She'd been in the hospital wing for a week. The Mudblood Granger had been in the hospital wing for five days. It was quite obvious that something had happened after they'd let Weasley, Longbottom, Loony Luna and Weaslette slip their grip.

Theo was worried and it was starting to annoy Draco. He was currently pacing around the common room, wringing his hands as he did so. The tall, lanky boy had a very clear look of distress on his face.

"If it's worrying you so much, why don't you go check on her?" Draco snarled. Blaise looked up from his book in shock.

"All her friends are there and they'd kill me if I went anywhere near her!" Theo said. Pansy chuckled to herself.

"Then wait for her to leave the hospital wing," Draco supplied.

"What if she doesn't get better? What if she dies?" Theo whined.

"Then great, no annoying Mudblood to bother us," Pansy grinned. Theo glared at her while she high-fived Blaise.

"Madam Pomfrey has brought Potter back from the dead like fifty times, so I wouldn't be worrying if I cared," Draco noted slowly.

"But-"

"Theo there's nothing you can do, so please stop," Blaise said with a roll of his eyes.

"Such supportive friends," Theo muttered before trudging from the room.

"I do hope we get his body back," Pansy sighed.

"Bet you he'll be back in ten minutes," Blaise chuckled.

She opened her eyes to a bright light. Her eyes focused and she realized she was in a large open room with morning sunlight streaming in through the tall windows.

Hermione shuffled up in her bed. Under further inspection she was in the hospital wing. In a bed to her right was Ron who was covered in strange marks. A few other people were in the room, but the light was too bright for her to see. She was wearing different clothes to the ones she remembered wearing last. It was some sort of hospital robe with the Hogwarts logo plastered in the middle of it.

The room was silent except for the bedside table to her left groaning with the weight of gifts from her friends.

She moved her arm gently to touch the presents, and her arm stopped working halfway through the movement. She frowned, and tried to move it again. That's when she felt a sharp pain and immediately retracted her arm and curled up.

Hermione had the strange feeling she was being watched. Her neck prickled, so she scanned the room but it seemed devoid of human life, except for the few resting peacefully.

Then she saw the silhouette sitting across the room. She squinted her eyes until the light went away and she could see who he was. Theodore Nott, the tall brown haired Slytherin with a cute face and hot body. At least that's how Ginny described him.

He was not so secretly watching her rest from a chair next to an empty hospital bed. His body was turned towards her, and his feet were crossed in front of him. His hands were fidgeting gently in his lap and he had his head turned, showing off his gorgeous jawline. She punched herself internally for even thinking that. His eyes however were watching her out of the corner of his eye.

"You're Theodore, aren't you?" she asked in a tiny voice

His head snapped to her, he hadn't noticed she'd stirred. "Uh, yes, yes I am."

Play it cool Theo, don't stuff this up. he thought.

She shrugged. "Okay then." And she rolled over to stare at the wall.

"Fuck," he muttered under his breath.

"Did you say something?" Hermione asked.

"Uh- n-no."

"Okay then," she sighed.

"A-are you feeling better?" he asked in a low voice.

She shuffled up in bed into a sitting position, wincing a bit but still looking him full in the face. "You're Dra- Malfoy's friend aren't you?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with how you're feeling?" Theo asked, chuckling nervously.

"How can I trust you? What if he asked you to come here to spy on me?"

"You are really suspicious of him aren't you?"

"He's always up to something, so I've got to stay on my toes."

"He is always up to something," Theo muttered. "What an interesting insight."

"How do I know I can trust you?" she asked again.

"Well, what would make you trust me?"

"Uh- would you do everything he asked you too?"

"And follow that broody brat around all day? I think I'll pass."

"Consider my trust in you at 25%."

"Only twenty five?"

She raised an eyebrow.

"Better than nothing I guess."

She yawned and lay down in her bed again. Her brown curls sat above her head about to fall over her face. He noticed she was cradling her arm, but decided not to disturb her. Hermione's soft brown eyes were half closed. Soon, the only sound in the room was the sound of her breathing, and in under five minutes, she had fallen asleep.

He decided to go back to the common room and let her sleep. The door creaked when he opened it, but he managed to slip out without waking the patients.

When he reached the common room, it was empty, bar the first years playing chess on the floor. Theo dropped into a couch smiling to himself. He talked to her, and she talked to him and didn't hex or curse him. Even if she didn't answer his question, he counted it as a win.

Blaise walked in from the dorms with his hair a mess, and spotted him. "I am not doing this today. You never saw me," he said, turning around and retracing his steps.

Next person to wake up was Draco. He blundered out, rubbing his eyes. "Have you seen Blaise?"

Theo sighed. "Well, I did, but I didn't."

"Ah, he's in one of those moods today."

Theo put his head back against the couch grinning to himself.

"What? Why are you smiling? What happe- oh. You went and saw her?"

"She didn't hex me, so I'm allowed to count that as a win."

"You actually talked to her? You've gone insane. It's too early for this," he said, and with that he also went back into the dorms.

She talked to him. She- Hermione Granger. The brightest witch in their year. Top of every class, every year. Potter's best friend. Everything was going to work out okay.

About an hour later, Pansy trudged down the stairs.

"Took a lovely beauty sleep I see," he commented.

"I see you missed yours," she shot back.

"What? You mean I went in there looking like trash?"

She laughed. "I was just messing with you."

Theo glared at her. "Not funny."

"You actually went and saw her? And you're not dead?"

"I'm really starting to pick up on your lack of belief in me."

"I have full trust that you will fuck this up Theodore."

"That's quite mean Pansy, you've broken my cold heart," Theo whined.

"I'm just saying, it hasn't exactly gone well for you in the past, has it? What about us in third year?"

"When Draco got so jealous I didn't talk to him until the Triwizard Tournament, and you were so upset that I broke up with you that you hexed me on sight, and my only friend was Blaise?"

"Sounds about right, I reckon that'll happen again, except Granger is more likely to break up with you, and you'll become all broody like Draco, but he'll be all jealous of you."

"Do you reckon he has a bigger crush on Potter or Granger?"

"He doesn't strike me as a gay man, and my gaydar is never wrong. However, you have my gaydar pinging off any time I'm near you."

"What gave it away, Pansy?" he frowned.

"Why are you doing this to Granger, Theo, if you are nowhere near straight?"

"I'm trialing dating women again, just in case my taste in women isn't you."

"Ouch. Who's the lucky man you're trying to distract from?"

"I'm not telling you that."

"Draco will tell me, I'm sure of it."

"How do you know it's not him?"

"You talk way too much shit about him to be in love with him. Speaking of, where is Draco?" Pansy asked, yawning gently.

"Draco said it was too early to deal with me, and I'm also supposed to be pretending that I never saw Blaise."

Pansy laughed at him. "I'm not waiting for them, I'm going to breakfast. Are you coming?"

"I guess so."

They left together.

"Is he gone?" Blaise whispered.

"I think so," Draco whispered back.

"Good."