This Hogwarts library is quite different from the one that she is used to.
But this is not something that saddens Hermione. Yes, it is unfamiliar, but only because there are so many books that she has never had the opportunity to read before – books that had become too worn to keep, or books that had been marked too hazardous or tempting for mischievous students to get their hands on. She is currently sat on one of the old cushions by the window overlooking the Great Lake, reading one of these books. It is a beautiful day. There is not a cloud in sight, and the lake is sparkling underneath the afternoon sun.
He had only decided to pop in for that Dark Arts book that had caught his eye last Tuesday, but then she distracted him from his search. That girl who he had found outside the castle... Hermione Granger. Was it really three months ago? Time has flown by since then.
He has seen her up here quite a lot, since that day, but he has not really spoken to her since. It is odd, really. She seems to spend all of her time in this room. Tom's thoughts become rather random as he begins to muse. If he did not know any better then he would say that she lived in the library. Usually her honey curls fall in to her face as she reads, but not today. She has tied her hair up today, and he mentally notes that it looks better that way. Her hazel eyes are set on the words printed on the page. She looks content as she reads. Peaceful. Beautiful.
What?
Beautiful. Since when has beautiful ever been a part of Tom Riddle's vocabulary? He sneers at his own ridiculousness and stalks away, setting his mind on the book and only the book until they trail off elsewhere. When he has the book checked out of the library he heads straight for the door, deciding that it may be healthier to read elsewhere for a change. He doesn't want a repeat of his previous thoughts now, does he?
But his eyes involuntarily find her just as he pushes the exit door open. She is gazing out of the window, now, and the sunlight makes her look as though she is glowing.
And then his stomach gives a small flutter.
What was THAT?
Furious, Tom forces the library door open with such a force that it slams straight in to the stone wall, and two second year Hufflepuff girls let out startled shrieks at the sudden thud. One of the two swears that his silvery eyes have turned a light shade of red... He storms through the corridors, glaring resentfully at nothing in particular as he goes.
I am not weak. I am Lord Voldemort. I have created a horcrux, and I am now on a mission to create more. I am the leader of the Death Eaters. We will take over, someday, and the world will bow down to our supremacy. My supremacy. I am not weak. I do not have a weakness.
But then the image of Hermione under the sunlight re-enters his mind, and his stomach gives that wretched fluttering sensation again.
Do I?