Being different didn't mean special, Hermione learnt after she went to Hogwarts. She always felt different from her peers, and even when she discovered she was a witch, Hermione still felt different from everyone else she met.

Watching Theo reading content in the little corner she usually uses for her own reading, she thought how they could be similar in some things and so different in others.

She wonders how she can make him feel more comfortable—Hermione had been reading some self-help books about communicating with people and she decided it was as good a time as any to try it with Theo.

"Are you comfortable?" Hermione asked, maybe a little louder than she expected since Theo jumped at it. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't scare me, I'm just a little jumpy," Theo chuckled while Hermione frowned at him. "And yes, I'm very comfortable. Thank you for letting me stay here."

"It was no problem. I like to read on this corner too," Hermione replied, a little bluntly, if Theo's face was any indication.

Trying to keep calm and not do anything that may jeopardize whatever was happening between them, Hermione decides to tell what's on her mind already.

"Do you," she started, deciding to just go through it already, "would you like to take a few books home with you?"

It looked like Theo was more startled about this than when she had approached him.

"I couldn't! Mia, no!" Theo stood up, making Hermione take a step back without thinking. "I can't take it! I can't pay you…"

Theo trailed off and Hermione's heart stuttered; she knew Theo was proud, but she was just trying to help him.

"I insist, Theo," she said, a little forcefully, like when she used to tell Harry and Ron they needed to do their homework. "I see how much you like to read, and I love to see people happy just by reading."

"Still, I couldn't impose on you like that," Theo retorted back. "You don't need to take pity on me, Mia."

"I'm not pitying you," Hermione replied, sighing in defeat. The book said she should insist when something seemed right, and this decision was the rightest she made in some time. "I just thought you would like something to read while you were at Sophie's. I didn't mean to offend you."

It was Theo's turn to sigh, and Hermione feared she had offended him anyway; she didn't know what to do now, when all she did was follow what the book said.

Books had never lied to Hermione before.

"How about we make a deal?" Theo asks, and Hermione tilts her head to the side.

"What type of deal?" She asked slowly, not knowing how to proceed; her book never said anything about deals.

"I'll take some books home if you let me walk you back home," Theo said, smiling a little at her.

"You don't have to," Hermione replied, because she always liked to be independent.

"I know I don't," Theo was quickly assuring her, "just as you don't have to let me borrow any books. It's a quid pro quo."

Hermione's heart melted a little at the way he was talking with her.

"Alright. I think I can accept this deal." She smiled at him. "The shop is only going to be closed in two hours, that's alright?"

"There isn't any other place I'd rather be," Theo said, smiling at her before coming back to his book.

Hermione decided she would have to get another self-help book to help her understand what was going on between her and Theo.