The Life, Love and Lies of Tom Riddle

Chapter Three: Tears and Abraxas Malfoy

Minerva and Hermione went to all the stores in Hogsmede, getting everything Hermione would need for her 6th year. They talked the whole time, laughing a lot. Every once in a while, Hermione would stop, seeing a spot that brought back fond memories of Harry or Ron, and begin to tear up. Minerva, thinking she was thinking of her family, wrapped her in a hug and pulled her gently towards the next shop, talking animatedly once again, to get her mind off of her thoughts. (A/N: That sounds funny)

By the time they were finished shopping, Hermione had accumulated 15 bags of stuff, varying from clothes to quills. They walked up to the castle and ate a quick dinner, before heading back to the common room. Hermione fell asleep quickly that night, but was still haunted by war dreams. Then, she woke up late the next morning and quickly prepared for classes. She quickly gulped down breakfast and almost ran to Potions. She got there about a minute before class started. Everyone was seated and there was only one seat left. Next to Tom Riddle. She sighed and sat next to him.

He looked at her, curiously, and turned back towards the front. Hermione noticed this and mumbled, just loud enough that he could hear, "Yeah, good morning to you too." She said it very sarcastically.

He chuckled. Her eyes got wide, shocked. Then he turned towards her and smoothly said, "I'm sorry. Good morning."

She smiled. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed some blond, must be a Malfoy, Slytherin look at them oddly. Tom must have noticed this too because he quickly turned back to the front and stopped talking to her.

She sighed. The day continued. She decided to skip lunch and go to the library. There was only one other person in the library: Tom Riddle. She sat down, a few tables away from him and began to study.

He noticed her and got up. "Hello, can I sit by you?"

She looked up at him. "Oh, so now you're talking to me again?"

"It's just, my...friends...they're very judgemental and I don't want you roped into all of that."

"Yeah, sure, fine. Sit." She waved her hand. He smiled.

"So, Alexis, what were your old friends like?" She visibly stiffened and he cocked his head.

"Well, my best friend always got into trouble. The evil wizard was always after him, trying to kill him. And my other best friend and I helped him get out of it."

"And your brothers?"

"They were my brothers."

"So you didn't have any other friends, besides your brothers?"

"Not super close friends."

"I'm...sorry."

"Why?"

"Well, you just seem so sad because of it. Besides, they both are...umm..."

"Yeah, they're both dead." Hermione shouted, standing up. "And it's all because of..." She realized what she was about to say, slapped her hand over her mouth, and ran off, tears running relentlessly down her face.

"Shit." Tom mumbled and stood up, chasing after her. He still didn't understand why he cared so much about this girl, maybe because she wasn't falling all over him like other girls. Hmm, anyway, where did she go?

He looked everywhere for her and eventually found her crying her eyes out in the Astronomy tower. "Hey," he whispered softly, sitting next to her. "How did you know where the Astronomy tower was?"

She chuckled lightly. He smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, making her lean against him. She sighed and wiped her face.

"What's wrong?"

She looked up at him, contemplating how much to really tell him. She sighed again, "I can't tell you, I don't know you enough."

"I'll tell you anything you want to know."

"Really? Okay, umm, why are you being so nice?"

"Well...that's hard." He smiled softly at her. "Well, usually girls are falling at my feet, and you're different. Plus you're like a big puzzle that I'm addicted to trying how to put together. I want to get to know you but at the same time, I want to protect you, from whatever wants to hurt you." She laughed then, a sort of ironic laugh.

"What was your childhood like?" She grinned evilly.

"You know I don't like to talk about it, how?" She shrugged and he groaned. "Okay, my mom is a decendant of Slytherin, Merope Gaunt, but she died giving birth to me and her last words were to name me after my muggle father, Tom Riddle." He spat the name and looked ashamed when he said the next part. "So I'm a half-blood and was raised in a muggle orphanage. It was horrible, but I could use my powers, which I didn't know what they were, to get what I wanted."

"Why did you kill Myrtle?"

His eyes popped out of his head. "How did you know about that? How did you know Myrtle died and how did you know I did it?" He found no reason to lie, it didn't seem to work on her anyway.

"I have my ways, I might tell you, but first, answer the question."

He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I didn't mean to kill her, I was just trying to put the snake back into the chamber. It looked at her though and I panicked. I didn't want to kill anyone at the time, but I didn't feel any remorse afterwards, maybe because she's a mudblood."

"Hey!"

"Sorry, muggleborn."

"Yeah, sorry's right. I'm a mudblood."

"Don't call yourself that. And no you're not, you're a Dumbledore."

"Tom...I'm n-" But before she could finish the door was thrown open by a very angry Abraxas Malfoy. Tom and Hermione looked at him curiously. They were sitting crosslegged on the floor, facing each other, holding hands, and he flipped on them.

"TOM RIDDLE!"

"Malfoy?" Tom calmly replied.

"Why did you miss the meeting?" Tom quickly glanced at his watch and groaned.

"Sorry, lost track of time." He turned to Hermione. "Alexis, I'm sorry, but I have to go. I'll talk to you later?"

She nodded and smiled at him, glancing quickly at Malfoy. Tom leaned in and kissed her cheek, quickly whispering something to Hermione and slipping something into her hand, before he left with Abraxas. They went to the meeting and Hermione stood there dazed.

TOM RIDDLE JUST KISSED HER! Oh my God! She giggled girlishly then slapped her head. What was wrong with her? TOM RIDDLE JUST KISSED HER...

She recalled his words, 'I don't care what you are, to me, you're perfect.' Then, she unfolded the scrap of pachment. On it, he must have used magic, impressive magic too, it said, Alexis, meet me here tomorrow night at 10:25 PM, I'll tell you about the meeting and you can tell me the rest of your story. I'm sorry about him, he won't hurt you if I have anything to say about it, and trust me, I do. -Tom