Pride and Polyjuice Potion

Chapter 17

Hermione began her search for him in the grounds in which they had walked the last time. She sincerely hoped, with all her heart, that he was not at Malfoy Manor. She could not bare to step foot in the place without being thinking of the treacherous murder.

He was no where to be found. And so, in spite of her reluctance, she ventured towards that ghastly house, that Manor of Murder.

Through those wrought iron gates she went once again, down the straight path leading towards the door. She was about to start going up the steps leading the entrance when she was immobilised by a certain voice calling down from one of the windows.

"Hermione? What the fuck are you doing here? The paper round?" Theo mocked.

"Oh, thank goodness it's you. I was coming here looking for you. And thank you, I really appreciate the joke, but now is really not the time," she said, her voice slightly stifled from her previous tears. She took a deep breath and pulled out Malfoy's letter from her jacket pocket. "I have just received the most disheartening and shocking letter from Malfoy."

"Didn't ask," he said as he began to move away from the window."

"Theo, I wouldn't be here if this wasn't important, please just help me out here," she pleaded, fighting back the tears that tried to escape her eyes.

"Well, get a move on then," he said, moving back towards the open window with his arms crossed.

"For fuck's sake, Theo," she cried in exasperation. "Just come down here, will you?"

"Alright, alright, watch the language there, Granger, you don't want the children hearing you," he said, holding his arms up in surrender.

"What are you even on about? Just hurry up!"

"Fine, fine, whatever, don't mind me. It's always 'I need your help, Theo' and never 'do you need any help, Theo?'" He complained jokingly as he shut his window.

About three minutes later, he was down.

"Took you long enough," she said as she rolled her eyes when he walked towards her.

"With that attitude, I'll be going back to bed thank you very much."

"Right, so this letter-"

"Are you mad, Granger? We can't do this here. Follow me," he said as he began to make his way round to the side of the house. He leaned up against the wall, arms folded and then raised his eyebrows at her, encouraging her to speak.

"This morning I received this letter from Malfoy. Half of its contents are irrelevant to you and so I will not reveal them to you. Nor will I tell you his intentions for sending it to me."

"I didn't ask for a whole fucking disclaimer, just get on with it."

Hermione took a deep breath and continued.

"He charmed it, so I can only tell you from memory what it is he wrote."

"Again, don't care."

After taking another deep breath and clearing her throat, Hermione related the Viktor Krum affair to him in full, including the fact that he said to speak to Theo if she was in any doubt of its truth.

"So, Theo, please relieve me of my suffering and tell me it's not true."

Theo remained entirely composed throughout her recount of half the letter's contents, although his complexion may have paled slightly.

"I hate to cause you any pain, but it is unfortunately all true. Trust me, Hermione, I wish it were all a lie myself but I sadly was a witness to it all, being a guest at Malfoy Manor during that time."