Theo rubbed his chin and stared at Draco. His blond lover was sprawled across their bed, but not in a good way. There was no seduction in his pose at all. The contrast between his pale perfection and the sheen of the charcoal colored bedding was still quite alluring, but it couldn't overcome his obvious mood. He looked miserable.

"So, they won't accept a surrogate. They want us to marry witches and give them proper heirs." Theo dropped a hand onto Draco's back and stroked his fingers along the pale line of his spine. "We knew that would be tricky hexing."

"They didn't just refuse the idea. They countered. Turns out my mother has a solution that's just perfect for us." Draco groaned into the silk duvet. "She has selected a witch for us to marry. They will approve if we woo and win this witch."

"Having a wife isn't a bad thing. There is stability there. A triad could be good." Theo stroked his fingers up Draco's side. "There hasn't been one in our circles for almost three hundred years. We will set all their tongues to wagging. Which witch are we wooing?"

"My mother's new best friend." Draco picked at the duvet. He pulled his head up and slammed it down into the mattress repeatedly. "The one witch on the planet guaranteed to hate me."

"I'm fairly certain there is more than one witch in London alone that can be guaranteed to hate you, Draco." Theo stroked the dragon tattoo gracing the blond man's shoulder blade.

"Well, Hermione bloody Granger will lead the caterwauling chits to our door with torches and pitchforks before she'll ever accept me as a husband." Draco rolled onto his back and locked his gaze on the ceiling.

"Your father finds her acceptable?" Theo shook his head in disbelief. "Your father?"

"Mother convinced him to try this." Draco waved his hand in a small circle. "It's a learning experience, I'm sure."

"So, they want us to fail." Theo frowned. "It's a ruse."

"Of course." Draco rolled his eyes. "My parents are perfect examples of Slytherin genius. They dangle the unattainable carrot and then watch us exhaust ourselves."

"And then we settle down with those adorable Greengrass girls." Theo shook his head in disgust. "I'm still surprised they picked Hermione."

"Why?" Draco looked up into his lover's cobalt gaze. "She hates me."

"She doesn't hate me." Theo grinned. "She studied with me often at school, and there is a pesky little life debt she owes me."

"She owes you a life debt? For what?" Draco flipped over and stared up at his lover.

"I saved her from Rookwood in the final battle." Theo smirked. "He made a rather ugly table."

"You saved her. You can make her marry us." Draco blinked rapidly and tried to pull him down for a kiss.

"No." Theo shook his head. "She's a good person. I'll use the debt to get her to give you a chance. We shouldn't force her into a life long commitment."

"But we could be together forever." Draco whined.

"After the Weasley debacle, she deserves some choice. I don't want a wife that hates us." Theo tapped Draco on the nose. "And neither do you."

"You can't think she'd give me a real chance." Draco pushed Theo back gently. "I watched my own aunt torture her. I'm marked. I'm not the kind of person someone like her considers."

"I don't think there are people like her, so I'm pretty sure you can't know what she will consider." Theo crossed his arms over his chest. "She makes complicated people seem simple. The witch has her own agenda. We just need to find a way to make being with us an asset to her long term plans."

"You don't want to seduce her?" Draco raised a single brow. "Surely, we will need to engage her emotionally."

"Emotions may factor in at some point." Theo grinned. "But, it's her mind we need. Her heart will follow."

Hermione fussed with her sweater and ordered a ridiculously sweet drink as she waited for Theo and Malfoy. She had to have lost her mind. Theo was nice enough, but Malfoy had spent years tearing her down. A complete loss of sanity was the only explanation.

Meeting them in public was problematic at best. It would likely make the paper and aggravate Ron and his family. Harry would defend her and then the chaos would grow. Ginny would use the battle as an excuse to blame Hermione for everything. George would panic. The drama would last for days.

She needed to study.

She needed to work.

Hell, she needed to do anything but sit here waiting to be mocked by the marvelous bouncing ferret.

She grabbed her bag and considered leaving. It would be easy enough to walk away. Slumping back in her seat, she sighed. She didn't want to stay. It was sure to cause her endless trouble. Still, Theo was freeing her from her debt to him for sitting here and listening. She took a sip of her drink and tried to look calm. She didn't want to give Malfoy any openings.

They arrived, and the air around them seemed to sparkle. They were both tall, broad shouldered, and lean. They moved with the same easy strides, confident in their power. They were so alike. The war had left them both in difficult straits, but they were secure in their abilities to right their course. It was obvious in the way the looked. She looked down at the table. She was the plain one. She was the one lost at sea.

"Hermione." Theo smiled at her and bowed slightly. "I'm sure you remember Draco."

Malfoy bowed and his silver blond hair caught the light. He looked up at her with his grey eyes and a gentle smile. Godric, he was beautiful.

"Like what you see?" Malfoy preened and smoothed his robes.

Theo chuckled and sprawled in the seat beside her. She glanced his way and blushed. He was just as stunning with his navy eyes and sable hair.

Damn them both. She stiffened her spine and focused on being polite. She smiled at Theo and then gestured for Malfoy to sit.

"You said I had to listen, Theo." Hermione quirked a brow at the dark haired wizard. "You didn't say for how long."

"Don't go, Hermione." Theo leaned forward. "Hear us out. Please."

"Fine." She plucked her drink up from the table and took a deep pull on the straw. She watched them watching her with avid interest and blushed again.

"I invited you here because..." Theo ran his hand through his hair. "Damn this is hard."

Hermione blinked at him. Calm, cool, and collected Theodore Nott looked anything but. She glanced toward Draco and saw his jaw begin to work.

"He wants to convince you that what we are going to propose is the right thing." Draco rolled his eyes. "He thinks you're a Ravenclaw or something. Put enough empirical evidence in front of you and you will go along. I don't buy into that. You aren't so easily swayed. Being righteous is for Ravenclaws with their empirical truths and for Hufflepuffs with Utilitarian delusions. Gryffindors and Slytherins both see the greys. We live in the greys."

"The ends sometimes do justify the means." Hermione tilted her head and watched as Draco grabbed Theo's hand. "I fought in a war. I'm well aware that reality and ideology are different things."

Draco nodded at her respectfully, and she returned it. They'd faced each other over wands often enough that this meant something. She felt some of her tension ease. Whatever was behind this invitation wasn't meant to insult her.

"I love Theo. He's a better person than I am. He's generous and annoyingly correct most of the time. I'll do anything to stay with him. Do you understand?"

Hermione blinked. His passionate diatribe didn't really give her anything to understand, but she nodded her head anyway. It seemed like the thing to do.

"You didn't actually say anything, Draco." Theo smirked. "Well, nothing beyond the obvious."

"Fine." Draco looked directly at her. She could see the magic in the sudden mercurial shine of his eyes. "Let us be your new elf thing. Reform us. Use our money for good causes. Languish in our libraries. Help us stay together."

"How am I supposed to do that?" Hermione cocked her head. "I am not a counselor."

"We don't need counseling." Theo smiled wide and genuine.

"We need a wife." Draco smirked.

Hermione stiffened. She licked her lips. Part of her wanted to flee and part of her wanted to scream. Both seemed weak, so she sat still.

"He's being a bit blunt, but we do want to court you." Theo grabbed her hand. "I'd like you to consider us."

"You want me to be your beard?" Hermione looked down at the table. Ron and Harry had used her as theirs. She blinked. Perhaps that was all that was meant for her.

"No." Theo stroked his thumb along her wrist. "We want you to be our wife, our very real wife."

"Why?" Hermione chewed on her lower lip again. "I'm not a pureblood, and I'm rather notoriously difficult."

"My mother selected you." Draco leaned forward. "Our families will allow us to marry if we can claim you as our third."

"That's more honesty than I expected." Hermione sat back and pulled her hand from Theo's.

"What would be the purpose of lying? We need you to trust us." Draco shook his head. "If this is going to work, we will have to be very upfront about things much as it chafes."

Draco stared at Theo as he dried his hair with a towel. He knew that something was plaguing his lover, and he knew Theo was thinking about Granger. They both were. She'd sat with them for over an hour and listened to the logical arguments, but there had been something so lost in her eyes even as she nodded along.

"She asked for time." Draco took a deep breath. "That's not a no, and it's sensible. We couldn't have really hoped for more."

"I know that, but did you see her eyes? She looked so lost." Theo frowned. "Someone has done a job on her. She wasn't her fearsome self."

"She looked lovely, but it was armor. Granger never used to care about her appearance." Draco sighed. "We can help her find her confidence again."

"It's more than that, Draco." Theo licked his lips. "If she's going to be our third, she can't see herself as the breeder. We need to really know her. We need to respect her."

Draco nodded. Respecting her wasn't really a problem for him. They'd been through the war on the front lines. He'd seen her tortured and watched her rise up from it. Seeing Granger again had been oddly nice. The guilt he'd expected to feel was there, but it wasn't overwhelming. He didn't want to use her. She didn't feel like an accoutrement to aid his felicity with Theo. She was real and nervous and adorable. He felt a new form of guilt for seeing her as a means to an end. She was more.

Hermione Granger deserved to be loved for herself.

"I think we need to really court her." Draco licked his lips. "She deserves to be loved. If we can't offer her that, is it fair to trap her in our world?"

Theo turned toward him and blinked slowly. His dark haired lover dragged in a breath before grabbing him and kissing him soundly. Draco trailed his hands up Theo's sides and tangled them in his hair. They could discuss it later.