Hello Love

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟑 - 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭

Hermione was completely baffled. Why was he being so cold towards her? What happened to: 'you're mine Granger'? What happened to his chauvinistic claim on her? Did he replace her with another woman?

No.

She wouldn't believe that. He wasn't like that.. Was he? It was frightening to think she didn't even know what he was capable of. Of course she knew him in school and she knew he'd changed after the war, but she also knew him to be very popular with women, titled a Slytherin Prince. No matter what, he was still a womanizer .

She was kind of looking forward to seeing him again after all this time. She never expected him to react to her this way, it was nothing like him. No.. It was like him. That's what he used to be like, when he was still an egotistical blood purist prat on a high horse.

She had picked up Crooks from the cottage and immediately went to Theo's manor to complain about him. Okay, she might've smashed some of Theo's things too.. Theo, who had been sitting patiently on the settee waiting for her return, immediately left to sort things out with Malfoy when she told him about her encounter.

She just knew she wasn't going to stay in that cottage a minute longer than necessary. What an arse! Theo had tried to get her away from Harry and Ginny for practically a week, just to have some privacy so he could whisk her away to Cornwall to see him. This is what she came back for?!

Hermione angrily aimed her wand at a beautiful satin throw-pillow and made it explode into a thousand feathers. The feathers were falling like snowflakes around her, Crookshanks seemed very interested in them. He tried to jump up and down to catch the falling feathers. As adoring as it looked, Hermione was too upset to enjoy the endearing sight.

He had just harshly brushed her off, saying he didn't want anything to do with her anymore. Was she hallucinating?

She quickly ran a diagnostic on herself, elevated heart rate, too much oxygen in her lungs, her blood pressure was fine, and nothing wrong with her brain. She sighed. She wasn't hallucinating, she was hyperventilating .

She exploded another pillow out of annoyance.

About fifteen minutes later Theo appeared inside his hearth with Blaise. They were both looking grim as they brushed off the soot from their cloaks. Theo was staring at the floor and when his eyes met hers, they immediately became as big as saucers.

'Hermione!' he cried in alarm. 'What did you do?! My French-designed expensive throw-pillows in Louis XIV style!'

'I'll replace them.' she muttered angrily.

He grabbed his hair with both of his hands, as a panicked expression mastered itself on his face. 'No! Bad Crookshanks! Don't eat the duck feathers! Merlin's beard, this is a mess!' cried Theo. Crookshanks stared at Theo with a fluffy feather in his mouth, if the cat had the ability to grow eyebrows, he would've raised them sarcastically before fleeing into the hallway. Theo quickly ran after the cat to collect most of the remaining feathers and parts of the pillows.

Blaise was standing a bit uncomfortable in the hearth. He locked eyes with Hermione and then quickly looked away.

'Hello Blaise.' she said. She wanted to sound friendly but it didn't sound like it when the words left her mouth.

'Granger,' he acknowledged with a nod. He slowly walked out of the hearth and Hermione noticed he was wearing red sleek pyjama bottoms.

'Has Theo roused you from your bed or something?' she asked curiously.

'He said it was an emergency.' mumbled Blaise. 'Apparently it was.'

'Why..' she said as an ominous feeling crept over her. 'What's wrong?'