Chapter 17

Saturday night she found herself at the pub with Amelia again. It had turned into a habit that she was rather enjoying. Theo sometimes joined them as well, which she was learning to settle into. Things had changed so much since that first chance encounter. She felt so different and a lot of it was down to him.

She leant against the bar, the wood dented under her fingertips and waited patiently as Bob served the other regulars. "Hey," Suddenly someone moved into the spot next to her. A tall blond man, with a northern accent and tattoos on his bicep. "Are you new in town? I haven't seen you before."

Hermione tried to smile, but it felt wrong, "Nope, I've lived here for three years. We've actually met before."

"We have?" He looked shocked.

"Two gin and tonics please." Hermione spoke to Bob, watching as he poured the drinks and then turned to the blond stranger, "Yes, you already tried to chat me up once before, in the cafe. It didn't work then and it won't work now."

"Surely a beautiful girl like you would like to go on a date with a man like me." He used a large hand to gesture to himself.

Hermione laughed, "Take the hint." She tried to walk past him, but he gripped one of her arms around her bicep. Hermione winced at the force of his grip.

"Take your hand off her." It couldn't possibly be... but the harsh, cutting voice slipped though her mind and forced another surge of memories. She suddenly felt sick. Sweat licking up the back of her neck, fear clawing down her spine. Her hand faltered, liquid slipping over the brim and splashing on the floor. The rest of the world had gone deathly silent, all she could see was herself, and the ghost of her past.

The man who had spoken, leant against the bar two metres away. Haughty as ever, blond hair flipping over his eyes instead of slicked back as she remembered. He looked as haughty as ever, disdain dripping from his pointy features. She'd somehow managed to find herself in the middle of a vipers nest without even realising it - here alone, weak. Where the fuck was her wand? She couldn't even use it here anyway. The other man let her go, his hand slipping from her arm as he took in the rather filled out form of Draco Malfoy. Shit.

"Granger." He nodded to her and Hermione inwardly cursed again, shrinking back into herself slightly. Count to ten, don't show him your weakness. She steeled herself, throwing her shoulders back and narrowing her eyes.

The other man had shrunk away somewhere, back to an equally boisterous group of friends no doubt. "Malfoy." She turned, walking back to Amelia, determined to pretend he didn't exist.

That did not seem to be possible though, "Who's your friend?" Amelia leant forward on her elbows, head balanced on her palms as she eagerly nodded towards the smirking blond.

"Not a friend." She managed to get out before Malfoy appeared over her shoulder.

"Now, now," He plonked three shots on the table, pushing one towards Amelia and Hermione. Malfoy and Amelia held the shots up eagerly, waiting for Hermione. Eventually, she gave in and threw the burning liquid back. With a wince, she slammed the glass back on the table. "Long time, no speak, Hermione." Her name fell off his lips like honey, but with an acrid nature only she had spotted. It sizzled and burnt in the air between them. Malfoy ran his tounge over his lips - even he could taste it.

"I would have been happier if we kept it that way." Hermione took a long gulp of her gin and tonic to chase off the remaining Tequila burn still searing the back of her throat.

"Ex-boyfriend?" Amelia mock whispered to Hermione, pointing a finger towards Malfoy as she raised her eyebrows. Malfoy and Hermione laughed darkly, not taking their eyes from each other.

Hermione's were narrowed, wary, while Malfoy looked completely at ease. "God no!" Hermione stated acidically, as Malfoy simply laughed out, "She wishes."

Finally, knowing she had to say something, Hermione said, "We went to school together."

"It's been a long time, Granger."

"Granger?" Amelia looked at her, confused.

Hermione thought, the cogs turning in her head as she tried to come up with a way to explain. "An old nickname," she smiled pointedly at Draco and quickly moved on. "Why are you here?"

"I need to discuss some business with Theo." Draco tapped a finger on the table, watching her through slightly narrowed eyes.

Hermione nodded, trying to maintain her composure in front of Amelia, as she came face to face with the last wizard she'd laid eyes on before running. "He's at the Hotel. You should probably go meet him there."

"Actually, he's on his way." Draco smirked, knowing he had her trapped. Hermione sighed internally, Excellent.


Now Draco had her in his sights, he didn't seem to want to leave them alone. It appeared that he could tell she was uncomfortable and didn't give a flying fuck about it. She was hoping Theo would arrive quickly, at least then that would alleviate Draco's attention from her.

Amelia, it seemed, had gone the opposite way. Now that Draco had joined them, she seemed to have relaxed even further. She was flipping her hair back, laughing too hard at his jokes, and batting her lashes. "Theo!" Draco suddenly stood, looking over her shoulder at someone who had just walked into the bar.

"Malfoy," Theo smiled, slapping him on the shoulder. He turned to Hermione, "You alright?" It was a whisper masked with a smile so as not to draw attention to it. She gave him a slight nod.

If they weren't surrounded by people she would have screamed that no, she was not alright. She had just spent the best part of thirty minutes making small talk with Malfoy. It was her worst nightmare come to blinding life. "Hello!" Amelia smiled at Theo, pressing a kiss to his cheek. Turning to Hermione, she joked, "Why do all the men you know look so dashing?" Draco smirked, leaning his face onto a hand and moving closer to Amelia with a wink.

Hermione forced a smiled onto her face, not able to make words form. Theo squeezed her leg under the table, trying to offer some comfort without drawing any attention. "So, Amelia, any new town gossip you need to fill us in on this week?" And with that, Theo rescued her, taking most of the heavy lifting and allowing her to sit quietly and concentrate on the fact that her mind wanted to slowly set itself on fire by reminding her of every horrible thing Malfoy had said, done or been a part of.

Hermione held herself together as the conversation continued around her. When Draco and Amelia disappeared to get more drinks, Theo shuffled closer to her, "How are you holding up?"

"Theo, I need to get out of here." She was shaking, her hands clenching together so hard she'd cut half moon circles into her skin. Theo gently pried her fingers apart.

"I'm so sorry, Hermione, by the time he'd dropped on me that he was coming he was already here. I didn't think you'd run in to each other." She looked at her hands, not knowing what to say to him. When Draco and Amelia returned, Theo stood up, "I'm going to walk Hermione home, she's got an early morning tomorrow."

"Have a nice evening, Amelia." Hermione collected her jacket and shouldered her bag, "Malfoy." She nodded, not really waiting or caring for a response, and then let Theo put a hand on her back to guide her from the pub.

As soon as she stepped over the threshold, the violent shaking started. Her shoulders quaked, the strength of holding back the tears and screams as she faced the nightmare of her past. "Let's get you home, love." Theo took her hand. She was numb, inside and out.

He led her down the cobbled street, shop signs swinging in the breeze and creaking ominously. Once they reached her front door, Theo led her up the stone steps and over the threshold, holding her hand the whole way.

She was silent, shaking, scared. Theo tucked her under the sheets, not saying anything. Her eyes were unseeing, staring glassily up at the moon-lit ceiling. "When will it get easier?" Theo had sat on the end of her bed, not talking, just watching her as she settled. Her bones exhausted, the weight of her panic settling heavily.

Theo shook his head, "I don't know, Hermione." He looked like he was almost to tears too, "I'm so sorry for my part in all this."

"Stop saying sorry. It's not going to help us, and it's just a word." She sighed, picking at the duvet, her mind troubled and torn after seeing Malfoy, plain as day, sitting unapologetically in the pub.


"What the fuck are you doing here?" Once Hermione had stopped shaking and crying, and had finally closed her eyes, Theo slipped out of her house quietly and stormed back outside. His eyes were full of rage as he opened the door to find Draco staring back at him. "And keep your voice down, she's finally asleep." He stood with the blond outside in the bitter evening air, staring down his best friend.

"Nice to see you too, by the way! And I told you," Malfoy answered him, as the wind whistled and the moon shone overhead. "I needed to speak with you."

"This was not the way to do it."

Draco had the decency to look slightly abashed, "And...I wanted to see her."

Theo's eyes flashed, as he growled out, "Stay the fuck away from her." He had never threatened his oldest friend but this was something he was not negotiating.

Draco smirked, "You never were any good at hiding from me." He stepped forwards, nudging Theo with his shoulder.

Bristling, Theo looked down the road, turning his head left and right to make sure they were alone. "I'm not hiding anything."

"You're still in love with her." Draco rocked onto his heels, his eyes dancing with merth. "And she's in love with you. As soon as I saw her, I knew."

"No, I told you all, I'm doing my fucking job. And you are messing it up." Theo raked his hair back off his forehead.

Draco laughed, "You've obviously not gotten laid then, otherwise you'd be in a better fucking mood."

"You can be a real dick, you know." Theo shoved his hands in his pockets, "Why don't you just spit out what you have to say and then you can get back to your evening?"

Draco rolled his eyes, "The wards at your home picked him up."

"When?"

"This morning. Somehow he knows you are watching her. He's trying to trace you. He's coming."

"Fucking shit," Theo punched a nearby wall, his anger bubbling up to the surface. "You waited this fucking long to tell me, it should have been the first words out of your fucking mouth." He started to panic, his heart beating in his ears. Pushing Draco by the shoulders hard enough that he stumbled backwards.

"Calm down." Draco hissed, grabbing Theo by his jacket and pulling him by the lapels until his back slammed into the wall, winding him. "This is why you don't let emotion into a job like this. We are watching the check-points, there has been no sign of him in the area yet. We still have time." He whispered and slammed Theo into the wall again, giving him a shake. "Potter knows, he's setting up a safe house."

Theo pushed him off, spitting on the floor and holding onto his knees. "We are going to have to take her into hiding, I'm going to have to tell her and she's going to hate me."

Draco, forever blunt sighed, "This was never going to end well, no matter how long you waited. Do your job and move on... don't let love make you stupid and don't fucking die. I can't be bothered to make a new best friend."

Theo laughed without humour, "Does Potter know you are here?"

"Of course not. He's on his way, protocol slowed him down. I wanted to give you a heads up, let you tell her how you wanted. You can pretend you've been sensible and kept your distance this whole time, but you aren't fooling anyone." Draco stepped back, preparing to dissaparate, "Walk away, Theo. The lies, the scars, they run too deep." Theo could see the two Aurors Potter had sent watching them. He knew they had heard, knew they had taken their wands out ready.