August 14th - Open Air Hallway (Late Afternoon, Early Evening)

[booky_knowitall]

Hermione leaned into the post and tried to get her crying under control. Idiot! Stupid, stupid, prat! You do not tell a girl you just snogged what your ex was like, you do NOT! And of course more tears started rivers down her face. Hermione wiped them away again and conjured a kerchief...or tried to. Her concentration was shot enough that the

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[booky_knowitall]

Hermione couldn't help the sigh that escaped from his running his hands through his hair. Most people didn't have enough patience to separate her hair into stands so it could be done. "I promise, no habit has been formed after doing it twice. Strange how both times you got hit it an arousal was the original problem."

She reached forward and slowly rubbed one of his knees, then started to laugh. "We would be rich right now, wouldn't we? But to be honest, I don't know how this happened. Not complaining, though," she said as she squeezed his knee.

[naught_common]

"Are we cuddling? Is that something that friends do? And were you implying that I aroused you? I certainly didn't set out to do so, but some things are simply beyond even my power. I do have a certain... je ne sais quoi..." He gave a version of the Gallic shrug, tongue firmly planted in cheek. "Do not hit me again."

"I'm already rich. Although you know what they say about gold..." He covered the hand on his knee, "I'm not complaining either."

[booky_knowitall]

Hermione grinned and looked up at him. "We are cuddling, and friends can do this. Usually close friends. As for arousing me...if we were more than just friends either you would explore and figure it out yourself or I would answer that question. But since we're just friends..." She smiled and shrugged. "But I'm glad you're not complaining, because I didn't want to get up." Her hand underneath his twitched with the desire to hold his hand, but she held it back.

[naught_common]

"Why Ms. Granger, I'm shocked." He gave into an impulse he'd simply never had before in his life, and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "Shall we plot the overthrow of the castle?" he asked.

[booky_knowitall]

Hermione laughed and stretched out, putting her head into his lap and fanning her hair out behind him. "Ooo, I shocked you. Then please, let's throw over this castle and make it exactly to our liking, throwing out all prats and idiots."

[naught_common]

Theo smiled at her, his hand going back to its task of carding through her hair. "But my dear, then we would be here all alone. Perhaps we could let your Weasley stay - with limited access of course."

[booky_knowitall]

"Hm...this school would be rather boring if it were just the two of us. We'd have no one to order around. Although I like that you called him my Weasley, that brings all sorts of wonderful mental images to mind." Okay, that comment did feel mean, but wasn't she allowed a few of those? Ron had hurt her, and she wanted to make sure that was acknowledged! "What does his limited access give him?"

[naught_common]

Theo pondered, narrowing his eyes for a moment. "Food, pitch, bed. He can have the bloody red-draped tower if he likes. The library is, of course, off limits, as is the dungeon and, well, everything else. Still, he likely won't notice."

[booky_knowitall]

Hermione hummed a little to herself and grinned. "I think I'm liking this. At least I know where to find him. Great Hall, the pitch, or the common room. And, uh, where do I stay? You going to leave Ron and I in Gryffindor Tower by ourselves? We might kill each other or worse, stop fighting." She reached up for one of his hands and interlaced her fingers with his.

[naught_common]

"You can stay anywhere you like, m'lady." Theo looked at their twined fingers with what amounted to bemusement. "My father would disapprove of you, you know."

[booky_knowitall]

"I have no doubt," she agreed, looking up at him, contemplating what exactly had made her this comfortable with Theo. What had caused it? Had there been a specific moment? Things like this weren't something she could find in the library, and certainly wasn't something she understood. That didn't stop her from doing it, and she flexed her fingers against his. "What would your father do, if you brought me home? Would I make it out alive?"

[naught_common]

Theo didn't remove his hand. "My father," Theo's voice was entirely flat, unemotional, his public voice, "would do nothing. His residence has changed. The house in Kent, along with every other property owned by my family is now mine. If I were to bring you home you would most certainly make it out alive. Provided you never went anywhere by yourself."

[booky_knowitall]

Hermione removed her head from his lap and instead sat up on it, her feet straight across his legs and onto the rest of the couch, still holding his hand. "If you are the master of the house in Kent, why would your father's opinion matter at all? I'm not trying to sound forward or tell you to take me home, I'm just curious."

[naught_common]

"I have a place, a heritage, a duty. My father's opinion has mattered to vast number of wizards in a variety of countries for more than fifty years. As his only son, it should matter to me. Unless of course you are of the opinion that fealty has no place in the families of Death Eaters." His voice was still calm, but his entire body was still. He may have had questions about his father's choices, but he would not air them publicly, ever.

[booky_knowitall]

She let her hand drop away from his and nodded. "Of course it has its place. I was out of line." She stayed there a moment, contemplating what she wanted to do. She knew that lineage and family loyalty meant something different in her world than Theo's, and her question had been completely hypothetical. She felt fealty had its place, of course she did, no matter what the family's background was. But that didn't stop it from hurting to realize that...she could never be approved of. If there was no approval to be earned, was there a need for effort?

She stood and moved to the fire, folding her arms across her chest.