Hermione sighed happily, climbing to her feet to lean against a still shaking Theo after buttoning his trousers. She licked her lips, tasting the last fragments of his release and relishing the groan as his eyes tracked the movement.

"Keep doing that and give me three minutes."

"Hm," Hermione hummed, kissing his neck. "You have Ancient Studies."

"Bollocks to it," he growled, weaving his hand into her hair. "Who cares about some dusty old ruins and even dustier books."

"Excuse you!" Hermione squawked indignantly. "Those books have more valuable information than a-"

She could feel his smile and he pulled her against him, crashing their lips together. She put her irritation into the kiss, nipping and swiping at his mouth until he was forced to give up control. She could snog him for days and pressed him against the door for all that she was worth.

His arms laced around her waist and she purred happily. There was a mild creak somewhere but she was too busy focusing on the way his hand slid under her shirt to skid over her lower back. His scent flared, surrounding her in everything that was Theo, making her blind to anything but the contact between her bodies.

Turns out, that was a foolish mistake.

The last warning they heard was a loud snap, pulling away to look at each other in confusion for a split second before the latch on the door supporting Theo gave away with a crack, flying open and sending him falling backwards. With his hands still circling her waist, she fell with him. Bracing her hands on either side of his shoulder to catch her weight, Hermione hissed as they made jarring contact with the floor, her palms scraping against the stone before gravity pulled her down flush against him. She snarled, her eyes squeezed shut as she resisted the urge to swear loudly. Perhaps they were lucky and no one heard that. They could just-

"Oh... My... God."

Hermione groaned, relaxing over Theo and digging her face into his neck. She was sure it was bright red. His hands instantly began to draw small circles on her back and he didn't so much as twitch towards getting up.

"How bad is it?" she mumbled against his skin.

She felt his head lean back and he inhaled sharply. "Pretty bad."

With a sigh she willed her blush to dissipate, knowing it was a lost cause. Careful not to put pressure on Theo in the process she pushed herself up to face the crowd. And a crowd it was.

Hermione groaned when she saw the gathered students of all four houses. A class must have just let out somewhere nearby.

"Hello," she tried blandly. That immediately sparked the whispers.

"...Dating Neville?... Best friend too…. What a bitch… expected of a whore really…"

Hermione bit her lip at that last one. No surprise that it had come from a sixth year Slytherin. Theo however reacted differently, his scent going smoky with his anger and his face completely placid as he stood, offering his hand. After another moment he turned to her and shrugged.

"Well, guess we're found out. It was bound to happen eventually."

"I-I guess," she stammered.

"Eh, at least we don't have to hide it anymore," Theo responded, throwing his arm around her shoulder and kissing her on her temple. "It's been a long couple of months, eh?"

She blinked up at the casual smile on his face. It took her a moment to catch on. He wanted them to know that this wasn't a sudden thing. That he was proud to be with her. The sentiment melted her embarrassment away, replacing it with a warm and comforting feeling.

She relaxed under his arm and nuzzled into his shoulder.

"It has been," she agreed, trying not to notice the increased level of the whispers. "But now I can snog you after I walk you to class."

A few 'aw's and some scoffs of disgust sounded from the crowd as Theo turned them, heading to the North Tower. While no one outright ran, some of the audience walked swiftly away and Hermione was sure that the castle would be aware of the news within the hour. As they turned down the third corridor she sighed, letting her shoulders drop.

"Hermione?"

"I'm sorry, Theo." She frowned, glaring at the stone in front of her. "This is not how I wanted to announce it. It shouldn't have been some spectacle."

"I find that almost everything is with you Gryffindors," he responded merrily.

"You deserve better."

"I've got you, don't I?" Theo asked, dropping his arm from her shoulder and threading it into her hand. She risked a glance at his face, only to see a lazily smile as he watched her. "You have no idea how good it feels to walk with you like this."

Hermione let the last of her fear bubble away at his words and smiled back.

"I think I've got a pretty good idea."

000000000000000000

In the weeks leading up to the full moon, Hermione and Theo were subject to all sorts of criticism of their relationship, even from her own house. As it turns out, Slytherins are begrudgingly accepted as friends but not as partners. Unfortunately Neville got dragged into it as the students of the castle rushed to apologize for his cheating slag of an ex (ie. Hermione).

It took days of reminding everyone that he was not only friends with Theo and aware that they were together, but also that he and Hermione had been very clear with the fact that they weren't dating since the start of the year. Luna's rare presence didn't help much.

Hermione was able to rise above most of it until the week of the moon. Apparently a rumor was picking up in Slytherin involving some very detailed speculation of how Neville, Theo and her spent their weekends. Theo was once again spending meals with the Gryffindor eighth years who were kindly saying nothing but unwilling to do more than serve as a buffer to the rest of the house.

To make matters worse, Malfoy hadn't come to visit the past few nights even though Theo and Neville had resumed sneaking off as per usual. Luna appeared yesterday but it wasn't the same. The girl eventually excused herself when the boys left and Hermione tried not to be hurt by the idea that she wasn't able to go out with them at all but Luna could.

Hermione was still pacing the room, trying to talk herself out of hating the poor girl, when a knock sounded at the door.

Draco's scent rolled through the air before she could even reach the door and she sighed happily. She ripped open the portrait, meeting his bland gaze with a fiery one of her own.

"Where have you been?" she hissed.

"I was unaware you were my mother," Draco intoned blandly. "You're in a mood."

"I've had a bad week… month… Curse it, year at this point," Hermione snapped back, grabbing her cloak from the wall. December was setting in to be snowy, dropping a thick blanket of precipitate on the ground.

"Let's go," she growled, pushing out of the portrait and snapping it shut behind her. Malfoy blinked slowly at her.

"Where are we-"

"On a walk, where bloody else?" she said, hooking her hand around his wrist. Instantly her irritation calmed to a dull roar at the contact and she was able to focus again. She hadn't checked to see if anyone was watching but thankfully the hallway was empty.

"Since when are you so touchy, Granger? Theo not taking care of you?" he huffed, pulling his wrist away. "Don't man-handle me."

"Fine," she snapped, turning back to her door. "If you don't want to go I'll just-"

Draco sighed before looking around cautiously. With a wave of his wand his school robes became a cloak and he pulled up the hood, hiding his signature hair. Hermione cocked her head in confusion and he flicked his wrist at her cloak.

"Put it on before someone spots that tinderbox you call hair. You don't need any more rumors sweeping around the castle about you."

After only a second's hesitation, she pulled on her own cloak, raising the hood and stepped closer to him.

"Ready?" he asked, holding out his arm. Without a second thought she took it and her instincts purred.

"Let's."

Hermione smiled, casting a disillusionment charm on them before they made their way to the forest. The winter air was bracing and the blanket of snow left footprints but it didn't matter. She was outside under the moon with pack by her side. It was the most at peace she felt in weeks.

She must have sighed as they entered the forest because Malfoy huffed a laugh.

"Pleased with yourself, Granger?"

"Mmmhmm,"she hummed happily letting the moon leech into her skin. "It's been especially exhausting the past few days with Theo, Luna and Neville running off. I don't much like being alone."

"Ah yes," he coughed awkwardly. "I had some things to take care of for the past few days so I couldn't take you out on your usual walkies."

"Prat," she mumbled without much venom.

They moved on in silence, meandering over roots and leaves as she led them. She could occasionally hear the sounds of her packmates in the distance but felt no need to find them. Not yet anyway.

Instead her feet lead them to a familiar spot, the orange glow of the ember willows giving it away before the trees cleared.

"This is just what I needed," she announced firmly. She dropped Draco's arm and skipped forward, breaking through the trees and observing the steaming pools with open adoration. The trees looked particularly beautiful against the backdrop of snow and the chill in the air made the steam all the more hazy.

"Where are we?" Malfoy asked, following her cautiously.

"You haven't been?" Hermione asked, picking her way to one of the top pools. "I assumed Theo had shown them to you. It's a hot spring. Perfect for relaxing aching muscles and after the stress of the month and I am dying for a good soak."

"Perhaps you could try some subtly instead. People can't talk about you if you do nothing of note. Besides," Draco grimaced as he followed her, peeking at the water. "It's less likely to give you Cholera."

"Oh, it's perfectly safe," Hermione said. "We've been out here loads of times. I know you're not too delicate for some water are you Malfoy?."

"I am not delicate," he snarled. "I just don't trust mud filled baths with oddly glowing trees."

"Consider it a very expensive spa then," Hermione teased. "I'm sure your mother would be envious."

He scoffed and sneered at the edge of the nearest pool.

Well regardless of what he thought, she was going to have a soak. With a focused mind she shifted her clothes into her purple suit. She was twisting up her hair with her wand between her teeth when Malfoy turned back to her.

"That's not- Granger what are you doing?" he sputtered, covering his eyes comically. "Where did your clothes go?"

"Rell I ran't-" Holding the knot, she grabbed her wand and shoved it through to hold it all up. "Well I can't exactly jump in the water in my clothes can I?"

"You cannot be serious," he responded, keeping his eyes locked firmly on hers. She noted the slightly blush on his cheeks and couldn't resist the urge to find it adorable. Who knew he had any sense of chivalry?

"I am," she responded making her way over to a pool.

She groaned as she sank in, the water immediately setting to work at unwinding muscles that she didn't even know that she had. Once she was fully submerged she opened her eyes to where Malfoy was standing, watching her with an odd look on his face.

"Are you just going to stand in the cold or come in?" she asked in challenge.

His lip twitched but after a moment he sighed, shucking off his cloak and turning his wand on himself. The long slacks became a pair of black and silver board shorts. He was still wearing his oxford, which honestly looked a bit ridiculous in combination.

"Do you need help?" she asked before she could stop herself, too used to having to assist Harry or Ron with half-done spells. She flinched when he glared at her.

"I am perfectly capable of performing my own transfigurations," he spat.

"I know," she teased. "It's just odd that you have your shirt on still. I've never taken you for a prude."

"You know that I'm not," he responded darkly and Hermione shivered at the sound. She was soon reminded of the truth of his statement with the image of him and Pansy flashing through her mind. She didn't hide her grimace.

"Don't be a hypocrite, Granger," he responded, unbuttoning his shirt. "If I have to watch you and Theo paw at each other, don't begrudge me my outlet."

"Erm, right," Hermione agreed, swiftly looking away to give him privacy. Not that she wouldn't see him when he got in... or that she hadn't seen him before.

"I've never taken you for a prude, Granger," he responded tauntingly. "No wait, that's a lie."

She flushed but refused to be manipulated. Instead she kept her eyes firmly facing the other direction until she heard the hiss of him entering the water and the gentle waves from the other side of the pool. She intended to turn back to him cooly, making a joke about his delicate constitution but as her eyes landed on his exposed skin she whimpered instead.

In the bright, warm light of the ember willows she saw him more clearly than she ever had before, and it was not pretty. Well that wasn't true, he was pretty. Arrestingly so. The finely defined muscles of his chest cast soft shadows above water and melded into ripples below. His shoulders were strong and broad and his body carried itself in such a way that made every movement look purposeful. No, he was stunning, but that wasn't what drew her eye.

Instead it was the various raised scars peppering his skin. Some were small punctures, barely noticeable among the lattice. Others were deep, tearing wounds that seemed impossible to have survived at all, let alone multiple of them. Her own bite on his neck was nothing compared to the deep, angry scar on his shoulder. A bite like that only had one possible source... Greyback.

His eyes watched her as she drank in the scars. It took until her own hand was reaching out towards his skin for him to flinch and for her to realize how close she had drifted. She was surprised he hadn't already moved to stop her.

"Sorry," Hermione grumbled, trying to force her attention on his face. "It's rude to stare."

"I don't exactly expect the height of manners from you, Granger," he drawled. It was made to sound casual but she could pick up the careful hairlines of tension to it.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, catching sight of a rend that clawed around his ribs and down to his hip.

"Yes, you mentioned that."

"No… I meant because…" He shifted uncomfortably again and her wolf paced, begging her to soothe him; to help her fellow Alpha in the only way she knew how.

Taking a deep breath she lurched forward clumsy, resting her bare palm on her mark. She yelped at the power flowing through it with the skin-to-skin contact. His eyes widened in surprise before her vision started to spot. She felt him shaking under her hand for a few moments before her arm was roughly pushed away. When the connection broke she was gasping and her fingertips tingled violently.

"Feeling a bit guilty?" he snarled but it lacked the bite and Hermione could still see him shivering. She raised her hand slowly, this time giving him plenty of time to stop her before she traced another small scar on his collar bone.

He growled a bit but didn't remove her hand, his eyes squinting suspiciously. After another moment she followed the scar up his shoulder and down his bicep until it ended.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his voice strained.

"Not sure," she mumbled. Her instincts hummed, spurring her on. "I guess just… Listening to the wolf."

He shifted uneasily but didn't stop her as she ran her fingertips over every mark above the water but her own. Slowly his hackles fell and his eyes drifted shut as he leaned against the rim of the pool. Little flakes of snow dotted his hair and skin before quickly melting away. His lips had just barely parted, and she could see his breath mixing with steam. It occurred to her that this was the first time she had seen him so relaxed and it was under her fingers.

The wolf whined as she watched the way his breath clouded the air, seemingly hotter than the water. His lips were hypnotizing, impossibly soft and gentle looking for the sharp words that usually came from them. Before she was aware of it, her thumb had traced up his jaw and pulled lightly at his bottom lip.

His eyes opened slowly, the silver sparklingly dangerously. But he didn't move. She inhaled sharply her instincts warning of some sort of retaliation if she didn't stop.

She drew her hand down, returning to her task of acknowledging and mapping his scars. Eventually the tension began to leak away and his eyes drifted shut again. By the time she pulled away he had calmed completely and she sat back feeling satisfied.

"Are you done then?" he rumbled without opening his eyes.

"I think so."

"Good. Keep your paws to yourself Granger," he hummed. "Or you'll start a whole new set of rumors."

Hermione nodded but remained silent, tracing the lines marring his skin with her eyes. She didn't realize she was staring until he opened his eyes and looked down at the mark on his shoulder.

"Go on," he sighed. "Ask."

"I don't-"

"I know you want to know. Just ask so I can enjoy this in peace."

"I thought the water was dirty and full of Cholera?" Hermione joked.

"It is, but it is also very warm," he scoffed.

Hermione smiled and sat in silence for a whole minute before she finally folded.

"What happened?"

"It's a long story," he grumbled.

"If you didn't intend to tell me, why make me ask?" she snapped.

"It's fun to wind you up."

"Malfoy," she hissed.

"Fine, fine. I'll tell you. Just… don't say anything until the end."

"Alright," she offered quietly, resisting the urge to drift back over to him. instead she folded her hands in her lap, as if to keep them from wandering.

"You should know, that Alphas aren't exactly common in werewolf packs. Not everyone can be an Alpha and you have no idea who will be one until they are changed." Malfoy paused, glancing off to the left his eyes going cloudy. "Greyback never even considered that I could be an Alpha when he changed me. He thought I was to weak-willed and not cruel enough; partially because his brand of leadership was violent and dominating, which had never been something I reveled in. But I was... and, as you may know by now, Alphas don't like to share. My first moon had sent him into a rage, even when I yield he still spent the night reminding me of my place in his pack. He wouldn't kill me on orders from the Dark Lord but he got as close as he could."

"From then on I spent moons alone and in pain, separated from the man who only caused pain and humiliation but still driven to his side in spite of myself. Leading up to them, I would join him and his pack as a human and only to be reminded of what I was missing along with a demonstration of my place, frequently publicly. I think he was hoping he could form me into a sort of Beta, if he could just beat me into submission, made an example of me. As his Beta and a potential Alpha, I could have challenged him, so he wanted to make sure I would never even consider it a possibility."

"Every trip to the pack was met with this. Every moon was spent apart. Until Theo was turned they remained that way, up until the formation of our pack." His eyes met hers again and Hermione was taken aback by the fiery possession in them. "I'm not like him. I won't... Believe me, Granger. You haven't seen evil like I have. That night in the drawing room was barely a hint of what he was capable of."

"It's not a competition, Draco," she said softly.

"No," he responded. "I don't suppose darkness is a limited resource." He leaned back, this time staring up at the clouded sky. "I won't be like him. I know you don't trust me. I know you are only with me now because I am your only option. But, I promise Hermione. I'll never hurt you, or our pack. All I learned from him was everything I didn't want to be."

"Why did you stay?" she asked, unable to contain her curiosity. "Why didn't you just run away to some villa in France or something? Or the packs in Germany?"

"By then I was helping the Order and my position as a spy was too valuable," he responded gruffly. "Even if I had wanted to leave my parents were still there to serve as a choke collar. I did as I was told to keep them safe. A dangerous animal, trained to obey."

"But you did keep them safe," Hermione insisted. "You kept them alive and still found a way to help the Order. That's more than most people could manage."

"Bully for me," Draco scoffed, sinking deeper into the water. "They are both alive but Father is in Azkaban and Mother left for the continent since she has no interest in her half-breed son. Didn't I do such a wonderful job of keeping the family together?"

"That can't be true," Hermione admonished. "She's your mother."

"She petitioned the Wizengamots for conjugal visits with my father under the claim of lacking an heir," Hermione flinched. She didn't particularly care for all the pureblood politics but even to a muggle, an open announcement like that was unnecessarily cruel. "She probably would have won if my disease was public knowledge."

"Are all pureblood parents terrible or just yours and Theo's?" she grumbled.

"We weren't all lucky enough to grow up in loving homes where mothers bake and knit sweaters. While Theo and I never wanted for anything material, there are just some things you can't buy."

The calloused way he said it made it seem like he didn't care but the sharp pain to the statement tickled at her memory.

There was a day in her second year when he cornered her after class and tore into her for wearing the sweater Miss Weasley had made her. It was particularly vicious but was more focused on the sweater than any flaws of hers. At the time Hermione had just credited it to his insecurity over an exam score and a lack of creativity. Now she was wondering if he wasn't just dreadfully envious.

Against her better judgement she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"What are you-"

She cut him off by pulling him tight against her, ignoring his shifting entirely until he settled, his own arms falling to his sides. After what seemed like an eternity he released a breath and his muscles relaxed. She hugged him for another few seconds before releasing him and scooting back to the far part of the pool. His cheeks had colored drastically even though he tried to keep a tight lock on his expression. The glare he pinned her with was half hearted at best and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

"If you're done being sentimental Hufflepuff, I would love for that to never happen again."

"There's nothing weak in accepting comfort when you need it, Draco."

"Maybe for your lot. The Slytherins are made of stronger stuff," he scoffed.

"Prick," she responded, splashing water at him. "Can't you just leave things nice?"

"Around you? No." He smiled as she leaned back, letting the water seemingly drain her of all emotion.

"Hey Granger?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks."

"Anytime, Malfoy."