A/N: Thank you for all the reviews and for reading this story! It totally makes my day :) Hopefully, you like this chapter too! Much Love! :)
Disclaimer: Characters and world belong to J.K Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.
Into the Black
Chapter 24: Acceptable
The first weekend of the school year saw Hermione and the others forming the study group in the library. They had a few students from multiple houses. Ginny, Harry and Hermione were the Gryffindors present. While Luna Lovegood was the only Ravenclaw. The Slytherins present were Theo naturally, Blaise, Pansy, as well as Draco Malfoy.
Hermione had been allowed to book a study room in the library, allowing the group to carry on with their discussion pertaining to the material they were covering in their final year of schooling.
"When should we meet again?" Hermione asked the group as their session drew to a close. The library would be closing in approximately fifteen minutes, they needed to leave. She was packing her defence assignment into her school bag. Frowning at the seven feet that she had written. She hoped that it'd be okay for Regulus. She didn't know where to edit. It was all important.
"Not next weekend," Ginny and Harry replied at the same time. Ginny grinned at Harry. "We've got team tryouts that weekend. I'm going to be a grumpy, stinky mess that Saturday afterwards." Ginny told Hermione.
"What about Sunday?" Hermione asked her. She looked around at the group as she straightened her school bag. "Does that work for everyone?"
Pansy nodded to her, and gave Hermione a small smile. "It works for me. We don't all have to meet up when we do. If a few of us can't make it once in a while it shouldn't be a problem." She told the group quietly.
Ginny nodded in agreement. "We can maybe meet here during a weeknight, eventually. At least when the quidditch season really starts." She told Hermione. "I can work around these study groups with my quidditch practises. It's not a huge deal."
Hermione looked around her group of peers. "Does that sound alright with everyone?"
The group gave her a collective nod in agreement. She smiled. "Great. I'll book the room early tomorrow morning with Madam Pince. And I'll let you all know the time to meet for next Sunday."
The group finished their packing up and left the library as Madam Pince shooed them out, exasperated already even though it was only the first week of school.
...
...
Tuesday morning Hermione trudged through her History of Magic class. It was a cruel world, she figured, having History first thing in the morning. Regardless of the early hour and boring class, Hermione focused on her note-taking, supplementing her notes with her History of Magic textbook on the desk in front of her as Professor Binns lectured to the half-asleep class.
Once the class had finished, Hermione walked to the hospital wing, nervous. She hadn't been able to sleep much and had woken up her dorm-mates the night before screaming from a nightmare. She was exhausted. She had been putting off seeing the mind healers present at the school. Hoping that she'd get better on her own. But to no avail. She knew she needed help, and quickly. She was already burned out and it was only the beginning of her second week of school. She wouldn't last if she kept it up.
Hermione pushed open the large oak door to the hospital wing. She spotted Madam Pomfrey puttering about in the large room. She turned and spotted Hermione standing near the entrance.
"Ah," the school healer said to her softly, giving her a kind smile. "Good morning Miss Black. What can I help you with today?" She asked the curly-haired witch.
Hermione smiled back at her. "I need to see a mind healer, I think." She started. "I have a break right now before lunch. I was hoping I could fit in."
Madam Pomfrey nodded to her. "Of course, dear. Right this way." She turned and walked Hermione to the back of the wing. Next to her office, there was another room with a simple sign stating Mind Healer on the door.
Hermione watched as Madam Pomfrey knocked softly on the door before opening it slightly. "I have a student for you, Robert." She said to the man sitting in the room who was reading a magazine with his feet propped up on his desk.
The young man grinned at Hermione and Madam Pomfrey as he set his magazine down and removed his feet off of his desk. "Why, hello." He said kindly to Hermione. He stood up from his chair and reached to shake her hand.
"Hi," Hermione said softly to him, shaking his hand.
"I'll leave you two to it," Madam Pomfrey said to the pair of them. She left the room, softly closing the door partway.
"Have a seat, Miss Black." Robert said to her as he gestured to a chair in front of his desk.
Hermione sat and fiddled with her hands in her lap. The mind healer was sitting there watching her. She was nervous. She didn't know where to begin. She scratched her face and sighed.
"I'm having a difficult time sleeping." She admitted quietly to the healer.
Hermione watched as the healer nodded to her.
"Do you know a reason why you are? Is it a recent occurrence, or has it been happening to you for a while?" Robert asked her.
Hermione frowned. When had it started? "I'm not sure when it really started…it may have been more of an off-and-on thing until recently." She swallowed, gathering her thoughts. "I started having nightmares after Bellatrix Lestrange tortured me with the cruciatus curse Easter Break of this year."
The healer's eyebrows rose slightly on his forehead.
"I woke up my dorm-mates last night with my screaming." Hermione told him. "I just really want to sleep through the night, but I can't. I can't seem to get more than a few hours each night." Hermione told him softly. "I'm so tired."
"Do you have nightmares every night?"
"No…prior to last night I haven't had one for a few weeks. But I still seem to not be able to sleep very well, regardless of how well I clear my head before I go to bed." She told him.
The healer nodded to her, indicating that he was following along.
"We will come to your nightmares in a bit," he told her. "But, when you don't have a nightmare…how many hours do you sleep, would you say?" he asked her.
Hermione frowned in thought. "Maybe four or five hours total. And not consistently. I wake up every hour or so. I am a really light sleeper." She yawned. She was exhausted.
Robert nodded at her again. "And you clear your mind you say?"
Hermione nodded at him. "I try to practise occlumency before I go to bed. To put everything in a box. To help me cope. I have a lot of thoughts running through my head. I needed a way to organize everything or it would overwhelm me."
Robert frowned to himself. "How about we try a few things. Now…I want you to know we won't be able to 'cure' you overnight, so to speak. It will take time. But I do wholeheartedly believe that we can get you having a more consistent and lengthy sleep eventually."
Hermione nodded, she figured it would be a multiple visit kind of thing.
"I want you to continue to practise your mind clearing exercises at night." Robert told her. "I do think that they are probably helping you, at least a bit. So I see no need to discontinue them." Hermione nodded in understanding. "What I do want you to do though, is begin to write down the things that are running through your head." He looked at Hermione. "Write about anything you are thinking about. Whenever you want to. Whatever time works for you the best."
Hermione nodded to him. That was something she could do.
"Now…" Robert hesitated. "I think your nightmares are something that will take a while to fix. If you feel comfortable enough…I would recommend that after you have one to write it down as well. Everything you can remember about it. How you felt, who was involved. Everything you can." He looked at her with kind eyes. "I have found that patients who have been tortured, who have nightmares because of it, tend to do a bit better if they are able to write about it in detail afterwards. We will go over the detail of your experiences, when they do happen." Robert looked at Hermione pointedly.
"Is that something you'd be comfortable with, Hermione?" He asked her.
Hermione nodded again at him. "Yes. I can speak with you about it. I could do that I think. I really want to get better."
He smiled at her. "I will get Madam Pomfrey to give you two vials of dreamless sleep. I don't want you to rely on it. But, I do see that you are exhausted. You look dead on your feet. I think it would be a good thing to be able to get at least one complete night of sleep this week. The other vial just keep in your nightstand."
Hermione nodded again.
Robert reached into his desk drawer and pulled out two notebooks. He handed them to her. "One for your thoughts, the other for your nightmares, alright?"
"Thank you," Hermione said to him as she stood up with him and took the notebooks he handed to her.
He followed her out of his office and into Madam Pomfrey's. "Hermione is going to need two small vials of dreamless sleep, Poppy." Robert said to the matron.
Madam Pomfrey stood up and walked to her potions cabinet. She took out two small vials of dreamless sleep potion and handed them to Hermione. Smiling gently as she did.
"Does this time work for you, Hermione?" Robert asked her.
Hermione nodded as she placed the vials in her schoolbag. "For now, yes."
He nodded to her. "Can we meet again next Tuesday, same time?"
Hermione nodded. "Sounds good." She smiled at him.
...
...
Hermione made her way after lunch to her Tuesday Defence class with Harry and Ginny. Theo was walking with her this time. Holding her hand as they made their way up to the defence classroom.
Regulus was once again waiting for them when they got there. Sitting on his desk, relaxed and watching as the seventh and eighth years slowly trickled in. Next to him on his desk was a box beginning to fill up with the assignments that he had given them the week prior.
Hermione dropped her schoolbag onto her desk and began to rummage through it. Grabbing her rolled up scroll of parchment she quickly checked it, making sure it was the correct one. Seeing that it was, she stepped over to Regulus to give him her assignment.
Regulus smiled at her and reached out his hand to take it from her. She gave him her assignment with a small smile. "Here," she said quietly to him.
Regulus smiled at her. "Thank you," he said to her as he took her assignment from her. Hermione turned to head back to her seat, missing the slight frown that Regulus had on his face as he held her assignment. It was obviously longer than the four feet he had assigned the class.
He placed it in the box and continued to take assignments from students who were now beginning to line up in front of his desk.
Soon after Regulus began his lecture on the importance of non-verbal spells. He started with the theory behind them. Informing the class that the practise of non-verbal spells would be some of the first practical lessons they would be doing. Although it wouldn't happen for at least another week.
Later that night Hermione began to write her thoughts in her journal. She cleared her head before she went to bed and remembered to take one vial of dreamless sleep potion.
She was out for the count as soon as her head hit the pillow.
...
...
Thursday afternoon eventually rolled around. Hermione, Ginny and Harry, as well as Luna, made their way up to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom near the end of their lunch hour.
Regulus was yet again, waiting for the student to arrive. Sitting on the top of his desk. Relaxed. Approachable. There was a seventh year girl, who Hermione didn't recognise speaking with him quietly. He was explaining a concept to her. Using his hands to illustrate what he was trying to get at. The girl nodded at him. Informing him that she understood what he was telling her. With a quick smile, the girl turned and walked to her seat to wait for the lecture to begin.
Hermione looked at Regulus' desk and spotted his box with all of the assignments in them. She looked wide-eyed at Regulus, surprised that he had marked everything so quickly. He gave her a soft grin and a subtle nod. He looked at his watch and began his lecture, a continuation of non-verbal spells. Soon the class was near the end of the period, with twenty minutes to spare. He grinned at the class and informed everyone that he had finished marking their assignments earlier in the day.
"I just want to give you all the heads up," Regulus began. "I am marking your assignments almost like they would your NEWT exams. I want you all to be prepared for your exams at the end of the term. I don't want anyone to be surprised when they walk in to the exam. I want you all to be more than ready." He looked around the lecture hall.
"That being said," he continued. "I am letting you all know that no one got a perfect mark. I gave out one Outstanding grade to one person in this entire class. That's one person out of seventy-eight people. Even they didn't get a perfect grade. They did not get one hundred percent. They still have room for improvement." He paused. "The majority of students received an Exceeds Expectations." He swallowed. "No one received a failing grade." He smiled to the class. "I am free to discuss your assignment with you outside of class time. You can stop me in the hallway, assuming I'm not on my way to teach another year. That's fine by me. You can also see me in my office."
He turned to the box, grabbed a handful of scrolls and started calling out names. Students made their way to the front of the room to take their assignments back once their names were called.
"Hermione," Regulus said to her.
Hermione got up out of her seat and made her way over to Regulus. He handed her the marked assignment and gave her a slight grin. It didn't reach his eyes.
Hermione sat back down in her seat and hesitantly looked at her assignment. She had a feeling she wasn't the one who got the outstanding grade. Maybe she'd be one of those who had scraped up an Exceeds Expectations.
She took a peek at the grade near the top of her assignment.
Acceptable.
She had never received an Acceptable in her life. Well…not since flying lessons in first year. But really…that didn't count in her mind.
Hermione sat in her chair, looking at her assignment. Oblivious to everyone around her.
"Hermione," a voice called out to her.
Hermione jerked her head up. Theo, Luna, Harry and Ginny were standing there waiting for her to leave with them to go to dinner.
"You okay?" Ginny asked. Theo was looking at her worriedly.
Hermione nodded slightly, swallowing. She looked past the group and spotted Regulus watching her near his desk. Hermione blinked a few times. Her eyes were burning.
The last student who was talking to Regulus left the classroom after he had heard Regulus' explanation of his grade.
"I – I need to talk to Regulus about my grade," Hermione said softly to the group. "I'll meet you guys later, alright?" Her voice was shaky. She cleared her throat.
"You sure?" Theo asked her softly.
Hermione nodded to him. She needed to understand why she had done so poorly.
Regulus came over and sat next to Hermione at the desk. "We'll be okay everyone." He said quietly to the group of students. "Go get ready for dinner, she'll meet you there in a bit."
Regulus sat there watching her as everyone else left the room. "Can I ask you a question, Hermione?" he said softly to her.
Hermione nodded, but didn't speak.
"How often do you go over the length limit for your assignments?" Regulus probed.
Hermione closed her eyes and sighed. Always. Every single time. She always went over the limit.
"I don't think I've ever not gone over the limit," she said quietly to him, she turned to look at him cautiously.
Regulus gave her a grin. "You have a lot to say."
Hermione nodded in agreement. "I find a lot of information that to me is really important. I just want to get it all in there. It may be a little off topic, a little bit more than what the professor asked of us, but it does tie into the question asked." She softly defended herself.
"You can't keep doing that." Regulus told her. "That's not fair to anyone else. In any of my classes. You gave me almost double what I asked for. That takes me away from marking, and helping other students who probably need more assistance in the subject than you do." He looked at her pointedly.
Hermione gave him a nod. "I'm not sure how to do that." She hesitated. "I don't want to leave anything out."
He nodded at her. "Okay…let's look at your assignment together, alright." He motioned to her to open it up. "I've given you some comments, about what you can do differently, or explain something differently. You can read that at another time. I want you to tell me what the assignment was about. What did I tell you all to do for me?"
Hermione swallowed. "You asked us to tell you the similarities and differences between Light Magic and Dark Magic. You wanted to know which one we thought was better and why. You wanted us to use the textbook to back us up."
Regulus nodded and gave her a smile. "True. The key point there is your opinion. Your belief in which type of Magic is better. You missed that. You gave me everyone else's opinion on the two Magics, I didn't see yours in there at all. Do you think there is one that is better than the other? I don't care what some wizard believed in the 1700s, Hermione. I care about what you think." He looked at her assignment. "You never gave me your beliefs. Your opinion." He looked to her. "What do you think?"
Hermione hesitated. "I – I don't know. I don't know what I think of the two. There are positive aspects of Light Magic and positive aspects of Dark Magic. I know that not all Light Magic is good and not all Dark Magic is necessarily bad. I think I am kind of on the fence with the two Magics. I don't know which one I think is better."
Regulus nodded at her and gave her a grin. "So…you like aspects of both Magics?"
Hermione hesitated before she gave him a nod.
"Then you need to tell me that." He told her. "You are allowed to like both. You are allowed to see good things in both Light and Dark Magic. I think that's what has caught a lot of students off guard when they looked thoroughly into the two Magics. They like aspects of both of them. There is nothing wrong with not picking one over the other. But you need to say that. You need to say to me, to the people marking your work, that there are good aspects of both Light and Dark Magic. That you cannot pick one over the other to be the better one."
Hermione nodded to him. "It's not all black and white," she said to him. "There are bits of grey."
Regulus nodded to her. "Exactly. It mostly depends on how we use those Magics. If you are using Dark Magic for bad things, then yeah…it's a bad magic. Light is probably better in that case. But…you know that you can use Dark Magic for good things. Think of Harry. Think of those horcruxes and how you got rid of them. Think of some of the hexes you've learned throughout your schooling. Technically some of them are dark, but you've used them for good. At the same time, you know that some Light Magic can be used for bad. I mean…think of the Headmistress during the battle. She transfigured Alecto into a chair. Transfiguration is a perfect example of Light Magic. Yet if that was used in a different situation it could too be considered to be bad." He paused. "What if Alecto transfigured Minerva into a chair instead? What if once she did that she destroyed the chair somehow?" He looked to Hermione. "That would be a bad thing, right?"
Hermione nodded in understanding.
Regulus sighed and took a closer look at her assignment. "Another thing I docked you on was the length. A huge part of your paper doesn't even talk about what I asked." Regulus told her. "You spent three feet telling me the history of Magic. I never asked you to tell me that. I just wanted similarities and differences and then your beliefs. Not the history. If you do this in the NEWT exam, they will only mark the first four feet that you've written. They will stop reading anything beyond that point."
Hermione looked at him with wide eyes. Shocked.
"Yeah," Regulus replied. "If I marked this exactly like they will on the exam in June, you would have failed it."
Regulus and Hermione walked together to the great hall for dinner. Splitting once they entered the hall, Hermione walking to the Gryffindor table and Regulus walking to the head table at the front of the great hall.
...
...
Soon Friday arrived. Hermione and Theo were rising from their seats in Arithmancy, repacking their schoolbags once class had ended.
"Do you have any plans?" Hermione asked Theo quietly as she slung her schoolbag on her shoulder.
Theo doing the same, shook his head. "No, not really." He looked at her as they walked out of the classroom. "Did you want to work on the Runes translation today?"
"Yes," Hermione said to him as they walked down the hallway. "I think it's best if we try to get the translation done as soon as we can. We will have more time to interpret its meaning if we do."
Theo grinned. "I wholeheartedly agree. Did you want to work on it in the library or the Room of Requirement?" He asked her.
Hermione scrunched up her nose in thought. "I'm thinking the Room of Requirement for now. I would like to sit on a comfy sofa while we work on it, and there aren't any of those in the library, unfortunately."
They quickly made their way to the Room of Requirement. Stepping through the doorway Hermione spotted a large table with big comfy chairs surrounding one side. A plush sofa on the other. A large fireplace was cackling nearby. The walls of the room had floor to ceiling bookcases with a ladder attached to be able to reach the top shelf.
Theo started chuckling. "It's always books with you, isn't it?"
Hermione grinned as she set her schoolbag on the table. "What can I say…I like books."
"What's with the ladder though?" Theo asked her, looking at the ladder as it leaned against a nearby bookshelf. "You can just use a summoning charm."
Hermione blushed. "It's from a story I read when I was a girl. There was a library with a ladder all the way to the top shelf to get books down." She shrugged as she sat down on the sofa. "It's one of my favourite books. One of my favourite muggle books, at least."
Theo nodded as he sat down next to her. "What's the story called?"
"Beauty and the Beast," Hermione said softly.
"Beauty and the Beast," Theo reiterated. Hermione nodded at him. "I'll have to remember that one." He gave her a grin.
Hermione removed her school cloak and jumper. It was warm in the room from the fire burning nearby. She rolled up her sleeves and grabbed a quill and a spare notebook from her bag. She also removed her Ancient Runes textbook and placed it on the table in front of them both.
Theo removed the text they would be translating from his schoolbag and placed it on the table. He too removed his cloak and jumper. He settled next to Hermione on the sofa. Bodies lightly touching. Bumping into each other as they both got comfortable.
Hermione and Theo leaned forward, closer to the text. Hermione watched, quill in hand, as Theo opened the front cover. The cover was blank. Leather with thick thread binding the pages together. Keeping everything in place. The pages looked to be tea-stained, some areas on the parchment darker than others.
"The smell of the old book will be missing because of this being a reproduction, but it'd be neat to know what it was like." Theo said to her. "If there was anything distinctive about it."
Hermione hummed in agreement.
Theo turned the blank page over. On the following pages there were lines of Runes filling the entire page from top to bottom. Barely any space between them. Handwritten. Some scrunched together so closely it seemed as though whoever wrote the work had forgotten a Rune and had quickly squished it in before continuing on.
"Ugh…" Hermione said to break the silence. "One day there will be a translation that is neatly written and properly spaced. This is going to take a while, I think."
Theo chuckled in agreement.
Hermione quickly wrote 'page one' on the top of the page in her notebook. Underlining the words before she focused on the runes in the text they were given.
"Do any of them jump out at you?" Hermione asked Theo. "Or will we need to look up every single one of them?"
Theo hummed. "I see the Othilla rune here…could mean it's someone's property. Which wouldn't be surprising. I wonder where Gringotts got the books from." He muttered to himself.
"I see Anzus just here," Hermione pointed a bit further along the page. "Perhaps it's someone trying to communicate with us. Someone trying to provide insight about something. Someone's research from way back…"
Theo hummed in agreement.
The two of them puttered away on the first page of the journal. Occasionally hypothesizing what the individual was trying to get at. Trying to explain. To Hermione it looked like someone's research journal. Theo argued that it may be a book of old Family magic. Really old Family magic. Rudimentary.
"Why would Gringotts give us someone's book of Family magic, Theo? That makes no sense. That is no one's business but the family." Hermione growled. "They have no right to do that."
Theo chuckled at her anger at him. "Spoken like a true Black. Always with the secrets." Hermione gasped and glared at him. Fighting a grin in the process. "Not everyone is as secretive about their Family Magic, Hermione. Most are, true. But something this old, I think any family around today could barely understand what this book was saying. I think it's from an extinct family line. That's why Gringotts gave it to Professor Vector to translate. They would've kept it secure if there was still some family member around."
Hermione frowned. He had a point. "It could still be someone's research," she argued. Not wanting to concede her point too soon.
"Perhaps," Theo grinned. "Maybe it's a mixture of Family Magic and research. Maybe the family was known for their research and they've put everything in one book for future relatives to see."
He looked closely at Hermione, fighting a grin. "Have I made you too angry to kiss?"
Hermione threw down her quill on the table. "Of course not. I like our discussions." She grinned at him. "They keep me on my toes."
Theo hummed in agreement as he leaned towards her. His hand reaching into her hair as their lips touched.
Hermione gasped, allowing Theo better access to her mouth. She brought her hands up to press against his chest. Touching and caressing him, fiddling with his Slytherin tie as he nibbled on her lip before kissing her along her jawline towards her ear.
"Back?" Theo quietly muttered into her ear as he sucked on her lobe before working his way to her neck. Nipping and sucking.
Hermione laid on her back on the sofa. Theo following her, never removing his lips from her neck for too long.
Hermione pressed into the sofa. Her hands reaching for Theo. Still playing with his tie. One hand moved to his hair. Bringing him back to her lips.
She could feel him grinning against her mouth as they gave each other short open mouth kisses.
Hermione felt Theo's hand begin to roam her body, starting in her hair before moving down her cheek. His fingers softly tickled her neck.
Hermione squeaked and pushed a shoulder up to protect herself. Turning her head slightly to the side.
Theo chuckled into her hair as he took advantage of the open space on the other side of her neck. Nipping and sucking.
His hand roamed further down her shoulder. His leg moved between both of hers.
His hand slowly made its way to one of her breasts. He gave her a gentle squeeze. She gasped.
Theo removed his lips from her throat and pulled back slightly to look at her face. Her expression. "Okay?" he asked her huskily.
Hermione nodded. She pulled him closer to her. Wanting to feel him press against her. Her hands in his hair. Her hands roaming around on his back. His shoulders.
Theo gave her another grin before kissing her deeply. His roaming hand squeezed her again. Hermione groaned into his mouth. She felt her hips buckle slightly. Not in her control.
His thigh pushed against her heat.
Her hips buckled again. Rubbing against his thigh. Pleasure shot through to her core.
"Fuck," Hermione gasped pulling away from Theo's mouth. She latched onto his neck. Nibbling and sucking.
Theo chuckled again. He moved his thigh against her. Rubbing.
Hermione consciously rubbed his thigh harder. Wanting him to get closer to her.
Theo gave her breast another squeeze before he moved his hand down to her hip. Squeezing. He moved his thigh against her some more. Watching her expression as he did.
Hermione gasped and closed her eyes when Theo pressed his thigh against her harder. Her hips wouldn't stop moving. She wanted this.
She opened her eyes and saw Theo watching her. Watching her expression. Dark eyes and a wicked grin. He reattached himself to her neck as she continued to rub herself against him. Theo's hand on her hip guiding her.
"That feels so good," Hermione rasped out.
She felt hardness press against her hip.
Theo moaned into her ear. "Fuck," he groaned out. He started to pull away from Hermione.
"No please," Hermione begged him. Reaching to pull him back down closer to her. Trying to catch her breath.
Theo grinned sheepishly at her. Red in the face.
"I'm afraid that if I don't pull away I won't be able to stop, Hermione." He told her quietly.
He sat back on the sofa. Hermione followed him up. Snuggling next to him.
She looked down to his lap. Easily spotting his bulge in his trousers. She kissed his cheek.
His hand moved to her cheek and under her chin. Bringing her eyes up to his.
Hermione gave him a soft grin. Curiosity in her eyes.
"Can I touch you?" She asked him quietly. "Just a bit." She swallowed. "I just want to feel you."
Theo bit his lip and gave her a nod.
Hermione kissed his cheek again and brought her hand down onto his lap. She ran her hand over his bulge. Grasping him through his trousers.
"Fuck," Theo muttered. He had an arm around her shoulders.
Hermione moved her hand over his bulge. Grasping and rubbing.
"Hmmm," Theo murmured throatily. "Like this." His hand moved on top of hers, guiding her as she caressed and rubbed him.
"Is this still good?" Hermione asked him quietly as she rubbed the palm of her hand over the tip she could feel through his trousers.
"So good," Theo replied to her. He removed his hand from hers and brought it up to her breasts again. He gave them both a squeeze and a caress through her shirt. Keeping in time with her. His hand moved lower on her torso. Across her stomach. To her hip. To the inside of her thigh.
"Can I touch you?" He asked her, making eye contact with her as he rubbed her thigh.
Hermione gulped. She nodded to him.
"Are you sure?" Theo asked her quietly. "You can say no."
Hermione nodded again. "It's okay. I want you to…just not skin on skin contact."
"Through your knickers?" Theo asked.
Hermione nodded in confirmation.
Theo's hand moved to cup her folds underneath her skirt. His fingers rubbing against her knickers. Searching.
"I can feel your wetness through your knickers," Theo said in awe.
Hermione blushed and restarted her hand, rubbing his cock more thoroughly.
Theo's fingers touched Hermione's clitoris. She gasped.
"There you are," Theo muttered into her ear. He started kissing her neck again. Keeping in time with his fingers' movement. Hermione doing the same to him.
She rubbed her hand over the head of his penis. Rubbing her thumb over him repeatedly before working her way down his shaft again. As best as she could through his trousers.
Theo's thumb rubbed her clitoris through her knickers in response to what she was doing to him.
"Fuck," Hermione gasped quietly. She tried to widen her legs to give him more access to her.
Theo's thumb started moving quicker and quicker against her. Rubbing her with more pressure. More friction. He moved his fingers higher up. Three now rubbing her quickly.
Hermione had never felt anything like this before. She never had someone touch her like this before. Her hand dropped from Theo's cock. She couldn't focus on anything else.
Pressure building up inside her. Pleasure entirely focused on the one small point between her legs. She gasped. She could barely breathe.
"Come on Hermione," Theo groaned to her. "Come for me." He rubbed and rubbed. Faster and faster.
Hermione groaned. She scrunched her eyes tightly closed. She clenched her thighs together. Her legs jerking as Theo continued to rub her.
Theo swore and decreased the pace of his fingers on her.
Hermione's legs continued to jerk slightly. She opened her eyes, her mouth parted attempting to take in more air.
She looked at Theo as he cupped her gently between her legs. He blinked his eyes open. Staring at her.
He gave her a grin and removed his right arm from around her shoulders. He muttered a quiet scourgify as he moved his hand over himself. Cleaning himself up.
"Oh," Hermione said surprised. She didn't realise he had gotten his release along with her.
Theo grinned. "Okay?" He kissed her cheek. Straightening out her shirt and skirt. Covering her up again.
Hermione nodded. "Very okay." She said to him.
Theo laughed. "Good to know," he told her. He looked to his watch and snorted. "We are so late for dinner." He looked to Hermione. "Ready to make an entrance?"
Hermione blushed and nodded to him. They began packing up their Ancient Runes notes and quickly left the Room of Requirement. Theo holding her hand as they walked together through the castle.
"My legs are wobbly," Hermione muttered to him as they made their way down the main staircase.
Theo chuckled. "Whoops."
Hermione smacked his shoulder as they both walked into the great hall. Thirty minutes late for dinner. The place was packed.
Theo walked her to her spot at the Gryffindor table before walking himself over to the Slytherin table.
"What took you so long?" Ginny asked her loudly. "We couldn't figure out where you were."
Harry nodded in agreement as he took a bite of chicken.
Hermione rolled her eyes good naturedly at Ginny. "We were in the Room of Requirement going over our Ancient Runes assignment. We lost track of time." She reached for some chicken and potatoes and placed some on her plate. Ginny poured her some pumpkin juice.
"So that huge love bite on your neck, that's what?" Ginny grinned at her. "Some sort of rune, is it?"
Hermione snorted and gave her a nod. Eyes bright. "Don't you dare ask me about it here."
Ginny laughed loudly and slapped her on her back. Readjusting Hermione's hair to cover it up from curious eyes.
"Later 'Mione," Ginny said to her as she took a bite of chicken. "You'll fill me in later."