Chapter Text
Hermione hated parties. Always had. The thumping bass that vibrated in her chest, the sticky floors, the way conversations dissolved into drunken nonsense. She'd rather be anywhere else, preferably curled up with a book, her memories intact for the morning.
But there she was, standing by a massive bonfire that kicked off senior year. Ginny Weasley was buzzing next to her, practically vibrating with excitement, her red hair catching the light like liquid copper. The air still had that late-summer warmth, but you could feel the first real chill of fall waiting in the wings.
Ginny was in some tight red dress, her heels already sinking into the damp lawn. Hermione looked down at her own getup: an oversized hoodie, ripped jeans, and the same beat-up Chucks she'd worn for years.
“—I can't believe Harry got into the academy early,” Ginny was saying, her voice cutting through the noise. “He's gonna be so good at it—“
Hermione zoned out. It wasn't that she hated Harry and Ginny together, it was just… sometimes she missed them being separate people. Not this unit where their whole personalities were wrapped up in each other.
People probably felt sorry for her. Academically, she was untouchable. She had her post-grad plans mapped out while everyone else was just trying to survive midterms. Socially? That was another story. She just never quite clicked.
She and Ginny had become friends in a poli-sci class, but they only got close after Hermione started dating Ginny's older brother, Ron. That was a mistake. A nice enough guy, but zero chemistry. Kissing him was like… well, it was bad. He never bothered to figure out what she liked, and kept pushing for sex even after she'd said no. A million fights later, and it was just over.
Hermione wasn't heartbroken. Sex with Ron would've been a letdown anyway. She was better off on her own. Her imagination was way more interesting than anything he could've offered.
Ginny never took Ron's side, even when he called her a “frigid bitch” for siding with his ex. Ginny just told him to get over himself.
Then there was Harry, Ginny's boyfriend. At first, it was nice, seeing her two best friends together. But then everything got busy. Harry got into the police academy, Ginny's lacrosse team started traveling all the time. And suddenly, Hermione was just… left behind. Buried in textbooks, and professors’ praise as company.
Now, being alone felt better than being the third wheel.
“Where's your brother tonight?” Ginny asked, scrolling through her phone.
Hermione made a face. “Stepbrother,” she corrected, taking a sip of her drink.
Ginny waved it off. “Whatever. Semantics. You two still fighting?”
Hermione snorted. The solo cup crackling where she squeezed it.
“When have we ever not been fighting? He's an arrogant asshole who's been making my life hell since we were kids.”
“Has he been… somewhat better? Since your parents got married?”
“Yeah, because Theodore Nott would suddenly become a decent person just because our parents moved in together. Honestly, I think my mother must be rolling in her grave.” It was hard, Helen Granger’s death was still fresh for her to even speak about. She continued.
“My dad loves Alessia, she's great. But her son is a manipulative leech who only knows how to make me miserable and charm girls out of their pants.” Ginny let out a low whistle.
“Damn, Mi. Tell me how you really feel.”
Just then, a twig snapped behind them.
“Please, Granger, don't stop on my account,” a voice drawled. “I'd love to hear the rest of your little monologue.”
Theodore Nott. Of course. He'd clearly heard enough. He pulled a cigarette from behind his ear, the flare of the lighter making his face look even more angled in the firelight. His wavy dark brown hair rustled in what little breeze blew over them, making a few wayward strands fall into his eyes, an annoying shade of green that made Hermione's stomach do a stupid little clench when he looked at her.
She hated it. She hated him. But she wasn't blind. He'd gone from being an annoying kid to… well, he was hot. And he knew it. She'd heard the evidence of his hookups through their shared wall often enough.
“What part did you catch.” she asked, keeping her tone apathetic.
He took a drag, his green eyes locking on hers. “Just the part about me being a leech who gets girls into bed. My, my, little sister,”he chuckled, a deep sound that made her stomach swoop.
“Such a vivid imagination you have.”
Ginny looked like she wanted to be anywhere else, clearly regretting getting Hermione started on her tirade. Thankfully, she spotted Harry across the yard.
“Oh! There's Harry! Text me later, Mi!” she said, and all but sprinted away.
And then they were alone. Theo stepped closer, his voice dropping to a low murmur right by her ear.
“For someone who hates me so much, you sure pay a lot of attention to who I'm fucking.”
“It's called having ears, Nott. You're not exactly quiet about your conquests.”
“Conquests?” He laughed, a cold sound that sent a shiver down her spine, and a completely different kind of heat right to her core.
“They know exactly what they're getting. Unlike you. Have you ever even seen a real dick, Granger?”
Before she could even think of a comeback, he was in her space, backing her up against a tree. His hand slammed into the bark right next to her head, boxing her in. He smelled like smoke and expensive cologne, and it was doing things to her brain.
“You think you're so fucking perfect,” he sneered, his face right up in hers. “Straight-A student, little Miss Goody-Two-Shoes. It's pathetic. But I know what you really are.”
“I have no idea what you're talking about,” she whispered, her heart hammering against her ribs.
“No?” His other hand came up, his fingers wrapping around her throat, not squeezing, just… resting there. Feeling her pulse race.
“I hear you at night, you know. Those little noises you make. And they weren't for that loser ex-boyfriend of yours.”
Hermione's breath hitched. “Shut the fuck up.”
“Did I hit a nerve, Princess?” His thumb brushed over her pulse point. “Or are you just embarrassed that the only thing that gets you off is thinking about how much you hate me? About you knowing I can make a girl scream?”
“I despise you,” she breathed, ready to hit him.
“Good, because I hate you too. I hate that you look at me like I'm something you scraped off your shoe.”He stared at her with a condescending smile as his eyes dropped to her mouth.
“But you know what's funny? I know you're soaked right now, just from me standing this close.”
His hand slid down from her throat, his fingertips brushing the skin of her stomach, right above her jeans. She shivered, a full-body thing, but she didn't push him away.
“See?”he whispered against her ear. “You want to tell me to fuck off, but you won't. Because you're just as fucked up as I am.”
And then he was gone. Just like that. He stepped back, dropped his cigarette, and crushed it under his heel.
“Have a great night, sis,” he said, one last smirk playing on his lips. “Try not to think of me too much when you're touching yourself later.”
He walked away, leaving her leaning against the tree, shaking and hating herself for the heat pooling in her stomach. God she hated him. She absolutely fucking hated him. She needed to get away, to get him out of her head. Luckily, the house wasn’t far from where she was.
Inside, the music was so loud, that Hermione could feel it vibrating in her bones as she pushed past the various bodies to get to the drink table. Theo's words were on a loop in her head. Then a minute later, Luna Lovegood was there, holding out a cup of something that glowed under the blacklight.
“You look like you've seen a ghost,” Luna said in her dreamy voice. “Here. This will help.”
Hermione took it and drank without another word. It was sweet, then it hit her with a kick of pure alcohol. She drank more. By the time the cup was half-empty, the pounding bass didn't feel so bad anymore. Her body began swaying to the beat of some playlist she’d never listen to outside of this moment.
Then her phone buzzed. It was Alessia. She froze.
Hi honey, just checking in. Do you happen to know where Theo is? He was supposed to be home an hour ago.
The name cut through her buzz like a knife. Theo. She typed back a quick No idea, sorry and headed upstairs, looking for a bathroom, her anxiety spiking yet again.
The hallway was quieter. She was halfway down it when she heard it. A high, breathy moan from behind a cracked bathroom door.
“T-Theo… what if someone walks in?”
Hermione’s eyes widened. She knew she should walk away. Knew she shouldn't look. But her feet refused to move. She peeked through the crack. And there Theo was, standing between some girl's legs, effortlessly lifting her onto the sink. His hands were on her hips, his face in her neck. He was grinding against her, slow and hard, and the girl—and Hermione—gasped.
Then Theo's head lifted.
He didn't look at the girl. His eyes locked onto Hermione's reflection in the mirror.
“Look at you,” he growled, his voice rough, meant for the girl in his arms, but Hermione felt as if he was speaking directly to her. “So fucking desperate for it. You like how that feels?”
The girl whimpered, digging her nails into his back, completely oblivious.
“Answer me,” Theo demanded, his eyes on Hermione as he watched her shudder in the hallway. “Tell me how much you want it.”
“I want it, Theo, please…”
“Good girl.” A cruel, triumphant smirk twisted his lips. He moved faster, making the girl cry out, but his eyes stayed on Hermione's, showing her exactly what she was missing.
A hot, sick wave of something—disgust and a sharp, painful jealousy—washed over her. Her body responded with a traitorous ache that made her want to scream. Theo's eyes rolled back as he ground against her faster, his eyes rolling back, a choked sound catching in his throat as he came.
She finally managed to break the spell when Theo’s eyes fluttered shut. Hermione went stumbling back into the dark hall and running down the stairs like she was being chased.
“Whoa, Mi, hey!” Ginny grabbed her arm by the front door. “What happened? You look like you're gonna pass out. Did you take something?”
Hermione shook her head, gasping for air.
“No, I'm fine. Just... got claustrophobic. It's too warm in there.”
“Come on, I'll get you some water. Want a ride home?”
“Can I crash at yours tonight?” Hermione's voice was rough. “I already told Alessia I was staying with you.”
“Of course,”Ginny said, already pulling out her keys. “Harry left a few minutes ago, he said you looked sick. Let's get out of here.”
The cool night air hit her face as they walked to the car. The gravel crunched under their shoes. Hermione's mind was a complete mess, the image of Theo's eyes in the mirror burned into her brain. Just as Ginny unlocked the passenger door, that same voice cut through the darkness.
“Leaving so soon, little sister?”
Theo was leaning against someone's parked car, looking completely normal, like he hadn't just been fucking some random girl in a bathroom ten minutes ago. His eyes were on them, his jaw tight. Hermione stopped dead, her anger warring with the arousal still burning in her gut.
“I'd worry about yourself, Nott,” she shot back, her voice shaking but sharp. “Alessia texted me. You're late. Good luck explaining that one, asshole.”
Theo's jaw twitched. “And why aren't you in trouble? We live in the same fucking house.”
Hermione tilted her head, a cold smile spreading across her face.
“Because I'm the good girl, remember?” she said, her voice carrying across the quiet street.
“They trust me. They know where I am. You're just the disappointment they have to keep an eye on.”
Before he could say another word, she slid into the passenger seat and slammed the door, shutting him out.
Ginny pulled away from the curb, leaving the party and Theodore Nott in the rearview mirror. Hermione leaned her head against the cool glass, her heart still pounding. She knew they'd crossed some kind of line tonight, something that couldn't be uncrossed. She watched the streetlights blur past, a single thought cutting through all the noise.
She was so completely, utterly screwed.