Chapter 2
“No hard feelings, Daph?” Theo asked, pausing just outside of Potions class. The blonde Slytherin girl arched a fair brow, perfectly shaped and expertly brushed in place. Daphne Greengrass was easily the prettiest girl of their year and she had the confidence of someone that knew it very well.
“I told you, Theo. I’m bored to death, playing with Boot might sparks things up a little,” she said, her glossed lips curving in a sultry smile. She patted Theo on the forearm. “Go on, I’ll manage.”
Theo grinned and flicked her french nose with affection. “Thank you, I owe you.”
Daphne batted him away, hiding a playful smile of her own. “Oh please! I’ve been copying your homework since Third Year! I owe you, Heart of Gold.”
Theo gave her a warm look before getting in the classroom and walking straight to Granger’s bench. Boot hadn’t arrived yet and she was already engrossed into the potions manual.
Perfect.
He smiled to himself, relishing the moment, and plopped just beside her, nonchalantly placing his bag on the floor. Hermione startled and whipped around with a small gasp. She stared him, confused and slightly panicked. Her warm brown eyes were huge, a deer caught in headlights.
“What are you…” she started, but Theo cut her, inching just a bit closer. He heard her nervous intake of breath at the sudden proximity.
“I bet you’re tired of not coming on top of this class because your partner is a mediocre potioneer, aren’t you? Because I am. I mean, I love Daphne, she’s one of my oldest friends, but she doesn’t care enough and something always goes sideways in that cauldron there,” he said, nodding towards the bench Daphne was sitting on. Hermione’s gaze travelled there for a moment, still puzzled.
“So I was thinking, we could swap partners for this one and finally enjoy the process of a potion well-made. What do you say, Granger?” he asked, a spark of mischievous excitement in his ocean eyes.
Hermione was speechless, her gaze flitting on his face, he could almost hear the cogs of her brain moving. She had been abused by Slytherins since day one, it was only fair she had doubts about him and his intentions.
Theo gave her his signature one-sided smile. “No hidden agenda here, Granger, I swear. It’s just that I’ve seen you fix Boot fuck ups one too many times and I thought you could use a change of perspective. Slughorn will eat it up, with all the talk he did about inter-house unity and all that,” he added with a wiggle of his dark brows. He saw her purse her lips to refrain from smiling at him and a pleasant warmth bloomed in his chest. She was so cute he could scoop her up in his arms and steal her away on the spot.
Hermione was considering it, considering him with a mixture of curiosity and intrigue painted all over her pretty face. She wore her emotions on her sleeve, she’d always had and it had made him wonder how she managed that. How is it possible to live without a mask of cold indifference to protect you from cruel jabs and painful beatings? Theo was wondering that again right now, while she parted her lips to give him an answer. He knew it was going to be a positive one just by the relaxed set of her jaw and he marveled once again at how easy it was for him to read her. He was slapping his inner self for his lack of balls in the past, for not defying all prejudices and talking to her sooner, when Boot cleared his throat on his left.
“That’s my sit, Nott,” he said, with a strained smile, a finger tapping on the strap of his bag. Theo slowly looked up, channeling all his Slytherin jerkiness and smirked.
“There’s a free sit next to Greengrass, Boot,” he suggested, icy politeness dripping from his low voice. He saw Hermione squirm in her sit in his peripheral.
Boot frowned, anger flashing in his gaze. His patience was already spent, apparently. “That’s your sit, Nott. Now move, Hermione is my partner.”
Maybe it was the way that twat had leaned in the possessive adjective there, but Theo’s insides blew up in flames. He straightened his back and made to stand up, to tower over his, when a small hand grabbed his wrist, warm fingers gently pressing on his skin. He didn’t break eye contact with Boot, but stilled in place, a muscle jumping in his jaw.
“It’s fine, Terry. Maybe we could swap for this potion, yes? Slughorn suggested we build some inter-house collaboration, remember?” Hermione said, her tone calm and reassuring, as if she was talking to a baby. Theo loved it and loved even more that her fingers were still on his wrist. Boot had noticed it too, his flashing eyes traveling down to her hand.
As if summoned, Slughorn sauntered into the classroom, waving his wand at the blackboard to write notes for the lesson. Boot was torn between challenging Theo on a duel and stomping away in defeat. Theo smiled at him, secretly relishing the prospect of kicking his ass right there. The guy looked at Slughorn’s back approaching his desk and huffed.
“Just this one,” he murmured and walked away to reach Daphne’s bench.
Theo chuckled under his breath and Hermione glared at him, ripping her hand away from his.
“Alright, good morning everyone! I read your essays and I have to say, I was impressed by some of them,” Slughorn said with his usual boisterous tone, bald head already shimmering with sweat. His eyes scanned the class and landed on Hermione, flitting surprised to Theo next to her.
“Oh! I see the two most impressive ones are finally working together here! Well done! Some inter-house collaboration is just what we need, just what we need!” he exclaimed with a quiver of his fluffy mustache. Theo couldn’t resisted turning to Boot with a gloating grin. The man was positively fuming.
Hermione rammed her elbow into his side and he turned back front.
“Ouch, Granger,” he whispered, laughter in his voice. Hermione pursed her lips in that chastising way again, failing to stifle a smile this time.
“Anyways, as I was saying, a lot of interesting ideas, my dear students, on how to improve Wolfsbane potion. Today, though, we’re going to attempt the original one, since I believe it’s important to understand a potion very well before making any changes,” Slughorn went on, waving his wand again. The entire recipe of the Wolfsbane potion appeared on the board. Hermione perked up, her back ramrod straight. She was sitting on the very edge of the bench and her eyes were sparkling with excitement. Theo couldn’t get his eyes away from her. Merlin, she wads something else.
“Now, this potion is very insidious and requires a week of simmering and stirring in the correct way, before it can be used. Which means you’ll have to leave it here and come check on it regularly, to make sure it all goes as planned. The final potions will be evaluated and the best couple will receive a prize,” the professor announced, excitement making his mustache quiver again. He fished for something in his cloak and came out with a small vile of bright orange liquid that seemed to swirl perpetually with little bubbles on the surface.
Theo arched a brow. It couldn’t be.
“This is a very small portion of Elixir of Life,” Slughorn announced, eliciting a chorus of oohs and aahs from the students. Theo glanced at Hermione and saw her mouth parted in awe.
“It is very rare and very classified, but this small amount will do no harm. In fact, it will only grant the consumer twelve extra hours in a day! You could use it to catch up on your NEWTs studying in June, I guess,” he chuckled, but no one in the class was really paying attention to his judicious suggestion. That potion was incredibly difficult to brew or procure, a Ministry written permission was required to make it. The Elixir of Life had been banned for a while, until it had been revised into a less dangerous version, that only prolonged lifespans in small increments. The prize on the market was still prohibitive, because who didn’t want some extra time to do everything without worrying about the clock?
And that small vile was going to end up in their hands. He and Granger were in for the kill today. He wanted to look back at Boot so bad, right now.
“I’ll stomp on your foot if you turn,” Hermione whispered, her eyes never leaving the small vile in Slughorn’s chubby fingers.
Theo hanged his head and smirked. “You’re no fun, Granger, you know that?”
Slughorn pocketed the prize and instructed them to start. Hermione turned to him, all business. “You’d better be good at Potions, Nott, because I want to win.”
They locked eyes and Theo felt a jolt of excitement travel through his entire body. She was a fighter, and a competitive one at that. It was damn hot.
He inched closer to her small frame, enough to count the freckles on her pretty nose.
“Don’t worry, Granger, you’ll have that potion at the end of the week,” he rumbled, blue eyes boring deep in brown irises.
“Let’s get started, then,” she murmured back, a bit breathless. Theo smiled and backed away to take out his potion book.
Hermione cleared her throat and examined the recipe. “Do you want to do the cutting or the mixing?” she asked, somewhat timid. He observed her flushed cheeks and crossed ankles. Had he intimidated her?
Theo shook his head. “This won’t do, Granger.”
She looked up, confused.
“Don’t tiptoe around me, I don’t bite. Be bold and elbow me, boss me around, tell me what to do. I know you like to be in charge,” he teased.
Hermione blushed again but smiled. “I’m sorry for earlier,” she apologies, even if the glimmer in her eyes said otherwise. She was playful and he loved that she felt she could lower her guard enough to be playful with him, even if they didn’t know each other at all. He wanted her to feel comfortable enough to be herself with him eventually.
Theo inhaled from his nose, then caught her eyes. “No, you’re not, and that’s more than okay, Granger. I’m not Boot, I don’t bruise easily. So, please, do your worst. I like it.”
******
Hermione felt her lower belly clench and loosen at the same time, hot pleasure burning in her veins at his words, his low sensual tone, the intensity in his eyes smoldering her to bits. This guy was a menace. A sweet, sexy, intriguing menace. She had talked to him two times, including today, and she was already smitten.
If she hadn’t paid much attention to Theodore Nott in the past, now he was all she saw.
After their library encounter, Hermione involuntarily zeroed on him at every meal, across the Great Hall, and he always caught her eyes and lifted a corner of his damning mouth at her. In addition, they shared all classes, where he usually sat in the back. She felt his gaze on her every time she walked past him to reach the front rows and she never managed to avoid blushing like a first year. Finally, she saw him in the library most often than not. He either sat at a secluded table near the Transfiguration section, studying or writing, with his slender fingers wrapped around his quill loosely, or he was sitting on the floor, especially at night, his back resting on the shelves and a book on his propped up knees. He never lifted his head when she walked past him there, never noticed anyone or anything, absorbed in his reading of choice. And he was so handsome, with his hair ruffled and his brows relaxed, that she couldn’t look at him for longer than seconds before she had to walk away to make sure he couldn’t hear her mad heartbeat.
Ginny had noticed her frequent flustered state right away, but hadn’t teased her. She’d sported a smug smile more than once, but had kept her lips sealed. Until now. When she’d tell her how Theo had plopped next to her in Potions and what he’d told her about bossing him around as if it was sex talk, the redhead would explode with crass excitement, there was no avoiding it.
But Hermione wasn’t dreading it, actually. Because she wasn’t that sure about her ‘no boys, yes books’ policy right now. Beside, Theodore Nott was a book boy. So, maybe he didn’t count, right? And then, he made her feel like her insides were mushed peas, why should she give up on that? Only idiots never changed their minds, right? She wasn’t an idiot.
Hermione fetched her jaw from the floor and pushed away all incoherent thoughts. “Okay. Then you do the cutting, I’ll do the mixing. Gather up the ingredients, while I set up the cauldron,” she instructed, going in boss mode and standing up. She glimpse his dimple appearing before he walked to the ingredients cabinet. She quickly aimed her wand to her face, blowing some cool air to her hot cheeks. This potion was going to be ten times more difficult with Theodore Nott around.
*******
Theo eyed the bubbly liquid in the cauldron, a subtle sheen of sweat on his upper lip. He had discarded his uniform cloak long ago and had folded his sleeves up to his elbows, leaving his veiny forearms on display. He passed a hand through his hair and Hermione had to look away and busy herself with tidying up the working station to hide her trembling fingers. How the fuck did he manage to be so hot while assessing a bloody potion? Or squeezing Sopophurus Beans? Or crushing Occamy eggs, with gentle pressure and precise movements of those long, calloused fingers? She pushed her hair up with her hands, relishing the cool blast of air on her damp neck. This was insane.
“Looks perfect to me,” he murmured, perusing the cauldron from every angle.
“We did all the passages for today. We should label the cauldron and put a protection shield around it. I really don’t want the others to meddle with it when we’re not around,” she said, vanishing the remaining powder of Occamy eggs and a couple of stains of dragon blood from the table.
“Protection charms are too easy to dismantle. We are doing blood wards here, Boot is looking at our potion with a bit too much longing for my liking,” he scoffed, unsheating his wand from his back pocket. Hermione eyed him with open wonder.
“You know how to cast blood wards?” she asked in a whisper. Theo gave her a smug look from under his brows and smiled. This time, though, the dimple wasn’t there and his usual playfulness didn’t reach his eyes.
“My father made sure I knew the theory as soon as I learned to read,” he explained, pressing the tip of the wand to his finger pad. A drop of burgundy appeared and Hermione had to fight the instinct to reach out and press on the wound.
“I actually did it for the first time when I was fourteen. It’s ancient magic, the Ministry can’t properly track it while you’re casting it, so…”
He was about to swipe his finger on the cauldron, when he looked up and met her curious gaze. “Do you want me to guide you through the spell?”
Hermione held her breath, blushing for the hundredth time that day. Teaching her something was possibly the sexiest thing he could do. She nodded, eagerly, and Theo grinned wide.
“First of all, you need blood. In this case a drop will do, but for bigger places like houses and grounds, where people are also involved, you need a lot more. Nothing a Blood Replenishing Potion can’t cure, don’t worry,” he added, noticing her worried expression. “To cast the wards, you have to smear the property with blood while you say the spell and perform the wand movement, all together, perfectly synchronized. The spell is cum sanguine protego and you have to move the wand in a double infinite symbol. I’ll show you,” he said and slowly proceeded to demonstrate. His movements were fluid, his words melodious, as if he’d done it thousands of times before. Hermione wondered what that implied. What kind of abuses had he suffered from his father, a notorious psychopath in the ranks of the Dark Lord?
A blue glow enveloped the cauldron, quietly shimmering in the dim light of the classroom. It looked beautiful and Hermione lifted a finger to touch it, but Theo grabbed her hand before she could.
“Don’t. Not before you add your blood, Granger, if you treasure your digits in a set of ten,” he warned lightly. Hermione widened her eyes and Theo just nodded.
“I don’t know if I can…” she stuttered, but he squeezed her fingers and gave her a sarcastic look.
“Oh come on, Granger. You’re the Golden Girl, you can do anything.”
This time Hermione let her blush rise up to her face, savoring the warmth in his voice. The Prophet had forged that nickname for her after the war. She hadn’t liked it that much, but on his lips it sounded different. Almost affectionate, admiring for sure. Had he heard it at school? Or had he read about her, wherever he’d been in the aftermath of the final battle?
It didn’t matter right now. She inhaled and nodded, drawing a small drop of blood from her finger. She practiced the movement a couple of times and said the words out loud, wrapping her tongue around each sound until it didn’t feel weird anymore. Then, Theo gently pressed his wand tip on the glowing wrap and lowered the wards. Hermione swiped her finger in the same spot where Theo’s blood had disappeared and cast the spell. The blue glow reappeared, this time streaked with ribbons of pure gold.
Hermione’s lips parted in awe and she chuckled aloud when her finger caressed the glow and didn’t fall off.
“I did it!” she whispered, swirling the hue around.
When she looked up at Theo, he was watching her with something that resembled adoration.
“I told you so, Golden Girl.”