AN: I apologize for the small delay, work got a little hectic. Hopefully this will make up for it.
"What's this one?" She pointed at a picture and Theo leaned over her shoulder, a smile gracing his features as he sank onto the bed behind him.
"That was the day Crabbe and Zabini thought it would be a great idea to get tattoos." Theo chuckled and folded his arms behind his head, reminiscing for a moment before telling the story. "See, Vince had gotten a little into the Muggle culture once he had bucked the whole Dark thing. Zabini, being the wisecrack and gambler that he was, bet Vince he wouldn't get a tattoo. And then he stacked the bet, saying that if Vince got a tattoo bigger than a Bludger, he'd get one too."
"So that explains the map of London on Crabbe's back." Hermione shook her head, amused. He placed the album on Theo's desk, moving over to Draco's side of the room.
"What are you doing?"
"Looking for that Ogden's. It's been a good month since I've had a drink, I'd like one. You?" She asked as she got on her hands and knees to look under Draco's bed. Sure enough, a bottle sat within easy reach. She grabbed it triumphantly and popped the cork out, taking a quick swig. Hermione shivered at the crisp burn of alcohol and held the bottle out to Theo.
"Well, I can't let you outdo me, now can I?" He took the offering and allowed himself a few long gulps. She laughed and snatched the bottle back, swirling the liquid inside.
"If you didn't like that I constantly outdo you then perhaps you had better pay more attention in class." Hermione chuckled again when Theo's face contorted in an expression of exasperation.
"Oh please." He rudely tore the bottle from her hands before she could drink again, rolling his eyes. "I gave up on trying to best you academically years ago. That's Draco's game now. Or it was, you know, before everything….happened." The room fell oddly quiet, the only sound that of Hermione turning pages in the picture album and the occasional soft swish of the Ogden's inside the bottle. She jumped when Theo suddenly cleared his throat, his hands busying themselves searching through his bedside table. He soon produced a camera, holding it out to Hermione.
"What?"
"Let's go take some pictures." Theo stood and held out his free hand. Hermione couldn't help but smile and accept his invitation, her palm fitting neatly into his as they exited the room.
"Did you ever want to change the world?" They had just stepped into the Forbidden Forest, the last few moments of daylight sinking into the treetops and casting long filters of shadow and light across the forest floor. Hermione jumped lightly around the fallen trees, giddy with alcohol. Theo followed, occasionally snapping a picture if something caught his interest.
"Of course." Theo answered quickly, taking another gulp from the bottle and returning it to the pocket inside his jacket. "I wanted to be the next big Potions Master."
"Really?"
"No. I wanted to fight dragons." Theo laughed when Hermione gave him an unsure look. "I really wanted to fight dragons, I promise. But I had to settle for Potions Master."
"I wanted to join the Peace Corps." Hermione sighed wistfully and sank onto a moss covered log, waiting for Theo to find what he was looking for. "I was going to do missions in South America and Africa, make a real difference."
"That sounds like a drag." Theo snorted, kneeling beside an assortment of flowers and plants that had sprouted from beneath the log. Hermione held an expectant hand out for the Ogden's and he gladly passed it to her.
"It was supposed to be the best thing to do. My parents had joined for awhile in the eighties, but gave it up when Mother got pregnant." Hermione leaned down, plucking a single flower from its stem and twisting it in between her fingers. She took a sip of the firewhiskey and let out a long sigh, tucking the flower into her hair behind her ear. "They would have joined with me."
"My father got me potions sets every Christmas for as long as I can remember." Theo smiled and raised the camera, focusing in on her. She waved a hand at him and covered her face. "He wasn't a bad guy when he wanted to care. He loved my mother like she was the only woman on the earth. And just one picture, please."
"My parents don't even remember who I am, or that they even have a child." Hermione let out another sigh, this one longer than before as she dropped her hands from her visage, offering Theo a thoughtful glance for the one picture he desired. She continued after she heard the soft click of the mechanism. "I Obliterated their memories before the war."
"What in the hell for?"
"To protect them." She didn't feel the usual wave of sadness rising within her this time, almost as if she had gotten used to it. Hermione reached up and took the flower from her hair, pursing her lips as she spun it in her fingers again. She lifted the bottle of Ogden's once more to her lips, whispering her next words. "I didn't want them to worry about losing me. I just wanted them to live happily, together, for as long as they could."
"That was very…brave." Theo let the camera hang loosely from his neck, taking the firewhiskey from her grasp. He practically inhaled three mouthfuls, grimacing at the taste while he pocketed the bottle. "My father used to tell me that to die for Voldemort was the highest honor. And I bought the bullshit."
"But it was all you knew."
"Sadly, yes." It was Theo's turn to sigh, and he shook his head right afterwards. "This is depressing talk." He held out his hand again, pulling Hermione to her feet. "What kind of trouble do you Gryffindors get into on weeknights?"
"Trouble?" Hermione let out a musical peal of laughter and hooked her arm through his, pulling him back towards the castle. "My dear little Slytherin, you wouldn't want to know."
"How's your boyfriend doing?"
"He's not my boyfriend, Ron." Hermione looked up cautiously from the armchair where she was curled up with a book. Ron was more or less glaring at her from behind the couch. "We are just friends."
"Neville told me you stayed the night last weekend."
"We were up later than usual and I didn't want to walk back here alone."
"So you stayed."
"Yes, and if you must know, Theo slept on the couch. Now stop being a jealous ass and go away." Hermione buried her nose once more into the pages of her book, but kept a close listen for footsteps. Ron never moved.
"What's so wonderful about him?" Ron asked quietly. Hermione closed her eyes, waited, and then shut her book, laying it on her lap. "What makes him so different?"
"I don't know, Ron, but it's nothing serious. We just enjoy each other's company, both of us need a friend."
"A friend?" Ron sounded hurt, and his face mirrored the emotion in his voice. "You have friends, Hermione."
"But this is different." She tried to explain, but found that she couldn't. "We just…need someone else for a little while. We've wrung our friendship nearly dry, Ron. You have to see that too."
"Right." Ron nodded. "I wasn't aware there were limits on friendship."
"Don't."
"I won't." Ron shrugged and moved towards his room. "Does Harry know?"
"Know what?"
"That you're replacing us."
"I am not replacing you!" Hermione scrambled out of the chair, crossing the Common Room in four long and powerful strides. "I just need someone else right now. I feel like I have exhausted you and Harry, and Theo is a new face, someone else to listen to me. I can't ask the world of you and Harry, it can't be done by two people. Sometimes everyone just needs a new direction for a moment." With that, she put a hand on Ron's shoulder, squeezed gently, and walked away.
"I'd like to take a picture today." Theo announced as Hermione walked into his room.
"Naturally." She grinned and bounced on his bed while he spun in his desk chair.
"I'd like to take a picture of you." He stopped spinning and Hermione stopped bouncing, their eyes locking. "Nothing weird, just something to put in the album. Something to remember. The one I took last week in the forest doesn't do your character proper justice."
"Of course." She nodded, watching as he broke into a wide smile. "Where did you want to go?"
"I figured we could go outside to the lake. It's just cloudy enough that I think I could play with some lighting effects and get some good angles on you."
"You're the professional, lead the way." Hermione dramatically gestured to the door and followed Theo out, both of them laughing. By the time they reached the lake, they had made dinner plans for the next weekend, covered both of their topics for their Transfiguration essays, and argued about whether or not it was indeed possible to infiltrate the kitchens of Hogwarts.
AN: Please be kind and leave a review...