Theo had never been so nervous in his life, and his life so far had given him plenty of opportunities to be nervous. Fina and Henry sat on a couch with bags packed waiting for George to pick them up. Theo was pacing back and forth.
"If you keep that up, you'll have to replace the flooring because your tracks will be in it," George said from the doorway.
"Make him stop Uncle George! He's making me dizzy," Fina whined.
Theo stopped. "Do you want me to take the kids now?" George asked.
Theo glanced up the stairs and then back at them. "I think she wanted to see them before we all go."
George sat next to the kids and watched Theo pass for a few more minutes. "I don't know why you are getting so worked up. You both want this. She's not going to leave you if something goes awry on this date, and you're wearing that tie she gave you for Christmas."
A door slammed upstairs and the clink of heels coming down stairs was heard. Theo's mouth fell open when he saw her. She didn't want to overdue herself and kept her natural curls and wore a knee length, cap sleeve blue dress. It was nothing extravagant but did her more beauty than an extravagant outfit would. She stood next to him once off the stairs. He took her hand and kissed it.
"You look gorgeous, Hermione. Beautiful. Amazing. Spectacular," He commented.
She blushed and then turned to her children. "You two are going to be good for Uncle George and Aunt Angie, right?"
They both nodded. "Of course, mum. We are always sweet little angels," Fina smiled.
Hermione glanced at her daughter and then at her boyfriend. "I think you've been spending too much time with her. She's going to turn into a Slytherin."
"Is that such a bad thing?" He chuckled. "I don't think you have to fear anything."
"I will be in Gryffindor, just like mummy," Fina stated proudly.
"Wanna bet?" Theo teased.
"3 galleons says I'll be in Gryffindor."
"Deal."
They said a final good-bye and everyone headed their own way. Walking down the steps, Hermione said, "You know she can just tell the hat to put her in Gryffindor. You are going to lose this no matter what."
Theo chuckled and nodded. "I know, and I don't care. She's going to be in Gryffindor no matter what."
They hailed a cab. Theo gave the cabbie the restaurant address. "No more talking about children tonight. Just us. Tonight is about us." She said. He agreed.
They sat quietly in the cab and watched London fly past them. The cab stopped in front of a dimly lit restaurant. Theo paid him and ushered Hermione inside. "Reservation for Nott," Theo said to the maitre d'. The woman nodded after checking a list and led them to their table.
The table was next to a window in a more secluded area of the restaurant. Hermione chuckled, "You must love the view of the Thames considering almost wherever we go we can see it."
He smiled and glanced at the menu. "I think the view of the river is always beautiful. There's just something about water that appeals to me. Maybe in June for Henry's birthday we can go to the Nott house in Wales. It's on some cliffs overlooking the ocean about midway between Cardiff and Newport. Tutshill is a couple hours away too. It sits on this giant estate with a forest and path leading down to this little beach on the ocean."
Hermione smiled at seeing a very happy Theo. "It sounds amazing and beautiful, Theo. We should definitely check it out."
He nodded and looked back at the menu. A waiter came around and took their orders. "Is it weird that we've been around each other for a month and I still don't know what you do," Theo asked.
"We have been busy this past month," She took a sip of her wine. "I work in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. It's a boring desk job, and I hate it so much."
"Then why keep doing it?"
"I needed a way to support the kids. Ron never brought home much from working at the joke shop, but I'm thinking now that that's because it went to the other family," She grumbled, taking a much larger sip of her wine. "So what do you do when I'm away and the kids are at school and daycare?"
"Well, some days Henry doesn't go to daycare so him and I hang out. Otherwise, I normally go to the cafe and pick up some shifts to also help bring back a paycheck, even though we don't need it," He said.
The waiter brought out their salads. "It just feels weird to live off your family money, Theo."
"Why? I'm not going to stop you from working but it does provide us with security," He noticed the look on her face. "Enough about this. What's something you've always wanted to do?"
She tilted her head. "What?"
"What is something you, Hermione Granger, have always wanted to do in life but you have yet the opportunity to do it?" He repeated.
She sat there silently staring at her half eaten salad. "I...I don't know."
He laughed. "What do you mean you don't know? You have to have some sort of goals in your life."
"I do. They just are nothing of noteworthy means."
"Nonsense. Any dreams you have are noteworthy and meaningful."
"I want to open a book store. It would be more interesting than a desk job at the Ministry and something Finny and Rhys could be a part of too," She admitted.
The waiter brought their entrees, but Theo didn't notice. "I think that is an incredible idea. You should do it. We should do it. I bet George could help you find a property in Diagon Alley, and financially speaking we could use the vault money because it's just collecting dust and Draco is quite good with fiance stuff. If you wanted it, we could make this happen."
She grinned and blushed. "It could be our own little family business."
He grinned and blushed too. "Yeah, our own little family business."
The night was cold when they walked out of the theater. "That was fantastic, Theo!" Hermione kissed him on the cheek. "This is the best date I've ever been on."
"I'm pleased with that and whole heartedly agree with you," He said. "That Shakespeare man is quite the genius. We must see more of his plays sometime."
They walked down the street for an late night stroll instead of hailing a cab. "During the summer, they have an event called Shakespeare in the Park. We could always attend that instead of coming here to the theater."
"Or we could do both because coming here is alone and date time with you, my beautiful lady. George said we must soak up the alone time while we can," Theo said.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "I shouldn't have introduced you two. You've became best friends, well not like you, Draco, and Blaise, but you three have practically adopted him into your group."
Theo snorted. "You're one to talk. I feel the same with about you and Astoria."
"She's a delightful woman to be around. She is funny, witty, and easy to have intelligent conversations with when needed. Besides, you have to admire that she puts up with Malfoy."
"He is quite the handful and drama queen," Theo agreed.
Theo hailed a cab when the breeze grew. He had the cab drop them off a few blocks from home. "I didn't ask this at dinner but I noticed you hardly use magic anymore. Why?" Hermione asked.
Theo shrugged. "After 13 years in Azkaban, it felt kind of weird to have my wand back. There is also a limit set on it so I can't do complicated spells. Plus, I live and do everything in muggle London. I've adapted to the muggle way of life. I started before the trial and now I'm continuing it. Some concepts still confuse me or have became more advanced, like the internet and a blender."
She looked at him oddly. "I understand the internet being confusing but a blender?"
"It makes multiple things just one cohesive liquid! It's weird," He said defensively.
She nodded. "So with not having much to do with magic, how would you feel if I actually bought a book store and wanted you to help me with it?"
He saw where she was going with the question. "I would help you. I never said I was giving up magic. I just don't feel as dependant on it as I once was. I wouldn't hesitate to help you live out any dream you had."
They slowly walked up the steps and into their home. "Any dream?"
He nodded. "Any dream."
She grinned and lead him upstairs. "I do have another one I could use help with." He grinned cheekily and followed her upstairs.