In the Dark of Night (By Your Side)

by Frostfoot-Dreamleaf

Theo's sixth year at Hogwarts consists of three very big issues. They are listed in the order of how bloody annoying it is to deal with them: 1. He was turned into a vampire 2. Draco was bitten by a werewolf 3. Theo might have a crush on Hermione Granger. First chapter from Hermione's POV, rest of the book from Theo's.

1. Do Bad Things - Hermione POV

𝕯𝖔 𝕭𝖆𝖉 𝕿𝖍𝖎𝖓𝖌𝖘 (𝕿𝖔 𝖄𝖔𝖚)

---

In the span of a mere day, Theodore Nott went from a boy Hermione could hardly remember acknowledging to someone that she was noticing everywhere.

It started in the Great Hall.

Hermione got up after lecturing Ron and Harry for the umpteenth time on why they really needed to manage their own schedules because she couldn't very well do it for the rest of their lives, and she turned and ran right into a solid figure.

Her satchel went flying. All her meticulously cataloged and organized notes coated the tiles like the snowflakes that were currently coating the courtyard outside and clinging to the stained-glass windows.

"Blimey!" She faintly heard Ron gasp, then a snigger, "Wanna make a bet about what she's gunna hex him with?"

"Oi, shut up, Ron," She heard Ginny hit her older brother on the shoulder.

Hermione felt her face flush. In fact, her first response had been anger. But hearing Ron say it made her temper her emotions. She began to grab her notes in mad fistfuls, wanting to abscond as quickly as she could to an empty classroom to recollect her thoughts and right everything.

"Merlin, I'm sorry."

Hermoine jerked her head up to meet a pale face with concerned sea-blue eyes. It took her a good few seconds of gawking at him to even recall who it was she was looking at; Theodore Nott, a Slytherin boy in her year.

She ran through her brain to search for information on this boy and drew up scarcely little, other than he was friends with Draco Malfoy and his father was a Death Eater. This should have been enough for her to snark something cruel to him, but he'd apologized. She hadn't thought that Slytherins were capable of that.

The next thing she realized, as she looked at him, was that in the current…he wasn't looking good. Pale, sickly, gaunt…for all the time Harry had been obsessed with stalking Draco and insisting he looked ill, how had they missed someone who looked two steps from death right beside him?

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly, reaching for one of his hands that held her notes. Before she could brush her hand to take them, he dropped them back on the ground, nudging them towards her.

Right, he probably didn't want a mudblood touching him.

Hermione's concern vanished on the spot.

"Nott, get yourself up," Draco sneered, "And let's get you to Pomfrey."

"I bumped right into her. It's the proper thing to do, Draco," Theo said but stood and brushed off his school-issue trousers, "I really am sorry. Looks like you spent a lot of time on that."

Hermione bit her lip from answering, choosing instead to turn her head as she continued to angrily restack her notes. She didn't dare look up until she was sure he was gone.

"That was odd," Ginny said, scratching her head, saying exactly what Hermione was thinking, "Has Nott ever talked with any of us?"

"I don't like it!" Ron announced, throwing a finger up, "It's a plot. He's planning something. You should be more careful, Hermione," He added, popping a piece of scone in his mouth, his tone entirely chastising.

Hermione stood, clutching her papers to her chest, glaring hard at Ron, "I'll remember that next time. Now, if you'll excuse me."

She yanked her book bag off the floor and hustled out of the Great Hall, knowing that there would be an empty classroom down the Arthimancy Wing, and that was closest. Her mind was already running in circles with worry that she wouldn't be able to find her notes in the order she needed them if she just went to class like this.

The door was already ajar, but she didn't notice until she pushed the door open. She stopped dead. Whatever the issue was, Theo hadn't made it to the Medical Wing. He was hunched over, one hand grasping a table-top, Draco rubbing his back comfortingly. It was such an intimate moment of friendship that Hermione couldn't help but stare.

"It's okay, mate, just let it out, c'mon," Draco was saying, encouraging Theo, what it seemed like, to vomit in an old bucket that usually was sitting under the window.

"It didn't work, Draco," Theo was saying in frustration, "It didn't bloody work and now-,"

Hermione, as nosy as she was, recognized that this was not something for her to hear, and tried to backtrack. She wasn't interested in Theodore Nott having a common cold. The sound of his retching was making her feel nauseous herself.

Her elbow made the door creak as she turned to leave. Draco's eyes snapped up and the fury, but also the worry, made her pause her previous assumption. He stuttered for a second, unable to find his words.

"Just…get the fuck out, Granger!"

She did not like Draco, but she had to hand it to him. He was often far wittier and demeaning with his insults and demands. This was full of desperation and nowhere near the usual caliber of his precision of language.

Hermione did as he asked, squeaking out an apology, and pressed herself against a wall safely two corridors away, feeling like she had just seen something far more important than just Nott getting sick.

Whatever was happening with Theo Nott was not anything normal. And it was something that had Draco Malfoy terrified to his core.

If they thought she was just going conveniently forget what she'd seen, Malfoy and Theo probably didn't know her all that well.

She took the stairs two at a time, knowing she still had half an hour before first classes, to start to take notes on what she'd seen to organize her thoughts as well as re-categorize her own notes. However, as soon as she opened her satchel, the moment she was dumping the contents on her bed, she knew she'd made a grave mistake.

This was not her satchel.

It was Theo's.

How had she never noticed they had nearly identical book bags? Well, that was an over-exaggeration. Now that she had it in her hands, it was so clear that his was probably ten times more expensive than hers was. The stitching was immaculate and the stain on the leather was breathtaking. The embossing of the store's sigil was masterfully done.

Hermione's was a birthday gift that she knew was stretching the budget but hardly compared to Theo's.

Hermione would like to say she wasn't nosy and if she had realized, she wouldn't have gone through his things…but she also knew herself better than that. It just seemed convenient, like a stroke of luck, that it would be dumped and she would have to at least glance at it to put it away.

The first couple of things were expected. His class books, some broken quills, a few crumpled sheets of parchment. She almost put those back without interfering but couldn't stop hesrelf from smoothing the pages out to see. The first two pages were utterly boring, just notes for Ancient Runes class. Even though he did show her a problem she'd been doing entirely wrong, there was nothing else of note.

The third crumpled page was far more fascinating.

It was so vague that it had be something exciting, Hermione reasoned. It was a list of dates, starting from just before winter hols, where there was either a check-mark or an x next to a date. Then there would be lines saying how long it had been between an x and a check.

The thing that gave Hermione the most to ruminate on was a series of letters next to it.

It seemed entirely nonsensical.

It couldn't be grades, could it? A, B, and O.

Well, she knew that non-magical systems used a 'B' as the equivalent to 'Exceeds Expectations. It seemed like a lot of work to change just that one grade. Unless it was non-magical entirely, but then the O made no sense.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, something chimed, but it was gone just as quickly as it came and Hermione did not have enough time to grasp the thought.

After a few spilled ink bottles she had to scorify from her sheets and replace with some of her own (she was going to leave this bag in the same way she'd found it, to be polite) she realized one of the ink bottles was not filled with ink.

What it was filled with she didn't know. There was a heavy scent overtaking whatever it was, and it smelled like dung. If she had more time with it…she shook her head. She knew she had to return it, though her curiosity was entirely piqued. Whatever resided in here usually was all gone before it had been dumped and was a brownish red tinge.

On one of her spare sheets, she ban listing any potions that might fit the bill, though none of them made sense as to why they'd be in Theo's things.

The last piece of interest was heavy-duty sunscreen.

This was strange because they were in Scotland. It wasn't like they went to school in Bora Bora where there was a fear of sunburn often. And there were charms that evenly distributed protection, though they were lower in the protection of SPF, they didn't need very much here at all. So why would he bother with such a high prescription of sun lotion?

Hermione heard a thunder of feet which told her that time was up. Most of the Gryffindors were heading out, meaning she should be going too.

Hermione knew she likely wouldn't run into Nott until her third class of the day, but he was suspiciously absent, as was Draco. Then again, considering how pale he looked, perhaps it was best.

But they weren't at lunch either.

Hermione made up some excuse about having to proofread an essay, and no one thought she was lying, and she went searching, leaving Ron with her extra dessert so he would be well occupied. Harry was being, well, Harry, so he didn't register Hermione leaving.

She almost missed the pair, holed up in such a dark corner of the castle that it was easy to glance over their figures entirely. Draco was sitting guard, talking quietly to Theodore who was pressed as far into the crevice as he could. It didn't look comfortable and it seemed like an odd place for the pair to hang out, especially since it was a nice day outside.

"Get lost, Granger," Draco said when he saw Hermione, standing and raising his wand, "What? Is it…stalk Draco day? Leave. Us. Alone."

"Or what, you'll curse me? Send yourself to detention?" Hermione countered, "I doubt it."

Theo gave a rickety laugh behind Draco, but it ended in a bout of coughing. Draco dropped his dueling stance to look back, eyebrows knitting in worry.

"What do you want?" Draco finally demanded, putting his wand in his holster, but still kept his eyes on Hermione as much as he could.

"I come in peace," She said, carefully taking off the book bag, "We, erm, switched them today. Accidentally."

There was a long pause before Theo swore.

"I didn't even bloody notice."

"You've had other things to be concerned with," Draco said. He reached for the satchel with a sense of apprehension.

"I didn't curse it, Malfoy. Unlike some people with some certain things." She said pointedly. Though she thought Harry's overall obsession with Draco was highly exaggerated, she did have suspicions about Katie Bell and that cursed necklace. She did believe Harry on that front.

Malfoy sucking in his jaw was the only indication at all, and it was so quick she nearly missed it.

"I'll be the judge of that," He muttered, doing a series of non-verbal spells that even Hermione was impressed with.

"Mate, seriously?" Nott asked, "She's a Gryffindor. Bloody 'good guys'. You really think she'd try something?" He asked. The way he said it, the derision, had Hermione's blood boiling. But what would it gain to argue back to Nott with all the rule-breaking she'd done? And besides, she hadn't. She could have put hundreds of charms on the bag; a duplicating charm, a recording charm, an illusion charm, but she chose not to.

"It's fine," Draco finally said. He roughly grabbed Hermione's bag from where Theo sat, "Here," He said, jutting it out towards her.

Hermione put her own book bag over her shoulder and began to walk away until she noticed Draco following her.

"What do you seriously think I'm about to do?" She demanded.

"I don't know! I just don't trust the likes of you."

Hermione snorted; "Kettle black, Malfoy." Then, she paused, looking back to where Theo's hidey-hole was, "Is he going to be…okay? What's wrong? Shouldn't you be at the infirmary?"

"It's not for you to worry your annoying little head about," Draco sneered, "And Pomfrey can hardly do much anyway." He added and then winced, as though he'd said far too much, "No, go. I've seen far more of you today than I can handle without vomiting."

"Pleasure, as always," Hermione rolled her eyes. Just as she was turning a corner, she heard Draco sputtering angrily. She turned to see Theo leaning against a column, in the light of the hallway.

"Thank you, Granger. You didn't have to return it. Or go out of your way to search for us."

"Oi! Back, back," Draco said, pushing him from where he'd come, "And shove it. She'll just get a big head about it."

"You're welcome," Hermione replied back, mostly because she was raised with manners.

She could have sworn she nearly saw Theodore Nott smile.

XXX

She didn't like to say her obsession was on par with Harry's, but she did find herself, after that, watching for Nott so much more.

It was hard not to.

The questions, the mystery, the intrigue…it all swirled around in her mind, a puzzle with pieces that didn't quite fit together yet. But they would. Hermione was going to riddle this question out, and she'd do it in record time.

Bless Harry's heart, but he was not the smartest in the room. She might figure out what Malfoy was up to as well, she thought with a snort.

There were a few constants she began to realize.

Nott was only in class on the days Malfoy was there. She was not sure if Draco being gone caused Theo to also be absent or if it was the other way around, but they were a pair. More than that, they always sat next to each other. She wasn't sure if this was new, since she hardly took notice of where Slytherins sat as it was.

In the classes that Draco was not in (such as Ancient Runes class), Theo came less and less often. If he did, he would sit only through the lecture and then leave.

That led Hermione to her second realization; the teachers knew something.

They knew some facet of whatever Theo's condition was because they were giving him an ungodly amount of grace and slack when it came to schoolwork. She would be tempted to be angry at this, but it seemed Theo still managed to turn his work in on time.

The next oddity she recorded (mentally, not on paper, that was dangerous…if he found out she was collecting data on him…yikes) was that Theo was more prone to appearing at classes during the evening. Morning classes were about a 70% chance he would not show. Once again, this could be something of Draco's schedule, but perhaps not. Maybe before he got food down he felt ill and could not summon the strength to attend, or maybe he needed extra sleep?

She was pretty sure Draco was taking notes for him too. If she didn't hate Draco so much on principle, she may concede that he seemed like a very loyal and caring friend to Theo.

In watching Theo so much, once she was done with her homework, of course, she picked up on other things too. Unavoidable things, like she was starting to get to know little bits of who he was as a person, not just a nameless subject.

He had a sweet tooth. He liked to suck on Sugar Quills in Potions class. She had a theory that it helped with his stomach, or maybe he was just drawn to the flavor.

He had a September birthday, like her. She overheard it in Ancient Runes when they were using their birthdays to calculate a probability equation. In six years, she'd never paid attention to other September birthdays outside of her house.

He excelled at potions. She knew that Draco was talented in potions (frustratingly) but she chalked that up to Snape mentoring him behind the scenes. Theo had a natural talent, a 'je ne sais quoi' that Hermione realized, but couldn't identify, but it just told her that his talents were not meticulously groomed but innate. She also knew that they were spending lots of extra time in the potions lab extra hours; she could tell from the cauldron burns on both of their hands. She had no idea what they were brewing, nor could she figure out if it was for extra credit or for pleasure.

Theo was more mild-mannered than Draco. She didn't think this was a recent change to his personality. While Draco seemed ready to throw a punch at any time, Theo was a quiet, logical voice of reason in the background. The sort that Hermione was very familiar with, as she felt like this was her role among her friends. The number of times she'd dragged Ron away before he got a full week's detention was uncountable.

As she started to piece this together, she felt a sense of dread.

It was so easy to hate Slyterhins, Theo included, when they were just mindless, empty shells of people. Caricatures of bad guys, rather. Sons of Death Eaters that Hermione imagined grew up drinking deadly nightshade tea with just a splash of milk and sucking on skull-shaped pacifiers.

But Theo was just a regular boy. An average teenage boy in classes, just trying his best.

A teenager that clearly had something deep and trouble brewing beneath the surface, but something she still couldn't quite figure out.

An unfortunate side-effect of her observation, she was sure, was that she'd begun to fancy Theo a bit. In the sort of way you found someone attractive and wondered what they'd look like with their shirt off. Not romantic attraction, she amended mentally, horrified at the idea.

She spent a good deal of her day staring at him and thinking about him. It was only natural, right?

Once she figured out this riddle, she'd return to finding Theodore Nott abhorrent and it would just be a weird few months at Hogwarts where she was nearly bested by something she couldn't solve.

Right?

Merlin, she hoped, because the dreams she was having with Theo most nights were sexy, unrelenting, and absolutely made her want to snog him against a wall.

The best way she figured to rid herself of these thoughts was to wonder if Harry wanted to do the same to Draco, or if he was facing similar problems?

The absurdity of that usually tempered her. Imagining anyone wanting to kiss Draco was like imagining someone wanting to kiss a blast-ended skrewt.

Hermione, sitting in her bed that morning, shuddered at the thought.

XXX

There was one piece of this mystery that was driving Hermione insane. She felt like it must be the answer to the entire secret, but because it was just out of her reach, she was unable to fully realize the probably obvious answer to what was wrong with Theo.

You see, Hermione was old enough to recognize that certain spells left traces. You dumped magic on something, and especially if you did it often, magic pooled around areas and left little lingering hints of what had been done there before.

Sometimes it was a glimmer you caught in out of the corner of your eye.

Sometimes it was a little hue of color, something like someone wiping just a bit of paint onto the air around them.

Sometimes it was a smell that you got a whiff of if you stepped into the circle where it had been cast.

Sometimes it was a feeling, just an overtaking of emotion that gripped you. These were usually bad feelings, especially with dark magic.

Muggles could even recognize such remainders too. When muggles claimed that an area felt dark and dangerous to them, and perhaps that they felt a sense of hopelessness in an area claimed to be inhabited by ghosts, chances are they were correct. They weren't sensing the presence of a ghost, but rather the linger of a strong dark magical spell, like an Avada Kedavra.

There were some that Hermione knew well. The Expellarmis left little red firework sparks in the area it had been cast. The spell to magically extend objects; purses, tents, chests, made the area around it shimmer with a hint of chartreuse, like looking through a lens. Hermione's spell-checker charm, which she utilized almost daily with Ron and Harry, Hermione thought smelled like marshmallows. Ron claimed it smelled like burning. Hermione thought those two were close enough and Ron was just being a prick about it. She personally liked that smell.

The point was that she had begun to pick up on some residual magic that hovered around Theo. She reckoned she was probably the only one who noticed that didn't already know. Most students reeked of residual magic, as they did upwards of 100 spells a day at Hogwarts. It would take someone a lot of concentration to notice on spell lingering consistently around someone, almost to the point of obsession.

Some people were more attuned to this. Luna was better at picking up on residual spells, but Hermione wasn't even sure if she knew who Nott was. It clearly hadn't flagged any of the other students as weird, as no one besides Draco (and herself) seemed to give Theo any extra attention in classes.

It must be a spell he was doing upon himself, but she didn't recognize it. It had the color of dark blue and the smell of sandalwood. Despite all her studies in books (no one wrote much on this topic, or at least, it wasn't in the Hogwarts Library), Hermione had hit a dead end with her research.

She had no idea what this spell was at all.

It was a full month and a half, well into March, before she got any headway on it at all. She had decided that in her post-graduation study, she was going to write an index book on identifying residual magic because not having the means to figure out something that should be so easy was driving her batty.

One night in the 6th year girl's dorm, when Hermione was studying her Transfiguration notes, she caught a whiff of a smell breezing through the dorm. It was very light, almost missable, but Hermione was keyed-in to this particular smell now and very nearly tripped herself as she threw her curtains open, feet tangling in her blankets, and launched herself off the mattress.

Lavender was sitting at the vanity, staring at Hermione as though she'd just grown a second head. Her exit from her bed had been startling, but Hermione couldn't miss the opportunity. She was relieved to see Lavender had a wand in her hand, meaning she'd just done a charm. Hermione often put up silencers so she didn't hear the inane gossip that Lavender and Parvati participated in.

"What…what spell did you just use," Hermione huffed, detaching herself from her sheets.

"Just a simple glamour charm," Lavender looked at Hermione oddly, "I woke up with a pimple the size of England itself," She bemoaned.

Hermione frowned, "That's not the usual glamor spell." At least, not the ones they'd been taught by McGonagall. Which is why she hadn't realized. The student-grade glamour spell smelled like fake strawberries, the scent they put into lipgloss. It was horrid to Hermione.

"Oh, no, I guess not," Lavender blinked, as though she hadn't really considered that, "The Hogwarts spell barely lasts all day and it's not very strong. It has that sort of glimmer and someone can totally tell you're covering something up, you know?" Lavender said, reciting all things Hermione already knew.

"Well, where'd you learn that?" She thought she'd read through all of them (and tried many) in her fourth year during the Yule Ball.

"Mhh, I don't know," Lavender blinked. At Hermine's expression, she laughed, "I'm not being purposely dense, Hermione. I think it was just handed down from my mother. A household spell. Most witches use it fairly commonly for all sorts of quick fixes. I knew it before I even went to Hogwarts, to be frank."

"Oh…" Hermione said fairly embarrassed, but also a bit frustrated. There was so much magic out there that one that grew up with it just knew. She could read all the books in the world and never catch up to witches and wizards like Lavender or Ron that grew up with magic in their lives from day one and had histories of household spells passed down and changed and gifted.

But it made sense. Theo was a pureblood. If he was using this spell, it was likely learned from his own mother.

"Why do you ask?" Parvati questioned.

"What's the spell?" Hermione countered.

"Well, it's a charm that's sort of a mix of a glamour charm, a notice-me-not, and a duplicating charm. Or duplicating what you think you're supposed to look like."

"Yes, what is the actual spell," Hermione urged.

"Are you okay, Hermione?" Parvati asked, and then gasped, "Have you finally decided to go girly?"

"No," Hermione narrowed her eyes, "It's for a research project."

"It's…oh, it's…" Lavender laughed, "I guess I've never had to think hard about the movements or the words. But here…watch me do it over here, where my skin is a bit red," She pointed to a section of her cheek. Hermione watched with rapt attention. After Lavender did it, Hermione decided to try it on the edge of the collarbone, where the scar from Dolohov was just a tiny bit visible.

It worked; sorta.

"Great job, Hermione!" Parvati cheered, "It took me until the third year to get it just right."

"It's not enough," Hermine sighed, falling back on her chest at the end of her bed, "The scent…the color…" She groaned in frustration. She looked up to see the two girls still eyeing her, "There's…a specific use of this spell I'm studying. And the color is like this," She pointed to a cover of her book, "And it's deep. And the smell is like someone lit a candle."

The girls looked at each other, "That sounds like a full-body cast," Lavender said, "And someone has to be insanely powerful to pull that off. The bigger the space you cast it, the harder it is to hold the illusion."

"Unless she's doing a thousand little spells to cover her whole body." Parvati assumed it was a woman and Hermione did not bother to correct her, "But that seems wildly impractical."

"Agreed." Lavender nodded hard.

"Do you know anyone that does full-body casts of the charm regularly? This person is doing it…" She thought of how often she saw Theo, "At least three days a week for six to eight hours."

"I mean, plenty of people may have reasons. Burn victims that suffered from fiendfyre and can't be healed, for example," Parvati said, "But as Lav said, it takes a lot of magical energy. If it's a student you're talking about, well," She laughed, "I don't even think a student could! You'd have to be holding it the whole day, sort of, and doing other magic at the same time?"

"Holding it?" Hermione frowned.

"Well, in little spots, as you did, you don't think about it. But if you try to do an entire face, or anything bigger than covering, let's say a black eye, you're…aware of the spell. And sort of just continuing to give magical energy all day to it. It's exhausting! I did it for Yule Ball Pictures to make sure my hair was perfectly sleek, and I only held it until the pictures were over. Anything more and I think I would have passed out from the sheer exhaustion." Lavender explained.

"Thank you," Hermione said sincerely, "That was extremely helpful."

"If you find out how this girl is managing it," Lavender said, turning back to the mirror, "Let me know, please. I'd love a trick to cover bigger areas without worrying."

XXX

A suspicious sheet tracking the days between something with an indecipherable lettering system.

A weird residue in an inkpot.

Sunscreen lotion.

A bloody strong glamour charm.

All these things seemed like the opening to a bad wizarding joke, but there was no joke. It was just the things about Theodore that were driving Hermione mad.

In addition, now, to his weird class habits and even stranger ability to cast a charm he should not be able to cast (unless someone else was doing it for him? But who, Snape? Slughorn? Dumbledore?) he was now dressing strangely too.

While all the other things students ignored, this was the talk of the class the first time it appeared on his spindly figure at a rare breakfast occurrence.

He was wearing a thick woolen trenchcoat.

In April.

"Merlin, he's got to be bloody warm in there," Ron said, shaking his head in confusion.

"It's a trick. Draco's trying to distract us while he galivants around the school doing His bidding," Harry said sourly, narrowing his eyes at Draco.

"Or Nott is just weird." Ginny disagreed, "He's a pureblood Slytherin. If they're not evil, they're just…strange. Do you remember Adrian Pucey?"

"He used to eat ketchup on pancakes. Blasphemy. Weird bloke," Seamus agreed, "Maybe Nott's going that way too?"

"I think it's a fashion statement," Lavender said, "I heard from my mum's aunt that those sorts of coats are all the rage in Bulgaria."

Hermione did recall many Durmstrang students wearing similar outerwear, so this may be the most plausible of the gossip.

"And now we've spun the wheel back around to Nott being a Death Eater. Not weird, evil." Ron said, shrugging, "It is a family business, you know."

"Not every Durmstrang student is a death-eater," Hermione hissed, knowing Viktor would be horrified at the assumption.

"Okay, but like," Ron made a motion with his hand, "Most, I'd guess. I'm just saying, is all, would we be that surprised?"

"No," Harry agreed, pushing up his glasses, before Hermione could answer, "We know Voldemort is tagging kids young now. Just look at Draco! He's clearly-,"

"Oi, will you shut up for two seconds about Draco Malfoy?" Ginny rubbed her temples, "From the way you talk about him, people will start thinking you want to snog him."

Harry sputtered a few seconds before grabbing his things and leaving the table, muttering something about how they'd all see that Draco was no good.

"No one's claiming that Malfoy is Mother Theresa re-born," Seamus said, watching Harry leave with a bit of confusion, "And Malfoy's a right prick, but, okay."

"If only Harry put that much attention to his studies, he'd be beating Hermione for best student every year," Dean commented, and just like that, the question of Theo's strange fashion choice was dropped.

But not from Hermione's mind.

He never took it off. And yes, she figured Ron must be right. Maybe not about the Death Eater thing, but about how warm it had to be. She was shocked he wasn't sweating through it just sitting in Potions or Herbology.

He looked like an old classic movie star, she decided, because he always wore the lapels of the trench coat up high, shielding his neck and half of his face.

Was it just her imagination or had Nott also grown more handsome since the first time they bumped into each other? She wished she could dissect the glamour spell that Lavender gave her faster, and figure out the components of it because she wasn't sure it was a copying component exactly as Lavender had explained.

Maybe copying wasn't the right word. Hermione decided that 'enhancing' was the proper term. The spell took what was already there and just made it…perfect.

She sounded like a love-sick school girl, mooning over a classmate, she realized with an angry shake of her head.

Nott was not attractive. He was just…aesthetically pleasing to look at, of late.

She ignored the inner voice that told her that those two ideas were basically the same thing.

From across the classroom where she was considering his new appearance, Theo looked over, catching Hermione's eye. He didn't avert his gaze. He seemed surprised that she was studying him so, and the way his eyes crinkled in thought as he examined her, in turn, made her heart beat rapidly.

Hermione looked away quickly.

XXX

"Hermione, are you in?"

Hermione looked up from where she was studying out on the grass to see Collin Creevy standing above her, hopeful and widely grinning.

"In for…what?"

"She wasn't listening, she was reading something probably really boring and written a century ago," Ron rolled his eyes, "Collin's asking if people want to go to Muggle Movie Night."

"Oh," Hermione frowned, remembering bits and pieces of the conversation she'd absolutely been tuning out.

Collin, not just a love of photography but also movies, had been tapped by Professor Burbage earlier this year to help the Muggle Studies professor make a Muggle Movie Club. Most wizards didn't watch many movies, but the one she'd shown in the class had fascinated many students. They were shocked that Muggles had the ability to do that, wondering if it was indeed magic.

Hermione knew it wasn't magic, even if she didn't know the technical ins and outs of making a movie. She'd never had a reason to go, as she was a Muggle herself, and could catch up on any movies she wanted to see during the summer holidays.

It was a popular enough club, from what she heard. Good for Collin on taking the reins of it.

"Erm…" Hermione frowned. She didn't really want to but didn't know how to let Collin down kindly. Even though he was now a tall lankly fifth year, she always saw him as a little squishy first-year Collin.

"It's an action one! Blood! Guts!" Ron said, "I'm going. I'm going to try to convince Harry too. It's this Saturday." Ron nudged her, "C'mon, Hermione. We could all use a relaxing night around people who aren't arses. This is what normal muggle teens do, isn't it?"

"It is…" Hermione reluctantly agreed.

"Then it's settled! We'll go, Collin. Sounds fun," Ron said with a happy smile.

Hermione was wondering exactly what Ron had gotten them into.

XXX

The group that would be going via Portkey in Hogsmeade to Wizarding London, spitting them out right at the edge of Diagon Alley, was a mixture of about thirty students, fifth year and up. It was mostly muggle-borns or half-bloods, so everyone was wearing more casual clothes that would pretty much pass for Muggle.

Hermione fell into conversation with Justin Finch-Fletchy, who was boasting that he had a private movie theater in his basement and got early previews of movies he'd otherwise miss while he was at school. Apparently, his uncle knew some people in the business.

Hermione still wasn't sure what film they were seeing, as she was just here because Ron was so pleased to be attending. He was one of the few pure-bloods. Harry was here too, though he moaned and groaned and complained all the way to Hogsmeade like a bloody toddler.

"You don't have better things to be doing," Ron had said in frustration, "Merlin, mate, I just want a night out with my two best friends where there's no magical threat, no disaster to fix, no bad guy to take down. Just a normal night, please?"

That had gotten Harry on board, the same as Ron had gotten Hermione to agree.

Hermione became very cross when they reached the ticket counter, however.

"Collin, this movie is rated R," She hissed.

Collin shrugged, "Oh, come on. We've seen enough violence that we're basically adults. It's likely nothing that hasn't been exhibited in school before."

Hermione did have to hand him that logic, though it annoyed her greatly. She was even more irked when Collin performed a confundus charm to make the ticket teller not question some of the ages of the students.

"Oh! Quentin Tarantino! My uncle's best friends with him," Justin cheered as they found their theater and Hermione got her first good look at the movie poster.

Ron snorted, "Sure he is, Justin," He said with a roll of his eyes.

"From Dusk Till Dawn," Harry read out loud, clutching a bucket of popcorn, "You ever heard of it, Hermione?"

"This, uh, isn't the movies I would frequent."

She knew of Pulp Fiction, a previous Tarantino film because, well, it was pretty infamous, but she hadn't seen that one either. The films she preferred were historical-inspired films, like Braveheart or Malcolm-X .

They took up half the theater, and to any outsider, they were a group of loud, boisterous, happy teenagers here to see a new movie. As annoyed as Hermione was that no one shut up during the previews, she was pleased to see that Voldemort had not yet left such a dark stain on their school that they couldn't have fun once in and while. Even Harry seemed entranced, and he admitted that Dudly got to go to the movies often, but he never got to go along.

As far as movies went, it was good. This director clearly knew how to make an engaging movie. Was it a movie Hermione would have willing picked, or would watch again one day? No, probably not, but that was okay. It was so fun that yes, for a few moments, she forgot she was a teenager in the middle of a growing war with far more magical problems than the average 16 or 17-year-old. And that, that moment where there were no worries, was worth all it.

"I always find it interesting when Muggles try to use magical lore," Susan Bones was saying afterward to Michel Corner, who Hermione ended up sitting by. They'd found a late-night fish and chips stand to partake in before they returned to Hogwarts, all just maybe trying to soak up moments where they could pretend they were muggle just a bit longer, "Like the vampires in this. Totally off, huh," She said with a laugh, " Sssss snake people!" She did it with an overdramatic serpentine hiss.

"Oh, they do their best. Magical representation is worse. My brothers and I have drinking games when we go home for holiday. I was nearly black-out drunk by the end of The Neverending Story ."

"I don't mind it," Susan was quick to add, "It's funny. Whenever the Ministry is barking around about the statue of secrecy, I just have to watch one of these and remind myself that Muggles don't know anything."

Hermione had to agree. It was just a silly movie about vampires, or what they imagined vampires were. Of course, everything came from half-truths, but it was so far removed from reality that it was easy to watch. She would have preferred an entirely non-magical-themed movie, though, but no one seemed bothered by it.

She didn't think of the movie much. She pushed it out of her mind and focused back on the essays she still needed to do and the glamour spell she was still working through in a journal. She didn't think she was thinking much about it at all, but apparently, her mind was doing overtime in the space where unconscious thoughts went.

She was in the middle of proofing an essay for McGonagall when she was hit with the realization so abruptly that she spilled her ink all over her parchment as her quill feel. She just stared dumbly at the mess, the words fighting for the front seat and leaping out of her mind.

"That's it! Nott is a vampire !"

XXX

Vampires were so rarely discussed that honestly, Hermione forgot they existed in the magical pantheon of creatures in the Wizarding World sometimes. She'd learned about them in the first three years, as every student did, and she recalled reading Lockhart's horrendous book in the second year, but other than that? There were scant other times that vampires ever came up in conversation.

Oh, there had been one at Slughorn's party, hadn't there?

Yes, three instances in which Hermione could remember having more than a passing thought about the existence of vampires.

That's why she told herself she didn't realize it sooner. If he'd been a werewolf, she would have connected the dots to that right away. Now that she knew what to look for, after figuring out Professor Lupin's secret, she was sure she would see one a mile away.

But he wasn't. He was, in some ways, the diametrical opposite of a werewolf.

He couldn't have been a vampire the whole time, could he? No, she reasoned. I had to be more recent.

Since…since right before winter break! That's when he must have been turned! She felt very stupid right now.

"Blood, blood-types," She whispered to herself as she stared at the 'list of things about Nott that made no sense'. He was tracking how many days since he'd fed. And what type of blood he'd taken.

Hermione expected herself to be revulsed. The idea of Theo having to drink blood to stay alive seemed horrific. But she wasn't.

She was intrigued.

She hadn't been afraid of Professor Lupin either, and werewolves were terrifying beasts. She'd just been so interested in what he was that her own fear was overshadowed by academic inquiry, and she had a feeling the same was happening right now.

Well, students weren't dying left and right on campus, so obviously, Theo wasn't drinking from them.

Was he going out to kill other villagers, then?

No, Hermione thought she would have caught a whiff of that if Nott was killing a witch, wizard, or even a muggle every three or four days, which seemed to be (at the point she found the note, about two months ago) the longest he was able to go.

She immediately went to the library and checked out every book she could on vampires. When Pince narrowed her eyes, Hermione just said she was doing a Defense Against the Dark Arts research project and was easily waved away with her stack of eighteen tomes.

Unfortunately for her, most of these books only referenced vampires in passing. None were encyclopedias on everything vampire, as she'd been hoping. It would have been nineteen, had she added Lockhart's book, but she didn't trust most of the stories in there. She wasn't sure why the library still had them, but that was neither here nor there.

She felt like there had been hundreds of books on werewolves in the library. Compared to how much she'd been able to uncover about Lupin's condition, it was woefully underrepresented when it came to vampires.

But how many vampire students did Hogwarts really have? She couldn't even find a good statistic on that. Few, she figured. A werewolf could be at Hogwarts and she had a feeling more than just Lupin had passed through with that ailment. It was different for a vampire, wasn't it?

"He'll always be sixteen," Hermione said out loud, frowning in thought. She wasn't sure how she felt about that.

She cross-referenced as much as she could and took back out her notes of things she'd noticed about Nott and started to make her own realizations about vampires, going off the assumption that Theodore was indeed one as of the spring term.

The List - Already explained The Sunscreen - in some ways, he could be out and about in the light, but it probably was painful, so he needed an extreme sort of sun protection The trenchcoat - see above, needed something thicker to remain (She wondered if the symptoms were getting worse? If eventually he'd be forced into only the night?) The ink pot- perhaps a remnant of blood. A pick me up? Only around with Draco- Draco must know and be helping him. So if Draco couldn't be there, Theo was gone. Or maybe it was that Draco was gone on days Theo was too sick to attend class? The glamour charm…she wondered how 'dead' he looked without it. She still wasn't sure who was putting it on him every day, though

There were other little things she figured out from watching him, now that she was fairly certain.

He could eat other things. She wasn't sure he enjoyed it, but he showed up at meals and ate something. Could just be for appearances.

He didn't have fangs. At least, she didn't think she saw fangs. That could just be the charm, though.

She wondered how dangerous he was, as he was currently still at school. She was fairly sure that at least Dumbledore now knew because he would have figured it out earlier, wouldn't he have? So, Theo couldn't be a threat if he was allowed to remain here…but then again, Dumbledore did have a rotten track record of letting very dangerous things roam the school.

She was having trouble finding sources on half-vampires vs full vampires. She didn't think someone could be a half-vampire, but she knew of Lorcan D'Earth, who claimed to be half-vampire. Perhaps that was a misnomer, and it was more like the difference between being bitten during a full moon and during a non-full moon as a werewolf. Still, one couldn't be half-undead, could they?

And if so, where did Theo fall on the scale?

Due to what she witnessed, she was guessing a half-vampire, because he was still out and walking around, but once again, there was frustratingly little on the subject.

She spent the next few days stewing over her theory, watching Theo. With each passing day, she became more convinced she was right after she saw Theo physically wince at garlic at dinner and have to leave when the house-elves brought out garlic bread to the tables.

"Now you know," Hermione told herself one night, "You figured it out." That had been the goal, right?

So she just was supposed to…let it go now?

If she were smarter, then yes, that would be the answer. But for as bright as Hermione was, she knew she would be incapable of it.

She needed not only to have a fairly good guess, but she also needed to be 100% certain.

So Hermione, who often chastised Ron and Harry for making foolish plans, began to make a very foolish plan herself.

XXX

Step One: Wait for a class in which Theo was in, but not Draco.

That would have to be Ancient Runes. It was a good four days before she could enact this plan as Theo wasn't in class on Tuesday. Thursday was a test, though, so he had to arrive, right?

Step Two: Wait for Theo to leave early.

Step Three: Think of a reason to leave too. The bathroom would work, as long as Hermione was finished with the test. Which she was confident she would be done before Nott.

Step Four: Follow him.

Steve Five: ?

Okay, Step Five was a bit fuzzy, because she was leaving room for spur-of-the-moment changes. But she was firmed up in the plan by step six again.

Step Six: Get Theo to admit he's a vampire, whatever it takes.

Steps One through Three had gone without a hitch.

Theo had arrived to take the test. Hermione had finished before him and had been able to wait. Theo had left as soon as he turned it in, with a half-an-hour left in the class. Hermione had been able to get a pass to the bathroom moments after Theo left and was able to easily tail him.

He was headed back down towards the dungeons, likely to go hole himself away until Draco could rejoin him as a bodyguard. She wondered if Draco was the only thing keeping Theo from going feral on the student population? This did give her pause; as in, did she really want to poke the sleeping dragon?

Yes, she decided. She very much did.

She saw a door to an unused classroom and knew that they should be away from everyone else for this conversation.

She would need surprise on her side since she wasn't sure but suspected that vampires were stronger than humans. She was able to run up, grasp the back of Theo's robes and yank him inside the classroom before he could make a noise.

As she turned and triple-locked the door with the strongest spells she knew, she turned around to see Theo was now making a lot of noise.

"What the bloody hell, Granger?" He demanded, "Oh, fuck," He groaned, rubbing a long hand down his face, "Draco's right, isn't he?"

"Right about what?" Hermione asked.

"That you bloody fancy me." He sighed, "I have to say, I'm impressed that you had the guts to do this. Didn't think you had it in you, Granger-,"

"No, no," Hermione blinked rapidly. Yes, she'd had dreams of him naked. Yes, she thought the way he sucked on Sugar Quills was rather adorable. Yes, she felt her breath sort of taken away as she stood in front of him, but no, she did not have a crush on him, "Nott, I know." She said in one rushed exhale.

Theo paused, frowning at her, "I'm confused."

"Theo," She said, using his name out loud for the first time, reveling in how it sounded to say it, and hoping the intimacy of his first name would help her, "I know ."

Theo remained stony still, frowning deeply at Hermione.

"Are you okay? Maybe we should go to Madam Pomfrey…" He offered slowly.

"I'm fine!" Hermione argued, "I just…I need confirmation, okay? It'll drive me insane, Theo."

"About what?" Theo threw his hands up, "Hermione, genuinely, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Are you really going to make me say it, Nott?" Hermione said, reverting back to his last name as he began to irritate her.

"Please, because, frankly, you seem to be the only one that knows what's going on! I was just minding my own when a crazy Gryffindor accosted me and threw me in a classroom which she locked with like eight spells. Sounds insane, doesn't it?"

"You're a vampire, okay?" Hermione stomped her foot, "You're a vampire, and I know , Theo. I know. Well, I don't know if you're a half-vampire or full-vampire…Hogwarts has horrifically few books on vampirism, did you know? I can't say I'm aware of all the little bits and pieces of it, but I was hoping you'd fill me in on it."

She expected Theo to break down. To sigh and say, 'You got me. I'm a vampire.' Instead, he just continued to stare.

"Merlin, are you alright?"

"Theo, I know it might be scary to tell others, but I promise-,"

"Hermione, uhm," Theo swallowed, staring at her like he was embarrassed for her, "I think we should go and have someone look at your head."

"I'm not crazy, Theo. Look, okay, you're playing Mr. Secret. Fine. But I…you…" She fished for her notes, "Your glamour charms. You're hiding your vampire skin and fangs."

"Am I now?" Theo asked, narrowing his eyes, crossing his arms, and leaning against a dusty table. She realized, very belatedly, that the traces of the magic were not currently around him. Unwilling to admit she was wrong, she ignored that.

"Yes, I tracked a glamour charm on you…" She took out her journal, "Fifteen full days, at least."

"I'm almost flattered. Creeped out, but maybe flattered," Theo said, "You want to know why, for real? I got into a fight with Crabbe and he gave me a black eye and a split lip. It looked horrible, Granger. It was a nasty fight."

"But.."

"I'm not wearing one now, am I?" he asked. Hermione swallowed.

"No, but that's not all! In the Great Hall, you basically fled at the garlic bread."

"I left because I realized I was late to Potions Club. Garlic also gives me hives. Look it up; I've been allergic since I was eight."

Okay, so Potions Club was the night of the garlic incident and yes, Theo was a member.

"Oh, that's convenient."

"Or, how about, I'm not a vampire." Theo was almost grinning now.

"The woolen trenchcoat! To shield you from the sun!" She threw out, now feeling desperate.

"It was a nice gift from my grandmother, Granger. When Nanna Nott gives you a gift, you don't say no. She's 108 and bloody senile and doesn't know what month. it is, but somehow would know if I'm not wearing it and would be heartbroken. And it's all the rage in Bulgaria."

Hermione internally screamed at Lavender. How dare she be actually right about that one? That irritated her.

"Fine, fine!" She sighed, reaching into her bag, "Theo, you leave me no choice."

She did say she'd get him to admit it, no matter the cost. And she was not defeated yet.

If how often he fed was correct…her math told her that tonight or tomorrow he'd need to feed again, so he must be hungry right now.

"Hermione…what…what are you doing?" Theo asked, his amused face slipping into a worried one.

Hermione just raised an eyebrow as she took out one of her potion knives and cut a gash on her palm. She hissed at the pain, but then held it up to Theo, who was now looking at her like she had gone absolutely postal.

"What are you doing? Great Salazar, Granger!" Theo barked, shaking his head at the absolute gall as he leaped into action, opening drawers to find a cloth.

"Does this…bother you? Do you…want to feed, perhaps?" She prompted him, showing him the blood as it ran down her wrist.

"Yeah, it bothers me. I actually don't fancy the sight of blood," Theo said, but he hadn't moved toward or away as she moved to him, "But no, Merlin, not because I'm a vampire."

"It's okay, Theo. Just take a bit. I'm offering," She said. Theo gave a harsh laugh.

"If I were one, which I'm not, this would be the stupidest stunt I've ever seen. And I thought Harry and Ron were idiots but gosh, you've taken the cake," Theo said with a narrowed glare.

"I will do whatever it takes to prove I'm not wrong," Hermione said, "And if you were to, say, be unable to control yourself, I have garlic in my bag. And in case of a really bad emergency, if I don't turn it off at the end of class, there's a spell that will show Harry and Ron where to find me."

"This was pre-meditated. Wow. This is literally crazy." Theo said, "Hermione, I think all the years of Voldemort tearing up the school has made you desperate for something. And trust me, I hate that he's done that too. But this…" He shook his head. He took a few steps toward her and she vainly hoped he would be unable to stop his cravings, but instead he grasped her hand, so gingerly and carefully. Then, he used his wand and cleared away the blood, and healed her wound.

"This isn't it."

He was still holding her hand.

"I was so sure…" She whispered, finally the horror washing over her of what she had just done if she was indeed wrong about her assumption.

"I won't tell anyone," He whispered, fingers rubbing over her knuckles. She had expected him to pull away fast, or not touch her at all, but he was up in her personal space and seemed like he was remaining there, "It would be an interesting theory if it were true. I guess I have been acting strangely, huh?"

Hermione found herself at a loss for words. He leaned down, speaking right in her ear, "If anyone sees us in here, we'll just tell them you were asking me out. You holding a candle for me seems, impossibly, to be the more plausible of our two theories about each other, hmm?"

Then, he let go, and she found herself leaning into the space he'd previously occupied. With a careful, almost perfect swish of his wrist, he undid all the locks on the door and waltzed out.

When she saw him later that night at dinner, she had to talk herself down that the smudge of red at the corner of his lips was likely pasta sauce and not blood.

XXX

Hermione was in a horrid mood for days. So bad that all the Gryffindors took note of it and stayed very clear from pissing her off more. Only Ginny had the guts to tell her she was acting like someone had pissed in her porridge and demanded an answer as to why.

"My big research hypothesis was proven wrong," She grumbled, very pointedly not looking over to the Slytherin table where Theo sat.

"Oh boo hoo! Get over it. You're a menace to everyone right now," Ginny told her pointedly.

It was awful post-revelation. All the time she'd spent sure, obsessing over it, to be wrong? Hermione Granger was never wrong! She'd never been wrong. She didn't know how to cope.

That's what she'd told Ginny, who had softened a bit, as in 'oh, poor socially inept Hermione Granger'.

"You just focus on what's next. Maybe the whole project isn't a bust, hmm? Maybe you just need to reevaluate."

"I don't know," She sighed, "I think I really screwed something up."

The utter embarrassment of what she'd pulled on Nott haunted her as she went to sleep. The fact that she'd thought he was a vampire made her wince. At least, most of her mind.

There was still one tiny hold-out that told her that she wasn't wrong, Theo was just a really, really good liar.

However, she was sure that wasn't true. She really thought she had him with the cutting-hand trick.

If she were still racing after conspiracy theories, she'd say that Theo was purpousley proving to her he wasn't a vampire, like he'd shed the trench coat and was out without Draco during more daylight hours.

Or, her logical side argued, she'd pointed out to him that he had been acting weird and he hadn't realized.

She found him looking at her more often, probably trying to suss out if she was about to drag him away and insist he was a werewolf or inferni or something this time. Wary, she decided. He was now wary of her.

She wished he'd stop. The fact that she could feel his gaze on her often now just reminded her about how easy it was to fall into these plots, these plans, and insist that you were right.

He clearly hadn't told anyone about either of the things that were said. If he told anyone that she accused him of being a vampire, she would have been sure that Pomfrey would have come for her. And, if he told his friends that she fancied him (so not true) they'd be teasing her incessantly about it.

The fact he hadn't told anyone was…almost a kindness. Something she didn't expect from Theo.

He had every right to scream until his face was blue that Hermione Granger kidnapped him for half an hour and showed her most insane side. It would be a just punishment. She was really waiting for that. Unless he was being very cruel and waiting until she let her guard down, but something told her that no, Theo wasn't like that.

She focused more on her studies, which she'd pushed to the wayside in her mania, and stopped focusing on Nott so bloody much.

Or, at least tried to.

Now that he was a person she had once noticed, it was impossible to ignore him.

She feared that one of their theories actually was truthful, and unfortunately, she was beginning to fear it wasn't the vampire one.

XXX

It was the end of April.

Hermione was back to panicking about the end-of-the-year exams, even if they were two months away. Ron and Harry of course looked at her like she was mad, but they were secretly glad this Hermione was back, and not grumpy Hermione.

She should have been planning for this ages ago! She should have already had her color-coded timetable and all her notecards made.

On top of that, she was trying to stay alert, and figure out what the big 'end of year' disruption would be this time. By logic, something always happens near the end of the year. She had a growing pit in the bottom of her stomach that told her this year would be particularly bad.

And lastly, she was trying to keep the Prefects in order. She knew that was the Head Boy and Head Girl's job, technically, but even they were starting to skivv their duties and this bothered Hermione. She hoped that next year she'd get chosen as Head Girl, and no one would start to ignore the proper processes as the year wound down.

So, even though on patrol was the last place she wanted to be, Hermione was no hypocrite, so she'd do a darn good job of it.

She wished that Parvati was with her, who had grown to be a closer friend since the night of the glamour spell. They at least had things to talk about. But no, she was put with Anthony Goldstein. Not a bad bloke, but if he brought up that he was feeling under the weather one more time, she was going to hex him into next Saturday.

"It's just allergies, Anthony!" She rolled her eyes, "You were cleared at the Medical Wing already." He'd insisted on getting checked out, in case he had 'dragon pox or something'. She knew the symptoms of dragon pox and it was laughable he would think he had it. It was a clear cry to get out of doing rounds, but no siree, she was not going to let him.

"It's not, I swear!" Anthony argued as they checked all the empty classrooms students liked to use for late-night snogging sessions, "I think I'm coming down with something, really."

"Well, then you can lay all day in bed tomorrow," Hermione said, trying to brush off her irritation, "We still have this whole wing to sweep," She said, waving her illuminated wand around, "So you can't just-,"

"Hermione?"

"-pretend your ill to get out of doing something you don't want to do! It's rude and disrespectful and-,"

"Hermione!"

She glared at Anthony, "It's also rude to interrupt people," She said, crossing her arms and raising her chin.

"Okay, right," Anthony rolled his eyes, "But look at this."

He was nudging something on the ground. At first, Hermione thought it was a cat or a cloak until she knelt down and turned it over.

It was Theo's trenchcoat.

She felt every fiber of her being go on red alert. Her eyes scanned the area they were in; near the open courtyard where students often relaxed and studied on warm days.

There, on the far edge, was a figure slumped up against the wall. It was deep in the shadows of this moonless night, so he would have been easy to miss if you weren't looking.

Hermione stood, picking it up, "It's just a coat, Anthony, no need to panic," She said, trying to sound dismissive. She clutched it hard against her chest.

"But-," Anthony's confusion was cut off with a very loud and obnoxious sneeze.

"You know what?" Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose, hoping to seem like she'd reached her limit, "I can finish up myself. You're just going to slow me down or give me dragon pox," She said, "Go."

"But I thought you said I didn't have that?" Anthony asked, wiping his nose on his robes. She took a step back, shuddering.

"I'm rethinking it. Now go, before I change my mind. I won't tell." She said. Anthony, who thought he'd finally beaten Hermione Granger at a mind game, didn't need to be told twice.

As soon as he was gone, Hermione darted out across the dewy grass, the blades brushing up against her socks and squelching as she hurried to Theo's side.

"Theo?" She whispered, shining a light on him.

She tried not to gasp at the way he looked; blood bathed all over his lips and down his chin, trickling like a stream in rivers down his throat and pooling in the fabric of his shirt. His hands, red like he'd dipped them into a vat of red paint, and his usually clean-pressed shirt ripped as though he'd gotten in a fight with a monster.

"I didn't…mean…it," He whispered hazily, his consciousness somewhere far away from here, "She moved too quick…I tried to stop it. I tried to stop the blood." He looked up at Hermione, his eyes unfocused and foggy, "I tried," He begged. Perhaps not directly to her, but to some unseen god that he felt was judging his soul.

"I know, I know," She soothed, though she didn't know what exactly she knew, other than she trusted Theo with what he was saying.

It wasn't exactly her confirmation. There still were no visible fangs and it's not like he was admitting to anything. But it did relight that sense of sureness about her own conclusions.

She brushed that away.

It was very clearly not the time right now to be haughty and superior or to yell at Theo for lying to her and making her think she had gone crazy.

Theo was clearly in dire need and she would be cruel to take this opportunity to gloat.

"Hey, let's go, c'mon, Theo," She said, offering him a shoulder as she helped him to his feet. He felt so light above her like he was made of only skin and bones.

Because she was at the end of her rounds, she knew where Filtch was and she knew that no one else should be awake, at least, if Antony did truly go back to his common room. Still, she wasn't sure she could make it all the way down to the Slytherin Dungeon with Theo like this.

They made it all the way to the Transfiguration wing when Theo seemed to crumple in on himself. Hermione squeaked at the sudden weight and then slapped her free hand over her mouth, praying nobody heard.

The Transfiguration Practice Room was to her left and she expertly fried the bolt on the door to allow the pair entrance. She set Theo down in a chair and he slumped, breathing unevenly. His skin was cold to the touch and he seemed close to a mental breakdown.

"Oh, bugger," She groaned, looking around. Spying McGonagall's desk, she ran for it and raised her wand.

She had a moment of clarity, where she questioned if she were really about to break into her favorite teacher's desk, which was breaking three school rules alone. Coming into the classroom was breaking about six more.

But she looked back at Theo and her panic vanished.

She blasted the lock open and found a cache of Sugar Quills that McGonagall would sometimes give out as prizes.

"Hey, Theo, why don't you have some of this?" She offered, kneeling in front of him. Theo took it gingerly, his expression clearing for the first time, as though realizing where he was.

"Are we…at Hogwarts?" He asked uncertainly.

"Where did you think we were?"

He exhaled hard, shaking his head, refusing to answer. But he unwrapped the sugar candy and started to suck on it, melting into the chair. He wiped his chin with his hands, but it did no good, and his expression darkened in anger and disappointment when he looked down.

"Theo, something happened, didn't it?" She asked.

He took the Sugar Quill from his mouth and stared at Hermione. She could see his eyes blinking back tears. It was clear she wasn't going to get an answer.

"Can you stay here?" She asked, "I'm going to get someone, okay? But Theo, you're in no position to be wandering around the castle, okay?" She whispered. Theo nodded, and he seemed aware enough to also agree to that.

Just as Hermione was twisting the knob, she heard his quiet voice, though full of conviction and a sense that he'd carefully selected his words, speak to her in the darkness, "I cannot make you understand. I cannot make anyone understand what is happening inside me. I cannot even explain it to myself."

Hermione turned back around, and saw his eyes meet hers, "I'm sorry," He whispered, and this time, she knew the apology was meant for her, "I'm sorry, but I…" He trailed off, but she knew. He shook his head, jaw locking as he kept his gaze on her, so intense it made her knees weak.

"It's okay, Theo. Let's just get you back to the Slytherin dorms."

Theo gave a slow nod, swallowing thickly as he stared down at his own hands, as though he couldn't believe that they were his, or that they'd done whatever evil had so clearly been committed.

Just outside the door, locked so that no one else would poke their heads in there (and hopefully acts as a deterrent for Theo to not wander away), Hermione started down the corridor and came face to face with…Professor McGonagall.

Oh, wow, her luck was really not on her side tonight. She tried to keep a friendly smile, but McGonagall's frown made her want to shrivel up and die.

"What are you doing, Ms. Granger?"

"Just finishing my Prefect rounds, Professor," Hermione said with a wide smile, though her heart was hammering so hard she was sure that McGonagall could hear it with perfect precision.

McGonagall narrowed her eyes, "Where is your partner?"

"Anthony Goldstein. He went to Pormpery today and she said he was probably okay for rounds, but his allergies…or dragon pox…got progressively worse as we went around. In the end, it made more sense for me to finish by myself."

McGonagall tutted, "This wing is very far out of the usual rounds, Ms. Granger. Can I expect to find Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley somewhere near?" She asked with a hint of exhaustion

Hermione resisted a snort, "For once, no. I'm doing my rounds, honest. You can check with Madam Pomfrey and Eddie Carmichle, who writes the round partners." Hermione answered primly.

McGonagall seemed about ready to accept it, and then her gaze traveled to where there was some dried blood on Hermione's palms and then to her doorknock, where she'd left a smudge of it, stupidly, because she was so worried about Theo that she wasn't paying attention, "Is that blood? Were you in my office? Ms. Granger, explain the meaning of this!"

Before Hermione could reply, McGonagall yanked Hermione to Dumbledore's office.

Her head spun as she tried to think of ways out of this, and also worried about leaving Theo alone for too long.

"Miss Granger, what a surprise," Dumbledore said, blinking twice at the pair, "It seems that there's some trouble, I take it?"

"She is out of bed without cause," McGonagall huffed.

"I'm a Prefect doing my rounds," Hermione said simply, sticking to the facts, "And my partner went to bed early because he's taken ill."

"It's dangerous to go alone without a pair, which is why Prefects travel in pairs, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said, which was almost a lecture. It still made Hermione start to tear up and almost cry, because she hated any authority figure even gently chastising her.

"I know, sir, but it was just a small section left," She said, fidgeting.

"You never know what creatures are lurking in the night here," He said, and she swore at that moment that Dumbledore knew. Not just about Theo, but why Hermione was out.

"There is blood on her hands, Albus! And she was in my room!" McGonagall said, "I am very, very disappointed in Miss Granger's actions tonight. I say 10 points from Gryffindor for her foolishness."

"I was practicing flaying live toads for Potions Class earlier today and didn't realize I'd gotten such a mess. I went straight to Prefect's Rounds. As for your room, I thought I heard a noise in there, so I put my hand on the knob. I must have been imagining it, however." She said, trying to keep her voice level.

"That seems like a reasonable explanation, Minerva," Dumbledore said, his hands clasped as he stared at Hermione through his half-moon glasses, totally relaxed.

"But-,"

"This is Hermoine. We do know that her two friends are…more prone to trouble-making," Dumbledore said with a wry grin, "But she is the logical one of the three, hmm?"

With that, it seemed she was not going to get in trouble tonight. McGonagall gave a long sigh, "Yes, Albus."

"Actually, good thing you stopped by, Minerva. Hagrid has some useful information and I haven't had time to go down to the grounds. Would you mind meeting with him?" He asked. McGonagall balked a bit.

"Right now? Surely it can wait until morning," She said, confused and concerned.

"It cannot. Please, Minerva, you'd be doing me the of kindest favor. Go straight there and report back."

McGonagall nodded and looked at Hermione, frowning, "You need to be with your rounds partner. Even if he is sick, you should turn in too."

"I'll remember that for next time." She said, smiling sweetly, "I'm so sorry, Professor, for the confusion."

As soon as she was gone, Dumbledore offered Hermione first a rag to wipe her hands and then secondly a piece of candy.

"Minvera will take, oh, about half-an-hour to go there and back. Plenty of time for you, Miss Granger, to…get where you need to." He said cryptically.

"You mean back to the Gryffindor tower?" She said, frowning, chewing on the sweet.

"Perhaps, if that is your destination." He paused, "But is there something you wish to tell me?" He asked, "A reason that would not be where you will go?"

Hermione felt tempted. She figured that Dumbledore must know about Theo, but if he saw the state Theo was in…she feared Theo would be thrown from the school without a chance to explain himself, branded as a killer.

Hermione shook her head, "No, sir." She said firmly, "I should be going now."

If Dumbledore was disappointed, she could not tell.

As soon as she was out of sight of Dumbledore's office, she strode confidently down to the Slytherin common room. She knocked hard on the door and Fergus Crawley opened the door.

"Get Malfoy," She demanded.

"Why?" He sneered, "Aren't you a little lost, Granger?"

"Fergus, it has been a terrible night. I will personally make your life a living hell if you do not go and wake up Malfoy right now."

"Malfoy is far scarier than you," Fergus snorted, "Goodnight-,"

"Hey, Fergus," Hermione stopped the door with her foot, "I just want to let you know that I have set fire to a professor's robes, cursed a snitch who didn't shut up to be disfigured forever, and trapped a transfigured person in a jar. And those were people I halfway respect. Think of what I'll do to you."

Fergus swallowed, "You're bluffing."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, "Want to take that chance?"

Fergus quickly slammed the door, and not even two minutes later, Draco came outside, yawning and wrapping his night cloak around him.

"Granger, I knew this day would come. I would love to say I'm thrilled to see you, but frankly, you make my eyes bleed."

"Can it, Malfoy," Hermione said, "I'm here because…because…" She huffed, "Can we put aside our mutual animosity toward each other, just for tonight?"

"No can do. The way I feel toward you can't just be turned off."

"Draco," Hermione said, catching his attention. His lip twitched, and it looked like he was going to yell at her for daring to use his name, "It's Theo."

Draco's whole face paled and his anger drained away.

"What?"

"It's Theo. I found him in bad shape. I don't know what happened, but, please, hurry."

As it turned out, Malfoy was a big fat liar because he could turn off his attitude, though perhaps it was only when it was serious. He didn't wait for Hermione to catch up to his wide strides.

"Explain. Now." He demanded. She would be angry at his tone if she didn't recognize he was terrified.

"He was in the courtyard on the first level. Bloody everywhere. Very out of it, didn't even know we were in Hogwarts. He said something about trying to save someone…" Hermione pursed her lips, "I brought him somewhere safe when I realized I couldn't carry him and gave him a Sugar Quill to calm him down. That seemed-," Draco stopped in the hallway so abruptly that Hermione ran into his back.

"You did what?" He asked, eyebrows pulling together.

"A Sugar Quill…should I have…not?" She asked, unsure.

"No, it's…his favorite," Draco was staring at her as though just realizing something, "How did you know that?"

Hermione paused. What was a proper way to say, 'I've been staring at him non-stop for months'. Instead, she just shrugged.

"Power of observation is useful sometimes. He seems to go through an entire pack in a week sometimes," She gave a laugh. Draco gave his first hint of a grin.

"Yeah, yeah, that he does."

They reached McGonagall's office and, thankfully, Theo was in the same spot where Hermione had left him.

"Fuck, mate," Draco came to Theo, "You look like shit."

"You do too," Theo said, glaring, "Oh, wait, that's how you always look."

Draco gave such a relieved laugh that Hermione couldn't help but grin at the exchange too.

"Are you alright?" He asked, helping Theo stand.

Theo just gave Draco a look, something deep and worried and endlessly agonized, and Draco gave a rough nod.

"Yeah, I figured, unfortunately," Draco agreed. He turned to Hermione, his usual snotty expression returned, "You can go now."

"Fine," Hermione snarked back, peeling herself from the wall.

"Wait, wait," Theo said, standing tall, "Thank you."

"For fuck's sake, don't thank her. She did the bare minimum." Draco rolled his eyes.

"No, no, truly," Theo looked at Theo, "She lied to protect me tonight. From Goldstein-,"

"That kid will believe anything and is as lazy as a thousand-year-old-dragon that's gone blind. That's not saying much."

"-And McGonagall. And I believe Dumbeldore," Theo continued, "She certainly did not have to, Draco. Especially since I didn't give her much to indicate I'm not a cold-blooded murderer."

Draco stared at Theo and then slowly looked at Hermione, "Why?" He demanded, "Why would you protect him?"

"I…" She inhaled hard, being faced with a question she herself had not considered, "I don't know." It was the truth. She expected Malfoy to go postal on her for that answer, but instead, it seemed to give him more clarity than she thought it had. He just nodded, as though it explained everything, "It just seemed right." She added the best she could muster.

"Well, then, perhaps thanks is in order," He said grouchily, "Go back to bed, though," He said, clearly tired and weary, "And I'll take it from here."

It was late into the night and Hermione, too, realized that she was holding back yawns.

She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Her dreams were nightmares of Theodore tearing through muggle towns and drinking every single villager dry.

XXX

There was evil in this world.

Hermione was not naive. She knew that to be true.

She'd known it all the way since she was very young, before Hogwarts. She'd found a kitten on the side of the road and it was barely breathing. Her mother had done everything to nurse it, but it had still died in eight-year-old Hermione's arms.

It had been found in a brown bag, and she would overhear her parents that night whispering about what sort of person could throw away kittens with the intent of letting them die, and horrified Hermione had to even see one of them.

She realized there had been more and none of the kittens had survived. And someone, some very evil someone, had gone out of their way to do that.

So yes, Hermione knew all about evil.

She just didn't expect to have to face it so consistently head-on every single year.

Worse, she didn't expect to have to see glimpses of it in one of her best friends, as Harry explained how he'd nearly killed Malfoy with a spell he didn't even know the effects of.

Hermione was not someone to admit to liking Draco, but even if he was working with Voldemort…no one deserved that.

The realization that this war was bringing out the evil in even her most trusted friends left her deeply unsettled.

The night Harry attacked Malfoy, Hermione found herself tossing and turning late into the hours of the night, absolutely unable to rest her mind or her worry and unable to make a plan to fix this, which perhaps was the worst of it all.

She nearly missed it; at first, she thought it was rain until she recalled the forecast had no rain for a few days. It was a light pattering, and the more she listened, the more she realized it was not coming from her window, but from the room door.

Lavender and Parvati were asleep. Hermione lit her wand with a soft glow and crept over to the front door.

She stood still for a few seconds, holding her breath, sure she was imagining it. Until she heard a scarce, wounded whisper… "Hermione, please."

She threw open the door to see Theo leaning against the threshold of the dorm room.

"How…how'd you get up here?" She hissed, "The stairs turn into a slide if a boy tries to go up them."

Theo gave a low, almost angry laugh, "I think I'm not much of a boy anymore. And besides, my magic? It's like nothing I thought was possible. Small perk." He said, and without saying it so much out loud, she felt that sense of resolution wash over her, pride intermingled with just more questions.

"Well, what are you doing here? How'd you even get into the common room?" She shook her head in wonder.

"Hermione, I, I need something of you. A big favor. Please." He whispered brokenly, "And I'd ask Draco, usually, but," He winced hard. Hermione felt a flash of fury rise in her again. Harry had so arrogantly used that spell, not thinking about all the things he was interrupted, such as this…connection Theo and Draco had worked out.

"Okay?" She frowned, "Here…now?" She slowly realized.

"Yes," Theo said, rubbing his eyes.

"Okay," Hermione said, frowning. Theo blinked at the light of her wand and she put it away, realizing that the light was bothering him.

"I thought you were smarter than this," He said after a long moment, "You must…ask me in."

Hermione blinked, "As I said, there's not much literature on rules. But please, Theo, come in. But be careful…" She could imagine the gossip would never leave her if Lavender or Parvati woke up and found not only a boy with Hermione in here but a Slytherin at that!

"Easily fixed," Theo said. He turned the lights on, to Hermione's utter horror, and Lavender opened the curtains.

"What's…Nott?" She asked, rubbing her eyes, "Parv, am I dreaming?"

"No, I don't think so," Parvati said, tilting her head and looking at Hermione like she was seeing her with a whole new understanding.

"Girls, if you please, you very urgently remembered that you forgot to write a paper for Binn's class tomorrow. Go to the common room; you'll need to take all night to do so. Forget you saw me here or that I instructed you," He said, speaking so carefully. Hermione too was entranced. It was like his voice was liquid velvet, so smooth and silky and sinful.

Immediately, Lavender and Parvati lept up, moving around Theo as though he wasn't even there.

"Merlin, Parv! I can't believe we forgot!"

"Oh, I can't afford to fail another one of his papers! My parents will kill me!" Parvati agreed. They hurriedly grabbed their books and within seconds they were gone.

As soon as they'd left, Theo stumbled a bit, grasping onto the bed poles for strength.

"What…what was that?" Hermione asked, breathless, enchanted and oh-so-very interested, "Imperius?"

"No," Nott said shortly, "I don't…use that. It's ancient vampire magic. I don't think you could really replicate it. But fuck," He groaned, finding Hermione's bed because of her chest at the front of it, "It takes a lot out of me."

Now with the lights on, and Theo sitting on her bed, head in her hands, she realized it was the first time she was truly seeing him, at least, since last year.

There was no glamour spell on.

She understood why he may hide it. It was like veela magic; she just couldn't look away. Something about him just drew her in, like a moth to a flame, even if she couldn't put a finger on why exactly she found him so attractive.

More than that, and something that would have been noticeable by even Harry who seemed to miss everything going on around him, Theo looked like a vampire. If he hadn't covered his appearance, well, the whole school would have known right away.

It would have been so clear; alabaster skin, slightly red-tinted eyes- but not so red it totally over-shadowed his usual Caribbean blue eyes- spindly long features that just made him look aristocratic, and a pair of sharp fangs peeking out of his rouged lips. She saw him rub his gumline, wincing as he pressed the pad of his thumb to where his fangs jutted out, as though they were bothering him.

"You throwing the bloody glamor spell realization on me threw me for a loop, Hermione," He told her, as though reading her mind. Perhaps he could. She tried not to panic that maybe he knew how much she was lusting after him, "Draco and I had to scramble to cover my cover spell."

"So Draco knows," She said, though it seemed obvious by this point, "And you were doing the magic yourself. Not…a staff member?"

"No, me," Theo confirmed.

"I hear that it takes a lot of energy. How would you even…" She shook her head.

"Vampires are magical, by nature. This?" He waved his wand, "Basically just a fancy stick now. I don't need it. It does still take a lot of energy, but it's doable. Some days." He said, amending after a moment of thought.

Hermione took two steps. She wanted to be in his magical field, feel the way that the surplus of magic felt crackling on her skin. She wondered if he even outshined Dumbledore's raw magic skills at this point?

"Dumbledore also knows, yes."

"So you can read my mind?" She huffed in irritation, ducking her head in embarrassment.

"No," Theo gave a smile, reaching up to tug on a piece of her hair, like he was unable to stop himself, "You're just too easy to read. Like an open book."

"Brilliant," She sighed.

"It's not so bad. You apparently can read people too. You figured me out. I'm guessing the reason you haven't accosted Draco with what you've figured out about him is that I did a number on you before." He said.

"Draco…" Hermione frowned, "What do you mean?" She asked. Theo's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"You don't know. So, I'm just special, then?" He asked. He saw Hermione pace, "Sit, with me."

Hermione hesitated. He tilted his head, "Do I scare you? That's probably a smart reply if so. I am 'things that go bump in the night' now."

Hermione chuckled, "No, you don't scare me, Theo." She said, and to prove it, came to curl up on her pillows, "Because I know you won't hurt me, or anyone else if you could help it. And I still have garlic oil in my bedside table."

Theo met her gaze, "What if you're wrong? What if I'm here to even the score? Potter attacked Draco, so I maim you? An eye for an eye?" He questioned. Though she felt stupid for not considering that, she pushed it aside.

"Are you? Here to rip my throat out?" She asked, recalling her nightmares.

Theo held her gaze for a beat longer than normal, "No," He finally said, "You're right. I couldn't hurt you, or I don't want to."

"So why are you here, then? You mentioned a favor."

Theo swallowed hard, and gave a rickety cough, "I know you looked in my satchel when we switched. So you found the tracking sheet. So you know what I do eat, right?"

"Blood. Among other things. Can you eat food?" She asked.

"Yes. I must drink blood to survive, but I still can enjoy other things. I'm technically a half-vampire, though as I said, even I don't know all the ins and outs of what that means. Part of it though, luckily, is that I'm still able to enjoy human cuisine. Not humans as cuisine," He said, crinkling his nose, "I mean, normal meals. Except for garlic, vampirism and allergies," He added. Hermione just blinked, waiting for him to continue.

"That day we bumped into each other in the Great Hall was the first time since I'd been turned that I tried blood bags. Something about the fact it wasn't fresh just…" He gagged, "My stomach does not agree. Which is quite inconvenient. I require…fresh blood. And I must, or else I will die. We started tracking how much and what blood type to see if there was one that kept me fed for longer, that would stave off the hunger longer."

"And?"

Theo shrugged, "Inconclusive, unfortunately. Draco would be giving me his blood if he could, but, well, it would kill me."

Hermione shook her head, "Wait, why?"

Theo rolled his eyes, "Think hard about it in the back of your mind, Hermione, and you'll figure it out in a few days. Anyway, Draco usually…brokers deals for me. Most of the Slytherins also know about my…ailment. Voldemort didn't hide it from his followers."

"It was at his behest, wasn't it?" Hermione gathered. Theo gave a string of curse words.

"I didn't agree to it if that's what you mean," He said darkly, "That bloody vampire at Slughorn's party bit me that night. I went home for hols and found Voldemort waiting, saying I was…so much more useful to him now. Wanker."

"Are you a Death Eater, then?" Hemione said, feeling her heart drop.

"No, and I never wanted to be one. I think he'll…invite me at the end of this year unless I…" He shook his head, "I'm getting off track. To be clear, I don't need to drink all of someone to be satisfied. So, he makes deals. Gets people what they want in exchange for me being allowed to feed. We try to rotate, try to make it fair. I never take from someone who doesn't want it…if I can help it…"

He turned to face Hermione on the bed, "Hermione, I need blood. Draco can't help me acquire it right now. Please."

"Why can't you just…ask someone?" She said, "If they're so agreeable, usually?"

"I used too much energy. I thought I'd be feeding today, but I got the news about Draco after I'd already over-exerted myself. Being in the sun without the cloak or heavy sunscreen drains me, for one. Using the glamor spell does too. Just being a vampire is exhausting; you get perks, like super-hearing and enhanced strength, but the hunger just never leaves," He whispered brokenly, "I hate what I was forced to become, but I don't know how to fix it. I just am trying to survive. And right now, if I don't get some blood…" He gave a frown and she could see fear in his eyes, "It could be life or death, fully serious. I wouldn't come unless it was."

"So you still haven't answered why you couldn't just go to Pansy or Blaise?"

"I trust you," Theo admitted, his eyes never leaving hers, "You didn't have to protect me that night. Full disclosure, someone died because of me. I couldn't control myself. I probably should have been turned in, and I think you knew, deep down, what happened," He said, "And you still didn't. So I trust you; besides Draco, you're the only other one."

Hermione gave a sharp inhale at his candidness, feeling her heart flutter fast. Theo focused on her neck, and she wondered if he actually could hear how hard her heart was hammering?

"Also," He said, "I trust your abilities. You're the only person strong enough, besides Draco, to be able to blast me off if I do…find myself unable to stop. That's also it; Draco always watches and ensures I don't kill someone. As I said, I don't want to, I'd never do it purposefully, but you know when you a bag of crips and you only mean to eat a few but you accidentally eat the whole bag?"

Hermione snorted, "Lovely, so I'm just a bag of Cheddar and Sour Cream, then?"

Theo rolled his eyes, "You get it, though? What I'm trying to say?"

"I'm trying not to be deeply offended, but yes. And I can," She said, "Stop you."

She gathered her hair to one side, holding it and tilting her neck, "Just…like this?"

There was a tense, static-filled moment as Theo leaned forward. He moved Hermione like a puppet, propping her against her pillows so she wasn't jutting her neck out and was comfortable.

"Can I-,"

"I already gave permission, Theo," Hermione said, "It's okay."

"No," Theo said, sounding in this moment, not like a vampire - some sexy ethereal moon-lit creature - but a normal teenage boy. Awkward, unsure, and shy, "Can, I, erm, kiss you?"

She blinked up at him. Her brain asked 'why' but her mouth just said, "Please."

Theo cradled her jaw with one hand, leaning down, pausing right above her lips. He settled his body to press against hers and hesitated. Hermione took that good old Gryffindor bravery and surged up, grasping his hair with her hand, and pulling him down halfway on top of her.

Theo was gentle, at first, but Hermione wanted more. As she turned her body towards his, she licked her tongue over his fangs and got to experience the sexiest thing; Theo shuddering by her ministrations and bucking his hips against hers, his other free hand grasping at her waist, fingers digging into her sleep set.

Legs tangled, breaths panted, and she nipped at his lips. When he caught her lip with his teeth, she could feel the sharpness of his fangs press, but not enough to break skin yet. He was using such control that it turned her on even more.

Like the question was moving through molasses, it trudged slowly through her brain, but made it out eventually, "Why do you want to kiss me?"

"Honest, or practical answer?" Thoe asked as he dove back in for another kiss.

"Practical, first."

Theo pulled back, licking his lips, eyes two shades darker than she recalled, "Pleasure and pain are the same fences. It's…better for you when I feed if you're…happy."

A flash of jealousy bolted through her. She tried to push it down, but it came out as a snarky, "Oh, so you do this to all the girls you want to feed on? Right," She said, trying to push herself away.

"Certainly not," Theo laughed, "Awe, Hermione, no, seriously," He said when he realized his tone just pissed her off more, "I usually have Draco get them their favorite candy or put on their favorite song or give them a back-rub. I just said 'happy'. Pleasure doesn't have to be sexual," He pointed out, "But I have heard, through the grapevine, that sexual pleasure is the best. It's almost…orgasmic, I hear." He whispered in her ear, "I swear, you're the only one I want to try it with."

"So, that's the honest answer, then? That you…" She couldn't find the words, shocked that it may even be true.

"That I perhaps was projecting when I accused you of fancying me?" Theo winced, "Not my finest hour. I've wanted to kiss you since you showed up at Slughorn's party in that tight red dress. It just became unbearable after I was turned."

"Unbearable?"

"The magnetic pull can go both ways. While I draw in everyone, sometimes, a vampire is drawn to just a few people…or one…" He admitted, "And you made it very difficult with your damn doggedness to get to the bottom of my secret."

Hermione grinned, "Yes, I'm Hermione Granger and I have been called a know-it-all twat who always sticks her nose where it doesn't belong. Nice to meet you."

Theo shook his head, laughing, "Yes, I know very well who you are."

"So, this…pleasure…" Hermione tilted her head, "Do we…have sex…while you…feed?" She stumbled over the question.

"Do you want to?" He asked, pulling her body against his.

Hermione looked at the top of her bed curtains, "No, I don't think I'd be ready for that. I don't know what we are or if you're lying or how I feel about this. So even though my body thinks it wants it, I don't think it would be good tonight."

"That's fine," Theo said, with no hesitation. She was pleasantly surprised, "Being turned on will due, I think. And I…" He started to pepper kisses down her neck, and she got the sense that it was moments before he'd begin. She was filled with worry, but also an adrenaline and curiosity, "Need…to…taste…you." He whispered, dragging his fangs against her neck, just enough to make her shudder.

"Does it hurt?" She whispered, and one of Theo's hands found hers, interlocking their fingers.

"Just a pinch," He whispered in her ear. She felt his breath on her neck, strangely warm which was juxtaposed to how chilly his body felt, though not ice-cold, just… for sure colder than a human usually was, "If you start feeling lightheaded, tell me to stop. If I don't, you have permission to blast me to hell. Fire would do the trick, but garlic would also burn like crazy. Okay?"

"Fire. Light. Garlic. Do it, Theo." She insisted.

She closed her eyes, grasping his hand as he bit down.

He was right; it was like getting a vaccination. Just a little pinch, and then, hardly anything.

It didn't hurt; not the way she thought it would. There was certainly a strange sensation of pressure against her throat, but she could see how this would be frightening if a vampire dropped out of nowhere and did this.

She felt the tingling in her hand first, like she'd had it at a weird angle it was falling asleep. Just as she was analyzing this, a chill fell across her body.

"Theo, I think that's enough," She said. She had a sharp spiking moment of fear where he didn't stop immediately, and she wondered if this is how she died. Theo had confidence she could get him off, but what if she couldn't? What if she was already too weak or he was too strong? What if-

Theo rolled away from her with a groan, rubbing his forehead.

"Worse?" She asked, surprised.

"Better. It's like after you've been starved all day and you get that exact thing that's on your mind," He said, turning to her. She watched as he wiped off her blood from his lips on the back of his hand.

Hermione pressed her palm to her neck, surprised there was not as much blood flow as she would have thought.

"Is there some magic that…coagulates my blood? That you did? Or that your fangs have?" She asked as she watched Theo lean down and dig through his satchel bag.

"I think. I'm not sure," He admitted, "Here." He handed her two bottles. The first; dittany. The second was a blood-replenishing potion.

"Can you?" She asked, handing the dittany to Theo as she uncorked the second potion. She felt better immediately after taking it, "Quite the new cache you have since I first looked through your bag."

"So you do admit it. Nosy," Theo teased, "It was a necessity. That is if I didn't want to kill someone," He said, "We always have it in the Slytherin Common rooms, but I only started carrying it with me after…" He sighed, "Well, after."

"So you feel better now?" It was a stupid question. Hermione could see that Theo looked different, as in better, from how he had before. While previously he'd resembled a stumbling corpse, he now just looked like a statue, carved from marble. She wondered if being turned had aged him slightly, or at the very least gotten rid of that baby fat, revealing sharp jaw lines and sharp cheekbones instead.

He threw up his hands and did a 'Tempus' charm, showing Hermione for the first time that indeed his wand was completely useless to him. He clicked his tongue at the time.

"I should be getting back." He said with a sigh.

"Or you could, you know, stay here. Lav and Parv will be busy until breakfast, won't they?" She frowned, "Or, do you not need to sleep anymore?"

"No, no, I still sleep. It's just different than before, I can't really describe it. And yes, they will be, but I…" He looked at Hermione and laughed, "I think I'd be real tempted to have another taste. I'm still working on my willpower."

"You stepped away when I told you to," She said, frowning.

"Yes, but," Theo winced, "I was surprised I could. With others it's difficult but with you, it was…almost painful. But I remembered that I would prefer you alive rather than dead." He almost leaned down for a kiss, and then paused, as though he realized that even he was unsure what new territory the pair had entered, "I also want to check in on Draco."

"Of course," Hermione winced, wondering if he'd seen Draco at all since the attack, "You can come back, you know, though," She said quietly, "If you, uhm, are in a pinch."

"Is that an invitation to see you again like this?" Theo asked, "Or are you truly just that much of a Gryffindor that you'd put others - even a Slytherin- above your own health?" He asked.

Hermione opened her mouth and then closed it again. She hadn't expected that.

"No, it's personal," She admitted, "I don't…I don't know what this means, but I want to figure it out."

"So I haven't scared you off then?"

Hermione gave a strong, flirty smile, "I'm a Gryffindor. I eat scary stuff for breakfast," She leaned up to give him a kiss on the cheek, "And you're going to have to do a hell of a lot better to scare me away. I like you…like this, or not like this - I'm not just attracted to you as a vampire, but well," She felt herself rambling, "I'm just saying, it doesn't bother me."

"Fangs and all?" Theo asked, smiling genuinely, his sharp incisors gleaming.

"Fangs and all."