A/N Thanks for your support! So happy that you guys enjoyed the last chapter and I hope you like this one too.

"OK, this is just fucking pathetic," Daphne suddenly said next to him, a few minutes into their dinner. "Are their lives so lacking in excitement that they still haven't gotten over something from two weeks ago?"

Theo lowered his forkful of carrots to glance up at his friend. "What are you talking about?" Her gaze was focused over his shoulder and he watched her eyes sweep down the length of the Great Hall, her lips pulled down in a slight frown.

"The Gryffindorks," she said scathingly. "They keep looking this way."

Theo rolled his eyes. "At the Slytherin table?" he asked before resuming his dinner, his interest already wavering.

"At you," she clarified.

Theo paused mid-chew and raised an eyebrow at her in disbelief. She tilted her head forwards, encouraging him to look for himself. Theo twisted his torso round to look at the offending table. Sure enough, a number of faces were turned in his direction but when they saw him looking they quickly glanced away and bent their heads towards their friends.

Confused, Theo turned back to Daphne, swallowed his carrots and said, "You think this is still about Slughorn's party?"

"What else could it be?" she mused.

He shook his head. "I have no idea."

"It was pretty scandalous but you and Granger are old news now," Daphne said, waving her cutlery to emphasise her point. "You think they'd have gotten over it already - no one in Slytherin cares anymore, do they?"

That seemed to be true. While he knew that the members of his house certainly wouldn't have forgotten that he had stepped out with Hermione Granger, they appeared content to pretend like it had never happened. Draco's indifference in the whole affair probably helped but the two week break away from the school was definitely to Theo's benefit too. Blaise was the only one to treat him icily upon his return to the castle but Theo didn't give a fuck about what Blaise thought.

"They're looking at her too," Daphne said, staring thoughtfully over Theo's shoulder again.

His grip tightened on his cutlery and he momentarily paused in the slicing of his chicken. He sensed Daphne's eyes shift to him and he restarted the motion, nonchalantly spearing a bite and depositing it in his mouth. "Are they?" he asked disinterestedly, once he'd swallowed. Daphne was still watching him closely. Part of him wondered what she was thinking but the rest of him knew it was probably much better that he didn't know.

Theo had purposefully chosen a seat that faced away from Granger. He wasn't angry with her or anything - well, not really. He was more frustrated with himself. When he'd sent a reply to Granger's Christmas letter, he'd been careful to ensure that he asked her no questions in the hopes that would stop her from writing back to him again. He should've known that wouldn't have stopped someone as soft-hearted as Hermione from finding something else to say to him. Each time a letter from her appeared at breakfast time, he swore that he wouldn't respond and then, inevitably, he would give in. He didn't like that he had continuously given in to her harmless-looking letters and he certainly didn't like that he could grudgingly admit to himself that he liked Hermione Granger. Her letters were insightful, informative and intelligent; she challenged him to think about academic matters in a way he never had before and seemed to genuinely value his opinion, which was a strange sensation because he made a habit of not sharing it with others very often. He was aware that she had only written to him so frequently and at such length because she was lonely but, then again, so was he.

But Hogwarts was now full once more and the strange bubble that he had existed in during the holidays had burst. He was uncertain how to proceed. Maintaining some sort of… acquaintanceship with Hermione was not advisable. He had enjoyed her writings over the last couple of weeks but he saw no benefit in transferring that into verbal communications. He may have warmed to her recently but getting close to Hermione was dangerous for both of them. Not to mention that he still hadn't shaken off his desire to kiss her again. And so, after successfully spotting her curly head at the Gryffindor table (and ignoring the small thrill that created) he decided it would be easier to pretend she didn't exist by facing away from her.

"And she keeps glancing at you," Daphne informed him, pushing her plate to one side and reaching for some fruit.

Theo's resolve lasted for half a second before he turned, recalling at once whereabouts she was sitting. Her eyes locked onto his immediately and he ignored that damn thrill again. Her lips pulled up into the slightest smile for a moment but her overall expression looked a little anxious. She tilted her head slightly and glanced meaningfully at the door before returning her gaze to his. After a brief pause, he gave her an almost imperceptible nod and then turned back to Daphne. She had raised a very judgemental eyebrow at him as she chewed silently on a grape before popping another one in her mouth.

"What?" he asked, shrugging defensively.

"I don't like it," she stated flatly in a pause between grapes. "You should keep away from her - she's only going to bring you trouble."

"You think I don't know that?" he grumbled but he still got to his feet.

"Theo," Daphne said warningly.

"I'll see you back at the common room," he muttered.

Now that he was aware of them, he could feel the stares burning into his back as he made his way to the Entrance Hall. Hermione was already there, standing by the marble staircase.

"What's wrong?" he asked, noticing her unsettled body language as he got closer to her.

"We need to talk," she told him seriously.

"Isn't that what we're doing?"

She smiled quickly. "Somewhere private," she elaborated before leading the way up the staircase and then down a couple of corridors to a deserted classroom.

"OK, what do we need to talk about?" Theo asked once the door had clicked closed.

She took a deep breath and stared down at her shoes for a moment and nibbled on her lower lip. Theo's gaze honed in on the action and his pulse sped up a little.

"Harry found the letter you sent me this morning," she admitted, looking up at him once more. "He assumed that we were still together, Ron overheard and got annoyed and I...I…" she trailed off.

"You…?" Theo prompted not sure where she was going with this.

"I didn't correct them," she said delicately, looking at him anxiously as she awaited his reaction.

Theo frowned. "Potter and Weasley think we're still going out? That's what all the staring was about? A bit of an overreaction from all your housemates, isn't it?"

She tucked a bit of hair behind her ear. "Well, Ron made a bit of a scene in the common room," she explained. "I was going to tell Harry and Ron that you and I had parted amicably but then with everyone staring I kind of lost my nerve," she admitted sheepishly.

Theo scoffed. "You'd rather admit to a roomful of Gryffindors that you were still dating a Slytherin than tell them you're single?"

Hermione shrugged but said nothing.

"So, we're here because you want me to play the boyfriend again," he stated flatly, not at all keen on the idea, but her eyes widened.

"No, I don't think that's necessary - I just wanted to give you the heads up in case you hear anything," she explained. "I'll tell Ron and Harry we broke up in a couple of days when this has all blown over. If you could just avoid saying anything horrible about me or looking like you hate me until then, I'd really appreciate it."

"Why would I do that?" he asked in puzzlement.

"Oh," her cheeks flushed and looked at her shoes again. "I know this is very unfair on you, Theo, and I already owe you for the original date but I really hoped you wouldn't mind for just two or three - "

Theo realised she'd misinterpreted his question and interrupted, "No, Granger: why would I say anything horrible about you?"

She glanced up at him. "Oh, well, you know, appearances have to be upheld, don't they? You briefly dated a muggleborn - you need to be seen as a proper Slytherin again, don't you?"

He smirked. "Don't pretend to understand Slytherins, Hermione, we're a complicated bunch to outsiders."

Her eyes tracked over his face for a moment and then she frowned. "You're not mad?"

"You pissed off Weasley - how could I be mad?" he replied smoothly but her expression didn't change. "Look," he said more seriously, "I'm not going to agree to fake-date you again because we both know that it's not a good idea at all."

"I'm not asking - " she began but he held up a hand to stop her because he hadn't finished explaining his thoughts.

"You were saving face," he told her. "I don't blame you - I probably would've done the same thing."

She looked at him anxiously for a few more seconds then sighed and smiled. "OK. Thanks, Theo. I really appreciate it and I promise I'll break us up by Wednesday."

He nodded and they just looked at each other for a moment. "Is that all you wanted to talk about?" he asked, quickly becoming uncomfortable in the silence.

Her face brightened and he tried to rationalise the sudden appearance of goosebumps on his arms with the temperature in the classroom. "Actually, I tried to find you in the library earlier…"

"You were gone for a while," Daphne told him evenly when he sat next to her in the common room.

"Was I?" he replied off-handedly, glancing at the title of the book she was reading. "Any good?" he asked.

"No, terrible," she answered, snapping the book shut. "So, what did she want?"

Theo opened his mouth to respond and then he paused, glancing at his best friend suspiciously. There was something off in both her voice and body language. "Why do I get the feeling you already have an idea?"

She adopted an innocent facade for a moment and then it crumbled when she huffed, "You know me too well."

"I've known you pretty much my whole life," he corrected.

"True," she said with an affectionate smile. "It's a good thing we get on so well, isn't it? Certainly makes things easier."

"Daph," Theo prompted.

"Right, Granger," she said with a small roll of her eyes. "Your girlfriend."

"Only for a couple more days," Theo told her lowly, glancing round to check no one was listening in.

Daphne looked unconvinced. "I don't like it."

"You don't have to like it," he countered.

"Why aren't you bothered by this?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him. "This wasn't what you two agreed."

"Well, what would you have done in her situation?"

"For starters, I never would've got hung up on a fucking Weasley," she sneered. "And secondly, why the hell are you empathising with her?"

"I want to be on her good side, remember? She's like a backup if things get fucked up in the future," Theo explained. Daphne didn't look convinced. "So, what exactly did you hear? Did Weasley look pissed - what about Potter?"

Daphne crossed her arms and looked away from him.

"Come on," he wheedled, "I know you want to tell me." She picked up her terrible book and hid her face behind a random page. "I could always ask Pansy - she always says she has the best gossip."

Daphne lowered the book enough to glare at him. "Fine," she snapped in time with shutting the book. "My sources tell me that Weasley was mid-snog with Brown when he suddenly started yelling at Granger about being with, well, you." She faltered and Theo could tell that she was withholding something.

"Me?"

Daphne grimaced slightly. "A Death Eater's son," she whispered apologetically.

A spark of anger flashed through him though he tried to show no outward sign. "I see," he said tightly. He knew it was stupid to get annoyed over something that was completely true and wasn't a secret, but he didn't appreciate that twat shouting it out and condemning him in front of all those self-righteous Gryffindors. By his very nature, Theo was quite reserved and intentionally didn't leave much of an impression anywhere but there was far more to him than who his father was.

The whole thing was stupid: he didn't want all of Hogwarts to suddenly like him and be his friend but he wanted to punch Weasley's face in all the same.

"I wonder why Hermione didn't tell me," he mused, missing the way Daphne's mouth tightened at the use of the first name.

"Maybe she didn't want you to know what she said next," Daphne suggested.

He looked at her questioningly. "What?"

"Apparently," Daphne said, dragging the word out and pausing for dramatic effect, "she defended you in front of them all: said you were clever, funny, kind, a gentleman and…"

"And?" Theo asked, feeling strangely lightheaded.

Daphne's expression was unreadable. "And - this is how I know she was exaggerating or lying about the other qualities - she said you're a great kisser."

"What?" Theo laughed in disbelief, shaking his head, "There's no way that she said that - you're such a fucking liar, Daph!"

Daphne smiled tightly. "Believe me, Theo, I really wish I was."

When nothing but silence passed between them for a few moments, Theo's amusement drained away. "You're actually serious, aren't you?"

She shrugged lightly. "If my sources are to be believed and they're normally pretty reliable."

Theo slumped back in his seat and stared up at the ceiling without really seeing it. Hermione Granger, yes, that Hermione Granger, had yelled about his kissing prowess for all the Gryffindors to hear. He didn't really know what to think about that. He knew, of course, that she had only done so to wind up Weasley but it still left a funny feeling in his chest to know that she defended him in front of all of her friends.

He suddenly sat up and looked at Daphne. "What do you mean you know all the other stuff was lies?"

Daphne snorted delicately. "Come on, Theo: we've kissed before and you weren't that good."

Theo threw a cushion at her. "We were thirteen and you were my first kiss," he said defensively. "Don't judge me on that - you weren't exactly good either. Granger's much bett-" Daphne had covered his mouth with her hand.

"Even if what you were about to say is true, I don't want to hear it," she said huffily. "Think about who you're talking to here, Theo."

He pushed her hand away. "You started it," he pointed out.

"So, you're trying to tell me that the other things she said about you are true?" Daphne asked, ignoring his comment. "You're funny?"

"You just don't appreciate my wit," he countered.

"Clever?" she posed. "Well, she's friends with Potter and Weasley - anyone's going to look clever compared to those two."

"Hey, I'm not top of the year but I'm not far behind her and you know it," he pointed out.

"A gentleman?" she questioned.

"How dare you question my breeding?" he asked in mock offence. "You can't argue with my rather stellar lineage, Daph - you know it better than most."

"Kind, though?" Daphne mused, ignoring his argument. "She was definitely reaching there." Theo couldn't disagree so he merely shrugged. Kindness wasn't a quality associated with any Slytherins that he knew of. Surely she had just been making a dig at Weasley with that comment…

Timing.

That's what it came down to.

Whether it was a case of good timing or bad timing, Theo wasn't sure but he knew that everything that followed happened because he reached the Entrance Hall on the first Monday morning of the Spring Term at the same time as Hermione, Potter and Weasley.

Theo hadn't slept very well and he thought there was a distinct chance that he was dreaming when his eyes locked with the Gryffindors standing at various points on the Marble Staircase, but Daphne's low, "Oh, shit," next to him convinced him that this was real.

Hermione was at the bottom of the staircase, only a few paces away from entering the Great Hall, but Theo could see by the way she'd wrapped her arms across her chest and the slight wetness to her eyes as she struggled to meet his gaze that she was upset. Weasley was halfway down the stairs, his red neck and ears clashing horribly with his orange hair and Theo noticed that his already angry expression grew even more severe and his hands curled into fists when he clocked Theo. Meanwhile, Potter stood above them all, looking between his friends and the Slytherins uncertainly.

Daphne grabbed the back of his robes but Theo walked forwards purposefully, freeing himself from her restraining fingers. "What's going on?" he asked loudly enough for his voice to carry across the hall. Weasley's scowl deepened as Theo approached and the anger he'd felt the previous evening at the red-headed fool and his ill-disciplined mouth flared back instantly.

"Mind your own business, prick," Weasley spat at him.

"If you're upsetting Hermione then that is my business, Weasley," he sneered, coming to a halt in a spot that put himself between his fake girlfriend and the Weasel. "I'd advise you to keep your damn mouth shut and your opinions to yourself unless you want to embarrass yourself by making inaccurate or offensive remarks like you usually do when your mouth opens and Brown isn't there to stick her tongue into that disgusting hole."

Weasley leapt down the remaining stairs between them with a snarl and gripped the front of Theo's robes, aggressively pushing him against the stone wall. "Listen you slimy piece of shit," Weasley snarled as people called their names and Theo tried to look haughtily back, "I don't know what the fuck you're playing at but I do know you're a no-good, evil bastard just like your father. I'm sure the Dementors have got a cell in Azkaban with your name on all ready for you."

"Forty points from Gryffindor for violent behaviour, Weasley," a cold voice drawled from behind them, halting the altercation at once, which was lucky for Theo because if it had lasted a second longer he would certainly have cursed or punched Ron Weasley in the face.

Weasley dropped his hold on his robes and turned a protesting face towards the glowering Professor Snape. "But I hardly touched him!"

"And I'll take another twenty points for your cheek in talking back to a teacher," Snape told him coldly but his eyes flashed menacingly.

Weasley, being the idiot that he was, opened his mouth to protest even further but Potter pulled him hurriedly away, muttering to keep quiet.

They had attracted a bit of a crowd but Snape glowered at the rest of the students and they all moved hurriedly into the Great Hall for breakfast. Theo's Head of House swept his eyes between Hermione and Theo and then abruptly turned on his heel and ascended the Marble Staircase without a backwards glance.

Theo glanced over at Daphne and saw that she was sending him an unimpressed look that told him quite plainly that she'd predicted that something like this would happen and that he only had himself to blame. She flicked her hair over her shoulder and then walked into breakfast without him, leaving him alone with Hermione.

She took a few hurried footsteps towards him, biting her bottom lip worriedly. "Are you alright?"

"Please," he scoffed confidently, "it would take far more than a little shove to do me any damage."

She ran her eyes over him anyway, then shook her head as she looked up at him with her big brown eyes. "You didn't have to do that."

"Well, I wanted to do that," he retorted a little hotly.

"It's not that I don't appreciate it," she said quickly, "but I can fight my own battles, Theo. Besides, you don't want to get caught up in this anymore," she added, waving her hand between them. She gave him a small smile, squeezed his arm lightly and then scurried into the Great Hall too.

Theo watched her go, his thoughts and emotions tumbling over inside his head in a confusing melee and his arm hot where she'd touched him.

He didn't really know why he did it. He recognised that there were a few different justifications but, in truth, he just felt compelled to. He blamed her. There was just something about her that made him do things he wouldn't normally do for reasons he couldn't completely understand.

"Can you pass the butter," he greeted, taking a seat on the bench beside her and kissing her on the cheek before grabbing a couple of slices of toast.

Hermione stared at him. "Theo, what are you doing," she whispered, looking at him as though he might have gone mad. Perhaps he had.

"I'm having breakfast with my girlfriend," he replied simply as students throughout the Great Hall whispered and stared in their direction. A cry of rage almost certainly belonged to Weasley but Theo refused to look at his likely horrified face yet.

"But I told you that you didn't have to do anything," Hermione reminded him quietly, also refraining from looking Weasley's way. "You've already done more than enough."

"Your cereal's going to go soggy," he pointed out, nodding at the breakfast that she had neglected once he'd sat at the Gryffindor table with her.

"Forget my soggy cereal," she said, turning to face him completely as he reached past her for the butter. "What's going on, Theo?"

He started buttering his toast. "I wasn't just fighting your battle out there: I'm not going to stand for Weasley talking shit about either of us like he did yesterday."

Understanding settled in her eyes and she chewed on her lip again. "You heard."

"I told you: Daphne always picks up the gossip," Theo reminded her and then he smirked. "Apparently someone thinks I'm a great kisser," he teased before refocusing on his breakfast.

Hermione groaned softly and temporarily covered her face with her hands before tucking her hair behind her ears. "You heard," she repeated softly.

He put down his knife and nodded, turning to look at her seriously. "And while I know you only said it to piss off Weasley, I appreciate you standing up for me." Quite how that and all that had followed had led to him sitting at the table of his least favourite house, he still didn't know but there he was.

Hermione shrugged a little and smiled at him. "I still meant what I said about you," she told him sincerely.

"About the kissing?"

She laughed. "About all of it," she stated, making his chest feel funny again.

"Good," he replied before turning back to his toast. "Did you see the notice about apparition lessons?" he enquired casually and they discussed the prospect as though they didn't have a care in the world.

A/N This is easily the longest chapter for this fic. I even considered breaking it down into two separate chapters but I think it flows better all in one and, after such a long break, I thought you guys deserved a bumper update.

Let me know what you think!

Love,

Red