AN: Thank you to stsgirlie, MagZ86, JadelynNB09, DkWolves, Monnbeam and BDSanta2001 for all of the reviews, alerts and favourites! You guys have been amazing!! And sorry for the lack of updates, I've been a bit busy.
Chapter 10: Face Your Fears:
Hermione stood in the Gryffindor common room with Minerva. The two girls were waiting for Ron to appear from the boy's dormitory. Hermione glanced at the clock on the mantle of the fireplace and sighed. They were going to be late for class at this rate. It was now Monday, the very day that Hermione had been dreading since the eve of the dance. Today, she would have to face Tom Riddle. She had successfully avoided him for two whole days, but she could not run any longer. Ron finally joined them and they set off for their first class, Minerva parting with them on the third floor.
She and Ron continued down toward the dungeons, Hermione's face pale and peaky. Ron touched her arm lightly and she looked at him with a reassuring smile. Neither she nor Harry had recounted the exchange that happened in the Room of Requirement on Saturday. Ron needn't know that Hermione had begun to develop feelings for the future Dark Lord. They stood in the dank, cold dungeon corridor in front of the Potions classroom and waited for Slughorn to appear. Harry greeted them both with a smile followed by a large yawn. Behind him, stood Tom. Hermione allowed herself to look at him at the exact same moment that he had turned to look at her. Their eyes met and they both looked away from each other quickly.
"Hey, Harry," Ron said loudly, causing every student present to look at him.
"Yeah, Ron?" Harry replied.
"I think I'd like to work with you today," Ron replied.
"But Evans is my Potions partner," Tom said coolly.
"I think ol' Slughorn wouldn't mind switching us up a bit," Ron smiled.
"No, Ron," Hermione hissed at him in a desperate whisper, "If you switch with him, that means..."
"Riddle will be your Potions partner," Ron smiled, "Exactly. I think it's fair that both of the top students work together."
"What a splendid idea, Mr. Wazlib!" Boomed Slughorn's voice from behind the class.
Hermione spun around wildly and looked at the Potions professor with imploring eyes.
"Miss Granger, Mr. Riddle," Slughorn beamed, "I would absolutely love to see the results that spring up from such a gifted alliance."
"Yes, sir," Tom replied politely but Hermione swore that she heard an awkward note in his voice.
The students filed into the classroom, taking their seats. Ron smiled at her as he sat next to Harry and Hermione wanted nothing more than to set the flock of canaries on him again. Of all of the dirty tricks...Tom slipped into the seat next to her and she stared at her cauldron hard. Slughorn was giving instructions for the potion they were supposed to be brewing on the blackboard at the front of the classroom but all Hermione could seem to concentrate on was how close Tom was sitting next to her.
They took out their ingredients and started to work on the potion in dead silence.
"How..." Tom began, having to clear his throat before he could start again, "How have you been?"
"Er..." Hermione faltered, unprepared for questioning, "I've been alright. You?"
"Same," Tom replied, "So..."
"So..."
"Were you avoiding me?" They both asked at the same time.
They stared at each other and Hermione laughed lightly.
"Yes," Hermione blushed, "Yes, I was."
"Me, too," the corner of Tom's mouth did the funny smile/spasm, "Sorry."
"Me, too," she replied.
"We have patrol tonight," Tom said lamely, in an attempt to keep the conversation flowing.
"We do," Hermione nodded, "Uh, how is the Slug club?"
Tom shrugged gracefully, "It's okay, I suppose. You should come. He's having another "party", that's what he calls them, parties, this weekend."
"Oh?" Hermione asked as she added powdered billywigs to the potion.
"Yes," Tom said, "He said we could invite people to them, if we'd like to...Would you like to go with me?"
"I...yes," Hermione smiled at him, "I would be delighted to go with you."
"Alright," Tom smiled, a real, true smile, "Great."
Hermione let herself look at him. He really was handsome, especially when he truly smiled. When he actually smiled, his whole face softened and made his usually stark manner melt away. She liked it when he smiled. They sat there, staring at each other for a long moment until Slughorn's criticism of a neighbouring table's potion brought them back to the present task.
"Just as I suspected," Slughorn clapped loudly, "Riddle and Granger are far ahead of the rest of you lot! Shinning students, the pair of you. Fantastic work."
Harry and Ron were hardly paying attention to their potion, rather like the old times. They were much more fascinated by the events unfolding across the room from them. Tom and Hermione were talking, smiling even! Ron leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. There was a sharp pang of remorse in his chest and he leaned forward, bringing the chair down with him. Harry looked at his best friend with a frown.
"She likes him, doesn't she?" Ron asked glumly.
"Yeah, she does," Harry nodded, "But you must have known..."
"Because I suggested the partner thing?" Ron sighed, "I think I did...but, I just can't help..."
"Being jealous?" Harry smiled.
"Yeah," Ron nodded.
"I know how you feel," Harry said, remembering the time when Krum tired to move in on Ginny at Bill and Fleur's wedding.
"It's not fair," Ron sighed, laying his head on his arms, "We just got together..."
"Ron," Harry began, not knowing quite what to say.
"I know I agreed to let her do this, for our future's sake," Ron continued as he watched Hermione and Riddle talking, "But I never thought she'd start to..."
"Love him, too," Harry finished for him.
Ron nodded, "She knew that I ended it to make it easier on her, didn't she?"
"Yeah, she did," Harry nodded.
"I'm glad that it worked," Ron smiled humorlessly, "As long as she's happy and he takes care of her..."
Ron finished with a shrug. Harry looked at his best friend and then at the girl who was laughing with the boy who would become the most evil wizard of the age. He seemed so much more relaxed then he used to be. Maybe, just maybe, the future would be safe.
Tom and Hermione wandered down the second floor aimlessly. As usual, there was no one who dared be out of bed past curfew.
"What are Slughorn's parties like?" Hermione asked, knowing full well what they were like.
"They're fun, I suppose," Tom replied, pointing the tip of his lit wand into a dark alcove, "He usually has these special guests come in, some of them are famous musicians or Potions Masters. They're all talented or famous for something or another."
"It sounds pompous to me," Hermione said as she peered behind a tapestry that she knew concealed a shortcut to the third floor.
"I suppose it is," Tom nodded.
They came to the corridor that held the bathroom where the entrance to the Chamber was. Hermione's shoulders tensed but Tom walked right past it without a second glance. She let out the breath she had been holding and caught up to him, fighting the urge to look over her shoulder at the offending bathroom. They were almost in the clear when Tom froze in mid step. He tilted his head to the side and listened. Hermione closed her eyes and cursed silently.
"There's that voice again," Tom whispered into the deadly quiet.
"What's it saying?" Hermione asked, seeing no sense in denying the voice's existence any longer.
Tom turned and looked at her, his dark blue eyes scrutinising her, "Can you hear it, too?"
Hermione took a deep breath, "No, Tom, I can't. But you seem to be able to."
"Did you just call..." Tom began, momentarily distracted.
"Did I just call you by your given name?" Hermione finished the question for him, "Yes, I did."
"Why?" Tom asked, walking closer to her.
Hermione opened her mouth and paused, trying to decided just how to answer, "I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?" Tom asked, "How can you not know?"
Hermione shrugged, "I guess it's because...it just seemed like..."
Her sentence died in her throat as Tom stopped agonisingly close to her. They were inches apart and Hermione was almost certain that he could hear her heart beating frantically against her rib cage. It was all she could hear, anyway. He looked down at her, his eyes as blue as midnight and filled with such an intense longing. They were so close, closer than they had been at the dance. He bent low over her and she froze, a rabbit trapped in the serpents gaze...
"Riddle, Granger, there you are," came the voice of Ignatius Prewett from somewhere behind Tom.
Tom straighted up and backed up several steps, disguising it as a movement toward the Head Boy, "Yes, Prewett?"
"What were you two doing?" Ignatius asked, casting an inquisitive glance at Hermione, who still looked a bit frightened.
"We," she said softly, "We thought we heard voices."
"From where?" Ignatius asked.
"From the bathroom," Tom answered, "But Hermione checked and found no one."
Hermione's face snapped toward Tom's profile as he spoke to the Head Boy. He had called her by her given name.
"Very well," Ignatius nodded, "I just came to tell you that you two may return to your dormitories now."
"Thank you," Tom nodded at the older boy.
Ignatius looked at Hermione once more before he turned and headed for the Head's dormitory. Tom turned and looked at Hermione once more. He walked toward her again.
"You called me by my first name," she echoed his words from earlier, "Why?"
"I don't know," he answered with a smile, "I guess it's because it just seemed like it was time to."
Hermione smiled and the pair of them made their way toward the staircases that would take them to their dormitories. They were inches apart as they walked down the deserted hallway and it wasn't long before Hermione felt Tom's fingers intertwine with hers.