Something was wrong .
Hermione was staring at the doorway at dinner time. She was busy searching for the easy smile and cerulean blue she had come to expect at meals. She hadn't seen Theo all day really, not that she had time to look. Double potions with the Ravenclaws had taken up most of her morning and Defense Against the Dark Arts had populated her afternoon. She had spent all of lunch going over Professor Flitwick's notes on the homunculus charm he used last full moon and by the time she noticed that Theo was missing, Neville was dragging her to class.
Pudding was gone and so was another meal without him. Hermione was growing worried, her heart was heavy with unease and the weight of the moon. Neville shifted beside her, clearly feeling the odd change as well.
There was a flash of green by the door and her heart leapt, only to catch Malfoy's sneering gaze. She narrowed her eyes at him, noting the anger and pain in his scent. Just as he turned she caught the tell-tale glimmer of a glamour on his cheek. Someone had punched him, and it was safe to say she knew who.
"Neville, I'm going to find him," she whispered, gathering Flitwick's notes in her bag. "Cover for me."
He looked like he was about to argue but snapped his mouth shut when she glared. She stood, Ginny looking over from her conversation with a girl in her year.
"Heading back to the tower?"
"Library," she mumbled, doing her best to look lost in thought. Ginny gave her a look that screamed 'we'll talk later' and nodded her head. Guilt pricked at Hermione. She should have told her about Theo by now but she wasn't really sure what they were yet.
By the time she made it to the corridor, her instincts were clawing at her. She ducked the loo pleased to find it empty. She summoned the small vaguely human shaped clay doll Flitwick had given her from her bag and yanked a hair from her head.
Holding the hair against the doll's chest she drew her wand from her chest to the doll mumming the spell.
" Ame Advos. "
The doll floated from her hand, hanging in the air as it grew. Hermione watched in fascination as her signature curly hair and common brown eyes stared back at her, a perfect copy. The homunculus stared at her unblinking and awaiting orders.
"You are to go to the library. Sit at a desk and with a stack of books. If anyone one comes up to you tell them to go away and that you are studying for exams."
"I will go to the library, sit at a desk with some books." Hermione shivered as the magic spoke back to her in perfect harmony with her own voice. "I will tell people to go away and that I am studying."
"Head back to your room when the library closes, get into bed, and shut the curtains behind you."
"I will go to my room when the library closes, get into bed, and shut the curtains behind me," Not-Hermione repeated.
Satisfied with her work Hermione stepped back, releasing the shade. Not-Hermione blinked and suddenly began chewing her lip with a worried look on her face. She rushed into the hall, muttering something about an Arithmancy exam. It was uncanny how much she behaved like Hermione. Flitwick had warned her that the closer the caster to the homunculus, the better the copy but this was just unnerving.
Shaking her head, (the real) Hermione disillusioned herself and made her way out of the castle. It wouldn't do to be seen in two places at once. Just as she broke into an abandoned corridor she dropped the spell, the wolf part of her seemingly pacing in anticipation.
"Okay you stupid beast. You want out? Fine. Find him," she whispered to herself, closing her eyes. At first there was nothing, just the blackness of her eyelids and the usual scents and sounds of the castle, but after a moment she could feel him calling to her, so like but unlike herself. Theo's scent stood out from the other's, pulling to the forefront of her mind and she let her feet guide her of their own accord. By the time they led her to the hill over the Black Lake, she knew where she would find him.
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As expected he was soaking in one of the hottest pools. His skin was red and angry but he looked perfectly relaxed, with his head lolled back and arms outstretched.
"Theo?"
"Hello Hermione. Fancy a dip?" he asked dully. His eyes were staring up at the stars and he didn't so much as flinch at her arrival.
"I rather like my skin on my body thank you," she frowned, watching the redness of his flesh deepen even as his body rushed to heal it. "But if you are finished cooking you can join me in a lower pool."
"Hm, maybe later," he said. She could just hear the strain in his voice. Why was he just sitting there?
"Come on, Theo," she sighed stepping forward to hold out a hand. She held in a swear. Even the steam was hot enough that without her healing abilities she would have a first degree burn. "I don't want to be alone."
Theo finally looked up, catching her pained expression and shaking hand. He blinked and sighed lifting from the water with a groan. Hermione had to look away from the vibrant burns on his skin.
"Fine. But I get to transfigure your suit this time."
"Will I be wearing anything?" she scoffed, helping him out of the pool on shaky legs.
"If you're lucky," he joked weakly.
When his skin faded back to tan and he began to unbuttoned her top with deft fingers she smiled. Even when he was upset it felt so nice to be in his presence. She could almost forget why they were out here.
He peeled off her clothes, his eyes roving over her skin as if it were the last time he would ever see it, drinking her in. It made her feel owned, powerful even. When she felt the dark wood of his wand drift across her skin, sparking with his magic, she let out a happy sigh.
"So sensitive aren't you?" he teased, her simple white undergarments transforming into a white and silver bikini that would have actually given her father a stroke with how little it covered. She flicked her eyes up to meet his, which had darkened with that fine edge of hunger that only meant good things.
"That showed remarkable constraint," she teased, flouncing towards the hottest pool that a normal human could stand, well aware that most of her arse was on display. She heard him swear softly as she slipped into the comforting heat of the spring. Only a few minutes later he was settling next to her, far enough away that she frowned.
"Are you okay?" she prompted following his lead to stare up at the sky. The stars were blinking into existence as the last rays of sun disappeared in a blaze of red to violet.
"Of course I am. Did something lead you to believe otherwise?"
"I saw Malfoy's face," she barely caught Theo's grimace before it was gone.
"Fucker deserved it."
"Not that I am arguing," Hermione started. "I'm sure he did… but what did he do?"
"Don't worry about it."
"That thing with Pansy?" she asked repressing a shudder. Her nightmares had seen fit to place Hermione on Malfoy's lap lately. She woke aching and horrified. "Who cares who he dates."
"They are not dating," Theo corrected. When she remained silent he just sighed. "It's nothing."
"Oh sure, you're burning yourself alive and for some unfathomable reason are sitting as far away from my half naked body as possible but you are perfectly fine and there is nothing to worry about," she dead panned. Theo looked at her, a weak smile pulling at his lips.
"I'd say a bit more than half naked." He laughed when she rolled his eyes. "Alright come here."
A huge part of her wanted to insist he come to her on principle but the rational side of her mind reminded her that he was a Slytherin after all. So she folded, drifting across the pool until his arms could circle around her waist and pull her into his lap. She shuffled closer until she could rest her head on his shoulder and breath in his scent. They sat there like that until the moon rose high in the sky and her back was cramping. When he finally pulled away he kissed her chastely.
"Draco's a prick. He said something I didn't like and didn't back off when I told him too. That's all."
"His cheek should have healed almost instantly. You must have hit him hard."
"Might have felt a bone break," Theo grumbled her neck softly.
"Any particular reason why? Well more so than he usual prickishness."
"You," he sighed against her skin, shifting uncomfortably.
"Oh, don't get worked up on my account," she laughed, raking her hands through the dark, silky curls. Her's had frizzed up to impossible levels in the steam, while his remained perfect ringlets. It was unfair. "Malfoy hates me, that will never change so best just to ignore it."
"He doesn't hate you," Theo corrected, pulling back so she could look at him. His eyes were blazing a dark sapphire, some unknown emotion flickering just below the surface. "It would be easier if he did."
""I don't understand."
"Just…" he groaned and leaned back. "Don't worry about it okay. He's a prick. He deserved to be hit. I hit him."
"Okay," Hermione agreed, tracing the bend of his shoulder to his neck. "Then why are you hiding out here?"
Theo frowned and she waited in silence while he thought, his fingers running over her thighs under the water.
"He's my friend," Theo said minutes later. "We were close as children before starting Hogwarts. I didn't buy all the blood purist crap even then so I tried to stay away from it as much as possible. Draco however loved be special, even at someone else's expense. Naturally that meant we no longer meshed well and we drifted apart. He was the one who came to clean me up after the battle. I hid in my room covered in my father's blood for two days before he broke through the wards. Bastard physically dragged me out of my closet and threw me in the duck pond."
"You hid in a closet for two days?" Hermione asked.
"It was a big closet. I used to read there when I didn't want my father to find me. Don't be sad Darling, he's dead and the world is better for it." Theo kissed her forehead softly and continued. "After I stopped shivering from the duck pond he forced me back to his place, barely having snuck away from his guard aurors. He cleaned me up and helped me deal with… all of it. I don't know what I would have done otherwise."
Hermione didn't mention that he was gripping her hips hard enough to bruise. They would fade before he noticed anyway.
"We became friends again. I made it perfectly clear that I hated his part of the war and he told me the truth of when he had flipped sides. He helped me learn what it was to be a werewolf, he helped me control it."
"What does he know? He's just as blind as the rest of us," Hermione said, a bit hotly. Theo glared down at her and she quelled.
"Do you think they just turned him for fun?" Theo asked. "That they just wanted a cute little white dog to have around on full moons? No. Back in sixth year Greyback took him with every time he went to the camps. Draco was supposed to be his protégé, the next alpha when Greyback expanded his pack."
Alpha. That voice purred again. It tickled something important at the back of her mind but she pushed it away when Theo continued speaking.
"Draco was too good at it though. Greyback felt threatened and sent him away during full moons. Still, he knows more about this than the rest of this, by way of experience. The kind earned in sweat and blood, not read from a book."
Hermione flushed under the intensity of his gaze.
"Fine. He's experienced," she conceded. "What does that have to do with what he said?"
Theo scowled deeply.
"He said this was all going to fall apart with you… that we're doomed and should just cut it now."
"What does he know?" Hermione said, running a soothing hand down Theo's shoulder. She usually avoided his right side, where his bite scar was. With the full moon she could make out the harsh edges and peaks. It sent a pulse of power through her, when felt his fingertips on her own scar. They both shivered, on the edge of something but not sure what. She backed away first.
"You're mine. So fuck Malfoy and what he thinks."
"'Your's' you say," Theo purred leaning in to kiss her.
"Er… well… if you want to be," Hermione mumbled. "I'll take you as you are and we can laugh at Malfoy and his assumptions for the rest of our lives. Or however long I have you."
Theo looked up at her with sadness and it tore at her heart in a way she hadn't expected when he smiled at her. God, if sorrow were a color she could paint the entirety of the war in just the hue swirling in the depths of his eyes.
He didn't believe her.
It hurt, but there was nothing she could do to prove what this all meant to her to someone who never had a chance to lean on another. So she kissed him, melting her body against his until dawn was stretching at the sky and their fingers were wrinkled and numb. By the time they parted she hoped he could understand what it was to be wanted, just a little bit.
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Hermione stumbled back to her room just in time to slip into bed before alarms began to go off. She cancelled her charm over the homunculus (who was very creepily just laying under the covers fully clothed and staring at the ceiling with wide eyes) and tossed the spent doll under her pillow to burn later. Flitwick had been very clear that she shouldn't leave it lying about.
Hermione waited until the sounds of the morning died down. It was the weekend and she was expected in a meeting with Madam Pince to set up her study group but even a few minutes of sleep would be-
Hermione jumped as her curtains flew open, a grinning redhead blocking off her exit from the bed.
"Do my eyes deceive me?" Ginny hummed. "Hermione Granger trying to sleep through breakfast. How odd."
"Didn't sleep well," Hermione grumbled tucking back under the covers. "Moon."
"Isn't that interesting ," Ginny crooned pushing open the curtains until the light was impossible to ignore and Hermione stuck her head out. "Might have something to do with the leaves tangled in your hair."
Hermione swore and instantly began combing the assorted woodland brush from her locks as Ginny laughed. Hermione pushed off the bed, pleased to see the girls had all exited.
"Well…" Ginny prompted shoving Hermione's shower caddy at her. "Do you want to tell me why you stumbled into bed murmuring about the library being closed at nine o' clock at night?"
"It's not that out of character," Hermione grumbled, slogging towards the shared bathroom. Judging by Ginny's own caddy and towel she would not be escaping this conversation.
"Not particularly but when I asked you about it you just shouted, 'Exams' then continued to stare at the curtains above your bed."
"Creepy," Hermione suggested, taking the shower stall. A second one appeared from nowhere, allowing Ginny to sidle up next to her.
"So did you pick up sleeping with your eyes open or…"
Hermione sighed, turning on the water and beginning to work out the smell of forest from her hair. It was too much like Malfoy and she hated it right now.
"It's a charm. The same one Flitwick used last full moon. It makes a homunculus that can follow basic orders," Hermione sighed. "I guess you confused it."
"I could really have used that this summer at the Burrow," Ginny said from her right. "If that wasn't you, where were you last night? I was up until late but didn't see you come in otherwise."
It was time. Ginny deserved to know, even if Hermione could have pulled off a lie in her current state. Hermione pulled her wand from the shelf and cast a privacy and sound proofing charm on the door.
"Oh this should be good," Ginny responded, sounding far too pleased for her own good.
"I was with Theo."
There was a beat of silence where all Hermione heard was the water. Just as she was starting to grow concerned Ginny's still wet head appeared over the wall, her eyes wide and eyes roving over Hermione's body in an incredibly invasive way.
"Gin!"
"Theo Nott?" Ginny asked, her mouth still hanging open.
"No. Theo Potter. Of course Theo Nott," Hermione grumbled. "Stop staring, you perv!"
"Just checking for love bites." Ginny smiled wickedly and settled back on her side of the stall. "Didn't see any so it couldn't have been that good."
"Oh shut up. We didn't do anything last night."
"But you have before haven't-"
"I swear to Merlin Ginerva, if you pop your head over that stall, I will hex your hair Malfoy blonde." She was rewarded by a gagging sound and pulled a twig from her hair.
"Are you two dating?"
Hermione chewed her lip, not really sure of the answer.
"Maybe."
"Maybe?"
"He's taking me to Hogsmeade."
"Ah that sounds like a date to me," Ginny sang.
"Where we will be telling Harry and your brother."
"God Godric, do you want the man to die?"
"Well," Hermione mumbled, clearing the soap from her hair and body. "They've got to find out at some point and I told Theo I didn't really want to tell anyone before I told them first. Contain the freak out you know."
"I suppose." She shut her water off at the same time Ginny did and cast a quick drying charm on her hair. It would make it frizz out but honestly she didn't have time not to. She just braided as tightly as she could and got dressed before stepping out to an incredulous red-head.
"Want me to come?"
"On my date? No."
"For damage control," Ginny scoffed.
"Probably not." Ginny may distract Harry well enough but honestly without Harry controlling Ron he may start a brawl in the Hog's Head.
"Okay well… he's not so bad… for a Slytherin," Ginny amended. "You'll tell me if he gets shirty with you?"
"Gin," Hermione laughed. "I can handle myself."
"Fine then… can we talk about how fit he is now because Holy Helga he is tall. Tell me is her proportional all ov-"
Hermione wasted no time hexing Ginny's hair. By the time she burst into the Great Hall she was still doing up the clasp on her robes and Gin was chasing her with strawberry blonde hair.