Hello, this is a shorter filler chapter before shit really hits the fan. Enjoy!

And it's a closed discussion

And I'm thinking "Damn, if these walls could talk"

-Walls Could Talk, Halsey

"You know how she gets, Hermione…"

Hermione frowned, shoulders tense as she furiously scrubbed at the plate. Harry had arrived thirty minutes ago, and twenty of those thirty minutes were spent pleading Ginny's case. If the redhead was really that remorseful, then why wasn't she on Hermione's doorstep this morning instead of Harry?

She heard her dark-haired friend sigh before the plate was snatched out of her hands.

"Hey!"

"You've been scrubbing this for ten minutes," he said as soon as she turned around to face him.

Hermione rolled her eyes before reluctantly drying her hands, leaning against the counter as she regarded him.

"Come on, you've put up with that Weasley fire for years. She'll get better," he said.

Hermione huffed, walking past him.

"Yeah, it was somewhat amusing when we were teenagers, Harry, but I'll be graduating from Uni in a couple of years. It's not funny anymore, especially when it's over something as trivial as who my friends are. She doesn't have to be around him, in fact, I encourage otherwise because I know how she feels about Teddy…"

She turned to face him.

"However, at this point, it's just downright ridiculous. I can't even mention his name without her going off on a tangent about how much of a shitty person he is. It's annoying, and…it hurts my feelings, and she doesn't care-."

"You know that isn't true, Hermione. She's just trying to show her concern in her own way."

"Well, her way sucks," Hermione exclaimed, voice breaking.

She crossed her arms over her chest, looking away as Harry slowly approached.

"You don't know what I was truly like when Ron left," she whispered "…and how can you when I never told you?"

"Hermione," Harry murmured, his hand on her arm.

"I was…ten times worse than you could ever imagine. He…broke me, Harry. I did some really messed up things, and to be perfectly honest, if it weren't Theo, I might be dead…"

She looked up at him, concern swirling in his soft green eyes as he looked at her.

"He's my best friend. He means so much to me, and every time she opens her mouth to insult him, it hurts. I won't put up with it anymore," Hermione firmly stated.

Harry nodded in understanding, stepping away.
"I'll talk to her," he murmured.

She walked him to her door, arms still wrapped around herself as he opened it.

"Just thought you should know…Ron's doing miserably, by the way," he said, turning to face her.

Hermione chuckled, wiping at her eyes as he smiled.

"I figured that might make you feel a little better…"

"It did, actually. Thank you for that," she laughed, closing the door behind him.

"Hermione, dear, we've been dancing around for almost an hour now. You've been skillfully avoiding our calls for weeks, and I've finally got you here. Don't you think it's time we discuss the elephant in the room?"

Hermione bit her lip as she fiddled with her fingers, uncomfortable under her mother's watchful gaze.

Her mum was right, Hermione had been avoiding them for some time now. It had taken her that long to try and figure out how she was going to explain everything to them. After all, it wasn't every day that a large sum of money was deposited into her parents' bank account, followed up by another chunk four weeks later. Hermione sighed as her mum got up, only to sit down next to her.

Hermione squeezed her mother's hand as her fingers wrapped around her own. The older woman gently lifted her daughters chin.

"Tell me the truth…"

Hermione softly exhaled, forcing herself not to look away.

"I met a man…"

"Bloody hell," her mother swore, something that was a rarity in their household.

Hermione was quick to placate her mother, sure that her mind was already going to the worst. Unfortunately, in this case, her fears were true, but she didn't need to know that.

"It's not like that," she hurried to say, a lie "…I'm working for him. It's a simple office job in his company. He owns the company, and he was very understanding. He's nice and-."

Hermione cut herself off as her mum stood, scoffing. The older woman was obviously troubled.

"How stupid do you think I am, Hermione? What have you gotten yourself into?"

"It's nothing like that, I promise!"

"What is his name? What does he do?"

"Mum…"

Hermione couldn't answer those questions. Well, 'didn't want to' would have been a more appropriate term. How was she possibly supposed to tell her mother that she was sleeping with a man who had offered to cover her and her parents' debts? Despite the fact that she was supposed to be a 'pretend girlfriend', it didn't make the arrangement any less vulgar than what it actually was.

"I won't go down this road again. You put an end to this, now."

Hermione's eyes widened, eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she regarded her mother.

"What do you mean by again? What are you talking about?"

Her mum scoffed again, shaking her head as she rested her hands on her hips, pacing.

"You think I don't know about these 'business men'? How do you think we lost everything? Your father got himself involved with that Tom Riddle…" Hermione's eyes widened further "…and before we knew it, everything was gone."

Hermione stood, alarmed.

"What?"

"The company, the money-."

"Mum!"

Mrs. Granger paused to look at her daughter, Hermione's wide and confused eyes meeting her troubled ones.

"Did you just say Tom Riddle? He's the reason we lost everything? I thought…," Hermione trailed off, heart sinking as she recalled the man's cold and dark eyes.

"It was a business deal gone wrong, in the words of your father. Riddle took everything…," her mum whispered.

Hermione gasped, attempting to wrap her head around everything that her mother had just told her. Mrs. Granger suddenly approached Hermione, tightly gripping her daughter's shoulders.

"Now, you tell me the truth, and you tell me this instant" her mum demanded.

Hermione opened her mouth, tempted, before slamming it shut. She wanted to be completely honest with her mother about Draco, but she just couldn't. She figured that it would be easier on everyone if she didn't know the whole story. They would probably hate her for some time, but their wellbeing was more important.

Hermione took a step back, her mother's hands slipping from her shoulders.

"I'm sorry, but…I can't."

"Hermione Jean Granger," her mother began.

Hermione shook her head, turning away and heading for the door, ignoring her mother's protests and footsteps behind her.

"I'll come by next week," she said, quickly closing the door and running to her car.

"Hey…where are you? You haven't been with us all night," Draco murmured, his hands on either side of her jaw as he tilted her head up.

Hermione bit her lip, looking down below them into the crowd of dancers. They were in another nightclub, not unlike the one from last week where Hermione had had her first encounter with guns. They were upstairs again, in another VIP room, except this one was livelier with a few more people. A few friends and business partners of Draco were spread around the room in clusters of three or four, a few girls sitting on the chairs or standing by the window.

The window wasn't tinted this time, allowing everyone down below to gaze up into the coveted room. Her eyes briefly flitted over Blaise who was sitting on the couch behind them, a dark haired brunette beside him.

She swallowed, eyes meeting his.

"My mum told me that…that Tom Riddle was the reason we lost everything," she whispered.

Draco's eyebrows briefly rose, jaw clenching as he processed this.

"I see," was his only reply.

Hermione heaved a sigh, turning away.

"I knew that I didn't like him when I first met him, and now…. He's to blame for all of this," Hermione said with a shake of her head.

Draco wrapped his arms around her, chin resting on her shoulder.

"I'm not that bad, am I?"

Hermione smiled in spite of herself, shaking her head again.

"No, it's just… This isn't like me. This whole arrangement is so far out of my comfort zone, it's not even funny. Plus, I just kind of wish that my parents didn't have to go through that at all…"

"He'll get what's coming to him. Men like him always do. Besides, I'm quite enjoyable to be around. Everything happens for a reason, you know, and I'd like to think that we were always supposed to end up here," he murmured, lips brushing against her cheek.

Hermione scoffed, playfully hitting him as she pulled away and turned around.

"You aren't the only rich man in my life, you know. I could have easily asked someone else," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Draco pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek, an annoyed smirk on his lips as he poured himself another drink.

"Right. How is Theo these days? I've been seeing less and less of him lately…"

"He's good. He's still not very fond of you, but…," she trailed off.

"The feeling is more than mutual," Draco said, eyes briefly flashing, a shadow falling over his face.

"Is there something that I should know? He's my best friend, and you're the bloke that I'm fake dating. The last thing I want is to be caught up in some rivalry…"

Draco threw her a crooked smile, brushing his fingers along her jaw.

"It's just childhood rivalry. Nothing to worry yourself about," he replied.

Hermione threw her hands up in defeat, stepping past him when his hand snaked around her waist, halting her. His nose skimmed her cheek, lips hovering over her ear.

"Where are you off to?"

"The bathroom…?" Hermione chuckled, frowning at his odd behavior.

He turned toward Blaise, jerking his head towards the door.

"Take Blaise with you," he said as his friend stood.

Hermione scoffed, about to argue before thinking better of it. Considering their last experience at a club, she couldn't exactly blame Draco for his concern. She could hear Blaise's footsteps behind her own as she descended the stairs. She rolled her eyes as he stood just outside of the bathroom door as she went in.

Hermione didn't take long, fixing her dress as soon as she flushed the toilet. She was just about to leave the stall when she could hear yelling from behind her. She looked over her shoulder, eyebrows furrowed as the yelling from the other side of the wall became louder, several voices in the mix now. Beside the toilet was a small hole, just big enough for someone to peek through, and Hermione guessed that that contributed as to why she could hear so well.

The muffled music from the club could still be heard as Hermione stared at the hole, not daring to bend down and look. She was too afraid of what she might see. She had just backed up, deciding to leave when she heard a gunshot, a small involuntary shriek leaving her lips as she stumbled into the stall door in a mixture of shock and fear. She froze for half a second, hand on the door, when the hole was suddenly covered. It took Hermione a moment to realize what was happening…

Someone was looking through it.

She left the stall in a hurry, running out of the bathroom and past Blaise. She caught the startled look on his face, but he followed her up the stairs nonetheless. She stumbled into Draco who was waiting by the door, his hands steadying her as she fought to catch her breath.

"I want to go home. I don't feel well," she quickly mumbled.

Draco ran his eyes over her before they connected with Blaise behind him. She guessed that Blaise gave him a shrug to his silent question, because Draco threw his arm over her shoulder and quickly said goodbye to the occupants in the room. They hurried down the stairs, Hermione's eyes downcast, too afraid of what she might find if she looked up.

"You sure you're alright?" Draco asked just as they reached the club door.

"Yeah, just feeling a little sick," she lied.

She looked over her shoulder, staring into the crowd with worry as they left.

"Granger?"

Hermione groaned, vaguely aware that someone was calling her name. Her whole body felt like she'd been body slammed by a sumo wrestler, the pounding in her head only adding salt to the wound. She groaned again, attempting to lift her head, only for it to fall back down on something hard.

She heard a door being wrestled open, goosebumps raising over her flesh as the cold night air hit her.

"Bloody hell," someone whispered.

Someone's warm hands were on her head, lifting it to lean against something firm. Hermione could smell smoke, and she coughed, forcing her eyes open. Everything spun, her vision doubled before joining in the middle to form a road. She looked directly in front of her, her eyes focusing on a collapsed telephone pole.

Her seatbelt was suddenly released, and Hermione winced, a sharp pain traveling through her skull. She slowly turned her head, brown eyes connecting with blue ones.

"Come on…"

An arm was wrapped around her waist, practically dragging her out of her car. She collapsed as she attempted to stand, fingers digging into a shoulder as her other hand grabbed onto the roof of her car. Her hair felt damp, and she reached up, pulling her hand away to see a dark red substance.

"Nott…?"

She was finally able to put a name to the face. His jaw was clenched, eyes hard as he swung her up into his arms.

"What the hell were you thinking?"

Hermione attempted to speak, but found that her words were slurred. What the hell was that about? Her eyes landed on her car, vision spinning again and she fought to get out of his arms. Her knees hit the pavement just as she emptied the contents of her stomach onto the road.

She was forced to stand again, and that was when Hermione remembered.

"Oh my God," she cried, hand in her hair.

"Come on," he snapped.

"Oh my God, oh my God," she chanted.

"Hermione, let's go!"

"Did I…did I hurt anybody?"

"No, just your own dumb ass," Nott hissed, dragging her towards his car.

He opened the door, and Hermione faced him as he shoved her in.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't… Oh my God," she groaned, head falling into her hands.

He slammed the door shut, the sound of his own opening a couple of seconds later.

"Theo," she pleaded.

He ignored her, face hard as he started the car. She reached towards him, but he slapped her hand away. Hermione wrapped her arms around herself, turning her face away as she leaned her head against his window. Her wrecked car fading away in the distance.

"You know I didn't mean it…"

"Yeah, you did, but it's okay. I deserved it," Hermione sighed into the phone.

As soon as she had left Draco's, she went straight home, immediately phoning Teddy.

"I just worry. I really don't want to see you like that again," he whispered.

She leaned her head back against the headrest, eyes troubled.

"I know, and I promise that you won't. I-."

Hermione was interrupted by a feminine giggle in the background, and she chuckled.

"I didn't mean to interrupt your evening. You should've ignored my call," she said.

"Eh, you're more important. I don't even remember her name," he quietly said.

Hermione scoffed, shaking her head.

"God, you're such an ass," she replied.

"Are you sure everything is alright? You sounded…off when you called me…"

Hermione swallowed, remembering the club and the gunshot.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just had a…fun night, I guess," she lied.

They both knew she was referring to Draco and Teddy made a humming noise.

"Be careful, alright? Never forget what I told you. You can always call me…"

"I know…"

"You're my best friend, Hermione. Actually, you're my only friend. You're the closest thing I've ever had to a sister," he chuckled.

Hermione joined in on the laughter.

"I love you," he said, and Hermione smiled.

"I love you too."

He hung up, and Hermione sighed, wondering if she should have told him about what happened. She removed her keys, reaching over to grab her purse when something was suddenly wrapped around her throat, pulling her head back against the headrest. She reached up, eyes wide and mouth open in a silent scream when a damp, white cloth was pressed against her mouth.

"No, let her wake up on her own. I wouldn't want to mar that pretty face…"

Hermione swallowed, throat feeling incredibly thick as she groaned.

"See, I told you that it wouldn't be long now," a smooth voice said.

Hermione exhaled, fighting to breathe properly when gentle fingers were suddenly on her chin, lifting her face and forcing her to look forward. She blinked, eyebrows frowning as her eyes connected with the cold, dark ones of Tom Riddle.

I know a lot of people have expressed desire for Theomione, and I really hope that this chapter kind of shows that their relationship is more on the platonic side, at least from Theo's POV. There shall be no sexing between these two. Let me know what you think!