Restricted

15

The following day her minimal lessons had been dull but mostly painless, sadly though her mind sat spinning about how ridiculous she was to open up to Malfoy last night.
Ginny had finished dinner, which left Hermione sat alone, eyes continually glancing over to the Slytherin table and prodding a fork around at her half empty plate.

She could see the Slytherins in full view, surprisingly Malfoy had made it for once, his back to her as he sat beside Parkinson and the constant flicking of her short black bob.
Theo however, wasn't. He was sat facing her, a mischievous grin plastered along his face and the occasional wink whenever Hermione looked up.

He had a knack for just making her feel better and much less alone in a hall full of people.
And before she knew it, he was bounding over to the Gryffindor table with a splash of sass and with Pansy glaring daggers into his back.

His robes were creased, shirt untucked and brown hair a mess, his dark circles had most definitely got worse. But Hermione couldn't help but smile as he slid onto the table and as his gooey brown eyes melted into hers.
Draco turned around Immediately, staring at her naked collarbones up to her eyes before rolling his with a scowl and turning back around.

"My darling Granger."
Theo beamed. "I have a proposition for you."

Hermione slid away her plate and checked her surroundings quickly, luckily the hall was starting to empty and nobody had picked up on her interaction with the Slytherin.
She lent on her palms, "Theodore..." she trailed,
"Go on."

He leaned closer. "Parkinson wants in."

Hermione tilted her head, "What?"

"She wants your help too." Theo whispered, turning and looking behind, "Her dark mark hasn't stopped burning the minute it got branded onto her. She wants rid. She's just too proud to say so."

Hermione bit her lip, "I hadn't even realised she'd taken the mark."

"Her parents." Theo shrugged, "It's a recent thing."

"Burning?" Hermione questioned, as if she couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. She'd underestimated or she supposed never really thought about the pain of it.

"Yes Granger. For some reason, might be a stupid one, but we actually bloody trust you. Why do you think we want rid of the marks? It's the most painful thing, the constant burning and the anxiety of if he is gonna call makes me want to off myself everyday."

Theo looked back at the table of Slytherins, to which now Pansy was looking back at him anxiously biting at her nails. Hermione met her eyes and realised just how tired she looked. How bad they all looked. She was going to have to speed up her efforts.

Theo continued. "And I'm lucky really. Malfoy and Parkinson get called away more than me. What with their parents that bit closer to him. I mean where do you think Draco disappears off too?"

"He— he gets called to the Dark Lord?"

Theo smiled sadly. "Yes."

"And he goes?" She questioned timidly.

"Granger until he gets the mark off, he has no choice. This has got to work."

The pressure was a lot, she had to succeed. Most definitely she'd be getting on the potion tonight.

"I thought she hated me."

Theo shrugged carelessly, "She's cold to begin with but — she'll warm up. It's just trust she has an issue with. She isn't a bad person."

Hermione nodded, yes she was cold indeed. "I'm in too deep now anyway," she tucked a curl away from her cheek, "If she's civil, of course I'll help her."