Hermione sighs as she snuggles back into Theo's warm embrace, her eyes cracking open a little to peer blurrily at the time.

3:08am

She huffs softly and squirms around in her husband's slack embrace, tucking herself under his chin and closing her eyes to go back to sleep.

knock knock knock

Her eyes crack open again, and she mumbles into Theo's chest, "Theo."

"Mm."

"Did you hear that?"

"Mmmm."

"Theo!"

He grunts and nudges his chin against her forehead, mumbling "go see" before he rolls over and burrows into his pillow.

"Thanks, darling." Hermione grunts and rolls her eyes as she pushes the covers back and slips from the bed, grabbing her wand from the bedside table as she goes. Tucking her feet into her slippers, she shuffles down the steps and towards the front door.

Pushing up on her toes, she peers into the peephole.

She steps back and with a few waves of her wand, unlocks the door and pulls it open. Leaning out from the doorway, she slowly peers around the stoop and frowns at the empty lawn.

"Must've been a branch or something." She moves back into the house and after physically securing the door, waves her wand to reset the wards as she heads up the steps to bed.

After kicking off her slippers, she crawls back into bed and snuggles up against Theo's back before beginning to drift off.

knock knock knock

Hermione's eyes pop open at the sound, and she lays still on the bed for another long moment, before slowly raising her head.

knock knock KNOCK

"Theo!"

"Mmm?"

"Theo, seriously, wake up. There's someone playing a prank; they keep knocking on the door!" Hermione shakes her husband's shoulder sharply, scowling at his grumbling.

"Fine, fine, I'm up!" Theo huffs and sits up, scrubbing his hands over his face before peering at her with sleepy hazel eyes. "What's happening?"

"Someone is knocking on the door. I think it's a Halloween prank. The first time, no one was there. Now they're -"

knock KNOCK KNOCK

"-See! Knocking!" Hermione slaps Theo's shoulder and frowns at him. "Will you go check?"

Theo snorts and rolls his eyes as he slings his legs from the bed and stands up with a stretch. For a moment, she is distracted by the lean, muscled planes of his back down to the curve of his arse just above the waist of his low-slung pajama pants, before she mentally shakes herself and hops up from the bed again. "I'll look out the window while you go down."

"Of course, darling. Because why shouldn't we ruin some kid's Halloween fun? It's probably just Draco and Scorpius, and they're over past the hill using a charm to make a stick hit the door." He chuckles as he tugs a shirt on over his bare chest and shuffles to the bedroom door.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

"Be careful, Theo!"

He glances back at his wife with a crooked grin. "Be careful? What, you think this is some old wives' tale? That I'm going to let in some kind of evil spirit by opening the door?"

Hermione scowls at him as she crosses her arms over her chest. "Don't be a prat. Of course not! It's just cold and a bit creepy out there, and what if it's some person who is trying to cause trouble?"

"I'm sure it's fine, love." Theo smiles and shakes his head at her. "More than likely, it's Draco or one of your fine Gryffindor fellows thinking they're being funny and will brag about it tomorrow – or rather, tonight – at the party. Don't worry. Get back in bed, I'll be right back."

Theo throws a wink at her, which Hermione rolls her eyes at before she walks over to the front bay window, crawling up into the window seat.

She peers out the window, craning her head around to attempt to see the stoop. She hears Theo's steps as he goes down the stairs and to the front door. After a pause, she can see him stepping outside and looking around before turning to look up at her with a shrug before he disappears back into the house.

After a few long moments, she hears his slow steps back up the stairs before he walks back into the bedroom.

"You didn't see anything?"

Theo shakes his head as he tugs off his shirt and walks back to his side of the bed. "All clear, love. Come back to bed."

Hermione sighs and glances out the window one last time with a frown before she walks back to her side. "It just didn't feel right."

"I think you're letting the holiday get to your head. Come back to bed. It will all be better in the morning." He slips into the bed and holds the covers open for her.

She sighs one last time and nods before crawling under the covers and pressing close against him, before recoiling sharply. "Gah! You're freezing!"

"I know. Come here and warm me up. It will all be better in the morning." Theo curls a cold arm around Hermione's waist and pulls her close to him, her back to his chest, his black eyes gleaming with the light of the moon.

where'd you get those peepers

A/N: Happy Halloween! :D I hope you enjoyed this creepy little story.