A/N: I couldn't contain my excitement and decided to upload this chapter a week early. So here she is! Finally, after a long wait, Hermione has appeared! I will admit, this is probably one of my favourite chapters.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Title: The Past Does Not Define Us

Rating: T

Pairing: Theodore Nott/Hermione Granger

Summary: "I'm sorry." Those two words shot like an arrow through his soul and Theodore found that there was nothing he could do to stop himself from falling.

Warning(s): Mentions of child abuse and suicidal thoughts

Reviews:

xXMizz Alec VolturiXx: I sure will! Thanks!

myfoodisnotshared: Thanks so much! I'll try to get more out as soon as I can!

Chapter 6: Angel

Hermione Granger came back.

Granger with her untameable brown hair and brown eyes that flashed whenever she was angry. Granger who always had her nose in a book and always raised her hand, always answered questions, always knew all the answers. Granger who Theodore and his friends had called 'mudblood' on a daily basis before things changed. Granger who was a war heroine, a member of the 'Golden Trio', the 'Gryffindor Princess'.

Granger who Theodore had fancied ever since third year.

They had been in the same Ancient Runes class. Theodore vaguely remembers the two of them being paired up for an assignment; they had been cordial with each other, as cordial as two people whose best friends hated each other could be. She might have been a swotty know-it-all, but he found it immensely relieving to finally have a stimulating conversation with someone for once, even if he hid it behind a sneer and an upturned nose (not to say that conversations with his yearmates hadn't been enlightening, but there was only so much of the same dullness that one could take; Granger challenged him in ways that his yearmates didn't).

It helps that she punched Draco in the nose towards the end of the year – his friend could be pretty insufferable at the worst of times, and someone who could drag him out of the delusions his father had drilled into him was always appreciated.

If asked, Theodore would say that it was in his fifth year when his admiration with the bushy haired girl surfaced.

It had been just after his father had been arrested and sent to Azkaban. The immense relief he felt upon hearing the news was soon replaced by trepidation and anxiety when the whispers started. He could handle the gossip, it wasn't anything compared to the things his father said, but that didn't mean that it didn't hurt, that it didn't sting just a little. It surprised him that Draco hid it so well, but then again, Draco always had a habit of surprising him when he least expected it.

During that time, Theodore holed himself up in the library to escape the mutterings, the sneers, and hateful glares. One particular comment though, it's been so long that he doesn't remember what it was, had nearly been enough to break his mask. His hands clenched, his jaw tight, he remembers sitting at the window seat, his window seat, in the Hogwarts library, trying to calm himself down, trying to keep the emotions that were surging through him at bay. He remembers contemplating to himself whether or not it was wise to go to the library – there were so many people and anyone could have seen. He remembers thinking that it would have been better to just go to the Astronomy Tower; less people and he could contemplate whether or not it was worth it to jump.

Then suddenly she was there, her hand on his arm, startling him. He hadn't even heard her.

He had turned to look at her, derisive comment on his tongue, the hatred of himself pushed aside for a moment, and froze when he saw that her brown hair was tinted with gold from the light of the sun beaming through the window, a tiny frown on her face. Her eyes, he remembers noticing, her brown eyes had flecks of gold in them that he hadn't realized had been there before and he could finally see the freckles on her face up close. Their gazes had locked and Theodore couldn't speak, couldn't form any words because she looked like an angel, beautiful and honest, and he wasn't worthy of speaking in her presence.

"I'm sorry."

Those two words shot like an arrow through his soul and Theodore found that there was nothing he could do to stop himself from falling.