"The timeless in you is aware of life's timelessness. And knows that yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's dream." ― Khalil Gibran, The Prophet
X
"What's got his wand on a knot?"
"No idea. But why do you care, Hermione?"
"I don't."
Hermione and Theo were partners in Arithmancy. The class had only eight students – Hermione, Theo, Blaise, Draco and four Ravenclaw boys. Arithmancy was a very technical and complex subject, so it was not such a surprise that the class had such few people. After an introductory class, Professor Vector had asked them to split into pairs and Hermione had immediately looked at Blaise's and Theo's direction – as had Draco.
She did not hate Draco, that was evident. However, the prospect of being paired up with him seemed very farfetched – not to mention catastrophic. The girl had even considered using her time-turner should the occasion need. Thankfully, Theo had exchanged a funny look and a snicker with Blaise before making his way to Hermione. She had contained the urge to ask them later if they had considered pairing with each other, however that would probably earn her questions whose answers she would much rather avoid.
Now it was the end of a particularly difficult class and they were taking some final notes – except for Draco, whose arm was still tied to a sling, much to Hermione's irritation.
"If you don't care, don't stare," Theo muttered, glancing sideways.
"Why's he still wearing that sling?" she asked, brows knitted in annoyance.
"To piss Potter off, of course."
"Then why does he look so pissed off?"
"Once again, no idea. Ask yourself if you're so interested."
"I'm not interested, Theo," she said through gritted teeth, but the boy looked unconvinced and merely scoffed, while she did her best not to blush.
That was a blatant lie. Hermione had noticed that Draco was looking very weird that last week. Some weeks had gone by since their last conversation and the most progress she had made with him was not being at the end of his sneers and slurs and lock eyes with him every once in a while in the Great Hall. In all honesty, she did not hope for them to suddenly befriend, become partners and laugh at each other's jokes in the middle of the corridor. Intimately, however, she had hoped to stumble upon him at Hogwarts and maybe, just maybe, talk to him, see how things were going.
Hermione had her chances every Thursday afternoon. Her Slytherin study group was still standing and so was Draco's resolution in going there precisely fifteen minutes before the end of their session. Though a Gryffindor at heart, she had yet to find the guts to stay behind and maybe, just maybe, talk to him, see how thing were going.
Nothing had happened, of course. She was biding her time and so was he.
"By the way, thanks for not telling them," Theo told her quietly, waking Hermione from her reverie. She shook her head slightly and realized that the skinny Slytherin boy was gripping the edge of the desk tightly.
"You don't have to thank me," she answered, kindly, nudging his elbow.
"You could have made fun of me," he clarified in a muttered and shy tone, letting go the edge of the desk and sighing.
"And then I would have been a terrible friend, Theo."
He, evidently, was talking about a heartbreaking situation that Hermione had come across five days before. The brunette was going to the library just before dinner when she heard a small sob coming from a classroom to her left side. Worried that someone might be hurt, she pushed the door open and saw herself staring at Theo, who was sitting on the floor, hugging his knees close to his chest and crying his eyes out in the middle of the empty classroom.
"Theo! Are you hurt?" she had asked as she rushed towards him, kneeling beside his sobbing figure, amber eyes widened in shock.
"N-n-no," he had managed to answer after a full minute through a hiccup.
Hermione could not see his face as he had buried it on his knees as if he was extremely embarrassed to find himself doing that.
"I will get Daphne," she had told him, placing a hand over his and almost gasping at how cold he felt.
"NO! P-p-pleas-se, Her-her-m-mione, I don't w-want a-any-anyone!" he had managed to blurt out, his voice breaking at every syllable and his body visibly trembling now.
Hermione's heart broke at how desolated he was. Theo had always been the most private of her friends – so private that she sometimes had wondered if they were really friends. She had had her confirmation upon leaving the Hospital Wing some months before: Daphne and Blaise had greeted her enthusiastically as she entered the Great Hall while Theo merely stared at her blankly. Then, with a heavy sigh of relief, he had warned Hermione to never scare the shit out of him anymore. Even with Daphne, who he absolutely adored, he was very quiet and kept his personal life to himself. Hermione knew very little about him – he despised his father, his favorite food was honey-glazed pancakes and his favorite color was green (obviously). And that was it.
"What happened?" Hermione had asked, cautiously, worried that he might be hurt.
And then Theo had told her that it was the fifth anniversary of his Mother's passing. She most definitely was not expecting any of that.
The black-haired boy had spent the following hour telling stories about Therese Nott and how much he missed her. With every word, it was like he was pouring his heart and soul in front of her and he seemed so vulnerable that she found herself at a loss of words. Hermione had not expected Theo, who always kept so much to himself and was so introspective, to share something so deeply personal with her.
In the end, she had learned that the reason Theo loved honey-glazed pancakes was because he and his Mother had always cooked that every morning and that he loved green so much because it was the color of her eyes. But there was more, there was so much more, and he had shared every bit of detail with Hermione.
Hermione Granger felt honored to be worthy of Theodore Nott's trust because he would never do that unless he truly and absolutely trusted her.
"Thanks for listening," he had said with a sniff, drying his bloodshot eyes on a green tissue he pulled from inside his robes.
"I'm your friend, Theo, and that's what friends are for. I am very sorry for your loss."
"Mum would have liked you."
"Really?"
"Yes. This pureblood crap... that's his thing. She didn't care about that…"
"So I suppose she would be really proud of you, then," Hermione had said, putting an arm over his shoulder. Theo leaned on her and smiled softly and they stayed in silence until dinnertime.
"Thanks for not telling them, though," he heard his voice at the present moment.
"I'm your friend, Theo, and that's what friends are for."
If only things were that easy with Draco Malfoy…
As for Draco… well, the weeks that followed his conversation with Hermione had been so chaotic that he barely had time to ponder her visit. On the one hand, he felt mad at himself for his hesitance in accepting her friendship; on the other hand, he would rather stay away from that matter because at least that would keep those ghastly questions away. She had not given him an ultimatum, she had just offered her friendship. Nonetheless, it had felt like he had to come to a decision – a decision about her, about what she represented, about blood purity, about his allegiances, about everything. He had to choose. And whatever his choice was, there would not be a second chance and he would never be able to go back.
It would be it.
Which is why he had decided to keep himself busy until he was ready to cross that bridge.
He had no trouble with that. The teachers seemed to be under the illusion that the students were not sufficiently burdened and were giving them more homework than ever: they were supposed to write two parchment scrolls in History of Magic about some useless war episode, work on the extremely difficult Arithmancy tasks set by Professor Vector, practice new spells and write about them, and work on whatever bullshit asked by Professor Trelawney. As a result, besides Quidditch practice every single weekend (which he just watched to keep his arm sling), Draco had almost taken permanent residence in the library – as had all third-year students, including Hermione. Madam Pince had to reluctantly transfigure more desks given the number of students that were now invading her sanctuary.
Draco had received an owl from his Father about the Buckbeak incident, in which he had categorically committed to taking every measure needed "to ensure a fair resolution about this awful incident". Knowing Lucius, he could expect anything, but most likely nothing good. To Draco, it would be enough for that bloody chicken to stay away in the Forbidden Forest and for that oaf of a teacher to be replaced. Nonetheless, his heart told him that Lucius Malfoy had more plans. Narcissa too had owled her son and asked him to be more careful next time. She had sent him a package of sweets and cakes, of course, but he knew that she suspected that Draco himself had been responsible for that turmoil. For a split second, it had crossed his mind to come clean, but, in the end, he had decided to keep quiet. He had already started the fire, so the least he could do was stand behind it until the end.
Staying behind his story had its advantages, of course, and one of them was torturing Saint Potter, who was still his Potions partner. Professor Snape had ordered The-Boy-Who-Unfortunately-Lived to prepare Draco's ingredients while he taunted the boy about Sirius Black. For some unfathomable reason, the Gryffindor darling did not have a clue that the wizard was actually his godfather, but it was not his job to tell Potter the truth and he knew that he would find out anyway… Until then, he would have his fun.
"If I were you, I'd want revenge," he hissed while Potter started at him with a dumbfounded expression.
"What are you talking about?" he asked back through gritted teeth, almost crushing Draco's slugs.
"Aren't you supposed to be noble and brave?" he carried on in a drawled voice and Potter flared his nostrils.
He, of course, did not realize that a pair of amber eyes was scrutinizing him from across the room.
"You two are so weird," Daphne said in a casual tone as if she was talking about the weather.
"What?" Hermione stammered with the words, turning her face on a whim and feeling a slight burn on her cheeks. "I don't know what you're talking about," she then pretended to be worried about their cauldron, although they were supposed to be waiting for the potion to brew for ten minutes.
"You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to. But all of us have already realized how you're always glancing at each other awkwardly and doing a terrible job at avoiding each other."
"What?"
"Hermione, you're the brightest witch of your age, but that doesn't mean everyone else's dumb."
"It's complicated," the girl admitted with a long and heavy sigh. Daphne did her best to contain the small grin that was beginning to form in her lips. "Are you coming to Hogsmeade this weekend?"
"Yes and if you for once decide to leave your spineless friends behind, you are welcome to join Blaise, Theo and I."
"You never learn," Hermione huffed, rolling her eyes, but smiling all the same. "Count me in."
Across the room, Draco was now glancing at her as guardedly as possible and trying to figure out the reason for her sly little smile. There were no basilisks or Chamber of Secrets that year, but he suddenly felt as scared as before.
As suspected, having a full schedule was extremely positive. September and October practically flew by and they saw themselves on the weekend of their first trip to Hogsmeade. Much to his dismay, Pansy Parkinson was still under the illusion that they were dating and had told everyone in Slyhterin that they were going together to the village. She would be nice if she weren't so irritating and always craving so hard for attention. As a result, even the Giant Squid seemed a far more attractive company than Pansy.
"I invited Crabbe and Goyle to join us," Draco told Pansy that morning as she gripped his forearm in what she assumed was affection. Her face dropped at once and she looked outraged. Smiling to himself, they got closer to Filch, who was checking their permission slips.
"I've told you that I'm going to the Three Broomstick with Daphne, Theo and Blaise," Hermione Granger was saying, her face flushed in exasperation. "You're welcome to join us, Ron."
"You're going with those snakes? Blimey, Hermione, you should've just handed your permission slip to Harry if that's your brilliant idea about enjoying Hogsmeade," Ron retorted, heatedly, his ears turning bright red.
"Some friend, huh?" she scoffed, glaring at him. "Just go by yourself, then."
"Yes, Weasley, go by yourself," Malfoy interrupted behind their heels. "It's not like you have any money to buy anything."
"Shut up, Malfoy," Hermione told him, narrowing her eyes.
"Am I wrong or has Potter decided to save us from his heroic presence?" Draco scorned with a smirk playing on his lips as his friends snickered. "A real shame, not that anyone will ever miss him."
"I bet that not even your dear Father would miss you if something happened," Ron spat, closing his fists.
"I could tell the same about you, Weasley. I'm sure your parents wouldn't even notice you're gone, not when they have so many children to feed," Pansy roared in absolute glee.
"You…"
"You're quite a loyal friend, aren't you, Pansy? Just like a hound, or perhaps a pug..." Hermione mused, folding her arms and giving pug-faced Pansy Parkinson a deep stare.
"Listen to me, you mudblood...," Pansy replied, inhaling deeply, while Draco just kept gaping at them.
"Come on, Ron, let's go," Hermione clutched Ron by the elbow and practically dragged him to the end of the line. Draco had an unreadable expression as she eyed him one last time before resuming her debacle with her ginger friend.
Hermione and Ron walked beside each other in a very awkward and uncomfortable silence. She knew that he was mad at her for joining her Slytherin friends, but she suspected that most of his anger was now directed to what Pansy had told him about his family and the way Draco had dismissed his financial situation. Those were very sensitive topics and even though Hermione knew that Draco was only taunting the boy to watch him squirm, she did not understand why he insisted on doing something so mean.
When they finally arrived in Hogsmeade, Hermione had already decided that Ron needed her more than Daphne, Theo and Blaise. They would understand.
"Hey Ron..." she began, biting on her lip.
But without any warning, Ron turned on his heels and made his away to Seamus, Neville and Dean, muttering something under his breath that sounded like "go join those serpents, maybe you'll become one of them too".
Her eyes started burning almost immediately as she watched his retreating figure and her shoulders dropped helplessly. Loneliness hit her heavy heart as she realized that that would be her memory of her first ever Hogsmeade trip.
"I can't believe that…" she mumbled to herself, drying her eyes on the back of her hand.
She honestly did not understand how Ron could go so quickly from kindness to meanness.
With a heavy sigh, she decided to stick to her original plans to meet her friends on lunchtime. Then, she made her way to Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, wondering if Harry would have stood for her. Ron was not a bad person: he was kind and funny when he wasn't trying too hard. However, he sometimes irked her so much, always mocking her, being immature and finding reasons to press her buttons… That behavior had skyrocketed after Hermione had gotten Crookshanks, her orange half-kneazle cat. Ron and Hermione now had daily rows…
"Well, at least I got rid of an exciting trip to the Quidditch shop," the girl sighed as she made her way to the back of the shop to find color-coordinated planners.
Hermione absolutely loved buying stationery and Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop was already her favorite place. It was cluttered with a plethora of special quills, parchment scrolls, colored ink bottles and a multitude of study planners. She had to admit she was not very comfortable using quills and ink and would much rather keep using pens, but maybe she could give it a try...
"See you got rid of the ginger tumor," a drawled voice said from behind.
Hermione felt all air escape her lungs as a wave of shock hit her. Apparently, Draco's favorite means of communication was to scare people.
"See you got rid of your girlfriend," she replied, looking over her shoulder with brows furrowed. "And your sling," she then indicated his arm and he smirked widely while Hermione rolled her eyes. He was despicable.
"She's not my girlfriend," he then retorted for the sake of his honor.
"Doesn't look like it," she said with a small grin while Draco crisped his lips in obvious disgust. "So did you decide to come here just to have an excuse to ditch her?"
Draco frowned and cursed at himself. Was he that obvious?
"What happened to your weasel of a friend?" he decided to change the subject. He really had to break up with Pansy, although she was not his girlfriend.
"Shut up, Malfoy. And you didn't have to treat him that way!"
"Why are you defending him when he obviously discarded you?" he questioned, glancing casually at his nails and ignoring the way Hermione's face dropped.
"He told me to join the serpents and that maybe I would become one of you too," she told him in a low voice and he immediately looked at her realizing that she looked really hurt. That made him feel extremely odd.
"Well, that's not bad. We're serpents, but at least we protect our own."
"You sound just like Theo right now," she said, giggling, and Draco rolled his eyes. However, he felt much better at her change of demeanor.
"Shut up, Granger."
"Honestly, I don't understand this rivalry! We lose so much by isolating ourselves..."
"Always so noble and sentimental," he snorted, watching Hermione pick up a new set of color-coordinated planners in thirteen different colors. "Merlin, Granger, are you already worried about the exams?"
"They'll be here sooner than you can say Hogwarts," she explained, smiling at her choice and raising her chin proudly. "And if you've come by to mock me, maybe you should find Ron. I'm sure you'll have loads in common."
"Don't be such a lunatic," he snapped with a cold sneer as Hermione gave him one of her devilish smirks. "The only thing we have in common is our mutual loathing."
They stood in a comfortable silence for two minutes. Hermione was still selecting some items thoughtfully while Draco just kept looking around.
"Why are you here?" she asked all of a sudden.
She was on the tip of her toes and trying to grab an agenda whose pages turned red when assignments were overdue. Seeing her struggle and being a head taller than Granger, Draco stretched his arm and easily grabbed the item, brushing his arm on her hair ever so slightly.
"Thanks. So, why are you here?"
"You aren't the only one who shops for ink and parchment," he answered, stepping behind and looking at her with a frown.
"That's odd because these sections are over there, not here," she turned around and raised an eyebrow, but Draco was able to hold his ground and just kept that same stoic expression plastered all over his pale and pointed face. "I guess I'll never get really used to shopping for this stuff," she then added with a grimace.
"What the hell would you use instead?"
"These," she answered and then pulled a pen and a notebook from inside her purse.
"And what the hell is that?" he asked warily.
"That's a pen. That note I sent you over the summer was written in those."
Hermione then wrote his name down on a sheet of white paper. Draco Malfoy.
"What the hell…," he told her, snatching the notebook from her hands and examining his own name. Without thinking, he tore the piece of paper and stuffed inside his robes, ignoring the look of surprise that flashed in Hermione's amber eyes.
"Want to give it a try?" she offered kindly, indicating the pen.
"Thanks, Granger, but I'd rather keep my old ways," he replied with a shrug, turning on the spot and going to another section.
At that very moment, he realized he was no longer thinking. In fact, he most likely had stopped thinking when he saw Hermione Granger enter that shop by herself and then proceeded to come up with a poor excuse to get rid of Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle so he could be alone with her. Why he had done that, he obviously did not know - nor did he care. Perhaps he was expecting that being alone with her would somehow instill some much needed courage. Perhaps he was expecting to find an answer to that conundrum in those shelves. Or perhaps he was expecting nothing and had done that just because it felt good to be around her.
Hermione followed him suit, realizing that signing up for all classes consumed more ink than she had initially anticipated. Draco was close behind and watching her knitted brows as she decided which colors to buy and then her bright eyes as she found one she liked. He contained the urge to laugh at her behavior and wondered how she would act in a bookshop.
As Draco Malfoy watched Hermione Granger in silence, the turmoil he was so desperately trying to bury came back at once. He remembered the way Hermione had eyed him in the Hospital Wing, her voice as she confessed she did not hate him and, mainly, how she told him she would like to be his friend. Draco did not mind her company at all – until he realized he was enjoying it. He did not mind her presence – until he realized who she was. And he did not mind the idea of being friends with her – until he realized what it entailed. He liked talking to her, he appreciated their comfortable silences and their friendly banters, but he had no idea what would change if he befriended her. And no matter how hard he wanted to accept it, he just could not find the courage to give her an answer.
"You know, Malfoy," she began, startling him, "I can see the gears working inside your head. You don't need to give me an answer if you don't have one."
"Granger…" he muttered, blinking three times. He really was that obvious or… well, maybe she really knew him that well.
"If you need more time, that's fine," she went on, staring at his grey eyes. "When you have an answer, I'll be here, Draco."
X
A/N: first of all, I hope everyone is safe and taking care of themselves, their families and loved ones. I truly hope everything gets better as soon as possible. Second of all, I am sorry it took me so long to update this story – I have been on a rush these days, so this is why I wasn't able to sit down and get this done. I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I do, especially Hermione's interaction with Theo. As for Draco, things will still progress slowly, but you can see that he's already willing to give it a try. Please let me know your thoughts.
