A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! And thank you for your patience as well! We were able to get moved to our new city, but now we just need to finish unpacking and reorganizing! Still, things should be much more stable for me now :) You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions. HUGEST thank you to accio-echo, who beta read this chapter on seriously such short notice - a true life saver!
Please let me know what you thought of chapter four and be on the lookout for chapter five soon!
Theo brought Hermione with him to go retrieve the first of his winnings the following morning, once the Daily Prophet announced that the Slytherins had correctly remembered the Quidditch upset that Theo had placed the first of his money on. "How do you even remember specifics like this? None of you were even born when it happened," she questioned her tall companion.
He shrugged his shoulders, unsure of how to answer. "Well, you remembered something about your muggle sport that happened before you were born," he countered.
"That's only because my father is upset about that game to this day. He made a bet with my uncle, who has yet to forget about it. He brings it up at every chance that he gets," Hermione tried to explain. "And it was a really big game. The championship, you could say. This is just a random game."
"It's not really that random. Daniel Fitzgibbons made his debut as chaser for the Tornadoes and scored a league record in one game...it's kind of seen as the start of a new era in Quidditch," he said quietly. "And Blaise loves the Tornadoes, so he's always had all the dates and scores memorized for debates."
Hermione fought a smile. "I thought Blaise would have preferred some Italian team," she said wryly. The other boy made no secret of his heritage, frequently boasting about the quality of his imported Italian loafers or how his elderly house elf brought over from Italy could cook better than any of the elves at Hogwarts.
Theo did not bother to hide the smile at the memory of his close friend, and Hermione was rather struck by how handsome he looked in that moment. Theo Nott had never been a heartthrob at Hogwarts, having been a very thin and rabbity looking boy with a long face, but there was no denying that he'd grown into his looks. She was certain that he would never be the boy that girls tittered over like Draco Malfoy, but she would be lying if she didn't say that hints of attraction to him were growing within her. Her heart skipped a beat when she thought about their rushed coupling in the Room of Requirement and wondered what he might have thought of the experience.
"So, what's your favorite Quidditch team?" she asked, not wanting the playfulness between them to fade so quickly. He gave her a suspicious look, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "What? I'm your wife, shouldn't I know which team you support?" she explained, wondering if she'd pressed the shy man too much too quickly.
The reasoning seemed to do the trick though and Theo let his guard down once again. "I've been partial to the Appleby Arrows, as I grew up near Lincolnshire," he explained. "Their great rivals are the Wimbourne Wasps."
There was not much more time to discuss that as they had finally arrived at the shop. Theo handed his ticket to the clerk, who looked at the bet with wide eyes. "Don't act so surprised," Theo sneered, easily slipping into the Slytherin persona of thinking he was better than everyone else. "You had to know that this was on your books."
"Of course, sir," the clerk stammered. "I just need to authenticate the ticket." A few waves of his wand and it was revealed that the bet was legitimate.
Hermione was unable to stop the girlish gasp of surprise when she saw the absolutely eye-watering number of galleons that Theo was being paid out, saying a silent thank you to Malfoy and Zabini. It was no secret that this would help them immensely. She wrapped her arm tightly around Theo's arm and looked up at her husband adoringly. "Merlin's beard, my love," she said with a giggle. "You'll have to take me shopping now."
He froze for a moment, caught off guard by her sudden rush of affection. "I'll buy you anything you want, darling," he answered finally understanding the ruse, in turn catching Hermione by surprise. He leaned over, nuzzling his face against her neck before whispering just loudly enough for the clerk to hear. "Shall we have a bit of fun and place another bet? Who do you think we should put our winnings on, darling?"
She shivered at the feeling of his lips just barely grazing the shell of her ear, sending a shiver up and down her spine. The clerk was barely able to roll his eyes at the happy couple, ignoring their public display of affection.
"The Arrows play tomorrow. Shall we put a third on them?" he prodded, practically giving her the answer.
"Yes," Hermione replied breathless. "Let's live a little. A third on Appleby," she announced, catching the clerk's attention once again that such a large bet was being placed.
"A third, Miss?" he asked, his eyes wide. "The odds are 24-1 in Puddlemere's favor," he said condescendingly.
"It's Mrs.," Hermione responded with a sneer of her own. "And don't presume to tell me what to do with my galleons. If I want to lose it all on one game, I assure you that it will be just a drop in the bucket."
Theo was smirking at the clerk by the time that she was finished, and pushed another third of their money forward. "And put this on Montrose. I know the odds are against me - no need to give me a warning. And who knows, perhaps we will get lucky again."
WIth their points made clear, Theo guided her out of the shop, his arm wrapped tightly around her waist, holding her against him. Once they were outside, he gave a sigh of relief, the stress of the moment falling off of him. "You did well," he told her, after a beat of silence. "You reminded me a bit of Mrs. Malfoy."
Normally Hermione would not find that being compared to Narcissa Malfoy was something that she would want, but in this scenario, where they were in the past and meant to blend in, she supposed that it was the best compliment that she could get. "Is that going to be enough money to furnish our house and get some clothes? Don't forget that we have dinner with the Blacks tonight, and we will want to look the part." It was her fourth day wearing the same set of clothes and she was dying to have a good long bath and change into fresh knickers.
"We should be able to get enough to move in," Theo answered her, his hand tightening unconsciously on her waist. "Anything else we can just say we are shipping from abroad."
Thinking that was as good of an idea as any, Hermione agreed, letting Theo side along apparate her 'round to the shops. It turned out that Theo was an even more miserable shopper than Hermione was. Neither one of them really wanted to make a decision about what kind of furniture to get - Hermione because she was desperately worried about choosing something gauche that would reveal her true status as a muggleborn to the rest of the pureblood world she was living in, and Theo because he just honestly didn't care about furniture so long as it did its job.
Eventually, though, they were able to find a bed and a set for their parlor to receive the guests that they inevitably would. Theo agreed that the rest of the house could wait, and Hermione might use it as an opportunity to strengthen her bond with some other ladies in their social circle, a prospect that Hermione was not particularly looking forward to.
Clothes shopping was even more dismal than furniture, but eventually Hermione had selected some nice robes that Theo assured her would do well for their occasion that evening. It was more covered up than what she usually wore, but the look in her husband's eyes when he saw her standing in it was enough to make her heart skip a beat in anticipation.
It seemed that the dress certainly made an impression on Walburga Black as well. The woman's lip curled in distrust at first as she saw the young woman of the couple who were escorted into the parlor where she was waiting with her husband and sons. "Mr. and Mrs. Nott, how good to meet you," she said, although she obviously didn't mean it. "I love your dress - it's very modern."
Theo gave her a squeeze where their hands were joined, perhaps trying to calm her down, recognizing that Walburga was decidedly not giving his wife a compliment.
The two families came together, cautiously passing back and forth greetings, until each and everyone was addressed. The Blacks were not the beautiful family that she had imagined. Regulus was weedy and suspicious, while Sirius had the beginnings of a spot on his chin. So much for his flawlessly good looks that he always waxed on about pre-Azkaban. In any case, Theo had nothing to worry about. Walburga was thin with a long, pinched face. Her hair was pulled back in a severe style that did nothing but serve to make her look older and more matronly than she was. Hermione was unsurprised that she would lash out at a young witch who'd recently come to London. Orion, by comparison, was undeniably handsome, with his thick dark hair, just the hints of grey coming out at his temples. He was tall, but did not reach Theo's height. But most intriguing of all were his silvery grey eyes that truly drew a person in.
After a quick drink, the group reassembled in their formal dining room where a lavish feast was laid out in their honor. Regulus and Sirius murmured to one another quietly, recognizing that they were meant to be seen and not heard, garnering furious hisses from their mother periodically when they became too rowdy.
As for the the adults in the room, it was clear that there was a large generational gap between them - each couple at different points in their lives, which left them at odds in conversation. The majority of their discussion seemed to stem around Hermione and Theo's recent move, something Hermione belatedly realized that they hadn't spent nearly enough time cementing their backstory. To that end, Hermione let Theo do most of the talking.
She was pleased to know that he seemed to know a lot about his family member's time in Croatia, filling in all sorts of details about the vampire rebellions and the troubles that they faced while he was there. It was odd to see this other side of Theo. In an instant, he almost became a new creature - one who was witty, charming and not the least bit shy. She wondered if he just felt more at home in these circumstances, talking about half-breeds the same way that she would talk about the essay she had due.
"Mrs. Nott, I confess that your husband was easier to get information about," Orion said, his grey eyes flashing with amusement. "I couldn't find anything out about you."
"Please, call me Hermione," she said smoothly, trying to give herself a moment to remember her own backstory, berating herself for not having fleshed it out more. She and Theo would practice, until it was as easy to slip into as a well-worn jumper. "I don't suppose you would have heard much about my family. My father is a diplomat for the British Ministry, working in an office in Hong Kong. I was born there and raised there my whole life."
"Then how did you met your husband?" Walburga asked, sniffing lightly and looking between the pair with disdain. "A whole continent away from one another. I doubt it was easy for your paths to cross."
"Well, as I am sure you know, there has been growing unrest between the British and the Chinese in Hong Kong. It started with the muggles, but it now spread to the wizarding world as well," Hermione explained. A bit of glee filled her when she realized that Walburga had no idea what she was talking about. "My father thought it was safest for me to do a tour abroad."
"And you went to Croatia?" Walburga questioned, her eyebrows raising in surprise. "How unusual."
Theo reached out and took her hand on the table. "We actually met while I was on holiday in Greece, and I was utterly captivated," he said, looking at her with fondness in his eyes, making her breath catch in her throat. "Not only was she funny and wickedly intelligent, but she has impeccable breeding as well. However, I knew that Croatia was no place for a young woman to be, especially not during the war with the vampires, so we've come to London instead to enjoy ourselves."
Hermione was touched by the moment, and so impressed with Theo's acting that she could almost for a minute believe that it was real. Could anyone else tell that in the past days she'd spoken exponentially more to Theo than she ever had in her entire life?
Orion was the one to break the pleasant moment. "And by enjoying yourself, you mean placing ludicrous bets on Quidditch teams?" he asked, not sounded very impressed with them. "You are calling attention to yourself, and not in a good way."
Suddenly, the bravado Hermione had earlier at the shop when she proclaimed that how she spent her money was none of the clerk's business evaporated. When Orion questioned them, it made her feel like she'd rather disappointed her father. "It's not a regular habit," she said, a blush staining her cheeks.
"I don't see anything wrong with the way that I choose to handle my fortune," Theo said scolded, though she could tell from the stilted way he talked that he was also caught off guard.
The pleasant air that Hermione had previously hoped for never seemed to materialize and they spent the remainder of the evening talking politics with Orion while drinking a very rich port for dessert. The Black patriarch seemed frustrated with how little Theo seemed to know about the current political landscape and vowed to introduce him to the right people at the Wizengamot, which was certainly a step in the right direction.
As they were making their goodbyes in the entrance to Number Twelve, Orion's eyes lingered on the pocket watch on Theo's vest. "Family heirloom?" he asked, sounding far too nonchalant for it not to be significant. Hermione asked Walburga if she could owl her later for suggestions about House Elves that they would undoubtedly need.
The couple made their way back across the muggle street, to their less empty than before house. Retreating to their bedroom immediately, Theo was cursing himself, practically ripping the pocket watch from his chest. "What's wrong?" Hermione asked, taking his hands in hers, searching his face.
"My father gave this to me at my seventeenth birthday and I was too sentimental to not realize that I have no reason to have it here," he explained, before turning to hide it in the very back of his wardrobe. "Now it's going to get back to my father and he will be suspicious."
"Well, we have to meet him eventually, don't we?" she asked, thinking that they might as well get it over with.
"I just don't even know why I was holding on to a bit of the past when he means so little to me," Theo said, clearly furious with himself. Again, he referenced some unspoken tension between him and his father, but Hermione still didn't feel that they were close enough for her to press for more details. "The more we hold on to bits of the past, the more danger for us to get tangled up in it. We shouldn't even talk about it anymore."
Hermione slipped out of her robes, not caring that she was left in only her undergarments. She saw the way Theo's eyes were drawn to her body, but he didn't leer at her. Pulling out a nightgown, she slipped it over her head, before climbing on their bed. There was no discussion about ever having separate bedrooms. "I agree. But drawing some detail from our past lives could make our story seem more authentic."
Theo turned away from her suddenly, his fingers working to pull his own shirt from his body, apparently trying to change as quickly as possible. It seemed that her husband didn't share her inhibition in showing his body off for his wife. "I suppose there is a grain of truth in that," he said after a few beats. Theo slipped into the bed next to her.
"I've been meaning to bring something up to you," Hermione said, turning so that she face him, enjoying the sharp angle of his jaw, hints of a five o'clock shadow emerging. "I think that we should practice occlumency, and try to build up a tolerance to veritaserum. Who knows what You-Know-Who does to people."
"I can teach you occlumency. You'll probably have an aptitude for it," he said, his eyes lingering a bit longer than strictly necessary on her lips.
"Why's that? Because I'm good at everything else I try?" she asked. "Because I assure you I do a lot of studying and practice."
"No because you're...introverted and good at looking in on yourself, more introspective," he said with a frown. "People like us are always better at occlumency."
She was surprised that he correctly categorized her as an introvert, thinking that most of her classmates would only see her outspokenness and draw their own assumptions from that. But it was something that made her like him and it made her feel a bit warmer inside to know that she shared something with Theo.
"And we also need to talk about the horcruxes...what they are and where they might be," Hermione said, biting her lower lip, remembering the colossal task that they had in front of them. Yes, they needed to ingratiate themselves into the pureblood sphere, but that was only half the problem. "And how to destroy them once we find them."
There were a lot of unknowns that the couple needed to work out, but it wasn't as if they'd be able to solve them all that night. Closing her eyes, Hermione let sleep take her and she dreamed of bright blue oceans and stark white buildings in Greece.