Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any affiliated characters. I just happened to come up with the plot for this ship. All credit to J.K for her amazing universe that she allows us to play in.
Warning: Rated M. Cursing, sexual innuendos, lemons and fluff ahead.
Grammarly is my Beta, just saying.
Music is my Muse
This chapters song: Chasing Cars, Snow Patrol
Lyric of choice: If I lie here, If I just lay here, would you lie with me and just forget the world?
Aftermath
Chapter Ten
Draco Strikes Again.
Hermione went up to change after doing the dishes while Draco and Theo smoked cigars.
Her mind was racing a bit as she hung her dress back up. She put on one of Theo's shirts and moved to wash her face and brush her teeth. She was able to go without the sleeping droughts most nights now, but she wasn't sure tonight was going to be one of those nights.
She hadn't actually realized how much she wanted to shag Theo until Draco had spent an entire super quizzing her about it! It was, startling, actually. She shivered a bit and moved over to the bed, climbing in and cuddling down. When had he become such a fantasy? She supposed if she was honest she had wanted him all along, it just wasn't something she had acknowledged. She shifted and grabbed his pillow, holding it to her.
Theo was so easy to be around, without the awkwardness that had been present with Ron and Harry thanks to puberty and trying to not die all the time. There was no angst, no threats, nothing to worry about. She simply trusted that he would be here tomorrow like he had been yesterday, and that was a bit selfish if she wasn't in a relationship with him, come to think of it.
Draco had spent the second half of super trying to convince Theo to go out with him Friday night. What had he enchantingly called it? Trolling for pussy? Yes, that was it. She rolled over and punched Theo's pillow. As Draco pointed out, Theo wasn't going to get any pussy from her. And he wasn't, and he hadn't seemed upset about that. Theo seemed perfectly happy with this friendship, as odd as it was. She sighed as she thought that over, and that hurt a bit. Yes, she knew he was attracted to her, but not enough to change his no 'dating' rule. He had told her a few weeks into this friendship that he had a strict three shag rule. He never slept with a woman more than three times. He never saw them more than three times even. He really didn't date.
Hermione had tried to date, it wasn't that she was against it, she just wasn't any good at it and it was heartbreaking to be constantly faced with her own failure. She would date someone for a time, they would be ready for the relationship to evolve and she wouldn't be able to give them what they needed. Intimacy was more than just sex. She couldn't do it. She frowned as she sat up in disgust. Well, she apparently could do it, but only with Theo. She threw the covers off and stomped over to the bathroom where Theo kept the sleeping droughts. There was no way she would be able to sleep tonight without one so she was just giving up. She had a hellish three days ahead of her, she needed rest and she was in Paris this weekend, without Theo to hold her, so she would not be sleeping then.
She sighed and downed the potion because whatever this was, there was one fact that she couldn't ignore. Without Theo watching over her, Hermione Granger didn't get a wink of sleep anymore.
OoOOOoOOooO
Theo sat in the back garden and smoked his cigar watching the plants around them.
Draco sighed. "You're in fucking deep, Theo."
Theo shrugged. "I know," he said calmly.
Draco grunted and sat down in the chair next to him. "Why not just tell her that you want a bloody relationship, you seem to be already in a pretty good one."
Theo snorted. "She'd run."
Draco was quiet for a minute. "I know your issues with love, but how the hell did she get so fucked up?"
Theo shrugged not looking at his friend. "Not really my story to tell, mate."
Draco sighed staring at his cigar. "Well, I hope to hell you two figure this shite out, because between her brains and yours I can't think of two smarter idiots."
Theo had to smirk at that. "Imagine the smart little Ravenclaw babies we would make."
He heard Draco groan in disgust. "That's just sick, Nott. They better be fucking Slytherin or I won't be the godfather."
Theo leaned back his eyes accessing. "You honestly think she'd let you be the godfather to our children? Please, it will probably be Potter."
Draco snorted. "Speaking of Pottey, what does he think of this situation?"
Theo gave him an exasperated look. "Pottey? How old are you?"
Draco smirked. "Stop dodging the question."
"No idea, she's never said she has told him. I haven't spoken to him since school," Theo said honestly.
"What about the Weasel, why isn't she married to him?"
Theo snorted. "She said they were an awful couple."
Draco chuckled. "Well, yes, they were, but still-"
Theo shrugged. "He's married, mate. To that Brown girl from their house."
Draco was quiet for a moment and then said. "You do realize that you just talked about procreating with a mudblood and you haven't even shagged her, right?"
Theo went very still and then said. "Shite."
Draco grinned. "Indeed."
And then Theo sat up and said darkly. "And don't fucking call her that Malfoy or we will duel!"
Draco chuckled and said softly. "Indeed."
OoOOOooOOooO
Theo stumbled into the room a little tipsy. He had needed a few shots after that gem of a conversation with Draco and now as he saw Hermione hugging his pillow the covers kicked off and her sweet leg draped on his side of the bed with her ass hanging out of his shirt he needed a bloody cold shower!
He was met with an empty bottle of sleeping drought as he stripped and he sighed. Damn, she had done so well the last few weeks. Now he felt guilty for not coming to bed sooner. He raked a hand through his hair and shook his head in disgust. This was killing him. He was fucking in love with Hermione Granger. There was no other explanation, Draco was right, he was in deep. Fuck! He was hard for a muggle born. This was deep shite.
That night as he took her into his arms he felt a piece of him break away a little. She was as broken as him when you thought about it. How the bloody hell was he supposed to help her overcome her demons when his were just as dangerous. The bottom line was this was going to take him down, and he wasn't sure he was strong enough to come out on the other side of this.
OoOoO
Hermione woke with a start and looked around. Theo wasn't in bed, which was not so odd anymore; he usually got up before her to get in the shower first because she took so long in the bathroom in the morning. He would always make tea and breakfast and be waiting for her in his robes when she finally rushed down all dolled up. While she had learned a lot since school on how to be 'girly' it still took her a bit of time to accomplish the polished look she now portrayed. She was careful with her hair today and dressed in a cap sleeved boat necked linen dress of pale yellow. The Ambassador was hosting a delegation of Wizards from some Middle Eastern country and she wanted to make sure she looked professional but not too pretty. She wore kitten heels and put her hair up, her makeup was subtle.
When she got down to the kitchen Theo was in his robes sitting at the bar reading the Prophet. He looked up at her as she rushed in a raised an eyebrow.
"What's with the schoolmarm hairdo?"
She stuck her tongue out at him and grabbed an apple sticking it in her purse. "Some wizards are coming from the Middle East. They make me uncomfortable."
Theo folded his paper giving her his full attention. "Why?"
She shrugged. "I don't know, they are a bit of a throw back, Theo. Muggle women can't even drive in their country or hold jobs, witches aren't treated much better. They just make me itch to smack them upside the head and they always stare at me as if I am something to eat."
He grinned. "So you dressed like a lemon?"
She looked down at her yellow dress and smirked. "Yes!"
He laughed softly and pulled her over sweeping his hand down her neck. "If they bother you just tell them that your Death Eater wizard will curse them."
She frowned leaning into him to look up at him. "Theo! Don't say that. You are not a Death Eater."
He shrugged setting her away from him and handing her his tea standing up. "I was, kitten. I have to head in early."
Hermione sipped his tea; they liked theirs the same way so often stole each other's cuppa. "I forget, about you being a Death Eater you know."
Theo looked up from grabbing his briefcase. "You shouldn't, Hermione. No one else has and no one is going to be very supportive of someone like you hanging out with someone like me. See you for dinner, I told Tuily we were going to have take out, she requested pizza."
OoOOoO
Hermione frowned at him as he walked out. What had he meant by that? That no one else had forgotten he was a Death Eater? And did he actually think she gave a damn what anyone else thought about them hanging out? She sat down staring at the counter not really seeing it. Bacon and toast were on a plate in front of her and she nibbled at it absently as she tried to figure out what he had been implying.
Theo didn't really say things without thinking them over carefully. He was very precise that way. So she knew that there had indeed been a reason behind his comment this morning. It wasn't off the cuff. And he had also been dead serious that she could use his reputation if she needed to in order to scare off the wizards today. And that bothered her, greatly. Not because she thought that he thought she couldn't handle the men herself, she knew he knew she could. No, it was that he seemed to think that everyone thought he was capable of acting like- well- like a Death Eater. She knew he probably could be very scary, she had taken all advanced classes with him in school and she knew he was quick witted and deadly in a duel. But, he was so calm, so rational. To push him to that point you would have to threaten someone he cared for deeply. Before this morning she would have thought that just meant Tuily, but now, what he said implied that also included her.
She sat there for a long time pondering this before she jumped when the grandfather clock chimed the time, bloody hell, she was going to be late!
Notes:
Thanks for the new favorites and followers. This story is my baby (still) and when I get a notification about it I do a happy dance.
