A/N: Hey everyone.

Thank you all so much for the continued follows, favourites and comments on the story so far. I'm excited and nervous to share it with you. I don't want to go into too much detail and spoil this chapter, so just read and see.

I want to thank my beta AnziaC for her continued effort, encouragement and help. She gives a lot of notes that are incorporated into the story, and some of the additions really bring a smile to my face. Without her, everything would just be a mess.

I hope you enjoy what's in store next!

Once again, JK Rowling owns Harry Potter. And I love getting lost in her world.

Chapter 5:

Morning light filtered in through Hermione's bedroom window, rousing her from what had been a very restful sleep. She stretched out with a lazy smile on her face, hand reaching out in search of Theo.

The bed was empty.

The sheets on his side were cold.

The smile instantly dropped from her face at the realisation that he'd left. But a small note on his pillow doused some of her anxiety at his absence.

Hermione,

Thank you for letting me stay last night.

It meant more than you'll ever know.

My friends are leaving today.

Come join us for breakfast. I'm sure

they would like to see you before they go.

x

Theo

Hermione scoffed at the notion that Astoria would want to say goodbye but promptly chastised herself. The woman had lost her sister and nephew. She was grieving too. Besides, Astoria had warmed up a little after their visit to the graves yesterday. And as hard as it probably was for her to see Theo move on after losing his wife - her sister - maybe she was trying her best to be accepting of Theo's choices.

XXX

At Hermione's arrival, Theo pulled her tightly into his arms and tucked his stubbled face into the side of her neck, dragging in a deep breath.

If it wasn't such a tender display of his growing affection, she would have teased him for being a pervert. Then again, that would have been hypocritical since she did the same to him whenever the opportunity presented itself.

Her stomach fluttered when his lips brushed briefly over her skin, so soft and gentle, dispelling any concerns she'd had about him leaving her bed without saying goodbye this morning.

As if he could hear her thoughts, he whispered against the skin of her neck, "Sorry that I left without saying goodbye."

Her knees threatened to buckle when he pressed a gentle kiss to her neck. He continued his explanation against her skin, forcing her to really focus hard on his words instead of the sensations bouncing helter-skelter through her body. "You looked so peaceful this morning that I didn't have the heart to wake you," he murmured against her skin, lips dragging a searing path up her neck until he reached the underside of her ear, and she shivered with delight at the heat it stirred deep within her belly.

He pulled away to look at her, those ungodly green eyes a whirlpool of unmistakable desire.

Her cheeks were flushed in response to his touch and the way he looked at her, but so was his. There was an obvious touch of pink to his cheeks and neck, his breathing just a little more brisk than usual, highlighting his attraction to her. And she loved that he wasn't as unaffected as he usually tried to appear.

Theo Nott was trouble...in the best ways possible...

"It's okay," she said and bit her lip, but released it promptly when his eyes dropped to her mouth, a low growl rumbling in his chest. "At least you left a note."

"Breakfast's ready whenever you two are done canoodling," Zabini said, popping his head around the corner from the living room with a diabolical smirk. "Malfoy's frying up a storm."

Theo groaned his protest at the interruption, while she buried her face into his chest, muffling her mortified chuckle.

When they sat down, side by side, at the dining table, she asked Theo, "Will it be safe to eat whatever Malfoy is preparing for us?"

He grinned, "It's safe. I think..."

"I heard that!" Malfoy's voice called from the kitchen before he appeared in the dining room. He narrowed his eyes at Theo and her, but it lacked the rancour that had been present in their years at Hogwarts. "I'll have you know that I'm an excellent cook," he insisted, pointing his spatula at her.

Astoria breezed past her husband, planting a kiss against his cheek, and cooed, "Of course, you are, darling," but as soon as Malfoy turned back toward the kitchen, she pulled a face and shook her head. She cupped a hand to her mouth and whispered, "He's terrible. But I suppose if you have to eat anything he cooks, breakfast is the best option. He's shit with everything else. The man can burn water."

Malfoy muttered something intelligible from the kitchen, obviously not impressed with his wife's lack of confidence in his abilities, but Astoria merely rolled her eyes.

Hermione was surprised to find that Malfoy's attempt at bacon, eggs, sausages, and fried tomatoes wasn't half bad. Or maybe her standards weren't as high as those who grew up with house-elves who cooked opulent five-course meals every day.

Spying a jar of homemade jam on the table, Hermione eagerly slathered her toast generously and hummed her appreciation.

Grape jam.

"Who makes this?" She asked Theo around a mouthful of toast, lifting the jar to inspect the same label she'd seen on the strawberry jam in her cottage. "It's so good."

Zabini, Astoria and Malfoy shared a look. An inside joke.

Theo blushed, looking shy and awkward under her gaze.

"You made this?" She asked, trying not to offend him with her surprise.

He shrugged modestly, and rubbed the back of his neck, giving her a toothy, dimpled grin. "Well, aren't you a man of many talents?" She chuckled. "I'm going to develop an inferiority complex if you reveal any more hidden talents. It's quite intimidating."

"It's nothing," Theo waved away her backhanded compliment, changing the topic to wine talk: Estimated harvest for the season, profit margins and an idea for a new blend of wine that he's been playing with. A topic that lasted through the rest of the food in what turned out to be a surprisingly companionable breakfast for everyone.

XXX

"What do you mean you don't know how to ride a horse?" Theo asked, looking nonplussed as he saddled his stallion with care. He kept his voice steady and soothing, and he offered the horse gentle strokes after he'd successfully secured the saddle. "You flew on thestrals and dragons while in school."

"Dragon. Singular," she corrected. "And I guess the opportunity just never presented itself before now." She shrugged and ran her fingers through the dark mane of the gorgeous brown Corsican that Theo still had to saddle up for her.

"But," he narrowed his eyes at her with playful accusation, "If I recall correctly, you asked me if you could ride one of my horses a while back. How were you planning to accomplish that if you've never ridden a horse before?"

She rolled her eyes at him, "Obviously I expected you to teach me."

Theo huffed a laugh and shook his head at her, mildly exasperated.

"What?" She grinned widely, and slowly took a step toward him.

The stallion chuffed at her approach, much more comfortable around her now. She absently trailed her hand over his dark, glistening pelt.

"I have no idea what you're on about," Theo feigned innocence.

"You clearly have something to say," she crossed her arms and levelled him with a steady gaze, a smirk tugging at one corner of her mouth, her chin tipped up. "So go on, out with it."

"It's nothing," He shook his head again, still smiling his dimpled smile. "I was just thinking that things around here have been a lot less boring since you landed on your arse with your luggage on my dirt road." He tipped his head, observing her with a twinkle in his eyes. "There's never going to be a dull moment with you around, is there?"

God, she wanted to lick those dimples.

She wanted to drag her tongue over that light dusting of chronic stubble, just to see what it would feel like.

Just a taste...

She moved another step closer until they were toe-to-toe. "I assure you that I can be quite dull and uninteresting, Nott." Her voice was low and raspy, flirtatious.

"Somehow I doubt that," He murmured, his face a breath away from hers. His green eyes were stuck on her lips, and his tongue darted out to wet his bottom lip.

She shivered at the timber of his voice: a sultry, velvet bass that rumbled deep in his chest. It did unseemly things to her body.

Theo's eyes remained on her mouth, dark and hungry, and she realized it was because she was biting her lip.

"Didn't I ask you very nicely not to bite your lip, witch?" He whispered and leaned closer.

His lips were almost touching hers when the stallion snorted loudly, interrupting their moment.

Hermione pulled back with a blush, releasing her lip. "I guess he's ready to go riding."

With a sigh, Theo stepped back and turned toward the tack wall to grab a second saddle. "Let's get your horse saddled up and do a quick how-to before we head out," he said as he ran one hand through his hair and reached for a saddle with the other. "We don't want to make him wait too long. Anticipation is only good up to a certain point."

XXX

Theo and Hermione were lying in the grass while the horses grazed unhurriedly, watching the blood-orange sunset, their fingers laced together.

It was quiet around them, except for the wind gently sifting through the trees and the occasional snort and whinny from the horses. The crickets were just starting up their night song as the birds quieted down, and Hermione felt at ease with the world. Out here there was a peacefulness that was exclusive to the countryside, and she didn't know if she'd ever be able to get enough of it. It was cathartic, in a way that therapy or fleeing from him had never been.

Her legs were tired from her earlier attempts to remain seated on the horse as Theo patiently guided her until she'd managed to gallop next to him back up the hill, closer to the paddock. Her body felt heavy and her eyes were starting to droop in the quiet comfort of Theo's presence, a contented sigh slipping from between her lips.

She enjoyed spending these quiet moments with him, knowing in her bones that he was a good man with a kind heart. There was a deep-seated gentleness to him that made all of her reservations ebb away. It gave her hope that not all men were like him.

Theo broke the peaceful silence by clearing his throat and pulling his hand out of hers to turn onto his side to face her.

His wary expression made all traces of peace and drowsiness evaporate. It was clear that whatever he was going to say would be grim.

"Daphne and I got married right after we graduated from Hogwarts," he said, speaking the words so softly that she almost didn't realize that he was going to tell her what had happened in his past.

Hermione's eyes zeroed in on his face, scared to miss even one of his expressions while he gave her an insight into his pain.

Theo wasn't looking directly at her when he continued, watching his hands while he picked at a blade of grass. "It was an arranged marriage, but unlike most purebloods who were betrothed, we really were in love. We were one of the very few lucky couples," he paused and lifted his eyes to hers to watch her carefully for a reaction.

She said nothing but nodded encouragingly for him to continue, too afraid that he'd stop speaking if she interrupted.

"We were exiled right after the wedding, and so we'd decided to move here, to the countryside where it was peaceful and safe. We were both eighteen at the time and had agreed to wait a couple of years to start a family," his voice cracked, and he swallowed thickly. "Mateo was a surprise. Daphne fell pregnant not long after our first anniversary, but we were happy. Ready to take on parenthood despite being so young. With her by my side, I felt like I was ready for anything. She was a much softer, gentler person than her sister. So unbelievably kind."

"Mmm," Hermione hummed and gave him a slow, indulgent smile. "Just like you." She hadn't known Daphne, but it made sense that someone like Theo would fall in love with a woman who was equally kindhearted and gentle, just as he'd described his late wife to be.

He turned his head to look at her, lips curving into a fond smile before he continued. "Things were blissfully normal around here. Peaceful, like we'd hoped it would be. Nobody knew us or our history, so we started over. Reinvented our lives. Became muggles, basically, with no dark past following us around. Luckily for us, Mateo was an easy baby, so the adjustment to parenthood didn't put much strain on our lives."

Theo's eyes hardened then, and he clenched his jaw. "Daphne and I had been talking about having another baby once Mateo turned two. But then during a particularly trying harvest, she took Mateo to go play with the ducks near the pond about two miles from the house," he pointed in the general direction of what she assumed was the pond in question. "I was busy helping with the harvest that day, so I didn't go with them. But I assume he must have fallen into the pond," his voice broke, and Hermione squeezed his hand for comfort, giving him a moment when he sniffed and roughly swiped at his eyes with a fist. He took a shuddering breath and continued. But Hermione could guess what he was going to say next, and the realization made dread settle like lead in the pit of her stomach. "Nobody really knows what happened that day, but since neither Mateo nor Daphne could swim, I assume she went in after him to try and save him and couldn't manage to get them both back to the edge of the bank."

Theo ground his teeth and clenched his fists, a tear rolling down his cheek, clinging to his stubble. "Nobody heard them. They were too far away. But if I'd just told them to wait, or to go to the pond next to your cottage where I could have kept an eye on them..." His breath caught in his throat. "If I'd just left the workers to their job, I might have stopped both of them from dying that day."

Regret and hindsight.

Guilt.

All the things Theo was struggling with, Hermione knew of only too well.

Theo blamed himself for their deaths. That much was clear and… expected. He was too kind and considerate. Too burdened by how much he loved them. But it didn't mean he was at fault. It didn't make it right.

And Hermione told him so.

She vowed to herself that she'd continue to tell him this until the believed it.

A/N: So...that happened...

What did you think about the chapter?

Next up we're going to have a Theo POV.