Out of Time

Chapter 6

"When's her birthday?"

Draco doesn't know. "Early autumn, I think."

"Bloody hell, Malfoy. Maybe spend less time shagging the witch and a little more time talking to her."

Zabini has him dead to rights there. The visual of Hermione and Theo sitting at the library table, sitting close and laughing together chips another tiny nick off his heart.

"Well, for a while, I get to do neither," he snaps, his irritation climbing. Blaise takes the opportunity to scoop up more scrambled eggs and Draco wonders where he fits it all.

"I'm just saying, you and Nott are both going through a huge amount of time and energy on this. I get his perspective, even though I know he'd have never come up with it. I don't fully get yours."

"I don't really need you to," Draco says stiffly.

Pansy wanders in for breakfast and assumes the seat next to him. She kisses him on the cheek, something he allows with an indulgent smile. He wants the rumours that they're together, but he's also going to stage a huge row right before the end of term. When Pansy does run off with Theo, Draco doesn't want everybody turning to him and asking where his girlfriend's gone. This needs to placate the masses without making the case that he's madly in love with Pansy Parkinson, who is going to disappear in a few short weeks.

He desperately wants to know more about their plan but knows better than to keep asking. It's finally hitting home that Theo and Pansy won't be returning to Hogwarts next year.

"I'm not trying to offend you," Blaise is busy saying, and Draco tries to catch up. "It's not that I don't see the attraction. I'm a bloke. I just can't get past the swotty, self-righteous judgement she exuded from nearly every pore since we were all eleven. Maybe if I spent more time with her, I'd see another side."

"Hopefully we can all start doing that soon," Pansy grumbles, delicately spearing a swatch of butter for a thin slice of toast. "I prefer to study with Theo."

"It's not studying you're doing, Pans."

"You're one to talk, you wanker."

"Well, now, yes. Back to wanking."

Blaise shakes his head in disbelief. "The four of you just started this whole thing and you're all already sick of it."

Blaise has no idea, but it has to be done. Draco changes the subject. "What did Crabbe say to Theo last night that tipped him over the edge?"

Pansy's visibly trying to smother her interest in this but Draco sees right through her nonchalance. He smirks at her and she kicks him under the table.

"Well, coming from Crabbe, it was hard to make it make perfect sense," Blaise chews thoughtfully. "But it was something to the effect of Theo's dad either beating him too much as a child - maybe knocking some brain cells loose to make him attracted to a Mudblood at all - or not beating him enough. Theo offered to test the theory."

So that part was only peripherally about Hermione. Draco's selfishly relieved and wonders if Pansy feels the same.

Aside from his vocal desire to never see the Senior Nott again, Theo's always quite reserved about the abuse he suffered at his hands. Draco's never tried to pry. He's figured all along that if Theo wants to talk about it in detail, he will, but that it's not his place to press the matter. Maybe Blaise has gotten more out of him at some point, but either way, it was a low blow.

As children, Draco knew Theo had injuries he'd try to hide from the rest of them. His father forbade the house elves from healing his son, saying if the injury didn't resonate with Theo, what good was the punishment? While the others played Quidditch or roughhoused around, Theo would sit and read instead of showing how badly physical contact might hurt that day.