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Chapter 23

Spring 2002

Hermione woke up to the sound of the television playing in the other room, the boys were on either side of her in their pyjamas. She barely remembered coming to bed late after Luna had convinced her to watch not only the Lord of the Rings but also another fantasy film. Luna was always full of such innocent joy it was hard to tell her no.

Hermione knew what Luna was capable of more than most, but still she was such an ethereal being that found delight in the smallest of things. Hermione found herself always wanting to nurture the joy of one of her best friends. She just couldn't help herself. She was paying for it now though, her head pounded and her legs ached from sitting still for far too long.

She sat up and looked over at the boys, trying to discern if they were any better.

Have the potions and medicines started to help yet? She really couldn't tell and it was beyond frustrating. Was Theo's colour a little better? Maybe Draco's eyes were slightly less sunken in. The hardest part was going to be waiting a few more days to give them each another dose of the weight gain potion that she had acquired from Luna. She just needed them restored to health. She wanted to hear their voices and their touch. She needed to see a look in their eyes that they recognized her.

A giant orange ball of fluff catapulted itself on the top of the bed next to her, and strutted with his tail in the air to sit next to Theo. Crookshanks had been in hiding for days— since the day before the Aurors had brought the boys to her, in fact. The arsehole that Harry had sent in his stead to inspect her house had been both rude and loud. She'd had to remind him several times that she was an Auror on special assignment as a parole supervisor and not a criminal herself. She'd already written to Harry and Kingsley to complain about the man. They'd both promised that he wouldn't be inspecting her home again, but she shuddered when she realised that he would be inspecting Luna's flat, Oliver's townhouse or Daphne Greengrass' penthouse instead. None of them deserved that kind of treatment either, and they didn't have the Minister and Chosen One on speed dial like she did.

She tried not to be jealous as Crookshanks curled into Theo's body, purring hard, and in his sleep, Theo ran his hands through the half kneazle's thick fur.

I wish he'd run his fingers through my hair like that.

Honestly Hermione would settle for Theo acknowledging that she existed. She'd also like to hear just one word from his lips. She was used to his quips and his humour; this silent shell was breaking her heart.

She made them oatmeal and yoghurt with soaked oats as the doctor had suggested. Soft things that wouldn't potentially perforate their starved intestines. The thought of them bleeding out internally because she gave them the wrong food was enough to make her want to vomit. Instead she forced down a cup of tea and ate a small bowl of yoghurt with granola while she watched them.

She gave Theo and Draco their pills with more tea. She worried that they might both freak out over the muggle inhalers, but they breathed in easily when she pinched their noses. She was nervous about having to do this multiple times each day, but if it kept going like this hopefully they'd both be better soon.

The green and blue geometric stained glass cast a gorgeous glow with the mid morning light in her bathroom, and Hermione basked in the glow for a little bit while she left the men alone to drink their tea. They seemed to have no problem eating and drinking with automaticity. She was glad about that, she didn't know if she could bear to spoon feed them. If they had been that bad she probably would have checked them and herself into St. Mungo's and just given up.

The water flowed heavily into the large sunken tub, and Hermione added the lavender bubbles. She looked over at where she'd left her bathing suit hanging on the hook and decided that maybe it wasn't necessary. It's not like the two of them hadn't fucked her every way a man could have a woman. She stripped and loosely tied a white silk robe around herself, the deep v of her olive skin was visible down to her navel. When she saw herself in the mirror as she headed back to get the boys, she looked almost bridal. It was a bit jarring. She'd long thought she'd be a bride by now, but the plans of men were the playthings of fate.

Draco and Theo were brought into the bathroom with Hermione leading them each by hand, just for an excuse to touch them. Hermione slowly slipped Draco's shirt off his shoulders, and ran her fingers over his sectumsempra scars. She slid down his pants and trunks, leaving all the silken pyjamas in a pile on the floor. She slowly untied her robe and tossed it onto the sink leaving her body nude.

She thought she saw Draco's eyes tracing her curves, Hermione knew she wasn't as thin as she had been when they had gone away to Azkaban. She knew her breasts and waist were bigger than the starved girl she'd been after the war, even with all the food that they had brought her while she'd been on the run with Harry.

Draco went willingly into the warm deep lavender scented bath, closing his eyes and making a small sound of pleasure as he sat in the chest deep water. The bubbles swirled around him and Hermione shut off the tap. She watched him for a moment, and thought that Luna's potion had put a few pounds on him since yesterday. Magic really was wonderful.

Turning, she gently undressed Theo and she attempted to control the trembling of her lip as she saw all the scars that he was too weak to disillusion. She knew that he hated them, so she cast a basic nonverbal wandless glamour hoping that it would make him happy even if he could not yet tell her with words.

Knowing that Theo was weaker than Draco, Hermione carefully helped him down the stairs using her body to support him. She rubbed her breasts against him, and flicked his nipples as she positioned him on the submerged stone bench next to Draco. Theo might be too ill and starved to get an erection, but Hermione was willing to go pretty far to get any kind of reaction. She put her knee between his legs and tangled her fingers in his wild hair, his eyes cleared for a moment and she could swear that he realised that saw her there in front of him. So she did the only thing she could do. Hermione kissed Theo hard, her tongue invading his mouth, hands stroking his face. The bond between them pulsed with life for a moment, before fading back into the muted flicker that it had been lately.

On an exhale, as she pulled back, Hermione could have sworn that Theo said "Mia." His eyes were lost again, cloudy and unfocused, and she shook herself rather than fall into despair. That was more than he had reacted to her at any point since that flinch on the first day he had arrived.

Draco had his head leaned back and his eyes closed. Hermione wondered if he'd fallen asleep.

She straddled his lap and ran her hands over his chest the way that she had done a hundred times before. She was surprised when his eyes snapped open and met hers.

His voice raspy and hoarse from disuse, Draco croaked, "Granger, are you really here?"

Hermione struggled to respond, as he hadn't called her Granger in ages. "Yes, Draco, I'm here," Hermione whispered, her arms wrapping tight around him.

He didn't say anything else, his rough breath skating over her skin where her neck and shoulder met, and through the bond she got the feeling that he didn't believe her when she said yes. And she wasn't sure whether she was overjoyed that she could feel what he was feeling or about to cry that he thought she was a delusion. She supposed, her finger tangled in his damp locks, that it was a little of both.

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