Consequences
She had managed to slip into class behind Theo and Blaise, tucking herself against the wall for a moment before squeezing her way to the front as she twisted her hair into a bun at the base of her neck. It was only the first week of classes and she was exhausted. The desperate want to learn outweighed it though she heard Professor Lupin as about a Boggart as she slid up to the front. There was a rattling wardrobe towards the back of the class, a mirror on the front reflecting them. Harry met her eyes in it and spun around in surprise towards her.
“Nobody knows the true shape of a Boggart, because it assumes the identity of whatever the person is scared of. That’s what makes them so terrifying.”
Ron whipped around, jumping as he stared at her with wide eyes. “When did you get here?” He turned back to Harry. “When did she get here? She wasn’t just there.” Hermione rolled her eyes and focused on Professor Lupin.
“There is a simple charm that we can use against them–but remember that the best weapon against a Bogart is laughter.” He stood in front of them, hands clasped behind him as the wardrobe rattled behind him. “Let’s try it out shall we? Repeat after me, without your wands, please. Riddikulus.” Everybody around her chanted it back to him and he smiled. “Very good, let’s try it out shall we?”
He scanned the group, his eyes settling on someone. “Neville, come here son.” Neville slowly made his way through and Hermione placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder as she moved out of the way.
“You’ve got this, Neville.” He simply nodded in response.
“What are you most scared of?” Neville muttered something unintelligible. “What was that?”
“P-P-Professor Snape, sir.” A smile tugged at the corner of Lupin’s lips.
“Yes, that makes sense. Many people are.” The class laughed and Hermione smiled. She wasn’t scared of him at all. She felt a pang in her chest as she realized that she missed him and decided to see him after class. “Alright, I want you to do something for me.” Lupin leaned down and whispered something in Neville’s ear and he nodded, pulling his wand out and aiming it at the wardrobe. “Ready?”
Lupin unlocked the wardrobe and after a minute, Snape stepped out, sneering at them. “Riddikulus!” She watched as he stumbled backwards, a crazy fur hat appearing on his head and black skirt accompanied by a red handbag. Her hand clamped over her mouth, stifling a laugh. The class quickly formed a line and she found herself sandwiched between Draco and Theo. Ron was in front of Draco, with Harry behind Theo and for a moment she found it odd that they separated from one another. Her eyes flitted to the back of Draco’s head and she reached up, tugging gently at the hair on the base of his neck softly. He froze, slowly turning to throw her a smile over his shoulder.
“Surprised you could reach that high, Granger.” Theo chuckled behind her and she reached back to swat at him. Draco laughed in front of her and she swatted him too.
“Bloody hell. The two of you did this on purpose didn’t you?”
Draco was favoring his arm still and Hermione resisted the urge to poke him in the side. “Professor, I might need somebody to cast the spell for me.” He motioned over his arm and Hermione rolled her eyes.
“Very well, Hermione, if you wouldn’t mind assisting him.” She huffed, swatting him again between the shoulder blades and he turned to face her as they shuffled forwards.
“Really, Granger? Assaulting a wounded man. How low of you.” Draco was smirking at her and she narrowed her eyes attempting to look threatening. By the look on his face she was failing.
“Turn around Draco, before you really are wounded.” He laughed, turning back towards the front. One of the twins had turned a snake into a clown and Hermione shivered–the thing was creepy even if she wasn’t afraid of them. Slowly, they made their way through the line until it was Draco’s turn. Hermione saw the faint tremble in his hand as he stepped forwards.
She was shocked as she watched it transform into herself, petrified but the same scream she had heard when she had a nightmare echoed out across the room. She couldn’t move, couldn’t even draw her wand as the shock rooted her in place. Draco, instead lifted his wand with a shaking hand. “Riddikulus.” She watched herself transform into a doll with ridiculous tap dancing shoes. Hermione stared at the back of Draco’s head as he shuffled quickly away from her, his eyes cast to the ground. She was still staring at the ground when she heard murmurs around her. Her eyes whipped back to the boggart and she gasped.
In front of her was the woman from the photograph. Her mother. She was staring at her with unruly curly hair, bright and a finger raised. “You’re the reason I’m dead! You’re not smart enough, everybody around you gets hurt because you aren’t capable of saving everybody.” Hermione stumbled backwards into Theo’s chest and she felt him trembling behind her, hands reaching up to steady her arms. Professor Lupin stepped in front of her, and she watched Boggart take the shape of a moon. She didn’t stay long enough to see what it turned into as she wriggled from Theo’s grasp and took off out of the room, tears springing to her eyes.
She ran all the way to Snape’s office and he swung the door open to find her hiccuping as tears streamed down her face. It only took seconds for him to gently usher her inside, closing the door and locking it as he waved his wand over it. He led her carefully to a chair, his eyes flitting over her face with a guarded expression.
“Hermione? What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
His hands were on her shoulders and she couldn't breathe. The terror was still clinging desperately onto her and she found that she was unable to think. He nodded once then surprisingly pulled her into his chest, his arms wrapping around her. One hand came up to smooth over her hair as she cried into him–he smelled like musk and leather. Slowly, she began to calm, and she pushed away from him. He released her instantly, staring at her as though she was about to burst into tears again. He was so comforting and she wasn’t sure why that hurt her even more. He was staring at her and she knew that he was expecting an answer.
“I-I was in Professor Lupin’s class. He was teaching us about Boggart’s.” She watched him stiffen in the chair, hands resting in his lap as he stared at her. He got up, rummaging through his Potions and then handed her a small vial of Calming Draught. “Thank you. Anyways, he was teaching us about Boggart’s and I was behind Draco–his Boggart was horrid to begin with. It was me and I was petrified but I was screaming. Screaming like I do in my nightmares…” She trailed off, a shiver running through her. “Anyways…I saw my mother when it was my turn. She told me that I was a failure…that I couldn’t save everybody. That I was the reason that she was dead.” Hermione let out a stuttered breath and Snape was staring at her, sitting very still on the edge of the chair.
“Hermione…” Snape was speaking softer than he ever had before and she watched him stand. “There are a few things that you don’t know. Things that I am unable to tell you at this time…”
“Why not? Why am I so different? I’m the only student who has ever been Unsorted. I’m the only person who doesn’t fit in anywhere and I have no idea who I am or who I’m supposed to be. How is it fair that you know something about me and can’t tell me?”
Snape stared at her for a moment, almost as if he was weighing the pros and cons in his mind. “Very well. You’re right. What I tell you cannot leave this room, are we clear? The information can be harmful if it lands in the wrong hands. Your safety could be in question.”
Hermione nodded, wiping the cheeks from her eyes. Snape stared at her for a moment before turning and nodding his head for her to follow him. He led her through his classroom to a small door that opened up into living quarters. They were much like his house except she could tell that he spent most of his time here. A plush couch sat in front of the fire, with bookcases all around the room. There were two more doors off to the left and she noted that there was a small counter space on the right, a teapot brewing with the swish of his hand.
When they were settled with a cup of hot tea in their hands, Snape looked up at her, his face unreadable and eyes guarded. She took a small sip, letting the tea warm her fingers.
“When you were born, your mother was worried about your safety. A girl wasn’t something that she was expecting, and her husband wanted a son. She was worried that he would’ve hurt you…or worse.” Hermione shivered. “Your mother did something very brave. She sent you off with a note to my cousin–Melinda. Melinda was informed by your mother’s nurse that she was to take care of you until you came of age to go to Hogwarts. Nobody was to find out about you, or know the truth of where you came from.”
Hermione nodded and he continued. “Mina came to me the day after you were born and made me your godparent. Legally, should anything happen to her or your father I was to take care of you. Unfortunately…she died a few years later..” Snape trailed off as if he was unsure of how to continue. “After your brother was born.”
Hermione was sure that she stopped breathing.
“I have a brother?” Snape nodded minutely.
“Yes.”
“Do you know who he is?” Snape nodded.
She gulped, doing the math in her head. “Do I know who it is?”
Snape stared at her for a moment. “Yes.”
She sputtered, anxiety brewing in her chest. “What happened to my mother? Why didn’t my father come for me? Does my brother know about me? Why did she choose you? What do–” Snape cut her off as he raised his hand.
“Nobody knows what happened to your mother exactly…there are unpleasant rumors about your father…Anyways. She is buried in your family plot. Your father didn't and doesn’t know about you and I need you to keep it that way. You would be in danger if he found out. Mina told him that you had died, that you didn’t make it through childbirth.” Snape winced as if remembering something horrible. “Mina and I were friends…well, she was closer with Melinda than she was with me but we had similar…lives and a friendship was born because of it.” He stared at her for a moment, knowing that he had left out the answer to one of her questions. “Your brother…I believe has pieced it together. You look extraordinarily similar to your mother.”
“Pieced it to-” Her eyes widened and they flew to Snape’s. “You mean, he’s here. He’s here at Hogwarts.” Suddenly the pieces started to fit together and the room started to spin.
“I never thought that I would see warmth in eyes that resembled my fathers.”
Theo’s words echoed in her head as everything went black.
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She had woken up in the Infirmary, curtains drawn tight around her bed. She sat up quickly noticing that her arms were restrained. A squeak broke from her lips and her curtain was suddenly whipped open, Snape’s eyes landing on hers. Her arms ached and she was confused, a headache lingering at the forefront of her mind. He was eyeing her suspiciously and everything came rushing back to her quickly. Her eyes widened and she stared at him.
It didn’t startle her now, and she realized that it felt like pieces of her had fallen into place finally. An explanation settling into her soul as she realized that there was an explanation for everything. That there were reasons and questions to answers that she had for years.
Snape walked forward, vanishing the restraints. “You passed out, and had a panic attack. When you would come to you weren’t fully there. I think that you were mentally strained and had a mild psychotic break.”
“Did…does anybody know that I’m here?” Hermione was watching Snape carefully, looking for any sign that he was going to restrain her again. She noted that he was watching her as if looking for any sign that he was going to have to restrain her again. She narrowed her eyes as he shook his head.
“No. Although I am sure that your friends will tear the castle apart if they don’t hear from you soon. You left class…rather abruptly.” He raised an eyebrow at her and she knew that he was referring to it the nicest way possible. She had fled crying like a mad man.
“I don’t particularly care if Harry and Ron are looking for me right now. I have nothing to say to Ronald since he hasn’t apologized.” Her eyes flitted to her wrist and she realized that Snape had followed her gaze, his eyes narrowing.
“I wasn’t referring to Potter and Weasley.” He stopped in front of her. “What exactly does Weasley have to apologize for?”
“You’re the Head House for Slytherin, I’m sure that you heard what the fight in Hagrid’s class was about.”
“On the contrary, I wasn’t aware of the particulars.”
Hermione swallowed. “Well. You wouldn't have been proud, they were standing up for somebody who isn’t Slytherin.”
“I believe that you’re still part Slytherin, Ms. Granger.” She snorted and slipped her legs from the side of the bed. Snape was eyeing her curiously.
“Can I possibly make it back to my dorm without being spotted?” Snape was staring at her. She rolled her eyes. “I’m not going to throw myself off of the Astronomy Tower if you’re worried. My life was rather tragic before you told me that Theo was my brother.”
Snape raised his eyebrow at her. “I never said that Theo was your brother. But, you are referred to as the Brightest Witch for your age.”
She nodded, placing her hands on her hips. “Am I able to go to my room without the risk of bumping into anybody?”
“Yes. If they’re where they’re supposed to be then they’re all in the Great Hall having dinner.”
Hermione nodded, turning to walk towards the door. She wanted to process this information now that her mind was clear. Now that she could think straight. She stopped, a question popping into her mind. “Did Narcissa and Lucius know? About me?”
Snape simply nodded.
“And Draco?” Snape stared at her for a moment.
“No. He did not. Theo might have voiced his suspicions. I’m not sure how much the boy knows or if he knows anything at all.” Hermione nodded, and slipped from the Infirmary, taking the stairs two at a time as she ran to her room.
The next few days she attempted to avoid everybody, rushing from class the minute that it was dismissed. Studying on the floor in her room, books strewn out across the floorboards. She had taken to stealing a snack here and there, munching on things that were left around the Common Room or arriving before everybody else to swipe something and eat it in her room. She wasn’t trying to not talk to anybody, she just didn’t know what to say. How do you look into the eyes of somebody you’ve known for years, spent time with, and tell them that they’re your brother?
How do you deal with the guilt of knowing that your brother was left in a house where he was beaten on a normal basis? How does one deal with the realization that she might not be good enough? What does this change? Hermione was staring at her notes in the library, before she thunked her head against the table, attempting to not fall asleep. She hadn’t been able to much–her brain was working through too many things to process.
A noise to her right had her stilling and she tried to peek out her hair. She saw Dragonhide shoes and let out a relieved breath. Lifting her head, she saw Draco staring at her, eyes flitting over her face carefully. “Granger?” His voice was soft, as if he was scared to say her name. She knew that she shouldn’t have been studying in the library–she just had far too much to research and carrying books one by one to her room was becoming too much of a hassle. Draco looked as if he hadn’t been sleeping. His usually combed and smooth hair was ruffled slightly, and there were small circles under his eyes. He looked almost as bad as she did. “Hermione?” His voice pulled her from her thoughts and she realized that he had dragged a chair in front of her, sitting just inches from her now. She hadn’t seen him do that. Maybe she was losing her mind.
“Hmm?”
“Have you been avoiding me because of…because of what happened in class?” Hermione blinked at him. Her eyes widened. He had been thinking that she had been avoiding him because of what she saw in class. She realized that Theo had seen his own mother and she hadn’t even thought about checking on him.
“Draco…no. I’m sorry. I’ve..” She fidgeted with her fingers and Draco exhaled softly. “I have been avoiding everybody because I wasn’t able to deal with information that I’ve been given recently.”
Hermione tilted her head up, peeking at him through her lashes. He was staring at her, and she watched him reach a hand out, his fingers brushing a few curls that fell against her cheek to tuck them behind her ear. “Talk to me, please?”
Maybe it was because she needed somebody to talk to, or maybe it was because it was Draco and he was begging–which she knew was a very un-Malfoy thing to do. But she found herself grabbing his hand, and dragging him through the halls to her room. He stilled outside of her door and raised an eyebrow at her. She rolled her eyes. “Really, Malfoy? I’m not bringing you here to snog you.”
He looked disappointed for a moment before smirking at her and followed after her. She dumped her books onto the table and climbed onto her bed, drawing her knees to her chest as she slipped under the blanket. Draco was sitting on the chair in front of her desk, studying her. She took a deep breath.
“It was my mother. What the Boggart turned into…it was my mother.” Draco nodded, letting her continue. “It…the things that it said were true. I couldn’t…I can’t save everybody. I can’t possibly be of any use besides my brain. Even then that’s never going to be enough to save the people around me. Anyways I..I was crying and couldn’t breath and I wound up in Snape’s office like a blubbering idiot.” Draco was silent. “He-he told me about my mother. Mina. I never knew her name before then. He said that she had left me at the Orphanage to protect me because she lied to my father saying I had died. She did it because she was scared that my father was going to kill me because I wasn’t a boy.”
Draco inhaled sharply. “Snape is my godfather. I’m not sure what exactly that entails besides him being responsible for me, but he is. He told me that my mother died…shortly after my brother was born.” Draco’s eyes snapped up to hers, gray eyes swirling with something. “My brother…that is currently in the same class as me. The same brother who told me that he had never seen such warmth in his fathers eyes. The same eyes that he looks into when they beat him. The same eyes that looked at him and didn’t know that he was my brother..” She trailed off, a hiccup breaking from her lips and Draco was at her side in an instant, drawing her against his chest. “I was terrified and the Boggart took the form of our mother that died and I have been selfishly sitting in this room terrified to talk to him because I didn’t know how to. I didn’t know what to say. I don’t even know if he would still be my friend after finding out, let alone wanting to be my brother.”
She was full on sobbing now, tears tumbling from her eyes.
“And I’m so exhausted because these bloody classes have been keeping me busy as I attend double classes and courses and I can’t sleep. I can’t sleep and it’s reminding me of when I was terrified of the Basilisk and all that I want to do is talk to my friends and I can’t.” Draco was cradling her head, his hand rubbing circles along her back.
“Hermione. Breathe.” She tried to, focusing on the rise and fall of his chest. Slowly she felt herself calm, and she counted the beats of Draco’s heart against her ear. She pulled back, but Draco didn’t release her fully. Instead, his hands smoothed her hair from her face, and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “The only reason that Theo is allowed to touch you the way that he does is because he believes that you’re his sister. He says that you look just like your mother, except for your eyes. Your eyes are exactly the same color as his fathers–but he meant what he said, Hermione. Your eyes give him warmth that he had never seen before. You give us all the warmth that we never knew we needed.”
Her heart stuttered and he leaned into her, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, leaving a burning feeling across her skin as he pulled away. His hands were still on her cheeks, fingers cupping her jaw. She tilted her head up to look at him and his eyes flicked to her lips then back to her eyes. She had never noticed the flecks of silver that swirled there before. Slowly, he leaned in, his eyes flicking back and forth from her eyes to her lips.
Her eyes fluttered closed, and she reached up to wrap her arms around his neck. Carefully, as if a feather was brushing against her lips, Draco kissed her. Softly, sweetly and so gently that she wouldn’t have believed it to be real if it weren’t for the feel of his hands burning fire into the flesh of her cheeks.
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Avoiding had been forcefully delayed when The Fat Lady disappeared from her portrait. She had relaid that Sirius was somehow in the castle and all of the students found themselves in the Great Hall snuggling into Sleeping Bags. She was the only one who wasn’t required to sleep with their House because she didn’t have one. Her eyes flicked to Harry, giving him a reassuring smile before she saw Theo. He was standing in the back of the room, his hands fidgeting with the edges of his sleeping bag. He wasn’t looking at her, but his blue eyes had lost a little bit of light and her heart squeezed.
Her eyes met Draco’s across the room and he motioned towards Theo with his head. She nodded, slowly making her way over to him and his head snapped up when she was only a few feet away. He froze, blue eyes wide as they watched her. She swallowed, opening her mouth just to close it again. She wasn’t sure what to say. He was watching her intently, and then he narrowed his eyes on her. She was wearing a jumper, with sweatpants, and she realized that the sleeves were rolled up. Faint and fading bruises were noticeable on her forearm and she hastily dragged her sleeve down to cover it again.
Theo’s eyes snapped up to hers before flicking over to Draco–who was staring at her arm with flaring nostrils and a clenched jaw. She swallowed again and turned, spreading out her sleeping bag next to Pansy’s without another word. She couldn’t very well discuss how they were related right in the middle of the Great Hall with the whole school listening, nor could they–or would they, she hoped–hex Ron in the middle of the room with witnesses.
She scrambled under the blanket, peeking out at Draco, who was glaring across the room. Theo threw down his sleeping bag and tucked himself into it awkwardly, turning to face her. He was studying her intently for a moment before reaching out his hand towards her. It took her a moment and then she reached her hand out, clasping it with his. Surprising her, he flicked her arm over and pushed up her sleeve, revealing the fading bruises. He slipped the sleeve higher and revealed the others that were on her upper arm. His eyes narrowed and she noticed a blonde head come into view over his shoulder. Theo and Draco were staring at her arm and she yanked it from Theo’s light hold.
She narrowed her eyes on them. “It’s fine. They’re almost gone, just leave it. You’ve both done enough already.”
Draco snorted. “After yesterday I don’t think that I’ve done enough now, actually.” She flushed remembering their kiss and Theo whirled around at Draco, who simply smirked and shrugged. Theo reached out to punch him in the shoulder. “Bloody hell, Theo. You’re attacking the wrong man here. I’m innocent.”
Hermione rolled her eyes.
Theo turned back to her and she remembered what he had said about her eyes. She swallowed. “Are you okay, Hermione?” Theo's voice was small and she wanted to reach out and protect him from every evil in this world.
Instead, a whispered question tumbled from her lips before she could think. “Do you have our mothers eyes, Theo?”
He stared at her, eyes widening. For a while, neither one of them said anything and gradually the whispers around then faded out as people fell asleep. Carefully, she shuffled closer to him, and he stayed frozen. Then, in a whisper he answered. “Yes. Yes, I have our mothers eyes.”
Hermione nodded, reaching out to stroke one of his curls between her fingertips. “I'm sorry, Theo. I'm so sorry.” He brushed the hair from her face, his hand intertwining with hers as he pressed a soft kiss to her knuckle.
“So am I, Hermione. So am I.”
They fell asleep holding hands and staring into each other's eyes, wishing that they could say a thousand things that hung in the air between them.
It was the first night that she fell asleep knowing that her brother was safe.
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After an awkward class from Snape–who had filled in for Professor Lupin who apparently was sick–they learned about Werewolves. This piece of information had been burning in her head as she thought about why Snape chose to skip two complete lessons in the first place.
Then, Harry had gone and fallen off of his broom in the middle of a Quidditch Match, and Hermione realized that they still hadn't talked since Hagrid's class. She snuck into the Hospital Wing to visit him and he convinced her to hear out Ron–who apparently was incredibly sorry for what he had done.
Harry cornered her the same day he was released from the Infirmary with Ron–who gave her a half apology that she accepted just because she didn't want to upset Harry more. He was looking awkward and out of place as he stood there staring at her while Ron sputtered useless words.
“I forgive you, Ron. I'm sorry that things happened the way that they did. I know you didn't mean to grab me like that. It's okay.” Honestly, she just wanted him to shut up.
Ron let out a sigh and Harry ran a hand through his hair. They were at Hogsmeade, Harry had worn the invisibility cloak and snuck there through a secret passageway. Ron was furious that his brothers didn't give him the map and Harry refused to give it up.
They were standing next to the fence with the shrieking shack when Hermione heard footsteps approaching. Ron threw his arm over her just as Harry slipped back under the cloak. Hermione turned, narrowing her eyes at Ron as she tried to shrug out of his embrace. Ron only tightened his grip on her, pulling her closer.
Her head whipped towards whoever had been approaching and found Draco glaring at them. His eyes were focused on Ron's arm slung around her shoulders. When Draco's eyes met hers they were cold and detached and dread settled into her stomach.
“Out here having a moment with your boyfriend, are we?” Draco was glaring at her. “Shopping for future homes? This one might be a bit too grand for Weasley, his family sleeps in one room.”
“Shut up, Malfoy.”
Hermione stepped in front of Ron, only to get herself out from under Ron's arm. Ron, instead rested his hand on her forearms and Draco's eyes flashed. “I don't think you could afford everything this one would want, Weasley. Might need to pick one with lower standards.”
Hermione turned, just as a snowball flew from the forest. She watched as all of the boys scrambled in the snow, looking around wildly. Gregory’s pants fell down and he landed face first in the snow. Draco was dragged towards the Shrieking Shack by his feet and Hermione stifled a giggle when they all scrambled away.
“Harry!” Harry slipped from the cloak, laughing.
They made their way back into Hogsmeade and Hermione failed to convince Harry not to follow after the Minister as they slipped inside the Three Broomsticks. Heads stopped them from entering and Hermione was left to sit awkwardly with Ron on the bench outside as they waited.
“Don't ever do what you did at the Shrieking Shack again, Ron.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Your arm. Don't put your arm around me like that.”
“I was trying to keep you safe. I figured if they saw you there with me they'd leave you alone.”
Hermione snorted, turning back towards the door. “You wanted to get back at him for what happened in class that day, not keep me safe. I'm not daft Ron.”
He didn't say anything and Hermione watched footprints appear in the snow. She shot up, following after them until they led to a rock in front of the Shrieking Shack. She heard the faint sounds of crying and went to step towards it. Ron reached out, grabbing her arm to stop her, shaking his head.
Hermione glared at him before ripping her arm from him, he tightened his grip and shook his head harder. “Give him a minute, Mione’.”
She glared at him and slowly peeled his fingers off of her arm before making her way towards Harry. Carefully, she reached out, kneeling in the snow as her fingertips grasped the invisibility cloak.
Harry stared at her, green eyes shining with tears. “He killed them. He got parents killed. He was their FRIEND!” Hermione jumped, as Harry yelled. “I'm going to kill him. I hope that he finds me before I find him because I'm going to kill him.”
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Hermione sat in the library, attempting to catch up on all of her schoolwork. She was behind in Ancient Runes and Transfiguration. Just as she had finished a scroll, tying the ribbon to it–Theo, Blaise, Pansy and Draco made their way over to her table. She barely nodded in acknowledgment as she tucked away the few books that she didn’t need anymore.
“Granger?”
“Mm?”
“Why are you studying for all of these? You can’t possibly be taking all of these classes. Some of these are at the same time.” Pansy was lifting the cover of one of her books, eyeing her curiously. Hermione reached out, pushing the book back down onto the table.
“What can I say, I enjoy being an Insufferable Know-It-All, maybe I just enjoy taking on extra studying.” They all stared at her and she realized that her tone came out snippier than intended. She sighed, banging her head on the table before lifting it again to stare at them. “I’m sorry that was completely uncalled for. I just have a lot going on. I apologize.”
She reached up, twisting her hair into a bun and spearing it with her wand. Draco was watching her every movement and she met his eyes. They were guarded, and she missed the silver swirls as she stared back at him. Theo was working on his own notes, sitting next to her quietly. Blaise and Pansy were now playing some slap-hand game that she didn’t recognize. It was difficult to concentrate.
Pansy bumped the table and her inkwell poured onto her sleeve. She yelped, earning a glare from Madam Pince. Draco was narrowing his eyes at her and she was fighting the urge to shriek. Pansy swallowed, grabbing Blaise’s hand as she quietly led him through the stacks and away from the table. Hermione rolled up her sleeves, ignoring the ink on her sleeve, and vanished the rest from the table with a heavy sigh.
Tugging the hair on her scalp she attempted to massage her temples. “Hermione?”
“Yes?”
“Let me see your schedule.” She froze. Theo couldn’t see her schedule because then he would know. “I already know that you’re somehow taking more classes than anybody else is. There is no way that you would –well nevermind you would be doing all of the extra work just for fun–but, you’re stressed out. You’ve lost weight because you haven't been eating and you look like you barely sleep.”
Hermione gazed down at her slightly loose fitting clothes and glared. Curse Theo and his ability to notice the things even she didn’t. Curse herself for knowing that she won’t lie to him, they had been kept in the dark from one another long enough. She sighed, cursing under her breath as she raised her head to look at them. They were staring at her, eyes wide.
“What?” Lowering her voice, she leaned towards them. “Bloody hell, alright. Professor McGonagall gave me a time-turner to be able to attend more classes. I’ve been using it to double up. The workload is just…a bit much to be honest. I’m falling a bit behind and I forget to eat because I’m so engrossed in finishing my work and by the time that I get what I need done I’m just exhausted and go to bed. Do you know how exhausting it is to go back in time at least twice a day and attend classes while making sure that I am not spotted, while making sure that when I come back to that point in time I’m not crossing paths with my previous self? Then on top of that I haven’t even talked to you yet about everything and don’t get me started on you, Draco. Dealing with Harry and Ron and bloody hell it’s all just mentally exhausting. I think I’m going mad. You might have to admit me to the ward”
They were now staring at her like she was mad. She groaned, slapping her hands over her eyes. “Sorry. Sorry.”
Neither said anything for a moment, and then carefully, Draco pried her hands away from her face. “What do you need, Granger? How can we help?” His thumb brushed across her hand and she sighed, letting him massage her hand.
“That, that feels wonderful. Just keep doing that. Thank you.” Draco smirked, pulling her hand across the table as his fingers gently massaged the tendons in her hand. Theo narrowed his eyes at Draco before turning back towards her carefully.
“I can’t help much with the school part but Draco and I can make sure that you’re actually eating. We will make sure that you’re eating so that you don’t waste away in front of us. As for the talk you’re referring to…we’ll have it when we’re ready to talk about everything. Honestly…I just am happy to have you here. Everything else is just…” He furrowed his brows as if he was searching for the right word. “Everything else is just history that we’ll learn eventually. As for Draco, if you would like me to sock him for you I could arrange that.” Draco chuckled, releasing her hand and pulling the other one across the table.
Both of them stilled, and Draco carefully turned her arm over, his fingers brushing over her arm. Her eyes flitted down to where they were staring and gasped. She had forgotten to check if Ron had grabbed her the other day and had bruised. Of course, she wouldn’t have noticed. She swallowed, staring at the purplish colored circle on her forearm.
“I fell in the snow the other day?” It came out as a question and both boys' eyes snapped to glare at her. She rolled her eyes and tried to tug her arm from Draco, who narrowed his eyes at her further. She sighed, flipping her arm back over and nudging him with her hand. “If you’re not going to give this hand a massage I’m taking it back.” Slowly, Draco’s fingers moved to her palm, smoothing the tension that was building there. Neither of them said anything and she watched as they turned to each other, sharing a quiet nod.
“What was that?” Neither of them spoke and she pulled her hand away from Draco, pointing between the two of them. “Why did you two just do that? What are you planning?”
“Absolutely nothing, darling.” Draco finally spoke, a scary smile morphing on his face and she pulled back, narrowing her eyes at him.
“Draco.” She smiled even more when she called him his name, his eyes flashing and stood. Theo did as well, leaning over to kiss her cheek the same time as Draco did with the other one. She sputtered, looking between the two. “You two are definitely planning something. What are you doing?”
“Just going to go swipe you something from the kitchens.” She narrowed her eyes at them as they made their way out of the library.
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They did in fact swipe her two delicious scones from the kitchens and had continuously left her random snippets here and there. Whenever she was sitting in the Great Hall, even if it was with Harry–they both would walk by and slip something onto her plate. She was convinced that they were trying to fatten her up for something by the second week. When nothing happened she let her suspicions lessen, wondering just what it was that they had been planning in the library.
Harry had caught her one day, telling her that they were going to check on Hagrid because his trial was today. He was going over everything that she seemed to have missed getting caught up in her studies and a pang of guilt shot through her when she realized that she had been neglecting this friendship as well. She followed after him across the courtyard while Ron followed close by as they made their way towards Hagrid’s.
Ron was glaring at her, his eyes narrowed on Crookshanks who was following behind them. “It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?”
Ron was still staring at her, mumbling. “It would be a beautiful day if you weren’t ripped into pieces.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Your cat! I can’t find Scabbers! The bloody murderer probably ripped him to shreds!”
Hermione rolled her eyes. “Crookshanks is always with me and I have barely been around you in the castle so how exactly would that be possible, Ronald?”
Harry shrugged. “She has a point, Ron.”
“Maybe you just need to keep better track of your pets, Ronald.” Hermione strolled ahead, ignoring his sputtering as she basked in the feel of the warmth on her skin. The weather was starting to get nicer and all of the snow had melted away leaving warm rays to caress her skin.
They found Hagrid standing off a bit into the lake, his pant legs rolled up as he skipped rocks. He was dressed nicely–as nice as she supposed he could look. His wild hair and beard was brushed, and he donned a large fur jacket partnered with a tie.
“How did the hearing go, Hagrid?” Harry was rolling up his pant legs as well, searching for rocks at the edge of the water.
“Well. About as good as could be expected. They all started with why they were there, and I of course said how good Buckbeak was. Always cleaning his feathers. Lucius stood up and..” Hagrid trailed off, chucking the rock he was holding across the water. “He said that Buckbeak was dangerous and unpredictable.”
Hermione watched the massive man chuck another rock across the water. “Then what happened?”
“You didn’t get sacked…did you Hagrid?” Ron asked quietly and for once Hermione noted that he asked a good question. Hagrid shook his head, chucking another rock into the water as he let out a strangled cry.
“No. Worse than that. They sentenced Buckbeak to death!”