I've decided to do something major regarding this story and I'm debating if I should add this character in the character tags or not.

Take you down another level

Get you dancing with the Devil

-Wicked Games, The Weeknd

"You need to get more rest…"

Hermione heaved a small sigh, shoulders lowering as Harry's words reached her ears. It was the exact same words he'd uttered ten days ago during his visit. The day after the alluring enigma, Draco Malfoy, had offered her a chance to escape her debt. The same day said man had unexpectedly showed up on her doorstep, attempting to woo her into agreeing to his offer. In the ten days since then, she'd seen him everywhere.

Or at least…she was sure she did.

She had never actually seen him per se, but she would never forget the sight of his expensive black car parked on her street, looking so out of place in her average neighborhood. She had been seeing that car, and others like it, everywhere. At first she had simply chalked it up to her imagination, convincing herself that she was looking for things that weren't there. She'd written it off as pure coincidence or something, kind of like when someone one knows gets a new car, and they suddenly notice the car a lot more than they did before.

However, two nights ago, as she had been taking out the trash, she saw it. It wasn't the exact same car that he'd been driving that day, but it was a similar model. It had the same sleek look to it that just screamed wealth, and her heart had faltered within her chest. She had paused, staring at the car with wide eyes just before it roared to life and sped away. She was certain of it then.

He, or someone, was watching her.

She wasn't sure what that meant, and that scared her, allowing her overactive mind to come up with all sorts of wild thoughts. Was he watching her, biding his time, waiting for the opportune moment to try and woo her again? Or was it someone else? Theo's warning came back to mind, hinting at Draco Malfoy's involvement in less-than-stellar extracurricular activities. What if he was right? Theo would know, wouldn't he? What if someone had seen them together, whether at the party or in front of her house, and had assumed they were involved or something? What if it was someone who didn't care for the blond man?

Hermione shook her head, bringing the warm mug to her lips, the steamy liquid slowly taking up residence in her body, heating her cold frame. Her imagination was really beginning to run wild, and she was sure she'd drive herself crazy if she kept this up.

"Sorry," she apologized "…just haven't been sleeping well lately."

It was true. Between the ever growing stress that came from school related problems, and now this, her nights had consisted of more tossing and turning than rest as of late.

Harry heaved a small sigh like she'd done earlier.

"Mione…I already told you. I can help you, all you need to do is ask," he offered for the umpteenth time.

"…and I already told you. I'm not taking your money, Harry. You and Ginny have a wedding to plan, you're getting ready to start a life together. You need that money," she softly replied.

His fingers tapped on the table as he sat across from her, the buzzing of students in the café surrounding them like a fog. He was irritated, that much was obvious.

She had never intended for him to find out just how much debt she was in, she had never intended for anyone to. It was purely unfortunate of her to leave the envelope on her kitchen counter one day, a day he'd decided to make an unexpected visit. It had prompted an argument like no other, one filled with lots of crying on her part. Harry couldn't understand why she had never said anything, why she didn't go to him, to any of them, for help.

She let out a soft chuckle, trying to lighten the mood.

"Besides, if I ever got that desperate, I'd just ask Teddy. Lord knows he's got more than enough…"

Harry rolled his eyes at this, and in return, Hermione shook her head.

Harry, and the rest of her friends, had made it quite clear how they felt about Theo, and more importantly, the crowd of people he associated with. Ginny had made it known on plenty of occasions that she thought Theo was bad news and was scared that it would come back around to negatively affect Hermione. Hermione couldn't exactly blame them though. Once upon a time, she'd thought the same thing. While she had definitely heard whispers of Theo throughout school, it would be years before she put a face to the name.

Upon meeting him, he wasn't what Hermione had expected. She'd expected some hard faced spoiled brat who could make girls weak at the knees with just one haughty smirk. She hadn't expected the respectable looking young man with almost girlish lips and soft blue eyes. It had been hard for her to correlate the stories she'd heard with the handsome young man before her. Over time, after growing much closer to him, Hermione learned that all of those stories were indeed true. They still continued to be true. He hadn't gone into much detail that night she'd picked him up off of the street, cheek bruised and lip busted, but he'd made it abundantly clear that he wasn't a nice guy.

Hermione knew that there was another side to him, another part of his life that he kept on lock lest she get too curious one day. Hermione was perfectly fine with that. Honestly, she wasn't sure if she wanted to see the other side. The side that got into fights and kicked girls out of his bed before they even got a chance to catch their breath.

"It amazes me that you still choose to associate with him," Harry scoffed, bringing his hot chocolate to his lips.

She frowned at his condescending tone, like Theo was beneath them or something.

"He's my friend, and he isn't as bad as you make him out to be," she defended.

Harry didn't reply, opting to agree to disagree, avoiding yet another argument about Theo. He suddenly set his mug down, eyes troubled as he regarded her.

"Are you coming tomorrow night?"

Hermione tensed, heart pounding as his words reached her ears.

Ronald was returning from the states tomorrow morning, and his family had decided to throw him a party, welcoming him back. They'd invited her, of course, still a daughter in their eyes despite what had happened between her and the devilishly handsome redhead. Her shoulders eased with the loss of tension as she exhaled, fingers brushing along her quickly cooling mug of coffee.

Ronald Weasley had been the love of her life, or at least, she had once considered him that. They had only dated for seven months, but she'd been staring at him like he hung the damn moon for years. It was something Ginny had often teased her about, before frowning in disgust, stating that she could do much better. Hermione agreed then that that may have been true, but she hadn't wanted better. She'd only wanted Ron.

Oh, how she wish she had listened to Ginny.

Those seven months had been everything to her, finally getting what she had wanted for so long, before everything eventually went down in flames. During their first year of university, Ron had confessed that he'd kissed one of his classmates at a party…three months prior. As if that wasn't enough, he'd told her that it had happened two more times after that with the same girl. Hermione could see it then, that curiosity in his eyes, wondering what being with this other girl would be like. What it would be like to be with someone other than her…

She had stared at him stony faced, telling him that she would need time, but that she was determined to get past this. After all, she loved him. It was then that he'd spoken, confirming her worst fears as he confessed that he was confused and didn't know what he wanted. It had broken her heart and took everything in her not to beg him to stay, pleading like some pathetic lovesick fool. He had walked out that day, leaving her there to wait around like an idiot while he decided on what, or who, exactly it was that he wanted.

She had cried all night, not breathing a word of any of this to Ginny or Harry as she waited and waited for him to walk through that door. The next morning the shrill ring of her phone had awoken her, Ginny's frantic and angry voice greeting her ears. Her words had been jumbled, a blubbering mess, but they had frozen Hermione's heart nonetheless.

Ron had taken a last minute flight to the States…with her in tow.

It had completely…ruined her. He didn't even say goodbye, he didn't even have the common decency to tell Hermione to her face, or at least pick up a darn phone, that he'd chosen this other girl over her. No, instead he'd humiliated her in the worst way possible. He'd left her out to dry, hoping and waiting, while he trotted off with the girl he'd left her for. It had broken her heart and had almost broken her.

His family had been furious, Mrs. Weasley begging him to come home, to see reason and at least speak to Hermione, afraid that this would ruin their relationship. It almost had too. It had taken months for Hermione to even step inside of the Weasley home, the comfy building too riddled with haunting memories. It had taken almost two years for that gaping hole to become nothing but a dull ache, almost nonexistent with the help of her friends. However, it had only taken six months for Ronald's name to appear on her phone again, leaving voicemail after voicemail. She had never listened to any of them, deleting them and blocking his number in the process.

Ginny was the one to tell her that apparently, he and Lavender didn't last for very long, breaking up not even three months after he'd left. He'd told Ginny how awful he felt, how he'd made the worst mistake of his life, begging his sister to let him speak to Hermione. She had refused, telling him that Hermione wanted nothing to do with him, and that was the truth.

Over the past two years, his relationship with his family had gotten better. They would talk to him almost every week, listening to him recount stories of his time in the U.S. He was taking some courses there, not wanting to be too behind when he eventually returned. It was easy to see that his family, or at least, certain members of his family, had forgiven him for the anguish he'd caused. However, they all also knew that it wasn't their forgiveness Ron wanted.

Hermione had forgiven him a long time ago, purely for her sake. She didn't want that on her chest. Still, she didn't want anything to do with him, realizing just what kind of person he was. Ginny had always told her that she had this warped view of Ronald, never really knowing who he was, and she'd been right.

"Yeah. I should go…"

"You know that you don't have to. No-one would blame you, Hermione," he softly said.

"No, I want to. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley want me there, and I want to see them…all of them. I haven't been by in weeks, and I'm long overdue for a visit," she shrugged.

She was over Ron, that much was very true, but there was a large part of her that wanted to see him again. She wanted him to fidget, suddenly unsure around her, face twisting up in discomfort as she regarded him. She wanted him to finally look her in the face and acknowledge what he did to her. Maybe that was childish, but she didn't care. Ron had almost broken her, and she had almost let him.

"You should come out with me instead. I don't understand why you're even entertaining this," his deep voice spoke up from where his head rested on her lap.

She huffed, eyes rolling towards the ceiling as she sensed the impending argument.

"…because Teddy, they invited me. I do enjoy being around his family, you know-."

"And you also want to see him grovel and beg for your forgiveness like the sniveling poor excuse of a man that he is."

Theo's words were laced with venom, the icy chill of them giving her frostbite.

Theo hated Ron with a passion, never feeling the need to hide his distaste of the boy who'd broken her heart. Despite the fact that she no longer held any ill feelings towards Ron, she could never blame Theo for his feelings. They had only just started to become a bit more than acquaintances when Ron had left, and he'd seen firsthand what it did to her. He'd seen parts of her during that time that not even her other friends had witnessed, pushing them further into the bond that solidified their friendship.

Too many times had he seen her too drunk to even function, having to lean on him as he practically dragged her to her bedroom and deposit her on her bed. Too many times did his knocks at the door go unanswered before he eventually let himself in, blue eyes finding her curled up frame in the corner of her bedroom as she cried into her knees. During that first year, there were so many nights when the other side of her bed was occupied by the dark haired boy on her couch, fingers trailing along her arms and back as she cried herself to sleep.

She always pretended not to notice Theo subtly keeping her away from sharp objects and her prescriptions. During that year, she pretended not to notice the way his eyes would worriedly watch her, afraid that any moment would be her last. The way he'd always just be there, too afraid to leave her alone for too long, in case it got bad again. Theo had seen it all. He knew exactly what Ron had did to her, and he hated him for it.

"That might also have something to do with it," she reluctantly confessed.

He suddenly sat up, her fingers slipping from his hair where they had been resting. His eyes bore into her own, brown and blue clashing.

"You don't still have feelings for him, do you?"

Hermione frowned, the thought of ever feeling something for Ron again making her shiver in disgust.

"Of course not. You know what him leaving did to me. I just want…I don't know" she lamely shrugged. "I just want him to admit to my face what he did. I want to hear him say that he humiliated and nearly killed me because he was too much of a coward to break up with me properly. I want him to know that he almost destroyed me, but I survived. I want him to see that I'm doing just fine without him and…and I want him to hate it."

There, she'd said it. She wanted Ron to regret what he'd done for the rest of his life. She wanted that bit of satisfaction, she deserved it, after all. Theo chuckled, pulling her attention back to him as a small familiar smirk made its way onto his lips.

"I'm glad to see that I've been rubbing off on you, even if it is just a little bit," he said.

"Ugh, don't remind me," she complained, shoving him away from her as she stood.

She was just about to ask him if he wanted more popcorn when his phone alerted him to a new text message. She watched as his eyes ran over the screen, eyebrows furrowing and jaw hardening as he took it in. Hermione's heart skipped a beat, a sinking feeling in her stomach. She knew this had something to do with his other life, the one he so easily kept hidden from her. She had become familiar with that look whenever a text would come through, or he'd get a phone call that would have his jaw ticking and fingers curling into fists. So, she was not surprised when he slid the sleek device into his pocket and said;

"Something's come up. I have to go."

Hermione was sure that the disappointment was evident on her face as he stood up.

"…okay."

He stepped towards her, towering over her frame as his hand found a resting place where her shoulder and neck met.

"Are you still going by your mum and dad's house? I can give you a lift on the way," he offered.

She nodded, accepting his offer as she turned to go put on her shoes. She did her best to ignore the way he clutched his phone again, troubled eyes hardening.

"You need to come over more often. I only see you once every two weeks or so," her mother complained as she poured their tea.

Hermione sighed, having heard this all before.

"I'm sorry, mum. My courses are much more difficult this year, and they just take up so much time," Hermione replied.

That wasn't entirely a lie. School was stressful, and her classes were more time consuming this time. She just didn't know how to constantly be around her parents all the while hiding her financial struggles. They knew her so well, and she was afraid they'd see right through her. Mrs. Granger shook her head, sitting down next to Hermione on the couch.

"You shouldn't push yourself so much, darling. I told you, take your time. A degree next year or a degree three years from now is still a degree," she advised.

"I know, I know. I promise, next year I'll relax a bit more. I just want to get all of the hard stuff out of the way as quickly as possible. You know how I get," Hermione said with a shrug.

Her mum smiled, hand raising to rest on Hermione's cheek.

"You were always such a busy bee. How has school been going, though?"

Hermione went into detail about all of her individual courses, certain students who made the class more enjoyable and which professors she positively could not stand. Hermione found herself relaxing more and more as she talked to her mum. For a minute, it was easy to forget about her financial situation hanging over her like a sword, ready to drop at any moment. It was easy to pretend like Ronald wasn't coming back in the morning and that tomorrow night, she would see him for the first time in nearly two years.

Most of all, it was easy to forget about that man, Draco Malfoy. Despite the fact that his offer was so tempting to accept, she'd forced herself to push it to the very back of her mind, refusing to get involved with the likes of him. It was so easy to forget, until she'd noticed the envelope on the living room table…

Her mum had excused herself, answering a phone call that she assumed was her father when her eyes landed on it. It was beneath a crap ton of other mail, the bulk of it hidden, but the bold red letters that read Final Notice were clear as day. Without thinking, Hermione dived for it, tearing it open with a savageness she didn't know she possessed. As her eyes took in the contents of the letter, her hands began to tremble, eyes widening as her lips parted in horror. Her eyes had barely begun to scan over the piece of paper when it was snatched out of her fingers.

Her eyes rested on her mum who was quickly folding it up, slipping it back in the envelope as she avoided Hermione's eyes.

"Mum," Hermione choked, throat incredibly thick.

She hadn't thoroughly read the whole thing, but she'd read enough. Words like payments and foreclosure were cemented in her brain as she regarded the woman standing before her.

"Mum-."

"We have everything under control, Hermione. You have no need to worry," her mother reassured.

She was lying, Hermione could see it. The fear and worry were hidden there in her mum's eyes, causing Hermione's heart to clench. When had it gotten so bad? How long had it been this bad? If that statement was anything to go by, Hermione guessed that it had been this bad for a while, a lot longer than her parents would ever admit. How foolish was she to think that she was the only one still struggling after the bankruptcy.

"Why didn't you say anything? Why didn't you tell me?"

Was this how Harry had felt that day? Did he feel this blindsided, this hurt, this helpless?

"Hermione, I've told you. You need not to worry. You need to focus on school and your own expenses, that's what's important," Mrs. Granger said, sadly patting her cheek as she took their empty cups into the kitchen.

Hermione bit her lip as she looked around, just now noticing the bareness of the room. They had already begun to sell some of their things, and Hermione's heart clenched at the thought of her parents selling off things that mattered most just to survive. It was bad, she didn't need for her mum to tell her that, she could confirm it with her own eyes. With a clenched jaw, Hermione grabbed her purse, the door slamming shut behind her.

The muffled sound of loud music made its way into her car as she sat in front of her steering wheel, hands clenched so tightly around it her knuckles were starting to ache. She had long shut the engine off, sitting in the car in complete darkness as she stared ahead, the image of her mother's strong, but troubled eyes forever burned into her brain. Hermione bowed her head, resigning herself to her fate.

Her parents were in trouble, probably only weeks away from being left out on the street. They'd hidden this from her, the sting of betrayal so fresh even though she had no reason to feel that way. After all, was she not doing the same thing? Her forehead rested against the steering wheel, breathing uneven as she fought back tears, eyes stinging. Her parents had taken care of her all her life. They'd worked so hard for the small amount of wealth they did have, worked so hard to give her a good life and in one fell swoop, all of that hard work was erased. Any evidence of it, gone.

Now, it was her turn to take care of them…

With a surge of energy, she exited her car, the brisk night air biting into her bare legs. The black off the shoulder dress clung to her frame like a second skin, something she'd swiped from Ginny's closet so long ago she'd forgotten about it. Her normally unruly curls were somewhat tamed for the night, falling around her face and shoulders in wide ringlets. The sound of her short heels connecting with the pavement coincided with the unsteady beat of her heart.

The now familiar towering building loomed over her with an ominous presence, as if telling her that she was making a grave mistake. Her fingers dug into the small clutch in her hand as she stepped inside, the loud music nearly bursting her ear drums. A sense of déjà vu washed over her as Blaise appeared in front of her, looming over her before she could step any further.

"Theo isn't here, tonight," he said, an almost threatening tone underneath his words, eyes almost telling her to leave.

Of course he would think she'd arrived for Theo. That's the only reason she ever came before, and as far as he knew, she had no other reason to be there. Even with her makeup done and a sultry dress clinging to her figure, it was apparent to anyone looking in that she did not belong there. Hermione was a good girl, and good girls didn't belong in places like this.

Hermione sunk her teeth into her bottom lip, eyes going wide with a mix of anxiety and fear as she spoke.

"I'm here to see Draco Malfoy."

The only indication Blaise gave to being surprised by her statement was the raise of his eyebrows, eyes regarding her as they narrowed, mind going a mile a minute. She wasn't stupid, she knew exactly what he was thinking. Why on earth was she there to see Draco Malfoy? The longer he stared, the more nervous she got, and she swallowed, suddenly very unsure. The corner of his lips pulled up into an almost pitying smirk as he shook his head, turning to walk into the crowd.

She didn't follow, getting the sense that she wasn't supposed to. Her eyes darted around the crowd, the sound of shouts coming from that room, the one she'd seen with the cage, the men beating each other to a pulp as people tossed their money around, placing bets. She mildly wondered if Theo ever enjoyed that, if he ever took part in something so barbaric and demeaning. She shook her head, forcing herself not to go down that road.

She felt him before she saw him, somehow her body had become used to his commanding presence. People around her shifted as they sensed him too, involuntarily moving away from the man in the center of the room. She lifted her head and found that his eyes were already on her, drinking her in as he gazed passed dozens of heads and moving bodies just to rest the almost glowing irises on her. She swallowed again, unsure of how to approach this as he simply…stared at her.

His feline like eyes slowly wandered over her trembling frame, eyes taking in every part of her. From the curls that now had a mind of their own due to the humidity in the room, all the way down to her light pink toenail polish. She had never felt so exposed in her life. His eyes finally landed on her face again, and he slowly tilted his head to the side, wet lips pulling into a slow smirk before simply turning around and disappearing down the dark hallway behind him.

This time she knew she was supposed to follow.

She brushed past the crowd of oblivious partygoers, eyes adjusting to the lack of light in the long stretch of the hallway. She could see his figure just ahead of her, lazily making his way down the path, seemingly without a care in the world. The further they went, the more muffled the music became. Soon, the only sounds were those of their shoes connecting with the marble floor.

Hermione faltered as he came to a door, opening it and stepping inside with ease, the sounds of his footsteps fading as they ascended. Her eyes landed on a modern style spiral staircase as soon as she stepped inside. Deciding that time was of the essence, she quickly followed him. She stopped when she soon found herself inside of a room.

Her eyes took everything in, noting that the room was the size of a studio apartment. Dark curtains brushed along the large window, the glow of the moon on the plush carpet beneath her shoes. There was a lavish bed in the middle of the far wall, a nightstand on either side. She took another step forward, passing the impressive bar to her left and approaching the glass table in the center of the room, the glass table that Draco was standing behind.

He had swiped something from the bar on his way in, now pouring himself a drink as he regarded her.

"To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?"

The words dripped from his mouth like honey, stormy eyes gazing into her own, daring her to speak up, to voice why she was there. She licked her lips, his gaze hungrily following the movement as she spoke.

"It's my parents…they're in a lot of debt. They're about to lose their house, and who knows what else," she whispered.

He nodded, lifting the glass to his lips.

"I see, and you want me to…take care of this?"

She nodded, eyes downcast.

"…what about you?"

Her eyes lifted to land on his face, confused.

"What about me?"

"What about your own situation?"

She huffed, folding her arms over her chest, turning her head away.

"I'm not here for me. I came because-."

"No," he interrupted, the glass clinking against the table as he set it down.

Her heart dropped to her stomach as she turned to face him, eyes wide.

"What?" she whispered.

He approached her, silk shirt fitted over his chest, and she had to swallow down her less than innocent thoughts as she looked up at him. His blonde hair was currently a mess, like he'd been running his hand through it all night. He reached up, brushing her hair off of her shoulder, thumb grazing the side of her neck, goosebumps erupting over her flesh.

"I can take care of their troubles and your troubles or…I can take care of neither," he hummed, eyes raking over her face.

Hermione closed her eyes, reluctantly accepting this.

"…and in return you'd get…," she trailed off, unable to say it.

He chuckled, an addicting sound as he leaned in, nose brushing against her forehead.

"Relax, Hermione. Stop treating this like some sort of lewd business transaction," he breathed.

His other hand trailed down her arm, fingers intertwining with her own.

"I told you before, I'm interested in you…" his hand dropped to her waist "I want to get to know you, bask in your company."

Wherever his fingers flowed, they left a scorching trail in their wake. She inhaled as he maneuvered his way behind her, chest grazing her back as his arms came up to wrap around her waist. His chin found rest on her shoulder, his nose grazing her cheek.

"So this is our agreement? You help me and my family, and I, for all intents and purposes, become something akin to a girlfriend to you…"

He hummed in agreement, hands tightening on her waist.

"Stay here for a while tonight. Have fun, relax, and enjoy yourself. Your debt, and your parents' debt, is no longer your concern. I'll take care of it, and tomorrow…," he trailed off.

She watched as he reached inside of her purse, fingers wrapping around her phone as he put his number into it.

"…you'll meet me."

"Tomorrow night?"

Hermione's head turned to face him, lips almost ghosting over his. Ron's welcoming party was tomorrow night…

"Tomorrow night."

She silently agreed, wondering if it was possible to make it to both. His hand was suddenly on her cheek, turning her head towards him fully as his eyes bore into her own, asking for permission. She exhaled, leaning in as his lips descended over her own, sealing their agreement with a kiss.

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