Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

A/N: IT'S ABOUT TO GET REAL! We've reached a turning point in the story and a point of no return for our dear Slytherins :p If I were to divide this story into parts, we would be coming up towards the end of part one in the next few chapters...and again, the majority of this story takes place after Hogwarts!

Chapter Ten: We All Fall Down

The eighteen-year-old witch tried to continue her normal routine as the rest of the semester passed quickly. Draco was nothing if not completely courteous to her, perfunctory and almost impersonal. It hurt her deeply, but she forced herself to understand that this was his way of coping with her rejection. She took to staying at the library late into the nights to avoid their little common room, or keeping herself busy with her friends as much as possible on weekends. She tried very hard to ignore the sting of not being able to talk to her best friend….and she had put away the bracelet he had given her deep into the bowels of her trunk so she wouldn't accidently stumble upon it and feel an ache in her chest.

Tracey did indeed meet with Macmillan on Valentine's day and enjoyed sharing details of her ensuing dates with the blonde Hufflepuff, cheeks pink and eyes sparkling. Hermione smiled at her lovesick friend, pushing the feelings of envy deep down and locking them up. Astoria continued her attentions on Draco whenever she could, and Hermione felt a terrifying sadness to see Draco's defeated expression flash every now and then.

It was absolute torture whenever they had rounds together, which was rare since Hermione herself wrote the schedule. They walked in awkward and uncomfortable silence, hating whenever they caught a more amorous couple in abandoned broom closets. Draco's fists would clench and immediately spit out the maximum amount of points they could take before stalking off without her, forcing her to seek him out to finish their rounds. Matters didn't help themselves when a month before their exams, Theodore started making small talk with her in their classes they shared together, which was most of them as they were both taking a large amount of NEWTS. He tried his best to avoid physical contact with her, but she was so grateful that he was speaking to her again that she didn't mind. It was baby steps, after all. She began wearing the earrings he had gotten her on Valentine's day, enjoying the pleased look he gave whenever she tossed her hair over her shoulder and they sparkled in the light.

"Hermione, would you accompany me around the lake later? After dinner," the be-speckled wizard asked her after double Potions a week before the end of term. She was loathe to waste her precious study time, but the nervous energy Theo was exuding made her pause. "Yes, that would be nice," she smiled prettily, both of them walking to the Great Hall and heading to their table. Theo exhaled a breath he didn't even know he was holding and grinned back before going to sit with Blaise. Draco steadily ignored them, cutting his meat hard enough to make Greg raise a heavy eyebrow at him. The brunette witch ate her dinner while half paying attention to what Millicent was saying about the Carrow's using a curse on a fourth year who was caught sneaking around the castle after curfew last night.

It made Hermione pause. It was almost easy to forget that, as a Slytherin, she had almost complete immunity from the attentions of the most vicious professors at Hogwarts. She did what she could when she found a student who had been unfortunate enough to look at the Carrows wrong, but even as Head Girl, most were unwilling to speak to her about their injuries, seeing her as the product of the same house that produced their attackers. It made her immensely sad and horribly guilty, knowing that some of those students were attacked for simply being muggle-born. Headmaster Snape did what he could to intervene but could only do so much without drawing the ire of a Voldermort run ministry. She shuddered to think who would replace Snape if he were to be…removed.

She picked at the rest of her dinner in relative silence, lost in thought until a large hand gently dropped on her shoulder, drawing her attention to a softly smiling Theodore. "Are you ready?" he asked, gazing down at her half eaten plate curiously. Pushing her darker thoughts to the back of her mind, she curiously took in the slightly flustered expression he wore. Nodding, she rose up and allowed him to lead her out of the castle and towards the glittering Black Lake. Hermione smiled at the familiar smells and sounds of Hogwarts on a late spring eve. It was so comforting that those didn't seem to change even if everything else going on inside the castle felt stifling. After a companionable silence, the tall wizard finally stopped and turned to her, gently reaching for her hand.

Hermione's breath caught a bit at the contact, her eyes widening slightly. He seemed to fidget on his feet for a moment before meeting her eye and she was surprised to see fear in the hazel depths. "Hermione, I…" he started, before trailing off. Seemingly finding his nerve again, he took a steadying breath. "I can't stop thinking about you. I've tried so hard….. I promised myself I would stay away from you because I can't help but want to touch you when you're near….you're intoxicating, 'Mione. I can't sleep anymore because I know the closer I get to graduating, the closer I get to the day my father will tell me who to marry...and it's terrifying to me because it's not going to be you! Hermione, I think...I know that I'm in love with you, and I have been since last year but I didn't recognize it until that night...in the library," he blushed at the mention of their night all those months ago.

The petite witch stood shell shocked, her brain swirling around his words. 'He loves me?' Her breaths turned into light pants as his thumb rubbed soft circles on her hand, causing a pleasant tingling. Gently, he cupped her cheek with his free hand and closed his eyes for a second, savoring the touch he had been denying them for so long. "I don't want to end up like my parents, Hermione. Miserable and lonely, living in opposite ends of a manor, never speaking to each other unless in public. I can't do it. I refuse to give up a chance at love with a real partner, not just a stranger with the right pedigree. I don't care if I'm disinherited!" he swore vehemently, eyes fiercely shining in the moonlight. "Theo...what exactly are you saying?" she whispered, not sure of the answer she wanted to receive. How did she keep finding herself in these sticky situations?

"It's you or no one….Marry me, Hermione. Marry me before our parents can force us apart. Marry me because...because you might love me too."

A thousand thoughts flew through her mind. 'You can't do this! You are deceiving him, he loves someone who isn't real! He will find out you're not pureblood and hate you, expose you! He's a good man, you don't deserve him….This will kill Draco….' her heart screamed at her.

"Theo…"

A slight panic entered his eyes. "Please don't say no, 'Mione. Please," he begged her softly, unconsciously gripping her tighter as if she would disappear. "Your father will be so angry, Theo. He won't allow us to marry if he does the check on me, my family is not one of the Twenty-Eight. He'll make us break the engagement as soon as he finds out," she bit her lip anxiously, trying to think her way out of her current predicament. She couldn't pretend there was nothing between them, like she had with Draco…besides, look how well, THAT had turned out. A strong look of determination crossed his handsome features.

"Then we'll do it before he can find out! I don't care about the bloody check, Hermione, and if we're married and fully bonded, he won't bother doing it because there's nothing he'll be able to do about it anyway! It'll be too late, 'til death do we part...he can disinherit me but I don't care! I can work, I can support you and I can take care of us," he vowed, closing the gap and touching his forehead to hers. Hermione closed her eyes and almost cried at the tenderness in his words. 'I can't do this anymore…I'm so damn tired of this bloody game,' she thought exhaustedly. She was about to do something very reckless, and she felt almost very Gryffindor. Taking a deep breath, she wrapped her arms around his waist and inhaled him deeply. He was practically trembling from her touch.

"When?"

Theo jerked his head back to look at her in wonder. "Before graduation….this week. I'll go to Gringotts and collect enough gold to keep us comfortable until I can get a job just in case things go badly with my father. We can stay at my mother's family cottage, my grandfather willed it to me and my father can't touch it, disinherited or not," he said quickly, still not quite believing this was really happening.

'You are a despicable creature, Hermione Granger…'she thought, disgusted with herself. Using Theodore as a means to end her own loneliness, letting him put himself at risk for her own benefit, was a new kind of low for her. She knew she would marry him because, logically, it was an incredible opportunity that she would never get again. Not only was he bypassing that accursed check, but he also was a good friend who was asking for her help too. She did care very deeply for him, yes, but it would never be the same way that she loved Draco. What kind of person married one man while in love with another? 'A lying sack of Slytherin scum, like myself, that's who,' she thought miserably. Never in her wildest imagination did she think she would find herself in this type of situation, but she had dug herself too deep to ever be rid of the lies. The only choice now was to move forward. Maybe, she could eventually tell Theo….she shook her head at the selfish thought.

"Oh Theo….Yes. Yes, I'll marry you," she smiled sadly up at his hopeful expression. A large smile broke out on his face and he lifted her high up and spun her around in the dark moonlight. Gently placing her down, he brushed his soft lips against hers to kiss her deeply and soundly, gripping her waist tightly. Her hands flew up to his neck, cradling it as he deepened his kiss almost desperately, like she would change her mind any second. "I love you, Hermione Granger. I swear upon my magic, I will do anything to keep you happy and safe," he whispered against her mouth and they felt a gentle swirl of his magic surrounding them, binding his oath. Her eyes widened at the feeling.

"I love you too, Theodore Nott."