Chapter 11
Professor Slughorn had taken over an enormous hall in the dungeons that had been used as a storeroom, and transformed it into a perfect party venue, much to Filch’s delight no doubt. The low volts profiles were lined with pixie lights, glowy globes of various sizes floated around the ceiling, creating a soft, dreamy atmosphere. Luscious Christmas trees stood here and there around the perimeter of the room, decorated with gold and silver bobbles and small candles that flickered in a phantom breeze. In the far corner, on a raised platform, a string quartet of old and frail wizards played Christmas tunes in the background. Scattered around the hall were some spindly tables, lined with bottle green brocade tablecloth, and matching upholstered chairs, some older guests already resting on them while sipping from their glasses and chatting amiably. Hogwarts-paid House elves throttled around the room in their elegant uniforms, levitating trays of tarts, appetizers and Champaign flutes.
Hermione looked around, scanning the guests in their refined outfits, and spotted more than a couple Ministry employees, International politicians and famous people. Slughorn had gone the extra mile this year: she recognized Quidditch players, Prophet’s journalists, bestselling Wizarding authors, mingling with almost every war hero he could get a hold of.
“Well,” Ron said, arching his brows, “I guess we can skip the Ministry Christmas party, Harry. Everyone’s already here.”
Harry groaned, managing to keep his face neutral when people started to recognize him and the whispering and pointing began.
Ginny patted his forearm. “Did you bring the cloak?”
“Of course I have,” he grinned smugly and she wiggled her eyebrows.
“That’s not fair, mate!” Ron huffed, looking betrayed. Hermione giggled, shaking her head. Theo observed the exchange with mild curiosity, not fully in on the joke.
“Harry has an Invisibility Cloak, so he and Ginny are probably going to slip away unnoticed at some point,” she explained and his eyes came alive.
“You have an Invisibility Cloak? Those things are very rare,” he told Harry, who simply shrugged.
“I’ll show it to you if you want.”
Before Theo could say anything, the booming voice of the host startled them.
“What an incredible group of wizarding wonders!” Slughorn yelled, his mustache quivering with excitement, bald head already shiny with sweat.
“It’s good to see you, Professor,” Harry said, shaking Slughorn meaty hand.
“Harry, dear boy! It’s always a pleasure, always a pleasure! I hear you’re doing great in the Auror Department, eh? But I had no doubt you would!” he said, patting vigorously on Harry’s back, his eyes gleaming with greed. Harry was the front gem on his crown, of course, but Slughorn was a very expert handler, and he knew he had to keep as many precious artifacts as possible close to his chest. So, he turned to Ginny next and elegantly kissed her hand.
“Miss Weasley, you are a vision tonight! My favorite Quidditch Captain! No offense, Harry, my dear!” he winked, chuckling.
“Thank you, Professor. Although, I’m not the best by any means,” she said, her smile a bit tight. Gryffindor was third at the moment, and the odds of winning the cup weren’t encouraging, seeing the state of Ginny’s players.
“Oh please! You’re doing great with what you have, Miss Weasley!” he comforted and Ginny’s lips went even thinner. But Slughorn had already shifted his attention to Ron, smiling wide.
“Mr Weasley! I have to say, Auror training looks good on you, my boy!”
Ron puffed his chest a little, a smile cracking up his face. “Thank you sir, I’m working hard.”
Slughorn nodded in appreciation, his eyes already roaming elsewhere. “Of course you are, of course you are!”
He turned to Hermione and Theo, clapping his hands in front of him with a knowing look. “And here they are, my best students! It’s so true that great minds are drawn to each other! And I saw the couple come together under my very eyes! Galeotto was the cauldron, eh?” he beamed, excitement oozing from his every pore.
Theo smiled politely, his pure-blooded manners kicking into gear. “Thank you for your invite, Professor. It’s an honor.”
Slughorn swatted the air between them. “The honor is mine, Mr Nott. When Minerva told me about your work in the States to hide muggle-borns, I was stunned! In fact, you have to forgive me, Miss Granger if I steal your partner briefly, but I want to introduce him to the Ministry, Kingsley Shacklebolt. Harry, dear, will you walk with us?” he demanded, taking Theo by his elbow, not looking sorry in the slightest. Theo arched a brow at her, a sliver of panic in his gaze. Hermione tried to hide an amused smile, but failed.
Harry patted Theo on the back. “I’m right beside you, buddy, don’t worry,” he whispered, while they walked away with Slughorn.
Ginny snickered, swiftly grabbing a couple of glasses from a floating tray passing by.
“I bet ten Galleons it’ll take him at least an hour before he manages to disentangle from Slughorn’s tentacles,” she said, handing a flute to Hermione, who raised it slightly.
“If Harry pulls the cloak out, maybe a little under an hour,” she mused, bringing the glass to her glossy lips.
After a quiet pause, Ron cleared his throat.
“So, you chose a Slytherin, uh?” he asked, and no one would have notice the barest hint of hurt in his voice but her. Ginny rolled her eyes and sipped, probably to keep herself to call her brother an idiot.
Hermione exhaled. “At least he’s not Malfoy.”
Ron gagged. “Wow, Hermione. Now I’ll never be able to sleep again.”
Hermione laughed, then took another sip of the bubbly nectar, arranging the words in her mind.
“He’s a good guy, Ron. He is smart and funny, even if he looks so serious all the time. And we have so much in common. Plus, he’s brave and caring… last year he stood up to his father and helped his aunt with runaway muggle-borns to hide them in America. And he went through a lot when he was a child…” she trailed off, her eyes involuntary searching the hall for him.
“He’s actually a decent person, Ron,” Ginny chimed in, with a soft smile. “He’s been helping me with spells to keep my team on their brooms. And he prevented Neville from being hit by the Cruciatus Curse in an ambush in the corridors. Even Luna adores him! He always puts up with her nonsense as if he’s actually interested in her mad theories!”
Hermione smiled, watching her boyfriend from afar, talking politely with Kingsley. Theo was indeed interested in Luna’s nonsense. He was curious, open to possibilities and eager to solve all the puzzles the world fed him. She could hear the cogs spinning in his brain when they were studying together, she could see the spark in his eyes every time something new ended up in his grasp and it was amazing to witness.
Across the room, Theo laughed at something Harry had said and warmth spread in her chest. His smile was a ray of sun in a stormy ocean, and her knees trembled when she got to experience it. Theo had unspeakable darkness in his past, embedded in his soul, and yet he had managed to get through it a decent man. She still had no idea how much pain was hiding under the surface, behind his mask of calm and quiet, but she planned on finding out and helping him heal, maybe.
“You love him, don’t you?” Ron mumbled, that edge of hurt morphing into painful surprise. Hermione turned and locked eyes with her best friend. She didn’t say anything, but there must have been something in her gaze that gave her away. Ron exhaled, resignation pushing his shoulder slightly down, then he nodded.
“I hope he’ll make you happy,” he said, a little defeated. Hermione reached for his hand and squeezed it into her fingers.
“He already does.”
**********
“I’ll make sure to owl you my ideas on the matter, sir, but you have to excuse us now. We should really go back to our beautiful dates, or we’ll have to face terrible consequences. Isn’t it, Potter?” Theo mused, eliciting a chorus of chuckles from the group of potioneers Slughorn had dragged them to.
Harry’s eyes lighted up and he nodded eagerly. “Merlin, yes! We wouldn’t want to cross our girlfriends, knowing who they are!”
Slughorn laughed out loud and patted them both on the back. Harry tripped forward a little.
“You are definitely right, my boys! Miss Granger and Miss Weasley are both a force of nature that no one should keep waiting for too long. Give them my apologies and have some earned fun!”
Theo bowed his head and turned around, scanning the room for her woman like a starved animal. When he spotted her near a Christmas tree, chatting with Ginny, he strode towards her, Potter at his heels.
“Good God, I thought we would never get out of that. I owe you big time, Nott,” Harry exhaled, exhaustion looming at the edge of his voice.
“Shouldn’t you be used to this already?” Theo asked, genuinely curious. Potter had gotten all the attention from day one, basically, and yet he seemed still overwhelmed by it.
“I’ll never get used to it, I think. In fact, I quite hate it,” he confessed, shaking his head. “You’re actually good at navigating society, yourself,” he mused, looking at him from the corner of his eye.
Theo shrugged. “Pure-blooded upbringing. My father heated me with a passion, but I still was his sole heir, so he had me trained to bring his name as little shame as possible.”
Harry smirked. “And you went out and betrayed pure-blooded ideals falling for a muggle-born. He would have loved that, uh?”
A cruel grin spread on Theo’s face. “I hope he’s rolling in his rotting grave at the thought.”
Harry laughed and the girls turned at the sound. Hermione’s eyes sparkled like the tiny candle flames in the tree. Theo didn’t stop until she was within reach.
“Took you long enough to get free from…” Ginny teased, but he wasn’t listening. He pulled Hermione in his arms and kissed her deeply, savoring her Champaign flavored lips.
“Yeah, uh…we’ll go get something to drink…” Harry said awkwardly, before Ginny grabbed his arm and dragged him away.
“Don’t bother, they’re gone already.”
And they were indeed. They didn’t even notice they were alone, lost in each other. Theo slid a hand to the nape of her neck and cradled her head, while exploring her mouth carefully, slowly, for everyone to see. Hermione pushed into him, molding her body to his, her hands on his chest sliding higher to tease the soft skin of his throat. Theo’s arm went around her waist, his fingers pausing on her bare back and moaned low into the kiss. He pulled back an inch, his eyes searching hers.
“Dance with me,” he breathed and she nodded instantly.
Theo took her hand and guided her to the centre of the room, where other couples were swaying slowly to a lento. Hermione laced her fingers behind his neck and Theo rested his hands on her hips, gently holding her against his warm, hard body. She was lost into his darkened gaze, the intensity of her emotions almost overwhelming.
They swayed on the spot, in the most comfortable of silences, moving on the old-fashioned notes of the violins, a song merging into the next. Theo loved this about them, the easy sense of belonging to each other that didn’t require fillers of sorts. They could spend a night reading or chatting, it didn’t matter, it felt equally fulfilling, equally satisfying on every level. He perceived her like a part of himself, that didn’t need explanations or excuses or distractions to feel right. Since being with her, Theo had finally understood what Catherine had meant in Wuthering Heights, when she’d said that Heathcliff was more herself than she was. He had finally understood the concept of souls made of the same substance, the same longings, the same width. Because his and Hermione’s were just fragments of a bigger picture, sparks of the same flame, stardust of the same sky.
*******
When the quartet took a break, Theo kissed her lightly in the centre of the dance floor, a smile tugging at the corners of his perfect lips. Hermione pushed her fingers in the soft, dark locks falling on the nape of his neck, twirling them lazily around her fingers. God, she wanted to get out of there, straddle his lap and kiss him all night. She pressed her thighs together, squeezing the shocks of pleasure running to her core.
Theo’s eyes roamed over her face. “Can I get you something refreshing, milady?”
She was flushed, she knew. Her neck and cheeks felt hot and she wanted to fan her hair away furiously, but she only smiled.
“Please, milord. I’ll wait for you near the wonky tree,” she said, nodding to her left. Theo glanced sideways and grinned. One of the trees was slightly askew, the golden topper like the hat of a drunk on the verge of dropping.
“I’ll be right back,” he assured, escorting her at the edge of the dance floor, and leaning in to give her another, feathery kiss, before going in search of a tray of drinks.
Hermione smiled to herself and looked around the room. Ginny and Harry were laughing their heads off at some kind of joke Seamus had cracked, all red-faced and grinning. Ron was talking to a tall, stunning blonde in a black dress, and he definitely looked like he was flirting, his back straight and a hand in his pocket. A few feet away, Luna was chatting amiably with Ernie McMillan and Percy Weasley, who looked genuinely interested in what she was saying. Sitting at a table, Neville and Hannah were holding hands, their head drawn together, speaking sweet nonsense in each other’s ears.
Hermione was so relaxed and happy to see her friends enjoy themselves, that she missed the approaching steps and didn’t see him coming until it was to late to escape.
“Fuck me over if you aren’t the most beautiful chick in this room, Hermione!”
She widened her eyes, nausea climbing up her throat at the sound of his voice. And suddenly it was sixth year all over again and she was actively trying to avoid him, after having miserably fucked up by choosing him as his plus one at the same party.
“Cormac!” she exclaimed, turning to face him, hiding as best as she could the disgust in her voice. “What a coincidence seeing you here!”
McLaggen pushed his enormous chest out, a turkey parading in the courtyard. “That’s really no coincidence, Hermione! Slughorn knows my weight in Wizarding Society. He knew it two years ago, already, as I’m sure you remember,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows allusively.
Hermione had to actively fight to push down the biggest groan of all times. Instead, she smiled sweetly, trying hard not to make it look like a grimace.
“Of course, Cormac. What exactly are you up to these days?”
McLaggen chuckled, a hint of a frown on his face, as if it seemed impossible someone wouldn’t know what he, the influential Cormac McLaggen was doing of his life.
“I’m sure you’ve heard of the new Committee for Rebuilding and Restoration that has been instituted right after the war, Granger,” he patronized her, taking a step towards her. Hermione took one back, getting nearer to the tree. Of course she’d heard of the Committee, she had been on the board during the first steps of his institution during the summer. Kingsley had asked her to run it, actually, but she had wanted to finish her studies first.
“Well, I’m Chief Assistant for Sports Events. It is crucial to get back into action in that field to boost morale, so I work back to back with Donovan Danes, the Head of Department, to organize Quidditch events for charity and whatnot,” he explained, managing to make his chest look even bigger.
“Wow, that’s incredible, Cormac, really,” she replied, taking another step back, while he inched forward.
“You know, Hermione, I’m surprised you’re not at the Ministry right now. I mean, why would you want to waste your time here at Hogwarts, when you could have any job there?” he asked, a bit dumbfounded.
“I want to graduate first, Cormac, ” she simply said, her eyes swiftly searching the room. Where was Theo?
Cormac got closer, pushing her to step back again, only to feel a branch dig into her bare skin. She was cornered.
“That’s bullshit, the way I see it. You already are the smartest girl around, you don’t need to graduate. I’m sure they offered you a position, didn’t they? I could talk to Donovan, oil some wheels, if Potter isn’t working his charm already,” he offered, looming over her now.
Hermione didn’t know if she wanted to laugh or punch him in the face. That guy was unbelievable. He had always been a conceited, cocky bastard, but his head had definitely got bigger lately. Did he really think she needed his referrals? She, Hermione Granger, Golden Girl and war hero? She was about to tell him something along those lines, when he invaded her personal space and caressed her bare arm with his beefy hand. She froze.
“It would be my pleasure, really. You know I always had a soft spot for you, Hermione,” he whispered, leaning into her. She could smell the alcohol in his breath, see the rough edge of his carelessly shaven jaw. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest and for some reason she was paralyzed, horrified by herself, but incapable of moving out of his grasp. This was her fault. She shouldn’t have let him near her, in sixth year, only to get back at Ron for snogging Lavander. She should have kept him at arm’s distance. Two or three arms, actually.
“I would get your hand off of her, if I were you.”
Suddenly, Hermione’s lungs loosened and her eyes found Theo, standing right behind McLaggen, his hands lazily tucked in his pockets. He looked perfectly calm to an untrained eye, but she could make out a deadly gleam in his blue irises. He was a venomous snake ready to strike.
Of course McLaggen wouldn’t see it. The guy’s ego was so big it overshadowed everything else. He turned with a condescending smile, his fingers still resting on her arm. Theo’s gaze flicked there, for a second, his jaw tensing imperceptibly.
“I’m sorry, do I know you?” Cormac asked, as if he was speaking to an annoying child. Theo stepped closer, slowly.
“Get your hand off of her, McLaggen. I don’t want to break your nose and embarrass you in front of everyone. It’s such a nice evening, isn’t it?” Theo said, his voice dangerously low. McLaggen arched his brows.
“And who the hell do you think you are?”
Coming out of her stupor, Hermione intervened. “He is my boyfriend, Theodore Nott.”
McLaggen’s brain took a second too much to process the information, his head whipping back and forth between them. Then his hand fell from Hermione’s arm, as if he’d been burnt.
“Nott? Like the Death Eater?”he asked, astonished.
Theo’s lips curved up. “That was dear father, may his soul rot in hell.”
Cormac narrowed his eyes. “You want me to believe you didn’t follow his footsteps?”
Theo stepped closer. He was taller than Cormac by at least two inches and he made them count when he looked down into his eyes. Cormac unconsciously shied away a little.
“I didn’t, indeed, McLaggen. But I still know a couple of spells that would make your skin crawl. Quite literally,” he said right in his face. He sounded so lethal, Hermione felt goosebumps rise all over her body. Not in a bad way, to be fair.
“So please, make yourself a favor and stay out of my way and leave my woman alone, yes?” Theo added, pronouncing every word clearly and slowly, as if Cormac was dumb. As if.
McLaggen stared Theo for a moment, then looked back at Hermione. Was he offended? Or disappointed? She didn’t know and frankly didn’t care. When he walked away without a backward glance, she finally let out a sigh.
Theo cupped her face, thumbs gently grazing her cheekbones. His eyes searched hers, a little worry peaking through the darker specks of grey.
“Are you alright?”
She nodded and covered his hands with hers. “Thank you for rescuing me.”
Theo shook his head and leaned in to kiss her. When he pulled back, his pupils were blown wide and he looked famished.
“Let’s get out of here.”