in unison. “So back in the Spring after the incident-“ Draco shot Potter a look.

“What incident?” Draco growled.

“It’s not important.” Hermione spat back. f*ck. Couldn’t be good then.

“Yes, right, sorry. After Yaxley was delivered to the Ministry, Ron began acting strangely. He became obsessed with working the case.

When he found out that Hermione was romantically involved with Theo, Ron was so angry. Normally once you give him enough time he calms down and gets over it. But then when Ron he-... He shut me out. He shut everyone out. He never left work. Barely ate. Barely slept. Robards gave him so many warnings. He could see Ron was losing himself in the case. I just thought it was a mix of the passion he had for the job, a pang of residual jealousy about losing any chance with Hermione and honestly just a general loathing of all Slytherins. I didn’t realise what had happened.”

The three of them remained silent as they continued to listen.

“McLaggen managed to imperio Ron and used him to execute the perfect bait which involved kidnapping Theo and Hermione. Hermione was his primary target but after… he knew Theo would be a threat, so he decided to take him out of the equation. Having another target for the wolves increased the chance Hermione walked away unharmed. He knew you’d be on the hunt for Greyback, tracking the packs movements and with that many of them drawn out to reclaim Hermione there was no way you wouldn’t show.

It was only when Ginny floo’d me worried that the two of you hadn’t made it to the end of year party and weren’t in your dorms that I got the feeling something was wrong. I went straight to Ron’s, stupidly I went thinking he’d help me look for you unofficially, since we had the night off. When I got there he was a mess. Frantically muttering to himself. Watching the clock. He was desperately trying to shake off the curse but it was too strong.

He managed to communicate enough that I knew where to look for you but Ron passed out from the strain on his magic in doing so. As soon as I landed in the woodland I heard the wolves and then as if on cue, the three of you apparated just ahead of us. I managed to get out before someone put the wards up and alerted the Ministry. We got there as soon as we could but we had to drop in so far away and make our way through the forest.

By the time we got there most of the fighting was almost over. We had no idea what the hell was going on. There were so many bodies. It was somehow worse than the Battle of Hogwarts... Like I said we didn't know what had happened, so when Narcissa and Lucius popped up in the middle of our remaining Auror team they too were detained. I’m sorry about that by the way.” He turned to Narcissa and she tilted her head in acknowledgment.

“Your fathers only still in holding because frankly there are still concerns about his involvement with Voldemort before the Battle.”

“I’m working on it darling” his mother interjected trying to ease the concern he should be feeling but honestly, he couldn’t care less about where his father was right now.

“Ron has since given a full confession under veritaserum. He won’t face Azkaban because of the curse but he is on probation at work whilst we monitor him. I-we,” Harry’s voice began to give way. “We’re so sorry to all of you. I should have noticed something was wrong with him. He was my best friend.”

“Oh Harry.” She sobbed from beside him.

“Thank you, Potter.”

“And we’ve got the whole team working to find Greyback and Theo. We don’t yet know the connection between McLaggen and the wolves or if anyone else is involved. McLaggen has always been a dick but he was never like this. I think it’s obvious why he’s angry but this seems extreme.”

What the f*ck happened with McLaggen in the Spring?

They sat in silence for a few minutes considering the full weight of what had just been recounted. It was Narcissa who spoke first. “Draco, will he face?”

Hermione tensed. Draco felt himself stop breathing knowing what she was asking.

“It’s unlikely.” They all shared a collective sigh of relief.

Harry looked to Hermione, “The both of you prepared so much evidence to exonerate him of any crimes from the War, Ginny was sure to hand over everything immediately so I think your lawyers will have more than enough to go on there. And between the memories I’ve offered from raids I saw and the ones supplied by Narcissa, and Lucius of how you captured the different death eaters, I don’t think there’s anything they can pin on you since no excessive force was used. With the exception of Dolohov, of course, but since he’s still very much alive and Kingsley is somewhat fond of Hermione and me, I think that too will be overlooked given the circ*mstances.

The tricky part is the final fight. No aurors were on-site till it was almost over. Hermione was unconscious. Lucius’s and your memories Narcissa, are decidedly… vague. You all somehow seem to have just missed most of the action.”

Potter turned back to face him, “Lucius is only shown to be casting stunners or defensive spells and your mother technically didn’t set foot on the field. Which just leaves you. And almost 100 dead. Impossible to extract memories from witnesses once they’re dead, you know.”

Hermione began pulling away so Draco tightened his grip.

“I need your memories from the fight Malfoy. Now. I do hope they help achieve the… best possible outcome.”

His mother stood, “Hermione darling, let’s go find ourselves some more tea shall we?” She shuffled herself off the bed beside him and followed his mother out the room.

There was something strange about Potters choice of wording. He watched as the wizard moved from the chair to admire the bouquet of flowers left by his mother.

“Talented witch your mother isn’t she?” he mused.

“Anyway, come on Malfoy. Let’s see if we can’t get you to shed some tears now shall we?” Harry said. It sounded almost like a threat but there was no maliciousness in his voice.

Potter then quickly pulled out a small penseive from his pocket and enlarged it, before pouring the memories in, to view them immediately.

What was Potter intending to find? And what was that nonsense about his mother?

“Ah, exactly as expected. A few taken down in self defence and the rest decidedly unhelpful since you kept your gaze locked up on either Hermione or Theo for the reminder of the fight. Pity. With Greyback missing there really is no one left to corroborate our best guess.” Harry stated.

“And what guess would that be Potter?” Draco huffed, he wasn’t ready to be ripped away from his family when he only just got them back.

“Oh, do keep up Malfoy, I thought you were meant to be clever.” He smirked, “Obviously Greyback killed his own pack and the Death Eaters for failing him when you were able to rescue Hermione. Always was one to act out a little aggressively.”

What? That wasn’t right?

Draco knew exactly what spells he’d cast and he wasn’t sorry about in the slightest because it saved them.

The door to his room reopened and the two witches entered. “I better get going now. I need to submit these as evidence. Hermione, you know where I am if you need anything.”

“Thank you, Harry” Hermione said, Narcissa simply nodded at the wizard.

“Potter.” Draco called out as the raven haired wizard opened the door to the room, “Thank you.”

Chapter 34: Truth Will Out

Chapter Text

July, 1999

Three days later and Draco was finally released from St Mungo’s. With his father still detained, his mother had finally decided to make amends with her older sister Andromeda and would be staying with her for the foreseeable future - apparently she wanted to make up for lost time with his Aunt and she needed all the help she could get with her grandson, Teddy, since his cousin and her husband, their old DADA Professor Lupin died in the battle.

Even with the Manor empty, he couldn’t ask Hermione to go back there, so they returned to Nott Estate since it was safe for her, and he was already admitted by the wards.

They’d be alone.

Just the two of them.

Hermione stood awkwardly in the familiar sitting room of Theo’s mothers wing. Draco, already rather comfortable here given the years of friendship, made straight for the velvet sofa.

“Will you join me?” Draco’s tone was far softer than he usually used as he sat down.

Hermione didn’t budge, instead she continued to jiffle from foot to foot, twisting the tendrils of her hair. “Draco. We need to talk.” She stammered.

He tilted his head back against the sofa and ran his hands down his face, “Must we? I spent the last few years being in love with someone I thought I could never have, watched you get tortured in front of my eyes, fought in a f*cking schoolyard battle, spent a year on the run with my sodding parents and then almost died trying to save the two people I-I care about more than anything in this gods forsaken world and Theo’s f*cking missing.” f*ck, he’d almost let himself slip.

“And I just want-”

“That does not get you off the hook for murder!” Hermione shrieked, her eyes finally igniting with that fiery glow he loved.

He couldn’t help but continue to poke at her, “Well go on then Granger, don’t hold back, tell me what you really think” He drawled, “Tell me how I’m the big bad wolf who deserves to be thrown in Azkaban.”

“You want me to blame you? Draco, you put me in a position where I have to live knowing that all of those people died because of me. They should have been given a fair trial. Some were innocent, forced into it because of the bond to Greyback. But now, you’ve forced me to have to bend my morals. Where I have to go against every single thing I believe in. All because you care about me too much. Because I- I care about you!”

“Then stop. Whatever this is,” he roared, standing from the sofa gesturing with his arms between them, “stop it!”.

Care for him? He f*cking loved her. And she couldn’t even say it to him whilst he was conscious.

“I can’t!” Hermione breathed, tears now streaming down her cheeks.

“Granger. There is nothing, not a damn thing, I wouldn’t do to protect you. The devil can own my soul for all I care as long as you are safe. Now if you want someone who’s bright and shiny and all that is good with the world, then I’m sorry love but that’s not me. But, I’m never going leave you. Not in this life or the next.”

“Draco, I- it’s not fair. Theo…” she said almost deflating as her walls began to crumble.

Draco too felt all the fight leaving his body and made his way towards her, “I know.”

Hermione collapsed into Draco’s arms, her head buried in his chest. “I really missed you.”

His strong arms reached around, pulling her tight against him, “Missed you too, Granger.” Then, much quicker than he’d have liked, she pulled away, wiping away a few errand tears with the palm of her hands, “We should get some sleep, it’s been a long couple of weeks” he suggested hoping to earn his place back in her good graces.

He dutifully followed behind her as she led the way through the silent corridors and up the stairs to the first floor. She came to a halt, hovering awkwardly in front of a door. “Well, uhm, this is our-my- the room I’ll be in” she corrected herself, “You can, uhm, take the one next door if you like?”

What he’d like is to scoop her into his arms and take her to bed with him. Not to do anything per say, just to hold her. To have her warm body pressed against his all night long. It was only something he’d felt twice in his life and on both occasions he was stuck in a hospital bed. Why was it she only loved him when he was hurting?

But he couldn’t do that, she was in love with his best friend.

So, he tucked his emotions away behind his mental walls and gave her the response he knew he should, “I will, thank you Granger. Get some sleep.”

She smiled and crept through the door, shutting it softly behind her. He lingered in the hall for a few moments until he heard the distant sound of the shower running. Carefully, he opened the door to her room, instantly the preserved scent of cloves, and roses washed over him. The perfect combination of the two of them.

He noticed his quidditch jersey lay strewn over the back of an armchair. An array of what he assumed were Theo’s clothing lay scrunched in the bed that was wrinkled and unmade. Evidence surrounded him of how much the witch was hurting but it wasn’t his place to do anything about it.

The water shut off and Draco edged back through the door, pausing only to mutter one spell from his lips before venturing to his designated room beside hers.

**

As Hermione let the scolding hot water was over her, she allowed all her emotions to flow freely.

Since the moment she woke at St Mungo’s with Ginny and George Weasley beside her, she felt like she’d been holding her emotions in too tightly. Too afraid to face the reality she found herself in.

Hadn’t the world stolen enough from her already. How many years of her life had she given to a war she didn’t ask for? How many friends had she lost? The relationship with parents? Now Theo?

It was too much.

Her heart felt like it was still breaking. Shattering beyond repair. But there was a part of her desperately wanting to seek comfort in the strong arms and stormy blue eyes of Draco Malfoy. The only problem was an even stronger part screamed that it was wrong. How could she even think of Draco when her heart belonged to Theo. She loved Theo. She loved the man with the olive green eyes, dimpled smile and a laugh that could melt the ice caps. The man who was missing all because he’d valued her life over his.

And Draco had made the same choice.

Whilst the rationale side of her recognised she could not blame Draco for Theo’s fate, she did. She’d give anything to trade places. It should have been her left up there. Not him. Never him.

She dressed in one of Theo’s button down shirts ready for bed and made her way from the bathroom.

She stopped dead in her tracks the moment she opened the door.

The entire room was filled with bouquets of hyacinths, bluebells, peonies and olive branches. Each fastened with a blue cloth braid. Bouquets for an apology.

**

The next morning, Draco walked into the kitchen in search of something to eat when a small pop startled him.

“Master Draco!” The high pitched voice of his elf, Mippy, rang out as she barrelled into his persons with such force she nearly knocked him over. Draco reached down and placed his palm on the little elf’s shoulders.

”Hello, Mippy”

The elf looked up at him in adoration, “Mippy and the other elves are so glad you have returned Master Draco. Mippy must be finding you something to eat. The hospital elves would not let Mippy bring Master any food whilst he be there. Mippy tried and-“

He chuckled as the elf worked herself into a frenzy, “It’s quite alright Mippy, but breakfast for myself and Hermione would be most welcome if you please?”

Mippy suddenly dropped his gaze and fiddled with her pink dress - it wasn’t one he recognised, seemingly Hermione or his other had been on a spending spree. “What is it Mippy?”

”Mistress Hermione asked Mippy to give you this Master. She asked Mippy to say that she was very sorry.” The elf held out an envelope. His name on the front in her perfect round handwriting.

He thanked the elf and backed out of the kitchen, making his way to the terrace. He knew he likely would not like what was written and being outdoors always calmed him greatly.

The gardens of the Nott Estate were overgrown and unkept since no one had really bothered maintaining the place in years. But the pine from the distant forest and the sound of the birds chirping helped all the same.

He leaned down and rested his elbows on the stone wall that ran the length of the terrace and pulled the letter out, taking a deep breath before he began to read.

Draco,

I’m sorry to disappear in the middle of the night without saying anything. Being back here, it’s too much.

I have a lot to think about and I can’t do that with you in the room next door. I feel as though I might suffocate if I stay.

Please don’t worry, I’m safe. I just need time.

Hermione

The entire stone wall exploded down onto the gardens below. Draco strode back into the house shattering windows, slashing paintings and destroying the furniture as his rage overwhelmed him.

**

Hermione sought sanctuary with Harry and Ginny at Grimmauld place. And in her time of need, there was no shortage of people who gathered around her.

Almost daily she received a new visitor; George; Neville and Daphne; Luna; Mr and Mrs Weasley; Bill, Fleur and their newborn Victoire; Andromeda and Teddy; Narcissa; Professor McGonagall, Flitwick and Madame Pomfrey even.

Mr and Mrs Weasley’s visit was the hardest, they stayed away for some time unsure whether they would be welcome given Ron’s part in the whole ordeal.

Throughout it all, Hermione was grateful to have Ginny at her side, never afraid to find some reason to end the visits when she saw it become too much for Hermione.

She hardly saw Harry at all in those weeks.

He worked harder than ever to find the missing pieces of the case. His work earned him a quick promotion to senior auror. The youngest in over fifty years. His primary focus was rescuing Theo and tracking down McLaggen, Greyback and anyone else involved. The rest of his work was redistributed but he’d also asked to keep hold of all ongoing inquiries into Draco and Lucius since their official trials were to take place in a matter of days now.

Hermione had of course convinced Harry to set up an only slightly illegal case board in the study at Grimmauld place that mirrored the one he had in his office at the DMLE so she could work the case at home too.

Over the first few days, Draco sent message after message in their journals. He also sent letters every morning with Ulysses whom it turned out was an owl Theo and Draco shared since Theo's father never would buy him one of his own - a way to restrict who he had contact with as a child. Hermione couldn't deny she was happy to see the owl, even if she did ignore the letters. And she hadn’t been able to bring herself to see Ron yet either. It had been almost a year since she last saw her friend. When he’d stormed away from her because she’d spoken at Theo’s trial. Even though she’d been asleep, when he’d seen her in the hospital wing back in the Spring, he’d walked away. It seemed to be a pattern with him and she couldn’t risk him doing the same again.

Once again, she found herself willing to hold on for just a few more days. She needed to get through Draco’s trial and then she could face what came next. One step at a time she told herself.

**

“Hermione? Can you open the door” Harry’s nervous voice called from the hallway in Grimmauld.

She huffed and threw back the duvet before wrenching open the door, “What is it.” If Harry Potter had got her out of bed to lecture her again…

The shuffle of his feet confirmed that he had. “I just wondered if maybe you’d like to come for a visit to the Burrow with me?” he garbled out.

“Harryyyy….” She groaned.

“Please Hermione. I really think you’ll feel much more like yourself if you just-“

Hermione had heard enough, “Just what? That person you’re waiting for to reappear is gone Harry. I’m not the same girl who you saved from a troll, the girl who called to a werewolf our third year. Please let that version of me go. It’s not fair.”

“It is fair Hermione. Because that version of you that you’re so quick to be rid of and bury is still part of you. Just because you don’t feel like her right now doesn’t mean she’s lost forever. Don’t give up on her.”

She slammed the door in his face and went back to bed.

**

An uncertain amount of time passed and Hermione’s eyes felt groggy.

She knew she needed to try and do something. Anything.

After contemplating her options, she accio’d a copy of one of her favourite muggle fiction books, Pride and Prejudice and began to read. She didn’t even make it through chapter one before she threw the book down exasperated.

**

Sometime later, she tried to pick at the toast Ginny had brought her up. She managed three bites.

**

She tried the books again. But this time she went for one she thought would be a sure bet.

Hogwarts: A History.

But her original version. Not Draco’s first edition.

After a few minutes, she realised she had read the same sentence five times.

**

She’d spent most of her days dozing asleep in bed after that. She didn’t try to read again. She didn’t try to do anything again.

**

Ginny convinced her she needed to start showering again the day before the trial.

She tried, she really did, but she just didn’t have the energy. After around half an hour, Ginny found her sat down in the shower fully clothed, eyes unfocused on the wall in front of her.

“I think you need to speak to someone, Hermione. This isn’t healthy. Please, we need to look after you. We need you well so you can help Draco. So you can help Theo.”

Theo.

Her brain latched on to the comfort the name brought her.

Once Ginny had cast a drying charm on her and selected a fresh set of clothes, she left Hermione to ready herself whilst she made a few floo calls.

Standing in front of the floor length, ornate gold mirror, Hermione surveyed herself. She’d grown thin again, her eyes bore dark circles from the lack of sleep and her hair appeared dull, lifeless. It had been quite some time since she’d seen herself this way.

Theo would be disappointed in her, she knew. This wasn’t the Hermione Granger that would get him back. She may not be the girl Harry and Ron saved from the troll any more but this certainly wasn’t who she wanted to be either.

**

Hermione peered around the room. It was cream, sparsely decorated with neutral tones and wooden furniture. A clock ticked a little too loudly on the wall behind her.

She fidgeted on the plush couch. She did not want to be here.

When Ginny had said she would get Hermione help, this was not what she had in mind.

“Miss Granger” Healer Tompkins spoke, “Do you have feelings of depression or anxiety?”

What a ridiculous question.

“Don’t we all?” She muttered dryly.

“No, we don’t” The Healers voice was laced with pity as she looked across at Hermione. “You deserve to be happy, or at least content Hermione. You’ve earned it”

Hermione couldn’t quite believe what she’d just heard, “Excuse me?”

“I said, you’ve earned the right to be happy Miss Granger. What you have accomplished is-“

“By hurting people?” Hermione snapped.

“Miss Granger” she sighed, “have you actually caused serious harm by your own wand or by your own hand?” Healer Tompkins asked confidently.

Hermione declined to answer and the Healer seemed to take this as a negative response, “Then do not punish yourself as if you have.”

Hermione had nothing left to say. She sat rigidly whilst the Healer continued to try and encourage her to talk about what caused her to make the appointment.

As soon as the clock struck the start of the next hour, Hermione stood and walked straight from the room. She didn’t even thank the woman for her time.

Safe to say, Hermione did not go back.

Rationally she knew the healer meant well but how can you even begin to explain to someone who has not lived it the way you have?

She may never have cast an Avada but her actions, her life resulted in the deaths of more than a few death eaters and wolves. And she definitely, definitely inflicted intentional harm to others.

She set fire to Snape's robes.

She punched Draco in the face.

She trapped Rita Skeeter in a jar.

She disfigured Marietta Edgecomb.

She obliviated her parents.

She fought in a war.

She was the reason a hundred witches, wizards and werewolves lost their lives.

To her knowledge she’d committed more crimes than Draco and yet he was the one standing trial. She only hoped that justice would once again prevail.

**

‘Not Guilty’.

For the second time in her life, Hermione couldn’t begin to comprehend the relief those nine letters brought.

Draco had been found not guilty on all charges against him.

During the trial, Hermione had looked anywhere but the piercing grey eyes staring into her very soul. There was no trace of blue in them today, he was occluding so heavily to make it through.

Lucius managed to avoid Azkaban but was subject to five years house arrest in Malfoy Manor, monthly testing on his wand, hefty fines and would be immediately stripped of title as Lord of the Manor. Everything was to be signed over to Draco by days end.

The whoosh of the floo, drew her from the kitchen where she’d been making tea. Ginny was spending the afternoon with the Weasley’s at the Burrow. Hermione had of course been invited but she wanted some alone to process the day.

“Harry, you’re back early?” She called as she ascended the remaining few stairs and crossed into the drawing room.

But it was not Harry who stood in front of the fireplace.

Before her brain could comprehend what she was doing, she ran straight into the waiting arms of the now free, Draco Malfoy.

If Hermione had not lived it herself, she’d never have guessed Draco had spent two weeks in St Mungo’s and literally regrown and entire arm. Having barely seen him, it was only now that she fully appreciated how much he’d changed from the scared, weak boy who left her after the battle of Hogwarts.

His body was lean and hard against her. She felt every muscle move and contract under her touch where she wrapped her arms around his middle. Tentatively, Draco began running his hands up her arms and then down towards her waist. He placed. A soft gentle kiss to her cheek.

“Draco…” she knew she needed to stop him. It wasn’t fair to him. To Theo.

But he worked his way lower, kissing as close to her mouth as he dared, then down her jaw and onto her neck. He walked them backwards and further into the room. Hermione’s breath caught when he nipped against the point where her neck and collarbone met.

She felt him smile against her.

“Draco” she breathed as he nuzzled into her curls, his hands pressing into her waist tightly, “Draco, you have to stop, please…”

He stilled immediately but didn’t move. His breath remained deep and hot against her neck, his body pressed against hers tightly.

The floo roared again behind them, “GET THE f*ck AWAY FROM HER. NOW.”

**

What in Salazars-

“Harry” Hermione strode towards the raging wizard, “I’m fine, okay, he didn’t do anything. He stopped as soon as I asked. I promise Harry, I’m okay. He didn’t hurt me” she soothed.

“I can see the f*cking marks on your neck Hermione. He had you pinned against the f*cking wall” the wizard turned to face him with rage in his eyes, “DAMMIT MALFOY!” Potter swiped the books from the top of the side table beside him.

He’d never seen this side to the chosen one. Bizarrely, he preferred it to the saviour of all that was good and holy.

”Hermione, can you give me and Malfoy a minute please? We need to talk.” It wasn’t a question. Draco really did not feel up to a fight with Saint Potter right now.

The second Hermione left the room and made her way up the stairs, Draco tentatively moved towards him, “Listen Potter, I love her. I’d never harm her. I have spent the last few years desperately in love with her and-“

“f*ck, I don’t care that you were kissing her. I mean sure, she’s basically my sister and you’re well, you, so it’s disgusting. Not to mention she’s with Theo and I happen to quite like him if I’m honest” The raven haired wizard seemed to finally be getting control of his anger. “But, it’s not about that… you- you have to be careful with her Malfoy.”

“Careful?” He responded, “If you’re worried because of the wolf tendencies please know I’d never hurt her.”

Harry paused for a moment, “Did she want it?”

“Yes, she f*cking wanted it… and when it got too much for her I stopped. I’m not a monster. As much as I’d love to lose myself in the complete joy of just being in her presence, I’d never resort to anything like that.” Draco said exasperated.

“Good. You cannot lose control when it comes to her. So if you can’t be certain how you’ll be near a full moon, you won’t be anywhere near her.”

What did he not understand? Draco wasn’t being driven by the wolfish emotions that now coursed through his veins. And he certainly was not going to stand here and be lectured from the-boy-who-wouldn’t-die.

“Look Potter, whatever ideas you think you have about how this is going to work between us, I can assure you, I certainly will not be told when I can or can’t show her just how loved she is by anyone but her. So now before you really make me angry, I think you had better tell me why you’re acting like i forced myself on her and beat her for saying-“

“Because McLaggen did!” Harry yelled, and he halted immediately. “f*ck Malfoy, McLaggen… it was awful.” Tears pooled in the wizards bright green eyes as he recalled the event.

Once again, Draco felt rage racing through every cell in his body. “He f*cking did what? I’m going to kill him. I will rip his smug f*cking head from his body. Where is he” he growled through a clenched jaw.

Potter crossed the room and began pacing.

“We’re looking for him. Wherever Greyback took Theo we are fairly certain he’s there too.” The wizard ran his hand through his hair and Draco waited for him to continue. “The thing with Hermione happened a few months ago now. And she’s better now for the most part I think but Theo had said she still got flashbacks sometimes. Back when it happened, he was the only one who could get close to her. She wouldn’t even let me, or Pomfrey heal her. And before you ask, yes, Theo made him suffer for it.”

Draco steps closer, “Show me”

This time it was he who was not asking. Potter remained motionless as Draco invaded his mind, breaking all over again having to relieve one of the worst nights of his entire life. And as Draco watched Potter reviewing Theo’s own memories as evidence, he pulled sharply from his mind and erupted into a fit of violence around him.

All Draco knew was that he felt consumed with the need to hurt the same way Theo had when he found McLaggen that night. Blinded by his emotions, Draco destroyed yet another room, growling and bellowing out obscenities as he went. He didn’t care that he was inflicting further damage to his body that had only just finished healing.

Eventually exhaustion overtook and Draco slumped to the floor in the corner of the room and cried for what they had been through till he had nothing left to give.

“She’s lucky to have you” Potters quiet words pulled him from his thoughts, “Hermione I mean. I told Theo once that they just made sense. I may not like you, but you and her make sense as well. You both love fiercely with every fibre of your being. And she deserves to be loved like that. Just, don’t make her choose. Not yet. Just take care of her.”

Draco nodded, “Thank you, Potter.”

“I’ll be at the Burrow till late. Floo or get Hermione to send a patronus if you need anything.”

**

He knocked on the tall mahogany door of her room at Grimmauld.

“Come in” her warm voice echoed through the wood. As he stepped into the room, he was taken aback at how beautiful she looked laid on the bed reading. The sunlight dancing on her skin through the window panes.

“It seems I have a lot of apologising to do… I’m sorry Granger. I had no idea what you had been through, and I didn’t mean to overstep. Or to insult your relationship with Theo.”

She closed the book with a sharp smack. “Thank you.”

Draco found his mouth go dry and he knew he needed to ask but he wasn’t sure if he could bare to hear her answer, “Did I hurt you in anyway?”

“No…” her tone was cold and emotionless.

“Are you sure?”

“Why must everyone treat me as if I were made of glass!” She huffed in irritation, “Theodore was just as bad” He knew it was wrong but he couldn’t help but think she looked even more beautiful when she was angry.

“I don’t think you’re made of glass Granger” he offered affectionately, “but that doesn’t mean I want to risk hurting you.”

“Draco I-“

“Granger…Hermione, stop. I shouldn’t have kissed you like that. I got carried away. I’ve thought about you for so long now and I don’t have much experience with girls so I guess I got a little carried away. I never was very good at being gentle or with the flowers and romance stuff.”

“Could’ve fooled me. It seems to me like you’re very good at flowers and romance” this made him chuckle. “We do need to talk though Draco, about us. I care about you, I really do. But Theo, I love him. I can’t be without him, I’m sorry. I promised Theo that if you came back I wouldn’t leave him for you. He was so sure I would, you know? Reckons you deserve me more than he does or something silly like that.”

He hummed as he crossed the room to sit beside her on the bed, “is that so?”

“You need to talk to him Draco. When we get him back. What we did, or almost did earlier… it was wrong. It can’t happen again, I won’t give up on Theo.”

Draco softened his expression as he slid closer to Hermione and pulled her into his chest, “Okay, just let me be here for you now though, okay?” She nodded and snuggled into his chest whilst he draped his right arm over her shoulder to hold her close, “I’ve got you Granger, I’m here, and I’m never leaving you again.”

He listened as her breathing evened out as sleep washed over her. When he was sure she was settled, he allowed himself to do the same.

**

The next morning, Draco convinced her to rejoin him at the Nott Estate. She thanked Harry and Ginny for letting her stay and promised them she’d come for dinner sometime in the next few days. Ginny extended the invite to Draco as well.

Almost as soon as they returned, she asked him to fetch her a selection of books from the library as Theo had done for her. He of course agreed without hesitation.

Hours passed as they read beside each other in silence.

“So,” she said, coyly, “ever going to tell me about the flowers?”

Everything in him screamed at him to lie. To protect himself when he knew she didn’t return his feelings. But this was Granger. She was too smart, too beautiful. He couldn’t lie about loving her.

“Well Granger, knowing your thoughts on divination and such, I didn’t think you’d know the language of flowers… too woolly for you” this assumption earned him a small chuckle from her lips. “I thought I’d be able to get away with it. Sending you those flowers was the closest to feeling anything real I had in sixth year. It gave me something positive to hold on to” he admitted.

“Theo wasn’t happy with you, you know?”

Draco barked a laugh at this, “No, I’m sure he wasn’t, possessive bastard that one.”

“Funny, he calls you the same thing.”

“Well damn us both for being bratty only children’ he joked.

Hermione shrieked in fake uproar, “Hey! I’m an only child too you know and I’m not a brat. I think you’ll find I’m very good at sharing.”

He marvelled at the playfulness of her voice. If only he and Theo were more like her, perhaps things would be so much easier.

“Sure you are Granger.”

He let her resume her reading for a few pages before he spoke again, “Can I borrow that book?”

“No Draco, I’m still reading it.”

He watched as the little joke registered and she scrunched her nose. Seconds later she sent a torrent of conjured pillows at him.

“I hate you Draco Malfoy”

He knew she didn’t mean it.

**

Together, they spent the next few days pouring over the investigation board that Hermione had brought with her from Grimmauld.

Nothing made any sense. They were missing something huge, tying it all together. Why would McLaggen be in leagues with Greyback?

Draco had made sure that anyone else who could mean harm to Hermione had been dealt with. The best she could come up with was Skeeter which seemed unlikely.

As they lost themselves in their research, dinner at Grimmauld came around quicker than expected. Hermione was overjoyed however to see that Neville and Daphne also joined them.

As they all sat, helping themselves to the roast chicken, potatoes and summer vegetables that Kreacher had cooked - quite well actually - they discussed theories on the case.

It was Neville who offered up something worth considering, “Why would anyone want to hurt Hermione though. Like you’ve said, those who hate her for being muggle born and are bold enough to do anything about it are all in Azkaban or dead. She’s literally regarded as the country's Golden Girl. The whole nation was in uproar when the story broke. If it was Malfoy they were after I’m sure there’d be a long list of potential suspects, no offence”

Harry immediately switched into Auror mode, “Of course, Neville. We’ve been looking at this all wrong. The target was always you, Malfoy. Hermione and Theo were bait for you not for Greyback. Think, who would mean to harm you that also knew to take Hermione.”

Draco wracked his brain, “No one. Theo was the only one who knew me and Hermione were close. My mother had her suspicions but-”

”Okay, everyone keep thinking, no matter how insignificant it might seen, if there was anyone who so much as looked at Hermione or Draco the wrong way…”

Daphne’s fork clattered to the floor.

“Daph darling, what’s wrong?” The blonde witch paled and her eyes immediately cut to Hermione.

“I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry.”

“Daphne” Draco’s voice grew stern as Harry sent his patronus off to call a team of aurors over.

“That day in the great hall…” Ginny supplied, “you said she was upset that the marriage contract to Draco never got signed. And that she loathed Hermione for taking Theo as the next most eligible heir in the sacred-28.”

Harry turned to Daphne, “Could she have known Daphne, about Hermione and Draco’s friendship as well?”

“I mean, it’s possible…” she replied nervously “I never thought she would be a part of something like this. She’s just a girl, she’s not some evil mastermind. Please” Daphne’s tone became desperate.

Aurors started arriving through the floo thick and fast.

Draco excused himself from the table, “I need to speak to my father, I’ll see you at home Hermione.”

And just like that, they finally had the missing piece of the puzzle. With Astoria’s trust fund behind them, there was likely very little that they weren’t able to achieve.

Hermione stayed at Grimmauld until late into the evening, helping Harry and the team piece together everything they could.

It was only when she returned home to Nott Estate that she realised it had been Harry’s birthday today and she vowed to return with a present in the morning.

Chapter 35: Distract Me

Chapter Text

Draco awoke to cold feet against his legs and hair that couldn’t be his in his mouth. He thought he’d happily die of asphyxiation if it meant sleeping with this little witch beside him.

She’d crawled in bed beside him sometime in the early hours of the morning when it was still dark outside. He of course had welcomed her with open arms and held her close to his chest as they fell back to sleep.

He knew he was lucky to have woken up wrapped around the girl that he loved but he didn’t feel lucky.

The whole experience felt tainted because he knew she wished it was Theo’s warm, hard chest providing a safe place for her to rest her head. That’s all he wanted to do for her, provide her with a place of sanctuary.

Hermione Granger didn’t need his protection or anyone else’s. He’d fallen for a witch who was as fierce as the lion her Hogwarts house was known for. She was not some damsel from the story books who needed a knight in shining armour to come and save her. She was a warrior who needed somewhere safe to rest between battles.

But if he could make her happy too, he’d know his life had meant something.

He cursed himself for that night. If he’d been better, faster, stronger, he could have saved Theo too.

f*ck, he wished he could trade places with Theo right now so that she would be happy.

He hated being second place in her heart. Who was he kidding? Potter and Weaselette probably counted higher than him and who knows where he ranked considering the sheer numbers of the Weasley family and then there was Longbottom and Lovegood as well. Was he even in her top ten?

Despite this, he couldn’t bring himself to be angry. He was just glad she’d chosen him to be the one to provide her comfort in her time of need. So, he must be on her list somewhere…

**

Come morning, he was alone again. He knew Hermione wouldn’t give in quite so easily but still, seeing the vacant space beside him pulled at his heart.

He dressed quickly in charcoal tailored trousers and a white shirt and made his way down through the house in search of a swotty brunette.

He expected to find her curled up in the sitting room with a book but as soon as he reached the hallway of the wing, he smelled bacon coming from the direction of the kitchen. And was that… Granger singing?

He strode towards the smell and the odd sounds with a smirk already plastered across his face.

He pushed through the door to find a much more spirited version of Hermione grilling bacon and dancing around the kitchen signing something to herself happily

“Someone’s feeling chipper?” He remarked, though the minute he made any noise she jumped and stood gaping at him, hand clutching her chest.

“Merlin! Draco you scared me!” She exclaimed before launching a tea towel at him.

“I don’t think that quite constitutes abuse by tea towel now does it Granger?”

She just scowled before returning to the bacon. “I’ll make you a bacon butty then we can head out”

“What the f*ck is a ‘butty’?”

“Oh uhm - well it’s a sandwich essentially. My grandparents on my dads side always called them bacon buttys, I guess it kind of stuck” she said amused.

“Can any sandwich be a butty?” He was genuinely intrigued by the bizarre use of language the muggles used. He began eating his breakfast, delighting immediately with how crispy she’d got the bacon.

“No, as far as I know only bacon and chips”

This was even more confusing. “Excuse my ignorance, Granger. Do chips mean something different to muggles?”

“No Draco, chips are chips.” She proceeded to take a huge bite of her own bacon ‘butty’.

“But that’s-“

“A carbohydrate overload? Yes. And it’s delicious.” She finished for him. “When we get Theo back, I’ll make you both one. He always did want to try it.”

Once they finished, she levitated their trays into the sink and set the charm for the dishes to self clean. It was the one activity she loved magic for. She could not bear it when bits of food touched your hand in the water.

“Ready then Granger?” He asked, offering his arm like every pureblood gentleman is raised to. Hermione took his arm without complaint and then they apparated.

He had thought it would be worth a visit to the Greengrass estate to look for clues. Daphne accompanied them only to add Hermione to the wards as heir but left immediately. It was too hard for her to be here.

The Greengrass’s had left for America soon after the war, they had no intention of getting sucked into any of the inquiries about death eater sympathisers so the estate had been abandoned whilst the sisters finished their studies.

Draco cast a series of detection spells but sure enough, they were completely alone.

They made their way together through the first floor of the house before deciding to separate. She’d take the first floor and Draco would take the second.

Hermione wandered the lonely halls. It was something she noticed all three of the ancestral homes she’d visited had in common. They were cold, unfeeling. As if happiness had never been felt here.

She checked through the contents of Mr Greengrass’s study and happened upon the unsigned marital contract between Draco and Astoria as well as one between Theo and Daphne. Theo had never mentioned this… neither had Daphne.

She shrunk them down and pocketed them to take back with her and sent a patronus to Draco to let him know she found something.

Then she continued through a small library and a secondary sitting room before she happened upon a huge conservatory. She had no idea the family were such botanists… No wonder Daphne got on with Neville so well.

She edged her way carefully through the maze of plants marvelling at some of the species she’d only ever read about in books. A particularly beautiful coral flower with star shaped petals caught her eye and she stretched her hand out to touch it.

Suddenly Draco’s hand wrapped around her wrist “Granger don’t touch that!” His eyes were filled with alarm, “We have to go, now!”

He pulled her quickly back through the labyrinth of hallways until they reach the front terrace.

“Strip” He ordered.

“Excuse me” her face contorted at the audacity of the wizard before her. He began shedding his own clothes before her eyes.

“Granger, for f*ck sake, I’m not trying it on with you. That plant’s pollen spores are deadly. It latches on to anything it comes into contact with. It can grow just about anywhere once the pollen reaches the earth. If not properly maintained, it will spread, and the cycle continues following you everywhere. If so much as even a drop of its sap or pollen reaches your blood stream it will kill you. And it’s not a quick and painless death either. Now strip damn it.”

Hermione recognised if he were telling the truth, now was not the time to prove combative but she couldn’t stop herself, “Show me the proof”

“Granger, I will show you everything I know. Now for the love of Merlin…” The warm summer air caressed her body making her nipples hard and her breath catch in her throat.

“Draco!” She shrieked as he grabbed her and apparated them away from the Estate. Naked. He’d vanished her bloody clothes and apparated them naked.

They landed in a shower, where she had no idea, but warm water spouted against her back in an instant and Draco was immediately scrubbing at her skin. Her skin began to tingle and for a moment, she thought the poison had got her until the scent of mint and eucalyptus filled the steamy air.

As she stood there, she recognised that she should feel something. Embarrassed about being naked in front of her childhood bully? Awkward at being naked in front of well, anyone who was not Theo.

But she didn’t.

As he turned her around to face him, clearly satisfied that he’d completed the back of her, she felt her throat dry at the sight of him.

It wasn’t intentional, but she couldn’t deny he was breathtaking.

Like Theo, his body was chiselled as if carved by the gods on Mt Olympus. Despite the largeness of his calloused quidditch hands, and the force she knew lay in the power of his arms, his touch on her was gentle.

Where Theo’s body was littered with small scars and burns, Draco’s hosted great expanses of scar tissue. She recognised the slices from the sectumsempra curse but now, there were claw marks over all his limbs from the werewolves and other marks she didn’t recognise but that must be from the time he spent in hiding with his parents.

He scrubbed her arms carefully with a mitt. In an effort to avoid his piercing gaze as he moved to clean her chest, she cast her eyes down. This of course was a huge mistake.

She couldn’t help the gasp she let out and Draco chuckled at her awkwardly as her eyes shot up back to his and a deep blush erupted across her cheeks and down her neck.

“Draco- show me, please, distract me from… this”

Her mind suddenly swam with memories of Theo as a young boy. Hermione couldn’t believe how small he looked, running around the gardens of his familial estate back when it was in much better condition.

Shrieking behind him was a young Draco. He was unmistakable with his platinum locks.

Both boys looked completely free as they chased each other, their smiles wide without the weight of the world on their tiny shoulders.

“Master Theodore? Your father is asking for you” An elf called from the terrace above where they played, and Hermione watched as a young Theo pulled Draco behind a bush and out of the elf’s sight.

“I know some place we can hide” he said cheekily, even as young as he was here, the dimple on his left cheek still appeared.

The boys took off running through the gardens and out towards the tree line. The memory swirled and the now panting children were walking through a greenhouse. She watched as a young Draco made his way, eyes wide through the undergrowth.

Suddenly she was caught with a sense of de ja vu as Draco halted in front of an enormous plant with bright coral petals, he reached out his tiny hand to touch it but just as his finger clipped the petal, Theo crashed into him pushing him out the way. A dusting of pollen dropped onto his arm.

No!

The memory swirled again and this time Draco stood beside Theo who was tucked into bed. She listened as Lucius and Thaddeus lectured the small boys on their stupidity and explained to them about the plant.

She could see the terror in Theo’s eyes as Draco was pulled from the room by his father.

As she found herself back in front of a much older Draco, tears sprang to her eyes, “Draco…”

“Theo was too scared to tell his father what happened in the greenhouse. Eventually the elves realised what was wrong when he was sick and none of the usual potions were helping. Thaddeus was furious. Luckily for Theo, it was a plant that he and Mr Greengrass had created by cross pollinating a few other species and so they had the necessary cure on hand in case of any accidental contact. I was lucky, had Theo been a second later, I’d have been affected as well and there’s no way of knowing if my father would have known about the plant. Theo’s father, he beat him pretty badly after we left…”

Hermione fought to keep her tears at bay.

“Come on Granger, let me tackle that great mane of yours” And she did. She stood as Draco carefully massaged shampoo and then a rich conditioner into her hair.

She turned back under the stream of water to face him and went to take the wash mitt from the shower caddy intent on doing the same for him but he stopped her.

“Go on Granger, there’s towels in the cupboard and probably some of my old clothes in the wardrobe in the next room, take whatever you want. I’ll be out in just a moment.”

She nodded and did as he suggested, selecting a large Slytherin t-shirt and then transfigured a pair of his boxers into some pants for herself. Whilst she waited for Draco to finish showering she looked around the small room.

It seemed that Draco had his very own quidditch locker room somewhere. Three of the walls were adorned with posters of his favourite players, a board spelled with different plays on repeat and a small bookcase of quidditch related books like Quidditch through the ages amongst biographies of star players. The fourth housed an array of brooms, it seemed that Draco had owned all the latest brooms right up until the firebolt.

Her gaze returned to the books and on one of the shelves she spied a photograph of Draco in his second year amongst the other team members posing before a match.

Just then, the water shut off and Draco entered the room, a towel slung low around his hips, a few tufts of dark blonde hair peeked out from where they ran down from the hard plains of his abs…

“I’ll have to let Ginny know she was right” Hermione smiled smugly as he began rifling through the clothing options trying to find what would be the easiest item to transfigure to fit him. It never was his strongest subject and Hermione felt in no rush to help him.

“And what is Weaselette right about, might I ask?”

“You do dye your hair” she smirked

He threw a pile of clothes at her as she descended into a fit of laughter. “Come on cheeky witch, we have aurors to go and see”

**

She returned later that day with Draco from another frustrating meeting at the DMLE. Progress seemed to have halted once again as they struggled to ascertain where Theo might be being held if not at the main estate.

She could feel her magic crackling through her veins, itching to be released.

Draco was trying to talk to her, trying to calm her down and provide reassurance. But she didn’t want it. She just wanted Theo back.

And more than anything she needed Draco to stop. He was becoming infuriating with how kind and attentive he was. It was too much. He was being too perfect.

“Malfoy, please leave me alone”

“Back to Malfoy now is it” he snapped.

“Yes. No. I have no idea. Please, just cut me a break”

“I’ve been cutting you a break Granger. For weeks I’ve let you snap at me and I don’t deserve it.”

He looked hurt. She had managed to hurt the feelings of Draco Malfoy. The very same person who’d once told her he didn’t have a heart. The man who murdered a hundred people to save her life. The man who laid his own feelings for her out on the line and expected nothing in return.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. I just miss Theo. Draco, I’m so worried-“

“Worried?” He repeated, “you don’t think I’m worried too? My best friend is missing Granger. Theo is like my brother…f*ck, he’s like the other half of me. I don’t know how to live without him. I-“

She longed to know what he was about to say before he caught himself.

“You what?” She challenged. For weeks, he’d been bottling something up and she was determined to find out what. If she couldn’t figure out where Theo was, perhaps she could figure this out instead.

“Nothing. Forget it.”

“Don’t go all shy on me now Malfoy…”

“Granger please, stop.” She was getting somewhere. She knew it was wrong to keep pushing but if she could break through to him perhaps everything would be better between them.

“No. Tell me, what were you about to say about Theo. My boyfriend…”

“He was mine first!” Draco roared, his eyes misting over, “f*ck, Theo was mine first. Not yours. I have years of history with him that you don’t. Your label does not allow you to monopolise grief. Do you not think I wish I could change places with him? Because I do. And I would gladly do it in a heartbeat. And I’m sorry Granger, I’m sorry that I’m not him”

“f*ck you Malfoy” she spat and turned to walk away, she was too tired to continue.

“You can’t even lie to me can you and say you’re glad I’m here. That you wouldn’t ask me to trade places with him?”

She wheeled around, “I-“ she couldn’t find the words. Would she?

“You what?” Now it was him goading her.

“I love him…” It was the only explanation she could offer. She turned and walked calmly across the room. She thought she heard him whisper something but she couldn’t be certain.

Draco didn’t come to her room that night

Chapter 36: No Escape From Reality

Chapter Text

Theo regained consciousness once again. He had a splitting pain in his head and his entire body was in agony.

For what must have been weeks, he’d endured countless rounds of torture. Whoever was keeping him was certainly a sad*stic f*ck that was for sure.

It all started very run of the mill. A few beatings from Greyback and the few wolves who’d survived the fight. Couple of broken bones, black eyes, concussion. Nothing his own father hadn’t done.

Then, the mind games started.

Between beatings, a boggart would be released into his cell. Without his wand and unable to cast without it in his weakened state, there was nothing for him to do except face it.

It usually cycled between his father beating him, his father beating Hermione, Hermione leaving him for Draco or his personal favourite, him turning into his father, killing Hermione and then beating their children.

Cheery.

After that, they clearly deemed him not broken enough so they’d started unravelling everything that made him feel safe.

Greyback would come into his cell, push a black bag over his eyes and gag him. Then, another set of footsteps but their voices were muffled under a charm so as not to reveal their identity. Whatever they did always caused the scent of rose and vanilla to fill his lungs and then they’d cast a series of hexes and painful stinging jinxes on him. He had to remind himself that Hermione was not there. She would never do this to him.

When that was over, they’d submerge him into vats of water and drown him over and over again. Always waiting till he was near death before they vanished the water from his lungs.

The food they sent him started to always include a perfect green apple. For the first few days he was cautious, but nothing ever happened when he ate it. It was always crisp and delicious. Until one day, he bit into it and it burned his mouth like acid. Every day since the apple appeared on his plate but he never again ate it.

On and on this went with the beatings and the boggarts. He lost any sense of time and only wished for death to finally take him.

Hermione was safe with Draco. They didn’t need him.

Maybe it would be easier this way...

He began smacking his head into the wall of his cell hoping to cause a bleed on his brain large enough to kill him. He’d have settled for knocking himself out but he knew they’d only revive him so that they could play with him some more.

He was about to try again when the sound of music filled his ears.

Well this was new.

**

‘Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?’

A loud bang signalled the opening of his cell door.

‘Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality

Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see’

In walked Greyback. No surprise there then.

Theo just began to question that this all seemed too clever for Greyback to be the mastermind behind it all when in walked McLaggen.

Still, not a huge surprise given the incident with Hermione, he assumed the prick would want revenge. But still, this was much too cunning.

‘I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy’

“Hello Nott,” McLaggen said with a twisted smirk.

‘Because I'm easy come, easy go, little high, little low’

“We’re going to play a little game. But first I think there’s someone you ought to be reacquainted with.”

‘Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter to me, to me’

Beside him, Greyback just laughed. Who the f*ck was behind all this? His father? Surely not Weasley. Who else would want to hurt him?

‘Mama, just killed a man’

His ears pricked to the sound of heels clacking against the stone floors.

In front of him, he saw McLaggen take out one of those black muggle weapons, a gun. What kind he wasn’t sure.

‘Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger, now he's dead’

f*ck f*ck f*ck. Were they going to use it on him?

The heels clicked closer.

‘Mama, life had just begun

But now I've gone and thrown it all away’

What was with this awful music?

‘Mama, ooh, didn't mean to make you cry

If I'm not back again this time tomorrow

Carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters’

“What’s wrong Theodore? Don’t like muggle music?” the shrill female voice asked sardonically from the doorway to his cell.

He looked up to see a tall blonde witch dressed in black robes staring down at him. She looked familiar but he didn’t instantly recognise her.

‘Too late, my time has come

Sends shivers down my spine, body's aching all the time’

“Do I know you? What do you want with me?” he wheezed out. Each word was agonising with the damage done to his body and his throat felt like razor blades from endless cycles of screaming and the lack of hydration save the drownings.

‘Goodbye, everybody, I've got to go

Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth’

“Perfect. So caught up with your filthy mudblood you didn’t even notice me. I went to your school for five f*cking years. I was in your house. I was supposed to marry your best friend!”

Greengrass. She was Daphne's sister…Her name was something like Astra or Anastasia.

‘Mama, ooh (any way the wind blows)

I don't wanna die

I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all’

“Come now Astoria. Don’t be so upset, we’re going to play a game now. You like games.” Cooed McLaggen.

‘I see a little silhouetto of a man

Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango?’

“Why? Just tell me why?” He had to know. He’d never done anything to her or her sister.

‘Thunderbolt and lightning, very, very frightening me

(Galileo) Galileo, (Galileo) Galileo, Galileo Figaro, magnifico’

“I’ve seen inside your mind Theodore. You and the f*cking mudblood Granger that you both adore have taken everything from me.

I loved Draco since we were little kids. And so, when I turned 15, Daddy asked me if there were any boys at school I’d consider a marriage contract with and of course he was delighted when I mentioned Draco. To become Mrs Malfoy was of course, the highest honour within the Sacred-28 as you know and Daph was so caught up on Adrian Pucey at the time to notice anyone else.

Pansy was my only real competition and I couldn’t understand why Draco suddenly lost interest in her till I saw the three of you the last year of Hogwarts before the war.

I saw the way he looked at her. It was disgusting. Almost as disgusting as the way I saw you look at him.” f*ck, no, no one was meant to know. “Both of you blood traitors but you’re a fa*ggot as well. Really making sure to spit on the Nott name aren’t we Theodore?”

This was really f*cking bad.

“Anyway, right before the battle, Daddy told me Lucius had refused to sign the marriage contracts seemingly out of the blue. He blamed me. Said I must be no good if the Malfoys were rejecting me. He was so angry he lost his temper and cursed me. Cast me out of the family. Now, no one will want me.

I lost EVERYTHING!”

The witch before him looked on the brink of collapse. He felt sure she’d driven herself insane with hatred.

Theo remained vaguely aware of the god awful music still humming away in the background as McLaggen stepped forward.

“I ran into Stori after I escaped Weasley. Thanks by the way for almost rendering me a complete invalid. She helped finish healing me up and then together we had enough money to remain hidden for a few months and that’s when Greyback here found us. Mercifully he agreed to spare us if we helped track down Granger. Of course, we were only too happy to oblige.

From there, things fell into place quickly. I still had Weasley under the imperius curse. Popped that on him whilst he was interrogating me but left it dormant till I needed to make my escape. He staged a rather wonderful fight did he not.

Only snag was that we had slightly underestimated Malfoy. And getting Granger was rather a key stipulation for this one” he gestured to the werewolf, “so now your mine and Stori’s play thing till the two idiots come to rescue you. Then we’ll have the set.”

‘Nothing really matters, anyone can see’

“We figured, if you love muggles so much. Perhaps you might enjoy being tortured like one, mhm?” The blonde witch teased.

‘Nothing really matters’

Theo heard the click of the gun and McLaggen took aim.

‘Nothing really matters to me’

As soon as he heard the bang of the gun, all he felt was pain tearing through his thigh.

Seconds later everything was black.

**

Theo remained in and out of consciousness for what he would guess felt like a day or two. The wound on his leg was hot and beginning to grow infected from the dire conditions of his cell.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been given food or water.

The only constant during this time was the same infernal song playing on repeat in his cell and the smell of sweet roses that lingered in his nose.

He hated it.

**

The next time he woke, he was surprised not to feel the jagged stone floor of his cell against his back but instead felt a cold, flat surface.

He was magically bound by his limbs and around his neck to the surface with a sticking charm applied to his torso and head for good measure. He was completely trapped.

“Interesting thing, muggle medicine,” Astoria stated, “they regularly cut people open in order to heal them.”

The crazy bitch continued wittering on as he laid there.

“Upon further reading, it seems for a while they also thought medical intervention could help correct certain proclivities like hom*osexuality and other mental disorders. I also found they have a game for children called operation. The aim of the game is to remove bones and organs from the patient without causing a buzzer to go off. Now we don’t have a buzzer here but it still sounds rather fun. I guess you’ll just scream if I hit something too sensitive. And if we happen to cure you whilst we play then we’re both winners. What do you say?”

Theo looked up into the pale blue eyes staring back at him from where he lay.

“Rot in hell you crazy bitch” he spat with as much conviction as he could muster.

“Shame. If you were enthusiastic, I might have considered casting a numbing charm first. But no matter. Let’s begin.”

Chapter 37: Play Nice

Chapter Text

The atmosphere was still tense as Hermione and Draco sat and ate breakfast together. They sat at opposite ends of the long dining table, as if unable to bare being an inch closer to each other than they had to be.

“Pansy wrote to me this morning,” he ground out before taking a sip from the steaming cup of coffee Mippy had just brought for him, “she and Blaise are coming over”

“Lovely” She snapped.

He looked exasperated, “They’re my friends Granger-“

Draco wasn’t allowed to finish his sentence before she interrupted him harshly, “Well they’re not mine.” Something about her glare caused Draco’s mouth to twitch into what looked like amusem*nt. That was not the reaction she was aiming for.

He stood from the table and moved round to stand behind her, placing a kiss atop her head, his voice softened. “Play nice little lioness. You might have more in common than you think.”

What in Merlin’s name would she have in common with someone as vapid and self absorbed as Blaise? And Pansy, well they never had met for ‘tea’ so she could well still be the devil.

**

Hermione closed the door to the room she had shared with Theo. Since their arguments began, he’d taken to sleeping next door so now, it was just her room.

She was just about to throw on her jeans and a chunky jumper and leave her hair in whatever state it had been in when she woke up when something inside of her told her to try.

Try and make an effort with the snakes. She almost laughed at herself. But she knew her gut was right. These were, in some weird and twisted way, Theo’s friends too. And if she hoped one day Theo would be cordial with Ron as well as Harry and Ginny, she’d need to try and get along with his friends too.

She stepped inside the huge marble shower and let the hot water clear her thoughts. Gods she missed Theo. She missed the warmth of his skin, the way his dimples would appear when he smiled a certain way. She missed his laugh, the lazy kind of cheerfulness in his voice and being able to tell him how loved he was.

She especially missed the smell of his clove cigarettes. Not that she’d ever tell him that, it was a habit she desperately wanted him to quit but she’d be lying if she hadn’t lit one or two since he’d been missing just to smell them but it only made her miss him more.

Stepping out of the shower, she dried herself before charming her hair into loose ringlets down her back. After a few moments rummaging in her school trunk, she found the small bag of make up and applied a few drops of concealer, a bit of blush and some mascara - the same routine she’d had almost daily since meeting the boys at that cafe all those years ago.

But what does one wear when meeting the sort of friends of your kidnapped boyfriend for the first time since a giant battle where one of them tried to hand over your best friend to the darkest wizard of our generation? Oh, and not to mention, when these two wizards are also from two of the richest families in Britain and also bullied you for years?

Remembering that first day when she’d met Theo and Draco and how nervous she had been, she pulled out the same blue sun dress and brown sandals. It wasn’t like she had much of a wardrobe to choose from… she had donated so many things when she packed up her parents house, and bought very little in preparation for eighth year since she was in uniform most of the time. At some point she would make the time for shopping. Once they got Theo back, then she’d take care of herself.

A pop from across the room took her by surprise.

“Mippy is sorry to interrupt Miss Hermione. Master Draco asked Mippy to tell Miss Hermione that the guests have arrived and they are in the sunroom.”

“Thank you Mippy.” Hermione replied gently.

Well, if it had worked for Theo and Draco, why not Blaise and Pansy as well?

**

Each step Hermione took closer to the sunroom allowed the voices behind the doors to become clearer. She paused for just a moment to see what they were talking about.

“Really Draco” Pansy deadpanned, “surely you haven’t fallen so low-“

Hermione felt tears prick, she felt sure she knew how this conversation went but she couldn’t tear herself away.

“Leave him Parks.” Blaine’s voice was warmer than she expected. Nothing like Theo’s but instead, a rich baritone that contrasted against the aristocratic drawl of Draco’s. “If the mopey prick wants to live a lonely single life complaining that the Golden Girl is too good for him then let him be.”

That wasn’t what she was expecting. She thought she heard Draco snort faintly as Pansy resumed.

“Lovely Blaise truly. You might be fine with letting him continue this self flaggeration but I am not. You are Draco f*cking Malfoy. No one, not even the great Hermione Granger is too good for you. Stupid Gryffindor would probably love the challenge of dating the youngest Death Eater. Honestly the whole house is full of lunatics but if you love her and so does Theo then I’m willing to see what all the fuss is about.”

“Oh how noble of you.” Draco chuckled. “You know she won’t be too happy with you after what you tried to do to Potter.”

The room went silent and Hermione swore her heart was beating out of her chest.

“Pans, Pansy hey,” it was Blaise. “Draco was only teasing but the pricks been stranded with Lucius for a year so forgot how to play nice. Granger knows Pans, remember? We asked Theo to tell her. And you sent her that nice dress for Christmas. She won’t hex you, Pans. It’ll be alright.”

She couldn’t see Pansy’s behaviour but from Blaise’s immediate gentleness, she assumed it was a panic attack of sorts. Truly, no one made it out of the war unscathed no matter which side you fought or how many galleons are in your vault.

“But she should hex me you idiot. I deserve it. f*ck. I don’t know what’s going to be worse, her hexing me or being nice to me?”

Hermione chose that moment to open the door. Draco sat lazily in one of the chairs with his ankle crossed on his knee, sipping a coffee. Blaise meanwhile was crouched on the floor by Pansy’s side, he too was taller than she remembered but still looked to be just under six foot although it was hard to tell by how he was crouching. He had remained lean and lithe and with his rich dark skin he was the opposite of Draco in almost every way.

Except for their clothes, both men were dressed in tailored trousers and a button down shirt.

The icy glare Pansy shot in her direction told her the witch was also not comfortable showing vulnerability outside of her close circle. Hermione could at least relate to her there.

The raven haired witch before her had finally fully grown into her features and thankfully had kept the long black hair from their sixth year rather than returning to the severe bob from their younger days. Hermione relaxed as she noted the girl had also opted for a sundress although hers was black and she wore it with a pair of black heeled sandals.

“I’m not going to hex you, Pansy.” Hermione stated confidently as she made her way over to the chair beside Draco. “ I’m also not going to say I’ve forgotten either. I forgive you, yes, because we were all just kids and Theo did tell me the pressure that you were under. But, if you want to be friends or at least civil, then I find apologies are the best place to start.”

Blaise sat back on the couch beside Pansy. Both he and Draco looked between the two witches unsure of what would happen next. Neither were well known for their female friendships and were scarily stubborn.

“I’m sorry Granger. I was utterly vile to you at school and whilst you were a swot and your hair was like a birds nest, I shouldn’t have made fun of you. I especially shouldn’t have held your blood status against you. That was wrong of us all.” Blaise nodded with a sincere look on his face.

“Well, thank you. And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry too. To all of you.”

Everyone’s eyes shot to Hermione with a look of confusion.

“What could you possibly have to apologise to us for?” Blaise asked.

“Well, uhm, I said some not particularly nice things about you all too, only a great deal of it was behind your backs since you never stuck around long enough to hear it. Blaise, I thought you were shallow and boring but I can already see I was wrong about that. Pansy, I used to call you a mean, pug faced little toad and Draco, well, I honestly can’t remember all the horrid things I’ve said about you or to you. I’m sure most of them were along the lines of being a pointy faced ferrety prick who’s father must hear about everything.”

They all burst out into fits of laughter.

“You know at school I actually thought you were a real bitch as well.” Pansy said, turning to Hermione, finally able to calm herself slightly.

“What changed your mind?” Hermione asked, arching her eyebrow.

“Oh I still think you’re a bitch but I think I might grow to like that about you.”

“Ha! I think I might like you too, Pansy. And thank you for the graduation gown… although I never actually got to wear it.”

**

After lunch, Blaise and Draco decided to practise some quidditch drills together - something they hadn’t done since fifth year.

Mippy kindly thought to bring a blanket and some refreshments for Hermione and Pansy as they sat on the lawn in view of where the boys played.

“Pansy,” Hermione began a little unsure, “forgive me if it’s rude to ask, but your perfume it’s-“

“Divine.” The raven haired witch cut her off with a sultry smile. “And no, it’s not rude to ask, it was designed especially for me. At the top, a prelude of precious saffron undercuts the fresh juiciness of blackcurrant and bergamot with a tangent of spiced leather. Velvety smooth gourmand notes form the heart, as syrupy sensations of plum and the toasted sweetness of praline transform into an irresistible guilty pleasure.”

The two girls burst into laughter at how audacious that sounded and it eased something between them.

It occurred to Hermione that Pansy might understand better than anyone else what it’s like to be surrounded almost completely by male friends. Sure Hermione had Ginny, and they loved each other like sisters but beyond that, they had very little in common. No matter what though, they would always be family.

She remembered occasionally seeing Pansy with Daphne and the other Slytherin girls but certainly, the majority of her time was occupied with Draco and Blaise.

Hermione was pondering this when the witch beside her spoke, pulling her from her thoughts.

“You haven’t even realised have you?” Pansy smirked at her from behind a glass of homemade lemonade.

“What?” She asked shyly.

“That you’re perhaps the most powerful witch in Britain right now. If not, the most powerful person.” There was no teasing in her tone this time.

“What on Merlin’s name are you talking about Pansy?”

“Don’t blame dumb Granger, it doesn’t suit you.”

“I can assure you, Parkinson, that I am not playing at anything. So please, enlighten me, how am I powerful?”

“Well, not only are you THE golden girl, brightest witch of her age and best friends with the saviour of the wizarding world.” Hermione snorted at the ridiculous nicknames the prophet had been using for her as Pansy continued, “but, you’ve got the Minister Shacklebolt wrapped around your little finger, the head of the DMLE bowing down to your every command in fear, the entire staff of Hogwarts indebted to you, not to mentioned the majority of the student body. And to top it off your boyfriend is now Lord Nott, descendant of Morgana herself and head of the fourth most wealthy family in Britain behind only mine, Blaise’s, the Blacks and of course, Mr tall blonde and brooding over there who of course sits at number one on that list with the Malfoy name.

As the heir to both the Malfoy and the Black line, the amount of money and power behind Draco is staggering. He might even be heir to the Lestrange line since Rabastan never married and Bellatrix and Rodolphus’s child died as an infant.

And if you haven’t noticed, their entirely devoted to you so their money and influence is yours for the taking too.”

“I’m not with them for their money.” She snapped.

“Them?” Pansy asked with a raised brow.

“I didn’t mean…” Gods she wished the ground would swallow her whole.

“So there is a ‘them’?”

“Ugh, Pans I don’t know… I love Theo. I’m with Theo. But…” Hermione couldn’t bring herself to say it to someone out loud, let alone Pansy.

“But you feel something for Draco too?” The tone of Pansy’s voice was kinder than she’d expected.

“Yes.”

She couldn’t lie. She was ashamed, loving two people and something felt so wrong about admitting it to their friend whilst one was missing and the other had no real idea how she felt.

“Do you love him, Granger?”

This felt like one of those life altering, destiny defining moments.

She summoned any remaining Gryffindor courage she had and decided to trust in Pansy Parkinson. She only hoped she wouldn’t come to regret it.

“In a way, I think I do, yes.”

The two witches sat side by side for a while, neither quite sure what to say. They sipped their lemonade and watched the boys pass a quaffle between them. She’d only ever seen Draco play as a seeker but it was clear he’d make an exceptional chaser too.

She idly wondered what it might be like to ride on a broom with him. He looked so poised and in control. He didn’t fly like Harry who had no regard for his own safety or like Ron who was clumsy yet over eager. Draco flew with precision and she could almost see him thinking through the most logical play before he made it, yet he flew almost without thought, like it was second nature, his broom simply an extension of his own body.

Her eyes locked on to his thighs, the way they gripped his broom. She remembered that day last summer where Theo had said she might leave him for Draco’s broom thighs if given half the chance. Gods, this was such a mess. Theo was going to be so angry at her for doing exactly what she said she wouldn’t and falling in love with Draco. But her promise stayed strong, she wouldn’t leave Theo for him. She couldn’t. They were forever.

Pansy began speaking again, but so softly, she almost wasn’t sure she was meant to hear.

“It’s no secret Draco’s seen and done some terrible things. But beneath the mask he wears, he’s a softy. Nothing but a broken product of his family’s expectation, of everything he was forced to do. Blaise said he had nightmares all through sixth year. He’s a broken man Granger... but a man who deserves to be loved wholly and completely, as does Theo. If you stick with them, I have no doubt that nothing will compare to being loved by either. I can’t speak for Theo but for Draco certainly, you will be the centre of his universe. You’ll be the sun to his stars, Golden Girl.”

“Theo told me something similar once, back when he was trying to convince me to forget about him and wait for Draco.” She said remembering those days after the battle and their last night in Australia.

“Yes, Theo would know all about being the centre of Draco’s world.”

Hermione stilled, she couldn’t quite determine Pansy’s tone.

“I know they’ve always been best friends. Theo said they were raised like brothers. I imagine they were as close as me and Harry if not more so.”

“Ha. Brothers… funny. I’m only saying this Granger because I’m deeply invested in Draco’s happiness. He may be my ex, but he’s also one of my best friends. All three boys are, even if Theo still doesn’t quite believe it.”

It warmed Hermione's heart to hear her say it. To know someone other than her and Draco cared for Theo in that way. She sat with bated breath waiting for the girl to continue speaking.

“It has been obvious to me and Blaise for a long time now but both boys have always been much too stubborn, too worried about getting on the wrong side of Daddy Malfoy. Theo’s never given a sh*t what his own father thinks, mind you.”

Hermione listened with rapt attention as she continued, “Back when I dated Draco, I knew it wasn’t going to last because the damn idiot spent half his time obsessing over where you were and what route your rounds took so that you’d catch us snogging, it was all rather weird to be honest. And then the other half of his day was spent gazing at Theo across classrooms. And then I started noticing Theo was doing exactly the same.” She swatted at a bee that flew a little too closely, “Plus they’ve always been so weird, refuse to touch each other - either of them will give Blaise a good hug and a slap on the back, stand next to him in the showers after quidditch or not bat an eyelid if he caught them in their boxers. But they will not go near each other. It’s like they think if they do anything then we’ll all know they like each other and they’ll burst into flames. As if we care! We just want them to be happy and I have no doubt, being together, properly, will bring them that.”

Hermione pondered her words for a moment, deciding to trust Pansy with her own feelings was one thing, but this was something else entirely. She opted to tread lightly, “They were never like that with me. Back in sixth year, they always sat close together, hugged each other, we both fell asleep holding Draco’s hand in the hospital wing after the incident with Harry. I just thought they were really close.”

“Interesting” Pansy hummed. “And does it change how you feel knowing that they might like each other in that way?”

“No.” Hermione blurted out. “No, like you I want them to be happy. And if that doesn’t include me then that’s okay.”

Pansy flipped her a genuine smile at this and Hermione's eyes flicked up to where the boys were coming down to land.

“At least I know now that Draco has a type …swotty, stubborn, curly haired brunettes. Such fun!” Hermione just shook her head, “Now, when we get Theo back, and mark my words Granger, we will get him back. You three are going to make quite the splash, because neither is going ever let you go so you need to have a little chat with those two idiots and make them see reason.”

“But how, Pansy? You said it yourself, they're too stubborn.”

“Figure it out then Granger. And quickly… I’ll only help you with part one“ she hissed before quickly switching to an overly cheery congratulations on the most amazing play to both men.

**

“Daphne darling, you’re here!” Pansy screeched excitedly as Daphne and Neville stepped out through the floo. Poor Daphne was barely out of the fireplace before the raven haired witch threw her arms round her. Hermione watched as Pansy pulled back and cast an appraising eye over Neville, “and hello to you too Longbottom. It’s been a while.”

Neville huffed lightly, his lips forming a slight smirk, “Parkinson”. It was all he offered before striding into the room and embracing Hermione. She felt proud of Neville for who he had grown into and Daphne’s presence in his life had certainly bolstered his confidence some more. He gave a slight nod in way of greeting to Draco and Blaise who were seated across the room watching everything unfold.

Hermione was about to catch up with Neville when Pansy clapped her hands with glee signalling she wanted their attention, “Who’s ready for some fun? Blaise be a lamb and get some wine, make sure to find the most expensive bottles in Lord Nott’s collection. Makes up for him not being here don’t you think?” Pansy’s eyes gleamed with mischief.

Draco groaned and Daphne mouthed apologies to her and Neville. They were clearly all too familiar with what was in store.

**

Veriterserum truth or dare, that was what Pansy had in store.

They had been playing almost an hour now and Hermione felt rather intoxicated.

Since their group was largely Slytherin, very few dares had been opted for, and when they were it was usually someone kissing another… Pansy it turned out was rather fond of kissing absolutely anyone. Including her.

She had also learned that Draco accidentally walked in on Blaise and Daphne once in sixth year - they’d taken each others virginity’s, all the Slytherin’s had seen Pansy naked at some time or another, Draco once had a dream about Professor Vector spanking him, Neville’s most embarrassing moments were all as a result of something Draco had done (no surprise there) and turns out Pansy thought Hermione herself had the best tit* of anyone in their year. Though Pansy also swore she was entirely straight.

Every question she was asked had something to do with her time with Harry and Ron. She’d expected it sure, but she still maintained it wasn’t all that interesting… though the increasingly dramatic reactions from her friends as they got more and more drunk was amusing. When she revealed the bank robbery and subsequent get away on a dragon, Blaise had feigned losing consciousness from surprise.

Hermione watched as the bottle spun again. This time it landed on her.

“So then, what will it be this time?” Pansy asked.

She really couldn’t be bothered to supply another golden trio tale, “Uhm, dare?” Quickly, her stomach sank as she saw the mirth in Pansy’s eye. “I dare Granger to kiss Draco on the lips”

The lamp behind Pansy’s head exploded and Draco stormed from the room. Hermione was on her feet instantly to chase after him

“Draco!” She called, “Draco wait please!”

He whirled around, his face contorted like it did when they were in school, “Think you’re funny do you? I saw you and Pansy talking earlier. I’d expect something like this from her but never from you Granger.”

She reached out and grabbed his arm “Draco, I never… I- Draco, I want you to kiss me.”

He tried to pull away, “No”

“Kiss me” she begged again.

“Granger stop!”

She grasped his shirt in both hands and stared directly up into his eyes, “For Merlin’s sake Draco, I’m asking you to kiss me.”

She pressed up on her tip toes, but he backed away.

“No! Not like this…”

She stared at him questioning, her large honey brown eyes pleading, he had to look away, “Not until it really means something.”

Her voice was warm and gentle with her response, “It will always mean something with you Draco.”

She couldn’t… “But, Theo? You love Theo” he turned and began to walk away.

“Yes I do. But I love you too” she pulled on his arm and he let her pull him back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

The taste of her lips on his is divine. It takes him a moment to recognise that Hermione Granger is kissing him. Her soft, plump lips press to his with a bruising passion.

He pulled back and looked at her doe eyes, “f*ck it.” He crashed his lips back onto hers and pushed her back against the wall.

“I-love-you-Granger” he whispered between kisses.

“I love you too, Draco” she murmured against his lips as she pulled away at last.

**

The next morning, he awoke back in bed with Hermione.

Nothing had happened after she kissed him. They just returned to their friends and continued playing. Thankfully, it seemed Pansy had threatened them all so no one brought up what had happened. A little after midnight, Longbottom had taken Daphne home and they’d offered a guest room to Blaise and Pansy each.

As they readied themselves for breakfast with his fellow snakes, Draco waited for Hermione to act out or for awkwardness to seep in as a result of their kiss but it never did. It seemed most unlike Granger, but he decided not to dwell on it.

What had surprised him though was the witches ability to offer forgiveness. When they had woken he’d seen the viscous scar left by his mad Aunt on her arm for the first time. Initially he thought he must have been wrong about the cursed blade and assumed it had just healed but Hermione confessed to glamouring it every few days.

He’d dropped to his knees and begged her forgiveness for his lack of action. For not giving his life to protect her. It was his biggest regret. One he swore to never make again.

But despite his emotion and sincerity, Hermione had essentially brushed him off promising that there was nothing to forgive. They were both children. And they both would most certainly would have died if he’d acted on his feelings that day in the drawing room.

Instead, she tried to remind him of all the times he had done the right thing. The countless other times he had protected her.

How she still saw the good in him he wasn’t sure, but he swore he’d spend every day earning the forgiveness she afforded him.

**

After breakfast the four of them sat happily discussing life at Hogwarts well into the afternoon, reminiscing over the time the Weasley twins disrupted end of years O.W.L exams. This of course led to an interrogation over whether anything had ever happened between her and Ron, which of course, it hadn’t, not really. And that then led to the usual questions about her and Harry’s relationship - truly it seemed no one could believe they were really just friends.

As if sensing his own name, the floo roared to life that very second and Harry’s face appeared. Hermione knew instantly there was something wrong.

“Harry, are you okay? What is it?” Hermione was on her knees in front of the flames.

“It’s Ginny. Hermione, we, oh god, we broke up. I don’t know what to do.”

She could see him begin to pace in the flames. “Harry, when did this happen, where is Ginny now?”

“Last night. I thought I was okay, but it just hit me and I was trying not to bother you… f*ck uhm I think she’s gone out with the Harpies this afternoon I think.”

“Okay Harry, give me two minutes and then come through okay?”

Hermione turned back to the Slytherins.

“If that’s true then I will take my leave. If Ginevra Weasley needs something to cry on she can have my shoulder, arm, leg…you name it I’m hers.” Blaise spoke confidently as he stepped into the flames and called out for the Leaky Cauldron.

Pansy sensed Hermione's confusion and explained. “Blaise has had the hots for Ginerva since we were in sixth year but she was too wrapped up in Potter to notice him.”

“So there’s definitely nothing between you and Blaise? Last night I wondered…”

“Salazar no. We’ve f*cked a few times out of boredom but no, never anything serious.” Pansy screwed her face up as if disgusted.

Seconds later, Harry walked through the green flames, his eyes red and cheeks stained with tear tracks. Mercifully Draco and Pansy took themselves off somewhere else without Hermione having to ask.

“Oh Harry” she smiled, pulling her best friend into a tight hug, “tell me what happened.”

They settled side by side on the sofa and she poured him a glass of Theo’s fire whiskey. He thanked her as she passed him the glass.

“Uhm, well things were fine for a bit, right after the war you know. It was good having someone who understood- she’s the only person on the planet who knows what it’s like to live with Voldemort inside your mind. But the weight of everything that happened to us just couldn’t leave. We were trapping each other in the past. When she was back at Hogwarts with you that last year, things seemed better but we realised it was because we were apart. The past month has been really hard, things are awkward and stilted.”

Hermione smiled at him in understanding. “I worried things might be like that had I ended up with Ron. I think, if it weren’t for Theo and Draco’s friendship in sixth year, after the battle I probably would have tried things with him. So many people just expected us to be together, and I know I hurt him but I found someone much more suited to me and I know there are many girls who will be everything Ron is looking for. I’ve grown to accept Ron was probably my first love, even if it was unrequited at the time. Ginny will always be in your heart Harry. It’s okay to love her, without being in love with her.”

“You always know what to say Hermione.” Harry said, taking a sip of his whiskey.

“I’m sorry you didn’t feel like you could tell me. I’m always here for you, you know that don’t you Harry?”

He nodded. “At some point though Hermione I do need to learn to figure things out without you.”

“Perhaps. But things with Ginny, was it-?”

“Mutual? Yes. Gods, Hermione, I just want her to be happy. She needs someone warm, sociable, confident…But she also needs taking care of, someone who won’t leave her for weeks because of a case, someone to cheer at every Harpies match and who isn’t terrified when a reporter wants an interview.”

“Well I think she’s going to find that any second now.” Hermione muttered under her breath.

“What was that?” sh*t, she didn’t think he was listening. Curse him for only listening when she didn’t want him to.

“Blaise. He was here with Pansy today to see Draco. Turns out he’s had a crush on Ginny for a while.”

“Blaise Zabini? Really? But he’s so…” Harry screwed up his face in derision.

“I thought so too Harry but he’s actually really kind and surprisingly funny. I think he could be good for her. But what about you Harry? What would be good for you?”

At that moment Pansy and Draco reappeared. “I’m not sure I know…” the wizard answered almost in a daze as he watched the pair enter arm in arm, Pansy laughing at something Draco had said.

**

As Draco flooed into Grimmauld Place the next day it seemed the meeting had already begun. He could hear Potter rambling enthusiastically about something.

As he pushed open the door to the dining room, the sharp scent of lilies and whiskey filled his senses - his mother and father were here.

“Good of you to join us, Draco.” His father chastised not even bothering to look over at him.

“Terribly sorry father, some of us have things to do you know.”

“Yes, where is the little mud-muggle born you’ve been shacking up with?”

“Lucius.” His mother scolded at the same time as Draco replied, choosing for once not to goad his father further, “Granger will be along in just a moment, there was a book or something she thought might be of use. Now tell me, what were you all discussing with such enthusiasm before I arrived?”

His mother set her hands on the table in front of her and wrapped them tightly together.

“I can sense him, Draco. Theodore, if I push my legilimency hard I can sense his consciousness.”

“Mother, that is beyond reckless of you. You know how much of a toll that kind of magic can take-“

His mother fixed him with a stern glare. “Theodore is family Draco. You know we will go to any lengths for our own. But don’t worry my dragon,” her tone calming again, “your father monitors me whilst I do it. It’s perfectly safe.”

Draco only nodded but it was Hermione who spoke next. He hadn’t even heard the witch enter.

“Can you tell how he’s doing?” The fear was evident in her voice but she managed to keep it even.

“Not great I’m afraid. Some days I can’t find him at all, then it returns albeit weak. I called this meeting however as I felt it stronger the last day or so and I was able to push into his mind.”

Please mother, don’t give her hope if there is none.

He watched as Hermione’s eyes widened and her chin began to tremble. His witch was holding it together by a thread. Still not his witch. He reminded himself, Theo’s witch.

“I believe he’s at the old Greengrass estate in Dorset. Or at least that’s where Theodore believes himself to be. It could of course be a trap.”

“Why didn’t I think of that. I forgot they had a second home here in England. Me and Granger only checked the main estate. I’ll go.”

“Malfoy, that’s-“ Saint Potter tried to cut him off, probably wanting another chance to play the hero.

“No Potter. Just listen. I should be accepted by their wards. Father was likely cast off after he disrupted their courtship plans between myself and Astoria. However Astoria’s affection for me allowed me to stay in their admittance list. Plus, I can go in my wolf form so I won’t need to go inside the property to determine if he’s in trouble. And if I run into company, well, I’ll handle it.”

“Harry, he’s got a point. It’s a good plan.” Salazar he’d never get used to Hermione agreeing with him.

“Okay, okay,” Potter sighed, not wishing to fight her, “but take this emergency portkey with you. Just in case.”

**

As soon as he landed, Draco turned into his wolf form.

Draco knew the Greengrass’s were overconfident and co*cky by nature so he didn’t need to worry about any traps. His only concern was that only the most basic set of property wards would be set and that given he was admitted on the main Greengrass Estate, he would be automatically admitted here as well.

As his paws padded down the country road surrounding the estate, he felt the tingle of magic as he passed through. The lack of being immediately thrown off the grounds led him to presume he was given entry.

He stalked closer and closer to the house, ears pricked for any sound.

Despite his Slytherin sensibilities, it took every ounce of strength not to go bounding in the front door to hunt down Theo.

f*ck, he was bored of having to rescue his friends from f*cking psychopaths. Wizards really needed to stop inbreeding if this was the result it was having on their mental faculties.

He was now prowling the east side of the house’s walls when the familiar scent of something warm and mossy filled his nose. Theo.

He was almost thrown at first at the lack of clove but it made sense, a prisoner was hardly going to be afforded cigarette breaks.

With one last sniff to confirm it was indeed Theo, Draco spun on his haunches and barrelled away from the house back to the estate line so he could apparate back to Potter and the team to confirm he located Theo.

Hold on Theo. We’re coming.

Chapter 38: Rescue Me

Chapter Text

He’d lost the plot surely. Gone completely round the bend.

As he crouched in the corner of his cell, he wondered if he’d really laid there whilst Astoria cut into him like a piece of meat.

Forced to remain conscious the entire time, he’d watched as she’d dissected him. She seemed to have great fun figuring out which order of removal would allow her to keep him at the brink of death for the longest and any time he strayed too close, she’d pour a load of potions down his throat and watch as his body regrew the missing parts and stitched itself back together. She’d then dunk him in a vat of dittany for good measure… the cost of that much dittany must surely have put quite a dent in her inheritance. His throat felt raw from the endless screams.

Now back in his cell, he was unsettled to find it completely sterile. There was no music. No smell of roses. There was just him and the stone walls.

Bang.

The door of his cell opened again. Hadn’t they had enough by now?

It was McLaggen. “Come on old chap. Stori has thought of a new game to play. I think you’re going to really enjoy this one.”

**

Theo had been taken to a different room and bound to a chair by his shoulders, torso and thighs. Curious?

He didn’t have long to ponder when in walked Astoria. “Hello Theo.”

He hated the way she smiled at him so sweetly as if butter wouldn’t melt.

“So far, we’ve learned that you’re quite resilient against traditional methods. Not even muggle medicine seemed to break you like I’d hoped. So today, I thought we could play a new game that I heard about. Apparently your little mudblood was quite good at this one when she was little.”

Hermione.

“We’re going to see just how well you listen to instructions. Simon says, is the name of the game I believe. The rules are simple, if I give you an instruction you should only complete it if it’s proceeded by the words Simon says. Simple enough I think?”

McLaggen laughed dryly from the other side of the room.

The witch stalked towards the chair where he was bound.

“Tell Astoria she’s pretty.”

He remained silent.

“Oh Theo, that’s so rude. Simon Says, tell Astoria she’s pretty.”

Again, he remained silent.

“Tsk tsk tsk” she began circling his chair. “I’d have thought a smart boy like you would be able to understand the rules of the game. No matter, there are ways to make you comply.”

She now stood back in front of him and her eyes darkened. “Imperio.”

“Simon says, tell Astoria she’s pretty.”

“You’re pretty Astoria” he heard himself say.

“Why, thank you Theodore. Pity, blood traitors aren’t my type. But, now that you know I canmake you do whatever I say, perhaps you’ll be more complicit.”

On and on it went as she got Theo to say whatever she wanted. Occasionally she’d have him do something random like slap himself, poke himself in the eye. It wasn’t long till she began growing bored.

“Simon says, bite off your left index finger.”

Theo remained still. Was she f*cking crazy?

“Come now Theodore. Let’s try that again… Imperio.”

“Simon says bite off your left ring finger. And for defying me, I want you to eat it.”

Theo felt bile rising in his throat as his body started to comply. He was surprised with how much force was in his own bite as he clamped down and tore at his own finger. The pain was indescribable, but he couldn’t stop. The coppery taste of blood filled his mouth and he desperately tried to spit out the skin and nerves from his mouth but his body betrayed him and kept swallowing it down. Each time he then dove back down to tear off more.

He almost choked himself trying to swallow the bone when Astoria released him. He spat the remains of his finger to the floor.

Once it was over, he locked his gaze with the psycho in front of him. He would not let her think she’d broken him. He prayed someone was looking for him. He just wanted to get home to Hermione and Draco.

“Very good Theodore. Now, you’ve proved me right that hurting yourself is not enough to break you. I wonder, how will you fair hurting someone else?”

“Stori. This wasn’t what we talked about.” McLaggen sounded upset.

With a flick of her wrist he too was bound and stuck to the wall and a silencing spell placed upon him.

“Poor sweet Gryffindor. I did wonder how long he’d last. No matter. Greyback be a dear and bring in our guests would you?” She called out.

The moment the door reopened Theo threw up the contents of his stomach which was regrettably only his own finger, over the floor beside him.

In each of his huge arms, Greyback pulled in Hermione's parents. They recognised him instantly.

“Theodore. What’s happening? Who are these people? Where’s Hermione?” Her father shouted as her mother sobbed.

“Silence!” Astoria demanded.

They were pushed onto their knees between him and Astoria.

“Now Theo, listen very carefully because we’re in the final round now. We wouldn’t want you to make any mistakes with the mudbloods mummy and daddy now would we? I’m not sure she’d ever forgive you for that.”

No. No. Gods no.

“Astoria please. Stop this.” He begged. “You can do whatever you want with me please, just don’t hurt them. I’ll do anything.”

She smiled wickedly. “Precisely Theo. I won’t hurt them and you’ll do exactly as you’re told.”

He almost sighed in relief when he noticed the glint in her eye and his brain finally put the pieces together.

“Simon says, kill the mudbloods parents.”

No.

“Really Theodore. Fine. Have it your way… Imp-” she began but Theo cut her off.

“Wait-wait! Please let me just say goodbye to them, privately, and then I’ll do what every you want.” At this Hermione’s parents shrieked and sobbed uncontrollably.

“Fine. You have two minutes” Astoria ground out before beckoning Greyback out of the room. She flicked her wrists and Theo’s bindings were removed as the cell door closed.

Theo immediately threw himself at the Granger’s feet.

“I’m so sorry Jean, Richard. There’s not enough time to explain but the spell she was about to cast on me will make me do as she says. If I keep my free will I can ensure it is quick and painless for you both. I can’t promise the same otherwise.” Hermione’s father nodded in understanding, “Hermione is safe I promise you but please, if there’s any chance I’ll see her again I’m going to have to explain this and I’d like to have something to comfort her. I know you don’t remember her properly, fully. You don’t feel that unconditional love you had for her but please, there’s a way I can show her a memory of us here and for you to say goodbye to her. Please, please do this for her” he begged.

Richard Granger moved his hands away from where they clung to his wife and pulled something from under his shirt up and over his neck before placing it around Theo’s own.

“If everything you told us when you were in Australia is true then I imagine I’d think of you as my future son in law. So, I give this to you. It’s a St Christopher – a symbol of safe travel and protection. This memory thing, how do we do it?”

“Thank you Sir” Theo said quite taken aback, “just say whatever you would like to say and I can show her my memory of it. In your own time.”

Mr Granger cleared his throat and brushed away his wife’s tears, “Hermione darling, we’re so sorry we never got the chance to love you again and to hug you again. But know your mother and I are so proud of you. Please don’t blame yourself for any of this. And don’t blame young Theodore here for what he has to do. Be safe Hermione, and live a long and happy life.”

He turned his head to his wife who was weeping again at his words. Her mother collected herself as best she could, “I love you my darling girl, my Hermione. Be strong love and remember everything we taught you. We love you so very much. And we’ll be with you, every step of the way.”

Theo held back the tears from his eyes as Hermione’s mother blew a kiss aimed directly for the focus of his gaze. A last kiss to Hermione.

Seconds later, the door clanged open, Astoria was back, “Aww how touching. Now, Theodore, can I trust you to do this yourself?”

Without further hesitation, Theo raised his wand to the Mrs Granger, “Avada Kedavra” the flash of green hit her square in the chest and Mr Granger looked like his heart stopped at the same time.

He placed a last chaste kiss to his wife’s head before looking Theo straight in the eyes. Theo’s hand wobbled as he trained his wand to Hermione’s father. Sensing Theo’s hesitation, Mr Granger inclined his head slightly in encouragement, the man wanted to be reunited with his wife.

Theo took a breath to steady himself and mentally apologised again to Hermione…

“Avada Kedavra”

**

“So everyone knows the plan?” Potter asked their group for the millionth time.

“Yes Potter. All clear, thank you. Get in, find Theo, don’t kill whoever’s in there so your bods can arrest them, then get out.” He knew his tone would earn him a glare from Granger but he didn’t care. He was at his limits of how long he could wait.

He only hoped Theo was still alive.

The team consisted of Dawlish the Chief Auror, Bill Weasley, Potter, his father, a few other Aurors and to his frustration, Granger. Blaise, Pansy, Ginny and his mother were waiting as part of a back up team. He’d even rather Granger be with them, or better yet, not going at all but she was having none of it.

It wasn’t that Draco didn’t think she was capable, Merlin knew the witch could more than look after herself but selfishly he just wanted her tucked up safely at home. He wasn’t sure his own nerves could take it having both the people he cared for most in the middle of whatever they were about to walk into.

His only saving grace was that Weaslebee was still on probation so would have to remain at the Ministry with a team ready to receive whomever they brought back.

It was rare for anyone outside of the DMLE to be allowed on a mission like this but as saviours of the wizarding world it seemed Potter and Granger were allowed to do seemingly anything they liked.

Dawlish’s voice pulled him from his thoughts. “On the count of three grab the port key. One, Two, Three.”

He felt the tug on his navel as the group disappeared to one of the old Greengrass estates off the coast of Devon.

**

Upon landing on the border of the estate, Draco made quick work disabling the wards. With luck no blood magic had been used and the family hadn’t been here in some time so the protective enchantments weren’t all that strong.

The group split up once inside. Draco, Granger, Bill and Potter formed one group. His father was with Dawlish and two Aurors, the rest made up the final group.

It seemed all too easy, moving through the house with nothing attempting to stop them.

Their group cleared the ground floor and Potter sent off his patronus to tell Dawlish they were going to move down into the basem*nt. Draco was the first to enter. The moment his foot hit the stone floor he heard murmuring coming from one of the cells.

Theo.

At that moment he realised how f*cked up it was that most pureblood families had dungeons in their basem*nts.

Potter cautiously opened one of the first cell doors. He immediately stilled and clutched the wall beside him. Hermione made it enter behind him but Harry was quick to grab her and shove her out.

“You do not go in there Hermione under any circ*mstances do you understand?” The tone of his voice was not one Draco had heard from the wizard before, he was not f*cking around.

“Why? Harry, what’s going on? Who’s in there? Oh god is it Theo?” Draco held her as he felt her legs begin to buckle.

“It’s not Theo. Let’s keep going.”

Bill pulled Hermione by the arm to lead her away. “Potter, what was in there?” Draco asked.

Green eyes stared back into Draco's own and the smaller wizard gulped hard before responding. “Hermione's parents. Someone murdered them and it wasn’t clean either. It’s an absolute massacre. She can’t see that.”

Draco nodded and began occluding hard. His poor girl, it was going to break her. They needed to find Theo. He prayed to Merlin and Morgana, he was alive.

He caught up to Hermione and together they made their way deeper into the dungeons and she grasped his hand. She was shaking by this point.

As they drew near the doors, the voice became more pronounced. Theo was singing.

“Mama, just killed a man. Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger, now he's dead.”

His voice was wavering and hollow. What had they done to him?

“Mama, life had just begun. But now I've gone and thrown it all away”

Hermione looked up at him petrified. “Draco, why is he singing Queen?”

“What’s Queen?” He asked.

“A muggle band. How does Theo know muggle music?”

Theo certainly didn’t know muggle music the last time he’d seen him and since Granger seemed as confused as he did this must be a recent development.

“Mama, ooh, didn't mean to make you cry”

They were able to make quick work of the charms on the cell door and heaved it open.

Theo sat in the far corner of the cell emaciated and covered in more scars and bruises than Draco had ever seen him.

“If I'm not back again this time tomorrow. Carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters…”

Theo must have sensed their presence in the doorway as he looked up at them. The eyes that stared back were no longer a deep green that filled you with warmth and happiness. They were large yet lifeless. Whatever they’d done, this wasn’t Theo anymore.

Beside him Hermione made to move towards him and he grabbed her instinctively.

“We don’t know what’s happened to him. Best not be too careful.”

“He’s right Hermione.” Potter echoed reassuringly as he sent off a patronus to the other teams. “Now, you won’t like this but you need to trust me. This is standard procedure in a case like this.”

Draco tightened his grasp on her arm, pulling her back towards him.

“Theo. It’s Harry Potter. We went to school together, remember? I’m not going to hurt you. I’m here to help. I’ve brought Bill Weasley, your Professor from school and Draco and Hermione are here as well.”

“Hermione, no!” He cried looking terrified.

“Theo, it’s me. I’m here. I’m not going to hurt you. We just want to help.” The little witch in his arms tried soothe him but it was no good.

The presence of Hermione seemed to send Theo into a blind panic. Bill called for Potter to put a stop to it when he began hitting his head against the wall. At once, Theo was knocked out.

Potter went to levitate him, even in his depleted form he was too large for either him or even Bill to carry.

“Don’t. I’ll take him.” Draco barked. Now they had him, he wasn’t about to let Theo go. “Potter, keep an eye on Granger would you?” He whispered as he pushed his way into the cell.

He was forced to occlude even more heavily upon bringing the wizard into his arms. The once strong man he’d known had been reduced to bones in only a matter of weeks.

Hermione had of course not listened and darted into the first cell on their way back out. Sneaky witch had dropped a pace behind Harry so he hadn’t noticed her until she’d already swung open the cell door and with his hands full carrying Theo, he hadn’t been able to stop her in time.

He was not sure what reaction he’d expected from her especially since only Potter had seen inside the room. But Hermione stood in the doorway completely silent and motionless, her face stoney and impassive.

Potter and the eldest Weasley tried to coax something out of her, anything. And when the other groups arrived, Draco passed Theo to the only other person he trusted enough to keep him safe. It was still jarring to think of his father that way, but he knew Lucius loved Theo as if he were his own.

With his hands now free, Draco walked over to Hermione and was able to fully take in the sight. Her parents had been torn apart, mauled liked animals. He knew at once Greyback had been part of this.

He circled in front of Hermione blocking her view and her brown orbs flicked up to his, but she was still unfeeling behind her eyes.

“Granger, listen to me. I’m sorry this is happening to you but we need to leave. We need to get out of her and get Theo to safety. Dawlish’s team will stay here with your parents Granger, they’ll bring them back and we’ll bury them okay? We’ll give them a funeral and you can say a proper goodbye.”

She nodded but she didn’t begin moving.

“Granger” He tried again, still no movement.

“Hermione, darling” he was certain that he noticed a flicker of something coming back to her. “Please come with me my love, I need to get you and Theo somewhere safe. Hermione, please” as his hand touched her cheek, her trance broke and she turned to follow him out the cell.

They left three of the aurors to clear the room and bring home the Grangers. Dawlish and the others escorted them back up the main part of the house.

Draco led Hermione through the house like a lost puppy. She was yet to cry, scream, throw up, anything to indicate she’d registered what happened to her parents. He wondered how long it would be until she crumbled.

**

Dead. They were dead.

Hermione barely even registered the familiar hands guiding her through the house.

They were dead. She was alone. She was an orphan. Alone. Theo.

The same five thoughts echoed through her mind.

She became vaguely aware of being pressed tightly into Lucius Malfoy's side where he stood holding an unconscious Theo.

She pushed past Draco who stood fiercely in front of her. In the middle of the foyer stood Cormac McLaggen.

She made to take a step towards him but Harry grabbed her arm tightly. “Hermione no. Leave him, he’s not worth it.” She stilled, but not because she agreed with Harry. Something was telling her something wasn’t right.

Dawlish and the Aurors stepped out and arrested McLaggen and began to exit through the doors to apparate back to the ministry.

“Father take Theo back too. See if mother can enter his mind and figure out what they’ve done to him. Ask her to calm him. Please.”

Lucius nodded and strode out to exit with the others. Harry was at her side in an instant.

Someone else was here.

Draco must have sensed it too as his stormy eyes flicked to hers as he drew his wand seconds before the petite blonde witch Hermione recognised from school sculked into view. “Expelliarmus!” She shouted before they had time to react, all three of their wands were now in her hands.

“Astoria…” the disbelief in Draco’s tone was hard to ignore, “what are you doing here? Where’s your father?”

The girl gave a cold hard laugh, devoid of any real emotion.

“Oh darling, you underestimate me.”

Hermione’s mind focussed with every click of her heels as she walked towards them. Wand outstretched but directed at no one in particular.

“Stori…” Draco stepped out in front of their group, his tone urging her not to press him.

“No Draco. You should have been mine. We could have been happy, you and I. But the f*cking mudblood bitch has blinded you. How is it, a jumped up little c*nt like her has both you and Nott wrapped around her finger? I’m nothing now you know? Thanks to your family everyone thinks I’m tainted in some way. I’m ruined. Even daddy threw me out.”

“Miss Greengrass-“ Harry was silenced before he could even try and coax her down. .

“Enough! You’ve had your fun Stori. But this is my life. This is not a game, you hurt people I care about.”

Whatever Hermione had expected this to go, it wasn’t this. She wondered if perhaps Draco had some lingering feelings for the girl who should have been his intended. He sounded like he was almost pleading with her.

“Oh but I do like games. Theo and I had such fun during his stay.”

Hermione swore she heard Draco growl beside her but it didn’t deter the pureblood witch before her. She must not be aware that both her and Draco were able to cast wandlessly…

“I think it would be wise, Astoria, for you to stop talking.”

Or don’t. I wouldn’t mind silencing you myself.

“I admit Theodore was much harder to break than I expected,” Hermione felt her magic begin to tingle in the palms of her hands at the mention of her beloved Theo, “little dear let me remove almost all of his body parts save his head and that bleeding heart of his. He also proved himself quite the submissive when pushed, I can imagine that’ll make for an excellent bedroom dynamic. I do wonder which of you he pictured when he was crying out for someone to save him. Imagine his disappointment when the two greatest loves of his life were too busy playing house to come and save him.”

Hermione’s head whipped to look at Draco, this is not how he was meant to learn that Theo loved him. She could see his heart fracturing behind his eyes. Her magic began to coarse through her veins more strongly.

“Oh yes. Sweet Lord Nott had quite a few fantasies about the two of you. Funny though how his boggart was the two of you leaving him to be together. You left him all alone.” Astoria pouted as if she had empathy towards Theo, “Like I said, I grew to know Theodore well during our little games. And aren’t you interested to know what finally sent him over the edge?”

Hermione felt sure her heart was about to beat out of her chest. Astoria’s icy blue eyes suddenly met hers and the witch co*cked her head as if teasing her.

“Murder.”

**

Hermione had often thought back to when she was a small child and her emotions would get the best of her.

First when she was two, apparently her mother had tried to insist she ate her peas when she really didn’t want too and once they’d discovered she was a witch, the sudden rotting of all the vegetables in the fridge and in the garden yet to be harvested made a lot more sense.

Around the age of six, a mean boy at school had pushed over her friend Grace during morning break and refused to apologise. She got so angry that she’d made the boy wet himself in front of the whole school to humiliate him in return.

Then when she was nine, someone had stolen her mums handbag on their way home from a day out shopping and she was so upset because there had been three new books in her mothers bag that she’d saved up pocket money for months to get that had been taken that she’d blown all the electrics in her house.

She hadn’t lost control like that in a very very long time until the incident with McLaggen. Whenever her emotions had got the best of her she’d acted with intention.

But today, today it was too much, she felt too much. The bitch that stood before her had not only starved and tortured Theo but had forced Theo to kill her parents. She knew it was the only possible reason he’d have done so. For all Theo was, and could be, beyond murdering his father in self defence, he wasn’t cut out for it.

Hermione took a step forward from behind Harry and Draco. They both stretched out a hand and beckoned her back to safety.

With little more than a flick of her wrists, they were both sent flying back across the floor. Clearly Draco had not anticipated that as she knew he was more than capable of deflecting such a simple spell.

Astoria however looked worried. For the first time that day she realised she did not have the upper hand. She had not realised the extent of Hermione's magical abilities.

The thoughts of what she’d done whirled around Hermione's brain and at once every window in the manor shattered, sending sharp shards of glass pelting down at them. Hermione recalled the charm she’d seen Dumbledore use in the department of mysteries along with Alek’s training and quickly the glass descending over her, Draco and Harry was turned to sand.

Astoria was not so lucky and lay cowering only the floor with slashes of blood painting her once perfect skin.

“You think you can take all of that from me and get away with it? Hmmm? You think you’d be able to walk away unharmed and steal Draco back for yourself?”

The witch on the floor before her didn’t move. Didn’t even meet her eye.

“Surely you were raised with some manners? I do believe it’s polite to look at someone when they are speaking to you.”

The curtains pulled themselves from the windows and floated over, wrapping themselves around Astoria tightly like binds and dragging her off the floor to meet Hermione's height. Still the witch would not meet her gaze.

“My apologies Astoria, did I stutter? You. Will. Look. At. Me.”

The blue eyes finally flicked up to meet her gaze and those few seconds were all Hermione needed.

“Legilimens!”

She was not a skilled legilimens but she had learned enough from Draco. She was disgusted by what she saw. The pain they had inflicted onto Theo. How she took joy in having him murder her parents.

As Hermione finally pulled from her mind, the bile threatened to rise in her throat. She swallowed it down hard. She would not let the witch know she was rattled.

“I see you like to play games, Astoria. I’ll admit, I was very very good at those as a child. But I’m curious, how much would you enjoy them if you played them for yourself? Would you like to find out?”

The girl cried before her.

“Simon says, apologise. Apologise for what you have done.”

“I’m sorry” she wailed.

“Good. Now, let’s try a harder one…hmmm”

Hermione became aware of the men behind her regaining consciousness from where she had sent them careening across the floor. She didn’t have much time before one of them tried to play the hero. She felt like they were each an angel and the devil on her shoulder, whispering in her ear.

For a second, she considered what Harry would do. Let her down and have justice take its course. No. She was done with leaving justice in the hands of others. She wanted her revenge.

“Simon says, bite off your finger… It’s only fair after all.”

The girl didn’t move.

“Goodness. I suppose I shall just have to try your trick to ensure cooperation now won’t I?”

“You wouldn’t dare golden girl?”

“Granger, don’t do this.” Draco’s pained voices echoed across the room, he must have been able to read her thoughts.

“Stay out of this Draco.”

“No Granger, you misunderstand, let me do it. Don’t taint yourself with magic like this.” He was right beside her now.

“Hermione, what is he talking about, what are you doing?” Harry’s voice cracked. She knew he didn’t recognise her as his friend in this moment. An angel and the devil. Her devil.

“I’ve got it, Draco. I don’t need you protecting me.”

His hand snaked round her waist, “I know you don’t love. If you want to do it that badly I won’t stop you, but it would be ungentlemanly of me not to offer.”

She stood firm, resolved with what she wanted to do.

“Imperio.” She watched as Astoria’s eyes glassed over and she felt the tendrils of darkness sweep along her veins where her magic thrummed.

“Now Astoria, listen closely. Simon says, bite off your finger.”

Before she had time to register what happened next, she felt a spell hit her square in the back and everything went black.

Harry f*cking Potter had knocked her out. Her so-called best friend.

Righteous Bastard.

Chapter 39: Last Goodbyes

Chapter Text

July, 1999

It had been only a few hours since they’d returned to Malfoy Manor with Theo.

He and Hermione had each occupied a chair on either side of Theo’s bed, each grasping a hand of the unconscious wizard, for every second since.

Some time in the past few minutes, Hermione had broken and tears now flowed steadily between her pleas.

“Theo please, please come back to us my love.”

“I miss you.”

“Please Theo.”

“We need you.”

‘We.’ Did she mean him too?

Seeing Theo chained up and broken had brought feelings to the surface that Draco had buried down so deeply. Every single ounce of self preservation within him screamed at him to shove them back down again but he couldn’t. No matter how much he wanted to.

It was as if the fog that had been clouding his brain his entire life had suddenly lifted. Those little whispers in the back of his mind now bellowing shouts.

The thought of how when he was a young wizard, he always knew he would have to marry out of duty and not love. But, if someone, anyone, had asked him what he wanted in a wife, he wouldn’t have said money or beauty or power. He’d have asked for someone who made him feel as peaceful as he did when he was in Theo’s presence.

Something about the brunette wizard calmed his mind. Theo was the only person Draco could rely on and trust that things would be done with as much care and exactness as he would do them himself. Until Hermione that was.

And in Hermione, she brought everything he never knew he needed. Warmth, comfort and an unwavering belief that everyone is deserving of second chances.

So it seemed that Draco Malfoy did indeed have a type. Swotty, curly haired brunettes with smart mouths and big hearts.

He was absolutely f*cked.

He could no longer deny that he was absolutely, completely and utterly besotted with both Hermione and Theo.

And now he had prayed to Merlin and Morgana that Theo woke up so that he could tell his best friend that he was the very reason his lungs took in oxygen, that magic coursed through his veins and why even in the darkest of times, life had always been worth living.

And of course he had to hope that Theo wouldn’t hex him on the spot.

He knew from his history of magic lessons and from studying the family trees of the sacred-28 that polyamorous relationships were not as taboo in wizarding society as they were for muggles but they were still definitely out of the norm. And it was very rare indeed for it to include two wizards since they were usually partaken in to increase blood lines and heirs.

Not for love like he hoped to be with Theo and Hermione.

Given the wizard was raised with the same tutelage he had received, he hoped that the three of them being together wouldn’t be completely off the cards in Theo’s eyes. Even if it did seem quite mad to him as he considered it now. Hermione would be the most likely hurdle on that but then again, she had been the most forthcoming with her feelings thus far. Typical Gryffindor.

Since the first day in the coffee shop, he thought he’d detected a flicker of something in Hermione’s eye when she spoke to him. A certain something that had arisen in those few moments where he’d allowed himself to be vulnerable around her. And now, knowing she loved him?

If Astoria had been lying and Theo didn’t feel the same, he knew she’d choose him and then he’d lose them both.

f*ck f*cking f*ck

**

The days after Theo’s rescue had been tense. Hermione wasn’t speaking to Harry outside of necessity since he knocked her out. And this meant he and Pansy were left sending discreet owls to each other through the night to keep each other updated on their chosen third of the golden trio.

Theo had almost given himself a brain injury trying to smash his head into a wall when she’d walked into his room wearing her old perfume thinking it would provide comfort not realising they had used it as part of his torture. It must have been McLaggen's doing since she hadn’t seen it when she looked through Astoria’s memories.

Mippy had been beside herself, only leaving Theo unattended if he or Hermione were with him. Not even Narcissa and Lucius cut it in the little elf’s mind.

And Theo, well, Theo wasn’t all quite there. He refused to see Hermione for the first full day, unable to come to terms with what he did with her parents.

Draco truly believed if it weren’t for his mothers legilimency and heavy doses of calming draught, Theo would have gone insane. They’d avoided taking him into St Mungo’s all the same for fear he’d never be allowed out.

Weaselby had however been useful for once in his pathetic life and started dating Padma Patil. Draco vaguely recalled she’d been his date to the Yule Ball though he was sure the twat had ignored her all night. Seemingly she was the forgiving sort.

Nevertheless, Patil had become a healer immediately following the battle of Hogwarts where her sister was almost fatally injured and their best friend, Lavender Brown had died. So Patil came to them and managed to fix Theo up meaning physically there was now nothing wrong with him, she even managed to regrow the finger he’d been forced to bite off.

Bile rose in his throat again at the thought of it.

Potter had been quick to rectify Astoria’s memories of the night, any use of dark magic from Hermione had been forgotten, and she would remain the golden girl. Well, to everyone but himself and Potter.

The chosen one didn’t much like how quickly his best friend drew from the darkness in her time of need. Draco however thought it made her shine even brighter. Seeing her so in control and exacting in her revenge, was glorious.

Surprisingly it seemed to be Pansy that was helping Harry through his internal struggle. She’d experience the same feelings watching not only her father but Draco and even Theo to some extent, do the same. She also proved enough of a distraction that when Blaise had come over with Red, hell had not erupted at the reunion of the two ex lovers.

And still, even as Theo came back to them seeming more and more like himself each day as his body healed thanks to Padma, Mippy and a vast array of potions, no one spoke of the elephant in the room.

This ‘thing’ between the three of them that was unspoken.

Draco focussed his own efforts on supporting Theo in his healing and Hermione in her grief. He gave everything he could to them.

**

Hermione sat in the quiet solitude of the Nott Estate, the weight of grief pressing down on her chest. Her parents were gone, and no matter how much she tried to distract herself, the emptiness lingered. The past few days she had thrown herself into tending to Theo but really she had been avoiding the inevitable—planning the funeral—but every time she tried to start, the pain would surge up, overwhelming her.

A soft knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. Hermione wiped at her damp cheeks, trying to compose herself as she called for the person to enter.

Narcissa Malfoy stepped into the room, her elegant demeanor tempered by a rare expression of compassion. “Hermione,” she began gently, “may I sit with you?”

Hermione nodded, gesturing to the chair beside her. Narcissa took a seat, her hands folded neatly in her lap as she observed the younger witch. “I know that words do little to ease the pain, but I want you to know how deeply sorry I am for your loss.”

“Thank you,” Hermione whispered, her voice thick with emotion.

Narcissa reached out, placing a delicate hand over Hermione’s. “I was wondering if you might allow me to help with the arrangements for the funeral. I know that planning something like this can be… overwhelming.”

Hermione blinked in surprise. She hadn’t expected the offer, but the warmth in Narcissa’s eyes made her realize how much she needed the help. “I… I don’t know where to start,” she admitted, her voice trembling.

Narcissa gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “You don’t have to do this alone, Hermione. I can help you with the arrangements, the details, everything. We’ll make sure it’s a service that honors their memory.”

Tears welled up in Hermione’s eyes once more, and she felt a surge of gratitude. “Thank you, Narcissa. I… I would really appreciate that.”

With a nod, Narcissa stood, smoothing down her robes. “Let’s start by discussing what you’d like. We’ll go step by step, and I’ll handle as much as you need me to.”

Over the next few days, Narcissa guided Hermione through the difficult process of planning her parents’ funeral. They discussed everything from the location to the flowers, and Narcissa’s steady presence was a balm to Hermione’s frayed nerves. With Theo and Draco’s support, as well as Narcissa’s meticulous attention to detail, the arrangements slowly began to take shape.

**

The day of the funeral arrived, and the weather seemed to mirror Hermione’s mood. A soft drizzle fell from the grey sky, misting the air and making the earth feel heavy beneath their feet. The funeral was set to take place in a small, intimate chapel in her home town surrounded by towering oak trees. It was a place of quiet reflection, perfect for the sombre occasion.

Hermione stood beside Draco and Theo, who flanked her on either side. She was dressed in a simple black dress, her hair pulled back in a neat bun. Theo held her hand tightly, while Draco’s arm was a steady presence at her back. Despite the lack of opportunity to discuss where things stood between them, the three of them had become a unit of support, bound together by their determination to see Hermione through this painful day.

As they approached the chapel, Hermione saw familiar faces waiting outside. Harry was there, looking solemn in his black suit, with Pansy by his side, her usual sharpness softened by genuine concern. Though they had barely spoken since the Greengrass estate, Hermione’s anger at her friend dissolved the moment she saw him. Today of all days she needed her friend.

Blaise stood beside Ginny, who offered Hermione a warm smile despite the sadness in her eyes. Even Ron was there, with Padma gently holding his hand, encouraging him to be present for Hermione despite the distance that had grown between them in recent months.

When Hermione reached them, Harry was the first to step forward, pulling her into a tight hug. “I’m so sorry, Hermione,” he murmured, his voice thick with emotion.

“Thank you, Harry,” she whispered back, grateful for his unwavering friendship.

Pansy gave her a gentle hug as well, followed by Ginny, who pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. Blaise offered a firm handshake, his eyes reflecting his quiet support. When she turned to Ron, she saw the awkwardness in his expression, but also the determination to be there for her. He gave her a stiff, yet heartfelt hug. “I’m sorry, Hermione,” he said, his voice low. “If you need anything…”

“Thank you, Ron,” she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. She appreciated his presence more than she could say, even if things hadn’t been the same between them for some time.

Inside the chapel, the atmosphere was heavy with grief. The pews were filled with those who had known her parents, both from the Muggle and wizarding worlds. A few familiar faces from her childhood were scattered among the crowd, but it was the presence of her chosen family—those who had stood by her through the darkest of times—that gave her strength.

The service was simple, but beautiful. Narcissa had arranged for a tasteful display of white lilies and peonies—flowers Hermione’s mother had loved—while soft, classical music played in the background. As the minister spoke, Hermione felt the tears begin to flow freely, her heart aching with the loss of the two people who had shaped her into who she was.

When it was time for the eulogies, Hermione stood, her legs trembling as she approached the podium. She had written and rewritten her speech countless times, but now that she was standing before everyone, the words seemed to fail her. She looked out at the sea of faces—at Theo and Draco, who watched her with such love and concern; at Harry and Pansy, who had been with her through every trial; at Ginny and Blaise, and even Ron, whose presence spoke volumes.

She took a deep breath, clutching the edges of the podium for support. “My parents were… they were everything to me,” she began, her voice shaky but clear. “They taught me kindness, compassion, and the importance of standing up for what’s right. They were my biggest supporters, even when they didn’t understand the world I was a part of. They loved me unconditionally, and I will miss them every day of my life.”

Her voice broke at the last word, and she had to pause to compose herself. The chapel was silent, save for the soft rustle of tissues and the occasional sniffle from the congregation.

“They always encouraged me to follow my heart, to be brave in the face of adversity. And I know that they would want me to keep going, to honour their memory by living my life to the fullest. So, I will. I will carry their love with me, always.”

She stepped down from the podium, her legs nearly giving out as she made her way back to her seat. Theo was there immediately, catching her and guiding her back to the bench. He pressed a soft kiss to her temple, his silent way of telling her how proud he was of her.

The service continued, with Harry and Narcissa both offering words of remembrance. Harry’s eulogy was heartfelt and sincere, speaking of the kindness Hermione’s parents had shown him during those early, uncertain days in the wizarding world. Narcissa’s words were more formal, but no less genuine, as she spoke of the bond she had come to share with Hermione through their mutual love for Draco and Theo.

As the service came to a close, the guests filed out of the chapel, offering their condolences to Hermione as they passed. She stood between Draco and Theo, their presence a source of comfort as she accepted the well-wishes and support of those around her.

Outside, the drizzle had stopped, leaving the world damp and grey. The group made their way to the burial site, a small plot under the shade of an ancient oak tree. Hermione’s parents had always loved the outdoors, and it seemed fitting that they would rest here, surrounded by nature.

As the caskets were lowered into the ground, Hermione felt a surge of finality, a painful reminder that they were truly gone. She leaned into Theo, who wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. Draco stood close to her back but it was Harry who stood on her other side, holding her hand tightly as the first handfuls of earth were thrown onto the caskets.

The ceremony ended, and one by one, the mourners began to leave. Hermione stayed behind, needing a few more moments to say goodbye. Harry lingered with her, along with Draco, Theo, Pansy, and the rest of their close-knit group.

As they stood together, Ron approached her once more, his expression uncertain. “Hermione, I know we haven’t… we haven’t been close lately, but I just wanted to say that I’m here for you. If you need anything, just let me know.”

Hermione smiled through her tears, reaching out to hug him again. “Thank you, Ron. That means a lot to me.”

He nodded, his eyes filled with a mixture of sadness and sincerity. “Take care of yourself, okay?”

“I will,” she promised, grateful for his support.

As the last of the mourners departed, Hermione, Draco, and Theo remained by the gravesite. The world around them was quiet, the only sound the rustling of leaves in the gentle breeze.

“We’ll get through this, Hermione,” Theo said softly, his voice filled with conviction. “We’ll be with you every step of the way.”

Chapter 40: Confessions

Chapter Text

August, 1999

Nearly a week had passed since the decision was made to that Narcissa could return to Malfoy Manor. She had been moving through her own grief, one step at a time, while Draco's nerves gradually settled, and Theo had finally been signed off by Padma. The thought of the three of them being together again—truly together—since June 1997 filled Hermione with a strange mixture of apprehension and calm.

As she stood outside what was once their room at the Nott Estate, Hermione hesitated for a moment before gently knocking on the door. When she pushed it open, the familiar warmth of Theo’s presence enveloped her.

"May I join you?" she asked softly, her voice wavering slightly.

"Always," Theo replied, his deep, warm voice soothing her in an instant. Despite everything, despite the weeks they had spent apart, he still held that effect on her. She could hardly believe how much she had missed hearing him speak, how much she had missed him.

Hermione slipped into bed beside him, her heart aching at the sight of how much his body had changed. The toll of his captivity was startling; the once strong and athletic Theo was now thin and willowy, a shadow of the man he had been. Yet, despite his weakened state, he pulled her tightly to his chest, holding her as if she were the most precious thing in the world.

"We’ll be alright, won’t we, Theo?" Hermione peered up at him through her lashes, her voice a quiet plea for reassurance. She knew she ought to be strong for him, considering all he had endured, but Theo had always been the person she could be vulnerable with—the one who saw her not just as the brave, clever witch, but as someone who needed comfort too.

Theo pressed a gentle kiss to her head. "Of course, we will, love. You and I will be together in this life and the next. If you’ll still have me, that is?"

His voice held a trace of hesitation, a hint of the guilt that still lingered within him. Hermione knew what was coming before he even said it.

Since I murdered your parents.

Hermione lifted her head slightly and placed a soft kiss on his lips. There was no need for words; she had told him countless times that she didn’t hold him responsible. How could she? The circ*mstances had been beyond anyone’s control, and she knew, deep down, that Theo carried the burden of their loss as heavily as she did.

"Uhm," Theo began, his voice faltering, "I’m not really sure when would be best to do this, but... your parents, Hermione. They left something with me to show you. They wanted to say goodbye." His eyes searched hers, uncertain and filled with trepidation. "You know what to do. If you want to see it, that is."

Hermione's heart clenched at his words. She did want to see it—desperately. She had never been as good at Legilimency as she was Occlumency but she had to try. Her voice trembled as she whispered, "Legilimens."

As the memory unfolded before her eyes, tears fell thick and fast. She watched her parents say goodbye, their faces etched with love and sorrow. The memory was bittersweet, a final gift from them that both broke and healed her heart. When they pulled out of the memory, Theo began to remove the St. Christopher pendant from around his neck.

"No, keep it," she pleaded, stilling his hand. It was clear that Theo still struggled to believe her when she said she didn’t blame him, that she didn’t hold him responsible. How could she make him understand that she meant every word?

Before she could find the right words, Draco entered the room, breaking the quiet intimacy between her and Theo.

"Forgotten about me already?" Draco's voice was teasing, but there was a softness in his tone that hadn’t been there before.

He summoned the armchair from across the room and flopped down in it beside their bed. His presence was both comforting and unsettling—a reminder of the growing tension between them, of the kiss that lingered in the back of Hermione's mind.

"Ignore him, Theo," Hermione mumbled into Theo’s chest. "He’s still a selfish prat who can’t bear it when the world isn’t revolving around him."

Theo chuckled softly, the sound a balm to her frayed nerves, while Draco merely rolled his eyes.

"Seriously, are you going to be sitting there all night watching us sleep? It’s really quite unnecessary," she snapped, her voice muffled against Theo’s chest.

"Yes, Granger. You see, Theo’s still not meant to engage in any strenuous activities, so I’m only doing my duty to ensure our patient does not overexert himself. Can’t be avoided, I’m afraid. I simply must stay."

"Rather defeats the point if he has to overexert himself holding me back from slapping you in your annoying, pointy face for being such a prat, doesn’t it?" Hermione retorted, her irritation bubbling over. She knew exactly why Draco was getting under her skin—ever since their kiss, the tension between them had been growing, simmering just below the surface.

But Draco, for once, chose not to push further. Instead, he settled more securely into the chair and simply said, "Just go to sleep, Granger."

**

Hermione woke what must have been only an hour or so later. The room was quiet, but the faint sound of pacing reached her ears. She didn’t dare move, but opened one eye just a fraction.

It was Draco.

She was too exhausted to interrogate him about the cause of his pacing, so she closed her eye again and let sleep reclaim her.

**

The next time Hermione woke, something was different. She tried to move her leg, only to find that her foot connected with something that shouldn’t have been there—something large and heavy.

She tried again, more carefully this time. The seemingly immovable object growled slightly.

Her heart skipped a beat. She dared to peek from behind the duvet and saw the outline of a large wolf at the foot of the bed.

Draco.

She’d never seen Draco in his wolf form before. She had been desperate to, but she wasn’t sure if it was something he felt comfortable showing her. Yet here he was, their protector in the night, guarding them with his presence.

**

Hermione’s night was far from peaceful. She woke again, this time too hot, sweat glistening on her brow and the back of her neck under her curls.

She sensed the weight behind her and realized that Draco’s wolf must have grown bored of being kicked, so he had opted to sleep behind her, closer to the door instead.

She wiggled herself around to face him, moving as slowly as she could so as not to wake Theo.

But when she opened her eyes, it wasn’t the stormy eyes of a wolf that met her gaze. Draco had changed back into his human form. He looked relaxed, almost peaceful, his platinum blonde hair falling into his eyes. Hermione found herself admiring him, this version of Draco Malfoy that few ever saw—the one who didn’t wear the mask he presented to the rest of the world. This was the Draco Malfoy she had always hoped existed, the one that had existed with Theo.

"Got jealous of being left out, did we?" she teased gently, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Go back to sleep, Granger."

"It’s alright, you know, Draco. Theo wouldn’t have minded if you had gotten into bed before we fell asleep."

She hoped, with every part of her, that he wouldn’t shut down. Pansy had told her to push him quickly, before he had time to form a plan to manage her and Theo. But was this too soon?

"It’s not that simple, Granger."

"Actually, I think it is. In sixth year, before it all became such a mess, the three of us were always happiest when it was exactly that—the three of us. We felt the safest, the calmest, the most understood when we were together. Laying here right now with you both, I know that’s still true for me."

Draco took a deep breath, his eyes betraying the turmoil within him.

"But things have changed, haven’t they? You and Theo, you’re together. You chose each other. And I’m..." he trailed off, guarding his heart.

"And you’re here with us, Draco. For as long as you want to be. The three of us need to talk, though, because I think you both have things to get off your chests. I don’t know how much longer I can keep watching you torment yourselves rather than being honest."

"We aren’t all Gryffindors like you, love." His voice—Gods, his voice was killing her. The uncertainty and fear were palpable, and she knew that if they could just push through this, things would be easier. They could be happy.

"Just because I was a Gryffindor doesn’t mean it’s easy for me. I was resorted into Slytherin, you know. But I’ll do it. For the both of you..."

He eyed her warily, waiting for her to continue. Theo was still asleep behind her, not that she minded if he heard this.

"After the battle of Hogwarts, I told Theo I was in love with him. I had felt it bubbling away the whole of sixth year, but seeing him again after a year apart made me realize it with absolute certainty. But I also told him, right from the very start, that I felt something for you too."

Draco's eyes widened. She had told him she cared for him many times, and more recently that she loved him, but she had never been so specific or put a timeline on it.

"You were just so cautious. You always took a backseat with me that I struggled to understand how you really felt, especially given our history. You let Theo dote on me, but you were always there, protecting me just as much and just as fiercely as he did. You told me it was easier to pretend there was no good in you, that you didn’t have a heart. But that’s not true, Draco. I’ve always seen the good in you. And everything you’ve done since then has shown me how you feel, and in turn that I do love you, Draco. Truly I do. I love you and Theo in equal measure. It wasn’t so hard for you to tell me you loved me, was it? You found the words eventually. Now you just need to find them again."

Draco's gaze dropped, no longer able to meet hers. He was tired—so tired of hiding himself away. But he could tell that this beautiful, clever witch lying beside him already knew. He’d bet she’d had his card marked for longer than even she realized.

He took a deep breath and, for the first time in what felt like forever, allowed himself to be vulnerable.

"Granger," he began hesitantly, "since you seem to know everything… how do you tell your best friend that while you might be our sun, he is my moon? How do you tell him that he’s my companion in the dark, my greatest friend, and the reason I continued living through all of the horrible things that happened to us? How do you tell your best friend that he’s so much more than a friend? That life would not be the same without him?"

Hermione couldn’t believe how open he was being. His eyes searched hers in the dark, pleading for understanding.

"How do I tell Theo that I am as madly in love with him as I am with you?"

"You just did, Draco."

Theo’s voice cracked behind them, and Hermione felt a warm tear drop onto her shoulder as he pushed himself up on one elbow to look over her at the platinum blonde.

The room was silent, save for the sound of their breathing, but Hermione could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She forced herself not to speak, knowing this was between them—they had to do this. She held her breath as Theo continued.

"And Draco… I have loved you both so deeply for so many years. My sun and my stars, the ones who guide me in both the light and the dark. And I’ve been terrified, Draco. Terrified that when you came back, you wouldn’t want me, and she’d have to choose, and that she’d choose you. But I don’t want to choose. I want you. I want both of you. Today, tomorrow, and every day after. In this life and the next. I love Hermione with all my heart. But you’re right there beside her. I love you, Draco."

"Theo, I—" Draco’s voice broke as he tried to respond. His eyes sparkled with unshed tears, and he swallowed hard, trying again.

"I love you too, Theo."

**

Draco awoke the next morning feeling more rested than he had in years. The sun was already bright, so it must have been close to midday. For the first time in a long time, he felt at peace. Everything he wanted was finally within his grasp, and all he had to do now was not mess it up.

He turned his head, expecting to see Hermione's familiar curls, but instead, he found himself staring into brilliant green eyes.

"Hi," Theo said, his voice soft and tentative.

"Hi," Draco responded, equally unsure. They were in bed together—just the two of them—without Hermione.

"Theo, I—I meant what I said last night. Every word of it. But I also need to say, I don’t have any expectations for us. I’m sure things between you and Hermione fell into place smoothly while I was gone, the same way that she and I figured things out during the last year at Hogwarts. But I don’t think either of us ever expected this would be possible—that we could have this."

Theo paused, his eyes filled with sincerity and a touch of fear. "I’ve loved you for years now, with nothing more than friendship between us, and I’ll be okay if things between you and me are never as, uhm, physical, as they will be with her. Neither of us has any bloody clue what we’re doing here. But I’m willing to figure it out if you are?"

Silence fell between them for a few moments, each man weighing the implications of Theo's words.

"Can I kiss you, Theo?" Draco's voice was soft, the question slipping out before he had fully processed it.

Theo nodded, their eyes locking in an unspoken understanding.

Draco reached out, his hand cupping Theo's cheek as he leaned in slowly, closing the gap between them. He hovered just a breath away, the warmth of Theo’s breath brushing against his skin, the familiar scent of cloves filling his senses.

The moment their lips touched, Draco felt something shift within him. It was a gentle, exploratory kiss, just a brief connection of lips that spoke of promise and potential. But it was enough. Enough to feel that Theo was home, that this was right.

Not wishing to wait a second longer, Draco wrapped an arm around Theo’s neck and pulled him back in, their lips meeting once more, this time with more urgency. He felt Theo smile against his mouth, and something within him relaxed, the tension of the past few months melting away.

**

Theo hadn’t realized how different it would feel to kiss two people he loved so completely, so equally. When he kissed Hermione, he felt all of her warmth and fire, the way she allowed him to lead, to be in control. It had surprised him at first how easily she let him take charge, but then she’d confessed that those intimate moments with him were the only time her brain truly switched off—when she wasn’t expected to make decisions or take control. And suddenly, it all made sense.

But kissing Draco was a different experience altogether. Kissing Draco was a battle for control, a stormy sea where Theo was a lone vessel, and Draco’s goal wasn’t just to kiss him but to drag him under, to consume him entirely. And Theo, for his part, dove in headfirst, eager to be swept away.

As their kiss deepened, they both felt it—a stirring of desire that neither was ready to fully explore just yet. They pulled away slowly, their breaths mingling, smiles tugging at their lips.

He spied another smiling face looking over them from the door to their ensuite bathroom.

“Enjoying the show love?”

“Yes. So don’t let me stop you.” She replied brightly. Gods, she was incredible.

“I think that’s likely enough exploration for myself and Draco for one day. But, since I’m barred from any physical activities, you’re welcome to pick up where I left off with him.”

She immediately started twiddling her hair and crossed her legs at the ankle before pacing quickly over to the bed where she perched on the corner beside him.

“Theo, Draco and I-“ she began hesitantly.

“I never f*cked her Theo.” Leave it to Draco to be so bloody crass. “I tried to kiss her once and both she and Potter almost decked me for it. Then, a few days ago we kissed properly. Beyond that we never shared any physical contact except for when I slept in bed beside her to wake her from any nightmares she might have.”

Hermione looked away embarrassed.

Salazar his witch, his darling witch. She thought he would be upset that she’d kissed Draco. Perhaps once he might have been, he told her as much in Australia, but he now understood it was from his own fear and jealousy that she would have the platinum blonde all to herself. Not because he actually minded her with him, as long as he were there too.

“Well then, this evening Draco you are going to take our witch out for dinner. You’re going to woo her, shower her in luxury, like I know you’re desperate to do and then you’re going to bring her home and, if the lady is agreeable, f*ck her till she can’t see straight.”

They both stared at him in disbelief.

“What? I had a whole year of Hermione to myself. You get this one night. I think it’s important that the two of you discover what your relationship together is like before we figure out what it looks like between the three of us. I’ve already been reliably informed by Pansy and Potter that you were at each others throats not too long ago so I think it’s safe to assume the passion and sexual tension is most definitely there. It will be better for all of us if you two get that taken care of sooner rather than later”.

“Yes Theo, you’re right,” Of course he was. She turned to face Draco fully, “Draco, would you go to dinner with me tonight?”

“I believe it’s meant to be me asking you that, Granger, but yes, I’d love to. Now off to work with you, and be back here dressed and ready to leave by 6:45pm.”

She gave them both a peck on the lips, leaving them in bed whilst she scurried off to start her new job at the ministry in their department for the regulation control of magical creatures. Barmy little witch.

He wasn’t even sure when in the few days he’d been home she’d had time to apply, interview and attend her induction but she’d fitted it all in somehow. Not that she needed to work of course, between the family fortune he controlled as Lord Nott, Draco’s trust fund and the subsequent funds he’d later access when he became Lord Malfoy would be enough to ensure the next ten generations never had to work a day in their lives and still not be bankrupt.

No sooner had the bedroom door clicked shut did Draco level him with an angry glare. “What the f*ck did you go and say all that for?” The blonde huffed.

“Sorry Draco, forgive me, I’m not quite fluent in petulant child. Please elaborate how I’ve managed to upset you in the mere hours since we began dating.”

“Telling Hermione I’m going to woo her and f*ck her so hard she won’t be able to see.”

He still was missing the problem so he gestured for the grumpy prat to continue.

“Theo I have absolutely no sodding idea how to do either of those things.”

f*ck. f*ck. f*ck. Theo you prized idiot.

Considering he was a virgin himself before Hermione, he had no idea why he expected Draco to have been some serial womaniser.Poor bloke had spent his life post puberty with a narcissistic, snake like, psycho living down the hall watching his every move. Didn’t really leave much opportunity for romance.

“Drake, mate, I didn’t think. You’ll be fine, Hermione’s a good girl. She’ll help you. Especially if you tell her she’s a good girl… Gods you’re in for a treat then.”

“I don’t want her to help me, Theo. I want to be able to take care of her the way you must have. I want her to let go, relax and feel taken care of when she’s with me. You have to teach me Theo, I can’t f*ck this up.”

“Mippy” he called, instantly the elf appeared before them. She looked elated to find them in bed together still. Perceptive little thing she was.

“Yes Master Theo. What can Mippy help you with?”

“We’re going to parchment, quills and ink, and lots and lots of cherries.”

**

It had perhaps been the most bizarre day of Draco’s life.

If anyone had told him five years ago he’d be getting lessons on how to pleasure a witch, and not just any witch, Hermione Granger to be specific from his best friend who was now coincidentally also his boyfriend, he’d have told you that you were quite mad.

But he was nothing if not a diligent student.

The cherries it turned out were a lesson in making his tongue more flexible and dexterous. A trick passed on from Flint and Pucey.

He’d initially been unconvinced about taking the advice they had passed on to Theo but apparently what they lacked in looks, they made up for in their sexual prowess.

By mid afternoon, he had knotted near 50 cherry stalks with only his tongue.

And now it was all down to him.

He carefully dressed in dark grey chequered tailored trousers, black oxfords and a white button down shirt. The top few buttons remained open and he rolled the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows.

He felt underdressed but Theo assured him Hermione preferred something less formal.

He exited one of the spare bedrooms and made his way to the sitting room where he poured a glass of fire whiskey to wait for his witch.

Theo had insisted Draco get ready elsewhere so that he could help Hermione get ready for their big date.

He was barely half way through his drink when Theo was striding towards him looking rather happy with himself.

“Look alive handsome” he purred as he swiped the whiskey from his hand and stood beside him.

When Hermione rounded the corner he felt his breath caught in his throat. She wore a deep green satin dress that fell to her mid thigh and was held up by the tiniest of straps. “Thank the muggles for their fashion sense” Theo whispered to him.

**

The night was going better than Draco could have hoped. For the first time in weeks (years) they weren’t fighting or trying to outmanoeuvre one another.

He’d taken her to a muggle gastro pub in the Derbyshire countryside called The Swan.

Peculiarly it was Blaise who recommended it as he and Ginny frequented it regularly given it’s proximity to his quidditch PR firms offices which were about as central to all the major teams as one could get.

They’d shared some simple freshly baked bread and olives to start with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, followed by a very rare (thanks again werewolf) fillet mignon steak and chips with a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon for him and a lemon cod with new potatoes and green vegetables and a second glass of white for her.

He also opted for a lemon tart for dessert. Hermione insisted she didn’t want anything and then stole a forkful from his plate the moment it arrived just to test it. He didn’t mind.

The groaning noise of approval she’d made as she sucked the desert from the fork had been delicious and had the blood rushing straight to his co*ck.

Merlin if she did that again he was liable to cum in his trousers right there.

Even as he settled the bill for the evening, and they walked down the village street out of sight to apparate home, the conversation never dried up or stalled.

She had spoken to him honestly, regaled him with tales from Hogwarts, teased him gently and laughed with so much warmth Draco almost forgot every awful thing that had ever happened to him.

She was turning him into a sodding Hufflepuff with her Gryffindor heart.

He stopped on the pavement and pulled her back towards him. She stumbled slightly and clutched his chest to right herself.

“You’re beautiful Granger, you know that don’t you?” He said gazing fondly into her honey brown eyes.

“Draco, stop it!” She went to step away, he pulled her back tighter.

“I mean it. I’m so lucky to be here with you tonight. I love you, Hermione.”

He wasn’t sure if he’d ever spoken her given name in such a way before. But just like the time she’d first called him Draco, he watched as her pupils dilated and her lips parted.

He leaned in to kiss her and just as their lips touched, the heavens opened and rained pelted down on them.

In seconds they were completely soaked.

It didn’t matter. He resumed kissing her without hesitation, desperate to explore every inch of her mouth with his tongue. He was like a man starved and she was his oxygen.

“Take me home, Draco” she begged between kisses as their hands began to explore each other's wet bodies.

**

They landed back inside the Nott Estate in the bedroom they would all now share. Theo had made himself scarce for the night. Swotty little thing was probably in the library.

It turned out though, Draco was not the only one with a flair for the romantic. Theo had filled the room with thousands of red roses - romance and passion.

Draco used the few seconds she was distracted by the flowers to right himself. Come on Draco, you can do this. Make love to her and don’t cum in your pants the second she touches you like a twelve year old boy.

He snaked one arm around her waist to hold her still using the other hand to undo the tie on the back of her rain soaked dress as he peppered kisses along her shoulder, up her neck and nibbled gently on her ear.

The little moan he was rewarded with sounded like heaven.

He felt the dress hang loose against her and as he removed the arm from around her waist and turned her towards him, the satin fabric fell and pooled at her feet.

She stood before him in nothing but emerald green lace knickers and her gold strappy heels. Her tit* bare and on display for him. f*ck her tit* we’re better than he could have imagined. Her pink nipples already hard and pebbled beckoning him to lick and suck them with his tongue. Her entire body glistening from the downpour of rain.

He pulled her in to resume kissing her but as he began to trail the kissed south towards her chest he felt his clothes suddenly disappear. She just smirked at him.

Eager witch had cast a vanishing spell on his clothes.

She stepped back and roamed her eyes over his naked form. He’d never been more grateful for the months of physical training that afforded him the hard, lean physique he now possessed. This was nothing like the last time they had been naked together. This time, they could look.

What interested him was the hungry look she got when her eyes landed on his co*ck now that she allowed herself to really look at it. Draco knew he was well endowed having shared many male showers after quidditch. Some of the boys had told him girls might not like something of his size but there was no trace of hesitation in this moment. He wondered briefly what that said about Theo?

His co*ck was already weeping with pre cum and he knew the anticipation was not helping. He recalled everything that Theo had told him and said a silent prayer to the gods, to all four founders and to Merlin himself that he not mess this up. But he refused to show her he was nervous.

“Now then Granger, Theo tells me that you taste utterly divine. That the noises you make when you climax are better than Veela song, and that the feeling of you coming around my co*ck will be the single greatest experience of my life.”

She saw as her chest quickened, eyes darkened and thighs clenched together desperately seeking friction.

“Be a good girl and get on the bed, legs spread nicely apart for me.”

She obeyed immediately. f*ck she was perfect.

He knelt on the bed, settling himself between her thighs and resumed the trail of kisses across her chest. He pulled one nipple into his mouth, flicking it with his tongue and nibbling it gently whilst he moulded the other between his thumb and forefinger.

His spare hand grasped tightly around her waist began working its way south followed by his mouth as he licked and kissed down her body, marvelling in every curve and documenting every freckle, scare and inch of her skin that caused her breath to hitch.

His fingers ran over the now damp fabric of her underwear. A sure sign he was doing things right so far.

“f*ck you’re so wet for me love and I’ve barely touched you. You’re so perfect.” He peppered kisses on her thigh, pausing when he came close to her apex. He desperately wanted to taste her but Theo had told him to wait till she begged. Told him to get her to tell him exactly what she wanted.

“Please Draco. More please” she tried to buck her hips up into him in search of more.

“More what, sweetheart? Theo tells me you can be quite bratty. Tell me what you need.”

“I need your tongue on my cl*t and your fingers inside my c*nt.”

“My my, such a dirty mouth on such a good girl.” He teased her good naturedly, still enjoying running his fingers against the material separating him from her core.

“f*cking f*ck me would you Draco. Please. Please, I need you.”

That sounded like begging to him. “As you wish.”

He ripped the fabric of her lace knickers and tossed them aside. She leaned up on her elbows and glared at him. “Relax love, I’ll buy you another pair. Salazar I’ll buy you a thousand pairs. Now are you going to huff or can I finally taste your delicious looking c*nt.”

She rolled her eyes and lay back down against the pillows by way of invitation to continue.

He nestled himself lower against the bed with his face inches from pure heaven, but something didn’t seem quite right. In everything Theo had told him he thought it must be better if the angle was a little more open, and now he was here he felt certain of it.

He summoned a pillow, lifted her at the hips and placed the pillow underneath her. “What are you doing?” she asked.

“Trust me.” Merlin, he hoped he was right.

He let out a long breath to prepare himself and watched as she writhed in pleasure at the feel of his warm breath against her.

He took one long, languid lick up her folds, she in turn let out a deep moan. She tasted like his favourite candy - sweet but sharp. He never wanted to stop tasting her.

This time he focussed his tongue on her cl*t which only took him a few seconds to locate thanks to Theo’s diagrams and then inserted a single finger into her.

Her c*nt felt warm and tight around his digit. He couldn’t help but imagine how it would feel when it was his co*ck. He began pumping in and out of her with increasing pace, his tongue circling against her cl*t.

“More Draco, I need more.” She panted.

He slipped a second finger inside and resumed his efforts. Moments later he felt her c*nt begin to tighten around him, her right leg began to shake gently and her moans were growing louder and breathier. He growled in response against her c*nt as he feasted on the delight that was Hermione Granger.

“f*ck, Draco, yes, I’m almost there, don’t stop”

As if he’d ever want to stop doing this.

He could feel she was right on the edge, Theo had said sometimes she needed a little extra push so he pulled his tongue from her cl*t and just as she was about to tell him to keep going, he sucked hard on her cl*t and she exploded around him.

It was the most beautiful sight watching her come undone just for him.

He slowed his fingers to work her through the aftershocks of her org*sm and began lapping up her come. He wanted to taste every single drop of her.

“Draco, f*ck me now, please.” She was begging again. He longed to spend more time between her thighs but he figured he was on borrowed time with his own release as it was and if all was well, he’d have the rest of life to stay buried in her c*nt, only having to share it with Theo, but he didn’t mind the thought of that.

He muttered a quick contraceptive charm and then lined up his painfully hard co*ck, coating the head with her wetness.

“Are you sure about this love?” He needed to hear her say it.

“Yes Draco. Gods, yes. Make love to me please.” The desperation in her voice nearly had him undone.

“No love, don’t you remember Theo was quite clear. I’m to f*ck you till you can’t see straight.”

With that he pushed his co*ck inside of her, he managed about three quarters of it in when he felt her tense so he paused to give her time to adjust.

“Alright?” He asked, sure he wanted to f*ck her but never to hurt her.

“Yes, but you're f*cking huge. Move Draco. Please.” She whined.

She was still tight and warm around him but he slowly pushed in deeper till he was sheathed to the hilt and it was the most extraordinary feeling imaginable. And hearing Hermione compliment the size of his co*ck was quite nice too.

The urge to rut into her hard was so strong and for the first time Draco felt glad she was not a virgin. Theo had told him how much he had held back that first time with her and he wasn’t sure if he’d have possessed the control to do it.

He knew from Theo she liked it hard and fast. A little on the rougher side stopped her brain having any chance to flick back on till they were finished.

So rough is what he gave her.

Natural instinct took over and he immediately set an unforgiving pace. Her moans of pleasure and cries of ‘f*ck yes’, ‘oh gods’ and ‘more’ or ‘harder’ was all the reassurance he needed.

It wasn’t long before he felt sure he was about to explode inside her but he wanted that second org*sm from her. Theo assured him, she’d be satisfied with just one but that she was capable of two and on occasion even three or four.

Earlier in the evening he’d swapped his signet ring on to his thumb and turned it to the inside so that he could now snake his hand between their hot, sweaty bodies and press the cool metal hard against her cl*t. She cried out in pleasure.

“That’s it, love. Let go.” He growled between thrusts, “be a good girl and come for me Hermione. Come with me.”

His words were all it took to send her careening over the edge. The feel of her clenching around his co*ck as she screamed his name had him following immediately after.

Theo was right. Sex with Hermione Granger was the single greatest experience of his life so far.

He knew he’d never ever tire of moments like this with her.

He slept more peacefully that night than he had for a long time, only stirring when Theo snuck into the room to join them both in bed.

And that’s how they spent much of the next week, wrapped up in bed or in blankets on the sofa in front of a fire at the Nott Estate just enjoying each others company away from the outside world.

Finally they could be at peace.

Chapter 41: Unconditional Desire

Chapter Text

August, 1999

Hermione had known it was coming. She’d felt the familiar, dull ache in her lower abdomen the day before, accompanied by a sudden wave of fatigue that she hadn’t experienced in over a year. But she had pushed it to the back of her mind, focusing instead on the mission to defeat Voldemort and the constant stress that had become her companion over the year since.

She had kept meaning to see a healer about her lack of periods and rationally she knew it was most likely attributed to a cycle of stress, fatigue and malnourishment but honestly she was so scared they were going to say it was a progressive side effect of the curse from Dolohov or something so she’d done the least Hermione Granger thing ever and stuck her head in the sand about it.

This morning, however, there was no ignoring it. The cramps were sharper, more insistent, and as she sat up in bed, she felt the telltale dampness between her legs that confirmed what she already knew.

Hermione sighed, glancing at the clock on the bedside table. It was still early, and the room was bathed in the soft, grey light of dawn. To her left, Draco was still asleep, his breathing deep and even, while on her right, Theo was just beginning to stir.

She carefully slipped out of bed, not wanting to wake them, and padded quietly to the bathroom. Once there, she confirmed her suspicion: her period had returned, for the first time in over two years.

But now that things had started to calm down, it seemed her body was finally catching up.

Hermione quickly cleaned herself up and found the box of tampons she kept in her old beaded bag, relieved that she still had some on hand. As she went through the familiar motions, she couldn’t help but feel a strange mix of emotions—relief that her body was returning to normal, but also a touch of anxiety at the thought of explaining this to Draco and Theo.

They had been through so much together, and while she knew they loved her unconditionally, the idea of discussing something so intimate, so uniquely female, was still a little daunting. Especially with purebloods like them.

When she emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, Draco was sitting up in bed, his hair tousled from sleep, and Theo was stretching beside him, blinking the sleep from his eyes.

“Morning, love,” Draco murmured, his voice rough with sleep as he reached out for her. “You’re up early. You’re not sick are you?” Hermione’s hatred for mornings was well known.

“Everything alright?” Theo asked, his tone gentle as he watched her with concern.

Hermione hesitated for a moment, then sighed and climbed back into bed between them. “I’m fine, just… something’s come up that I wasn’t expecting.”

Both men immediately focused on her, their concern deepening. “What is it?” Draco asked, his hand resting on her thigh, offering comfort through the simple touch.

Hermione took a deep breath, deciding that honesty was the best approach. “I got my period this morning.”

There was a beat of silence as the words sunk in. Draco’s brow furrowed in confusion, while Theo looked at her with a mix of concern and uncertainty. “Your period?” Draco echoed, clearly unsure of what to make of it.

“Yes,” Hermione said, giving them a small, reassuring smile. “I haven’t had one in a couple of years because of stress and not taking care of myself properly, but it’s back now.”

Draco’s confusion only seemed to deepen. “Is that… normal? I mean, for it to just come back like that?”

Hermione nodded. “It can be, especially if someone’s been under a lot of stress or hasn’t been eating well. Your body can stop menstruating as a way to conserve energy, but once things start to improve, it can return.”

Theo, who had been listening quietly, reached out to take her hand. “Is there anything we can do to help? I mean, we want to make sure you’re comfortable.”

Hermione’s heart swelled with affection for them both. They were clearly out of their depth, but they were trying, and that meant everything to her. “Honestly, just being here helps,” she said softly.

“Tell us what else, love?” Draco asked, his tone serious. He was in problem-solving mode now, and Hermione knew that he was determined to do whatever it took to help her.

“Well,” she began, “I’ll probably be dealing with some cramps, so a hot water bottle or heating pad would be great. And I might be a little more tired than usual, so resting when I need to will help. Oh, and maybe some chocolate later—just because it makes me feel better.”

Theo smiled at that, his thumb brushing over the back of her hand. “We can definitely manage that. Anything else?”

Hermione hesitated, then decided to be completely open with them. “Sometimes, during my period, I get a bit emotional or irritable. It’s just hormones, but if I seem off, it’s not because of anything you’ve done.”

Draco nodded, his expression serious. “Got it. We’ll keep that in mind. Would a variation on a pain potion help with the cramps do you think?”

She nodded, but immediately chastised herself for never having thought to look one up before or ask Madame Pomfrey.

There was a pause as the three of them processed everything, and then Draco leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. “Thank you for telling us,” he murmured, his voice full of sincerity. “We’re here for you, whatever you need.”

Theo followed suit, his kiss landing on her temple as he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close. “We love you, Hermione. All of you. Even the parts we don’t fully understand.”

Hermione felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes, but they were tears of gratitude, of love. “I love you both too,” she whispered, snuggling between them and feeling the warmth of their bodies surrounding her.

For a moment, they simply lay there together, wrapped in the comfort of each other’s presence. Hermione could feel the tension in her body start to ease, soothed by their closeness and the knowledge that she didn’t have to go through this alone.

After a few minutes, Draco shifted, his gaze thoughtful. “I’ll go make some tea and see if we have any chocolate in the kitchen,” he said, pressing a final kiss to her cheek before slipping out of bed.

Theo stayed behind, his hand gently rubbing her back as he looked at her with concern. “Are the cramps bad?” he asked quietly, his voice filled with care.

Hermione shook her head. “Not too bad. Just a little uncomfortable.”

Theo nodded, his hand moving in slow, soothing circles. “Do you want me to get you that hot water bottle?”

“Not yet,” Hermione said, smiling up at him. “Just stay with me for a bit.”

“Of course,” Theo replied, his voice soft as he pulled her closer, resting his chin on top of her head. “I’m not going anywhere.”

They lay like that for a while, Theo’s presence a calming balm to the discomfort she was feeling. Draco returned a short while later, carrying a tray with tea, biscuits, and a small bar of chocolate. The simple gesture warmed Hermione’s heart, and she couldn’t help but smile as he placed the tray on the bedside table.

“You’re both amazing, you know that?” she said, her voice filled with affection.

Draco smirked as he sat down beside her, handing her a cup of tea. “We try.”

Theo chuckled, his hand still resting on her back.

**

The warm, flickering glow of the television illuminated the living room at Nott Manor, casting a soft light over the large, comfortable sofa where Hermione lay nestled among a pile of cushions. The room was filled with the familiar sounds of a Muggle movie, a world away from the magical one she usually inhabited. The screen played a well-loved classic—The Princess Bride.

Mippy, ever the attentive house-elf, had made a special trip to the Granger residence to collect the television and the stack of films, knowing how much comfort these small pieces of Hermione’s past brought her. The elf had also provided her with a variety of snacks—popcorn, slushies, nachos and of course, chocolate—though most remained untouched as Hermione lost herself in the film.

She had been curled up on the sofa for a while now, wrapped in a warm blanket, trying to find some solace in the movies she had loved as a child. The soft murmurs of dialogue and the occasional burst of laughter from the film provided a comforting background as she tried to relax.

As the film continued, the door to the living room creaked open, and Theo stepped in, followed closely by Draco. They both paused as they took in the scene before them. Hermione, who had clearly been absorbed in the movie, looked up at them with a small, surprised smile.

“I didn’t know you were in here,” Theo said softly, moving toward the sofa. He noticed the television and the stack of films beside it, understanding immediately where they had come from. “Mippy’s been busy, I see.”

Hermione nodded, her smile growing a little. “She thought it might help...”

Draco’s eyes softened as he took in the sight of Hermione, her usual composed demeanor replaced by a vulnerability he rarely saw. He moved to sit beside her on the sofa, reaching out to brush a stray curl from her face. “How are you feeling?” he asked, his voice low and filled with concern.

Hermione shrugged slightly, leaning into Draco’s touch. “A bit better, I think. It’s… nice to have something to distract me for a while.”

Theo sat down on her other side, his arm immediately going around her shoulders, pulling her close. “What are we watching?” he asked, glancing at the screen whereThe Princess Bridecontinued to play.

“An old favourite,” Hermione replied, her voice tinged with nostalgia. “I used to watch this with my parents all the time. It’s comforting.”

Draco and Theo exchanged a quick glance, both of them understanding the significance of that statement. They knew how much Hermione had been struggling lately, and they were relieved to see her finding even a small amount of comfort in something from her past.

“Mippy also brought snacks,” Draco noted, eyeing the spread on the table with a mixture of curiosity and amusem*nt. He reached for a slushie, taking a tentative sip. “This is… different,” he remarked, clearly unsure of the cold, sugary drink.

Hermione laughed softly, the sound warming both men’s hearts. “It’s a classic,” she said, her tone teasing.

Theo reached for the popcorn, popping a piece into his mouth. “Not bad,” he said with a grin. “We should do this more often.”

Hermione leaned into Theo, feeling a sense of warmth and safety surrounded by the two men she loved. “I’d like that,” she admitted, her voice soft.

As the movie continued to play, Theo and Draco both settled in more comfortably on either side of Hermione, each taking one of her hands in theirs.

**

Hermione lay in bed that night nestled between Theo and Draco, the comforting warmth of their bodies doing little to ease the discomfort of her cramps. The night had been quiet, filled with the simple, soothing routine they had established together. But despite their closeness, Hermione felt a tension gnawing at her, a worry that was difficult to push aside.

As if sensing her unease, Theo shifted beside her, his hand resting possessively on her hip. “You’re quiet tonight,” he observed, his voice low and firm in the dim light. “Something’s on your mind.”

Hermione hesitated, biting her lip as she considered how to express her thoughts. “It’s just… with my period, I didn’t think… I wasn’t sure you’d feel comfortable in bed with me or not. Sometimes periods get really heavy in the night and if it leaks on the bed… well its just a bit gross. And if you two wanted to… you know, I know you might want to-uhm, but you wouldn’t want to with me whilst I’m bleeding.” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.

Draco’s eyes snapped open at her words, and he turned to face her, his expression hardening with a mix of concern and frustration. “Is that what’s been bothering you?” he asked, his voice sharp but not unkind.

Theo’s grip on her hip tightened, pulling her closer. “You should know better than that, love,” he said, his tone leaving no room for argument. “Do you really think we’d let something like that stop us?”

Hermione’s heart raced, a mixture of arousal and apprehension flooding her senses. “I just didn’t want to make you uncomfortable,” she whispered, her eyes flicking between the two men.

Draco’s lips curled into a smirk, and he leaned in close, his breath hot against her ear. “Uncomfortable? You should know by now that we don’t shy away from anything when it comes to you,” he murmured, his voice a seductive growl that sent shivers down her spine.

Theo’s hand slid up her side, his fingers tracing the curve of her waist with deliberate slowness. “We’ve wanted you all day, Hermione,” he said, his voice deep and commanding. “And we’re not about to let something as normal as your period stop us.”

Hermione felt a wave of heat wash over her at their words, her earlier hesitation melting away under the intensity of their desire. “But—”

“No buts,” Draco interrupted, his hand cupping her chin and tilting her head to meet his gaze. His stormy grey eyes were filled with an intensity that made her breath catch in her throat. “We want you, Hermione. All of you. And we’re not going to let you hide from us.”

Theo’s hand moved to the hem of her nightdress, lifting it with a firm tug. “You belong to us,” he said, his voice low and possessive. “And we’re going to remind you of that.”

Hermione’s heart pounded in her chest as Draco’s lips claimed hers in a searing kiss, his tongue demanding entrance as he deepened the connection between them. Theo’s hands were rougher now, pulling her nightdress up and over her head, leaving her bare before them.

Draco pulled back slightly, his eyes raking over her body with a possessive hunger that made her pulse race. “You’re beautiful, Hermione,” he said, his voice laced with desire. “Period or not, we’re going to show you just how much we want you.”

Theo’s hands slid down her body, his touch firm and insistent as he spread her legs, positioning himself between them. “You’re ours, Hermione,” he growled, his fingers teasing the edge of her underwear before pulling them down with a swift motion. “And we’re going to take care of you.”

Hermione gasped as Theo’s fingers found her center, his touch confident and unyielding as he began to stroke her, his thumb circling her cl*t with practiced ease. Draco’s hands roamed her body, caressing her breasts, squeezing them with a possessive grip that sent jolts of pleasure through her.

“You like this, don’t you?” Draco murmured, his lips trailing down her neck, biting softly as his hands continued their assault on her senses. “You like knowing that we’ll take what we want, when we want it.”

Hermione’s breath came in short gasps as she nodded, “Yes, but, ahhh, but maybe not your mouths tonight” the words catching in her throat. She felt Theo’s fingers slide inside her, his touch rough and demanding as he pushed her closer to the edge.

“Whatever you want Hermione. You’re such a good girl,” Theo praised, his voice thick with desire. “You’re so wet for us, Hermione. So ready to be taken.”

Draco’s lips found hers again, his kiss fierce and possessive as he claimed her mouth, his hand moving to grip her hair, pulling her head back slightly to expose her throat to his lips. “We’re going to make you feel so good, love,” he promised, his voice a dark, seductive purr.

Theo’s fingers moved faster, his touch relentless as he worked her body, pushing her closer and closer to the brink. “We want you to come for us, Hermione,” he ordered, his voice leaving no room for disobedience. “We want to feel you lose control.”

Hermione’s moans filled the room, her body arching into their touches as they drove her higher, their combined dominance overwhelming her senses. She could feel the pressure building inside her, the tension coiling tighter and tighter until she couldn’t hold back any longer.

With a cry of their names, she shattered, her org*sm crashing over her in waves as Theo and Draco continued their ministrations, drawing out every last bit of pleasure until she was left trembling in their arms.

They didn’t stop. Draco’s lips claimed hers in a possessive kiss, his hand tangling in her hair as he deepened the connection between them. Theo’s fingers continued to stroke her, slow and deliberate, drawing out the last tremors of her release.

When they finally pulled back, Hermione was left panting, her body sated but her mind reeling from the intensity of the release.

Draco’s hand cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing away a stray tear that had escaped in the throes of her pleasure. “You’re ours, Hermione,” he whispered, his voice filled with a fierce protectiveness. “Never forget that.”

Theo pressed a soft kiss to her temple, his touch now gentle and reassuring as he pulled her into his arms. “We love you, Hermione. All of you,” he murmured, his voice tender as he held her close.

Hermione’s heart swelled with emotion as she looked between them, her body still humming with the aftershocks of their devotions to her. She knew, in that moment, that they were right. She belonged to them, and they belonged to her. And no matter what, they would always be there for her.

“Don’t you two want to finish too?” she asked. She knew they were still tentative when it came to being intimate together, still not entirely used to the change in their dynamic, no matter how much they loved each other.

“Don’t worry about us love, why don’t we save that for tomorrow mhm?” Draco soothed.

“Alright,” she conceded, “tomorrow then.”

As she settled back into their arms, feeling their warmth surround her, Hermione knew that she had found something rare and precious with Draco and Theo. A love that was deep, unwavering, and strong enough to withstand anything.

Even a simple thing like a period.

**

Hermione sat curled up in a large armchair in their bedroom, a book resting in her lap. But she wasn't reading; her thoughts kept drifting to the two men who were currently standing by the bed as they undressed for the evening, and were engaged in a lively discussion about something or another.

The banter between Draco and Theo had always been playful, filled with the kind of sharp wit that could easily be mistaken for rivalry by an outsider. But Hermione knew better. She could see the undercurrent of affection, the bond that had been growing between them, even if they hadn’t fully explored it yet.

“So, Draco,” Theo began with a teasing smirk, leaning against the mantelpiece, his green eyes gleaming with mirth. “Do you think all that pureblood pride is compensating for something else? Maybe you’re not as… endowed as you claim?”

Draco, ever the proud Slytherin, shot Theo a look of mock offense, his lips curling into a smirk of his own. “You’re one to talk, Nott. I seem to recall Hermione mentioning something about needing a magnifying glass when it comes to you.”

Hermione, who had been silently watching their exchange, couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the direction the conversation was taking. She knew they were just testing the waters, trying to gauge each other’s reactions. She had seen them kiss before—tentative, exploratory kisses that hinted at something deeper—but they had never gone further than that.

“Honestly, you two,” Hermione interjected, a playful smile tugging at her lips. “I’m not getting involved in this ridiculous competition. You’re both perfectly… adequate.”

Theo raised an eyebrow, clearly enjoying the banter. “Adequate? That’s a ringing endorsem*nt if I ever heard one.”

Draco chuckled, but his gaze softened as it rested on Hermione. There was something different in his eyes tonight, a mixture of desire and uncertainty. “Hermione,” he began, his voice quieter, almost hesitant, “if you had to choose…?”

She knew what he was asking—if she had to choose between them. But the question held more weight than just their physical attributes. It was about the dynamics of their relationship, the delicate balance they were trying to maintain as they navigated this uncharted territory together.

Hermione sighed, setting her book aside. “I don’t have to choose,” she said softly, her eyes meeting Draco’s before shifting to Theo. “Because I want both of you. Equally.”

The tension in the room shifted, the playful banter giving way to something more serious.

Draco’s gaze flicked to Theo, and for a moment, Hermione saw the uncertainty in his expression. Despite his usual bravado, Draco wasn’t entirely sure of himself when it came to Theo. They had been friends for years, but this was new, uncharted territory for them both.

Theo reached out, taking the blondes hand in his, “We’ll figure it out together,” he said, voice filled with quiet determination. “but Draco… we don’t have to do this tonight, you know. There’s no rush.”

But Draco shook his head, his grip tightening slightly around Theo’s hand. “No, I want to. I just… I’m not sure how.”

Theo’s gaze softened, and for a moment, Hermione saw the tenderness there—the way Theo’s usually confident demeanor gave way to something more protective, more careful. “We’ll go slow,” Theo assured him, his voice a quiet promise. “We’re not in any hurry.”

Draco nodded, his eyes flicking between Theo and Hermione. “I trust you,” he said, the words carrying more weight than just a simple declaration.

Theo nodded, stepping closer to Draco, his hand reaching out to cup the back of Draco’s neck. There was a tension between them, an unspoken understanding as they moved together, their foreheads nearly touching as they stood in the middle of the room. Hermione could feel the anticipation in the air, the way they were both holding back, waiting for the other to make the first move. She couldn’t deny, she liked watching them together.

“Draco,” Theo whispered, his voice so soft that Hermione almost didn’t catch it. “You know… if you’re going to be mine, maybe it’s time you let someone else take care of you for a change.”

Draco’s breath hitched at the word, his eyes widening slightly as he processed Theo’s meaning. There was a vulnerability in Draco’s expression, one that Hermione knew he rarely showed, but there was also something else—a tentative acceptance, a willingness to let Theo lead.

Theo leaned in, capturing Draco’s lips in a gentle, almost reverent kiss. Draco responded slowly, as if testing the waters, but the kiss deepened, and soon the room was filled with the soft sounds of their shared breath, the tentative exploration of something new.

Hermione watched them, her heart swelling with love and pride for both of them. They were strong, dominant men in their own right, but in this moment, they were learning to trust each other in a way they never had before. It was a beautiful thing to witness—the careful balance of power shifting between them, the way they were both learning to give and take.

As the kiss deepened, Theo’s hand slid down Draco’s back, pulling him closer. Draco’s hands found their way to Theo’s shoulders, gripping them tightly as if to ground himself in the moment.

Hermione watched as Theo slowly allowed his hand to drift down to where Draco’s thick co*ck was straining against his boxers. The moment his large hand made contact, Draco let out a deep growl from the back of this throat and his co*ck twitched in response. Theo’s eyes darkened, “f*ck Drake, I concede, you win. Your co*ck is f*cking huge mate.” Theo turned to Hermione, “This actually fit in side you?”

Hermione giggled, “Yes Theodore.”

Draco looked smug, preening under the praise from Theo, “Good job you get so f*cking wet for us then isn’t it love?” he continued, “Now Hermione, I want you to be a good girl and stay here and watch as I suck Draco’s co*ck. But I’m not so cruel as to leave you whining and desperate for it. Not today anyway.” He summond something from the draw by his bed and sent it to where Hermione sat.

She looked at the large purple thing in her hand, “you bought me a muggle vibrator Theo?”

“You’ve been planning this haven’t you Theo?” Draco added, his breathing fast from where Theo was still running his hands over his bulging co*ck.

“Perhaps” he said smugly, “so Hermione, I want you to sit there and pleasure yourself whilst you watch us. But you can only come when we do, okay?”

“Yes Theo” she replied, heart racing.

Theo pulled the black boxers down Draco’s muscular thighs allowing his co*ck to spring free and Hermione eagerly began testing out the different speeds on the device.

She’d never used on before but it didn’t take her long to find a rhythm she enjoyed, and it was hard not to feel her org*sm building especially as she watched Theo running his tongue around Draco’s hard pulsing co*ck. Watching as he took it inch by inch into his mouth. She wondered how far into his throat it reached given its size.

Draco’s head was thrown back in pleasure as an endless stream of praise for both Hermione and Theo amongst a sea of filthy words never stopped falling from his lips.

Theo released Draco’s co*ck from his mouth for only a second to issue them both with instructions on what to do next and fisted the man’s large member in hand whilst he did so, “Hermione darling, Draco’s getting close are you?”

“Yes Theo” she moaned, truthfully, she was about to erupt at any second but was clinging on knowing they would tell her when to let go.

“Good girl” he praised, “Draco, when you feel yourself about to cum, your going to tell Hermione she can let go so that we can all cum together”

Another chorus of ‘Yes Theo” but this time from the much deeper voice of the blonde wizard.

Theo doubled down on his efforts on Draco but this time he took his own long co*ck in hand as well. The sight was quite something to behold.

Only a few seconds later and Draco’s voice was cracking through the weight of his own pleasure when he instructed Hermione to cum.

She’d been holding on for so long, that she thought she’d pass out from the relief of finally letting go. And the sounds in the room as they found their joint release were absolutely filthy as the two men growled deeply. Hermione watched through the waves of her after shocks as Theo swallowed every ounce of Draco’s cum. His own, splattering over both their bodies. She almost org*smed again immediately just at the sight of it.

She could certainly get used to this but she wouldn’t mind being in the middle of them next time, when her period had kindly f*cked off.

**

A few days later, Hermione sat between Theo and Draco, feeling the warmth of their bodies beside her, but her mind was far from at ease. The secret she had kept for so long weighed heavily on her, and the guilt of hiding it from the two men she loved was becoming unbearable now her period had returned. She knew she needed to tell them, but fear of their reactions had kept her silent all these years.

But now, as they sat together in the dim light of the living room, she knew she could no longer keep it to herself. They deserved to know the truth.

Draco was the first to notice her unease, his sharp instincts picking up on the tension in her body. “You’re restless,” he murmured, his voice laced with concern. “What’s going on, love? Is it your cramps again”

Theo, who had been gently running his fingers through her hair, stilled at Draco’s words, his gaze shifting to her with a mixture of worry and curiosity.

Hermione shook her head and took a deep breath, her heart pounding as she prepared to reveal the truth. “I think we all need to discuss what we want our future to look like. I know for me, what we have is forever and Theo,” she turned to the brunette, “I know we talked about all this before but I’d understand if things have changed since then.”

He smiled warmly at her, “no darling, it’s still forever. But now it’s the three of us rather than us two.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead as he draped his arm around her shoulder lovingly.

They both turned to look at Draco, “It’s forever for me too, has been for a while now.” He confirmed.

“Okay, so we’re agree on forever. But what does that look like. I think I’d like to get married and have children someday but the kids thing isn’t make or break for me so it’s really down to you Draco.”

Draco’s hand cupped her cheek, tilting her head up to meet his gaze. “Marrying you two swots someday is an absolute non-negotiable for me. And as for having a family… I want that with you, Hermione. I want us to have children together.”

Hermione’s heart swelled at his words, but before she could respond, Theo spoke up, his tone firm and resolute. “I want you both to have that happiness, to raise a family together. But Draco, I need you to know something too. I told Hermione before our seventh year so it’s only fair. While I’ll be there to love and raise any little swotty curly blonde children we have as my own, I don’t want to be a biological father.”

Draco looked at him in surprise, and Hermione’s heart was pounding in her chest. “Why not?” he asked, voice soft but filled with concern.

Theo’s expression darkened, his eyes flashing with a mix of pain and determination. “Because the Nott bloodline is tainted,” he said, his voice filled with a quiet fury. “My father was a monster, you know that Draco, and I refuse to pass any of that darkness on to another generation. The Nott bloodline should end with me.”

Hermione’s hand moved to Theo’s shoulder, “and we respect that, Theo, truly” she said, voice steady, “we both do” she added with more force. Draco only nodded but didn’t look convinced at all.

“So, now I know that’s how you feel, there’s something I need to tell you both,” she began, her voice trembling slightly. “Something I should have told you a long time ago.”

Draco’s brow furrowed, and Theo’s grip on her tightened slightly, both of them immediately on high alert. “What is it, love?” Draco asked, his voice more serious now. “You can tell us anything.”

Hermione pulled the blanket up high around herself as if it could shield her from the weight of her confession. “It’s about the curse Dolohov hit me with during the battle at the Ministry… in our fifth year,” she began, her voice barely above a whisper. “It… it did more damage than I let on.”

Theo sat up straighter beside her, his hand still resting firmly on her back, his voice filled with a mix of concern and a growing edge of anger. “What kind of damage?” he asked, his tone leaving no room for evasion.

Hermione swallowed hard, her eyes flicking between them as she forced herself to continue. “The curse… it, well, it severed one of my fallopian tubes,” she admitted, her voice shaking with the weight of the words. “He was trying to sterilise me. And well, it means… it means I’ll have a harder time getting pregnant.”

The silence that followed was thick and heavy, the air between them charged with the tension of her revelation. Draco’s jaw clenched, his eyes narrowing as he processed what she had just said. Theo’s hand stilled on her back, his fingers curling into a fist as his expression darkened.

“You didn’t tell us,” Draco said, his voice low and dangerous. It wasn’t a question—it was an accusation.

Hermione flinched at the harshness in his tone, tears welling up in her eyes. “I didn’t know how to,” she whispered. “It was such a personal thing, I barely knew you both when it happened and then it got too overwhelming to bring it up… I didn’t want to burden you.”

“Burden us?” Theo echoed, his voice rising with barely restrained anger. “Hermione, we’re your partners. You should have told us. We’re supposed to face things like this together, not keep them hidden.”

Draco’s hand shot out, gripping her chin and turning her to face him. His eyes were dark with anger, but there was a deep, underlying pain there too. “You’ve been carrying this alone all this time?” he demanded. “Why the hell didn’t you trust us enough to tell us sooner?”

Hermione’s tears spilled over, her voice trembling as she tried to explain. “I didn’t want you to worry… Theo, that day in the summer before eighth year if your answer about children had been different I was going to tell you but you didn’t want them so it seemed like a moot point. And, Draco, please don’t feel like you have to stay with me out of obligation. I thought… I know you might not you wouldn’t want to be with me if I can’t give you a family.”

Draco’s expression softened slightly at her words, but the anger still simmered beneath the surface. “You think so little of us, then? Of me?” he asked, his voice rough with emotion. “That we’d leave you because of something you had no control over?”

Theo’s hand moved to her shoulder, his grip firm as he spoke, his voice hard and unyielding. “Hermione, we love you. Nothing changes that. But you should have trusted us to handle this with you. We’re not just here for the good times; we’re here for everything—the hard parts, the painful parts. All of it.”

Hermione nodded, fresh tears streaming down her face. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “I’m so sorry.”

Draco pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly against his chest as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “We’re not angry with you for having this happen,” he murmured, his voice softer now, though the edge of anger still lingered. “We’re angry that you felt like you had to go through it alone.”

Theo’s hand cupped her cheek, turning her to face him as he leaned in, his eyes blazing with a fierce protectiveness. “We’re going to get through this together, Hermione. But you need to know something… If I could, I’d tear Dolohov apart for what he did to you.”

Draco’s grip on her tightened, and he nodded in agreement, his voice filled with a dark promise. “If that bastard were still free, I’d make sure he paid for every bit of pain he caused you. He’d beg for death before I was done with him.”

Hermione shivered at the intensity of their words, but she found comfort in their anger, knowing it came from a place of deep love and protectiveness.

“I know,” she whispered, her voice still shaky. “And I’m sorry for not telling you sooner. I just… I didn’t want to make you angry or upset.”

Theo’s expression softened slightly, his thumb brushing away her tears as he kissed her forehead. “Hermione, you never have to protect us from your pain,” he said gently.

Draco’s hand cupped her cheek, tilting her head up to meet his gaze. “And as for having a family… you might not be the only cause for issue. The generations of inbreeding in all the sacred-28 bloodlines has shown to lead to fertility issues. So, yes whilst my answer remains unchanged and I want us to have children together, please believe me when I say we’ll face whatever challenges come our way, together. That’s how it’s supposed to be.”

Hermione felt tears welling up again, but this time they were tears of gratitude and love. “Thank you,” she whispered, her voice choked with emotion. “I love you both so much.”

Theo leaned in, kissing her deeply, his hand cradling the back of her head as he poured all of his love and reassurance into the kiss. When he finally pulled back, Draco was there, his lips claiming hers in a kiss that was fierce and possessive, leaving no doubt of his commitment to her.

When they finally pulled back, the three of them sat together in a comforting silence, their hearts connected by the love and determination that had brought them through so much already.

“We’ll get through this, Hermione,” Theo murmured, his hand stroking her hair as he held her close. “And when we’re ready to have a family, we’ll do it together.”

Draco nodded, his hand resting on her thigh as he pressed a final kiss to her temple. “We’re a team, love. And nothing is going to tear us apart.”

As they held each other in the quiet of the night, Hermione knew that no matter what challenges lay ahead, they would face them as a united front, with love, strength, and a fierce determination to protect each other.

And with that knowledge, she allowed herself to drift off to sleep, comforted by the steady presence of Draco and Theo by her side.

Chapter 42: Coming Out

Chapter Text

August, 1999

Theo had always been a man of calm composure, but as he walked through the floo to Malfoy Manor, a knot of anxiety tightened in his chest. The grand entrance loomed around them, its elegant façade as imposing as ever to all those who visited, but it wasn’t the house that made his pulse quicken. It was what lay ahead—the announcement they were about to make to Draco’s parents. The people who were the closest thing to parents he had himself.

He glanced to his right, where Hermione walked beside him, her hand firmly clasped in Draco’s for a change. Her eyes flickered up to his, offering a small, reassuring smile. On his other side, Draco looked every bit the confident aristocrat he was, though Theo could detect the slight tension in his jaw. He knew this moment weighed heavily on Draco too.

Draco had always been the anchor for him throughout a difficult life. But here, at Malfoy Manor, in the presence of his parents, even Draco felt the burden of their expectations.

As they reached the grand entrance, the doors opened almost immediately, as if the house itself anticipated their arrival. Narcissa’s house-elf, Flora, bowed low and ushered them inside, leading them to the formal dining room where Narcissa and Lucius awaited.

Narcissa rose gracefully from her seat as they entered, a soft smile playing on her lips. She moved toward them with the poise of a queen, her gaze warm and welcoming.

“Theodore, Hermione,” she greeted them, kissing them both on the cheek before turning to her son. “Draco, darling.”

Draco leaned in to kiss his mother on the cheek, his demeanor softening slightly in her presence. “Mother,” he said, his voice steady, though Theo could sense the underlying current of tension.

Lucius, however, remained seated, his icy gaze fixed on the trio. He gave a curt nod in greeting, his expression impassive.

Theo’s heart thudded in his chest as they took their seats at the table. The atmosphere was thick with unspoken words, the weight of their announcement pressing down on them.

Draco cleared his throat, breaking the silence. “Mother, Father, we’ve come here tonight because there’s something we need to tell you.”

Narcissa’s eyes flickered between the three of them, her expression unreadable. “Go on, darling.”

Theo could feel Draco’s resolve waver for just a moment, but he pressed on. “Hermione, Theo, and I… we’re together. Officially. As a triad.”

For a moment, silence filled the room, the air so still that Theo could hear the distant ticking of a clock in the hallway. Narcissa’s gaze softened, her smile returning as she looked at each of them in turn.

“I see,” she said calmly. “I’ve suspected as much for some time. It’s clear how much you all mean to each other. I told you as much last year my dragon.”

Relief flooded Theo’s veins at her acceptance, but that relief was short-lived as Lucius stiffened in his chair, his face darkening.

“A triad?” Lucius repeated, his voice dripping with disdain. “Is this some sort of joke?”

Draco’s hand clenched around his wine glass, but his voice remained steady. “It’s not a joke, Father. This is what we want, and it’s not up for debate.”

Lucius’s eyes flashed with anger as he rose from his seat, pushing his chair back with a screech that echoed through the room. “I see. Well, if you’re intent on tarnishing our family’s reputation even further, I’ll leave you to it.”

Without another word, Lucius turned and strode from the room, his robes billowing behind him.

Narcissa watched him go, her expression a mixture of disappointment and resolve. She turned back to the trio, her voice gentle but firm. “I apologize for your father’s reaction. He… needs time to adjust.”

Draco’s jaw tightened, but he simply nodded. “Thank you, Mother.”

Narcissa reached out and took Draco’s hand, her touch reassuring. “I’m happy for you, Draco. For all of you. Love is not something to be taken lightly, and I’m glad you’ve found it together.”

Theo felt a wave of gratitude toward Narcissa for her understanding, but the tension remained heavy in the room. After a short, slightly uncomfortable tea, they all made their excuses and left the manor, the weight of Lucius’s disapproval hanging over them. Theo hoped telling the Weasley’s later that day would go more smoothly.

**

As the floo to Malfoy Manor closed behind Draco, Theo, and Hermione, Narcissa stood in the travelling parlour, her hands trembling slightly with the emotions she had kept in check during the afternoon visit. She drew a deep breath, steadying herself, before she turned and strode purposefully toward Lucius’s study.

She found him there, pacing by the fireplace, his expression stormy. He barely looked up as she entered, his anger still simmering beneath the surface.

“Lucius,” Narcissa began, her voice carrying a steel edge, “what exactly did you think you were doing back there?”

Lucius stopped pacing and turned to face her, his eyes narrowing. “What do you mean, Narcissa? Our son—our only son— and Lord of this household has just announced that he’s entered into a completely inappropriate relationship with two people, one of whom is a Muggle-born and the other is another wizard. How could I possibly be expected to react?”

Narcissa’s eyes flashed with anger, her composure finally slipping. “You could have reacted with some semblance of decency, Lucius. You could have at least tried to understand. Instead, you walked out on them.”

“Understand?” Lucius scoffed. “What’s there to understand? This isn’t how things are done, Narcissa. This triad nonsense… it’s a disgrace.”

Narcissa’s hand clenched into a fist, her nails digging into her palm. “What’s truly disgraceful, Lucius, is that you would rather cling to outdated ideals than support your son. Draco needs us—now more than ever. And if you keep pushing him away, you’ll lose him. Is that what you want?”

Lucius faltered, the fire in his eyes dimming slightly. “Of course not,” he muttered, but the words lacked conviction.

“Then act like it,” Narcissa snapped. “We’ve already lost so much, Lucius. Don’t let our stubbornness cost us our son as well. Draco loves them—both of them—and he deserves to be happy. Triads used to be all the range if you’ll remember, they are very rare indeed. And to form one with a witch and wizard as strong as Hermione and Theodore I’d say is quite the cause for celebration.”

Lucius sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I just… I never expected this, Narcissa. I thought he would marry a pure-blood witch, continue the Malfoy line. Not this.”

Narcissa stepped closer to him, her voice softening. “And perhaps he will, in his own way. But that doesn’t mean we can’t support him in the choices he makes. We owe him that much after everything he’s been through.”

Lucius looked away, his expression conflicted. “I’ll… try,” he said at last, though the words came out stiff and uncertain.

“You’ll do more than try,” Narcissa said firmly. “You’ll welcome them back here with open arms. You’ll show them that you care about Draco’s happiness. And you’ll be the father he needs, not the one you think he should have.”

Lucius nodded slowly, a reluctant acceptance in his posture. “I suppose I have no choice.”

Narcissa placed a hand on his arm, her touch gentle now. “You do have a choice, Lucius. You can choose to be part of Draco’s life, to share in his joy. Or you can choose to push him away and risk losing him forever. I trust you’ll make the right decision.”

With that, she turned and left the study, leaving Lucius to contemplate her words. As she walked away, Narcissa allowed herself a small, satisfied smile. She knew Lucius would come around in time—he had to. For Draco’s sake, and for the sake of their family, he would learn to accept the love that had grown between their son, Theo, and Hermione.

And if he didn’t… well, Narcissa had always been prepared to do whatever it took to protect her son’s happiness, even if it meant standing against the man she had spent her life beside.

**

Draco Malfoy stood at the threshold of the Burrow, his heart hammering in his chest. The ramshackle house loomed ahead, its warm, welcoming glow almost mocking the anxiety twisting in his gut. He had faced many daunting tasks in his life, but none seemed as nerve-wracking as what lay ahead tonight—dinner with the Weasleys, where they would announce their relationship. The relationship that involved not just Hermione and Theo, but him as well.

Beside him, Theo gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. Theo had always been the more even-tempered of the two of them, his calm demeanor a counterbalance to Draco’s fiery temperament. On Draco’s other side, Hermione Granger stood between them, her presence both a comfort and a reminder of how far he had come. This was her family, in many ways, and he was about to walk into the lion’s den.

“They’ll be fine, Draco,” Hermione whispered, catching his gaze with a look of gentle encouragement. “Just be yourself.”

Draco snorted softly. “Myself isn’t exactly what the Weasleys are fond of, Granger.”

“You’d be surprised,” Theo added, his voice low and soothing. “You’ve done more for them than they realise.”

Taking a deep breath, Draco nodded, tightening his grip on Hermione’s hand as they moved forward, up the garden path and toward the front door. Before they could knock, the door swung open, revealing Molly Weasley, her face lighting up in a warm smile as she saw them.

Hermione, Theo, Draco! Come in, come in!” she exclaimed, ushering them inside with a motherly hug for Hermione and a pat on the shoulder for the two men.

As they stepped into the cozy, crowded living room, Draco’s senses were overwhelmed by the warmth and noise that seemed to emanate from every corner. The room was full, with all the Weasleys except for Charlie, as well as Harry, who stood near the fireplace, chatting with Ginny and Blaise, the latter a surprise addition that made Draco raise an eyebrow. The man sure did work quickly it seemed.

Ginny caught his eye and winked, her sharp, mischievous grin putting him slightly at ease. Draco nodded in return, a silent acknowledgment that they both knew tonight was going to be anything but ordinary.

Arthur Weasley was the first to approach, extending a hand to Draco. “Welcome, Draco. We’re glad to have you here,” he said with a sincerity that caught Draco off guard.

“Thank you, Mr. Weasley,” Draco replied, shaking his hand firmly. “I appreciate the welcome.”

Arthur’s eyes softened, and he leaned in slightly, lowering his voice. “I don’t hold your father’s wrongdoings against you, Draco. As long as you treat Hermione well, we’ll have no issues. Understand?”

Draco nodded, feeling a weight lift off his shoulders. “I promise, sir. I’ll always treat her well.”

Satisfied, Arthur patted him on the back before moving to greet Theo with the same warmth. The tension in Draco’s chest eased slightly.

“Come, sit down, you three,” Molly urged, leading them toward the table, which was laden with what looked like a feast. “Dinner’s just about ready.”

As they took their seats, Draco noticed the curious glances exchanged between the Weasley siblings, their eyes flicking between him, Hermione, and Theo. The only one who seemed to have no reservations was Arthur Weasley, who sat at the head of the table with a kind smile, gesturing for everyone to dig in.

Draco could feel the weight of the moment as they started eating, the conversation around the table lively but underlined with a sense of anticipation. It wasn’t long before Hermione, never one to shy away from a challenge, cleared her throat and drew everyone’s attention.

“There’s something we need to tell you all,” she began, her voice steady. “Something important.”

The room fell silent, all eyes on Hermione. Draco could feel Theo tense beside him, though his own expression remained carefully neutral. This was it—the moment of truth.

“As you all know, Theo and I have been together for a while now,” Hermione continued, glancing at Theo, who gave her an encouraging nod. “But there’s more to our relationship than that.”

Draco watched as confusion spread across the faces around the table, the Weasleys exchanging uncertain looks.

“We’re a triad,” Hermione said, her voice calm but firm. “Theo, Draco, and I—we’re all together.”

The silence that followed was almost deafening. Draco could feel the tension in the room ratchet up, as if everyone was holding their breath, waiting for someone to break the silence.

It was Ginny who spoke first, her voice light but with an edge of curiosity. “So… all three of you? Together?”

Hermione nodded, her gaze steady. “Yes. We love each other, and we’re committed to making this work.”

Draco felt the tension ease slightly as Ginny gave a small, approving nod, her eyes flicking between the trio with a look of understanding. Then her eyes flickered with glee and a cheshire cat smile consumed her face, “And yet, Hermione I do believe you told me you weren’t into threesomes when I asked?”

“Ginerva Weasley!” Molly shouted in alarm at the inappropriate nature of Ginny’s comment whilst the rest of the table howled with laughter and Hermione covered her face with her hands, dying of embarrassment.

Arthur Weasley was the next to speak, his tone gentle but serious. “Now, now kids settle down. Hermione, Theo, Draco… this is certainly unexpected. But if this is what makes you happy, then you have our support.”

Draco let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, grateful for Arthur’s words. But the tension remained, especially from Ron, who sat stiffly beside Padma, his expression unreadable.

Molly nodded in agreement, though her eyes were full of concern as she looked at Hermione. “We just want you to be happy, dear. All of you.”

Draco glanced around the table, catching the various reactions from the Weasley brothers. Bill, Percy, and George all looked serious, their expressions stern and protective.

“Let’s get one thing straight, Malfoy,” Bill started, crossing his arms over his chest. “Hermione is family. If you hurt her, there won’t be anywhere you can hide from us.”

Percy nodded, adjusting his glasses with a serious expression. “That goes for you too, Theo, even if we did already know you were involved. Hermione’s happiness is our priority.”

George, ever the joker, managed a grim smile, though his eyes were hard. “And we know all sorts of ways to make sure you regret it if you do.”

Draco swallowed, the seriousness of their words sinking in. But he appreciated it in a strange way—this was their way of showing they cared about Hermione.

“You have my word,” Draco said, his voice steady. Theo nodded in agreement, his own expression calm but serious.

The tension broke slightly when Ginny addressed Draco, her arms crossed and a mischievous glint in her eyes. “So, Ferret,” she teased, “you ready to handle this lot officially now? We’re a bit intense, but you’ll get used to it.”

Draco smirked, the nickname rolling off his back. “Bring it on, Red. I’ve survived worse.”

Ginny chuckled, her laughter lightening the mood. “That’s the spirit. And Teddy,” she added, turning to Theo, “good to see you’re alright, you gave me quite the scare you know. I’d appreciate if you kept out of harms way from now on”

Theo grinned, his charm on full display. “Always, Red. Good to see you too.”

Draco was surprised at how easily Ginny bantered with them, as if she had always been a part of their lives. He felt a pang of gratitude for her easy acceptance.

The dinner continued, the initial shock of the announcement giving way to more conversation, though the atmosphere remained charged. Draco could feel the Weasleys gradually accepting the situation, though it was clear that it would take time for them to fully adjust. Draco found Bill to be incredibly interesting and enjoyed conversing in French will his wife Fleur who he vaguely remembered from the Tri-wizard tournament.

"Draco, tu te débrouilles très bien," Fleur said, her voice light. "Je sais que ce n'est pas facile d'entrer dans une famille comme celle-ci. Ils ne m'aimaient pas beaucoup au début non plus."

Draco chuckled softly, appreciating her honesty. "Vraiment? C'est difficile à croire."

Fleur nodded, her expression turning more serious. "Oui, vraiment. Mais maintenant, je me considère incroyablement chanceuse de faire partie de cette famille. Ils sont fidèles, chaleureux, et ils prennent soin des leurs. Je pense que tu trouveras ta place ici, avec le temps."

"Merci, Fleur," Draco replied, genuinely touched by her words. "Je l'espère."

She gave him an encouraging smile. "Donne-leur du temps. Ils verront ce que nous voyons tous déjà."

Draco inclined his head in thanks, feeling a bit lighter after their conversation.

”I didn’t know you spoke French” Hermione hissed at him.

”What can I say Granger, I’m a man of many talents.”

After the meal, as everyone began to move about the living room, Harry caught Draco’s eye and nodded toward the back door. Draco followed him outside into the cool evening air, the sounds of the Burrow fading as they stepped into the garden.

Harry leaned against the railing of the porch, his expression thoughtful. “So, you and Theo… together with Hermione?”

Draco nodded, feeling a surge of protectiveness. “Yes, Potter. That’s how it is.”

Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I’m not going to pretend this doesn’t surprise me, Malfoy. But Hermione’s my best friend. If she’s happy, that’s what matters.”

Draco watched him closely, sensing the underlying tension. “You don’t have to like me, Potter. But for her sake, we need to find a way to make this work.”

Harry looked at him, his green eyes searching Draco’s face for any sign of insincerity. After a long moment, he nodded slowly. “Agreed. For Hermione’s sake.”

The two stood in silence for a while, the weight of the past hanging between them, but there was a mutual understanding in their silence. They both knew that their relationship was far from a friendship, but they were willing to set aside their differences for the woman they both cared about.

**

As the evening wore on, the Weasleys' warm, cluttered living room buzzed with the sounds of laughter and conversation. Hermione sat on the worn couch, a steaming cup of tea cradled in her hands, her eyes scanning the room as everyone settled into their post-dinner conversations. She couldn’t help but feel a mix of emotions—relief that the announcement had gone relatively well, but also anxiety about the future and how things would play out with her friends and family.

Across the room, Ron was standing near the fireplace, talking quietly with Padma. Hermione’s eyes lingered on him, noticing the tension in his shoulders and the way his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. He had been supportive in his way, but she could tell that the news had unsettled him. It was understandable, of course; their history was complicated, and this new development was just another layer to it all.

She took a deep breath and decided it was time to talk to him. Setting her cup down on the coffee table, she rose and walked over to where he stood, her heart beating a little faster as she approached.

“Ron, can we talk for a minute?” she asked, keeping her voice soft so as not to draw too much attention.

Ron looked at her, then at Padma, who gave him a reassuring nod before stepping away to give them some privacy. He turned back to Hermione and nodded, gesturing for her to join him on the small loveseat by the window.

They sat down, and for a moment, neither of them spoke. Hermione could feel the weight of unspoken words between them, and she knew she had to break the silence.

“Ron, I know this is a lot to take in,” she began, her voice steady but gentle. “And I understand if it’s… strange for you.”

Ron let out a heavy sigh, running a hand through his hair in that familiar way he always did when he was trying to figure out how to express himself. “Strange is one way to put it,” he muttered, though his tone wasn’t harsh.

“I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you about it sooner,” Hermione continued, her eyes meeting his with sincerity. “I didn’t know how to tell you, and honestly, I wasn’t sure how you’d react. Things have been strained between us since…”

“Since I was imperiod, kidnapped you and your boyfriend which resulted in his capture, torture and the murder of your parents? Yeah, it’s been strained.”

She touched his arm softly, “I don’t blame you Ron. Harry told me how hard you fought that night to shake off the curse. I can’t blame you the same way I could never blame Theo for my parents. But I need you to do this for me now. Please, just try, tell me how you feel about this and we can go from there…”

Ron looked at her, his blue eyes searching hers for a moment before he spoke. “I won’t lie, Hermione… It was a shock. I mean, I knew you and Theo were together, and I was kind of okay with that in the end. But Malfoy too? It’s just… I don’t know.”

Hermione nodded, understanding his hesitation. “I know. And I can’t expect you to just accept it overnight. But Ron, this is what makes me happy. Theo and Draco, they’re everything to me. And I hope that, in time, you can come to see that too.”

Ron sighed again, leaning back against the couch and staring at the ceiling for a moment. “I just don’t get it, Hermione. Malfoy… he was such a git to us in school. To you especially. How did you go from that to… this?”

Hermione smiled faintly, knowing this was a question that had likely been on Ron’s mind for a while. “People change, Ron. We all grew up during the war. Draco—he’s not the same person he was back then. He’s grown, and so have I. We’ve all had to make peace with our pasts in one way or another. Look at everything he did to save me and Theo and then to get Theo back.”

Ron glanced at her, his expression softening slightly. “I suppose so. It’s just hard to wrap my head around, you know? You and Malfoy.”

“I get it,” Hermione said gently. “And I appreciate that you’re even trying. I want you to know that you’re still important to me, Ron. You always will be.”

Ron looked down at his hands, nodding slowly. “I know, Hermione. And I want you to be happy. I do. It’s just… it’s going to take some time for me to get used to this.”

“That’s okay,” Hermione reassured him. “We’re not asking you to accept everything right away. Just… give it time.”

Ron looked up at her, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Yeah, I can do that. For you.”

Hermione felt a wave of relief wash over her, and she reached out to take his hand, squeezing it gently. “Thank you, Ron. It means a lot to me.”

They sat in silence for a moment, the weight of their conversation settling into something more manageable. Hermione could see that Ron was still processing everything, but the fact that he was willing to try meant the world to her.

As the sounds of the Weasleys’ chatter and laughter filled the room around them, Hermione felt a sense of hope. This was just the beginning of a new chapter in their lives, and while there would be challenges ahead, she knew that with time, things would fall into place.

**

A week later and the news of their relationship was officially out in the open after the trio went for dinner with Pansy and Harry, Blaise and Ginny, Neville and Daphne as well as Ron and Padma. It had all been Blaise’s idea, to show the world everyone was on board and supportive. This way, there would be limited opportunity to try and report a rift between ‘the golden trio’.

It had worked a charm – well that and the thousands of Galleons Narcissa later confessed to have paid Rita Skeeter to ensure the article was a success.

A Trio of Hearts: Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, and Theodore Nott Confirm Relationship

By Rita Skeeter

In a dazzling twist that has captured the attention of the wizarding world, the Daily Prophet is thrilled to announce an extraordinary romantic union: Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, and Theodore Nott are officially a triad! This surprising yet delightful news has sent shockwaves through our community, sparking curiosity, intrigue, and no small measure of admiration.

Hermione Granger, known as the “Brightest Witch of Her Age” and a celebrated war hero, has never been one to follow the status quo. Her remarkable contributions to the war effort and her continued work at the Ministry of Magic have made her a beloved figure in our world. Now, it seems, her personal life is just as extraordinary as her professional one.

Draco Malfoy, the once-notorious Slytherin and new Lord of the ancient and noble house of Malfoy, has been notably absent from the public eye since being found not guilty at his trial earlier this year. Many have speculated about his post-war life, with some even doubting his commitment to the new, peaceful wizarding society. However, this announcement seems to be a significant step forward for the reclusive Malfoy, who has clearly found both companionship and redemption in his relationship with Granger and Nott.

Theodore Nott, the quiet and enigmatic pure-blood wizard, has also remained largely out of the spotlight since the end of the war and his appointment as Lord Nott, and has instead started work in the emergency department at St Mungo’s. Known for his sharp intellect and reserved nature, Nott has always been a figure shrouded in mystery. His involvement with Granger and Malfoy adds a new dimension to his character, one that many will find as intriguing as it is heartwarming.

The trio, who were schoolmates at Hogwarts, reportedly found that their bond ran deeper than mere friendship in the years following the war. Sources close to the group confirm that the relationship blossomed naturally over time, with each person contributing to a dynamic and balanced partnership.

Their public debut as a triad was made at a recent gathering at the Burrow, home of Arthur and Molly Weasley, where the couple received an overwhelmingly positive response from their friends and family. The announcement, met with surprise at first, quickly turned into a celebration of love, unity, and acceptance. The Weasleys, known for their close-knit family values, warmly welcomed both Lord Malfoy and Lord Nott into their fold, marking a significant moment of reconciliation and unity within the wizarding world.

Both former Lord and Lady Malfoy are also said to be thrilled at the news of such a powerful triad forming around their only son and heir to not on the Malfoy legacy but that of the Black and Lestrange blood lines as well.

As this news circulates, the wizarding community finds itself at a crossroads of tradition and modernity. This triad challenges conventional norms, but it also opens the door to broader acceptance and understanding of different relationship dynamics. The Daily Prophet applauds Granger, Malfoy, and Nott for their bravery in embracing their love publicly and setting an example of unity, diversity, and progress.

While the future remains unwritten, one thing is clear: this triad is set to make history, both in their personal lives and in their continued contributions to our world. Whether it’s Granger’s work at the Ministry, Malfoy’s quiet efforts to reform his family’s legacy, or Nott’s hidden healing talents, this trio is bound to leave an indelible mark on wizarding society.

As we celebrate this union, let us be reminded that love, in all its forms, is what truly binds us together. Congratulations to Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, and Theodore Nott—may your journey together be filled with joy, strength, and unwavering support.

Stay tuned to the Daily Prophet for more exclusive updates on this enchanting triad!

Chapter 43: Part 3: A Year of Change and Growth

Chapter Text

August, 2000

Over the next year, the trio found that their relationship with each other blossomed with surprising ease. What might have been fraught with complications and misunderstandings for others came naturally to them, as if they had always been meant to share this bond. The support of their friends only strengthened their resolve, creating a circle of acceptance and love around them. Luna, with her usual serene wisdom, insisted that she had seen it coming all along, her voice carrying that familiar ethereal certainty. It was hard to doubt her when she said it with such conviction.

Their social circle was a blend of old ties and new beginnings. Neville, ever the gentle soul, had married Daphne Greengrass in the spring. Their wedding was a beautiful fusion of traditional pure-blood customs and Neville’s unassuming warmth, a testament to how far they had all come since their Hogwarts days. It was a celebration of love that transcended the old prejudices and divisions, marking a new chapter in their lives.

Harry and Pansy had also made things official, much to the amusem*nt of their friends. The now Head Auror, who had taken over the position after Dawlish’s retirement, was blissfully devoted to Pansy, following her every instruction with a contented smile. The sight of Harry Potter, once the Boy Who Lived, now bending to the will of a wizarding fashion designer was nothing short of delightful. Yet, it was a testament to how love could transform even the most stubborn of hearts. Pansy’s influence had brought out a softer side of Harry, one that relished the domesticity they had built together. Stranger things had happened, but this was the kind of strangeness that made life all the richer.

Blaise Zabini, too, was utterly besotted with Ginny Weasley. The tall, dark, and enigmatic wizard had found his match in the fiery redhead. Blaise attended every single one of her games for the Holyhead Harpies, cheering her on with the fervor of a man who knew he was lucky to have her. His devotion didn’t stop there—he had taken on the role of her publicist, working tirelessly to manage her career and ensure that she got the recognition she deserved. The way he looked at her, with a mixture of pride and adoration, was enough to make anyone believe in love at first sight.

As for Ron, he had drifted away from their close-knit group, his path taking him in a different direction. Perhaps it was for the best. The trio had their hands full with their new lives, and while they missed the easy camaraderie they had once shared with him, they respected his choice to forge his own way.

Theo, ever the practical and determined one, had made a significant decision early on. He had no interest in the vast Nott fortune, a legacy tainted by the dark deeds of his ancestors. Instead, he signed over control to Draco, who had a keen mind for finance and a desire to make amends for the sins of his own forefathers. With the burden of wealth lifted from his shoulders, Theo enrolled in a graduate program at St. Mungo’s after extensive conversations with Padma Patil. He found his calling in healing, dedicating himself to the study of complex magical trauma injuries with the same intensity he tackled anything he put his mind too. This meant Theo was often on call with Padma for the Auror department. He patched Harry up more times than he could count.

Draco, for his part, took on the responsibility of managing their joint fortunes with the same meticulous care he applied to everything in his life. He was determined to undo the damage caused by his father and grandfather, pulling all the funding from the nefarious schemes they had invested in. Instead, he diverted the money into charitable endeavors aimed at helping post-war recovery efforts. He purchased several shops in Diagon Alley, renting them at reduced rates to help rebuild the economy. In return, he only asked for a modest 5% stake in the businesses that rented from him—a gesture that earned him respect from those who had once scorned the Malfoy name.

Draco didn’t stop there. He took the bold step of hiring a Muggle financial advisor, a decision that would have been unthinkable in his father’s time as Lord Malfoy. This advisor oversaw the Malfoy investments in the Muggle world, managing stocks, trading, and property with an expertise that kept their wealth growing, but more importantly, in ways that aligned with Draco’s new moral compass. In his spare time, Draco indulged his passion for potion-making, founding Malfoy Apothecaries, a firm that specialized in experimental brews. Draco’s first venture was into adapting Wolfsbane Potion to support those who were bitten or scratched by wolves but did not carry the curse like himself.

He sold this and their actual Wolfsbane Potion at cost, insisting that all stockists do the same, a move that earned him the gratitude of the werewolf community. He also employed werewolves and house-elves in his factories, paying them a fair wage and ensuring they were treated with the respect they deserved—a far cry from the way his family had operated in the past.

Hermione thrived in her role at the Ministry, channeling her boundless energy and passion into her work. She had successfully passed her first three major pieces of legislation: the House-Elf Protection Act, which was essentially an extension of S.P.E.W., this time with the guidance and support of Mippy and the other Malfoy elves; the Lupin Act, which ensured fair and safe treatment of werewolves in society, a cause close to her heart; and finally, she had lobbied successfully for Centaurs to be upgraded from beasts to beings, a recognition that had been long overdue.

Through it all, the trio remained a united front, supporting each other in their individual endeavors while cherishing the life they had built together. Their relationship was unconventional, yes, but it was also filled with love, respect, and a deep understanding that only grew stronger with time. They had weathered the storms of the past, and now, they were creating a future that was brighter and more hopeful than any of them could have imagined.

**

Their sex lives hadn’t slowed down much over the past months either. If anything it had flourished as they came to know each others bodies better and grew in confidence.

Hermione had afforded the two men the same privacy she had with each of them when they came together the first time. But since then, she had enjoyed watching them on many occaisions.

And as much as sex with both men was always interesting with the number of positions and arrangements available to them especially given Theo and Draco’s impressive size and strength – not just in their co*cks, but their entire body – her favourite was when they f*cked her at the same time.

The first time had been the most mind blowing experience of her life.

“How about we try something different tonight my love? Let us both take care of you hmm?”

Hermione nodded, almost purring as she rejoiced in their touch.

Theo lifted Hermione into his arms as Draco settled with his back resting on the low angle of the pillows. “Are you going to be a good girl and let us f*ck you at the same time and leave you dripping with our cum?” Hermione moaned in response as she was placed to straddle Draco who immediately began running his hands over her arse before moving up to massage her breasts.

As Theo took up position behind her, he began peppering her neck with kisses and down her back, “Yes. Please Gods yes.”

Draco pulled on her hips gesturing for her to lift up and allow him to run the thick head of his already weeping co*ck at her entrance. “Beautiful witch” he growled as he applied pressure to her hips, plunging her down onto his co*ck. Once she had settled around his length, Theo pushed her down so that her nipples were pressed against Draco’s hard, muscular chest.

“Draco’s going to help you relax now love” Theo said, prompting Draco to take one of Hermione’s taut nipples in his mouth and flick the small bud harshly with his tongue causing her to moan deeply.

Hermione barely noticed the unfamiliar sensation of the lubrication spell Theo cast on her. “Relax for me Hermione” he began circling the outer edges of her arsehole with his forefinger, “it will only feel uncomfortable for a few seconds” he said as he pushed it inside.

The feeling was unfamiliar but not unpleasant.

Draco continued to f*ck her c*nt, caressing her breasts as Theo whispered words of praise as he continued to stretch her hole ready for his thick co*ck.

Gods it was so much, too much maybe. She was desperate to cum, even though the men had already pulled two from her before they had begun.

“Fuuuuck, it feels so good” she moaned, “but I need more.”

Draco released her nipple with a pop, a smug grin etched across his face, “Shall I help you out little witch?”

“Please Draco, please” she whined causing both men to chuckle softly. Draco moved one of his hands from their position on her hips to her centre where he began circling her cl*t with the pad of his thumb.

The second Draco bit down again on her nipple, Theo pulled his finger from her behind and, her body erupted in pleasure as her org*sm hit overwhelmed by the many sensations.

Just as she began to settle, Draco stilled inside her but continued the gentle circling of her cl*t causing the aftershocks of her org*sm to drag out far longer than usual. She was about to tell them she needed more when she felt the press of something large against her hole.

Before she had a second to overthink, Theo entered her, forcing her hole to open wider than he’d already stretched her so that it accommodated his girth.

Hermione cried out, her eyes rolling back. She felt so deliciously full.

“Fucckk,Hermione”

She couldn’t speak, she could barely breathe it was so intense.

Draco paused his ministrations on her cl*t, allowing them all to adjust, but his eyes somehow grew even darker at the sight, “Tell me how she feels Theo”

“Gods. She’s tight. So f*cking tight like you wouldn’t believe. I’m not going to last long.” Theo replied.

“Someone move. Please” she wailed, sandwiched between her loves.

The men began to move their bodies in tandem, “This is incredible, I feel like I’m f*cking you both at the same time” Theo said roughly.

“I know. I can feel you through her Theo. Its f*cking perfection” the blonde replied.

It hadn’t been long but Hermione could already feel a fourth org*sm approaching. Theo’s large hands wrapped tightly around her securing her to them both.

Her head rolled back in pleasure chest and Draco reached his large, calloused hands up to massage her nipples once more.

She was absolutely certain, nothing could ever compare to this.

“Draco, I need you, I’m about to cum. We all need to cum together. But not until I tell you both.” Theo panted.

He leaned forward, over Hermione’s body and as the men continued their efforts, they kissed each other harshly over her shoulder. Draco returned one hand to her cl*t as Theo gave the command “Cum for me”

Hermione felt her org*sm completely obliterate her as both men shuddered with their own release as they exploded deep within her.

The three of them laid panting for a long time after that one, unable to fully form words or describe how incredible it had been.

**

Draco Malfoy had never considered himself much of a people person. In fact, he often prided himself on being aloof and reserved, traits that had served him well throughout his younger life. But ever since entering into a relationship with Theo and Hermione, he found himself in situations that were far from his usual comfort zone—like sitting at the dinner table, listening to Hermione rattle on about her day at the Ministry or Theo sharing the latest gossip from St. Mungo’s.

It wasn’t that Draco didn’t care. On the contrary, he loved these moments. He adored the way Hermione’s eyes would light up with passion when she spoke about the latest reforms in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, or how Theo’s lips would curl into a smirk as he recounted the absurdities of hospital life. But if he were honest with himself, Draco had to admit that he often struggled to keep up with the barrage of names, places, and incidents that were thrown his way.

Today was no different. They were seated around the breakfast bar in their kitchen, and Hermione was in the middle of a particularly animated account of her day over a glass of wine before they needed to get ready for the evening’s gala at the Minsitry.

"So, then Fiona—she’s the one who handles the Centaur Liaison Office—told Roger, the new assistant from the Goblin Liaison Office, that they couldn't just demand access to the forest without permission! Honestly, sometimes I think he forgets that magical creatures have rights too—oh, and speaking of rights, did I mention that Beth from the Beast Division said we’re getting a new policy paper on the classification of magical creatures? It’s about time, if you ask me…”

Draco found his mind spinning as he tried to keep track of who was who. There were only five people in Hermione's department, but Merlin's beard, she made it sound like a whole army was involved. He sipped his wine, nodding along as she continued, though he had long since lost track of who Fiona and Roger were.

Theo, on the other hand, seemed completely unfazed. He would chime in occasionally with a knowing nod or a question, and Draco couldn’t help but admire how easily his partner kept up with the rapid-fire conversation.

It was only that evening, as they were getting ready, that Draco decided he had to confess his confusion. With a gala to raise money for St. Mungo’s coming up, he knew he’d be expected to socialize, and the last thing he wanted was to embarrass himself—or worse, Theo and Hermione—by not knowing who anyone was.

“Theo,” Draco began, his voice hesitant as he fastened the cufflinks on his dress shirt, “there’s something I need to tell you.”

Theo looked up from where he was buttoning his shirt, his brows furrowing slightly in concern. “What is it, love?”

Draco sighed, running a hand through his platinum-blond hair. “I have absolutely no idea who anyone is in Hermione’s department. I mean, I’ve tried to keep up, but honestly, I’m completely lost. And I don’t know how you manage to remember all the people at St. Mungo’s. I don’t want to let either of you down at this gala…”

For a moment, Theo was silent, and Draco braced himself for some kind of admonishment. But then Theo’s lips curled into a grin, and he burst out laughing.

“I can’t believe you’ve been nodding along to the both of us for the best part of a year without saying anything,” Theo said, his laughter filling the room.

Draco blushed, a rare sight that Theo found both endearing and amusing. “I didn’t want to let you both down…” he admitted, his voice trailing off.

Theo’s laughter softened, and he stepped closer, resting a hand on Draco’s shoulder. “Draco, you could never let us down,” he said warmly. “But let me let you in on a little secret… I don’t remember any of their names either.”

Draco blinked, utterly speechless. “What?”

Theo chuckled, his green eyes sparkling with mischief. “At work, it’s fine because we all have name badges. But when I get home, I just make up the names if I can’t remember, or somehow Hermione remembers them for me. She’s like a walking, talking dictionary of names.”

Draco shook his head in disbelief, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “You’re telling me you’ve been making up names this whole time?”

Theo nodded, clearly pleased with himself. “Yep. I’ve developed nicknames for the ones I work with the most,” he said, puffing out his chest a little as he recounted his system. “We’ve got Kit-Kat—Hermione thinks her name is Kitty, but I only called her that because the damn witch is always taking a break. Then there’s Anal Alan—bloke told me about f*cking his wife up the arse the first day I met him. And my personal favorite, Nick—can you guess why I call him Nick?”

Draco couldn’t help but chuckle, despite his earlier frustration. “Because he nicks things?”

“Exactly!” Theo grinned, looking entirely too pleased with his creativity. “You’re quite mad, Theodore,” Draco said affectionately, pulling Theo in for a quick kiss. “But enough distraction, else our witch will be in here berating us for being late.”

Theo smirked, clearly enjoying the playful banter between them. “Oh, I wouldn’t mind being told off by her,” he teased, waggling his eyebrows. “Especially if it means she’ll start speaking at that breakneck pace again. Honestly, how does she even breathe when she’s going on like that?”

Draco smiled, a warmth spreading through his chest as he thought about Hermione’s endless enthusiasm and the way she could fill a room with her energy. “I don’t know,” he admitted, “but I love listening to her. Even if I can’t keep up with all the details, there’s something comforting about it. It makes me feel… grounded, I suppose.”

Theo nodded, his expression softening as he looked at Draco. “Me too. It’s like… no matter how chaotic the world gets, when we’re here with her, everything just makes sense. Even if it doesn’t,” he added with a wink.

Draco chuckled, feeling a sense of relief wash over him. He had been worried about disappointing his partners, but now he realized that they were all in this together, navigating the complexities of their lives with humor and love.

“Alright then,” Draco said, taking a deep breath as he adjusted his tie. “Let’s go face the world, nicknames and all.”

Theo grinned, giving Draco’s hand a reassuring squeeze before they headed out of the room together. “And if all else fails,” he said, his tone light and teasing, “just smile and nod. It’s worked for you so far, hasn’t it?”

Draco couldn’t help but laugh at that, feeling lighter than he had in days. With Theo by his side and Hermione waiting for them downstairs, he knew that no matter what challenges they faced—whether it was remembering a sea of names or navigating the complexities of their relationship—they would face it together, with love, humor, and a shared understanding that made everything else seem trivial in comparison.

Theo wore a tailored muggle style suit in a rich navy, sans tie, his collar unbuttoned to reveal a glimpse of his muscular chest. It hadn’t taken long for him to regain his muscle following his capture. If anything the starvation allowed his muscles to return even leaner than before.

Draco meanwhile had vowed to move beyond all black suits. Tonight he wore one of Pansy’s latest designs, a slate grey muggle suit with the traditional wizarding robe stretching out from the shoulders.

As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Hermione looked up from where she was adjusting her own dress, her eyes bright with excitement. “Ready, you two?”

Hermione strode in wearing a dazzling dress with a plunging neckline which Draco very much enjoyed. The gown had been made with the finest nude silk layered under a sheer silver material adorned with diamond embellishments. The elegant silhouette and cape sleeves are finished with the same diamond detailing.

She wore jewellery dripping in sapphires making her the perfect match to the two of them, tying their trio together. Pansy knew it was still nerve wracking for them to be out in public together so she always tried to make sure their outfits complemented one another. A subtle confirmation of their relationship without seeming tacky. He was grateful she always seemed to know what they needed.

Theo exchanged a quick glance with Draco, a small, conspirational smile passing between them before he turned to Hermione. “Always. But, there’s just one thing we need to take care of first.”

“Oh, what’s that then?” she said in surprise as she reached her two men.

“You” Draco replied hungrily.

Draco dropped to his knees in front of Hermione, a sight which made wetness pool in her core immediately. The blonde wizard wasted no time forcing the dress up the her waist before he feasted on her dripping c*nt.

Theo too was on his knees, allowing him to fist Draco’s length. His mouth free to spurt an endless stream of filthy praise to them both.

Theo loved to make Hermione and Draco cum at the same time. He craved the power and the intimacy it created between them. As Hermione’s breathing returned to normal following her release. Draco rose to his full height and turned them so her breasts was pushed into his hard chest allowing Theo to take up position at her back.

She was already so wet that no resistance met Theo when he plunged deep inside her. The warm, familiar tingle of the contraception charm settled across her abdomen.

As Theo thrust into her at an unrelenting pace, Hermione released deep moans into Draco’s mouth as he snogged her senseless. It wasn’t long before Theo too was overcome in pleasure.

Draco, ever the gentleman, cast a quick scourgify on them all as Theo pulled out from Hermione and tucked his co*ck pack into his pants.

“Ready?” Theo asked the pair who just also finished adjusting their clothes and nodded in confirmation, “Lead the way then, love” he said, offering her his arm.

In pureblood tradition, it was expected to let the witch enter the floo first, the way you did through doors and such. But, Draco had always found this odd growing up. How could one be sure there wasn’t danger awaiting her on the other side? But with Theo beside her, he could let the two of them go through first and then follow dutifully behind.

And as they left the comfort of their home, Draco felt a deep sense of contentment, knowing that no matter what the night held, he was exactly where he was meant to be—by the side of the two people he loved most in the world.

**

Draco pondered, as he often did, how the world perceived their relationship and the assumptions people made about their dynamic. When the news of their unconventional triad first broke, the Daily Prophet had practically reveled in the scandal, painting lurid pictures of power struggles and dark seductions. Even now, years later, Draco suspected that even their closest friends—except perhaps Pansy—misjudged the true nature of their bond.

He knew what people likely thought of him. Draco Malfoy, the cold and distant Lord, stoic and unyielding, much like his father before him. But nothing could be further from the truth. As an adult, Draco was more introspective, more reserved than the brash, arrogant boy he had once been. The war had changed him, tempered him, and he had found comfort in quiet moments rather than commanding attention. The world might see him as aloof, but in reality, he was simply content to listen, to bask in the eloquence of his loves, Theo and Hermione, as they conversed with a grace and wit he could never hope to match. He found himself hanging on their every word, captivated by the ease with which they navigated social waters.

A part of him still marveled at the fact that they were his—these two brilliant, beautiful souls who had chosen him, of all people, to share their lives. But perhaps, deep down, Draco always felt that Hermione belonged to Theo just a little more than she did to him. It was a feeling he could never quite shake, no matter how much they reassured him otherwise. Maybe that’s why he always deferred to Theo when it came to escorting Hermione, allowing his partner to play the role of the gallant gentleman while he took a step back. Hermione often teased him about it, likening him to a father carrying the handbags while the family enjoyed a rollercoaster—whatever that was.

As they entered the grand ballroom of the Ministry, its opulent decorations glittering under the light of countless floating candles, Draco let his gaze sweep over the room. He quickly caught sight of Theo at the bar, fetching drinks for the three of them, his effortless charm drawing smiles from those around him. Hermione, her hand resting on Theo’s arm, looked over her shoulder at Draco, her eyes softening as he approached. Without a word, Draco slipped his hand to the small of her back, a silent gesture of affection and protection as he guided them through the throng of guests.

The evening unfolded in a blur of music and laughter, the three of them seamlessly weaving through the crowd. Draco and Theo took turns leading Hermione across the dance floor, the music carrying them well into the early hours of the morning. With each spin and twirl, Draco felt the weight of the world lift, replaced by the simple joy of being with the people he loved most.

Eventually, as the night wore on, Hermione and Theo exchanged a glance, a silent conversation passing between them before Hermione turned to Draco with a small, tired smile. “Shall we head home?”

In public, it was always Draco they deferred to, the one who made the final call, a dynamic he found himself enjoying more than he cared to admit. “Of course, my loves,” he replied, his voice warm and reassuring. “Let’s just say goodnight to the others first.”

Draco’s height allowed him to easily scan the room, and he quickly spotted their friends gathered by the bar, engaged in lively conversation. With a gentle nudge, he steered Hermione in their direction, his hand never leaving her back.

As they approached, they were greeted with smiles and laughter, the easy camaraderie that had developed over years of shared battles and victories. They shook hands, exchanged kisses on cheeks, and Draco couldn’t help but notice the way Potter’s eyes flickered with something akin to nervousness as he approached.

“Uh, Malfoy,” Harry began, pulling Draco to the side, his tone uncharacteristically hesitant. “I’ve been meaning to ask… would you be free next weekend to give a dueling exhibition with me at Hogwarts? Hermione and Theo too, if they’re willing?”

Draco raised an eyebrow, surprised by the request. It still took effort for Harry to ask for help, and Draco respected him for it. “Sure, Potter,” he said, his voice steady. “We’ll be there.”

Harry nodded, relief washing over his features. “Great. I’ll, uh, owl you the details.”

Draco gave him a curt nod before rejoining Theo and Hermione, who were already making their way towards the exit. As they stepped out into the cool night air, Draco felt a sense of calm settle over him. The Ministry gala had been a success, but now, all he wanted was the comfort of home.

They returned to the Nott Estate, the sprawling manor that had become their sanctuary. The minute they stepped into the privacy of their bedroom, Draco noticed the familiar glint in Theo’s eyes, a devilish spark that sent a thrill down his spine.

“Strip,” Theo commanded, his voice laced with authority, leaving no room for hesitation.

Draco felt a rush of heat at the command, his heart pounding in anticipation. He followed Theo’s order without question, his fingers working quickly to unbutton his shirt and shed the formal attire he had worn all evening. There was something intoxicating about this dynamic, the way Theo took control with such ease, and Draco couldn’t help but revel in it.

Here, in the privacy of their home, it was always Theo who called the shots. They had all come to understand that Theo’s need for control wasn’t just about dominance—it was about finding peace, a way to calm the turmoil that still lingered from their pasts. Draco knew how much Theo had suffered, first under the cruel hand of his father, then during the war, and later, during his own kidnapping and torture. The desire to take control of his life, to dictate the terms of their relationship, was a way for Theo to reclaim what had been stolen from him.

Draco and Hermione understood this, and they embraced it. There was something deeply comforting about surrendering to Theo’s commands, knowing that in doing so, they were helping him heal. And it wasn’t just about control—Theo’s cheeky, mischievous nature added a layer of playfulness to their dynamic that Draco found irresistible.

As Draco finished undressing, he noticed the way Theo’s eyes darkened with desire, his gaze raking over Draco’s body with undisguised hunger. “Good boy,” Theo murmured, his voice dripping with approval. “Now, get on the bed. I want to see you.”

Draco complied, his breath hitching as he moved to the bed, feeling the cool sheets against his skin. He watched as Theo turned to Hermione, his expression softening slightly. “Join him, love,” he said, his tone gentler but still commanding. Hermione moved gracefully, her eyes never leaving Theo’s as she climbed onto the bed beside Draco.

Theo’s gaze lingered on them for a moment, a satisfied smile playing on his lips. “You two are mine,” he said, his voice low and possessive. “And tonight, I’m going to remind you just how much.”

Draco’s pulse quickened at the promise in Theo’s words, his body already responding to the anticipation of what was to come. This was their sanctuary, their haven, where they could be themselves without judgment or pretense. Here, Theo was in control, and Draco wouldn’t have it any other way.

But even within this dynamic, there was a balance—a deep, unspoken understanding that flowed between them. Theo may have taken the lead, but Draco and Hermione were not simply passive participants. They were a triad, equal in love and desire, each of them giving and taking in a dance as old as time.

As Theo approached the bed, Draco’s heart swelled with a sense of belonging. They were more than just lovers—they were a family, bound together by a love that defied convention and expectation. And as they lost themselves in each other that night, Draco knew that no matter what the world thought of them, this was where he was meant to be, in the arms of the two people who completed him.

Chapter 44: The Duel of a Lifetime

Chapter Text

September, 2000

Hermione had been giddy with excitement about the upcoming duelling showcase ever since Draco had mentioned it. She’d been sneaking into the DMLE training facility every morning before anyone else arrived, practicing what Aleksander had taught her in their final year of school. In the evenings, she raided the now curse-free Nott library, discreetly transfiguring the front covers of the books to keep the boys from discovering her activities. This was going to be her moment to shine, and she wanted to be ready.

Returning to Hogwarts after all these years felt surreal. Now in her early twenties, the castle seemed somehow smaller, its halls less intimidating than they had been when she was a student. Yet, the memories were still potent, and the nostalgia tugged at her heart as she walked toward the Great Hall, flanked by Theo and Draco.

A familiar deep voice stopped her in her tracks. “Vell, if it isn’t my favourite student. Hello, Hermionney.”

Draco stiffened beside her, recoiling slightly at the terrible pronunciation of her name. She didn’t miss the once-over he gave the man, a quick, assessing glance, not recognizing him from school.

“Aleksander!” Hermione exclaimed, embracing the man warmly. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

He shot a perplexed look at the trio. “Vell, isn’t it obvious? I have come to vatch you scrub the floor vith these boys.”

Hermione burst into laughter, gripping the man’s arm as they walked together toward the hall. Behind them, Theo and Draco exchanged unimpressed murmurs, clearly less amused by the situation.

“The expression iswipethe floor, Aleks,” she corrected playfully, “but I appreciate your support.”

“No, Hermionney, you villscrub,” he insisted confidently, making her laugh even harder.

“I suppose I will Aleks… you certainly did not teach me to be gentle,” she agreed conspiratorially as they entered the Great Hall, which had been cleared for today’s session.

Bill had asked McGonagall for permission to restart the duelling club at Hogwarts last year, and as a special treat to drum up support, he’d asked Harry, now the Head Auror, to co-teach one Saturday a month. With the club now well-established, Harry had suggested inviting Hermione, Theo, and Draco as this year’s special guests to kick off the term. Hermione had been looking forward to it, knowing full well that Harry had initially wanted Draco for the dueling demonstration. However, understanding that she and Theo would have attended regardless, he had extended the invitation to both of them.

No one but Theo knew of the lessons Aleksander had given her during their final year, and even then, he had never duelled against her. Draco, on the other hand, had seen the strength of her magic when they had rescued Theo, but she had been too focused on survival to reveal many of the real tricks Aleksander had taught her.

As they entered the hall, Harry spotted Theo and Draco almost immediately—the two of them stood a clear head taller than most in the room—and made his way toward them. He hugged Hermione hello, clapped Theo on the back, and shook hands with Draco. The tension between Harry and Draco still lingered, a shadow of their old rivalry, but there was mutual respect.

Once the hall had filled with staff and students alike, all eager for the show, Harry took to the duelling platform, casting a Sonorus charm to capture everyone’s attention.

“Thank you all for coming,” Harry began, his voice amplified across the hall. “It’s great to see so many new faces this term, and for those of you returning from last year, welcome back. Today, we have something special for you. My good friends Hermione, Theo, and Malfoy have agreed to participate in an exhibition duel. This should be quite exciting, as the only combination of us that has ever duelled properly is Malfoy and me, back in our second year. But we’ve seen each other in action since, and you all know, of course, that Hermione and I fought beside each other on more than one occasion.” He paused, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. “And Nott? Well, let’s see if he knows how to hold a wand, shall we?”

Ever since that first day in the Three Broomsticks, Theo and Harry had never stopped ribbing each other. Where Draco and Harry still genuinely got under each other’s skin, Theo and Harry’s banter was good-natured, something Hermione was grateful for. She knew Theo would be dying to give Harry the middle finger—his new favourite muggle gesture—but was too wary of McGonagall’s disapproving gaze to do so in her presence.

“We’ve all agreed that nothing is off the table today, except for the Unforgivables, of course,” Harry continued. “And there’s a protective barrier around the platform, so no need to worry about errant spells. Professor Weasley and Madame Pomfrey are here to step in should medical assistance be required. Now, Malfoy and I will duel first.”

Hermione watched as Harry began pacing the length of the platform, explaining his strategy. “From experience, I know Malfoy likes to dominate his opponents with a fast onslaught of nasty attacks. He’s also one of the most talented wizards in the country, possibly the world, when it comes to mind magic, so he’ll attempt to use Legilimency to gauge what spell I’ll cast while using Occlumency to stop me from doing the same. I’ll admit, I’m mediocre at best when it comes to Legilimency, so I won’t even try against him—it would only weaken my magical strength for little to no result. I understand it’s not commonly known that old wizarding families like ours are shown to have particular proclivities for certain branches of magic - lucky man gets mind magic and duelling. The Potters, as I’ve recently discovered, are gifted in defensive magic which is why it served me so well in the war. But I digress,” Harry clapped his hands, grinning at the eager students. “Are we ready?”

The room buzzed with anticipation as Harry and Draco bowed to each other and took their positions. Bill counted down, and the duel began.

Draco wasted no time, shooting a Sectumsempra straight at Harry’s chest. The spell was harsh, but expected, and Harry dodged it, sending a slicing hex of his own right back. The hall crackled with energy as curses and hexes hurtled across the platform. Draco’s wolfish grin spread across his face, clearly enjoying the intensity of the duel.

“He’s good, isn’t he?” Theo whispered proudly beside Hermione. She hummed in agreement, her eyes never leaving the duel. A moment later, Theo’s voice grew more somber. “I don’t think I’ll ever see him wield his magic the way he did that day we were both kidnapped. I’m not sure I want to, if I’m honest.”

“No,” she agreed, her voice soft. “But I bet he was magnificent.”

They had offered Hermione their memories of that day on multiple occasions, but she had always declined. She didn’t want to relive the trauma, no matter how curious she was to see the full power of Draco’s magic.

On the platform, Harry and Draco continued their battle, using spells they had likely used against each other in the past. At one point, Harry conjured a massive snake, which slithered toward Draco, hissing and spitting. Draco tried to vanish it, but Harry kept up a barrage of stunners, forcing Draco to focus on defence.

The snake leaped into the air, poised to strike at Draco’s neck, when he released a purple flash from his wand, and the snake erupted into flames. Without warning, the entire room swirled around them, and they were deep in a dense jungle. The humid air was stifling, and the vivid greenery pressed in on all sides.

Hermione’s head whipped around, taking in the scene. The students looked panicked, and confusion spread among the staff—everyone except Flitwick, who appeared amused.

“Easy, love,” Theo’s rich voice echoed in her ear, his arm wrapping around her waist, pulling her close. “Did you really think Draco wouldn’t have practiced some new tricks to impress you? We’ve both been good boys, brushing up on our skills. We’ve got quite a lot to protect these days, little witch.”

Hermione felt herself relax, the tension leaving her shoulders. Now that she knew the vision was Draco’s doing, she could appreciate the beauty of his magic. It was impressive—something she had only read about in the ancient tomes of the Nott Estate library. This wasn’t taught in school; it required immense power to hold such a complex illusion over every person in the room, not just Harry.

On the platform, Harry seemed distracted by the roar of a large black panther stalking toward him. He didn’t notice Draco cast a non-verbal disarming spell, too focused on the panther, unsure if it was real or just a figment of his mind. Harry’s wand flew into Draco’s waiting palm as the jungle illusion faded away, leaving the students cheering and applauding.

Draco, glistening with sweat, bowed respectfully to Harry before stepping down from the platform. As he approached where she and Theo stood waiting, Hermione felt the familiar flutter in her stomach. Would she ever stop being turned on by how powerful Draco was? Probably not.

None of them were big on public displays of affection, so despite how much both she and Theo wanted to jump on their wizard, they simply stood before him, jaws slack in astonishment.

This, of course, was a mistake. Draco’s smug smile grew wider. “Go on then, tell me how good that was,” he said triumphantly.

Theo licked his lips suggestively, a dark look crossing his face. “Not as good as this is going to be,” he countered, taking off confidently toward Harry.

Hermione couldn’t help herself. “Draco, don’t tell Theo I’m asking this, but do you think he’ll be able to beat Harry? I know he’s incredibly talented, but Harry’s not the Head Auror for no reason, and he seemed to hold his own against you.”

“I wouldn’t be so quick to discount him, darling,” Draco said, wrapping his arms around her from behind, resting his chin on top of her head. “Theo has a dark side when he wants to, and like me, he’s been studying hard. He wouldn’t even tell me what he’s been up to.”

As Harry and Theo exchanged trash talk to rile up the students, Hermione watched with anticipation. Theo’s technique was almost lazy—no, not lazy,strategic. Where Draco was aggressive, striking like a snake, Theo was relaxed, almost playful. He blocked Harry’s spells with ease, sending back decoy jinxes that didn’t even seem to be aimed.

She studied Theo’s face, noticing the slight furrow of his brow. He was analysing Harry, taking in his stance, his footwork, his method of casting. Theo was toying with Harry, slowly wearing him down, luring him into a false sense of security.

A few minutes later, Theo cast what appeared to be a jelly-legs jinx, but the spell that hit Harry was actually a small slicing hex across his thigh. Caught off guard, Harry lost his balance, and Theo seized the opportunity, increasing the intensity of his attacks.

Theo was now fully engaged in the duel, matching Harry spell for spell, his earlier laziness replaced by precision. Hermione could feel Draco’s excitement behind her, his arousal evident as he pressed against her back.

The duel continued for nearly thirty minutes, with both wizards showing incredible skill. But Theo’s strategy had paid off—Harry was growing tired, his magic faltering under the strain of trying to anticipate Theo’s moves.

Sensing his moment, Theo struck. As Harry hurled a powerful Confringo, a last-ditch effort to overpower him, Theo’s voice rang out, “Petrificus Totalus!” Harry was immobilized, his body locked in place. At the same time, Theo’s wand shot out of his hand, and he collapsed to the ground, defeated.

The room erupted in applause, and Theo, ever the good sport, strode over to help Harry to his feet.

“Hermione,” Harry called out, using a Sonorus charm to amplify his voice. “Would you come up here, please?”

Hermione felt all eyes on her as she ascended the platform. She hadn’t been nervous until this moment, but now, she regretted being left until the end. She knew Draco and Theo had come prepared, but she had no idea what tricks they had up their sleeves. She desperately hoped the pressure wouldn’t be too much.

Harry smiled at her fondly. “Now, as I’m sure you’re all aware, my friend here is a particularly strong witch. Her spells are incredibly intense when they hit you—something any of you who’ve been on the receiving end of an angry Gryffindor can relate to. And in school, Hermione was a textbook duellist. This is why I’ve saved her for last, as I think she’ll be the one you’ll find easiest to emulate in your own practice.”

Hermione’s eyes narrowed at Harry’s words.Textbook? Relatable?She’d show him textbook and relatable.

From the audience, she could see Theo and Draco snigg*ring, clearly aware of the fire Harry’s words had ignited in her.

“Twenty Galleons says she beats you, Potter!” Draco called out.

“Fifty says she puts you on your arse,” Theo added.

“Deal,” Harry said confidently. “But I’m not the only one she’ll be duelling. Perhaps you’d both like to come up here too and make it interesting—what do you say, Hermione?”

She rolled her shoulders back, standing tall. “Bring. It. On.”

Harry transfigured the podium into a cross so they could each take a section. Three against one—here goes nothing.

Hermione walked to her corner, shedding her robes to reveal the duelling outfit Pansy had designed for her. A tight, black jumpsuit inspired by muggle workout clothing, paired with trainers. She didn’t miss the way both Theo and Draco’s eyes darkened at the sight of her, clearly appreciating the distraction her outfit provided.

As they readied themselves, Hermione considered her strategy. Harry was close to magical exhaustion, and Theo would likely hold back, studying her before engaging. That left Draco—he needed to be taken out first.

“On the count of three!” Bill shouted. “One, two, three!”

Hermione didn’t hesitate. She transfigured Draco into a ferret, knowing he’d be furious. She followed it up with a body-bind curse, just in case.

“Stupefy!” Harry yelled, the spell weakened by his laughter at Draco’s predicament. Hermione easily deflected it, conjuring a boulder in front of him. Harry hesitated, confused by the boulder, and she seized the opportunity, shouting, “Reducto!”

**

Theo couldn’t believe his little witch. She had told him about what Professor Hristrova had taught her, but seeing it in action was something else entirely.

The boulder she conjured exploded, knocking Harry off balance. Theo took the opportunity to send a silent incarcerous at her, determined to give her a challenge.

Just as the binds were about to make contact, Hermione disillusioned herself. Seconds later, two versions of Harry appeared on the platform. Pesky witch had transfigured herself to look like Harry. Clever.

No matter—he’d take them both out if he had to.

Theo focused, splitting his mind into two. He didn’t want to risk hurting the real Harry, so he cast Finite at the Harry on the left, guessing it was Hermione, while sending Expelliarmus at the other. His guess was correct, and Hermione reappeared just as Harry’s wand flew into Theo’s hand.

Hermione eyed him daringly, her gaze challenging. Was it wrong that duelling with her was turning him on?

Wanting to push her further, Theo decided to play her game. He conjured infinity mirrors all around them, trying to disorient her, but she shattered them immediately. The shards of glass hung suspended in the air, and Theo realized his mistake.

Hermione arched her brow, and the shards hurtled toward him. He threw up the strongest shield he could, turning the shards to dust. But she wasn’t done. The dust began to swirl around him, trapping him in a spinning vortex.

How does one finite a spinning ball of dust? Theo wondered as he cast the spell blindly, trying to break free.

When the dust finally cleared, he found himself face-to-face with Hermione. “Incarcerous,” she whispered, her voice low and seductive, her eyes dark as she looked up at him. He was too distracted to resist as the binds wrapped around him.

The applause was thunderous, but suddenly, they were no longer in the Great Hall. They were high above the Hogwarts quidditch pitch. One of his finites must have hit Draco, releasing the transfiguration spell.

Draco must be really pissed off to project this scene, knowing how much Hermione hated flying. From his position, still bound to his broomstick, Theo watched as Hermione unleashed hell on Draco, sending boulders hurtling at him.

Even in his own illusion, Draco was a master on a broom, dodging each boulder effortlessly. He wore a proud, smug smile, clearly enjoying the challenge.

Suddenly, Lee Jordan’s voice boomed across the room as the boulders flew through the quidditch rings behind Draco. “Hermione Granger scores 160 points for Gryffindor!”

“Aww, well done, darling,” Draco called out, his tone playful. “I knew you had it in you.”

Theo was glad he was still bound. How Hermione was holding him while dueling Draco, he didn’t know, but he wasn’t about to interfere. It was like watching his own private show—a rather arousing one at that.

He shook the thought away, focusing on what Hermione would do next. Draco’s mind magic made him nearly unbeatable on her own.

Then, a look of complete serenity washed over Hermione’s face, and her entire body went limp.

Theo watched in horror as she fell from her broom, plummeting toward the ground. He willed himself to remember it was just an illusion, but it felt too real. Bile rose in his throat.

Draco, too, seemed to lose himself in the illusion, diving after Hermione. The further he flew, the weaker the illusion became until they were back in the hall, and Hermione’s mangled body lay in the center of the platform.

Theo’s binds disappeared, and he dropped to his knees. What the f*ck had Draco done?

Silence fell across the room until “Accio” was whispered, and suddenly, Draco, Theo, and Harry’s wands flew into Hermione’s outstretched hand as her ‘body’ faded away, leaving only her robes.

“Miss me?” she whispered, removing the disillusionment from herself, holding their wands triumphantly in the air. Devious little witch.

Hermione turned to the students and bowed low. “And that, boys and girls, is defensive transfiguration, taught to me by our very own Professor Hristrova,” she announced proudly, oblivious to the emotional turmoil she had caused the three men.

Sensing the tension, Bill Weasley stepped onto the platform. “Congratulations, Hermione. As you can see, defensive transfiguration can be incredibly effective. But I also hope this demonstrates the dangers of toying with mind magic. As unstoppable as Draco may seem, you must be careful not to lose your head. Now, almost every spell these four showed you today is not accepted in school dueling competitions. Let’s refocus on traditional dueling practice. Professor Flitwick, as I recall, you were once a world dueling champion? Would you care to demonstrate with me? Please, give our guests a warm hand.”

Draco was on his feet suddenly, barreling toward Hermione. He barely stopped before grabbing her by the wrist and dragging her from the hall. Theo knew where he was going before Draco did.

Hermione’s big doe-eyes turned to him, pleading for understanding, but he couldn’t offer comfort, not yet. The emotional toll was too raw, too fresh.

“Give him time, Hermione,” Theo said softly. “You certainly made sure we were beaten.”

“I didn’t mean to take it so far, Theo,” she confessed, her voice breaking. “I got caught up in the moment. Exploring the extent of our magic with each other… I—”

But Theo couldn’t bring himself to console her, not yet. He took off after Draco, leaving Harry to lecture her in his place. “Merlin, Hermione, don’t ever do that again. I mean, you were brilliant, but if you ever…” His voice faded as Theo left the hall.

**

Upon returning home, Hermione hid herself away in the library. She needed to give the wizards time to calm down before she could even broach the topic of forgiveness. Desperately seeking comfort, she snuggled under the deep green blanket on one of the large chesterfield sofas in front of the roaring fire. She summoned her first edition copy ofHogwarts: A Historythat Draco had gifted her after fifth year, trying to lose herself in its familiar pages.

Hours passed, and it was only when her stomach groaned in protest that she realized how much time had gone by. She cast a quickTempusand was surprised to find it was already 8 PM. They must still be really angry if they hadn’t come to drag her to dinner.

**

Draco paced back and forth in the drawing room of Malfoy Manor, his usually composed demeanor fraying at the edges. Theo sat on the arm of a nearby chair, his fingers tapping rhythmically against his thigh as he watched Draco with a mixture of concern and impatience.

"This is ridiculous," Draco muttered, more to himself than to Theo. "We should be furious with her, not—"

"Not planning to propose?" Theo finished for him, raising an eyebrow. "Draco, we've been over this. We're angry because we care. But that doesn't change how we feel about her."

Draco stopped pacing, running a hand through his platinum hair. He looked at Theo, the storm in his grey eyes calming slightly. "You're right," he admitted, though the words came out as more of a growl. "But we can't just go into this without... I mean, we need to do this right."

Theo nodded. "Which is why we’re doing this. We’re going to ask for Harry's blessing. It’s the proper thing to do."

The very idea of it made Draco’s stomach twist into knots. Asking Harry Potter for anything was not something he had ever imagined himself doing, let alone asking for his blessing to marry Hermione. But, as much as Draco hated to admit it, Harry was the closest thing Hermione had to family now that her parents were gone.

Without another word, Draco and Theo Apparated directly to Grimmauld Place, the crack of their arrival echoing in the otherwise silent square. They exchanged a look before knocking on the door. Within moments, Kreacher opened it, eyeing them both with a mix of suspicion and resignation.

“Master Harry is in his study,” Kreacher rasped, stepping aside to let them in.

Draco led the way, his confidence now returning with each step. The familiar surroundings of Grimmauld Place, with its dark wood paneling and lingering sense of history, were oddly comforting. Theo walked beside him, his usually calm demeanor giving way to a subtle tension in his posture.

When they reached the study, Draco knocked firmly on the door.

“Come in,” Harry’s voice called from within.

Draco pushed the door open, and they stepped inside. Harry was seated at his desk, papers scattered before him, but he looked up with surprise when he saw who had come to visit.

“Malfoy, Nott,” Harry said, standing up confused since it had barely been a few hours since he saw them, “This is... unexpected.”

“We need to talk,” Draco said, cutting straight to the point. Theo nodded in agreement.

Harry’s expression shifted to one of concern, and he gestured for them to sit. “Is Hermione okay since you all left the school?”

“She’s fine,” Theo said quickly, taking a seat. Draco remained standing, his nerves preventing him from sitting down. “At least, she will be.”

Harry’s brows furrowed as he looked between the two of them. “What’s going on?”

Draco took a deep breath, steeling himself. “We’ve come to ask for your blessing, Potter.”

Harry blinked, clearly not expecting that. “Blessing? For what?”

“For Hermione,” Draco said, his voice steady. “Theo and I... we want to ask her to marry us.”

The words hung in the air for a moment, the weight of them sinking in. Harry’s green eyes widened in surprise, and he leaned back in his chair, clearly processing what he had just heard.

Theo spoke up, his voice calm and sincere. “We know how much Hermione means to you, Harry. And with her parents gone, we thought it would be right to come to you. You’ve been like family to her, and it’s important to us that we do this the proper way.”

Harry stared at them for a long moment, and Draco could almost see the wheels turning in his mind. Finally, Harry let out a slow breath, his gaze softening.

“She loves you both,” Harry said, his voice quiet but certain. “I’ve seen the way she looks at you, and I know how much you mean to her. If you’re asking for my blessing, then... you have it.”

Draco felt a wave of relief wash over him, and Theo’s shoulders visibly relaxed. Harry wasn’t done, though. He fixed them both with a serious look.

“But let me be clear,” Harry continued. “If you ever hurt her, in any way, I’ll be coming for you. Both of you.”

Draco couldn’t help the small smirk that tugged at the corner of his lips. “Understood, Potter.”

Theo nodded as well, his expression sincere. “We would never dream of it.”

Harry’s stern expression softened into a small smile, and he stood up, walking around the desk to stand in front of them. “Then I guess I should congratulate you both. Hermione’s lucky to have you.”

“Thank you, Harry,” Theo said, standing as well. Draco shook Harry’s hand, feeling a sense of camaraderie he had never expected to find with the man who had once been his rival.

As they left Grimmauld Place, Draco felt a strange sense of peace settle over him. It wasn’t just about asking for Harry’s blessing—it was about knowing that they were doing this together, the three of them, as they always should have been.

Chapter 45: Bound by Love

Chapter Text

September, 2000

Hermione had just closedHogwarts: A Historyand was about to leave the library when she heard the door creak open. She turned, her breath catching as she saw Draco and Theo enter, their eyes locking onto hers with an intensity that made her heart race.

Without a word, they advanced toward her, their expressions a mix of frustration, desire, and something else—something deeper that sent a shiver down her spine.

"You didn't think we'd let you off that easily, did you?" Theo's voice was low, his usual playful tone replaced by something darker, more commanding.

Hermione swallowed, trying to maintain her composure. "I know I went too far today," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry."

Draco stepped closer, his grey eyes stormy with emotion. "You scared us, Hermione. You scared me." His hand brushed a stray curl from her face, his touch both tender and possessive. "But you also proved something… something that we can't ignore."

Theo moved behind her, his presence a warm, solid wall against her back. "You proved you're just as dangerous as we are, little witch," he murmured, his breath hot against her ear. "And that means you're going to have to face the consequences."

Before she could respond, Theo's wand was out, casting a gentle binding spell that wrapped around her wrists, holding them in place above her head. The magic was soft, like a caress, but it was unyielding, keeping her exactly where they wanted her.

Draco smiled, a slow, wicked curve of his lips. "Theo and I have been practicing some new tricks of our own," he said, his voice a silken purr. "We're going to make sure you understand just how much you mean to us, in a way you'll never forget."

He waved his hand, and the library around them shifted. The familiar walls and shelves faded, replaced by the illusion of a moonlit beach, the sound of waves crashing softly in the distance. Hermione could feel the cool sand beneath her feet, the warm breeze on her skin, but she knew it was all Draco’s magic.

"Feel that, love?" Draco asked, his voice a seductive whisper. "That's just the beginning. We can be anywhere, do anything. But it's your mind we want to explore."

Theo's hands trailed down her sides, sending sparks of magic through her with every touch. "And it's your mind that we'll take apart, piece by delicious piece," he added, his voice laced with both promise and warning.

Draco's legilimency brushed against her thoughts, a teasing caress that made her shiver. She could feel his presence inside her mind, exploring her desires, her fears, her deepest, most hidden fantasies. He wasn’t just reading her thoughts; he was coaxing them out, drawing them to the surface where he and Theo could see them.

She gasped as an invisible hand—Draco's illusion—traced down her spine, while Theo’s real hands moved in tandem, ghosting over her skin, leaving a trail of warmth and anticipation in their wake.

"Do you feel it, Hermione?" Draco whispered against her lips, though he hadn’t moved closer. The sensation was overwhelming, like they were everywhere and nowhere at once, their combined magic making her feel both completely exposed and utterly cherished.

"You belong to us, Hermione," Theo said, his voice wrapping around her like velvet. "And we’re going to show you exactly what that means."

Their magic intertwined, creating a heady mix of sensations that left Hermione trembling. Every touch, every whispered word, was a promise of more—more pleasure, more connection, more love.

As their teasing built to an unbearable crescendo, Hermione was on the edge, every nerve in her body alight with sensation. And then, just as she thought she would fall apart entirely, they stopped.

The library reappeared around them, the bindings on her wrists vanished, and the magical touches receded. For a moment, she was left standing there, breathless and dazed, the echo of their magic still humming through her veins.

And then she noticed the change.

The library was transformed. Over a thousand roses adorned the room, their scent filling the air with a heady, intoxicating fragrance. A golden gown appeared on her body, shimmering in the soft light of the room, and when she looked down, she found Draco and Theo kneeling before her, dressed in full black tailored suits.

“Hermione Jean Granger” Draco began, “today you showed us what it would be like to lose you. And even if only for a few seconds, we truly realised the depth of our complete and utter devastation if that ever became reality.”

Theo spoke next. “We have each loved you since we were lonely, scared and desperate boys. But we kneel before you as men who would move heaven and earth for you. Anything you want is yours, love, and we’ll do everything we can to ensure your happiness and safety for the rest of our lives.”

Hermione could feel her heart racing and her breathing speed up as Theo looked back to Draco encouraging him to continue.

“And you can be quite sure that we will find you, in this life and the next. We love you Hermione. With all of our heart and soul. We are completely yours as long as you’ll have us” Draco’s stormy blue eyes pierced into her soul at his next worlds, “But will you do us the honour of consenting to be our wife?”

Beside him, Theo pulled a familiar purple ring box adorned with gold vines from his pocket.

“Will you marry us Hermione?”

He opened the box to reveal a 5ct, pear cut, diamond nestled onto a solid gold band. It was both too much and perfectly understated all at the same time.

Hermione’s heart beat in her ears loudly as the men waited at her feet for an answer.

“I-…” she began but couldn’t find the words. “I can’t believe it… yes! Yes of course I’ll marry you both!” At once she threw herself to her knees between the two wizards.

**

Hermione walked through Diagon Alley, the crisp autumn air biting at her cheeks as she made her way to the small café where she was meeting Ginny and Pansy. The streets were bustling, witches and wizards going about their business, but Hermione’s mind was elsewhere. In just a few minutes, she would be sharing the most significant news of her life with two of her closest friends.

As she approached the café, she spotted Ginny and Pansy already seated at a table outside, both of them laughing over something. Pansy, with her dark hair perfectly styled and her fashionable robes catching the light, was the epitome of Slytherin grace, while Ginny, with her fiery red hair and easy smile, exuded the kind of warmth that made everyone feel at home.

“There she is!” Ginny called out as soon as she saw Hermione approaching. “About time, ‘Mione. We were starting to think you’d gotten lost in Flourish and Blotts again.”

Hermione rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged at her lips as she joined them at the table. “Not this time. I’ve been on time, you know.”

Pansy smirked, raising an eyebrow. “Let me guess, you were too busy getting lost in Theo and Draco instead.”

Hermione felt her cheeks flush slightly, but she didn’t deny it. “Something like that,” she admitted, settling into the chair.

Ginny leaned forward, her eyes narrowing playfully. “Alright, Granger. Spill. There’s something you’re dying to tell us, and I can tell you’re practically bursting at the seams.”

Pansy nodded, her interest piqued. “She’s right, you’ve got that look.”

Hermione took a deep breath, steadying herself. She’d rehearsed this in her mind a dozen times, but now that the moment was here, her heart was pounding. She glanced between her two friends, both of whom were now watching her expectantly.

“Well,” Hermione began, her voice steady, “I’ve got some news. Something big.”

Ginny and Pansy exchanged a glance before looking back at Hermione, their curiosity now fully piqued.

“Go on,” Pansy urged, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.

Hermione couldn’t help but smile as she spoke the words she’d been holding back for days. “Theo and Draco... they’ve both asked me to marry them.”

There was a beat of silence as the words sank in, and then, as if on cue, both Ginny and Pansy erupted in a chorus of squeals and laughter. Ginny practically launched herself out of her chair to hug Hermione, while Pansy clapped her hands together, a wide smile spreading across her face.

“I knew it!” Ginny exclaimed as she pulled back, her eyes shining with excitement. “I knew it would happen, but I didn’t think it would be this soon! Oh, ‘Mione, I’m so happy for you!”

Pansy, still grinning, leaned in closer. “Tell us everything. How did they do it? Was it romantic? Did they plan it together?”

Hermione laughed, feeling a warmth spread through her chest at their excitement. She’d known they would be happy for her, but seeing their genuine joy made the moment even more special.

“It was beautiful,” Hermione said, her voice soft as she recounted the moment. “Theo and Draco planned it all out together. They set up a beautiful display of roses—thousands of them, all throughout the library. And then, they both got down on one knee and asked me to marry them.”

Pansy sighed dreamily, her hands clasped together. “That sounds perfect. How very Draco to make it grand.”

Ginny tilted her head, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “And what did you say, Granger?”

Hermione couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face. “I said yes, of course.”

Pansy and Ginny exchanged another delighted look, and Ginny reached across the table to squeeze Hermione’s hand. “I’m so happy for you, ‘Mione. You deserve this happiness.”

“Absolutely,” Pansy agreed. “And I suppose you’ll be announcing it at your birthday party next week?”

Hermione nodded. “Yes, that’s the plan. We wanted to tell you two first, but we’ll be telling everyone else at the party. Harry knows apparently since they asked for his blessing. And they’re telling Blaise now actually. Draco says we have to tell his parents tonight” she groaned, “wish me luck with Lucius.”

The girls pulled a face causing them all to giggle.

“Do you think anyone will be surprised?” Ginny asked, her eyes twinkling with amusem*nt.

Hermione chuckled. “I’m not sure. I think most people will have suspected it by now, but we still wanted to make it official in front of everyone.”

“Well, it’s going to be the talk of the town,” Pansy said with a smirk. “Can you imagine the headlines? ‘Golden Girl Marries Reformed Slytherins in a Magical Triad Wedding.’”

Ginny snorted. “It’ll definitely give Rita Skeeter something to chew on.”

Hermione rolled her eyes at the thought. “I’m sure the Prophet will have a field day, but I’m not worried about that. I just want to celebrate with the people we care about. Perhaps Narcissa will pay Rita Skeeter off like she did last time.”

“And we’ll be there,” Ginny said firmly. “Supporting you every step of the way.”

“Absolutely,” Pansy added, her expression softening. “We’re so proud of you, Hermione. You’ve been through so much, and now you’re about to start this new chapter of your life. It’s wonderful.”

Hermione felt a lump form in her throat at their words, but she pushed it down, refusing to get emotional in the middle of the café. “Thank you,” she said, her voice thick with gratitude. “It means so much to me to have your support.”

Pansy waved her hand dismissively. “You don’t need to thank us, Granger. We’re your friends. This is what we do.”

“Exactly,” Ginny agreed. “Now, let’s talk about this birthday party. I’m assuming there will be plenty of champagne?”

Hermione laughed, grateful for the shift in conversation. “Oh, definitely. And cake. Lots of cake.”

**

Hermione looked up from her desk in the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures as a familiar knock echoed through the room. The door creaked open, revealing Draco with a playful smirk on his lips.

"Hello, love. Are you almost ready?" he asked, striding confidently toward her desk.

Hermione smiled, her heart warming at the sight of him. "Just one moment," she replied, her quill scratching against parchment. "I need to finish this last paragraph on my Veela research."

Draco nodded, sinking into the chair opposite her desk with a relaxed grace. "Take your time," he murmured, his voice soft and understanding.

She had barely written a few more sentences when Draco’s curiosity got the better of him. "What’ve you got there?" he asked, eyeing her with a mischievous glint. Hermione paused her writing and pulled a boiled sweet from her mouth, meeting his gaze. Of course, he’d noticed. Draco Malfoy could detect a lemon sherbet from a mile away.

“That’s not just anything, Granger,” he drawled, his tone teasing. “That’s a lemon sherbet. You know those are my favourite.”

Hermione simply arched a brow, holding back a smile.

"Mind if I have some?" Draco asked, his voice taking on a boyish charm that made Hermione’s heart flutter. He was like a child when it came to sweets. Sighing in mock exasperation, she held out the sweet to him.

"Thank you," he murmured, his fingers brushing against hers as he took the sweet and popped it into his mouth. He hummed in contentment, savouring the sharp sweetness that spread across his tongue. Hermione returned to her writing, but a small smile played on her lips as she silently counted down from five.

Right on cue, the sound of crunching filled the room. Hermione glanced up, a knowing look in her eyes. "You’re not supposed to chew it, Draco," she scolded, though her tone was far from stern.

Draco’s innocent expression was anything but. "No? Well, how else am I meant to get to the sherbety bit?" he retorted, his voice laced with amusem*nt.

"By being patient," Hermione replied, shaking her head at him fondly.

Draco leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms with a smirk. "I’m a lot of things, Granger, but surely you know by now that patient isn’t one of them."

She couldn’t help but laugh at his words. There was something undeniably endearing about him when he was like this—happy, carefree, and utterly charming.

With a final flourish of her quill, Hermione finished her last sentence and carefully stowed away her writing materials. As she began gathering her robes and bag, Draco stood, offering his hand with a gallant bow.

"Come on then, love," he said, his voice softening as he looked at her with affection. "Theo will meet us there."

Hermione took his hand, their fingers intertwining naturally.

“I like your mother very much, Draco, but I’m really not sure this is going to be a good idea,” Hermione muttered, anxiously smoothing down the skirt of her robes for what felt like the hundredth time.

Narcissa had insisted that they all come to the Manor for dinner the Tuesday following their engagement announcement over the Floo last week. Since they had rescued Theo from Astoria and McLaggen, she had become incredibly invested in their relationship, almost as if it were her personal mission to see it flourish.

And Lucius… well, apparently, he wanted to speak with her in particular. Wasn’t she the lucky one?

Lucius had been… less than enthusiastic about Draco’s relationship with both her and Theo. It seemed the only way Draco could have chosen worse in his father’s eyes was if he had been involved with a Muggle. But no, Draco had defied expectations in a way that made Hermione’s heart swell with pride. As her father would have said, “in for a penny, in for a pound.”

They’d managed to avoid most family gatherings in the past year where both of Draco’s parents would be present. But tonight, there was no escape.

“Oh, it’s absolutely a terrible idea,” Draco said, his tone surprisingly cheerful for the circ*mstances. He stepped closer, his hands finding their way to her waist, pulling her snug against his chest. “But you know, Mother always gets what she wants.”

Hermione tilted her head up to meet his gaze, a playful glint in her eyes. “And do I not always get what I want?”

Draco smirked, his voice dropping to a teasing whisper. “Such a brat,” he murmured, leaning in as if he were about to kiss her but stopping just short. “So, tell me, what is it that you want, love?”

“To skip this dinner, go home, and be wrapped up in bed with both of my future husbands,” she replied, batting her eyelashes at him in a deliberately exaggerated manner.

Draco chuckled, the sound deep and rich as he took in her best doe-eyed look. “Tell you what,” he said, brushing a stray curl behind her ear. “After a nice dinner with my mother, we’ll see if Theo is in the mood to help us experiment with just how many times we can make you scream our names tonight. How does that sound?”

For a moment, he nearly lost himself in the daydream, imagining the night ahead. But Hermione’s dry, sarcastic tone brought him crashing back to reality.

“Fine,” she sighed dramatically. “Heaven forbid we disappoint mummy.”

Draco grinned, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. “That’s the spirit. Now, let’s get this over with, so we can get to the part where you always get what you want.”

**

The grand entryway was just as imposing as Hermione remembered, with its dark, polished floors and grand marble staircase. But today, the oppressive weight of the past seemed to have lifted somewhat, replaced with a sense of anticipation and excitement.

Draco squeezed Hermione's hand as they made their way toward the drawing room, where Narcissa and Lucius awaited them. The nerves fluttering in her stomach weren't just for herself; she knew this moment was monumental for Draco. Though he tried to hide it, she could sense the tension in his shoulders, the tightness in his jaw. The approval of his parents, particularly his father, still meant something to him, even after everything.

Theo walked beside them, his presence a comforting balm as always. He was calm, composed, and just as protective of Draco as he was of Hermione. The triad had become a united front, and tonight, they were prepared to face whatever came their way.

The drawing room was as opulent as ever, with dark wood paneling, heavy velvet drapes, and a roaring fire in the grand hearth. Narcissa rose gracefully from the settee as they entered, her face lighting up with genuine warmth.

"Draco, Theo, Hermione," she greeted, her voice soft and affectionate. "I'm so glad you're here."

Lucius remained seated in his high-backed chair, his expression impassive. Hermione couldn't help but notice the tightness around his mouth, the way his fingers drummed ever so slightly against the armrest. It was clear that he was not as thrilled about this visit as his wife.

"Mother," Draco said, stepping forward to kiss her cheek. "Father."

Theo and Hermione followed suit, each offering Narcissa a kiss on the cheek before giving Lucius a polite nod. The atmosphere was tense but civil.

"Come, sit," Narcissa urged, gesturing to the settee opposite hers. "We have much to discuss."

Once they were all seated, Narcissa wasted no time. "Draco, you mentioned you had important news to share?"

Draco exchanged a glance with Hermione and Theo before nodding. "Yes, Mother. We do." He took a deep breath, his voice steady. "Theo and I have asked Hermione to marry us, and she has accepted."

Narcissa's eyes widened with delight, and she clasped her hands together, her excitement palpable. "Oh, Draco! Theo! Hermione! This is wonderful news! I had hoped for this, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon."

Hermione smiled, her heart warming at Narcissa's genuine reaction. "Thank you, Narcissa. We're very happy."

Narcissa reached out and took Hermione's hand in hers, squeezing it gently. "You have made my son happier than I ever could have imagined, Hermione. And you, Theo," she added, turning to him, "you are as much a part of this family as anyone. This is a union we should all celebrate."

"We were planning to announce it at Hermione's birthday party next week," Draco added, his voice more relaxed now that his mother had given her blessing. "Blaise is already coordinating the announcement with the Prophet."

Narcissa beamed, her eyes sparkling with joy. "That's perfect! We can share the news with all our friends and family at the party. Everyone will be so thrilled. I must say, Hermione, this will be a birthday to remember."

Hermione chuckled softly. "Yes, it certainly will be."

Throughout the conversation, Lucius remained silent, his expression inscrutable. He sipped his wine and occasionally glanced at Narcissa, who was already discussing party arrangements with Theo and Draco as if nothing could make her happier. But Hermione could feel his gaze on her, cold and calculating.

When dinner was announced by Flora, the group made their way to the dining room. The meal was exquisite, as always, with dishes of roast lamb, buttered vegetables, and a selection of wines that paired perfectly with each course. Narcissa and Theo carried the conversation, discussing everything from the party plans to the latest news in the wizarding world. Draco joined in occasionally, but Hermione could see that he was still watching his father closely, waiting for a reaction.

Lucius ate in silence, barely acknowledging the conversation. Hermione noticed the way his eyes flicked to her, to Draco, and to Theo, as if he were assessing them, weighing the implications of this new dynamic. It wasn’t until dessert was served—a delicate lemon tart with a raspberry coulis—that Lucius finally spoke.

"Hermione," he said, his voice low and controlled, "may I have a word with you? In private."

Draco stiffened beside her, his hand tightening on his fork. Hermione gave him a reassuring smile, placing her hand over his before nodding to Lucius. "Of course."

Lucius rose from the table, and Hermione followed him out of the dining room and into the library. The door clicked shut behind them, and for a moment, they stood in silence, the tension thick in the air.

Lucius turned to face her, his eyes hard, his expression unreadable. "Narcissa has insisted that I... address the situation," he began, his tone clipped. "It is not easy for me to accept this... arrangement. But I have been informed that it is necessary."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, her heart pounding. "Necessary?"

"Yes," Lucius said, his voice strained. "To maintain... family unity. Narcissa believes that you are a part of this family now, and that I must accept that. So, here we are."

It was clear to Hermione that Lucius was struggling to say the words, and she suspected that Narcissa had indeed written out exactly what he needed to say. His apology, when it came, felt rehearsed, the words stiff and unnatural.

"I... apologize for any discomfort I have caused you, Hermione," Lucius continued, his eyes flicking to the floor. "You are... part of this family now. And as such, you will be treated with the respect that role commands."

Hermione nodded, not entirely surprised by the forced nature of his words. She could see the strain in his expression, the reluctance behind his apology. "Thank you, Lucius," she replied evenly. "I appreciate your effort."

Lucius inclined his head slightly, his eyes finally meeting hers. "This is a... difficult adjustment for me, Hermione. But I will do what is required to maintain the harmony of our family."

She knew there was no love lost between them, but she also understood the importance of family to both Narcissa and Draco. If this was Lucius's way of extending an olive branch, however begrudgingly, she would accept it.

"That's all I ask," Hermione said softly, giving him a small, polite smile.

Lucius nodded once more, and without another word, he turned and left the room, the door clicking shut behind him.

Hermione stood there for a moment, letting out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. It was clear that Lucius's acceptance was far from genuine, but for Narcissa's sake—and for Draco's—she would tolerate it. They were building a future together, and that meant navigating the complexities of their families as best they could.

When she returned to the dining room, she found Narcissa, Draco, and Theo deep in conversation, the atmosphere light and cheerful. Draco looked up as she entered, his eyes searching hers for any sign of distress. She gave him a reassuring smile as she took her seat beside him.

"Everything alright?" Draco murmured, his hand finding hers under the table.

"Yes," Hermione replied, squeezing his hand gently. "Everything's fine."

Narcissa caught her eye and gave her an understanding nod, as if to say she knew exactly what had transpired in the library. Hermione smiled back, grateful for the other woman's unwavering support.

The rest of the evening passed without incident, and as they prepared to leave, Narcissa hugged Hermione tightly. "You have my full support, Hermione," she whispered in her ear. "Always remember that."

"Thank you, Narcissa," Hermione whispered back, her heart full. "That means more to me than you know."

As they stepped out into the long corridor back towards the travelling parlour, Theo wrapped an arm around Hermione's waist, pulling her close. Draco walked beside them, a contented smile on his face as he looked up at the stars.

"Well, that went better than expected," Theo remarked, glancing at Draco. "All things considered."

"Yes, it did," Draco agreed, his voice low. "And no matter what my father thinks, we have mother on our side. That's all we need."

Hermione smiled, leaning into Theo’s warmth as he escorted her through the floo back to the Nott Estate with Draco following dutifully behind as usual.

Chapter 46: Happy Birthday

Chapter Text

September, 2000

The week before Hermione's birthday, it was Theo’s turn to be celebrated. As the sun began to rise on the morning of his special day, Theo awoke to the sound of soft waves lapping against the shore and the salty scent of the ocean in the air. It was a stark contrast to the usual mornings at the Nott Estate, and for a moment, he wondered if he was still dreaming.

But the warmth at his side, the familiar feel of Draco’s body pressed against his back and Hermione nestled into his chest, quickly reminded him that this was real—and this cottage they had rented was perfect.

He smiled to himself, the tranquility of the moment wrapping around him like a warm blanket. This was exactly where he wanted to be, with the people he loved most, in a new place that brought him a rare sense of peace.

“Mmm, happy birthday,” Hermione murmured sleepily, her voice soft as she tilted her head up to press a kiss to Theo’s jaw.

“Happy birthday, mate,” Draco echoed, his voice rough with sleep as he nuzzled into Theo’s neck.

Theo’s heart swelled with affection as he took in the warmth and love surrounding him. “Thank you,” he replied, his voice low and content.

After a few more moments of quiet bliss, Hermione reluctantly pulled herself from the comfort of their shared bed, stretching as she stood up. “I have something planned for us today,” she said, a hint of excitement in her voice as she glanced out the window at the beach below.

Theo followed her gaze, his interest piqued. “What are you up to, Granger?”

Hermione smirked, slipping into her robe before heading toward the door. “You’ll see. But first, breakfast. I’ve got Mippy working on something special.”

Draco chuckled as he sat up, raking a hand through his messy hair. “Of course you do. We wouldn’t expect anything less.”

The three of them made their way to the cozy kitchen of the beach house Hermione had rented for them in Devon. The house, perched on a cliff overlooking the ocean, was the perfect getaway from their usually busy lives. It was small, private, and the sound of the waves crashing against the shore was a constant reminder of the peaceful escape Hermione had planned.

When they arrived in the kitchen, they found a spread of breakfast foods that could rival Mippy’s usual feasts back home—fresh fruit, warm croissants, eggs, bacon, and, of course, a small birthday cake already lit with candles.

Theo couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of the cake. “Already with the cake?”

Hermione shrugged, a teasing smile playing on her lips. “What can I say? I wanted to start the day off right.”

Draco wrapped an arm around Theo’s waist, pulling him close as they all took a seat at the table. “Make a wish,” he urged, his tone playful but sincere.

Theo looked between them, his heart full as he thought of all the things he could wish for—but realizing that, in this moment, he already had everything he wanted. With a smile, he blew out the candles, feeling the warmth of the flames give way to the light in his heart.

After breakfast, they spent the day exploring the beach. The weather was perfect—a warm breeze and a bright sun shining down on the trio as they walked along the sand, hand in hand. Hermione had packed a picnic, and they found a secluded spot near the water to settle down, enjoying the simple pleasures of the day.

Theo, who had always found solace in the water, spent much of the afternoon swimming in the sea. He relished the feeling of the cool water against his skin, the weightlessness that came with being submerged, and the way the ocean seemed to wash away the stress of their everyday lives.

Draco joined him, diving into the waves with a grace that came naturally to him. They swam together, challenging each other to races, their laughter echoing across the water.

Hermione watched them from the shore, a smile on her face as she saw the joy in their eyes. This was why she had planned this trip—for Theo, who loved the water, and for Draco, who needed the escape as much as he did. But also for herself, to see the men she loved most in the world so carefree and happy.

As the sun began to set, they returned to the beach house, their skin warm and salty from the sea. They showered, changed into comfortable clothes, and spent the evening on the deck overlooking the ocean. Mippy had prepared a simple dinner of grilled fish and vegetables, and they ate by candlelight, the sound of the waves providing the perfect soundtrack to their meal.

When the meal was over, Theo leaned back in his chair, a contented smile on his face as he looked out at the horizon. “This was perfect,” he said, his voice soft but filled with gratitude.

Hermione reached across the table to take his hand, her heart swelling with love. “I’m glad you think so. You deserve it, Theo.”

Draco, who had been watching them with a fond smile, raised his glass. “To Theo,” he said, his voice warm and sincere. “The best partner in crime a man could ask for, and the only person who can keep me on my toes.”

Theo chuckled, raising his own glass in response. “And to both of you,” he added, his gaze soft as he looked between them. “For making every day better than the last.”

They clinked their glasses together, the simple gesture a reminder of the bond they shared.

As the night drew to a close, and the stars began to twinkle above them, they all curled up together on the large, cushioned sofa on the deck. The warmth of their bodies pressed close, the sound of the ocean in the background, and the soft glow of the stars above made it the perfect ending to a perfect day.

**

Draco woke early on the morning of Hermione’s birthday, the first they would celebrate together as a trio. The soft light of dawn filtered through the curtains of the grand bedroom at the Nott Estate, casting a gentle glow on the room's elegant but dark furnishings. Beside him, Hermione lay nestled under the covers, her curls spilling over the pillow, her breathing soft and steady.

A smirk tugged at Draco’s lips as he glanced over at Theo, who was already awake and watching Hermione with a tender expression that Draco had come to recognize as rare but genuine. The two men exchanged a look, a silent understanding passing between them. Today was special, and they intended to make sure Hermione felt every bit of it.

Without a word, Draco slipped closer to Hermione, his hand reaching out to brush a stray curl from her face. He leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to her temple. Theo followed suit, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder as he whispered her name.

“Hermione,” Draco murmured, his voice a low rumble that sent a shiver down her spine even in her sleep. “Time to wake up, love.”

Hermione stirred, her eyelids fluttering as she slowly came to consciousness. The warmth of their bodies so close to her, the feeling of their hands on her skin, brought a sleepy smile to her lips.

“What… what time is it?” she mumbled, her voice thick with sleep.

“Early,” Theo replied, his fingers tracing lazy patterns on her shoulder. “But we couldn’t wait any longer to wish you a happy birthday.”

She opened her eyes then, finding herself between them, as she had been so many times before, but today felt different—more intimate, more charged. The love in their eyes was unmistakable, but there was something else too, something that made her heart race and her cheeks flush.

“Happy birthday, Hermione,” Draco said, his hand slipping beneath the covers to find hers. He laced their fingers together, squeezing gently as he leaned in to kiss her, slow and deep, with a promise of more to come.

Theo’s hand moved to her other side, tilting her face towards him as he claimed her lips next, his kiss a little more urgent, as if he needed to remind her just how much she was adored.

Hermione’s breath hitched as their combined attentions began to wake her in more ways than one. She could feel the heat of their bodies surrounding her, the strength of their desire, and it made her feel cherished, protected, and loved beyond measure.

“Do you think,” Draco whispered against her ear, “that we could convince the birthday girl to stay in bed a little longer?”

Hermione’s laugh was soft, filled with warmth. “I suppose, since it’s my birthday, I could be persuaded.”

Draco’s eyes gleamed with mischief. “Good. Because we have plans for you, and we’d hate to rush them.”

Theo moved closer, his hand now resting on her hip as he pressed a kiss to her neck. “We’ll make it worth your while, love,” he promised, his voice low and filled with the kind of certainty that left no room for doubt.

And as they began to show her exactly how they intended to start her special day, Hermione couldn’t help but feel that this was the best birthday she had ever had.

**

The morning passed in a blur of shared warmth and whispered affections. When they finally left the comfort of their bed, it was well past noon, and the sun had risen high in the sky. Mippy, the ever-dutiful house-elf, had already prepared a feast of breakfast foods, along with a towering cake that took up nearly half the dining table.

Hermione couldn’t help but laugh when she saw it. “Mippy, this is too much!”

“Mippy is only doing what Mistress deserves!” the elf said proudly, her large eyes shining with happiness. “Today is a special day, and Mippy wants Mistress to be happy.”

Theo smirked, his arm around Hermione’s waist as he led her to the table. “Seems like someone else is just as excited about your birthday as we are.”

As they sat down to eat, Draco placed a small box beside Hermione’s plate. “I know we agreed to keep the gifts simple,” he began, though the twinkle in his eye suggested otherwise, “but we couldn’t resist.”

Hermione raised an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued as she opened the box to reveal an delicate gold bracelet and matching stud earrings with emeralds that sparkled in the morning light. They were a perfect match to the necklace Theo had given her back in sixth year—a piece she treasured deeply.

“They’re beautiful,” she whispered, touched by the thoughtfulness of the gift.

Draco leaned in, kissing her softly. “Only the best for our witch.”

“And that’s not all,” Theo added with a smirk, reaching into a bag by his side. He pulled out a larger box and set it in front of her.

Hermione’s eyes widened as she opened the box to reveal set after set of luxurious lingerie, in every colour and style imaginable. She glanced up at the two men, a flush creeping up her cheeks. “You didn’t…”

“Oh, we did,” Draco replied, his voice laced with playful arrogance. “Fifty sets, to be exact. We thought you’d appreciate the variety.”

“And we look forward to seeing you in them,” Theo added with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Hermione couldn’t help but laugh at their audacity, her heart swelling with affection for them both. “You two are ridiculous,” she said, though the tears in her eyes betrayed her true feelings. “But I love you for it.”

The rest of the day was spent in the library, one of Hermione’s favorite places in the estate. Surrounded by walls of books, they read and talked, the easy banter between them filling the room with warmth.

As the evening drew to a close, and the last of Mippy’s cake had been eaten, Hermione found herself nestled between them on the sofa, a book in her lap and their arms around her.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday,” she said, her voice soft with contentment.

**

It was a warm, late summer evening in mid-September, the kind that held onto the last whispers of daylight just a bit longer than usual. A soft breeze trickled across the back of Hermione’s neck as she sat in the middle of the long wooden table in the garden of Malfoy Manor. On either side of her, Theo and Draco were seated, their presence a comforting anchor amidst the evening’s celebrations. Across from them sat Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, who had graciously offered to host Hermione’s birthday dinner. Or rather, Narcissa had insisted, and Lucius had been compelled to comply.

Hermione and Theo paused their conversation as Draco, ever the poised gentleman, tapped his knife against his champagne flute, the delicate chime capturing everyone’s attention.

She glanced around the table, her gaze sweeping over the familiar faces of friends who had become like family. Most were now coupled up: Pansy and Harry, Blaise and Ginny, Ron and Padma, Neville and a newly pregnant Daphne, Luna and her husband Rolf, George and Angelina, Bill and Fleur, Charlie, Percy and his wife (a dreadfully dull woman whose name Hermione could never remember). In addition to the Weasleys, there were a handful of Order members and professors, Hermione’s ministry colleagues, some of Theo’s fellow healers, and even a few of the Malfoy house elves who had been given the evening off to celebrate.

As Draco rose to his feet, she couldn’t help but admire how unfairly attractive he looked in his favourite black three-piece suit. The crisp white shirt beneath highlighted the silver accents of his house crest, gleaming on his tie pin, cufflinks, and signet ring. Draco always had a way of looking effortlessly refined, though Hermione privately thought he looked like he was dressed for a funeral whenever he wore it.

Quite honestly, Hermione sometimes felt she might as well be invisible when she was with Draco or Theo. No one ever seemed to notice her when either of them was on her arm. And tonight, Theo looked just as striking as Draco. While he usually opted for more colorful attire, tonight, all three of them had coordinated in black. Theo’s ensemble differed only in his choice of a black shirt and bronze accessories, which complemented his warm skin tone. Hermione herself had chosen a simple black sleeveless dress that clung to her figure, with a high neckline and a low cowl back. The dress had a daring slit that ran up to her mid-thigh, ensuring no one could accuse her of being prissy tonight. She paired it with gold accessories, including a delicate leaf-detailed hairpin—a nod to her original Hogwarts house colors.

Together, the three of them made quite the striking trio, and tonight marked the first time they were hosting such a large gathering as an official triad.

Draco’s voice, rich and resonant, broke through the low murmur of conversations around the table. “Friends, family, Gryffindors,” he began with a cheeky smirk, drawing a ripple of laughter from their guests. “We’d like to thank you all for joining us this evening to celebrate our darling Hermione’s birthday. You look exquisite tonight, my love,” he added, his eyes gleaming with affection as applause, wolf whistles, and cheers filled the air.

Theo rose to stand beside Hermione, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. “Most of you, thankfully, are aware that Draco here is not particularly good at expressing his feelings,” he said, earning a chuckle from the crowd. “But we felt it was important to use this opportunity to remind everyone just how incredible Hermione truly is. Not only are you exceptionally bright, my dear, but you are talented, funny, beautiful, caring, loyal, and absolutely f*cking terrifying.” The last words were met with more warm laughter, the kind that wrapped around the heart and made her feel utterly cherished.

“But there’s something else about you, Hermi