Recap of Chapter Four

The men were stunned by the rear view of the virtually naked bookworm. Hermione wore nothing but a pair of pale pink lace hipsters and none of them could take their eyes off her flawless pale skin. Draco was the first to move. Shrugging his shirt off he went to crouch behind her and put it on her as he would a child, doing his best not to ogle her as he did. Rather than do up the buttons and risk touching something he shouldn't, he simply wrapped it around her tightly. Moving to sit behind her he put his legs on either side of her, pulled her back against his bare chest and held her close. Neither spoke as they watched Ron's top burn.

A/N: Wow. Shout-outs to repeat reviewers BadWolfJiggy, , riaroo400, Rissa1986, Nichole87, Dutchess of the Depraved, kimbclar, LullabyTales, Virginie Cires, GeekybyNature, pgoodrichboggs, Green Eyed Lana Lee, bL00D pRINC3SS, Dul'mephistos and new reviewers, BritishTonyDinozzo, Snowflake Dazzle, sailorgemini and my anonymous guests.

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Chapter Five

After a while Blaise and Theo joined them by the fire. Blaise stood in front of Hermione and pulled her up to him while Theo stepped behind her, holding the shirt in place and protecting her modesty while using it as an excuse to hold her firmly against his chest.

'The Weasel has no class. He's a wanker and doesn't deserve you dolcezza, he never has,' Blaise said softly. Hermione sniffled in reply. Gracefully unfolding himself Draco came to stand beside the trio.

'We're taking you out for lunch, princess. Before you say anything about rules, Snape has granted us special permission as returning 8th years to visit Hogsmeade any weekend we like,' he said firmly.

'Actually I feel rather tired, I might go back to bed,' Hermione said, looking at the floor. Draco shook his head.

'Not an option,' replied Blaise. 'If we have to drag you out we will, but I'm sure you'd prefer no one else saw that,' he smirked.

'I heard that Flourish & Blotts have opened a branch in the village, we could take a look,' cajoled Theo. He frowned as she tensed in his arms and looked questioningly at his friends.

'Come on Granger, that's got to be your idea of heaven, surely?' Draco asked her, puzzled by the blush and unhappy expression on her face.

'No thanks, I'll go to lunch if you really force me to but I'm not going to the bookshop,' she muttered.

Theo took charge of the situation. 'Right, let's go pick out your clothes,' and he steered her towards the stairs, completely ignoring her protests that she was more than capable of choosing her own clothes thank you very much.

'Seriously princess? I've seen your casual wear and it could use some work,' scoffed Draco, grinning at her. Hermione opted to rise above this and didn't dignify it with a response.

As soon as he closed the door behind them Theo spun her round to face him. 'Out with it love, what's upset you about visiting a bookshop?' He took hold of her chin and pulled her face up so that he could meet her eyes. He nearly gasped at the sadness he saw there. 'Hermione? Tell me what's wrong, please,' he urged, feeling worried. He lifted her up and carried her to the bed, setting her down and sitting behind her just as Draco had minutes before; he had an inkling that she might find it easier to talk to him if he wasn't looking directly at her.

Hermione tried to find the right words but ultimately she was too embarrassed to speak. What did the three Slytherins know of being poor? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. They were all incredibly wealthy and would think nothing of buying however many books they wanted, or clothes or even the latest model of broomstick. She sighed. Theo racked his brains to come up with a reason why the little bookworm would turn down a trip to a new bookshop.

'Hermione,' he began tentatively, 'is it money?' At that she gave a sob and twisted round to bury her face in his chest. Never would she have imagined herself to be this physically close to Theodore Nott, but here she was, her tears running down his bare chest as she cried for her parents and her ruined friendship with Ron. Theo had never comforted a crying girl (or boy, for that matter) in his life, but instinctively her held her tighter with one arm and used his free hand to stroke her hair. Eventually Hermione's tears stopped and she began to tell him how things had gone so wrong for her.

'Last year, before things got really bad with Voldemort,' Theo winced at her casual use of the name, 'I knew I had to do something to protect my parents. They were a prime target for Death Eaters,' she whispered, her voice broken. 'I obliviated myself from their memories so that they would never know they had a daughter. I gave them new identities and planted a desire to move to Australia in their minds. It worked. They sold our home and used the money to fund their emigration.'

'Oh little mouse, I understand now what you meant last night when you talked about missing them. I thought you just meant while you were at Hogwarts,' Theo's heart ached for her and he was scared to ask the next question. 'The spell can't be reversed?'

'No, it was too strong. I knew before I did it that it would be irreversible, wiping a whole person from 18 years of memories takes a lot of magic. Any attempt to change it back would irreparably damage their minds,' she said dully.

'How bad are things financially?' Theo dared to ask. He didn't want to set off another bout of tears but he and his fellow Slytherins had to know.

'McGonagall paid for my school books,' Hermione admitted after a long pause. Theo swore under his breath.

'What about new robes and clothes? Potions supplies, quills and such? Basic toiletries?' He fought to keep his voice calm.

'Ginny shared some of her things with me,' she tried to wriggle away as a wave of mortification washed over her. She desperately wanted Theo to leave so that she could hide under her covers and shut the world out.

'What about Potter? I thought he was well off?' He asked, trying to keep the anger out of his voice.

'I'm not asking Harry! He has more than enough to deal with, he's still recovering from the war as well as trying to keep on top of his auror training. The last thing on his mind is noticing whether I need new jeans or not! I made Ginny promise not to say anything to him,' Hermione protested, defending him. Theo fumed silently at Potter's complete lack of awareness regarding the woman who was his best friend.

'We're going shopping, little mouse. Don't bother arguing with me because you don't have a say in this. If it makes you feel any better, I could buy every single book in Flourish & Blotts and it wouldn't make a dent in my vaults,' he said crisply. 'Now, let's see what's in your wardrobe,' and with a last squeeze and a quick kiss on the top of her head he shuffled off the bed to begin rummaging.