"...long before the mythical Hades was ever conceived, in more ancient, pre-patriarchal times,

Persephone was Queen of the Underworld"

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The first measure Tom Riddle takes towards preventing his own death unexpectedly results in him coming face to face with death herself. He has murdered a classmate at school - a young, defenseless girl by the name of Myrtle - in order to implant a rather large part of his soul into a diary of all things...

and death is not happy about it at all.

She tells him so, accompanied by a furious display of godly wrath, and he of course is frightened but ultimately remorseless.

In the end, she lets him go unpunished.

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(It would be a shame to take the life of such a beautiful human anyway.)

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She goes about her duties diligently, welcoming any distraction from the handsome mortal that plagues her mind. But single-handedly collecting the souls of the recently deceased and ruling over the eternal resting place of the dead is hard enough without a young, self-proclaimed "Dark Lord" on the loose.

Killing for the sake of creating horcruxes is one thing - Hermione understands the human obsession with immortality and doesn't condemn him for it (he is not the first to undertake this quest and will not be the last) - but killing simply for the sake of summoning her is a completely different story.

It's rather infuriating, really, how easily he can command her presence on a whim. All it takes is two words and an unsuspecting victim and she is there in front of him to retrieve the soul quicker than a house elf answering its master's summons. Who does this mere mortal think he is? She is the queen of the underworld and the goddess of death. He should not have that kind of power over her.

Except he does.

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(The voice in the back of her mind that suggests she is letting him is immediately silenced.)

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Hermione has never deigned to meddle with the lives of mortals.

She is not particularly interested in concerning herself with their trivial dramatics - but this particular one, with his unbelievable arrogance - is certainly asking for it. Calling his most loyal, most deranged followers "Death Eaters" and branding them with her own symbol is a direct insult to her. She knows he's done it on purpose - he is furious that she has been avoiding him lately - but she cannot ignore this. Over the centuries, she has known countless mortal kings who have killed for less (she has taken a personal interest in arranging their deaths).

The fact that he is one of the most intelligent humans she has ever conversed with (not to mention the most attractive as well) has absolutely nothing to do with her sudden desire to intervene... or so she tells herself.

She sheds her invisibility cloak and appears before him in all her tempestuous glory, elegant black robes swirling menacingly, determined to teach him a lesson in humility and respect.

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(It doesn't go well.)

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He is expecting her.

Having never been the object of lustful attention before, his skill in seduction completely disarms her in a way that his magic cannot. Not in any of her wildest musings has she toyed with the idea of Tom approaching her in such a way. It is rare for humans to seek the company of, much less flirt with death. He is the first, actually, for no other human is as ambitious, cunning, or exceedingly arrogant as he is.

Hermione is thoroughly embarrassed by the way her traitorous body responds to the sensual brush of his lips against her ear. Her cheeks flush with shame when his deep, alluring voice causes her to shiver in pleasure. His dark words ignite the ichor in her veins, forging a firestorm of desire between her legs. Clenching her fists, she reminds herself to breathe, refusing to surrender so easily to him.

She has met her match, in every sense of the word, and allows herself to admit that everything about him thrills her. She welcomes the challenge, longs to one day see him on his knees begging for her mercy.

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(The rate at which he creates horcruxes ensures an eternity for her to break him.)

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(END)

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A/N: Totally unbeta'd. Sorry about the format if you hate this sort of formatting. Given that this one-shot is about 700 words, I thought it would give it better... uh... structure(?). Sorry, I'm not a writer. I have no idea what the technical terms are. Ok I'll shut up now. Review if you want.