Chapter eleven: Mistletoe
Slughorn's Christmas party was coming towards them fast, and in the midst of Hermione spending time with Severus and trying to figure out what he was hiding, she had other problems. She still wasn't jealous of Lavender and Ron the way she ought to be, though she'd slowly come to terms of her feelings for Severus, she was angry at Ron because he so obviously expected her to jealous. He seemed to be going out of his way to flaunt Lavender in her face. Not to mention the girls she'd overheard planning on drugging Harry with enough love potions to make a hippogriff fall in love.
"You need to find someone to go with you," she told him one afternoon in the library, setting a book on the table and glancing at Evie's workbook. "Don't forget to carry the seven," she reminded.
Evie whispered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like a curse, and Hermione made a mental note to have Ron watch his mouth around her. But while Ron's attempts to make her jealous didn't work, they certainly worked on Evie. She refused even to look at Ron, and Hermione had to explain very clearly that that wasn't going to happen.
"What for?" Harry asked, referring to their conversation. "You know I'm interested in someone else."
"Yes," Hermione admitted, "but you've also said that you can't go with them. Take someone who won't expect anything, so the other girls will see they don't stand a chance and they'll maybe back off."
"Well, who are you going with? I'll just go with you."
Hermione stopped, sighing and lightly tapping her forehead with her book. "Why didn't I think of that?"
Harry raised an eyebrow, "Who are you going with?"
The week before, after another Slytherin versus Gryffindor duel- that didn't go as well as the previous time- Hermione was waiting around for everyone to leave so she could talk to Severus. Theodore Nott stayed behind as well, watching as Hermione slowly put her things in her bag and felt Severus watching the scene curiously. When everyone else was gone except the three of them, and Nott had looked to find Severus seemingly busy with his papers, he approached her.
"Granger?" He asked.
"Nott," she said back.
"Well," he glanced to Severus to make sure he was still occupied- his voice dropping into little more than a whisper. "My friends call me Theo. You could, if you'd like."
Hermione was confused, but had decided that as little she and Nott- now, Theo- had known each other, she liked him. So she held her hand out to shake. "Hermione."
He reluctantly took it. "Well, you see, I was wondering if maybe you'd like to come to Slughorn's party with me."
It took her a few moments to realize what he was asking and her eyes glanced to Severus as well, who was looking back angrily. "Well, I'm sort of interested in someone..."
"So am I," he cut in, with two pink spots on his cheeks. "And, well, I can't ask her. I wouldn't even know how to approach her. But, I like you well enough and I know it'll piss my father off. I promise, I'll be the utmost gentleman."
So she said yes, and unfortunately hadn't been able to spend time with Severus that evening because Theo had insisted on the two studying together. When she told all of this to Harry, he looked sour.
"Well, I suppose Nott's alright. Not like Malfoy and his gang. But you'll keep your wand on you at all times?"
Hermione gave him a dry look that told him she would. "What about Luna," she advised. "She's wonderful, and she wouldn't expect anything."
Harry's face brightened. "That's wonderful! Yeah, I'll go ask her right now."
The day of the party came, and it was the first chance Evie and Hermione had to sneak down to Severus' chamber in a week. He was reading when they came in, sparing his usual smile when Evie greeted him, that somehow soured when he looked at her.
"I thought you would have been getting ready for your date," he said stiffly, getting Evie's favorite book down from his shelf. Hermione had been pleasantly surprised to find that he held on to his childhood favorites as an adult.
"It's not really a date," she told him, sitting down at the piano and beginning.
"Oh?" Severus turned around, slightly less grim, but Hermione was focused on the right keys to hit.
"Theo asked me because neither of us were with anyone and he thought it would upset his father. We've sort of become friends. Your experiment worked." She decided not to say anything about being interested in someone that wasn't Theo, afraid that he might know it was him or that he might think she was unavailable.
He looked startled. "Experiment?"
She stopped her playing- well, trying to play- and looked up at him uneasily. "Tell that's why you paired Slytherins with Gryffindors. Tell me that's why you paired Harry with Malfoy."
He looked guilty. "Well, yes, I suppose. But I didn't think of it as an experiment. It was mostly so Slytherins might make different allies and stand up to their parents."
"What do you mean?"
Severus took a deep breath and sat at his desk. "You know what will be expected of these children when they are graduated, and some even before then."
"Death Eaters," she said. "I know. Harry's going insane, trying to prove Malfoy is one. Which, I mean, he is, but Harry needs to leave it alone. If they don't want to be Marked, why don't they refuse? Run away? Talk to Professor Dumbledore?"
He didn't say anything about Malfoy and Harry's suspicions of him, but she didn't expect him to. "Fear. They've been told their whole lives what is expected of them and what to believe. Some of them will be killed if they run, some will be tortured or worse, some are at this moment being threatened."
"Where does Theo stand?"
"Theodore is an exception. Much like Sirius Black, I think it was expected for a long time despite his House. I can tell you that while his father is Marked, I believe your friend would rather any other fate. But he won't go to the headmaster out of prejudice. He's too Gryffindor, too protective of his Golden children."
"Why can't he come to you?" He gave her a look that asked if she were thinking clearly. "Oh, right, spy. If you're so sure that he doesn't want to be a Death Eater, why don't you approach him?"
"I am forbidden to," he told her. "The headmaster thinks it too much of a risk."
Hermione pursed her lips and played with random notes on the piano. "Make me a list. I'll talk to Theo, and he can help with others who might not want to be in this."
"Keep in mind, Hermione, that just because they don't want to be a Death Eater, doesn't mean they will want to join the Order or fight at all. Blaise Zabini's family has the reputation for being neutral in such things. Much like Slughorn."
"Slughorn isn't in the Order?"
He chuckled, a marvelous sound. "Does Slughorn strike you as the proactive sort?"
That night, still thinking about her conversation with Severus and dressed in a peach dress with her wand hidden in a secret pocket of it, Hermione met Theo in the Great Hall- the way it seemed everyone was meeting their dates. Whispers started when she entered and he was waiting for her. He bowed and kiss her hand and offered her his arm, as gentlemanly as she'd seen anyone do anything. They were among the first people to the party; Slughorn's office done up in gaudy Christmas decorations and some décor obviously left over from Valentine's that must have been in storage. In the center of it all, was Slughorn in his velvet smoking jacket and matching tasseled hat. Hermione hadn't expected so many people, the room stuffed already without hardly any current Slug Club students there yet.
"Ah, Mr. Nott, Ms. Granger, so glad to see the two of you here. And together! It's a wonderful sight, yes, the two of you make quite the dashing couple."
Hermione felt her face burn at the remark, and the fact that Theo didn't correct him- staring intently on one of Slughorn's guests. The man looked familiar, and Hermione recognized him as perhaps one of the people that had escaped the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.
"Thank you," she said for them, with Theo preoccupied. "It looks wonderful."
Theo led her towards the punch, pouring her a cup before taking one for himself. "Wonderful?" He teased. "Why don't you just write it on your forehead, Swat Alert."
Hermione lightly smacked his arm, smiling. "Oh, hush. I-"
"Nott," a man growled, the man who Hermione wasn't sure if she recognized. "What are you doing with Potter's mudblood?"
"Hermione," Theo corrected firmly, "and I have put our pasts behind us. Haven't we, sweetheart?"
He didn't take his eyes away from silently threatening the man, but she could tell he expected her to answer. To lie. "I'm sorry? Oh, yes. I can't imagine why we never did this sooner."
The man sneered at her, the familiar sneer of someone looking down on her for something out of her control. But before he could respond, Theo took her drink from her and handed them to the stranger, taking her hand next.
"My apologies, Yaxley, but I believe I promised my Hermione a dance."
Theo led them away and towards the dance floor where a few couples were awkwardly shuffling to the music that had just started. Unlike them, Theo apparently knew how to dance and began to lead.
"I didn't expect to see anyone here," he said in a quiet voice. "Thank you."
"If you don't want that life," Hermione started, "then why not change it. Join the Order, talk to Dumbledore."
"Dumbledore," Theo asked, not seeming upset or surprised by where the conversation was. "The man who has consistently chosen Gryffindor above all others? I'm a snake, Hermione. My beliefs don't change that."
"But you don't have to be a lion to be on the right side of the war," she whispered. "He'd help you, I know it. I know people who would help you."
He shook his head. "And live on the run? No thanks. He has ways of getting to someone even at Hogwarts. Draco-"
He stopped himself, as though suddenly realizing he was about to give something important away.
"I already know," she told him, glancing around as more students began to arrive. "I know that he's been Marked."
"It isn't his fault," Theo said harshly, making a few nearby heads turn towards them. He lowered his voice into something of a hiss. "They threatened his mother. Lucius offered him up to pay for his mistake."
"Mistake?" Hermione asked, thinking about the door blowing in on her parent's home.
Theo spun her gently. "I heard you were there, with Potter."
Comprehension spread over her face and her eyes widened, her hand going back to his shoulder. "You mean, the Ministry? That's what got Draco Marked?"
"Keep your voice down-"
"Harry, m'boy!"
Hermione glanced over to where Harry entered with Luna at his side, dressed in an interesting set of silver robes. Theo's hand tightened on her hand and her waist, making her gasp in startled pain. He immediately loosened his grip, glaring over at Harry. "What's Potter doing here?"
"Slughorn's been going mad to have Harry attend an event," she told him, the two of them subconsciously walking over to save Harry from Professor Trelawney. "He's asked Luna to keep away the girls trying to dose him with Love Potion #9."
"They're not together then?" He asked in a strange tone. He almost looked nervous as they approached.
"No, of course not. Harry's-"
"Hello, Hermione," Luna said in her dreamy voice. Her eyes blinked slowly and her placid smile was as ever on her face as she turned to Theo, who was watching her as one might watch a delicate deer in the woods- with a sense of awe and wonder. "Who's your friend?"
"This is-"
Theo interrupted her to introduce himself, bowing and kissing her Luna's hand as he had Hermione's. "Theodore Nott."
Luna didn't react to Theo's strange reaction, only tilting her head to one side in a way her friends would recognize. That she was seeing through you and into your soul. "Slytherin."
He nodded, his face looking somewhat pinched and embarrassed. "Yes, I am."
"I'm a Ravenclaw, myself, but you knew that. Did you know your head is often full of wrackspurts? I've never had the chance to tell you."
"What are wrackspurts?" He asked, somewhat nervously.
"Invisible creatures. They get in your head and make your brain go all fuzzy. Harry has them too, don't you, Harry?"
Slughorn approached at that moment, when Hermione realized Harry was once again being uncomfortably accosted by Trelawney- who returned Hermione's look of contempt. "I don't think I've ever known such a natural at Potions!"
Hermione glared at Harry, who at least had the sense to look guilty as Slughorn went on about Harry academical prowess. "Instinctive, you know- just like his mother! I've only ever taught a few with this kind of ability, I can tell you that, Sybill- why even Severus-"
Hermione's heart jumped at the sound of her friend/professor's name until, to their horror, Slughorn threw an arm out and seemed to scoop Severus out of thin air. She could feel her cheeks flush.
"Stop skulking and come and join us, Severus! I was just talking about Harry's exceptional potion-making! Some credit must go to you, of course, you taught him for five years!"
Severus' black eyes narrowed at Harry, and when he didn't get an answer to his unspoken question, he looked to Hermione- who immediately felt her cheeks flush and looked away. That, understandably, seemed to make him more upset.
"Funny," he drawled, "I never had the impression I had managed to teach Potter anything at all."
"Well, then, it's a natural ability! You should have seen what he gave me, first lesson, Draught of Living Death- never had a student produce finer on a first attempt, I don't think even you, Severus-"
"Really?" Severus asked, eyes going back and forth between Harry and Hermione.
Hermione turned to look at Theo, only to find him trying to keep up with Luna in a dance- that it seemed likely she made up as she went. But they both seemed very happy and Hermione could guess that Luna was the girl Theo had been too nervous to approach.
Then, Filch came in dragging Draco. And what had promised to be a nice party was ruined with suspicious looks and Harry following to eavesdrop, with Hermione coming along after a quick word to Theo.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I have to go stop someone from doing something stupid. Will you make sure Luna gets to her Common Room okay? I think her date is going to be that special kind of stupid tonight."
He looked happy at the prospect of spending more time with the girl, and the Ravenclaw looked equally pleased in her serene sort of way. Hermione followed Harry to where he listened in on Severus' conversation with Draco, but she was coming in at the end of it... starting with the Unbreakable Vow that had Hermione's heart thumping. Soon after, almost immediately after, the two they were spying on parted and despite Hermione trying to stop him- Harry followed Draco.
"Harry, are you mad?" She whispered sharply, hoping he was still there but knowing he wasn't. He had his invisible cloak, and was likely already far off and trying to spy on Draco.
"Miss Granger?" Severus said in his 'professor' voice.
She whirled around to face him, her heart pounding. "Severus! It's just me."
He relaxed, marginally. "Hermione, then. Care to tell me why it is out of your entire class, it is Potter's potion-making that Slughorn is praising? Not yours?"
"I-I don't know what-"
"Do not lie to me," he hissed, cornering her in the empty corridor. "What's happened?"
Hermione glanced unnecessarily down the hall to be sure they were alone, and hoping Harry wasn't there. "It's a book," she said. "I think it's yours. I haven't said anything because, well, I wasn't really sure what to say. He didn't have his book for Potions and it was in the spare cupboard."
Severus sighed in defeat. "That's where it was. I lost that ages ago. Listen, he can't keep it. Steal it, hide it, burn it, but there are spells in there-"
"I can't," she whispered desperately. "He's already experimenting with the spells, he practically worships that thing. Ron says he keeps it under his pillow."
"What ones has he tried?"
"Levicorpus," she told him. "And Muffliato. He uses it for Potions because Dumbledore wants him to be close to Slughorn."
He cursed. "Try to get it away from him. You've seen him when he loses his temper, and there are things in there-"
Hermione stepped closer. "Why would you write things like that down?! It's dangerous, even if it wasn't Harry that found it. Suppose Malfoy found it? I understand it isn't his fault what's happened to him, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't have used it."
"I was sixteen, Hermione. I'm sorry I didn't have more forethought than finding ways to defend myself against my tormentors."
She looked away, trying and failing to imagine him that young. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm worried. He's my friend, even if you hate him."
"I don't hate him," he told her. "I'm just not particularly enthusiastic about his existence."
Hermione sighed, looking at her feet and trying to think of how to get the book. Maybe she could make it seem as though he merely misplaced it. No, that would never work. He'd see right through her.
"Hermione." She looked up at him and for a moment she thought he might kiss her. And it seemed that maybe the thought crossed his mind and he decided against it. Instead saying, "You look beautiful tonight."
"Th-thank you, Severus." Above his head, something was forming and Hermione's eyes caught on it, provoking Severus to see what it was.
Mistletoe.
He looked down at her, she looked at him, and slowly his head lowered towards hers and their lips met- not quite a kiss before there was a laughing of someone obviously coming from the party and the two separated as though shocked. But she would swear she could still feel his lips. The noise trailed away, the opposite of where they were, and he looked back at her- tension in the air and the moment ruined.
"Merry Christmas, Hermione."
"Merry Christmas, Severus."
A/N: So, AAHHH! I know I do that every chapter, but I feel like it's usually a legitimate reaction for me to give. What do you think? I feel like I kind of put a lot in this chapter, without really going much further into the story. What do you think of the almost/sort of kiss? I squea'd while writing it, but I do that with almost everything I write. Speaking of, I have a new story I'm working on.
Here's the plot. Six months ago, Hermione found something out and was captured by Snatchers and taken to Voldemort. Alone. To keep Voldemort from finding out what she found out (through Legilimency) she obliviates herself. The Order, not being able to bring her memory back, plants false ones and relocates her and her family. But she has no memory of magic. Now, six months later where the story is set... she's starting to remember.
What do you think? I'm also thinking of transferring the stories from my other account to this one so I can continue them. Is that something you guys would like me to do? Let me know what you think of this chapter. And I'm looking for suggestions on what Hermione should get Severus and Evie for Christmas. Particularly Severus.
Dasvidanya, Mia
