Sour Candy

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"So," she said slyly. "You want to show me your tattoo? Daphne told me that all of you got one."

His cheeks were a bit pink. "Oh, I'm sure you saw enough of it when you were ogling me in my room," Theo waved her off.

Hermione scooted closer to him, trying to get a hold of the bottom of his t-shirt hem. "Come on, she told me I would like it," she basically begged, overcome with an insane need to see what he'd decided to put on his body. "I want to see."

He grinned and pulled her even closer, until she was practically perched on his lap. "Go on, then," he dared her to, perhaps thinking that she wasn't brave enough to go for it on her own.

She bit her lower lip, thinking it over for a moment, before she resolved to do it. Rearranging herself until she was straddled across his lap, Hermione took hold of the hem of his shirt once again. She looked into his eyes, hoping for some kind of encouragement, but instead she was struck by the heat in his eyes. His face was completely still, as though he was trying to make himself still enough not to spook her.

Hermione sucked in her breath as she let her fingers slide under the cotton fabric, feeling the shallow ridges of his stomach, the searing heat of his skin. He made no move to stop her, so she took a deep breath and pushed up the loose fabric of his shirt, revealing the skin of his chest to her greedy eyes. She drank in every inch of him, until she finally settled on that flash of green she'd seen before.

There, just above the place where his real heart pumped away below the sinew and ribs, was an artificial green heart — a candy heart — with the words 'be mine' written in pink block letters. Her fingertips traced the slopes of the shape, possessed.

When she met Theo's blue eyes once again, they were full of a gnawing sort of want that Hermione knew too well. She could feel it too, deep inside of her, throbbing away.

Hermione thought that she'd left the seedy underworld aside when she was taken from her parents, Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange. After over a decade of living with police officer Sirius, she is thrust back into the world of Tom Riddle's criminal enterprise. Pursued by an old friend, how long can she live between the two worlds?

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Writing Update

Going to try to do these a little differently from now on... I'll probably just edit and then reblog moving forward. Here is the update as of November 2024:

I’d love to hear if you have any of these you are really looking forward to 💕 Or, are there any pairings that you have been missing?

You can see what was completed since last time below the cut:

Sleeper

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"Why are you even giving me a mission?" Sirius asked, petulantly flopping into a chair, uncaring if the noise woke the toddler. "Voldemort is dead."

"For now," Dumbledore said, cryptically. The silence between them stretched for seconds, but it felt like hours to Sirius as the meaning sunk in. "Voldemort, I fear, will be back. And this time, I plan on having someone under deep cover."

"What? You want it to be me?" Sirius asked, incredulous, his eyebrow knitted together. He was probably the best equipped to navigate the pureblood world, remembering all his lessons as a child. "But everyone knows that I've been disowned. I don't see how that would be much help. And how does she fit in?"

"She is going to be the tool you use to get back in with your family," Dumbledore said, beginning to reveal his plans. "She is an orphan, in need of a family. We will perform a blood ritual tonight that will make her your daughter, flesh and blood. You can use her to get your mother to allow you back into the family."

Sirius felt as if a stone had settled into the pit of his stomach. He didn't even want to think about his mother! He was just hoping he could go to one of his uncles instead. "She won't buy it. And unless that girl actually becomes a pureblood, she will just toss me back out on the street."

"I'd considered that..." Dumbledore said, looking at Sirius over his half-moon spectacles. "I figured the best story is that you didn't know of her existence. The McKinnons were in hiding for over a year before they were killed. And I believe you dated their daughter, Marlene?"

Sirius resisted the urge to sneer at his words. Dumbledore really had sorted everything out, hadn't he? Just how long had he been planning this?

But, it was a stroke of brilliance. No one could corroborate if Marlene was pregnant or had given birth. Plus, the McKinnons were pureblood, though not a part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Walburga wouldn't like it, but she wouldn't deny the girl either.

"What makes you think that I am even capable of taking care of a child?" he asked.

Sirius could have sworn that Dumbledore smirked at him. "Weren't you the one who was so eager to take custody of Harry tonight?" he asked. "Surely, if you are capable of taking care of Harry, you can take care of her."

"That's not the same and you know it!" Sirius raged, only to stop when he saw the little girl on the settee stir, disturbed by the raised voices. "How does she fit into this more broadly? I can't raise a muggleborn as a pureblood...to teach her to hate her own kind. It's not right," he said, thinking of the sad life he was damning her to.

"Don't you see? She will help you. And later on, she will be able to give us intelligence, too," Dumbledore said. "We know that Voldemort had a recruitment network in Hogwarts. Just look at Regulus."

Sirius scowled. Dumbledore always knew exactly which buttons to push. Sirius always cared for his brother, even though his allegiance to the Dark side had separated them.

"She will talk like a pureblood, act like a pureblood, understand pureblood traditions better than a pureblood," Dumbledore continued. "By the time she reaches Hogwarts, no one will question her."

After the death of James and Lily, Sirius and Hermione become a sleeper cell, determined to take down the Death Eaters from the inside.

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October Update

I’d love to hear if you have any of these you are really looking forward to 💕 Or, are there any pairings that you have been missing?

So, I’m trying to decide how to post my edits of Sleeper over to AO3, as it’s never been posted there. Usually, I edit all the chapters and then mass upload in a day. This time I’m kind of thinking about posting the chapters as I edit. Kind of feels almost like a new story then? I guess my fear is that people will go read the unedited version since it’s fully available on ffnet?

I don’t know why the thought bothers me?? Like, I’m not planning any major plot changes? I guess I just worry that the unedited version won’t be as “pretty” and then people won’t like it as much?

I don’t know — I guess it’s going to be an experiment! Let’s go for it and see what happens?

She Wants Revenge

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But, perhaps she should have known that she was too far gone when Headmaster Snape asked to see her alone after dinner one night. She joined him in his office after pressing a lingering kiss to Theo's lips with a promise to tell him everything that was discussed after.

She sat across the desk from her former potions master, feeling him probing at the edges of her mind, looking for something. Some motive, some trickery. But she wouldn't give him an inch. Meeting his fathomless black eyes, she waited in the silence for him to speak first.

When he did, it was with his fingers steepled together, leaning towards her in anticipation. "Are you sure you know what you are doing, Miss Granger?" he asked, finally.

Hermione smirked at him, surprised to learn that Snape was actually worried about her. But then again, he must have heard from the Carrows about her ruthless and exacting new method to magic. "Don't worry, sir," she said, demurely smoothing out the edge of her regulation school skirt. "I know exactly what I'm doing."

Theo had set out the year prior to rip the scales from Hermione's eyes and show her the potential of dark magic, knowing that she had the mind and the skill to become an asset. She had been furious when she first learned the truth of his attentions, but she'd come crawling back to him just as he knew she would.

And now... she'd far surpassed even his wildest imaginations and he couldn't wait to see what Hermione had in store.

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Tear You Apart

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Straightening her school skirt, Hermione walked purposefully towards Nott, stopping when she was behind his chair. Reaching around him, she bit her lip when she let her breasts press against his back in what she hoped was an innocent enough move. "You've switched the 2 and the 7 here, Nott," she said smoothly, watching as his breath hitched, before pulling away.

Spinning around in his chair, he turned to face her. "Granger," he greeted, the corners of his lips quirked up in the hint of a smile. "How magnanimous of you."

Even sitting down, his considerable height was enough to leave them looking eye to eye. Hermione sucked in a breath quickly, unable to break eye contact. "Yes, well, now we are even I figure," she said, hoping that her voice sounded as casual as she wanted. She couldn't imagine the embarrassment she would feel if Nott knew about the little crush that she developed. Probably run back to the dungeons and laugh with Malfoy and Parkinson about the sad, little mudblood. "You helped me with potions and I helped you with Arithmancy."

"Oh, I liked it better when you owed me, Granger," he countered, his voice low and rumbling.

Hermione felt her knees go a bit weak. Was he flirting with her?

When Draco messed up - and, Theo knew this was inevitable - he planned to show his own worth by offering the Dark Lord the most wonderful prize. The Dark Lord needed Potter weak and broken, mistrustful and alone, and Theo intended to give him just that...and Granger's intellect of course. When he was done with her, he was sure that Granger would do anything that he said.

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Chapter Twenty-Six

Biting her lower lip, Hermione cursed when she realized she'd smudged her bright red lipstick, and worked to reapply it. She'd long ago retired her punchy pink lipstick for something a little more grown up once she'd left University. Today it felt like war paint.

But after all, wasn't that exactly what it was? Today, she was going to attempt to take down a dangerous man - a man who wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone who stood in the way of what he wanted - all while keeping him completely unaware that it was her who had pulled all the strings.

The thought of being caught alone was enough to send her heart rate skyrocketing, her breath quickening, until she ground her teeth together, determined to hold it together. "Keep it together," she breathed out, hoping to calm her nerves.

Knowing that she wasn't going to do any good hiding away in the bathroom, she wiped her sweaty palms against her trousers, before striding out into the hall with purpose. Her tall heels were not so high as to be inappropriate in a work setting, but helped her stand tall enough to deal with the difficult personalities she frequently went against. Her fashionable blouse in cream was just sheer enough to entice. She normally felt confident, but today she was wavering.

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Chapter Twenty-Five

It was well into the afternoon when her father finally climbed up the stairs to take her to meet with Tom. He drove her to a bar that she had not been to yet, preferring Fenrir's Half Moon. The bar was just as seedy as anywhere and Hermione wasn't surprised to learn that Tom preferred to conduct his business there.

Her father grabbed her by the arm before she could go marching in, her head held high. "Want me to come with you?" He asked, concern on his face, obviously wanting to protect his little girl if he could.

But Hermione knew that this was something that she had to do on her own. "No it's fine, Dad. I'll meet you back out here in a little while," she said, hoping to project confidence that she no longer felt.

Not giving herself a chance to second guess her decision, Hermione strode into the bar, only to find Tom sitting at the bar watching football on the dusty television behind the counter, a pint and a shot in front of him. The team in black and white scored and he swore under his breath, before taking the shot in one go and signaling the bartender for another.

"I wouldn't have taken you for a football fan," Hermione said, amused. "I think you'd have more important things to spend your time on."

Her amused voice startled him, because he jumped a bit, before turning to face her, his blue eyes intense. "I think every boy has a bit of a football fan deep in his heart," he answered, pleased when his drink was refilled.

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Chapter Twenty-Four

His cheeks went pink. "Lads' night with Marcus and Ades and Blaise and Draco," he revealed. "Spent most of the night getting drunk and having advice heaped on me to help smooth things over with you and then—" He cut himself off before saying too much. "Well, maybe it's better if I show you."

"Show me what?" she badgered, eager as a child after a promised sweetie.

"Not here — later," he promised, giving her hand a quick squeeze.

Hermione groaned. Later seemed like an eternity.

Theo's hand wound into her hair until she'd tilted her face up to meet his, just the way that he wanted her to. Dipping his head to meet her, he pulled her into a passionate kiss, one that was overflowing with all the love he had for her building up while they hadn't been talking. It was easy for Hermione to lean into him, moan into his mouth and fist her hands in his soft t-shirt.

But she also knew that there was too much unspoken between the two of them to just sweep it under the rug. Pulling back, she bit her lip seeing the disappointment clear on her face.

"I want to be with you, Theo," she told him, sweetly, hoping that he would hear her out.

"But?" he asked, looking like a sad little boy who was being passed over again.

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Chapter Twenty-Two

Although Hermione had skipped school once when her mother had let her sleep in, she would never dream of just walking out of school early. That seemed a step too far — until today that was. Hermione knew that she didn't have it in her to stay another second, not to mention that it was already the final period of the day and study hall at that. No one would notice if she left.

It was peculiar to walk out the front doors and into the chill of the afternoon, when no one else was around. The front courtyard felt desolate, bleak and lonely. But, Hermione knew that she didn't need to linger there. Instead, she started the slow walk back to her home, trying to use the time to gather her thoughts.

While it wasn't an impossible walk from her school, it was a journey she usually made by vehicle. Someone, it seemed, was always willing to pick her up if she wanted. It was only when she was halfway home that she wondered if she shouldn't have just rang her house to see if her dad could swing by and get her rather than walk all that way. But, no, she hadn't wanted to wait at school any longer than she already had. She needed to talk to someone about everything that had been happening lately and for some reason Hermione wanted that person to be her mum.

Maybe later, when she was thinking clearer, she would try to unpack that.

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Chapter Twenty-One

After what had ended up being an uncomfortable conversation with Adrian Pucey about her future, it felt like Theo was avoiding her. It filled her with an odd sort of longing, an ache that she couldn't soothe, and she was surprised to realize just how big of a part of her life Theo had become in just a few short weeks.

So much for not going too fast.

Now, not talking to him for nearly a week felt like an eternity without him. It was even worse to know that he was just on the other side of her bedroom wall night after night. Hermione often thought about knocking on the thin plaster between them or maybe even just talking through it like her mum was fond of doing, but something held her back every time.

She knew they needed to talk and they weren't going to do that unless it was face to face.

Surprisingly, it wasn't Hermione's parents who noticed her glum mood. She would have figured that her father would be happy for any trouble in paradise if it meant his daughter wasn't in a serious relationship that might jeopardize her future. Her mum would have been upset on her behalf - spitting mad and insisting that Theo should be happy with any scraps he could get from her. But, they didn't notice (or if they did notice, they didn't comment) on how quiet and withdrawn she'd become over the past week.

Instead, the person to notice was her Uncle Rabastan.

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Chapter Twenty

Hermione felt herself going cross-eyed. She was absolutely sure that if she had to listen to Ron talk about football for even one more minute she was going to go insane. She found that she couldn't care less that his favorite team had picked up some young talent out of France. Luckily, she was saved by the end-of-the-day bell ringing, and she popped up out of her seat, quickly packing up her bag.

"What's gotten into you?" Ron asked, looking at her curiously. "Normally you are lining up to ask Mr. Flitwick like eighteen questions after class."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Since the second half of class was self-guided, I didn't have any remaining questions about his lecture," Hermione explained. That was partially the truth. She was sure that the other reason she was excited to leave school today was waiting out front to pick her up.

"Got any plans for the weekend?" Harry asked, falling into step next to her. "Ron and I were going to try to go to that new pizza place tonight. Apparently it's supposed to be authentic, American style pizza."

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