Chapter Seven: Breakfast

The Great Hall at Hogwarts was always an active place, especially at dinner time, but even at breakfast the place was rather lively by the time the first class of the day was looming closer. Students hurried about trying to make certain they spoke to all their friends before they had to head out into the halls, an occurrence which seemed just as prevalent in the seventies as it did in either of Tom or Hermione's own times.

"Damn," Tom grumbled as he bit into a sausage. "Malfoy's coming."

"Now what does he want?" Hermione grumbled. "I'm in no mood for him. I haven't even gotten my breakfast down yet."

"Shall I talk to him then?" Tom smirked.

"Please do," said Hermione with a nod.

"Ah, good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Gaunt," he smooshed as he sat down next to Hermione. "How are the two of you today? Are you looking forward to the Halloween party next week?"

"What Halloween party?" Hermione grumbled.

"Ah, perhaps you hadn't heard about it?" he asked with a smirk. "It should be fun. They'll be bobbing for apples."

Tom held a chuckle back as he glanced at his wife. "Are they? How lovely."

"Are you well today, my dear?" Lucius asked when he took in Hermione's appearance. "You seem a bit green around the gills, as it were. Does your morning sickness still trouble you at this late date?"

"Sometimes," she grumbled.

"Jean? If you're truly not well, you could always go back to bed," said Tom with concern. "I could make your excuses."

"I'll be fine, thank you," said Hermione, certain that if she took Tom's advice Lucius was bound to offer to escort her home. That sounded like just the sort of thing he'd do.

"Ah, such a little trooper she is," Lucius said with a smile. "I wish that my fiancée had such mettle."

"Your fiancée?" asked Hermione. "I hadn't heard that you had one."

"She is a sister to Bellatrix Black, the young woman you saw me with recently," he replied. "Narcissa is her name. She's a sweet girl, but very shy. Nothing at all like her sister, I can assure you. But I shall certainly break her of that. I'll need a strong woman at my side if I hope to advance in the Ministry like my father."

"You really look up to your father, don't you?" Hermione asked then. "I mean, it seems that way considering our conversation last night."

"He is a brilliant man," Lucius said. "Also, I came very close to losing him to a disease when I was young, and something like that makes a person tend to cherish what they have a bit more than they might have done."

"Haven't you ever considered simply living for yourself instead of trying to follow in someone else's footsteps?" Hermione asked him then.

"How do you know I've been following anyone's footsteps, Mrs. Gaunt?" he asked, one brow raised inquisitively. "We've only just met, after all."

"Forgive me," Hermione said. "Just my astute observations on overdrive again."

"Well, you're very good at it," he said. "You are right in what you say. I always seem to emulate others rather than lead the pack. But that is simply because I am Slytherin through and through. You may not be aware as a home-schooled witch, but Slytherins excel at subtlety and subterfuge."

"Believe me, I'm well aware of that," she said.

"Jean, dearest, if you are going to class and wish to finish your food, you might want to start eating it," Tom reminded her. "It's almost time to go."

"Forgive me for taking so much of your time," said Lucius then. "I had forgotten that the clock still ticks regardless of how much one might desire it to stop sometimes. I shall speak with you later, yes?" Lucius grabbed Hermione's hand and kissed the back of it before he deftly got up and started to move away. Then he gave Tom's shoulder a brief squeeze. "You as well, of course, Gaunt."

"Of course," said Tom with a bit of venom in his tone. Lucius chose to ignore it as he walked briskly toward the exit.

"I thought you said you were going to talk to him," Hermione grumbled then.

"I might have done if either of you would have let me get a word in edgewise," he replied.

"Well, I'm glad to see that Abraxas had some influence on his son, at least," she said speculatively. "I always suspected he would have turned out much better if he hadn't died."

"You think too much about Malfoys," Tom told her.

"It's nothing but curiosity, you know," she defended herself. "I've no interest in anyone else but you, and I never will."

"Glad to hear it, love," he said in her ear before he nipped it. "Let's get to class, shall we? We need to try to determine who Dumbledore's Horcruxes are. We are both able to feel them thanks to having our own in the past, so that should make it at least a bit easier at any rate."

"Yeah, that's true," she agreed. "But we can't concentrate just on the Gryffindors. He might very well have approached people in the other houses too."

"You concentrate on spotting the girls, and I'll spot the boys, all right?"

"Yes, that's a good plan," Hermione agreed. "It just seems strange that my old house was targeted this time around instead of Slytherin. We really were convinced Slytherins were evil thanks to Dumbledore's meddling."

"Brainwashing, I think it's called," said Tom then. "Now remember, just because we're in potions doesn't mean you get to seduce me with Amortentia again."

"Shut up, Riddle," she whispered in his ear, and both of them laughed as they stepped into the classroom, arms linked all the way across the room, where they took their seats.