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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
- 8
- 9
- 10
January soon wore on into February, and with it came the usual Valentine's fever that gripped Hogwarts. Hermione was completely over it, this year just like every year, not because she didn't like romance but because it felt so forced, so unnatural. What was so special about February 14th? If you loved someone, you loved them every day of the year, at least that's what she'd always believed. Ginny and the other girls had always put it down to her not having a boyfriend, but this year she had one and, as she smugly pointed out to her ginger friend, she felt exactly the same. It was pragmatism, not envy.
Unfortunately, Theo had managed to get it into his head that he had to do something special for her or with her – probably not helped by Blaise, who was busy organizing Merlin knew what for Ginny, owl orders arriving every day at his table and being secretively smuggled away before she could look at them too closely. Hermione had tried to tell him she simply didn't care, but Theo seemed to think it was a trap of some kind, that she'd be expecting him to do something even though she told him she didn't mind, and if he didn't he'd fail some sort of boyfriend test. She sighed, frustrated that he didn't believe her, but she conceded to the fact that he'd never had a girlfriend before and was basing his speculation solely off of horror stories that other men had told him. Hopefully in time he'd realise she wasn't like the vapid Slytherin girls his friends dated and he'd calm down about it – for now, though, she prepared herself to try and endure – er, enjoy – whatever he'd planned for her.
The trouble was that Valentine's was a Hogsmeade weekend, as always, and the whole school would be going. This included Draco, who would likely be taking a few drinks at the local pub, and he would think it strange if Theo wasn't there, because as far as Draco knew, Theo was single. On the other hand, he would find it strange if Hermione was there, because he'd be expecting her to spend time with her new beau. It was a very delicate dance they were trying to accomplish and Hermione couldn't help but feel that sooner or later something was going to give. After her chat with Draco the other day she was feeling more positive about his reaction, but she still thought it was definitely too soon for him to know it was Theo, his friend, who had caught Hermione's interest. The possibility for bad blood was still too real and she didn't want to be the cause of any kind of animosity between friends.
Thus, Theo was caught in the unenviable position of trying to organize something wonderful for his girlfriend on Valentine's Day that was also entirely secret, within the confines of Hogsmeade and which may or may not, depending on the timing, have to occur without his being present. No wonder he was frazzled about it, thought Hermione with a shake of her head. He should be putting more effort into his NEWT scores than silly things like Valentine's Day. They'd have a hundred Valentine's Days in the future, if he wanted to celebrate them. She caught herself thinking about a future with Theo and smiled. It wasn't the first time she'd imagined it.
Hermione was, naturally, a very forward-thinking woman. It wouldn't do to plan only a few days or weeks ahead, because then how could you properly organize your life? No, Hermione thought months into the future at all times, hence her tendency to begin exam prep very early and do homework the night it was set instead of the day it was due. This stretched over into her love life, and had been a consistent source of worry during her relationship with Ron, as he had very clearly pictured their future together like Molly and Arthur's, and she still didn't know how many children she even wanted, if any. This had been a major discomfort to her, wanting to plan ahead but not knowing how, and probably contributed to the awkwardness and the eventual break-up. With Draco, she'd been attempting to just live in the moment for a while, and now she saw how damaging a lack of foresight when it came to these things could be. So, now she was with Theo, she had gone back to thinking about the future.
She didn't know how well their relationship would be received outside Hogwarts. Though Theo himself hadn't been a Death Eater, his father was a notorious one, and the Nott family had been involved in Dark magic since the sixth century when they first arrived from Scandinavia. She had done her research about all the old families whilst on the run with Harry, hoping that one of the heirlooms in the more prominent bloodlines might have been a Horcrux, and she well remembered how often she'd seen his surname come up. She realized that the gossipmongers would absolutely pick up on this fact, though she didn't know how they'd take it. People loved a good scandal, and "Golden Girl Getting into Bed with Son of Notorious Death Eater" had a ring to it – had it still been Rita Skeeter writing for the paper, she was sure that would be the headline. On the other hand, perhaps they'd see another angle, like "Dark to Light: Redemption for Outcast Son as he Takes Up With Golden Granger".
Either way, Hermione didn't care. She had never cared what the gossipy journalists wrote about her, though it had always pained her to see how it had affected Harry. She hoped Theo would feel the same, so they could go on being together after they left school. She certainly still wanted to be with him, and she guessed he did as well, and if that was the case she didn't want to let something like public opinion divide them. She supposed he would be used to the bad press in some ways, though he had never been one of the front-line targets for the reporters in the past.
The one thing that worried her, though, besides the immediate problem which was telling Malfoy, Ron and Harry, was that Theo wanted to become a teacher here at Hogwarts, while she had always dreamed of going into the Ministry and rewriting the laws in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures (which, by the way, she hated the name of as well. Regulation? Control? At the very least, sentient beings such as werewolves and centaurs and elves deserved a separate division, like a sort of embassy.) She had very strong views about it and had been yearning to make it her career ever since fourth year. If Theo wanted to work at Hogwarts, though, it would be very difficult to organize, thanks to the restrictive enchantments surrounding the castle. She could Apparate into Hogsmeade, but that would mean a long walk for either her or Theo every time he wanted to see her; and though it was technically possible to Floo into Hogwarts if the channel was connected, getting a house onto the list of permitted residences was damn near impossible no matter who lived in it, because of hundreds of years of legislation had been written to prevent that very thing for the castle's safety. The Burrow was one of the Order's safe houses, so it had been added some time ago – thankfully, or it would have been much more difficult at Christmas – but the chances of her managing to get an exception made for a new dwelling just for her were very slim indeed, war heroine or not. Sometimes, she wished she didn't know Hogwarts: a History so well. It would be blissful to live in ignorance.
Then again, she shouldn't even be thinking about this, should she? Theo was probably thinking about what to have for dinner tonight, and here she was imagining problems in their future that possibly wouldn't even exist. She sighed, clipping the Mandrake in front of her a little too voraciously, and it cried out in protest.
"Sorry," she muttered, looking over her shoulder to check that Professor Sprout hadn't seen her mistake. Having been wrenched out of her musings, she finished pruning it quickly and repotted it before it could kick up any more of a fuss, then dusted off her gloves and put her depressing thoughts about her and Theo's future out of her mind, and went to see how Ginny was doing. Her red-headed friend was notoriously rubbish at Herbology.
Soon enough, Valentine's Day came, and Hermione had agreed to third-wheel it with Ginny and Blaise for a little while. Theo had begged her to go into Hogsmeade, telling her he had a surprise for her and that she absolutely had to be there, but Hermione refused to go alone, so Ginny had offered to let her tag along for the first half of their date. She was very grateful, and cursed her lack of single available friends – the only one left in the castle was Luna, and Hermione had a sneaking suspicion that that wasn't even true anymore. After her visit to Rolf Scamander at Christmas she had been increasingly withdrawn and secretive, and she'd received a rose in the owl post just this morning. Hermione didn't think it would be long before she, too, was announcing her new relationship.
Why was it so simple for everyone except her?
She knew the answer to that, of course.
Because she'd gone and screwed it all up for herself.
She sighed, trying not to let her brain get in the way of her having a good time today. Theo had planned something for her and she was very excited to see what the day would bring. Not to mention she'd have the chance to spend some time with her friends and take a little break from studying. There were a lot of positives, and she tried not to think of the one negative – that if she was being forced to go into Hogsmeade with everyone else today and take part in this holiday she found so distasteful, then at the very least, she would have liked to do it with the man she loved on her arm, laughing as she told him how she didn't believe in all this commercialization with that happy sparkle in his eye.
She would admit it. She really missed him.
She allowed Ginny to take her arm and lead her out of the castle, following the happy couple beside her, pulling her scarf further around her neck for warmth. It was still very cold for February, with no hint of the springtime buds on the trees yet appearing. She shivered; whatever Theo had planned for her, she dearly hoped it would be indoors. She'd never been a fan of the cold.
It wasn't long before they were sat in the warm interior of the Three Broomsticks, Blaise ordering them all Butterbeers as the girls divested themselves of cloaks, scarves and earmuffs. The pub was full, with residents of Hogsmeade and students alike all celebrating Valentine's Day; Hermione even caught sight of Professor Sprout with Professor Flitwick at a table in the corner. Blaise fought his way through the chattering crowds back to them and they gratefully accepted their drinks. Hermione couldn't see Theo, Draco and Goyle anywhere, so she presumed they must have gone to the Hog's Head instead. She hoped Theo was having fun, in spite of the fact that they couldn't spend the day together.
"So what romantic surprise do you think you-know-who has planned for you?" Ginny asked eagerly, as if reading Hermione's mind.
"When you say it like that it sounds like you're talking about Voldemort," Hermione replied, "and that's just…all I can think about now."
"Eww," Ginny said, wrinkling her nose. "Yeah, we should really find an alternative way of saying you-know-who now, because he's kind of spoiled that for us all."
"That, among a few other things," Blaise said lightly. "But I agree, that's by far the most important issue." Ginny smacked him with a laugh, and Hermione smiled.
"Seriously, though," Ginny pressed, "I bet it's amazing. Blaise said he's been cooped up in the dorm all week planning it."
Hermione looked at Blaise, who shrugged. "He didn't get you anything for Christmas, you got him this awesome quill, and then that really nice jumper for his birthday. Not to mention Draco gave you a rare edition of a book you love. He feels like he has something to prove, I think."
Hermione shook her head. "That's silly. I got him those things because I thought he'd like them, not because I wanted anything in return."
"That's just like you, Hermione," Ginny said with a soft smile. "I can see where he's coming from, though. It must be hard to be with someone as thoughtful as you are, because he'll feel overwhelmed by all this thought and kindness you put into your gifts and then he's helpless when it comes to being his turn. Even if you say you don't mind," she added as Hermione opened her mouth to argue.
Blaise nodded and sipped his drink. "Theo's rubbish at gift giving as it is."
Hermione sshhed him and frantically looked around her, hoping that in the last few minutes nobody from Hogwarts had walked past their table. Blaise rolled his eyes. "As if anyone could hear us in this place. I can barely hear myself."
"Shall we go somewhere else?" Ginny asked.
"Where else is there?" Blaise replied. "Hog's Head will be just as packed as this place except with more people you'd rather not meet. And I'll die before I step foot in Madame Puddifoot's."
"Oh, but I made us lunchtime reservations," Ginny mock wailed. "My day is ruined!"
Hermione snorted. "You're less likely to ever walk in there than Blaise is."
Ginny laughed. "Yeah, I could barely keep a straight face. But it is seriously packed in here, maybe we should take a walk and see if there's anywhere less busy?"
Hermione narrowed her eyes. "You know something."
Ginny started, then feigned innocence. "What? What are you talking about?"
"Ginevra Weasley," Hermione admonished, "you know something. What do you know?"
"Merlin," Ginny said, shaking her head, "you're like a Niffler finding coins. I don't know how you manage to see through me every time." She drained her drink and stood up. "I'm not telling you anything, but I would strongly advise that we go for a walk and perhaps you'll see for yourself what you think you might already know."
"A very Slytherin answer," Blaise commended, touching his girlfriend lightly on the shoulder and pushing back his chair. "Shall we go, then?"
"Alright," Hermione conceded, and stood herself, re-wrapping her scarf and following them out of the door, threading through the crowd of people. "I hope it's not far, it looks like it's about to start snowing again."
Ginny declined to comment and simply urged her onwards. Blaise followed them both with a smile tugging at the edges of his mouth as he watched his girlfriend. Hermione smiled herself as she saw the pure adoration in his gaze. Harry, even at the end, had never looked at Ginny like that. Her friend deserved someone who would treat her like the only woman in the world, and that look in Blaise's eyes gave her no doubt that there was nobody else on his mind. Sometimes she'd caught Theo looking at her the same way, and the thought made her stomach squirm in joy. They'd really got it together this year, her and Ginny, left the past behind and managed to move on with their lives, even as everyone around them told them they couldn't, that Hogwarts would hold too many memories. Well, she thought defiantly, memories could be written over with better ones, could be replaced – and with magic, far too easily in some cases, her brain added, unsolicited and bitter.
The thought was suddenly wiped from her head as she realized her feet knew the familiar trail they were taking. "Gin, why are we going to the Shrieking Shack?"
"Would you, for once, stop thinking about literally everything and just enjoy the moment?" Ginny asked exasperatedly, and Hermione smiled in spite of herself. She was glad to have friends who weren't afraid to put her in her place sometimes and force her to relax. Lord knows neither of the boys had ever been able to manage it – though Harry had got better as he matured.
They rounded the corner of the last house in the village and started up the snowy trail towards the Shack. Hermione noted that there was already a set of fairly fresh footprints leading up the hill, though the very light snowfall had begun to fill them in, so it must have been at least an hour ago. She wondered if they were Theo's. Then she remembered with a sick feeling why she knew so much about tracking, and footprints, and memories of the last winter came flooding back to her. Memories of the last time she'd seen the Shrieking Shack, when Snape-Severus-had been-
No. She forced the images away into the corner of her mind, refusing to remember the war today. Not today. She could handle this. She bravely followed Ginny up the slope, cresting the hill and laying eyes on the building for the first time in nearly a year. It was still as derelict as ever, sitting quiet and unassuming on its little hillock, covered in snow and without a soul around. Hermione swallowed and made her way towards it, continuously forcing down the rush of memories that threatened to overwhelm her. Nagini. Voldemort's high, cold laugh. Severus's last moments. Harry with the vial…
Something caught her attention at the base of the fence. The distraction was welcome and she headed towards it, barely conscious of Ginny and Blaise following her, hanging back. She knelt down in the snow to inspect what turned out to be a small note curled into a scroll and tied with a ribbon, placed carefully under a fence post to shield it from the snow. She took it carefully and unfurled it, sure it was for her, her trembling fingers untying the ribbon with care. Though she had not been lying when she said she didn't really care about receiving anything for Valentine's Day, now that she was here and Theo had put together this big surprise for her, she couldn't help but be excited, her heart beating faster as she read his neat script on the parchment.
Hermione,
I love you. I can't say those three words enough, now I'm finally allowed to express them to you after so many years of admiring you from afar, hoping you'd one day be mine. I'll never stop feeling lucky that you looked my way, and I'll never stop trying to be enough of a man to deserve you. I hope this gift I have organized goes some way to showing you what you mean to me, and what hope I have for our future together.
Yours forever,
Theo
Their future? So he was thinking about it, too? The thought made her heart swell up happily. She felt a tap on her shoulder and looked up to see Ginny smiling down at her, presenting her with a little flat disc. She took it, curious, and Ginny conjured a blanket and motioned for her to sit down. Blaise settled next to them and watched, seemingly cogniscent of what was going on. She inspected the disc closely, but it was just a blank slip of metal with no markings or any other clues as to its purpose.
"Just wait," Ginny said, looking at her watch.
Hermione acquiesced, leaning back against the fence post. It was so peaceful out here, just her and her friends, with nobody else coming close to the Shack even now. She turned the disc over idly in her hands, wondering what it could entail. She'd certainly never seen something of its like before. Ginny's hand found hers and squeezed it, and she was momentarily surprised. Then, the disc in her hand began to vibrate, and she released it by instinct. It floated up in front of her and a picture appeared, almost like a screen, but the resolution was closer to a wizarding photo.
The difference from a wizarding photo, though, was the sound. Hermione could hear everything that came through the disc, as if she were looking into a Pensieve, and what she saw and heard had her spellbound.
It was her parents.
Her parents.
She hadn't seen them since after the War last May, when she'd gone back to consult with the Australian Ministry about their presence in the country and confirm their residential status. They'd told her then that there was no hope of restoring their memories and that they would update her if there was any bad news, but she had left it at that, knowing that seeing them again, trying to be involved in the lives of people she loved so much who would never remember her, would be too hard. She hadn't heard anything from the Ministry since, luckily, and that, as far as she was concerned, was that.
Now, though, as she saw the two of them relaxing together on a porch in the sunshine, her mother with one of the fruity drinks she enjoyed so much and her father with his traditional sun hat on that he'd worn every time they'd gone on holiday, her heart clenched in recognition and pain. She'd missed them so much – she did miss them so much. Ginny's hand squeezed hers tighter and Hermione realized that the ginger girl had known this was coming. Was this Theo's present to her? A glimpse into her parents' lives? If so, she was grateful for the thought, but she didn't know how she felt about it right now. It was all so fresh and hard to digest.
Then, suddenly, the picture changed, swirling around, and Hermione realized she was looking into a memory. Whose, she didn't know, but she recognized the swirling threads that made up the magic of a Pensieve and realized that the disc must be a portable one. The picture cleared, and she was seeing the inside of an office, with a kindly-looking man smiling at her. Or, at whoever's memory it was.
"A tough case, to be sure," the man sighed, riffling through a set of parchment on his desk. A wizard, then. He ran a hand through his hair. "There might be a way. Painless, naturally, and with as little disruption to their lives as possible. But it'll be costly, and it'll take time."
"Money is no object," she heard the voice of the person whose eyes she saw through say firmly, and realized it was Theo. This was Theo's memory. What had he done? Her heart beat frantically. "How long do you think it will take, and what are the chances of success?"
The man sighed again. "Months, at least. Maybe a year. The reintroduction of memory is a difficult process, especially with such a strong Memory Charm having removed them in the first place, and with it being cast on Muggles – every extra complexity box is ticked. But – I think I can do it."
"And you're sure it'll cause no harm to them at all?" Theo pressed. Hermione felt the urgency in his voice, and her throat almost closed up at the implications of what this memory meant.
"None. Minimal disruption, a couple of visits from people they'll believe are housing surveyors or something of the sort, and constant surveillance to check on progress, but absolutely zero chance of any memory loss or physical harm." Now the man seemed to be a lot more confident, explaining himself to Theo with a kind smile. "The worst case scenario is that it doesn't work and they continue on as before."
"Thank you for your time," Theo said, standing up and shaking the man's hand. "I'll be in touch."
The memory swirled away, and Hermione realized she was shaking. The Ministry had told her it was impossible. Experts up and down the country had said, it's too risky, permanent memory damage, delicate Muggle minds – she'd heard everything, or at least she thought she had. There was no way. She'd accepted it and tried to move on. Where had Theo found this man, and more importantly, why? What had she ever done for him to warrant his devoting time to this and even leaving school to meet with someone about it? She thought about Christmas, in the snow, when she'd told him her parents' fate and how he'd sighed, and said he never knew what it was like to have parents that loved him. Her heart ached, and she didn't know what to think.
"Hermione," said Blaise to her right, and she turned to him in a daze. "Are you okay?"
"Yes," she said, not wanting her friends to worry. She was okay. She was more than okay, but she needed to see Theo, and most importantly, she needed to find out what the result of that meeting had been. He had shown her this for a reason. He wouldn't have given her hope just to dash it again. So was the process going ahead?
"Here," Blaise said, and produced from inside his pocket a piece of parchment, folded over and shrunk, then restored it to normal size and handed it to Hermione. "Read this. If you want to do it, then just sign on the line. It'll put everything into motion straightaway. If you don't, none of us will think any less of you. Theo wanted this to be your decision to make, in the end. But he thought he would give you all the information first – all the information, not just what some entry-level idiots at St. Mungo's told you. He doesn't have a family anymore, so it's very important to him that you find yours, if you want to."
Hermione scanned the contract, her brain in overdrive and her heart pounding. She blanched at the price written on the top of the contract and opened her mouth to object, but Blaise followed her eyes and cut her off before she could say a word. "The money is no object, Theo said it himself. This is a tiny drop in the ocean of the Nott family fortune, so don't think you're inconveniencing him at all. Just think about whether this is what you want and ignore the rest."
Hermione found it difficult to imagine the kind of wealth Theo must have, but she put that aside for now as Blaise suggested and read past it, checking every detail. Her parents were within her reach. All she had to do was sign. She read it over again to be sure.
Virtually no disruption to the subjects' lives.
No chance of memory loss or physical harm.
Wendell and Monica Wilkins are Jean and Richard Granger. This process will attempt to restore all original memories and provide proof to the subjects that their current lives are falsified.
Seeing her parents' names written down in front of her, their real names, made her decision for her. They could not possibly be harmed by this process, either physically or mentally, and if she could give them back their lives, the ones she'd taken away, and restore their real memories, it was worth trying anything. With a shaky hand she took the quill Blaise proffered her and scrawled her signature messily on the line at the bottom, trying not to let the tears fall from her eyes and smudge the ink.
"YES!" shouted Ginny, and pulled Hermione into a hug. "I knew it!"
Hermione gripped her, letting the tears finally fall, while Blaise sighed in relief. "I told him this was a risk, but he was determined to see it through. He thought you deserved a chance to have a real family again."
"I thought she had wonderful parents who loved her, and that it would be a shame if she never saw them again," a voice confessed, and a familiar head of black hair walked casually over the top of the hill, hands in pockets and looking for all the world like he was out for a jaunty stroll, if not for the carefully crafted smile that Hermione could see right through to the nervousness beneath.
She shot up and barreled towards him, saying nothing but crashing straight into his chest and hugging him for all he was worth. He looked surprised but held her gently, putting his head on her shoulder and wrapping his arms around her supportively. "Hey, you. Happy Valentine's Day."
"You…" Hermione was, for once, lost for words, tears still shining in her eyes. "How did you do this?"
Theo shrugged, still in her embrace. "I've been working on it since Christmas. Even while we were apart – it was important to me. You spent the whole war being this shining beacon of hope for everyone even while you were hurting on the inside, and now it's over and in the past, it's not fair that you of all people should have to keep suffering for our mistakes. For our sins. So I set about taking the first step to try to make it right, to try to fix what we, collectively, did to you."
"Oh, Theo," Hermione breathed, "you know it wasn't your fault. It's not up to you to try and fix everyone else's mistakes, you weren't even a Death Eater-"
"No, but my father was," Theo interrupted, looking sick, "and I'm going to spend my life and the dirty money he left me trying to undo all the bad that he did, and more. I want him rolling in his grave. Most importantly, though, this is about you. I'm your boyfriend and even if it weren't my social responsibility, I'd be glad to do it because I love you and I want you to be happy. And, I'll confess," he added, casting his eyes down, "I hoped to meet them someday. I want them to know me, to like me, I want us all to go out to dinner together and go on holidays like a real family. But of course that's ages away, and it's just a thought, it's really selfish, so if that's not what you-"
Hermione silenced him with a bruising kiss that conveyed exactly how she felt about that prospect. The thought of Theo meeting her parents, parents she thought she'd never see again, that remembered her because of him. The thought of them all sitting together on a beach, laughing, drinking and toasting. The thought of them sharing Christmases and birthdays and maybe sometime in the future, her father walking her down the aisle to a beaming Theo at the other end…
Yes, it was exactly what she wanted.
"Thank you," she said simply, unable to express it in any other way.
"You're welcome," he replied, and kissed her again softly. She responded, drawing him into her, nibbling at his lip. His tongue swept out and she met it with her own, lost in the taste and feel of him. He let out a strangled gasp and pressed himself closer to her, letting her feel his body up against hers, gently threading his hand through her bushy hair, his other hand placed firmly around her waist. She leaned into him, kissing him for all she was worth, deliriously happy and overcome with many different emotions. They were so caught up in their kiss that neither of them noticed Blaise and Ginny leaving, hand in hand with matching smiles.
Neither of them noticed someone else approaching, either.
Lost in the feel of each other, neither saw the figure freeze in shock upon observing the scene. Neither saw his hands ball into fists, his jaw twitch and his eyes lower to the ground. It wasn't until he walked up to them, anger radiating from his frame and feet crunching in the fresh snow, and loudly exclaimed "What the fuck!?" that they jumped apart and turned to see the hurt face of Draco Malfoy witnessing the scene.
"Draco!" Theo stepped away from Hermione on instinct. "Look, please, you need to-"
"I need to?" Draco said dangerously. "What do I need to do, Theo? Because it seems to me that you need to explain, right now, what the fuck I just saw."
Theo ran a hand over his face. "Look, mate, this obviously isn't the best time or place to be having this conversation, so shall we go back to the common room?"
"You know what," Draco said, and for the first time his eyes met Hermione's. She flinched; they were full of hurt. He looked back at Theo. "Let's talk about it right here, since obviously, you weren't planning on telling me at all, and if I leave it here, now, I doubt we'll ever speak again. So tell me. How long have you two been together? And tell me the truth."
"It's complicated-" Theo began, but Hermione cut him off. "Since Christmas, Draco. I told you that I kissed the man I liked at Christmas. It was Theo. We broke it off for a little while, because it wasn't fair to you, then got back together at Theo's birthday party after our confrontation."
Draco looked at her. "Thank you for your honesty. And for the record, I'm not upset with you. You did everything you could have to let me down gently, you've been straight with me the whole time about this, and though I wish you'd picked me, I'm not immature enough to be angry with you over that. I do wish you'd told me who he was, but I understand why you didn't."
"You, on the other hand," he rounded on Theo, who quailed, "are a fucking disgusting excuse for a human. You're supposed to be my friend, and you fuck around behind my back with the love of my life and you don't even have the balls to tell me what you're doing. And after our discussion at Christmas, when you told me to go for it with her, as well. You're a fucking hypocrite. If you'd told me about you two then, sure, I would have been angry, but at the very least I would have respected you for being the kind of man who can stand up to my face and tell me you want her. I understand how love works, I'm not stupid, and I know that she chose you just as much as you chose her; but right now I'm honestly struggling to understand why, because you're a shit friend and a fucking coward."
Theo was shaking, his eyes downcast, and Hermione didn't know what to do. She wanted to step in and defend him, to tell Malfoy none of it was true and that Theo was being considerate, not cowardly, but she didn't even know if that was what he would want when his manhood was being called into question. He finally looked up at Draco's narrowed eyes and she saw that the shaking had been with barely controlled anger. She had never seen such fury in his eyes before.
"Don't you fucking say one more word," he spat. "I'm a shit friend, am I? All I tried to do was help you. I told you to go for her because I honestly, genuinely believed she'd want you. At Christmas when you sent her that gift I fucking broke up with her, I let her go for you. Because I wanted you to have your shot with the girl you loved, and I'd just fade into the fucking background like I always do because I'm Theo and that's my only fucking purpose in life. Hermione is the one who made me see that was bullshit, who made me feel like I'm actually worth a damn, which none of you ever have. I didn't say anything to you after we got back together because I didn't want to rock the boat, I didn't want to rub this in your face when you'd just lost her. You know what, though, now you're accusing me of being a coward and a shit friend, well, I'm not going to pander to your feelings anymore. Yes, Hermione and I are together. Yes, I fucking love her more than my own life. Yes, I'm going to stand up and tell everyone at Hogwarts and at the Daily Prophet that she's my girlfriend, because I'm fucking honoured that she chose to be with me, and I won't have any more assholes like you telling me I don't deserve her."
Draco set his jaw, then with startling speed drew his hand back and punched Theo square in the face. The crunch was sickening, and Hermione stifled a gasp as Theo staggered backwards, clutching at his nose and crying out in pain. "Fucking Merlin, Draco!"
"That was for sneaking around with her behind my back," Draco explained, now remarkably calm, waving his hand in the air to shake off the pain of the punch. "Glad to see you've finally grown a pair and learned how to stand up for yourself. We even?"
Theo nodded grudgingly and shook Draco's hand with the one that wasn't currently holding his broken nose in place. "Even."
Hermione watched, completely nonplussed, as the animosity between the two men mostly dissipated in the space of a few minutes. Draco fixed Theo's nose with his wand, Theo apologized to her for swearing so much and then the two boys talked about the weekend's Quidditch results as she followed them back down the hill. She couldn't believe that all that sneaking around they'd done had been for the sake of a five minute argument. She also couldn't believe that such a complicated issue was solved so quickly between them, and when she brought it up, they both shrugged. "We might be Slytherins, but we're still men. For disagreements like this, a punch usually does the trick," Draco explained to her. "If you were my wife, maybe we'd have to start a family feud, but for now, we're good."
"It was worth the punch," Theo assured her, slipping a hand round her back and resting his head on her shoulder as they walked. "What d'you reckon they have for dinner in the Great Hall? I'm starving."
Hermione shook her head. Sometimes she thought men were a whole other species.
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Second Chances