"Welcome back, Hermione," Tom greeted her as she arrived. "I hope you enjoyed your little adventure? I did not see you at all."
"Thank you, yes. I was exploring the dungeons on the far side of the castle. No one was over there really. What are they used for?" Hermione replied, choosing a little used portion of the castle to cover her absence.
"I believe those are simply unused rooms for when there are more students in the castle. There are supposed to be nearly twice as many students, but the war with Grindlewald and the last two muggle 'World Wars,' as they call them, have significantly decimated the general wizard ing population of Britain."
"Indeed. How sad. Now, I am positively famished. Would you pass me a mince pie?" Hermione knowingly dismissed the deaths of so many, eager to observe Tom's response.
With a raised eyebrow and a slight gleam to his eyes, he acquiesced, sliding a golden brown pie towards her, along with a pitcher of pumpkin juice. As lunch progressed they engaged in simple chatter, which Hermione knew was unusual for Tom based on the looks they were receiving from his little group.
After lunch, the Slytherins and Ravenclaws joined for Double Potions. With Slughorn teaching, it was a vast improvement over Snape's classes, though the lesson was identical to those from Hermione's first time through his classes. With that knowledge, as well as her far more advanced leanings in the subject, she eagerly answered each question he posed accurately and in great depth. She could watch in his eyes as she quickly surpassed Riddle as his favorite student. From the corner of her eye, she also noticed Riddle sulking as his raised hand went ignored. Ah, the benefits of being a new student: all the teachers want to see how much I know.
After a most productive class, Tom grudgingly walked her to Herbology, where she faired much the same, though her answers carried significantly less detail, as she had not spent nearly as much time on Herbology as some of her other studies. This seemed to raise Tom's spirits, as he was able to compete with her knowledge in this subject.
Later that evening, as Hermione worked over the day's homework, she noticed each of her new friends sneaking out of the common room in ones and twos, though she gave no evidence of her awareness. When Tom stood, stretching and yawning with exaggerated tiredness, her suspicions were confirmed. Only shortly after he left, she gathered up her work and set it in her room, then disillusioned and silenced herself and snuck out after him to the abandon dungeons. Before entering the room after him, she quickly cast several ward-detecting spells, and identified a ward that checked magical signatures. She cast a charm that would hide her signature, entered the room, and pulled out an extendable ear as she hid behind a thick column.
"Welcome, my loyal Knights!" Tom called out in a cold, hard voice.
"Lord Voldemort, you honor us with your welcome!" Intoned the members of Tom's knights. So Tom has already created his little nickname, Hermione noted.
"We have much to discuss, Knights. I believe our transfer student is the most pressing. Clearly, she is intelligent, perhaps more even then myself."
Well, someone's cocky, Hermione chuckled to herself.
"We must learn more about her. She could be an excellent addition to our society. Befriend her. Become her confidants. Learn everything there is to know about her: what she loves, hates, fears. And most importantly, isolate her from the rest ofthe school. She must come under my control at all costs. She is valuable, I can tell."
"Yes, my Lord," the Knights replied in unison.
"Now, it is finally time for our review of your summer activities. Lestrange, begin."
I think it's time for me to go. Hermione retracted the extendable ear and carefully skirted the group and crept back to the Slytherin dorm. She quickly prepared for bed, aware that she needed to be sleeping should Tom find his way into her room, which was quite likely, based on what she had overheard. She cast a strong ward over her trunk and closet to ensure that they could not be tampered with without her knowledge. Just before falling asleep, she thought to herself, I must make friends outside of the Slytherins, but I do have to warn them not to endanger themselves.
Her preparations had been a good decision, as less than an hour later, a shadowy figure eased open the door and stood over her. It tried to open her trunk, but a loud wailing erupted, immediately waking Hermione, wand already up and glowing an ugly purple hue. "Who's there? Answer or you're dead!" A hiss from a rather large snake answered her, most likely hoping she would think it had just slithered over the box. Knowing she couldn't yet give herself away, she levitated the snake out the door and let it drop onto the floor before locking the door and securing it against animagi.
