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Second Chances	By : ShigeSato Category: Harry Potter Crossovers > Het - Male/Female Views: 2964 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, settings or named spells/objects in the Harry Potter franchise. They are the intellectual property of JK Rowling and Warner Bros. I make no profit from this story.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
- 9
The next morning, Hermione woke groggily to the curtains around the bed being ripped away, and a loud and excitable exclamation. "I KNEW IT!" She looked up, blinking, to see Ginny standing triumphantly over them, arms crossed and grinning from ear to ear. Theo cursed and rolled over, still half-asleep, shielding his eyes from the light, and Hermione pulled the covers up over them both.
"Gin! Not exactly got much on, here," she said, gesturing at herself and Theo.
"Oh, fine," Ginny said, shutting the curtains again and turning away. "Your bra is on the floor, by the way," she called out, her voice muffled.
"Thank you!" Hermione said crisply, picking up the article and putting it on hastily. It would do until she could take a shower. She found Theo's shirt and put it on to cover herself, deciding the dress was far too much effort, then carefully extricated herself from the bed, leaving Theo to curl up and fall back asleep. She slipped outside the curtain and faced Ginny.
"I'm so happy for you!" Ginny shrieked, and hugged her. Hermione giggled, but put a finger to her lips. "Sshh. He's still sleeping." She pulled her friend over to another bed and they sat down.
"I knew this would happen, I knew it, I knew it," Ginny was gushing. "I told him to come and look for you, after you hid from me. Merlin knows you two belong together, all you needed was a push."
"You think so?" came a voice from behind them, and Theo's rumpled hair and tired face appeared from behind the curtain. He'd put his trousers back on but was still shirtless, and looked at Hermione with amusement as he approached them. "I wondered where that had gone."
"Sorry," she said as he sat beside her on the bed and put his arm round her, "it was the only thing I could think to put on quickly."
"Don't be sorry," he replied, kissing her cheek, "you look better in it than I do."
"So? What happened?!" Ginny pressed.
"Oh, are we doing girl talk, now?" Theo asked with a raised eyebrow. "Should I go?"
"You don't have to," Hermione said, her hand tightening on his arm. "Ginny's just being nosy, so we'll tell her enough to shut her up and then go to breakfast."
Theo grinned and rested his head on her shoulder. "Go on, then. Tell her all the juicy details."
"I like him," Ginny pronounced, and Hermione laughed. "Look, there's not much to tell. You heard what I said at the party. I ran out, Theo came to find me. I told him I meant it, and he told me he loved me too. Then…well, some things happened, and you found us in bed this morning. You can work that part out, I'm sure."
Ginny squealed. "So you're in love? It's true? That's so brilliant!"
Hermione looked at Theo, who smiled at her, and took his head off her shoulder to kiss her sweetly. "Yeah, it is."
"I can't handle this, it's too much saccharine for the morning," the Weasley girl announced, then stood up and walked over to the door. "I'm going to interrogate Neville and Seamus, and I expect you two in the common room – dressed and ready for breakfast – in ten minutes. I'm starving."
"Demanding, isn't she?" Theo commented as she left, and Hermione giggled. He kissed her again, and she responded happily. This was definitely among the best possible ways to wake up in the morning.
"We have to get dressed," Hermione managed to say in between kisses.
"Mmm," Theo said, but didn't stop.
"Theo," she giggled, pulling away, but he simply continued down her neck instead. She sighed and gave in for a moment, running her hands over his bare shoulders, but then caught herself. "No, no, we have to go to breakfast, no time for this."
"Oh, alright," Theo said moodily, but the twinkle in his eye gave away that he was joking. "Can I have my shirt back then?"
"I thought I looked better in it than you do," Hermione teased. "I was thinking of starting a new fashion trend."
"Let me be clear," Theo said, standing up and following her back over to her bed, "you look fantastic in it, but you also make me want to rip it off you, and that's not appropriate in the Great Hall, so maybe you should change. Also, I need to wear something."
"Oh, I don't know," Hermione said, undoing the buttons regardless, "I quite like what you've got going on right now."
"You might," Theo grinned, taking it from her and shrugging it on, "but I doubt anyone else would. Don't need them to, either."
Hermione kissed him again, then reluctantly dragged herself away to find something to wear. Theo finished putting his shirt on and lay down on her bed, watching her with a smile. "You're so beautiful," he commented, shaking his head. "I still can't believe it."
"Believe it," she said, surprised how completely unashamed she was to be virtually naked in front of him in the cold light of day. She wasn't bothered by body confidence issues, really, but her scar which still lingered on her arm from Bellatrix normally made her uncomfortable. Not with him, though, strangely enough. She just didn't mind him seeing her – she didn't mind if he saw her scars and imperfections, because he was Theo. He didn't mention it, though she was sure he must have seen it, and for that she felt another wave of gratitude. "I still can't believe you love me, to be honest. I feel like I don't deserve it," she told him, pulling a jumper on. "Like I haven't done enough to deserve it. I barely spoke to you until this year, and then I hurt you by going with Draco. I feel lucky that you want to be with me."
"You feel like you don't deserve me?" Theo asked incredulously. "That's preposterous. You're this beautiful, intelligent, brave, kind war hero. You're everything everyone wishes they could be. I'm just a second-rate Slytherin, too cowardly to take a side in the war, carried along by my more successful friends and who tried to throw away the girl he loved because of self-esteem issues. I should have been begging you to choose me, I don't know what I was thinking."
"I hate hearing you talk about yourself like that," Hermione admonished. "I have flaws, and you have great qualities too. And I've told you time and time again," she sat down, straddling his lap, "you're second-best to nobody."
He growled and kissed her hungrily. "Only to you, then. And on that, I won't take no for an answer."
She smiled into his kisses. "Agree to disagree, then. Come on, let's go to breakfast, I'm hungry."
Theo grinned and followed her out of the dorm, stopping to grab his jumper from the floor on the way out. They descended the spiral staircase hand in hand, and Hermione felt like she was floating on a cloud. For all the years that she'd spent pining after Ron, she hadn't had any idea what real love felt like. Suddenly she could see why the other girls in her year had been more interested in pursuing boys than knowledge; looking at Theo with a bubble of pride and happiness in her chest, and seeing the way he looked back adoringly at her, she couldn't blame them for wanting to find this.
The pair emerged into the common room and Ginny, Neville and Seamus all looked up impatiently. "About time!" Ginny exclaimed, just as Seamus threw up his hands and cheered. Neville rolled his eyes at his companions and smiled at them. "Congrats, guys."
"You too," Hermione replied, pointedly nodding at Neville and Seamus's proximity. Neville took Seamus's hand in his and grinned at the Irishman. Ginny huffed. "Now we've ascertained I'm the only one walking to breakfast without a boyfriend, can we go?"
"Not the only one," Theo said cheerfully, wrapping an arm round Hermione's shoulders, "I don't have a boyfriend either."
Ginny smacked him and he laughed. "I wouldn't do that, by the way," she warned, indicating Theo's arm. "If secrecy is still the order of the day so you don't hurt Malfoy's feelings or potentially Theo's face, then you'll want to try and be as subtle as possible. Make it look like we all met up on the way."
"Good point," Hermione worried her lip between her teeth. Theo's face had fallen slightly. They had been so caught up in themselves last night that they'd completely forgotten about Draco. "Just for now, maybe it's best," she agreed, looking to Theo for confirmation. "I mean, we don't want to cause trouble, and I don't want you to lose your friend."
Theo ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know what's best. Being honest with him might be the best course of action, but on the other hand, Draco can really let his emotions get the better of him sometimes, and he really, really cares about you. I don't know that he'd ever forgive me – or on some level, forgive himself for 'losing' to me. 'Cause that's how he'll see it."
Hermione nodded. "He looks down on everyone, but especially the people closest to him. Knowing you took me from under his nose might kill him. Perhaps it's best to keep it to ourselves until he's had time to cool off."
"An admirable plan," interjected Ginny, "now, if we don't get moving I am going to eat you."
Hermione allowed her friend to lead her out of the common room, smiling at her boyfriend encouragingly. It wouldn't be forever. Theo smiled back at her, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. They carried on normal conversation all the way down to the entrance hall, where they found Blaise waiting impatiently.
"Do you know how long I've- mmph," he started to scold them, then was cut off by Ginny's lips. He seemed to forget all about how long he'd been waiting as they sank into it, and Hermione took that as her cue to tug Theo and Neville by the arm.
"They won't be in any time soon," she explained, "we might as well get started."
"I'll have to go over to the Slytherin table anyway, so I'll wait for him," Theo replied. "It'd look weird if I suddenly ate with you guys. I'll see you later, though," he added to Hermione. "Meet me in the library after class? I want to start those Ancient Runes tutoring sessions you promised me."
Hermione wasn't sure what she was more excited about, the prospect of snogging Theo in the darkened corners of the library, or actually having a discussion with him about Ancient Runes. She made a mental note to have her priorities checked by a professional. With a quick look around to make sure nobody was watching, she kissed him on the cheek and grinned. "See you then."
"Honestly," Neville said as they departed the still-kissing Ginny and Blaise, leaving Theo standing awkwardly next to them, "there's almost no point trying to hide, you know. The way you two look at each other leaves very little to the imagination. You're clearly head over heels for each other."
Hermione had to conceal a grin. Seamus punched her lightly on the shoulder. "It's a good look on you."
"Thanks, Seamus," she replied as they sat down, then shook her head, clearing her thoughts of Theo. "So, you two, congratulations again! Tell me all about how it happened."
"Neville, you're better at the story," Seamus said, his mouth already half-full of eggs. "Also I had to tell Ginny earlier, so tag, you're up."
Neville nudged him half-heartedly but didn't argue. "After I came out it was a bit awkward for me at first," he explained, "and I didn't really know what others would think of me or how to act around them. I didn't want to make anyone uncomfortable or anything. It's the same for me as it's always been, I guess, but I was trying to be a bit more conscious of others."
He spooned some scrambled eggs onto his toast and glanced at Seamus, a blush appearing on his cheeks. "Seamus came up to me first thing on the Hogwarts Express and asked if it was true. When I told him yes, he said he'd been waiting for years for me to finally come out. He said he could tell since fourth year. I said, 'how could you know, if I didn't even know?' and he said, 'I dunno. I just knew. I guess since I knew so early, I could tell you were, too.'"
"Of course," Neville continued, with half a bacon sandwich in his mouth, "I didn't know Seamus was bi, at all. So that sort of knocked me for six, but it helped to have someone else who was in the same boat. So we stuck together a lot this year. It was at that party in October – you know, the first one we had with the Slytherins –" Hermione grimaced at the memory of what she'd done that particular night, "- Seamus got so drunk, and after I helped him into the dorm room, he kissed me. He was half out of his mind with liquor so I didn't really know what to do, but I didn't stop it, and he was telling me how long he'd wanted to kiss me and how much he'd dreamed about it."
"Hey, if you're gonna tell all the embarrassing bits…" Seamus interjected, looking bashful.
"It's not embarrassing!" Hermione cut him off. "I think it's so sweet. Please, Neville, go on. This sounds like the most adorable story."
"Seamus is cuter than he wants any of us to think," Neville teased, winking at his other half. "Anyhow, we ended up in bed together, though we didn't do anything. The next morning Seamus was really shy about it, but admitted he'd fancied me since sixth year. I was kind of new to all this, of course, but I didn't see why we shouldn't give it a shot. Needless to say, he's grown on me a lot." He smiled jokingly and brushed his hand over Seamus's. "We spent a couple months just having a relationship in the dorm room. Then at Christmas I told Gran," he winced, "and that…could have gone better, but I was determined to do it."
"Me mam and dad weren't thrilled either," Seamus replied through his mouthful of toast, "Catholics through and through. Even mam, though she's a witch as well. I never really bought into it all, they knew that, but they still weren't happy to have a gay son. I don't care, though – according to them I'm already going to hell, so what's a bit more sin along the way?"
Neville laughed. "So after we spoke to our families, we thought, well what do we have to lose if everyone else knows too? After all, this is the real thing – we really care about each other. Then there was last night, and now you're pretty much up to date."
Hermione couldn't stop smiling. "I'm so happy for you both," she said. "It's a shame about your families but as long as you have each other, that's what matters."
"Agreed," Neville said, and dropped his head to give Seamus a quick peck.
At that moment, Ginny sat down beside them heavily. She didn't look happy. "What's wrong?" asked Hermione in alarm, glancing back towards the doors.
"Malfoy," was her response, and Hermione felt a wave of guilt crash over her. "He came up to us and asked me if I knew who you were in love with. He looks half dead, Hermione – I don't want to make you feel even worse, but honestly – he really had his hopes up with you. I told him that I knew, but that him knowing who it was wouldn't make it any better, and that he should let it go. He threatened me, but it was all empty, I wasn't even afraid of him like I used to be. He's like a shell. It was definitely a good idea you not flaunting Theo in front of him yet. I think you need to talk to him."
"I wish I could," Hermione replied, a knife twisting in her stomach, "but he's not reasonable. I've tried twice to let him down now and both times he won't take no for an answer. I don't know what more I can say – I've apologized, I've told him it's not his fault, I've told him I appreciated his gift and that really, the only reason I've turned him down is because it wouldn't be fair to either of us to be in a relationship when my heart's not in it."
Ginny looked troubled. "I don't know what to say, Hermione. He needs something, that's for sure. I've never seen him looking like this before, not even during my fifth year when he had that task from Voldemort. He's half-broken and the other, prickly, snarly half isn't anything like it used to be."
"He needs time," Neville said, "but I think a word or two from you wouldn't hurt Hermione. Whether you intended to or not, you got his hopes up by going with him at the beginning of the year. I'm not saying it's all your fault, but he wouldn't be this messed up from losing you if he never felt like he'd had you in the first place."
"What can I say, though?" Hermione asked dejectedly. "'Let's be friends' is probably the last thing he wants to hear right now. 'I'm sorry' is equally as useless. 'I care about you, but not as much as him' is like a punch to the gut. For once, I just don't have the right words."
The four of them finished their breakfast in somber silence, nobody able to find a suitable response.
Later that evening, Hermione sat with Theo in the library. Far from the clandestine romantic experience they'd expected, it turned out that the place was absolutely crowded with people cramming for their mock OWLs. They'd made do and had an actual Ancient Runes session, with Hermione helping Theo revise the material he'd caught up on, but honestly he didn't need much help – he was just as good at the subject as she was, she was pleasantly surprised to find. After a while, they'd got onto the subject of Draco, and Theo's face had dropped.
"He's a mess," he said truthfully. "I feel so guilty about what we're doing."
"Me too," Hermione confessed. "I shouldn't have ever gone with him. I'm so sorry, it's my fault."
Theo shrugged. "What's done is done. Honestly, though, I think whether you did or you didn't, he would have reacted the same way. He saw you as his for a long, long time, even if he didn't actually say anything to you – and he doesn't like sharing. He started putting me down a lot more after he found out I liked you too. Wanted me to believe I never had a shot in hell compared to him, because that way he'd never have any competition. I believed him for a long time, too."
Hermione stroked his face gently. "It sounds like he put you through a really hard time."
Theo shook his head, his face still desperately sad. "It's difficult for anyone else to understand what it's like, being a Slytherin, especially during those last few years. You can't show weakness to anyone, and you can't confide in anyone, because if you do then you'll be backstabbed and cut down so someone else can clamber over you. It was cutthroat. At least Draco called me his friend, which was a blessing in and of itself because it meant I was protected from anyone else who would try." He shuddered. "I'm glad it's not that way anymore. But I owe Draco a lot, regardless of what awful things he's done, because in the Slytherin way he stuck his neck out for me."
Hermione couldn't imagine anything like it. Not for the first time, she fervently thanked all the powers there were that she'd been Sorted into Gryffindor. Her horror must have shown on her face, because Theo took her hand and smiled a little. "Don't worry. Blaise and Millie and Goyle and Pansy, they're past that now. We've all seen and been through too much for petty schoolyard ambitions to matter. I just wanted you to understand what it is Draco's done for me, and what I owe him – and why I feel so guilty doing what we're doing."
"Do you want to stop?" Hermione asked, though it took all her strength to force the question past her lips.
"Circe, no," Theo replied, looking horrified, and kissed her quickly. "Not being with you feels a hundred thousand times worse. I was a wreck the last few weeks, even though I didn't look like it. I barely ate or slept, and Blaise was supervising me round the clock forcing me to get up and go to class. No, I've learned my lesson, I'm never giving you up again. Not for anyone or anything." Then suddenly he faltered. "Unless – unless you don't want to carry on-?"
Hermione felt a warm buzz in her chest and shook her head vehemently at his suggestion. "I couldn't cope without you either," she admitted, "I was anxious all the time, and Gin had to wake me up more than once because I was crying in my sleep. Being with you, kissing you, seeing your face every day is what makes all of this stress and guilt worth it."
"Then we're settled," Theo said gently, "definitely not breaking up. Ever. So what's plan B?"
"I wish I knew," Hermione replied, putting her forehead on the desk. "What will make Draco feel better? I never knew it was possible to feel this guilty over someone I don't even particularly like as a person."
"He's lost you," Theo answered, "so, quite honestly, there's nothing we could do for him that could even compare. We'll just have to give it some time and see how he fares. Blaise and I are trying to get him feeling better, but he's obsessed with knowing who's 'stolen' you, he won't focus on anything else. I feel terrible, but just this once I'm going to be selfish and do what's right for me. For us. Draco will understand, in time. For now, I advise you keep your distance and don't mention me to anyone. We should probably start meeting only in the Room of Requirement or the Gryffindor dorms. I'll also start carting my Ancient Runes books wherever I go so I've got a reason for not being in the common room in the evenings. Thankfully I'm taking the extra class so nobody can question it."
Hermione was watching him with growing wonder and appreciation in her eyes. He really cared about his friend, and he was taking charge and doing everything he could to make sure that Draco's feelings were protected, but he wasn't backing down like before and giving up what he truly wanted. For the first time, she saw the deep-running traits that had led to his being Sorted into Slytherin rise to the surface. She was simultaneously impressed, proud and a little bit turned on. "Sounds like a plan. I really love you, Theo," she felt like she needed to add.
He smiled, his hair falling over his forehead, and leaned towards her. "Love you, too. We'll work this out, together."
The next few days were stressful for Hermione for a number of reasons. She had always been an overthinker, an over analyzer, so when she had Theo and Draco on her mind constantly, it was difficult for her to get into the right frame of mind for classes. Certainly not for the first time this year, she kicked herself for getting involved with boys just before her exams – then she remembered how it felt to be with Theo and it all went away. Then, five minutes later, she'd be kicking herself again. She'd drawn up revision timetables for all of them, as usual, and while Ginny and Neville begrudgingly accepted theirs as they had already known their fate, Theo and Blaise were shocked.
"What is this?" Blaise questioned, looking at the brightly coloured piece of parchment suspiciously.
"It's your revision timetable," Hermione replied, looking sternly between him and Theo, who was gazing skeptically down at the page. "If you keep to it from now until May then you'll be more than ready for your NEWTs."
"I get the feeling you've done these before," he said weakly, and she nodded. "Every year for all the Gryffindors. Congratulations, you've made it into the club."
"Sometimes I forget how much of a swot you are," Blaise sighed, and Theo was clearly trying to hold in his laughter. Hermione turned to him, checking nobody else was around, and then said firmly, "You're the reason I'm doing this so early this year! I don't know how much time I'm going to have from now on, so it's important to start now!"
At that, Theo couldn't hold it in any more and let the laughter out. Hermione was upset for a moment before he grabbed her and held her close. Blaise scoffed and pretended to puke. "Don't worry. We'll keep to our timetables. I just can't believe how organized you are – it's eye-opening."
"You didn't know me so well before this year, I suppose," Hermione let herself smile. "Well, you'd better get used to it now! I'm going to make sure we all pass our exams with flying colours."
Theo's grin was enough to keep her feeling light and happy the entire day.
Of course, with the revision timetables there was one thing Hermione had forgotten. She had planned for them all to study together on various days for the subjects they shared, and naturally, she arrived fifteen minutes early to each study session because if you weren't early, you were late. She was used to her peers slouching in at the last moment, so she lined up all her revision materials ready in the empty classroom she'd chosen as a meeting point and waited.
She had forgotten, though, that it made her very easy to track down, for someone who knew her well and had access to a timetable that was lying around in his dorm.
Fourteen and a half minutes prior to their scheduled Charms session, Hermione was sitting with her books out ready, and was distracted by the sudden bang of the door closing. She looked up to see who it was and almost shrank back at the sight of Draco, magically locking the door behind him. Her heart started beating faster, but she reminded herself she had nothing to fear. It was only Draco. He wasn't the Draco of years past, he had matured, and he wouldn't hurt her.
She forced a smile. "Draco. Did you want to join the study session?"
"No," he replied, his voice strained. They were right – he did look awful. "I just came to talk to you beforehand." He walked up to her, and all trace of fear and nervousness was immediately gone from her body. He looked like a broken man, and his grey eyes held unprecedented levels of sorrow. She was almost alarmed at her sudden urge to give him a hug.
"Okay. We can talk," she said, taking a deep breath.
"Look," he began, sounding as if every word was an effort. "I told you, I don't – I'm not good with expressing myself. I do it with snark and physicality, neither of which are appropriate for this situation. So forgive me if I'm a little stilted. But I do have some things I want to say to you."
"First off, I would like to apologise for my actions towards you at the party. I had had a little too much liquor and I was scared of hearing what I didn't want to hear, and I let myself get overemotional. I can't blame you for being upset and I'm very sorry I put you in that situation." His grey eyes were very serious, and Hermione was in shock at the fact that Draco Malfoy had actually apologized to her. That had been high on the list of things she never thought would happen. She opened her mouth to say she forgave him, but he barreled on, not letting her get a word in.
"Secondly, I'd like to explain myself. You are aware that I had a pretty awful time in the last couple of years. You know how much shit we all went through – our side included – and you're one of the few who actually understands it. You know, there's never a day when I don't think about what Bellatrix did to you, and how I didn't lift a finger. If I had a Time-Turner, that's the first thing I'd change." Hermione instinctively moved her hand over her forearm, rubbing it, and Draco noticed the gesture. He put a hand over his own left arm and pulled the sleeve down, revealing a burnt, scarred and twisted image of a Dark Mark, run through with so much scar tissue she could tell he'd tried to cut it out. She tried not to gag.
"We all have scars we wish we could erase, things we wish we'd done differently, and you understand that better than anyone. I've always gravitated towards you, felt like we were two sides of a coin, even in the beginning when my every instinct fought it. I – I thought you were the same. I thought that at the beginning of this year, we had finally managed to click. If I'd known you didn't see me as anything but a distraction, then maybe I would have tried harder. I should have tried harder. But I didn't see – I didn't know – not until it was too late, that you weren't really with me at all. You were with someone else all along, and that hurts to my core, because when everything seemed like it was finally coming together, I've had to accept that it's actually not my happy ending after all. A stupid thing to believe in the first place, but there you have it, and I hope you understand now why I've been so intense about this, and why I couldn't bear to let you go. I've been in love with you for a very long time."
Hermione's heart felt like it was breaking in two. She loved Theo, so much, but she had enjoyed being with Malfoy, hadn't she? She had thought about him, and she had had a thoroughly good time with him, and she had, uncharacteristically and very irresponsibly, in the name of trying to let her instincts lead her, led him on without thinking about the consequences of what it could mean. His heartbreak was her fault. She opened her mouth and this time he didn't stop her.
"Draco," she chose her words carefully, her eyes never leaving his, "I am so sorry for what I did to you. For what I'm still doing to you. You don't deserve it and I hate to cause you pain. I should never have got into anything with you while I was developing feelings for someone else, it was thoughtless and awful of me. I should be the one apologizing for that. And-" she hesitated, then went on, "you're not crazy. About the whole – gravitating to one another thing. I know what you mean and I felt it too. We're so alike, and we share so many qualities, but each of us has virtues which mirror the other. In another time, in another place, there is definitely a world where I could have fallen in love with you, too. You're an intelligent, ambitious, determined and – honestly, very brave man. I really regret that how much I've hurt you has had to come between us like this, because I would really love to spend a lot more time with you in the future. I hope someday that'll be possible."
Draco half-smiled. "At least I know that in some small way, I stood a chance. I'm not going to ask you who he is anymore, because I think I've come to realise that knowing won't help. He'll always be the person I lost out to, and I hate to lose; but as long as he treats you right, and you love him, I won't get in the way, because your happiness matters. I'll always wonder 'what if', though. And if he ever hurts you, don't expect me to hold back."
"He won't," Hermione said, trying to hold a facial expression that didn't show the overwhelming sadness and anger she had roiling inside herself, for the pain she'd caused him. Why had she been so reckless, so thoughtless? That wasn't what Hermione Granger was about. She vowed to herself to never be so dismissive of other peoples' feelings ever again., "but I really appreciate the sentiment. And thank you, for saying that. It means a lot that you want me to be happy."
A moment passed between them, a brief flicker of something she couldn't quite place, that made her catch her breath; then it was past, and Draco had adopted that same lopsided smile. "I'll get over you, Granger. I'll be back to hanging around the group before you know it."
"You'd better be," Hermione said, returning his smile, "it's not the same without you."
Draco sighed, then turned to leave. "Thank you for hearing me out, Granger. I'll see you around, as soon as I'm ready to. Be prepared for me to be a snarky git again."
"I'm always prepared for that," she said with a small chuckle, and he lifted a hand in farewell and opened the door. Behind it waited Theo, Blaise and Ginny, all of whom looked from Hermione to Draco in surprise. She raised an eyebrow, noticing the end of the Extendable Ear poking out of Ginny's pocket, which she hastily tucked away with a guilty curse. Theo and Blaise at least had the decency to look ashamed of themselves.
Draco raised an eyebrow but didn't comment, then turned without a word and headed away down the corridor. The trio watched him go, then crowded inside the room, eyes cast down to the floor, awaiting their inevitable scolding. Hermione just sighed and rolled her eyes. "You two," she said, addressing Ginny and Blaise, "should learn to keep your noses out of other peoples' business. And you," she looked at Theo and he refused to meet her eyes, "I'm a little hurt that you didn't stop them, and a lot hurt if it was because you didn't trust me. That said, we're one-for-one now on eavesdropping conversations with Draco, so I'd be a hypocrite if I told you off too much. But that's it, we're even. No more."
"It wasn't because I don't trust you," Theo blurted hastily, "I didn't want to listen, but then they told me it was Draco in there, and I thought that maybe you'd choose him over me, and if that was the case I didn't want to be here when you opened the door…"
"So, in other words, you didn't trust me," Hemione replied, teasing him but keeping a stern face on.
"No! I knew you weren't snogging or anything! I never thought you'd do that!" Theo protested, looking to Blaise for support, but Blaise held his hands up and stepped back.
"Not believing the fact that I love you and I wouldn't leave you for anything," she said, stepping closer to him, "is the same as not trusting me."
"It's still just hard to believe you'd choose me over him," Theo admitted. "When you're given another chance like that – well, I wouldn't have blamed you."
Hermione shook her head sadly. "We really need to get you over these self-esteem issues of yours. This is it, Theo," she said, gesturing between them, "this is us. You and me. We. Not changing. OK?"
"Okay," he replied with a breathless smile, and she kissed him gently.
"Right, now that's over with, let's get started on revision, shall we?"
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Second Chances