A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! I am so excited that some of you are already starting to have some theories as to what's up with Theo! Feel free to share them, but I probably won't confirm or deny - don't want to spoil anything! You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.
Please let me know what you thought of chapter three and be on the lookout for chapter four soon!
Hermione had felt on edge ever since Harry had outwitted her in the first potions class, receiving heaps of praise from their professor. He'd owed all of his success to the scrawled handwriting in all of the margins of the textbook pages, which looked oddly familiar, though she couldn't quite place it. Hermione was horrified that someone would have defaced a textbook like that, but she also was worried that there was more than meets the eye to it.
Ron had snarked at her that she was just jealous at not being the best in class for once, something that made Hermione bristle. It was only half-way true, anyway.
It was refreshing for Harry to talk about the textbook rather than just wildly speculate about whatever it was that Malfoy was up to. Hermione had reluctantly agreed that Malfoy did seem to be having a rough go of his year. He wasn't up to any of his usual tricks and hadn't gone out of his way to tease her for being a muggleborn, but Hermione certainly wasn't going to go around complaining about that.
Between the potions textbook, Malfoy and Quidditch, Hermione was feeling oddly separated from Harry and Ron this year. Obviously they went through ebbs and flows in their friendships, but she was surprised to feel a bit of...relief when she was able to go off and do her own thing. For the first time she was glad that she was taking so many advanced classes, just because the boys weren't taking them. It certainly felt a bit uncharitable, but she couldn't help how she felt.
She started the second week of classes with double arithmancy. The week before had been spent completing assessment assignments, so that Professor Vector could determine how much that they had forgotten over the summer.
Sliding into one of the empty seats in the front of the class, Hermione waited for Professor Vector to begin class. She'd already read practically all of the textbook for the year seeing as it was her favorite class. After seeing what was in store for the year, she was eager to get deep into the material, which seemed to be complex and innovative.
"Alright class, quiet down," Professor Vector called from the front of the class. A wave of her wand at the stack of parchment at her desk sent them flying back to their respective owners. "Your homework was illuminating. I am glad to say that you haven't all gathered wool between your ears over the summer," she praised them with a smile on her face.
Hermione eagered unfurled her own parchment and was glad to see that she'd received full marks and a few complimentary notes from her Professor.
"We will be mixing things up a bit this year," Vector continued from her spot, leaning against her podium at the front of the class. "You will be working on a longer project that will span the whole semester, with a partner. This will require significant collaboration."
Spinning in her chair halfway, Hermione immediately began looking around the class for who she might pair with. She knew that Padma was likely to partner with Mandy Brocklehurst, but perhaps she could convince Susan Bones to pair with her, or maybe Terry Boot.
Professor Vector let out a laugh, seeing the mad scramble of significant looks to find a partner, before shaking her head. "Don't go getting attached just yet," she said simply. "I've already assigned you all partners using your assignments as a guide. Hopefully you've done your best."
Murmurs and groans rippled through the class and Hermione wondered if other people had been slacking a bit. She was curious to learn who she'd be paired with, but knew that there was nothing to be done until her name was announced. Head held high, Hermione waited for Professor Vector to read out the names.
"Miss Bones, you'll be paired with Mister Malfoy," Vector said, calling out the first name. Hermione shot the redheaded girl a sorry look, hoping that she wouldn't get too much trouble with Malfoy. She was ashamed to feel a niggling relief that it wasn't her that was paired with the snotty Slytherin. "Mister Boot, you'll be working with Miss Patil."
Hermione frowned to hear that, knowing that the class was really rather small. Being that it was such an advanced elective, many students didn't opt to take it, so her potential options were really dwindling rapidly.
"Miss Granger," Professor Vector finally called on her, gaining Hermione's attention. "You'll be paired with Mister Nott."
She was shocked to be paired with Theo Nott, wondering what it was about this year that was making him so much more noticeable before. Before the Welcoming Feast, he rarely crossed her mind twice, but now she seemed destined to keep coming back to him again and again. He wouldn't be a totally unsalvageable partner, Hermione decided, knowing that he really was quite smart. He always provided the right answer when he was called on in class, though he never raised his hand to answer himself.
And, she reminded herself darkly, she could have had Malfoy as a partner.
Once Professor Vector had finished pairing everyone off, she instructed them to move to sit next to their partners. Hermione looked up at Nott, but he had his eyes firmly on the paper in front of him and made no move to make eye contact to move. Well, Hermione thought, feeling annoyed, I suppose I'll be the one who will have to move. Gathering up her bag, Hermione moved to the empty spot at Nott's table, even if it meant that she was having to give up her coveted front seat.
He didn't look up at her, not even when she slammed her knee into the supporting leg of the table, cursing under her breath. Getting ahold of herself, Hermione decided to make the best of this. Giving him a half smile, she turned to face Nott in the chair. "Nott," she said in greeting.
"Granger," he answered, his eyes completely unmoved from his assignment.
Unable to resist, Hermione looked at the score that he'd gotten and was pleasantly surprised to see that he'd gotten full marks as well. At least she wouldn't have to spend any time getting him up to speed. "I'm looking forward to working with you," she said while she waited for Professor Vector to come around and discuss their assignment with them.
Nott did not respond, and instead rolled his eyes, if she wasn't mistaken. Hermione huffed, a pang of hurt in her heart when she saw how visibly uncomfortable Nott was to work with her. He couldn't even look her in her eyes for Merlin's sakes! She knew that he was a Slytherin, but he certainly wasn't Crabbe or Goyle either. He'd never gone around calling people mudbloods or hexing anyone. She'd always imagined that he was one of the more decent Slytherins, but perhaps he just was more subtle in his prejudice.
Before she could think on it any longer, Professor Vector was standing in front of them, giving them a description of their project. They would be working on predicting the order of the graduating class list that year, using the students previous six years of study to aid in their calculations. Of course, all the information had been randomized and anonymized, but Hermione was interested to see how she stacked up against the students in the year ahead of her.
Still, she knew that this was going to be a massive undertaking, and they would need to work all term, rather than putting it off until the last minute. Looking at the big clock on the wall, Hermione realized that class was nearly over. "We should probably plan some goals and milestones along the way so that the work doesn't sneak up on us," she said to Nott, pushing her hair out of her face.
He sniffed at her pronouncement, before finally turning to look at her. The moment that his eyes met hers, she was filled again with a mysterious zing of curiosity. She wanted to know more about Theo Nott. "That won't be necessary," he answered with a frown on his face. "There is plenty of work here that doesn't need to be done jointly. We should just split the students down the middle and meet up towards the end of the term to see how they all work together."
Hermione returned his frown. "Absolutely not," she argued, holding onto her quill more tightly. "You heard Professor Vector, we are supposed to be working together on this, and I won't let you ruin my marks just because you don't want to work with a muggleborn."
"It's not-I wasn't-" he cut himself off, running a hand through his longish brown hair. It drew her eyes to the puckered skin at his jaw. He'd shaved again, losing the scruff from the other week, showing off the scar she'd noticed earlier. It seemed to be healing nicely, but still she had no idea why he wouldn't just ask Madam Pomfrey for help. "I insist that we split up the work. You don't need me to hold your hand and help you through the assignment. We are both smart enough to work on our own," he said coolly.
Before Hermione could counter, the bell was ringing, telling them that it was time to move onto their next class. She would have to hustle if she would be able to make it out to the greenhouses in time for Herbology. "Listen, Nott," she said with a start, throwing her book bag over one shoulder. "I don't really have time to keep debating this with you right now. Meet me in the library tonight after dinner and we can finish discussing our plan for the project."
She didn't wait for him to argue back with her, knowing that she wasn't going to budge on this. They had been instructed to work together and she was going to at least try it out before she agreed to his way of thinking. Nearly sprinting out of the classroom so that he wouldn't be able to get her attention, she didn't stop until she was outside in the cool, autumn air, walking across the lush green of the Hogwarts lawn. The leaves were already changing colors, but few had dropped yet.
Storming into the greenhouses, her cheeks rosy and flushed, Ron's eyes widened in surprise. "Whoa, what's got you on the warpath?" he asked.
Hermione softened, uncharacteristically touched that Harry and Ron were finally paying enough attention to her to realize that she was upset. "It's nothing, just something from Arithmancy," she said breezily, knowing that both Harry and Ron would glaze over as soon as she started talking about the difficult class. She wasn't sure why, but she didn't want to mention Nott to them again.
If she was honest, she wasn't sure why she was bothered in the first place that he didn't want to work with her. It wasn't as though she'd been gagging for him as a partner, either. Maybe it was just that she...expected more out of him than to be just another prejudiced snob. That he was different from the rest because he was quiet and smart, like her. Though that was a bit silly, seeing as she had no reason to think that way to begin with. Being smart didn't preclude you from being prejudiced - Malfoy, proved that easily enough. Hell, even Voldemort proved that.
Or maybe it was that lingering feeling that there was something not entirely right about Nott this year. The knowledge that crept around on the back recesses of her consciousness that something was wrong with him. An itch that made her want to just get to the bottom of it, but she couldn't manage to put her finger on it, no matter how much she stared at him. Even worse, it was none of her business to begin with.
But, she was sure that it was a bad thing that she was looking forward to seeing him later in the library.