Nott So Different | Dramione

Chapter 8: Stupid, stupid, stupid

She had set three rules for herself this week.

1. Spend as much time possible with Theodore Nott.

This, she did well. She surprisingly began enjoying the company of her estranged brother. She also found it surprising the way his hobbies and likes were very similar to hers - from reading, to writing, to understanding the rulings of what made the Wizarding world tick, to muggle-styled baking (though, he admitted shyly that he hadn't told anyone about this as yet), to spending time with loved ones. More often than not, she'd find herself forgetting that she wasn't in the presence of Harry, Ron and Ginny - rather, in the presence of Theodore Nott. She began to feel comfortable, almost as though they had been friends at Hogwarts, almost as though they had grown up together. This, she liked.

2. Try and continue her notes regarding the Unforgivables.

Despite having a great deal of access to one of the largest personal library in Wizarding England, she always found herself distracted by something... or someone when she tried to complete her work. She found that she was falling behind on all matters work when it came to it. Therefore, this week, it was her mission to ensure she was productive. She needed to keep her mind busy.

And 3. Avoid Draco Malfoy.

This, too, she was doing well thus far. Despite living in his house, dining in house dining room, and exploring the Manor grounds - she did not bump into him anywhere. One would think this perfectly appealing for Hermione, but it was only today when she had sat down to complete a few articles as her pseudo-character "The Author", that she realised she had agreed to work with him.

So no matter how much she promised herself, no matter all the things she said to herself - 'don't pay attention to him, pretend like he doesn't exist' - it would all be inevitable.

Hermione sat in the lounge room of her apartment - it was technically the shared kitchen/dining room area, and had her work splayed across the table. She found herself coming home every so often now, she found that working at the bookstore and at the Manor proved to be difficult, so she found solace in her comfort place.

Her home.

She had four piles - organised into 'to be considered', 'to be continued', 'fan mail' and 'rubbish'. Her 'to be continued' pile was far less than all the other piles as she was extremely picky in whom she works with and what she writes about. Ginny helps sort through the piles at times, when she's not travelling or training for the Holyhead Harpies. But lately, Hermione feels as though she has less and less time to spend with her friends and completing her work.

That's why Ginny will be coming over at 7pm. She needed some sense of normalcy, so why not have dinner at her house with her best friend? She had put a hold on weekly dinners with Ron and Harry, which they didn't seem to mind considering they both had their own thing with being Aurors.

Harry had sent her a few owls. Enough to show her that he was thinking about her, and keeping a good eye out for her. But he ensured he didn't send too many, in hopes to not sound too worried, and controlling.

That was the best thing about Harry. He knew what to do and what to say about everything. She knew he would try and make her feel the utmost comfortable in this situation, she knew he would do anything to ensure she was okay and not fucked up, despite how fucked up the whole situation was. He would do anything for Hermione, and she loved him for it.

Hermione sighed and turned to the "to be continued" pile and began reading through her smudged notes on the Unforgivables. She had been so confused that night with Malfoy in the Manor library, that she dived in to her work - at least she wasn't confused about that.