Chapter Text
“Theo! For Salazar sake, if you are so bloody hungry then go to dinner. You’re a big boy, and I think you can manage sitting by yourself for one bloody meal.” Draco waved Theo off as he wove through the maze that was the Room of Requirement.
Theo’s palms were sweaty with his growing anxiety. He knew a certain curly haired witch that Draco would not be keen on seeing was already in here. All Theo had to do was ensure the blonde was as far from this room as possible. As well as, keep an eye out for Potter, but seeing as Potter had decided that Draco was a Death Eater now and was up to no good it nearly guaranteed the two to always be around each other. Which made Theo’s responsibilities a bit easier. All Theo really had to do was keep Draco in a fairly public area and Potter followed like clockwork.
It had worked every night before, but apparently not tonight! The bloody blonde was in a particularly brooding mood and rejected any thought of being in public, which meant no dinner for Theo, much to the disappointment of his already protesting stomach. Since Draco wasn’t eating much these days, unfortunately that meant neither was Theo.
“Drac, you didn’t eat lunch today, or breakfast actually. So, you should really eat din-” Theo was grabbing at the blonde’s arm as a last ditch attempt before he rounded the familiar corner at the end of the narrow path. Draco swiveled back with a glare that nearly sent Theo to an early death. Of course Theo would survive his violently abusive father and the bloody Dark Lord to only be killed by an overly dramatic blonde prat’s glare.
“Come on mate, let’s just go real qui-” Theo tugged one more time and Draco ripped his arm out of Theo’s grip, sneering.
“I can fucking eat when this bloody cabinet is repaired!” Draco hissed, turning back around, then suddenly stilled mid step. Theo could see Draco’s breath catching in his chest when his eyes landed on her.
“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Staying as still as possible, Theo cursed under his breath. He drew his wand and kept it ready at his hip, gripping it tightly in his damp palm. He was unsure of who he would have to deflect a hex from first. Hermione’s wild curls and terrified wide eyes were frozen in place directly in front of the Slytherin pair that had just rounded the corner. Theo internally groaned already knowing he was going to get an ear full from her later.
Hermione stood in front of the cabinet, rooted in place. Her wand was still raised and pointed at the inside of the cabinet, a faint glow at the tip, and doors open wide on either side. There was no way for her to claim ignorance, not that anyone would believe her anyways. Hermione was the brightest witch of her age and everyone knew it. Of course she would know what the bloody hell she was doing in the cabinet.
Hermione knew Malfoy wasn’t stupid either. He would know. Her chest rose and fell with a quickened pace giving hint to her terrified and anxious internal response.
Merlin, would he try to kill her?
She hadn’t thought about that yet. She should have considered that an actual possibility. A ‘mudblood’ working in the cabinet he was ordered to fix? But Malfoy hadn’t called her that name in a long time. Hermione realized at that moment how stupid she had been. Malfoy would absolutely try to kill her. It was his life that was on the line after all.
“Ganger, what are you doing?” Draco had to blink a few times to signal his brain that he was actually seeing the erratic curly haired witch in front of him. He had known someone else had been aiding in the repair job. He had been driving himself half mad trying to figure it out. Theo had been absolutely no help in the matter, poking holes in every line of thinking Draco could string together. Of all the people in this bloody school, he would not have guessed Granger would be the one. Of course the bloody swot could do it, but he never imagined she would. Not for him at least.
Hermione had never heard his voice to be so soft and unguarded. Her head was starting to spin.
“Theo said you needed help,” she mumbled, her eyes locked on Draco’s unable to look away.
Why wasn’t he yelling at her? More importantly, why wasn’t he raising his wand at her?
Draco’s attention was snapped back by her nearly whispered answer. He had been so lost in attempting to understand why Potter’s golden girl was in front of him, that he had forgotten he had already asked her outright.
There was too much in her muttered answer for Draco to process quickly enough.
Draco could feel his head spinning. Had she just called Theo by his first name? She did. She didn’t say Nott or even Theodore, but he was Theo to her. Then there was the part leading him to understand that she had agreed to help him?
None of it made sense. Why would she ever want to help him? He had been nothing but cruel to her for years. He was ruthless in her tormenting for most of their years in school together. It could be argued he had made a bloody hobby out of it. Last year, he had stopped his comments toward her all together, not that any of that would make up for the years before. He found that he didn’t get the same enjoyment of seeing her cry for some reason.
Draco could easily recognize that he didn’t deserve her help.
Did she even know what she was helping with?
Had Theo bothered to mention that little bit of information to her?
Draco was certain Theo hadn’t, because there was no way Hermione fucking Granger would have agreed if she knew.
Theo shifted behind the frozen Prince of Slytherin. He could hear the gears grinding exceptionally hard in Draco’s head attempting to understand the golden girl in front of him. For a split second, Theo almost felt bad, but then the feeling quickly disappeared and he relished in Draco’s lack of understanding of the situation. The arrogant prat finally wasn’t able to claim he knew everything.
Theo knew that Draco wouldn’t understand any time soon. There were too many layers to this, too many years of background that built to this exact moment. Curiosity stirred in Theo’s chest watching the unlikely pair in front of him. Draco wasn’t flying into a fit of sneering anger that was typically associated with the Malfoy heir, and Theo couldn’t decide if it was alarming or possibly a good thing.
“You do know why I’m repairing the cabinet?” Draco groaned internally, suddenly feeling embarrassment rise in his chest. He needed to do something about his tone. It was too soft and gentle, and Draco was never either of those two things. He wasn’t sure he had ever used a tone like this before. There was something about Granger’s large doe eyes that were the color of warm honey staring back at him that demanded gentleness from him.
Hermione’s pools of gold looked at Draco's sea blue iris’ blown wider than she had ever seen.
Seeing her look at him like that made Draco’s stomach twist. It always had, ever since he first called her ‘mudblood’. Draco hadn’t really wanted to call her that, but Blaise had been using the term so frequently that it was nearly cemented in his head and the moment seemed perfect for it. He regretted it the exact moment he saw a tear fall down her cheek. Her eyes had been large like they were currently. Always deep pools of warm golden honey staring back at him, demanding something more of him that he didn’t know existed.
Hermione couldn’t pull a full breath into her body. This wasn’t the Malfoy she had experienced in the hallways. He wasn’t sneering at her, or making fun of her appearance. She could see he was deathly thin and the dark circles under his eyes confirmed he wasn’t sleeping. He was unnaturally pale, even for his normal alabaster colored skin. Hermione was going crazy, she had to be, because the Malfoy in front of her was being gentle in his tone and even patient in his questioning of her.
She nodded so subtly to his question that Draco nearly missed it. He was entirely lost in his own thoughts about her eyes.
Draco blinked as he watched her nod.
She knew why and was still helping him? Had she lost the plot or had he?
She was part of the Golden Trio. She was Potter’s Golden Girl for Merlin’s sake, and here she was willingly helping a Death Eater to bring other Death Eaters into Hogwarts. Draco was certain that was the only part she knew. There would be no way she would be here if she knew the other half of his assignment.
Golden girls didn’t help murders.
“Ganger, I can’t let you keep helping me.” He heard Theo shuffle behind him, presumably out of discomfort. He couldn’t blame him, Draco felt increasingly more uncomfortable with each second that passed. Draco had no idea who the bloody hell had taken over his body, because he had never acted this patient or thoughtful of someone else before.
Hermione lowered her wand to her side as her brows furrowed and her lips pressed tightly together. Draco internally cursed, he knew this look. Practically all of Hogwarts knew this look. He had seen her give it to the Weasel too many times to count.
Since his abandonment of her torment last year, Draco had been able to observe her in a different light. His observation of the brilliant witch resulted in him not understanding why she stuck around the redhead with the way he treated her. Potter seemed to be the better of the two boys, but not by much. Draco knew he had no room to talk of course. He had spent the better part of nearly five years positioning himself as the top tormentor in her life.
“Now you’ve bloody done it.” Theo groaned, watching Hermione take position. He huffed as he waited for her to stomp her foot that was sure to happen in the next thirty seconds.
Draco, of course, had the audacity to tell the bloody stubborn witch she couldn’t do something. Being on the receiving end of this verbal lashing one too many times, Theo knew what was coming. He knew the golden girl could be ruthless when she wanted. The evident similarities between the witch and wizard in front of Theo were not lost on him, and almost made him laugh. Theo was just thankful either of their furies weren’t directed at him for once.
“You can not tell me what to do, Malfoy!” She had straightened herself rigidly and crossed her arms over her chest.
Draco wondered how old she really was with the way she was carrying on in an exaggerated pout. He made a quick decision to change his tactics, fully recognizing that he was getting absolutely nowhere with the stubborn swot in front of him. He took a half step to the side and angled himself to bring the two on either side of him into his line of sight. Theo arched his brow and had an amused smirk directed toward him. Draco cursed Theo internally.
Of course he would find this mess amusing.
“Why did you drag her into this? Was my life being ruined not enough?” Draco demanded of Theo, motioning to the pouting witch to his side. A sense of familiarity washed over him as his tone shifted back to a sneering hiss.
“This isn’t Theo’s fault, Malfoy! I offered to help!” Hermione came to Theo’s aid faster than Theo could even open his mouth to respond.
Draco’s brows shot up into his forehead at the word ‘offered’, turning back to Hermione. She called him Theo and was now claiming she had actually offered to help. A dangerous emotion that Draco wasn’t entirely familiar with rose up in Draco’s chest, threatening to choke him.
What was she to Theo?
Were they...?
Merlin, why did that possibility ignite a burning anger in him?
“Are you two...?” Draco’s brows came together as he looked between Hermione and Theo. He couldn’t help but feel like a bloody idiot. There were a million questions he should be asking, and this was not one of them. What did it matter if Granger and Theo were a couple? It shouldn’t have mattered at all to Draco, but he couldn’t shake the urgency for him to know. Confusion was beginning to drown him, understanding why it felt like the question was burning in his throat.
“Fuck no, Draco be serious!”/”Absolutely not!” Nearly in unison they both scrunched up their faces in a variation of disgust. Their similarly repulsed responses were certainly not the ones Draco had expected.
The way they had responded almost gave the impression of siblings. Draco was satisfied enough for it to be another mystery for another time. Along with this new odd whirlwind of emotions he was needing to process, he would add the rush of overwhelming relief he was suddenly feeling to the list. The three of them stood in silence for a moment, until Hermione spoke.
“You need to know you aren’t alone in this Malfoy. I’m going to help you and you can’t stop me. If it wasn’t for me you would be weeks behind in progress anyways.” She huffed and swiftly turned, bringing her wand back up to the cabinet.
Theo chuckled softly, amused that he wasn’t the witch’s target finally. Draco ran his hand through his hair in disbelief, unable to take his eyes off of her. Then it hit Draco. He knew exactly what to say to get her to understand how stupid she was being about this, about him.
“What will your beloved Potter say when he finds out his golden girl is helping a Death Eater?” A small smirk twitched at the corner of his mouth when he noticed Hermione stilled at his question. Draco caught Theo tense and dropped his arms from his chest as his fists tightened near his hips. That was another interesting response to catalogue and process later.
“He-he’ll understand. He’ll see that none of this was your choice.” Hermione turned back toward Draco. He had to hold himself still from falling slightly back. When Draco had shifted his eyes back toward the golden girl he had been wholly unprepared for the sympathy blanketing her features.
Draco had seen pity before. McGonagall was notorious for looking at him with such a depth of pity that it infuriated him to no end. But the witch in front of him now was only looking at him in sympathy. The same witch who had just claimed that none of this was his choice. She was bloody right of course. The swot was always right, even though he wouldn’t admit it.
Draco wouldn’t have chosen any of this. If he could go back he would change nearly every decision he had ever made, or really had been made for him. He thought about it often actually. He would lay in bed at night when he couldn’t sleep, which recently was more often than not, and he would walk through every decision in his life. Spending nearly the whole night imagining he had the ability to choose for himself, and that his life would be different from the hellscape he currently was living in.
Last summer he had been running through another round of what he would have chosen instead of what was chosen for him, when he decided that he would never have called Granger ‘mudblood’. Draco remembered how she had looked when she started crying, and he felt sick all over again. Draco wasn’t entirely sure why, but he decided then that he wasn’t going to call her that name again. He never told anyone naturally, but he had kept true to his decision.
“He won’t.” Draco didn’t want to think about what her friend’s responses would be when they found out she was helping Malfoy, the Death Eater. He had picked up on Potter following him around obsessively, so Draco knew it was only a matter of time before she would be caught.
Draco slid his hands into his pocket and sighed as he looked up at the ceiling. He found himself wondering if he even had a right to worry about her like this? He didn’t think he did, but the worry was still settling in his chest uncomfortably.
Theo narrowed his eyes at the Malfoy heir and youngest marked Death Eater. His behavior was so different from how he had been taught to carry himself. Theo understood that being Draco Malfoy came with an obscene amount of expectation that was blatantly heavy on the blonde. He had seen the wear and tear it had inflicted upon Draco.
Hermione had always been insistent that there was more to Draco. Theo had been hopeful, but had never been fully convinced. Much like everything else in the witch’s life, she was confident that there had been some other, better, version of Draco buried deep in the blonde prat. Theo didn’t have the blind trust and endless hope that she possessed.
Theo had chalked it up to the crush she harbored, but would never admit. Hermione had convinced herself that there was a less cruel Draco, because she wanted there to be one. After all, what would it say about her if she was attracted to her several years long bully?
But watching Draco interact with her now made Theo start to believe the witch might have actually been a seer, or had some ability in the divination realm. Maybe there was some good in Draco, deep beneath the surface. Merlin only knows how the hell she had been able to see it.
“I’ve got about maybe a half hour of work left. Why don’t you both go to dinner?” Her curls had swayed as she turned back toward the cabinet, her wand’s tip glowing a faint white again.
“No Granger.” Draco wasn’t ready to leave her vicinity just yet. This was one of the first interactions they’ve had where she wasn’t crying and he wasn’t having to sneer at her. He found it oddly enjoyable and didn’t want it to end. Draco started racking his brain to come up with some reason for him to stay.
“The repair job is on my head, so I’ll need to know what you are doing.” Draco groaned internally. That was the best he could come up with?
The swot was named the brightest witch of our age for fuck sake. She certainly didn’t need him checking her work. Not to mention, she had been fixing his mistakes for who bloody knows how long. Draco cursed internally at his glaring stupidity.
“I’ll have you know Malfoy, I’ve been not only repairing the cabinet but also fixing your mistakes for weeks now.” She rolled her eyes and huffed irritably. Draco felt his irritation twitch. Of course, she would feel the need to explain that to him.
“Right Granger, the bloody swot knows what she’s doing.” Draco looked down toward her, letting his smirk show.
Hermione watched him calculatingly, her wand still pointed at the cabinet. Draco took that as a good sign. At least she wasn’t ready to hex him yet.
Hermione watched as Draco moved closer toward her and she held her breath. She couldn’t figure out why her wand was drawn, but couldn’t manage to point it at him. Draco stopped by her side, but just slightly behind her. She could smell him. An earthy mint wrapped around her. She had expected him to have some awful, and wildly expensive cologne. Hermione found his smell relaxing, grounding even.
Draco had carefully considered the spot he had positioned himself in to allow him to lean in toward her without much suspicion. He could hover behind her, make it seem like he was watching her repair the cabinet.
He stood the closest to her than he ever had, and Merlin, Draco found her scent to be intoxicating. She smelled like lavender. It was faint, and delicate. He let his eyes rove over her as she took in a breath and wet her lips nervously.
“Talk me through what you’re doing to my cabinet.” Draco’s voice had grown quieter and more gentle mirroring his tone he had used with her earlier.
Hermione could feel Malfoy’s cool breath brush against her skin.
Why was he so close?
Her mind felt jumbled for one of the first times in her life. He wanted her to tell him what she was doing, but she could hardly think straight, let alone explain the inner workings of the cabinet and how she was tweaking them.
What was Malfoy playing at now?
“Well-” She started rambling through the breakdown in the cabinet’s magic and how she was fixing it. Draco couldn’t bring himself to focus much on the cabinet, nor her explanation of it.
He let his eyes linger on her curls. The rich chocolate colored hair curled in an array of chaotic ringlets. Each one refusing to comply with the others around it. Draco decided they looked softer up close. He was suddenly overwhelmed with the need to twirl one around one of his long fingers.
Theo watched in utter shock at his two best friends, who just an hour ago could be labeled enemies. However, the two were now standing dangerously close while the sexual tension that was building between them was threatening to choke Theo.
Hermione prattled on about the cabinet, keeping herself as still as possible while Draco hummed behind her periodically as if he was listening to her lecture. Theo knew Hermione couldn’t see the way Draco was taking her in. Theo rolled his eyes knowing the blonde had positioned himself so she wouldn’t see the way he was consuming her, of course.
Theo watched Draco lean further in toward the witch in front of him, most likely unknown to him. The blonde was looking at her like he was seeing his purpose in life for the first time. Draco’s reverence was spilling out of him rapidly, and Theo knew they were all in trouble now.
The Malfoy men were always known for being cruel and ruthless, but they were also known among the pureblood society as being wholly devoted to their women. They were possessive and protective with extreme flourish.
Theo wasn’t surprised to see this new facet of the Malfoy bloodline to present in Draco. Everyone knew Malfoy men thought of themselves as above everyone else, everyone except their women. They were above all. Lucious’ multiple fuck ups could all be traced back to his devotion to his wife. He was surprised to see that it was Hermione who had brought it to the surface for Draco.
Draco was never considered a ladies man. He was a sight to look at of course. His platinum blonde hair, sharp features, tall and lean frame certainly caused most witches to turn their attentions toward the Malfoy heir, but he never seemed interested in any of them. Theo knew his on and off again flings with Pansy were just physical, for Draco at least.
The raven haired witch was hopelessly lost in the Malfoy heir, taking any scrap she could get. When Theo had asked about the couple's future, Draco waved him off. Stating that Parkinson had been a convenient means to his physical end. What he was implying was not lost on Theo. Draco was on the receiving end of a week long silent treatment from Theo after that conversation.
Theo cleared his throat and immediately Draco drew slightly back from Hermione and snapped his eyes back as if suddenly remembering Theo existed. Theo shot him a narrowed eyed protective warning, folding his arms over his chest again and leaning against a large piece of furniture facing the two of them. Theo saw how Draco had treated Pansy, and he would be damned if he let the blonde dish out the same treatment to Hermione. She was too good for Draco, in every sense.
Draco took note of the intimidation tactics that Theo was throwing toward him. The impression of a big brother and some facet of a sibling like relationship was now solidified between the two as far as Draco was concerned.
When the hell had that happened?
Hermione lowered her wand while the two boys stared each other down. She shifted slightly unsure of what to do now. The repair she had planned for tonight was done. She should leave, but her body kept her firmly planted dangerously close to Malfoy. His scent was wrapping around her, begging her to stay right here beside him.
Draco returned his gaze to the witch in front of him once more. Her wand was down and at her side again, and she had wordlessly closed the cabinet doors without him noticing. His time was up, and he couldn’t think of any logical reason to get her to stay.
“I’ll need to head back before someone notices.” Hermione pocketed her wand and began fiddling with the hem of her sleeve, not daring to look up at the Slytherin next to her. She needed to go, but there was another part of her that was screaming to find some excuse to stay, even just a few minutes longer.
“I don’t want you working in here alone, Granger. I need to know what you’re doing to the cabinet.” Hermione turned to face him, opening her mouth to protest but Draco was quicker. He wasn’t going to give her a way out. “Those are my terms, Granger. No negotiating. You can coordinate with Theo if you prefer that. Seeing as you two have been doing so already, I imagine that won’t be a problem.” Faint blush burned across her cheeks and Draco felt his heart quicken.
Bloody hell, what was wrong with him?
“Fine.” She bit out and then nodded to Theo. Just as she was about to round the corner out of their view, she stopped and promptly turned back to them, her curls swaying from the motion. “Goodnight Theo.” Theo nodded to her and then watched as her eyes moved over to Draco.
Hermione’s cheeks grew rosy as Draco was sure she could see that his heart was about to beat out of his chest. “Goodnight Malfoy.”
“Goodnight Granger.” He nodded to her and watched as the faint blush across her cheeks grew brighter. He could feel his breath catch again just as she spun, nearly running away from them. Her curls bounced wildly behind her.
“For fucks sake Draco, what the bloody hell was all that?” Theo demanded, throwing his hands up theatrically and pulling Draco out of his thoughts. All of which were focused solely on how her curls would feel wrapped around his finger. He was sure that he could wrap an entire curl around his finger, considering how long his fingers were.
Draco nearly rolled his eyes, thinking of Theo being a dramatic prat. “Me? You think I’m the problem here? You’ve bloody well signed her death warrant just letting her get involved in this whole mess!” Draco shot his hand out toward the path the golden girl had just darted down for emphasis.
“And why the hell is she calling you Theo?” Draco demanded not believing the audacity of Theo currently.
How the hell was Draco’s behavior the one in question?
Theo groaned and rubbed his face with both of his hands, “You don’t know what can of worms you are opening by just asking that.”
“Can of worms?” Draco was completely lost now. Had this something to do with Herbology? He didn’t think they had that class together, but he supposed he had been rather distracted this year.
“It’s a muggle phrase, Draco.” Theo scoffed as if Draco should have known that. Draco didn’t understand why Theo would assume he knew any muggle phrase. The longer Draco thought about it, his brows furrowing.
Why did Theo know a muggle phrase well enough to use it casually?
Theo watched as the wheels of confusion spun and spun faster in Draco’s head. He sighed again and pulled his wand out and configured a nearby trunk into a couch.
Theo plopped himself down on one edge of the couch and then patted the seat beside him. “Take a seat. This is going to take some time and I’m sure you will want to be sitting for most of this.” Theo kicked his feet up on a table he had accio’d just in front of the newly transfigured couch. Draco hesitated. For some reason he knew that this would be a choice he wasn’t going to regret, but he still felt unsure about it. Despite his hesitancy, Draco sat down next to Theo.
Draco wouldn’t admit it, but Theo had been right. It didn’t take a while and Draco had been thankful he was sitting. Over time, Draco slouched and leaned his head on the back of the couch feeling rather overwhelmed. Draco could hardly believe what he was hearing.
Theo had just laid out multiple years of a secret friendship with Granger, involving summers being spent with her parents in the muggle world. The way Theo spoke of Granger’s father led Draco to believe the muggle had become some mentor figure in his life. The sibling dynamic between Theo and Granger suddenly made a lot more sense.
Draco held his hair back looking wide eyed at the ceiling letting it all sink in.
Theo went into great detail of the several summers living with Granger and her muggle parents. Taking holidays together, and consuming a seemingly large amount of ice cream, and even seeing some muggle sport called football.
Theo had eventually told her all about the cabinet and Theo emphasized that she had immediately offered to help. The fact that it was a constant fight between the two of them for nearly a month before he finally gave in to her demands did not surprise Draco in the slightest.
“Draco, I’m going to tell you something that I need you to never mention it to anyone. Especially Hermione.” This caused Draco to perk up slightly. He let his eyes slide over to Theo, swimming in curiosity.
Theo looked over the blonde wizard that had just been thrown into a life altering tailspin. He knew he probably shouldn’t say this now, but there was a part of Theo that feared if he didn’t something incredibly important could pass by Draco and Hermione. Theo could recognize that this was Draco’s opportunity for more than just the horrible Malfoy, and now Death Eater, expectations that had come to define his life.
So with great hesitancy, Theo continued.
“I can tell she has a crush on you. She has for years. The stubborn witch just hasn’t admitted it yet.” Theo ran his hand through his own messy dark curls. “And based on your little performance a bit ago I suspect you feel the same.”
Draco knew he should have had an explosive response. He should have put at least some effort to make it seem like it was an absolutely preposterous idea for Theo to suggest such a thing. He was a pureblood wizard after all. The Malfoy heir and youngest Death Eater to ever take the mark. Draco was only allowed to have feelings for the pureblood women, most of which he had grown up with. He absolutely was not allowed to have any feelings for a muggleborn witch.
All that considered, Draco found what Theo had given a name to, explained the mess of emotions twisting inside of him. Draco looked back up at the ceiling still shoving his hair back from his forehead. Oh, this was a mess. A massive mess. Draco wouldn’t say it out loud, but he would acknowledge it internally.
Draco Malfoy had a crush on Hermione Granger.
He certainly shouldn’t. His father would sooner muder her and then promptly murder him if he found out. It didn’t matter if they ever even acted on their feelings or not. Or at least, if Draco acted on his feelings, he couldn’t speak to Granger's feelings, and he wouldn’t assume her. He’d seen enough people do that to her already. The whole potential of it all would surely be enough justification for dear old dad.
The only hitch in Lucious killing off Draco was the problem of leaving the Malfoy line without an heir. His father would certainly see that as a problem anyway. Draco could see his father making a case to adopt Blaise. Someone had to carry on the Malfoy name, and Blaise had always seemed to have some odd way of understanding Lucious better than Draco ever could. So maybe that would be for the best. The sound of Theo’s stern older brother tone jolted Draco from envisioning Blaise being adopted in his, murdered, place as the Malfoy heir.
“Hermione is good, Draco. She is pure. Purer than either of us will ever deserve. If you are going to act on this, you have to be all in.” Draco pulled his head off the back of the couch, letting go of his hair finally, and turned his full attention to Theo.
“What?” Draco found he was less than articulate tonight. That bloody witch really sent him into a state. He’d never felt so scattered, yet so focused before.
“I saw you.” Theo rolled his eyes. Draco couldn’t be this oblivious, could he? “You were practically huffing her hair, for Merlin’s sake.”
Draco muttered, allowing his body to slouch into the couch again, “She smells like lavender.” He was quickly thrown off course, envisioning himself playing with her curls and being surrounded by her lavender scent.
Theo groaned, throwing his hands up in exasperation, “I know she bloody smells like lavender, you prat! I’ve used the same bloody shampoo!” Theo was exhausted already, he had never experienced Draco like this in his entire life.
“You have?” Draco asked, rolling his head to the other side of the couch toward Theo, his brows raising in interest. Draco wasn’t sure why but he really felt the need to get his hand on that shampoo. Theo shot him a pointed look and promptly stopped Draco from asking the question Theo suspected he had been just about to ask.
Draco seemed to take the hint and waved his hand in the air lazily, “Right, all the summers spent galavanting about with the muggle lot.” Theo pinched the bridge of his nose and tipped his head back for a moment before sighing. “I can’t believe I’m even having this conversation right now, but Draco, you can’t use her. You can’t take a taste and then move on. She is not some means to your physical end.” Draco winced recognizing the phrase he had termed Pansy with.
Theo rubbed at his face again, wondering how the hell did this fall onto him. “You both have too much to lose over whatever this could turn into.” Not only had Theo turned into a babysitter for the past few months, he now found himself turned into some pseudo parent and intimidating big brother.
“Theo, I get it-” Draco started, but was cut off quickly.
“No! Draco, the point is you don’t!” Theo’s harsh tone startled Draco and commanded the blonde to look at him as he continued. “Hermione is willingly helping you repair a bloody cabinet to let Death Eaters into Hogwarts and give you the opportunity to assassinate Dumbledore. She is willing to help save your pretty little blonde head without even a kind word from you in the entire seven years you’ve known her. When in fact, all you have ever said to her until tonight were bigoted slurs.” Draco felt sick remembering all the different names and nasty comments he used to spit at her.
“She will lose all of her friends and every shred of life she knows to help keep you alive because she ‘can’t stand to see you not be given another choice’.” Theo raised his voice slightly and tossed his head back and forth dramatically as he mimicked the golden girl.
Draco stayed alarmingly quiet letting Theo’s words sink in. Draco had just recently settled into a passive nature around blood purity, with a great deal of influence and effort from Theo naturally. He would admit the whole prejudice was unfounded and was solely a powerplay for the older and obscenely rich wizarding families to keep their power. Still, was Draco willing to throw his entire life, and Granger’s life too apparently, out the window to explore some emotional whim that had only just gotten louder suddenly? It was almost like Draco had heard an audible click as all of it came together in his mind.
This wasn’t some sudden whim. He never had even a sliver of emotion when he had been with Pansy. The electrifying half hour of just standing near Granger and getting drunk off her scent was more than enough to convince him this was entirely different from the physical interactions he had with Pansy.
No, this was a several year old, carefully guarded, secret desire that finally burst out of the box he had tried to hide it in. He knew this was the truly first choice that was entirely his own to make. No one was deciding for him. No one had even known about it to make the choice for him. Draco had the full freedom to choose what he wanted.
So, that is what he was going to do.
Draco Malfoy was choosing Hermione Granger.