Fina and Henry immediately occupied Theo's attention when he arrived home. Sonia and Sebastian arrived early to help Hermione. "We'll be fine, Hermione. Seb and I cook every day and you don't complain," Sonia reassured her. "Go check on him. Staring at the stairs every two minutes won't cook or solve anything."
Hermione graciously thanked Sonia before heading upstairs. Sonia turned to her husband and smirked. "You owe me, love. Pay up." Sebastian grumbled and handed his wife their betting cash.
Upstairs, Hermione found her children playing with Theo, like she expected, but she didn't expect was for them to be playing dress up tea. Finny was playing hostess as a princess in a new dress Hermione's parents got her for Christmas and tiara, Rhys was a wizard wearing one of Hermione's old robes and hat that were too big for him, and Theo was dressed up in a tutu with wings and a tiara as a fairy. They were laughing and smiling. Theo played his part well, using his own wand to do tricks and to help Rhys perform small spells.
Hermione smiled watching them. She quickly summoned a camera from her room to took a picture and sent it back. Ron never did that with Finny and Rhys. She was about to go in when the floo sounded from down stairs.
George, Angelina, five year old Roxy, and ten year old Fred stood in the den area where the floo was located. Hermione walked down and greeted them. "It's so good to see you, Hermione. You're looking well," Angelina said.
Hermione thanked her and told Freddy and Roxy that Finny and Rhys were upstairs. "So if you're out here, who's in the kitchen cooking?" George asked.
They started walking towards the kitchen. "Two of of the three other guests," She said. Sebastian and Sonia were still working around the kitchen when they entered. "Sebastian, Sonia meet my friends George and Angelina. They have two kids also but Fred and Roxy are upstairs."
Sebastian greeted them with a small nod before turning back to the food. Sonia rolled her eyes before coming around to say hello. "Don't mind my idiot husband. When he gets into his work, there is nothing I can do to get him out of his zone until he's done."
George laughed. "One must respect a man who is in love with his trade."
"Tell me about it. George is the same way. Dia… The street our joke shop is located on… um," Angelina trailed off.
"It's fine, Angelina. Seb and I know what Diagon Alley is. It's nice they have a joke shop now," Sonia smiled and turned back to the pot on the stove. Angelina and George looked at Hermione questioningly.
"Sonia and Sebastian are squibs," She explained.
"Call me Seb, Hermione. Sebastian makes me feel like a man of the sea, and I'm far from that," Seb said. "Now go tell Dorey and the kids that dinner is ready."
"Who's Dorey?" George asked.
"Our nephew," Sonia said.
Hermione took this opportunity to announce dinner. She returned to help Sonia and Seb put food in the dining room. The five adults sat down and waited for the upstairs group to arrive. "So, Hermione, tell us about this Dorey," Angelina said.
"Theo? He lives here," Was the extent said by Hermione before the dressed-up group arrived. The adults chuckled to see Princess Fina, Pirate Roxy, Sir Fred, Sorcerer Henry, and Fairy Princess Theo.
Theo sat at one head of the table facing Hermione at the other. "George Weasley and Angelina Johnson, though I see it's Weasley now, it's nice to see you guys. Fred and Roxy are great children," Fina coughed and shot Theo a look. "But they are not as great as Henry and Fina."
"Theodore Nott?" George asked. He looked at Hermione. "Is that actually Nott?"
She nodded.
"The tutu and wings suit you," George complimented. "And that tiara does wonders for your hair."
Theo chuckled. "Thank you. I'm thinking of making this my new look."
"No," Henry shook his head. "Go back to normal Deo."
"Deo? It's Theo buddy," Theo corrected the small boy. "But you can call me whatever. Let's eat."
A lively dinner migrated to the living area where the children began ripping through gifts. Even though they didn't know them, Seb, Sonia, and Theo got gifts for the four Weasleys. They felt bad that they brought no gifts for Theo, Seb, and Sonia but Theo told them it was fine and their accepting presence was plenty.
The kids ran back upstairs to play. "So will Fred start at Hogwarts in the fall?" Theo asked, trying to get some form of conversation to start up.
George nodded proudly. "He will, and hopefully a future Gryffindor."
"You don't think he will?"
Angelina and George laughed. "Fred has a shot in any house. He's a well rounded kid, just like his father and uncle," Angelina said and turned to her husband. "Sometimes I was surprised you and Fred never ended up in Slytherin."
Theo nodded. "I concur."
"Everyone does. Fred and George were cunning and ambitious in everything they did, but Gryffindor was still the better place for them."
"I'll toast to that," Angelina and Hermione took a sip of their wine.
"So Theo, how did you and Hermione end up living together?" George asked. "Also you still have the tiara on."
Theo took the tutu and wings off after dinner but left the tiara without notice. He took it off and smirked. Theo didn't know where to begin. The letters were where it all started but ever since his new revelation he needed to ask Hermione about it.
"The day I was released, Hermione, Fina, and Henry came into my aunt and uncle's cafe for some pie. We sat and chatted. We talked a little more over the week and went to a pub together the night she was no longer a Weasley, no offense."
"I said I'd always be Granger," She muttered quietly. Theo noticed, as did George and Angelina.
"She mentioned she had no place really to go, and by that point I was quite taken by her and her tiny look-alikes, so I offered her a place to stay. The next morning I realized my place was a really small two bedroom flat I lived in above the cafe. So we bought this house," He finished explaining.
Hermione stared at him. "Theo, we're renting this place."
"Oh, I knew I was forgetting something," Theo walked to the Christmas tree and grabbed a small two gifts left. He handed them to her. "Merry Christmas, Hermione."
She opened the larger box first and saw a framed piece of paper. At the bottom were their signatures. She hadn't realized she'd signed a deed that day but thought it was a contract. She looked up and saw Theo nervously staring at her. "You-you bought this place? This isn't a house we rent?" She managed to get out.
She didn't know what else to say. Ron never did this. The house they lived in was a small place a few miles from the Burrow that Molly and Arthur bought them as gift without asking. She picked this place out. Theo made her make the final decision. He made sure it was everything she wanted before his wants. She glanced back down at the deed and then up at the man who had yet to say a word. It was too soon but she knew she was in love, or at least very close to being there.
"Technically we bought it. Both of our names are on there," Theo corrected. His voice was shaking with every word. "I understand if you hate for me for it because I told them to not let you know we were buying it. I just wanted to make sure that in case something happens, you, Fina, and Henry still have a place to live."
"What about you? Why didn't you include yourself? You're not leaving, Theo," She said sternly. They forgot about the four other people in the room, who were busy analyzing the conversation taking place.
"I don't plan on it," He reassured her, "But shit happens, Hermione, and I don't want you to end up telling some drunk guy in a pub that you're homeless with two children."
"We weren't that drunk," She quietly chuckled.
Theo smiled. "You're right. We were completely wasted and stumbling around the streets of London. It's a miracle we didn't fall into the Thames or get hit by a car," The others had joined into the laughter at the image of a very intoxicated Hermione and Theo. "You have one more left. It's not much."
Hermione snorted. "You have one more. It's not much," She mimicked. "You just told me you bought me and my kids a bloody house. Believe me, that was plenty. It's more than I got you."
She was clueless on what to get Theo for Christmas and went to Neville and Rolf for help. She bought him a green and silver tie. She then went to her children who suggested they give him a photo. She found a frame that held four photos. In the frame she placed a photo of Fina and Henry she had taken in a park one day back in the fall, one of her, Fina, and Henry together, one of Theo and the kids playing together in the backyard, and one of the four of them standing in front of their new house looking like a family.
"I loved the picture collage. It was thoughtful, and the tie was quite nice too," He said.
She rolled her eyes. "How was I supposed to know that I was competing with a house and," She opened the other box. Inside were two tickets. "Tickets to Shakespeare?"
She didn't say anything else. Theodore Nott had pretty much just asked her on a date. During his trip through small boutiques, he didn't find anything he liked for Hermione, and walking back to find his aunt, he walked past the box office of a theatre that did Shakespeare. Nothing was running until the second week in January, because of the holidays, when it picked up with A Midsummers Night's Dream. He bought to tickets two a show hoping Hermione liked this Shakespeare guy.
Theo was nervous from her lack of words and excused himself to get something to drink. George got up and followed. He stopped in the doorway and watched Theo just stare at the table from his seat. George pulled out a chair and sat next to him.
"Shakespeare is one of her favorites, and specifically that one. There was always a whimsy feel she loved about it. She made me go once. Fred was five months old so Angie stayed with him and Hermione also only had two tickets. Ron backed out last minute. I was with her when she found out he did, which is how I ended up going. It's a good play," Theo still didn't say a word, but George knew he was listening.
"She and Ron didn't even pick out the house they lived in. Mum and dad bought it for them as a wedding gift. It was a few miles from the Burrow and needed more work than the Burrow itself. Ron was still an Auror at the time so he was gone a lot. Neville, Harry, Ginny, Hannah, Luna, and I helped her fix it up. It was always strange that Harry was able to help and not Ron. They worked the same job. She hated the place and every single one of us knew it. Ron came by one day after stopping at the Burrow for lunch and completely destroyed a room because he hated how it looked. She was pissed and redid it how he wanted.
"Don't take her silence as rejection. I don't know you well, Theo. I didn't know you at Hogwarts. I've only really known you a couple hours, and the only previous information I knew was you had a 13 year stint in Azkaban for a crime you didn't really commit and that woman out there was angry about it. I don't know if you knew this, but she tried to get you a new trial but the Wizengamot denied it and the MLE put her on probation. I have no idea what her bloody fascination with you was all about but I can tell she knew even then there was something about you."
Theo was now looking at him. "Tonight, I've witnessed you give the girl I consider my other little sister a home for her and her children, a date to her favorite play, love to children that aren't even yours but more than I ever saw their own father give them, and happiness to a girl I've never seen smile so much in my life. I can tell you love her and her kids, Theo. I have no idea what goes on between you but I can tell you both have chemistry together and a spark ignited that's not going to die soon.
"I'm trusting you to take care of them, Theodore Nott. I don't want to see them broken ever again. I didn't even see them broken for long because you were there for them. Hannah told me that day at the Leaky Cauldron that Hermione had a guy in life. That's one reason why we're here, because I'm nosy. You're a really good guy, Theo. You're good for both her and her kids. You're what they need and I think they're what you need. I look forward to seeing you more because I see a beautiful friendship starting to bloom."
George got up from the table to let everything he said settle into Theo's brain. Hermione got up quickly when George walked back in. "Is he okay? I didn't mean to freak him out or anything. I just didn't know what to say. He's not leaving, is he?"
"You're stupid if you think he will. He's fine. It's getting late, we should be heading off." George said. He went upstairs to get Fred and Roxy.
Angelina hugged Hermione. "It was good to see you guys and good to meet Theo too. We'll see you soon."
Roxy and Fred said good-bye before heading with their mum to the floo. George hugged Hermione. "He's a good guy and I can't wait to see him again. We'll be at the Burrow when you guys come. Angie and I figured you might need some support, especially if Theo gets brought up accidentally," George hugged her one more time before turning to Sonia and Seb. "It was great to meet you guys too. You've done good with Theo and the food. Have Theo give me the address for your cafe. We'll stop by soon."
George followed after his family. "We should head off too. It was nice to see you again, Hermione, and Fina and Henry too. Tell Theo he needs to stop by soon," Sonia said.
"He's in the kitchen if you want to say bye," Hermione started walking that way but realized they weren't following.
The older couple smiled at the young girl. "I think you need to talk to him more than we do," Seb answered. "We need to catch a taxi anyway. We'll see you soon, Hermione."
They too walked out, leaving Hermione clueless on what to do. She saw Theo hunched over the kitchen table but couldn't bring herself to go in. Instead, she walked upstairs to check on her children. They were coloring pictures.
"Where's Theo mum?" Fina asked. "I wanted to give him this picture. It's of him and you and Rhys and me. Do you like it?"
Hermione smiled. "I love it and I bet he will too. He's downstairs. I came up to tuck you in. He and I need to talk."
"Theo not going to leave like dad, is he mummy?" Henry asked. "I don't want Theo to leave."
"Why do you ask that?"
"You said you two have to talk," Fina replied softly. "That's what you always said when you and dad started to fight."
"We just have to talk about some grown up stuff. Nothing worth yelling about," She tried to reassure them.
"You used to say that too," Fina answered. "Write him a letter mum. Theo likes those and then you can't yell at each other."
Hermione nodded and tucked her children in. She sat at the desk in her office writing a letter to Theo trying to explain how she felt and her reactions. Little did she know, he was doing the same thing below.
So this was a longer chapter but I wanted to give some background information and progress Theo and Hermione's relationship. I also wanted to say that the next chapter will be a letter chapter but told a little differently at first since it will be Theo and Hermione's letters to each other and their responses. After that the letters will normal, except for one which will be addressed to various people because I didn't feel like writing the same one three times. Then the chapter after that will take place on New Years. Yes, you'll miss Theo's guy day with Rolf and Neville and the visit to the Burrow but details in the letter and future chapters. I just wanted to explain how the next two chapters are going to go.
I love hearing your feedback because I take it into consideration. The next set of letters will be up soon. Leave a review and enjoy until then!