A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows after last chapter. Things are definitely getting a bit precarious for Hermione. She's got a lot of things she is going to need to decide on. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions! Huge thank you to lanamarymack for alpha/beta reading this chapter!
Please let me know what you thought of chapter twenty-one and be on the lookout for chapter twenty-two in a few days.
After what had ended up being an uncomfortable conversation with Adrian Pucey about her future, it felt like Theo was avoiding her. It filled her with an odd sort of longing, an ache that she couldn't soothe, and she was surprised to realize just how big of a part of her life Theo had become in just a few short weeks.
So much for not going too fast.
Now, not talking to him for nearly a week felt like an eternity without him. It was even worse to know that he was just on the other side of her bedroom wall night after night. Hermione often thought about knocking on the thin plaster between them or maybe even just talking through it like her mum was fond of doing, but something held her back every time.
She knew they needed to talk and they weren't going to do that unless it was face to face.
Surprisingly, it wasn't Hermione's parents who noticed her glum mood. She would have figured that her father would be happy for any trouble in paradise if it meant his daughter wasn't in a serious relationship that might jeopardize her future. Her mum would have been upset on her behalf - spitting mad and insisting that Theo should be happy with any scraps he could get from her. But, they didn't notice (or if they did notice, they didn't comment) on how quiet and withdrawn she'd become over the past week.
Instead, the person to notice was her Uncle Rabastan.
Hermione didn't really have many feelings either way about him. He tended to stay at their house more often than not because he was frequently working jobs with her dad. Perpetually tired, he never seemed to have much to say, but he could always be counted on to get food. She wasn't sure how Rabastan was always ravenous, despite remaining slim.
When she'd been old enough to hear the truth of why she'd gone to live with Sirius, her former guardian had told her that he'd been deemed the most responsible caregiver for her, after Narcissa. While he didn't come out and say it, Hermione had put two and two together that her Aunt hadn't wanted to take her in. She was surprised to learn that Rabastan had even been considered to look after her, seeing as he'd been released from jail much earlier than her parents, despite being picked up on the same night.
Rabastan would not have been a good guardian, Hermione decided in retrospect. Even though she got along with him fine now, she knew that he was more of a follower than a leader. He needed someone telling him what to do and he would have been helpless with a young girl, completely clueless on how to raise her.
But that wasn't to say that he was useless now. He was actually quite perceptive, though you wouldn't always think it because of how quiet he was. But he was always watching, filing away little details about this and that, bringing them up when you'd least expect it.
So maybe she shouldn't have been too surprised that it was him who noticed how upset she was when she sighed into her uneaten bowl of frosted mini wheats for the third time in one morning.
"You shouldn't be too hard on the kid," Rabastan said, without addressing who they were actually talking about. "He's not ignoring you."
Hermione looked up at her uncle in surprise. While her father was more blond than brunet, Rabastan had a reddish tint to his brown hair. "I don't know what you are talking about," she lied at first, not really wanting to engage in this conversation with the other man.
Rabastan took a huge gulp from his orange juice - a staple in the Lestrange townhome since Hermione had come to live here - and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Come on, kiddo, you know we are talking about baby Nott," he said, stretching his arms over his head. When he saw her annoyed look at the nickname, he rolled his eyes. "Okay, Theo."
"Why would I think that Theo was ignoring me?" she asked, smartly, crossing her arms over her chest, completely abandoning any thought of eating her breakfast before school.
"Because the two of you were practically attached at the hip," he said, before making a face. "Ugh, don't read more into that than I meant."
Hermione blushed bright red at the thought, remembering the time that Rabastan had practically caught her and Theo in her room. "I won't," she assured him. Especially considering that she and Theo hadn't actually gone all the way, that didn't mean that she hadn't wanted to.
"I mean...the two of you were always together these last few weeks," Rabastan continued. "Sneaking out to go see him. Listen, just because your parents weren't home doesn't mean they don't know about it."
That was a bit of cold water. Hermione had thought she'd been so sneaky, but it turned out that she clearly wasn't as good as she thought. But, at least her parents hadn't been mad at her or punished her more for it. Maybe it was like her Grandpa Cygnus eventually accepting that her mum was going to see whoever she wanted.
"Yeah, we've been spending a lot of time together," Hermione said, hoping to sound casual. "And this week we haven't been. So what?"
"I'm just...you're obviously upset about it," her uncle continued. "Don't look at me like that, you are. But, I'm just telling you that he isn't ignoring you, so you don't have to worry about it."
Hermione was touched that Rabastan was clearly concerned about her. But at the same time, he was leading her to more questions than he knew. "Busy with what?" she wondered.
"It's that stadium thing," he explained with a wave of his hand. "You know, he's been helping a lot with that and well, it's going to have to happen eventually."
She nibbled her lower lip, not really wanting to hear about it. She knew that Theo was engaged in some illegal behaviors, but it was different to know all the particulars. And, she absolutely hated the thought of him being a robber.
"I don't think it's that," Hermione answered, nibbling her lower lip. "I think it's because we had an argument."
That perked Rabastan's ears right up. "Oh yeah? What about?"
Hermione wasn't entirely sure how much to tell him about their argument. She didn't know if he was aware of Tom's offer or what he or her parents might think about it. Would they encourage her to do it? Would they despise the way that Riddle had handled it? This was much more than she wanted to think about on a Friday morning.
"Well...about what I'm going to do after school. When I go to University," she said, catching her lower lip between her teeth. "I might have said something about leaving the neighborhood behind and everyone in it. That I didn't need the neighborhood to succeed. And I didn't think about how...how that would include Theo, too."
She felt a lump form in her throat and she struggled to swallow, unwilling to meet Rabastan's eyes. Of course, that would mean leaving her family behind, too. If you had asked her a year ago if she'd be able to walk away from her family, she would have agreed without a second thought, but now...
Now, it was complicated.
"Well," Rabastan said, looking at her with a smirk. "I can see now that maybe he is ignoring you. I wouldn't blame him."
Hermione felt her cheeks grow even hotter, embarrassed at the cavalier way she'd talked. "I wish I could take it back, but you know that I can't," Hermione said. "And...I've never liked the way things run here in the neighborhood. I'm not a criminal. You know that."
He nodded, giving her a soft look. "No one would accuse you of that, kiddo," he answered. "But well, Theo's got the makings of a good thief. I know it's not straight, but he could make a lot of money with the skill set he's got and I know that's not what you want to hear."
That made Hermione a little bit annoyed. "Theo has other skills and could be much more than a thief. He's smart and...and he could find a job that didn't resort to stealing from innocent people," she said hotly.
"Unfortunately, that's not your decision. It's Theo's," Rabstan said, seeming far more sage than he ever had. "I know if you had a magic wand, you'd wave it and we'd all be upstanding citizens. But that's just not the way that it works."
Hermione felt miserable, knowing that what her uncle said was the truth. "I know that," she whispered.
"And if Theo decides that this is the life for him, well..." he trailed off, unsure of himself. "You'll just have to decide if that's an association you want to keep. You can be the best damn barrister that this country has ever heard of and keep your boy toy out of prison."
The thought made Hermione giggle. "Perhaps," she agreed.
"But you're both young. No need to go off committing to each other for the rest of your lives, either," he counseled, knowing that not all young love was meant to last.
"Now you're sounding like Dad," she said, her spirits somewhat lifted after their talk.
"Come on, grab your bag," he instructed, standing up from the table abruptly. "I'll drive you to school."
Hermione was only too happy to accept the offer, not looking forward to braving the long walk in the cold weather, and did as her uncle said, slipping into the passenger seat of his car. She breathed into her hands, hoping to bring a bit of warmth to the tips of her fingers. The car heated up as they drove and Rabastan chatted away about this and that until they were finally at her school. She thanked her uncle for the ride and walked in.
She moved through the day somewhat mechanically. While doing well was extremely important to her, Hermione could also say that she was probably as well prepared as she possibly could be in every class, weeks ahead in the curriculum and even having completed extra credit. When people said that she could take her exams that day and pass with flying colors, she knew it wasn't an exaggeration.
So, she let her mind wander from physics and English literature to thoughts of Theo instead. Try as she might, her uncle's words would not leave her head. She knew that she had hurt Theo by saying she could leave the neighborhood behind without a second thought, but knew that Rabastan was also right. Theo had to choose his own path and that might mean continuing to work for Tom Riddle. And if that was a deal breaker for her, well...
She would just have to accept it.
Her final period was a study hour, so she went to the lunchroom with Ron and Harry, having promised to quiz them on the implications of the Magna Carta. They were about halfway through the historical facts when Daphne flounced over and slipped into the open seat next to Hermione.
"Me and the girls are going shopping after school," she said with a big grin. "Want to come with us?"
Hermione was about to decline the invitation, before Ron had to butt his big nose in. "Hermione always works on Fridays. She can't go," he said, perhaps glad to think that Hermione had less of a social life than he did.
"Not anymore," Daphne replied, rolling her eyes. "So what do you think?"
"Sorry, I'm not really up for it this weekend," Hermione answered, knowing that she would just be a grey cloud on the group, still feeling down about Theo.
Daphne wasn't pushy, but gave Hermione a squeeze of solidarity, before hopping up from the table and returning to wherever she came from.
Hermione sighed and returned her attention to her flashcards, only to feel the heavy weight of Harry's stare.
"What did she mean you don't work on Fridays anymore?" he asked. "How come you didn't mention anything to us."
"Oh, it's not a big deal," Hermione lied. "I quit. Or more...I was made to quit. It didn't seem like something worth mentioning." She'd not wanted to have this discussion with the boys ever knowing that they just wouldn't understand. Hopefully they would leave well enough alone.
But that had never been their strong suit.
"What do you mean, you were made to quit?" Harry asked, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Hermione, if someone is bothering you, you know that we can help you."
She wanted to laugh at the suggestion. While she had no doubt that Harry believed that, there was no way that he could ever go up against someone like Tom Riddle and win. Now that their interest was piqued, she knew that it would be better to nip it in the bud rather than let things fester in unknowns. She would just have to tell them the truth.
"Riddle made me quit my job," she said, raising her eyes to meet Harry's, not wanting him to think that she was scared or helpless. "He did it to try and entice me to take an offer from him."
"What sort of offer?" Harry demanded.
"He wants to pay my University fees and arrange for me to do my work study with his barrister, Slughorn," Hermione said calmly, simply stating the facts and hoping that tempers wouldn't get too out of control.
"What does he want in return? Riddle isn't the kind of guy who would just do that out of the goodness of his heart, even if your parents are like his friends or whatever," Ron asked, giving her a look like she was a stupid little girl who wouldn't have figured that out on his own.
"Of course not," she said, rolling her eyes at him. "Once I obtain my law license, he would want me to become his lawyer, so Slughorn can officially retire."
Harry's cheeks went red. "And you turned him down, right?" he demanded.
"Well, no, not exactly," Hermione explained, chewing on her lower lip. "I'm still thinking things over. It's an extremely generous offer, even if it's coming from a place I don't want to accept assistance from."
A beat of silence passed between the three friends, before Harry erupted in anger. "I can't believe that you are even considering working with that snake!" he practically shouted. "You are selling your soul to him. When will you stop owing him? Hm?"
"I haven't agreed to anything Harry," she insisted. "But, I can't just dismiss such an opportunity out of hand. Yes, I would have to work for him, represent him, but think of all the good I could do, too. He told me he would pay me well enough that any other work I did was pro bono."
"Oh and you just believe him do you?" Harry seethed, absolutely furious with her.
"Yes, I do," she answered hotly, wondering if that was rather naive of her. It had been little more than a throwaway comment by the older man when they'd met. Who knew if he would actually keep up his end of the bargain when she finally finished school?
"I can't believe that you'd do this, Hermione," he continued, anger clear on his face. "You know that Tom Riddle is responsible for my parents' deaths. To think that you would ever actually want to work with a-a murderer!"
Actually, the details of Harry's parents' deaths had always been a bit fuzzy in her memory. She had never gotten a clear story of what had really happened to them. God, she hadn't even known that Sirius had been in jail, accused on the deed himself until her mother had told her. No - discussions of James and Lily Potter were reserved for melancholy afternoons between Sirius and Harry, sharing cold beers and watching footy on the small television. She had never been present for those discussions and Remus usually gave the two of them space, as well.
"You've...you've changed Hermione," he sneered at her, before standing up from the lunch table. "Sirius said that your whole family was rotten and it was only a matter of time before they got to you, too. I didn't want to believe him, but...you've betrayed me."
Hermione was shocked to hear the horrid things that Sirius had been saying about her, but it certainly seemed par for the course now. "I haven't done anything, Harry," she insisted, upset.
"The fact that you didn't immediately turn him down speaks volumes," he hissed, obviously having made up his mind already. "You've already made your decision and it's not me."
He turned away to leave, but Hermione couldn't help but call after him. "Oh yeah? Well, why should I want to stay loyal anyway?" she shouted after him. "When it's you who is having conversations about when I'm going to turn rotten because of my family, hm? Did Sirius forget that we have the same fucking family?"
Harry seemed stunned to hear that, his mouth opening and closing a few times while he looked for the right words. "I should have listened to Sirius and steered clear from you a long time ago," he said with a frown.
Ron followed after Harry, but only after giving her a mean look, leaving Hermione all on her own.
She stood there, all by herself, in a nearly empty lunch room, completely unsure of herself. Hermione wasn't going to let herself cry at school and certainly not over this, but she couldn't pretend like she wasn't hurt. Why had her old friends seemed to write her off the minute that she was returned to her family, while the neighborhood embraced her with open arms, even when they knew she was just a naive little goody-goody? It was so backwards of everything that she expected.
But, Hermione couldn't deny that she was hurt and in need of some comfort. She needed someone to tell her that she wasn't rotten and that they would love her no matter what. She needed to talk to someone who wouldn't judge her. She needed...her mum.