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Chapter seven: Questions, Answers and Revelations
Hermione made her way along to Ancient Runes, her last class of the day, one of her favorites, and yet she was dreading it all the same. If Callus was anything like the others had described, she knew that she was going to clash with him. She hoped from the very beginning that she wouldn't encounter something like this. Someone with such a big broom up their ass that they couldn't see the talent and the potential that was right in front of them.
She sat at her desk, having arrived earlier than the rest of the class and waited for him, and them, to arrive. It didn't take all that long. First it was Cygnus and Abraxus who arrived, promptly taking the seats in front of her and seconds later Eileen arrived, placing herself in the set of desks next to her own rather than next to her.
"Has a rumor gone out that I have leprosy or something?" She asked, "Why aren't any of you sitting next to me?"
"Because I'm going to," Tom said simply from the doorway, "I want to see your face when I beat you at every single question in this class."
"I know you'll beat me at every single question in this class," she rolled her eyes and he looked at her confusedly before she explained, "Callus isn't going to give me fair go is he? He won't pick me for answers; therefore, you'll get everything."
"And you aren't the slightest bit worried about that?" Cygnus asked her.
"I'll make up for it in every other class we have," she smirked. It was then Tom's turn to roll his eyes.
"So what did Dumbledore want?" Eileen asked her, a smile still on her face.
"What do you think he wanted?" Hermione sighed, "To warn me away from you dangerous creatures. Really Eileen, a black market, underground drug ring?"
"Well I had to find some way to get rid of the drugs my father was hiding in the house," she shrugged, "He can't go to Azkaban again, he'll go insane."
"So it's true?" She asked.
"Yeah," Eileen bowed her head, "But if I didn't get rid of them, he would have taken them or sold them or something and gotten caught."
"And you," Hermione turned to Cygnus, "What's all this about killing someone with Basalisk venom?"
"You know, surprisingly, that's the only thing on my file that I never did," he smiled, "It was my sister, Walburga. She was attacked by that maniac from Gryffindor, what was his name again? Ah yes, Thomas Birdstrum. He tried to rape her and she pulled out the venom that was in her pocket, a gift from my aunt, and stabbed him with the vile. I told her that they would let her off, but she was so scared that I took the fall for her."
"And that teacher with the potions and the wands?"
"The potions weren't nearly as illegal as Brindom made out," Abraxus told her, "And we only stung him a few times to get him away from Eileen. Unfortunately he's a marvelous actor and a wiz at memory charms. He had the whole class believing that he was grievously assaulted and that they all saw us do it."
"Not even I remember the real truth," Eileen sighed.
"What about all the extortion and fraud that keeps popping up in all your files?"
"Well they are from Slytherin," Tom rolled his eyes at her, finding only mild interest in the conversation now that his curiosity had been satisfied, "Why are you even answering them? When we were in that classroom, you wouldn't tell me a thing."
"Because playing games with them isn't nearly as fun as it is with you," she smiled sweetly at him, making him glare at her and the others look pointedly from one to the other.
She turned back to the others and smiled.
"I had a feeling that what Dumbledore told me was only half the truth," she told them and they sighed and smiled at her...before she turned back to Tom again, "Except with you. Everything he said about you seemed pretty accurate."
"You've got it wrong Miss. Evans," Cygnus shook his head.
"I agree," Eileen shook hers too, "Dumbledore has had it in for Tom since the beginning.'
"With good reason," she smirked and Tom scowled at her.
"All I've ever done is tried to keep this school in check," he said to her quietly, "I've never done anything wrong."
"And why do I find that so hard to believe?"
He was about to respond when the doors slammed open, cutting him off. Every head turned to the back of the class to see a tall, thin, exquisitely dressed man. His hair was thick brown, flowing down his back with piercing black eyes that screamed superiority to anyone who dared gaze upon them. Effectively, he was the best mixture of Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy that Hermione had ever seen.
"Wands away," he said quietly, a small scowl forming on his lips, "Text books out and quills at the ready."
The Slytherins all turned away from Hermione and did as he asked within an instant. Hermione too, did not waste time.
"As you should now know," he continued his voice still cold and cruel, once again a strange mixture of Severus and Malfoy, "You will not be using any wands in this class. The art of Ancient Runes is to be respected and honored by only the best of wizards," Hermione tried not to snort, "And therefore, during practical sessions, you use wandless magic. Some of you, lesser beings will struggle with this and only the best, the brightest and the most talented shall emerge victorious. Let us begin."
He started by simply going around the room and seeing what everyone could remember from the previous year. Well no, that wasn't entirely accurate. He went around the room seeing what every male could remember and completely ignored the girls. Hermione had to bite her tongue several times. She didn't wish to cause trouble on her first day, even if it was the last class. He then proceeded to try a magical test. Those who could remember the basics at least had to make an object fly simply by saying the correct order of runes. Most of them failed and when it was Tom's turn, he didn't make it a secret that he was enjoying her discomfort. He stood and looked at the book in Callus' hands.
"Uruz, Ansuz, Kenaz," he muttered, causing the heavy tome to hover lightly above Callus' hands and then place itself on to the desk before him.
"Well done Tom, ten points to Slytherin," Callus smiled and went to move on until Hermione had had enough. She stood from her seat.
"I wish to try sir," she said calmly, though determination seeped through.
Callus turned to look at her with a cold glare.
"I take it that you are Miss Evans?" He almost whispered. It was a frightening reminder of what Tom was like at times.
"Yes sir."
"I've heard much about you. They say you came directly from the front, is that correct?"
"Yes sir."
"Did you happen to meet Grindlewald?"
Hermione knew that this was some kind of test. The acting skills and instinct that Draco had helped her develop instantly kicked in. Her face turned stony as she pretended to take a deep breath and look at him again.
"Yes sir," there was a slight tremble of anger in her voice that caused all the others to stare.
"Did you fight him?"
"If I had, this war would be over."
"You are that confident?"
"I am that determined, sir."
He scrutinized her for a bit and she glared back at him. He then proceeded to look down his nose at her and glared a cold stare that could have easily matched her own.
"Normally I would grant your request," he stated, something which Hermione knew wasn't at all true, "Especially to one who has just come from the front and survived. However, you are speaking out of turn. Twenty points from Slytherin. Now sit down before I throw you out and give you detention."
Her mouth opened wide in shock and was about to deliver the most scathing horrible reply she could think of, when she felt cool hands on her hips forcefully sit her back in her seat. She glared over at Tom, who covered her mouth, under the guise that he was trying to help Callus continue the lesson. Callus gave him a brief nod of thanks before he continued. Tom took his hand away when he was sure that she was not going to interrupt and then wrote on a piece of paper.
He means what he says. Keep your mouth shut and just pay attention.
Not listening to him at all, she wrote back on the piece of paper...
I don't bloody well care! He has no right what so ever to treat me or anyone else this way! He's a foul, evil, loathsome-
Tom didn't give her the chance to finish and pulled the parchment out of her grasp.
Regardless, you are too interesting to have thrown out of this school just yet. Stay seated and shut up or I will cast a petrificus totalus so strong that you won't be able to move for a week.
Hermione snatched the parchment back and glared at him as she wrote.
Why are you doing this?
He smirked as he read and then noted down his reply.
Because playing games with anyone else isn't nearly as fun as it is with you
Just for that reply alone she wanted to slap him. He did his best to irk her and she was ashamed to say that he was finally succeeding. He took the parchment back once more
You will meet me by the Black Lake at eight o'clock tonight so that you may answer the questions I have for beating you in this class.
She peered down at the parchment for a few moments and then gave him her reply.
That's hardly fair. I was never asked any questions nor selected to answer any.
He once again smirked at the parchment as he read her answer and gave his own reply.
I never said that I would fight fair.
She had to give him that at least. When the class ended, Hermione packed her things away and stood to leave, when she was stopped for the second time by a teacher.
"Miss Evans," Callus called from his desk, "A word."
Hermione looked back at her fellow Slytherins and saw that they looked concerned. To her surprise, Tom was glaring most of all. But she knew what that was about. She'd become interesting now. He didn't want to see her hurt or leave too quickly. It was nothing more than that...not that she liked it anyway. She moved up to the desk, her face impassive and icy, just like at the sorting ceremony. She held herself as a queen ready to give the orders for an execution. She stood before Professor Callus.
"Yes sir?"
He finally looked up from the notes he was making and glared at her just as strongly.
"I don't know what kind of society you come from," he told her, "Or what the front may have done to you, but you must know that I will not tolerate cheek. Especially from a young witch such as yourself."
"And what is that supposed to mean sir?" She asked him, trying to keep her voice neutral.
Callus looked at her for a moment, then stood from behind his desk and walked around to her side. He stood a mere foot away from her, so close that she could feel his breath on her face as he spoke.
"The witches of this world have had many roles over the years," he told her, "And there will be many roles to come. Their role today and yours now too, is to be the perfect house wife. A porcelain doll designed to sit there and look pretty, a decoration if you will, a prize for a worthy wizard. They do not cuss, they do not talk back, they take orders and they abide by wizarding rules. You will now do the same."
She stood there and glared at him. She puffed up her shoulders and brought herself to full height, and even though she still looked like a dwarf compared to him, she looked menacing.
"I'm sorry sir," she stated through clenched teeth, "But I will not compromise myself or my honor for some superficial picture you have in your head of the perfect-house-wife-zombie-brained-barbie-doll bimbo! My brain is far too big to let you control or diminish me like you have all the other women in this castle."
She didn't even look at him as she turned on her heal and marched out the door. She didn't notice the four disillusioned Slytherins that had been listening by the keyhole with a well placed televising charm.
"She really is special," Cygnus smiled, not that the others could see.
"She really is an idiot," Abraxus rolled his eyes, "Callus will destroy her."
"You forget Abraxus," Eileen chimed in, "She just came back from the front. I bet you anything that she'll be able to take him in a fight."
"It's not a fight that he's talking about."
All heads turned in the direction of Tom's invisible voice and looked at him confusedly, something he could see, even though he couldn't see their faces..
"Get back to the common room and wait for dinner," he ordered, not expanding on his idea at all. None of them wasted any time at all in going.
***
"He's an absolutely pompous, controlling, manipulative, prejudiced, snarky son of a death eater!"
Hermione had gone straight to the Room of Requirement to fill Severus and Draco in. The blonder of the two was currently handing over twenty galleons with a horrible scowl on his face for Hermione's new house. Severus smirked at Draco as he answered her.
"That may be, but he is not your task," he told her, his smirk fading as he walked over to her and sat her down in an arm chair, "You need to remain focused. If there is any time left over, you may deal to him, but for now you must concentrate on Riddle. Has he shown any interest in your activities yet?"
Hermione groaned and then answered him.
"He pulled me into an empty classroom after Dumbledore tried getting me to stay away from him and the others," she told them with a sigh.
Draco looked at her speculatively and she glared at him.
"It was nothing like that!" She snapped at him, "All he did was admit that I have a brain."
"So he acknowledges that you are intelligent?" Severus asked, slightly impressed, "I hadn't expected this to go so quickly. What happened next?"
"He asked me what I meant about something, and I told him. He then asked me what Dumbledore wanted and I didn't say a damn thing about it. I was too pissed off at him."
"Tell me exactly what happened."
And so she did. She explained her entire day to them from Transfiguration, to Ancient Runes. Seeing as he had only sat next to her for one of the lessons and she had managed to get to every question before he had, there really wasn't much to tell about the others, but her two companions listened intently none the less.
"You're certainly making progress Granger, that's for sure," Draco told her, "You'll have to be careful though. He's showing too much interest in you too soon."
"I thought the whole point of this was to get him-"
"No," Draco shook his head, "The point of this is to learn his secrets and use them against him when we get back. You need to be careful how you do it though. He's possessive of those who he finds useful. If you interest him too much, he won't let you go once you learn everything you need to know. Why do you think my father's been under the imperius curse for the past three years?"
She thought about what he had said and looked at him in all seriousness.
"Does it really matter?"
Severus and Draco stared at her in confusion as she got out of her seat and began to pace across the floor.
"You said yourself that this mission was next to impossible," she told them, "But I've been thinking. I only just beat him in those classes, only just. Even if we find the sources of his magic or a way to kill him, he's still intelligent. If I leave suddenly without explanation, then he's going to figure it all out. I know I would."
"Granger what are you saying?" Draco paled while looking at her.
"I might have to stay here for all this to work," she whispered, looking away from them, "There's no way that he wouldn't suspect anything, and he has fifty years or so to change his plans and methods-"
"No."
She looked up at them again to see Draco absolutely fuming. He glared at her with such intensity that Hermione thought she may explode. He walked over to her and wrapped his hands around either of her arms and spoke with such menace it shook her to the core.
"You will not sacrifice yourself for this," he told her, controlled, violent anger dripping from his words, "I will not watch you slip away from us just so you can save those idiots you call friends. If we continue this, then you come back with us and do not even think about staying behind ever again! If you even so much as breathe a word of it once more, I will rip that time turner from Severus' neck and we will all go back home."
Her arms were beginning to bruise under the pressure that he was inflicting on her, but she stared back at him with the same intensity and did not make a sound.
"Why do you even care so much?" She whispered hoarsely to him.
"I watched my mother die for me," he whispered back, "I won't let anyone else do the same."
Of course. Everything suddenly made sense to her now. Why Draco had tried to stop her from going, why he had put up so much protest until he had to save himself and Severus too...Why he had now bruised her arms quite badly and not even known it. He never spoke of what happened to Narcissa, and this was obviously a first. When he had come to them a year ago, he had been ragged and filthy and knocking on death's door, but most of all...he was alone.
He suddenly let go of her and stormed off into the bathroom where Severus and Hermione heard hot water running. Severus walked over to her and rolled up her sleeve to inspect the wound.
"Would you like me to take care of this?" He asked her calmly.
"No," she shook her head, "I'm late for dinner as it is. I'll deal with them after I meet with Riddle. Tell Draco-" she cut herself off, not knowing what she wanted him to know. A revelation like this didn't normally come about. She looked over at the bathroom door and then back at Severus, "Tell him something."
He nodded and allowed her to leave. She just about ran down the staircases until she reached the Great Hall, where all Slytherin eyes were upon her and she was ignored by the other houses after a quick glance.
"Where were you?" Cygnus asked her, standing to offer her a seat which she took with gratitude.
"I needed to calm down," she told him and the others, "So I went to my old rooms."
The others seemed to buy it, all except Tom who continued to stare at her with accusing eyes. The house once more lapsed into conversation about various parts of their day. Cygnus and Abraxus told her of a spectacular prank they played on Cygnus' cousin Charlus Potter II. Christa told her all about her classes with 'The trophies' as she liked to call the other girls and Druella kept trying to get her into a conversation with Cygnus but Hermione told her promptly that "Now isn't the time. Wait for the right moment."
"When will that be?!" Druella pouted.
"You'll know it when you see it," Hermione smirked at her. She then stood once she had finished eating and bid them all goodnight. Cygnus soon stood with her, having hurriedly finished his goulash and hooked his arm around hers.
"Next time you get mad," he whispered to her seriously as they moved out of the hall, "Come to me or Abraxus and then go and have a fit. It's not safe for you to be on your own."
"What makes you say that?" She asked as they descended the stairs.
"Gryffindor isn't as noble as it seems, Hufflepuff, while complete dimwits, can be nasty and Ravenclaw are smartest for all the wrong reasons. They all hate us, the girls most of all. We do what we can to protect you, but it's not easy. Like with my sister Wulberga. She's homeschooled now because of it."
"I can take care of myself Mr. Black," she smiled at him, "Though I do appreciate the gesture."
"I know that you could protect yourself if it was a fair fight, but it very rarely is," he told her as they got to the common room and sat down on a couch together, "As I said, Gryffindors aren't nearly as noble as they're perceived to be."
"Could it have anything to do with the amount of pranks you play on them?" She asked him with a friendly smirk.
"That's just retaliation," he smiled innocently, "You'd better get upstairs and change. I have to escort you down to the lake soon."
She looked at him slightly confused.
"He told you about that?"
"Only that he wishes to speak to you in private. We have to make sure you aren't disturbed."
"And whose we?"
"Myself, Abraxus and I think he wants Alistair to guard the door to the entrance hall."
Wow, Riddle really was going to lengths to keep their liaisons private. Then again, could she expect anything less? After all, he was questioning her about things that not even he might know and to have that go around the school would be absolutely hilarious. Tom Riddle, head boy, genius as far as everyone was concerned, getting information off of the poor little orphan girl who had just come from the front and lost everything she had. Then again, it may be construed as Tom trying to collect her and that in itself would be surprising. After all, not a single female thrived in his group. To have a woman there would certainly rock a few boats.
"Unless of course," Cygnus suddenly continued, a new glint in his eye, "You would like for me to come up and help you?"
Hermione gave him a beautiful smile and placed her hand on his cheek, doing the quickest thinking she could. She didn't want to hurt him. After all, he had been nothing but lovely to her since the day she arrived.
"I'm flattered Mr. Black, really," she told him softly, "But before I came here, I was engaged."
He looked at her in shock but he soon recovered and looked at her in a different way, in a way of friendship and plutonic love.
"Is he still at the front?" He asked her kindly.
"He was a lieutenant in the Italian wizarding army," she nodded to him, pouring on a few tears for effect, "We had met in the trenches ironically. He saved me from an avada and when that battle was over, we started talking. I was only sixteen and he was twenty. We fought side by side for a long time before the Italians put us together as a reconnaissance team. Every time there was someone down in the field, we went to get them. We never failed. Grindlewald suddenly started taking notice of me and my family after I had gotten engaged. My father was a spy, my mother a healer. With myself and Draco," she added that just as a precaution, incase he and Severus had to come and save her someday and he needed a cover, not to mention it would piss him off, "As the best reconnaissance team the Italians had, you can imagine the kind of threat we posed to him."
"So he came after you," Cygnus finished for her and she nodded.
"Draco saved me from him," she told him, "Got me out of bed and on a broom so quickly that Grindlewald couldn't come after me. I saw him kill my parents, but Draco managed to run. I haven't heard from him since."
"But you still hold hope that he's alive," Cygnus nodded, then looked at his watch, "Normally I would not cut a conversation such as this short, but you must be getting ready for Tom."
She smiled at him and gave him the biggest hug she could manage.
"Thank you for your understanding Cygnus," she whispered in his ear.
"Thank you for trusting me Hermione," he whispered back and she went up stairs to change.
She came back down in another skirt and blouse, though this time with a black trench coat to keep her warm. She was starting to get sick of the lack of footwear she had to choose from though. It was ridiculous.
"Ready to go?" He asked her, after unashamedly checking her out.
"Of course," she smiled at him, and together they walked the halls, easy conversation lapsing between them. They reached the entrance hall within minutes, nodding to Alistair who smiled at them and allowed them passage out into the grounds. Cygnus then unhooked his arm from hers and gestured for her to proceed.
"This is as far as I go," he told her, "Tom really doesn't want us to over hear your conversations."
She nodded and ventured out into the night air. It was relatively chilly considering, though she had a feeling that it was more to do with the atmosphere and who she was going to be speaking with than the weather itself. She walked along the rocky path down the great hill until she could see the lake and the one she sought staring out at it. His face looked so troubled as he stared at its waters. He was contemplating something, more than likely her, but something told her that tonight was going to be far worse than what she had planned. She moved up and stopped a few feet behind him, her face impassive as she looked at him, trying to decipher what he was thinking by staring at the back of his head.
"What took you so long?" he asked her quietly, still not looking at her, "You're ten minutes late."
"I was having a rather meaningful conversation and I lost track of time," she told him, "That's question one, what are you're other six?"
He spun around to face her, a look of annoyance on his face.
"That doesn't count," he told her.
"Yes it does," she smirked, "I said that for every question you answer before me in class I would answer one of yours. That was a question and I answered it. Now what are your other six?"
He glared at her.
"That isn't fair."
"Well it looks like two of us are fighting dirty," she retorted, "Since when do you care what's fair and what's not?"
"Since there is a chance to get what I want," he muttered so that she couldn't hear him. He then turned back to her and gesture to the ground, "Sit."
She raised her eyebrows at him as he kneeled.
"Sit," he repeated.
"I'm not a dog," she told him quietly.
"Dogs are more obedient," he told her and gestured to the ground again. With a sigh and a roll of her eyes, Hermione sat beside him, "By your count I have six questions that I can ask tonight. I want to be sure that you are telling the truth. You will look at me every time you answer."
She could tell he was being careful now, simply because he didn't add 'are we clear?' on the end. She gave him a nod and that was when his first question was asked.
"What was your life like before Grindlewald?"
She stared at him and blinked.
"Why do you want to know that?"
"Answer the question."
She was obligated now, she had to. She only hoped that he wouldn't ask her a question that she would have to lie to too heavily.
"It was...different," she told him, picking out truths from her past to feed to him, "My parents kept the fact that I was a witch a secret until I was ten. They gave the excuse that they wanted me to have a normal life before I was plunged head first into the pool and told to swim. I was an outsider to the muggles because of it. I was generally smarter than they were; I kept making strange things happen...I even thought myself to be weird. It was then that my parents told me and I felt...whole. Like a piece of the puzzle had finally been put in place. I suddenly didn't care what the others thought and buried myself in magic. Grindlewald came along when I was fifteen and I was then forced into the Italian Magical Army via the conscription act of 1726."
He seemed to buy it. Maybe his Legillimancy wasn't as advanced as she thought it was? He then fired off his next question.
"What happened the night your parents died?"
Well that was easy enough to answer. She poured on her acting skills again and looked away from him, but he turned her head back to him with a strong hand.
"What happened when your parents died?" He repeated.
"It was the dead of night," she told him, echoing her past and what she had told Cygnus, "We had all gone to bed early, to be ready for battle the next morning. My father was a top line spy and my mother was a healer, so they would both be hard at work the next day. There was a sudden crash and I felt my fiancée's hand on my mouth, stopping me from screaming. We got up and tried to save my parents, but it was too late. They tortured us both, they tried to rape me but I managed to wound them badly enough that they stayed away. They were going to kill us when Draco got free and charged them. He then got me out and onto a broom and ran himself. I haven't heard from him since that night."
He stared at her with wide eyes but didn't linger as more questions came to mind.
"Do you have any family that's alive?"
"Maybe an Uncle, but my father stopped talking to him when I was six."
"Why did you come here when your parents died?"
"My father was British. He had always told me that Hogwarts was the safest place to be."
"What was his name?"
"Severus Evans."
"That's not a pureblood name."
"He was my adoptive father," she smiled at him, "My real father never wanted to know me and my mother never talked about him. All she ever told me was that he was a pureblood and a bastard."
"Where did you live?"
"On the borders of Italy, in a small wizarding town called Belle Ciao. We moved there when I was eleven. My parents thought it might be a good idea to have me surrounded by magic so that I could better pick it up."
"Did you ever take a life in the war?"
"I took many," she said gravely.
It was his last question that threw her off entirely.
"Why are you lying to me?"
She stared at him like a stoned fish.
"I'm sorry?" She asked him.
"Why are you lying through your teeth to conceal the truth from me?" he asked quietly and calmly, yet still so cold, "You aren't from Italy, you never met Grindlewald. You were never engaged, you're definitely not a pureblood and I'm damn sure your name isn't Evans. So I will ask you again. Why are you lying?"
He had figured her out without even knowing how much. She had to respect something like that. Therefore, she had to give him some kind of answer. It was his last question, so she could get away with it after all.
"Because I don't trust you," she smiled, standing, "Because you are the last person I would tell the truth to and because you have no right in knowing."
He suddenly stood and grabbed a hold of her wrist and swung her into a tree. Her back hit the bark painfully as he pressed himself against her, almost strangling her in his anger.
"You aren't the only observant one Hermione," he said quietly, lifting her chin to look at him, "Bags under your eyes mean that you have frequent nightmares. Scars on your skin," he lifted her arm and ripped open half her sleeve, just before the bruises Draco had given her, running his fingers slowly down a curse scar Bellatrix had given her months back, "Battle scars for sure, though they aren't from this war; that much is for sure. Let's face it Hermione, you are damaged beyond repair, but one must wonder why? Who broke you so much that you wake up screaming every night? Who destroyed you so badly that you need a bottle of liquor to forget it all? Who took away everyone and everything you ever loved so that you had to come here?"
She tried to knee him in the groin, but he caught her leg, still pressing himself to her. She then began to panic. What was he going to do with her now that he had figured out half the riddle? Torture her until he figured out the rest?
"I don't make the same mistake twice," he whispered, "Now answer me and you won't have to get hurt any more than what you are."
Her panic suddenly faded. She thought about his words for a moment and then her face suddenly split into a grin and she began to laugh bitterly. His face changed from impassive to a scowl in seconds.
"That's the thing Tom," she laughed at him, "That's why I'm here. You couldn't possibly break me anymore than what I am."
She pushed her magic with as much might as she could muster and soon, Tom was on the grass, having been thrown from her body. She took out her wand and pointed it at him before he could retrieve his own.
"Until you can prove to me that I will be safe with you alone, there won't be anymore of these sessions," she told him, "What's the point in letting you win when I get nothing out of it but pain?"
She turned her on her heel and marched up too the castle, her façade dropped along the way as she saw that Abraxus, Cygnus and Alistair had long since gone. She didn't go back to the common room and she didn't go to the Room of Requirement. She took out Harry's invisibility cloak and wondered the halls for the rest of the night, tears of fear and heart break staining her cheeks.
