Theo

September 17, 2002 London, England - Calloway Book Shop

Theo sat the bin of books he'd collected for patrons down behind the counter and stretched his back out with a groan. Alex sat behind the counter, going over some expense report. It had been a slow day, and Theo had been turning over a thought in his head all day. He'd been trying to gather up the balls to just ask Alex about it, see what he thought, but he'd yet to think of the proper way to phrase it. He glanced up at the clock, cursing at himself when he saw it was only four.

"Got somewhere to be, Theo? That's the third time you've checked the clock in ten minutes." Alex said, hardly looking up from his paperwork. Theo swore the man had eyes in the back of his head sometimes.

"No. Well. I'd like to have somewhere to go, but I'm not sure if I should… ya know, go." He said, figuring now was as good a time as ever to approach the topic.
Alex looked up at that, setting his pen down and turning toward Theo. "Is this about Hermione?" He asked, meeting the man's eye seriously.

Shit. He didn't think he'd figure it out that fast. "Yeah, kinda." Theo admitted. He couldn't help but feel drawn to her. He'd found himself wishing that she would drop in one day out of the blue. It had been nearly a month since he'd seen her last, and he couldn't help thinking that she was avoiding him.

Alex watched Theo with a stern gaze for a moment before his expression softened. "You really like her, don't you?" He asked, quietly.

"I'm very… intrigued by her." he said truthfully. "She and I never had much interaction in school. I never got to know her on a personal level, and suddenly, being thrown into a situation where she and I can be friendly and even flirt. It's a little surreal." He told Alex. "She's different than I thought she would be. And I'd very much like the chance to get to know her better. She- she told me I was more than welcome to come over to her flat anytime but- well, I don't want to be rude and just show up." He said, sheepishly. "I don't even know if she'd be home when I got off work." He said, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Alex studied the man's body language for a few moments, before standing and heading over to the store phone. He had Hermione's landline and cellphone numbers written down on a sticky note by the phone, just in case he needed to call and ask her about an order she'd placed. He dialed her cell number and looked over at Theo. Theo heard her pick up on the second ring.

"Hey, Hermione. I was just checking to see if you'd be home tonight. That book you ordered came in and I was gonna drop it off on my way home." He said. Theo understood what he was doing, and a wave of gratitude swept over him.

"Oh, good. Oh, do you have any plans for dinner? I was thinking about grabbing some takeaway." He said with a could have kissed him. "Cool, any preferences?" Alex replied to a statement Theo couldn't hear. "Got it. Well, looks like it's a good day for you, you'll have a new book and food in about half an hour." Alex laughed.

Theo stopped paying attention after that, and instead began looking for her bin, where the book she'd ordered would be stored. He had found the book, wrapped it up in one of their bags, and set it on the counter by the time Alex hung up.

"She wants Chinese from the place just down the street. Shrimp fried rice and an order of crab rangoon is her normal order. She's a total weirdo and loves red wine with takeaway. I've got a bottle in my office that I've been meaning to give to her. I much prefer whites, but I got it as a gift, and you know how that is." Alex said, rolling his eyes as he headed back to his office to grab the bottle. When he came back, he handed Theo the bottle and grabbed a bigger bag, slipping the book into it and letting theo place the bottle inside, as well. "Her favorite flowers are champagne and white roses. The flower shop across from the tailor is pretty reasonably priced for half a dozen. I'd hit the flower shop, then the takeaway. If you leave now, you should have plenty of time to meet that half hour deadline." He winked.

Theo stared dumbfoundedly at Alex for a moment before pulling the man into a bone-breaking hug. "You're the single best boss- friend- ever, Alex." He told the man, finally pulling away. He gathered up his things, finished up a few last things around the store, and grabbed the bag of goodies for Hermione.

Alex stopped him before he headed out the door. "Theo." he said, his voice stern again. "You hurt her, and you'll have to deal with me. Don't do anything stupid, alright?"

"Of course." Theo nodded, meeting the man's eye. "I'd never hurt her."


Theo was scared shitless standing on the top step to Hermione's flat. He had never been so scared of talking to a girl in his life. But then, he'd never shown up to a girl's flat with a book, food, flowers, and wine out of the blue like this, either. He adjusted the bouquet of flowers in his arms and knocked three times, swallowing hard as he heard Hermione's soft footsteps leading up to the door. She opened the door and he had to smile at the expression on her face. Her eyes went wide, and he was almost certain her jaw would have fallen to the floor if she hadn't shut it quickly.

"Theo," She said, sounding shocked. "I- Alex told me-"

"Alex is a god masquerading as a Muggle." Theo chuckled, adjusting things in his arms so that he could hand her the bag with the book and the wine. "These are from him." He told her, and motioned to the flowers and take out in his hands. "And these are from me."

Hermione took a small step back, almost as if a wind had physically forced her back. "Please, come in." She said suddenly, a smile breaking out across her face and ushering him in. She closed the door after him. "If I'd known it was you coming, I'd have actually made an effort to look decent." She said with a laugh, setting the bag with the wine and her book in it on the kitchen table and moving to a shelf in her living room where an empty vase stood, almost as though it was waiting for the flowers he'd brought her.

Theo sat his bags on the table, as well, and handed her the roses. He took the opportunity to really look at her. She wore a pair of cotton shorts and a too-big t-shirt that nearly hid them. Her hair was piled into a messy bun atop her head and her face was free of any makeup. And yet, Theo thought she couldn't have been more beautiful.

"What do you mean?" He asked, grinning down at her. "You're beautiful just like this." he said softly. "Besides, I wanted you to be comfortable. I know it's probably really strange for you, having me of all people in your flat." He told her.

Hermione busied herself with filling the vase with water and dumping in the little packet of plant food that came in the bouquet. She cut the stems and began to arrange the flowers in the vase while he talked. "You think I'm beautiful like this?" She asked, her hands freezing. She looked up at him and cocked her head to the side.

He knew he had to be very careful with this or he could ruin the whole night. "Of course I do," he said, pulling the wine out of the bag, then moving on to unbag the takeaway. "This is you when the world isn't looking. It's the purest and most real part of you. And honestly," He said, meeting her eye, "I'd prefer to see you like this than all made up for your day job. Don't get me wrong, you look great in business casual. But this is so much more…" he moved over to her and brushed a loose strand of hair from her face. "Intimate." He murmured.

He smirked to himself when he heard her breath catch at his fingers brushing across her face. He knew he'd crossed a line when he entered into her personal space. He didn't know how she'd react to him invading her bubble. He watched her face intently for a reaction, and he could see the blood rising to her cheeks. She dipped her head, eyes touching the floor for a moment.

"You know," She said, softly, "I get the feeling that there will be many more of these 'intimate' moments. " She peeked up at him through her eyelashes and his heart melted at the sight. He could feel his knees going weak at how adorable she was, but she didn't seem to have any idea the effect about she had on him.

"Do you want for us to have more of these moments?" Theo asked with a smirk. He moved his hand to rest on her elbow lightly. She bit her bottom lip, a cute little frown tugging at her eyebrows.

"I do. I want to learn more about you, Theo." She told him. "But Harry and Ron- they would flip if they knew about this." She sighed.

Theo nodded. "Draco was a little shocked when I told him that we had held a conversation and bloodstatus didn't come up once." He said with a sigh. "But I'm more than willing to get to know you, Hermione. I think there's a lot we could learn from one another."

Hermione thought on that for a moment and then finally relaxed slightly. "Yeah. I think so too. But do you mind if we just keep it between us for now? I don't want to freak anyone out or cause a scene."

"Of course. The last thing I want to do is cause a fuss." he told her, reaching over and grabbing a pair of chopsticks and handing them to her with a grin. "We should eat before it gets cold."

"Let me grab a couple glasses." she said, with a nod. "Could you open the wine?" She called as she headed to her little kitchen.

Theo was already pulling out his wand to pop the cork, knowing the wine would likely need to breathe for a moment before they poured it. "You know, I've wondered where you've been. Alex says you normally come in twice a month, but you haven't been lately." He said casually.

Hermione came back carrying two glasses and two forks. She found it nice to have a fork instead of chopsticks sometimes. "I've been insanely busy at work. And I've got something of a side project I've been working on. I've been staying late in the archives nearly every day trying to figure things out." She said, and Theo knew she likely couldn't say much more on the subject than that. He nodded and sat himself at the table beside her after pouring their wine.

"That makes sense. I can understand. I'm still looking for jobs on the side after hours at the bookshop." He said.

"Oh? Still needing money?" She asked, cocking her head to the side. She thought Alex had mentioned he payed Theo rather well for his position.

"Nah, the bookshop pays all my bills and stuff, and I even have a bit left over at the end of the month. But I just don't want to work in a bookshop my whole life, you know? I really have a dream of becoming a curse breaker." He told her with shy smile.

Hermione's eyebrows shot up. "Really? That would be really great! I remember you were in a lot of my NEWT classes, Charms and Arithmancy, in particular. I'm sure you're qualified."

"Qualified, certainly. But no one will hire me because of my… background." He sighed. She looked down and nodded.
"Theo," She said, her voice a little shaky and very, very quiet. "I need to know. What do you really think of Muggleborns?"

He sighed. He should have known this was coming. "I don't hate Muggleborns. I don't really have an opinion. They're people, just like me. The blood purist bullshit of 'Muggleborns stealing pureblood magic' is stupid, and you could outperform me in just about every subject in school. Anyone who knew you in school could tell you that theory is bullshit." he said, smiling softly at her.

She nodded slowly, meeting his eyes to make sure he was serious. "So you really were forced into this, then?" she asked, gaining a bit of confidence.

"Yes." He said, understanding that this was a test. She had to see for herself that he really was what he said he was.

"In that case," She said, taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders. "I could use your help with that project I was talking about." She said.

Theo blinked. That came out of nowhere. "Alright, what's this project?" He asked cocking his head to the side.

"Someone slipped me an unsorted file at work. I've been trying to make sure it's safe not only to ensure I've not been cursed in an undetectable way, but also, there's a map. And an artifact called the Skeleton Key." She said, frowning.

"The Skeleton Key? Hermione, that's a huge find!" he said, sitting up and looking up at her with wide eyes. "Thieves and Dark wizards have been looking for that key for thousands of years. It supposedly opens any lock, magical or otherwise."

"Really?" She asked, her eyes widening. "So I wonder what this person wanted me to do with it?"

"Maybe you were someone they knew they could trust with the information?" Theo shrugged, picking up his glass and sipping his wine.

Hermione didn't look as sure. "Perhaps."