Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I own anything related to Nine Inch Nails (Not even Trent…God how I wish I owned him!) except for a few autographs and random paraphernalia…Obviously, this is just for fun, no money is being made.
AN: OK, so finally, another chapter! Sorry it's taken me so long to update, we have had one illness after another in my house since the twins started daycare…ugh. We're finally (fingers crossed) on the mend, and able to catch our breath a bit. I'm going through all of my stories now, and will be methodically updating them, so keep an eye out! Leave me a review and let me know what you think! xo
Hermione stifled a yawn as she snuggled against his chest, wanting nothing more than to fall asleep in his arms.
"What timesit?" she muttered sleepily
Tom reached over to the end table and grabbed his cell phone, "It's almost midnight." He said dropping a kiss on the top of her head.
"I should get back, I have class in the morning." She said as she reluctantly pulled herself out of his lap and over to where her clothes were folded on the chair.
"Can't you skip?" he asked sliding up behind her and sweeping her hair away from her neck so he could nibble on it.
She turned on him quickly, and pressed her hand against his chest to stop his advances, "No, I'm not skipping class, not even for you." She chuckled.
"Fine, if you insist. I'll drive you." He said sighing.
Well, at least she woudn't have to deal with Dobby again.
"You don't mind?" she asked as she pulled her clothes back on, and smirked at his heated gaze as she tossed his tee shirt back at him.
"No, though I can't say the same for Draco." He said chuckling.
Hermione froze. What did Draco have to do with anything?
"Draco?" Hermione asked in what she hoped was an unaffected tone.
"Yeah, I'm going to borrow his car." Tom smirked.
Shit…what if Ginny was still with him?
"I wouldn't want to be a bother…" Hermione said dismissively, hoping he would just call her a cab; hell, she'd even take Dobby at this point.
"Nonsense. Besides, it's fun to get him riled up." Tom smirked as he pulled the white V-neck tee shirt he'd been wearing earlier back on, and changed back into his jeans. Hermione's mouth watered again as she watched him pull on his boots.
"Almost forgot" he said as he stood up and walked over to the table where a small stack of papers sat in the center.
"Give this a quick look over and sign it, I'll be back in a few minutes." He said dropping a kiss on her forehead as she watched him step out of the door.
Hermione sat at the table and picked up the papers and began to read through them. It was a pretty standard and straight forward NDA, basically saying that she agreed to refrain from discussing his connection to Lord Voldemort willfully, and agreed to abide by the terms set forth in the agreement. She signed her name with a flourish, and waited for Tom.
~~{0}~~
"Draco…Draco!" Ginny said, slapping his shoulder to get his attention, "You have a guest." Ginny said in embarrassment, pulling her blouse closed as Tom stood at the end of the couch, with his arms crossed over his chest.
"What the…Tom?" Draco said in shock, his eyes widening slightly.
"Your keys. I need them." Tom said in a bored tone, his eyes traveling over Ginny, whose cheeks were as red as her hair, looking anywhere but at him.
"Ugh…you need my keys?" Draco asked uncertainly
"Did I stutter? Your keys. Now." Tom said impatiently holding out his hand.
Draco didn't need to be told twice, and quickly stood and headed over to the bedroom to retrieve his keys. While he was gone, Ginny glanced up at Tom again, and smiled awkwardly.
"You are Hermione's friend." Tom said as more of a statement.
"Yes." Ginny answered, not knowing what else to say.
"Is Draco treating you well?" he asked conversationally, and Ginny stared at him dumbfounded. Her shirt was still unbuttoned and he was standing there talking to her as is there was nothing at all strange about the situation.
"Uh…I suppose so." Ginny answered, glancing between Tom and the bedroom door where Draco had disappeared. Thankfully a moment later, Draco entered the room holding his keys out to Tom. Tom took them without a word and strolled back to the door, and then stopped, looking back over his shoulder at Ginny, "I don't suppose you'd like a ride back to campus with Hermione?"
Ginny looked up at him sharply, "Hermione is here?" she asked in disbelief.
"Yes. Are you coming, or not?" he asked raising an eyebrow at her.
Ginny looked up at Draco, and he nodded almost imperceptibly and she could see his jaw tense.
"I…I suppose it is getting late. Will I see you tomorrow, Draco?" she asked looking back up at him for his approval.
He nodded and gave her a tight smile, "Of course."
She stood, buttoning her blouse and quickly slipped on her shoes, grabbed her bag and coat, and walked over to where Tom stood waiting in the doorway.
"Come with me" he said as he threw a smirk over his shoulder at Draco before walking out of the door and back down the hall. As soon as they were out of ear shot of Draco, Ginny picked up her pace to catch up with Tom's long strides.
"What exactly is going on between you and Hermione?" Ginny asked rather bluntly, and Tom stopped walking and turned sharply to face her.
"I don't believe that is any of your business." Tom snapped folding his arms over his chest.
"Look, I don't mean to be rude, but she's my best friend, and I don't want to see her get hurt, ok?" Ginny said mimicking his stance and folded her arms as well as if to signal that she wasn't going to back down.
Tom sighed, "Hermione and I are getting better acquainted. She's an adult, and I expect that she can make her own decisions." Tom said raising an eyebrow at Ginny.
"I see. Did she tell you that she has a boyfriend, then?" Ginny asked flatly.
Tom's eyes darkened slightly at her words, and she saw his jaw tense.
"She doesn't anymore." Tom snapped as he held open the elevator door for Ginny and pushed the button for the fourth floor.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ginny asked slightly alarmed. Had Hermione already broken things off with Viktor?
"It means that I don't share." Tom said giving Ginny a pointed look as if to say 'this conversation is over'.
Ginny's mouth snapped shut and she waited in awkward silence for the elevator doors to open. When they finally did, she followed Tom out of the elevator and to the door at the end of the hall. As he opened the door, she heard Hermione's voice.
"There you are, I was wondering what was keeping…you…" Hermione's trailed off as her eyes landed on Ginny.
"Hi Gin." Hermione said guiltily, looking at her friend and then throwing a curious look at Tom.
Tom interjected smoothly, "I found your friend downstairs with Draco and assumed she would also need a ride back to campus."
"Oh, of course." Hermione said awkwardly, grabbing her bag off of the table, trying to avoid Ginny's accusatory stare. She knew Ginny was probably pissed that Hermione had kept this from her, but she would discuss it with her later.
Hermione watched silently as Tom slipped on a black leather jacket over his white V-neck tee shirt, and her eyes once again roamed over him appreciatively. The ride back down the elevator was silent, as Hermione mulled over her situation. She had already decided that she would break things off with Viktor in the morning, and now that Ginny knew she had seen Tom again, she supposed she would tell her everything, except the bit about him being Lord Voldemort…the NDA made certain of that.
Tom clicked the button on the keys, and the alarm chirped on a sleek black BMW. Hermione bit her lip trying to hold back a smirk as she looked back at Tom, who seemed like he'd be much more at home on a motorcycle.
He opened the door for Ginny and then went around to the passenger side and opened the door for Hermione, smirking at her as she slipped into the seat. He went back around the driver's side and got in, buckling his seat belt and then started the car. The stereo came to life, and the volume was turned up rather loudly, playing "Reptile".
Hermione chuckled as Tom swore and turned the volume down.
"Draco loves that song. The way he talks about Lord Voldemort you'd think the guy was a God or something." Ginny snorted.
Hermione glanced at Tom who was biting back a smirk, "Oh? I had no idea he was such a fan." Tom said evenly.
"Well, seeing as his dad is in the band and all, I suppose he is. Say, how do you know the Malfoy's, Tom?" Ginny asked leaning forward in her seat.
"Oh, Lucius and I go way back." Tom said meeting Ginny's eyes in the rear-view mirror, "We're practically family."
"I see." Ginny said looking back and forth from Tom to Hermione.
The rest of the ride back to campus was quiet, which Hermione was grateful for. She knew that as soon as Tom left, Ginny would give her the third degree. When the car finally pulled up in front of the girl's dorm, Ginny hopped out saying a quick 'thanks' to Tom and then gave them a minute to say goodbye.
Hermione turned in her seat to face Tom, "I hadn't told her I was going to see you tonight." she admitted biting her lip.
"I figured, based on how surprised she was to see you with me." He said raising his eyebrow at her.
"Yes, well, things had happened rather quickly, and until I knew what this was, I didn't want to make a big deal about it." Hermione said gesturing between them.
"Tell him it's over." Tom said bluntly, giving her a heated gaze.
Hermione looked at him in confusion; "I don't…" she began before Tom interrupted her
"Ginny told me you had a boyfriend. End it. Tell him it's over." he said leaning towards her, brushing his lips against hers.
"I…yes. I was planning to." Hermione whispered against his lips, her eyes falling shut.
"That's my girl." He said as his lips curved up into a smirk before capturing her lips with his.
After a few minutes, the moment was interrupted when someone knocked on the window.
"Hurry up in there, it's freezing out here!" Ginny called through the fogged up glass.
Hermione sighed, "Well, I suppose I should go. I'll see you on Wednesday night then?" She asked hopefully.
"Yes, I'll make the arrangements with Bella. I'll text you tomorrow, love." He said as she gave him a last longing look and opened the door.
As soon as the car pulled away from the curb, Ginny grabbed her arm and pulled her inside, "Don't think I am letting you out of my sight without telling me what the hell is going on." Ginny snapped angrily as she pulled Hermione towards her dorm room.
When they got to Ginny's room, it was thankfully empty, since Ginny's roommate Padma had gone home to visit her parents for the weekend. Ginny ushered Hermione into her room, and closed the door behind her, dropping her bag unceremoniously on the floor before plopping herself down on the end of her bed.
"Alright, spill. Why didn't you tell me you were seeing Tom again? What about Viktor?"
Hermione sighed, "Honestly Gin, it all happened rather quickly. I've never been as attracted to anyone in my entire life as I am to Tom. I can't even explain it. I'm breaking things off with Viktor tomorrow." Hermione said as she dropped her head into her hands.
"Wow…I mean, he seems pretty intense. A little bit creepy too. Definitely Hot though." Ginny said not knowing how much she should tell Hermione about their brief exchange in the hall.
"I slept with him, Gin." Hermione said quietly, squinting at Ginny to gauge her reaction
"Oh my god, you did? How was it? I mean I hadn't expected that, but now you have to tell me everything! " Ginny said laughing.
"It was painful, intense, amazing, and I just…God help me, but I can't get enough of him." Hermione admitted sheepishly, "Enough about me though, what's happening with you and Draco?" Hermione prodded eager to change the subject away from Tom.
"Well, I haven't slept with him yet, if that's what you mean." Ginny laughed and tossed a pillow at Hermione, "Mostly we talked, and made out a lot; that is until your creepy boyfriend interrupted us. Speaking of which, it was really weird; he just sort of walked in, and demanded Draco's keys. If I were Draco, I would have been like, 'What the hell, man?' but instead, Draco sort of jumped up and ran to get the keys like he was afraid of him or something. It was really bizarre." Ginny told her.
"I think he just likes messing with Draco." Hermione said dismissively as she stood up, "So are we okay? I'm sorry I didn't tell you…I had kind of thought that Tom was only interested in a one night stand, and I didn't want to broadcast that, but he does seem to have a real interest in me. He asked me to break things off with Viktor tonight."
"What about Harry?" Ginny asked smirking at Hermione.
Hermione looked at her confused, "What about Harry?"
"Oh come on, don't act like you haven't noticed. That poor bloke is completely besotted with you." Ginny said
"Harry? No…we're just friends." Hermione said dismissively.
"Keep telling yourself that. You may not have feelings for him, but I've seen the way he looks at you, puppy dog eyes notwithstanding." Ginny told her.
"Well, I'm with Tom now, so he'll just have to get over it, I suppose." Hermione said hoping that her friendship with Harry wouldn't suffer because of her relationship with Tom. He hadn't acted any differently towards her when he knew she was seeing Viktor. Maybe Ginny was mistaken?
"Well, I'm exhausted." Hermione said standing and grabbing her bag from the chair.
"I bet you are", Ginny snorted in amusement.
"Goodnight Gin." Hermione chuckled as she headed back to her own room.
