CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE TRICK
It was a damn tough job, very hard. Gathering allies required a lot of patience and risks, not forgetting the research through which they sorted out their allies. Some people immediately accepted the Orbis but some were very reluctant.
'Bloody gits' Sirius called those who showed reluctance. But of course, they were entitled to their suspicions as it was war and you couldn't trust your own shadow these days.
But all this hard work had its merit. They pursued Lord and Lady Longbottom, Sir Nicholas Flamel, Lord and Lady Black and Lord and Lady Potter to join their ranks and help them. Among other very able Orbis members was Alastor Moody.
Things kept on moving at a very fast pace. The four young future kids kept on traveling every day in search of allies and something that would help them in their mission. Of course they did it after school or else their cover would definitely blow up in shards.
A whole month passed rather fast and Hermione sighed in exhaustion. For three straight days they all were working. After school they had to go to the meetings and also to travel abroad to gather allies. Their reason for exhaustion was the head of the vampire clan who needed reasons and proof to their cause. They had been going to Italy daily for the last three evenings giving the head all he wanted. And till now he gave no such concrete answer.
Hermione shook her head and opened her eyes wide to help her focus. This was the fourth morning, and currently they were sitting at the Gryffindor table. Hermione looked at the others and realized after seeing their states that she was far much better. Sirius was nodding off, Harry had his head on his folded arms, and Draco was snoring in his cornflakes.
They all had been living on the Pepper up Potion, which not only eased your cold but also made you shred last vestiges of sleep. But Hermione concluded that excess would only harm them.
Bloody blood sucking vampires Hermione thought scathingly. They literally were dead on their feet.
A noise made her see skywards and hundreds of owls flew in the Great Hall through the rafters. A huge barn owl landed in front of her and held out its leg. Hermione took the newspaper from it and paid him two Knuts.
She shook out the paper and began to scan it for any information. Grindelwald was still in Bulgaria, or so it seemed from the recent vicious attacks. Another werewolf attack, and the muggle world war statistics… nothing of importance other than the Bulgarian attacks.
She quickly updated the other and while they grunted and made a few noises in the back of their throats they quickly went back to snoring.
Hermione realized that if she stayed there she might also keel over and sleep on the bench, or scream really badly.
So she took her stuff and dragged her feet over to the Potions classroom, where the Gryffindors and Slytherins all joined her acting far too awake and chirpy for her mind. Fixing them with a glare she walked in when the doors opened, and slumped back in her chair.
As if just realizing, she looked round and found nobody sitting besides her. She suppressed a groan and an oath thinking about the triple bunk.
She would have to speak to them about this; Hermione thought but relented when she remembered their states.
The door shut firmly and Slughorn started his lecture. Like magnet his eyes were attracted to the section where she was sitting alone and his eyebrows furrowed.
"Miss Silverstone, where are your bothers?" and there was pin drop silence, in which Hermione gritted her teeth.
"Umm Professor they have been called by err…Professor Dumbledore. Yes, he said they were required somewhere else."
Professor Slughorn nodded and smiled with some emotion, which Hermione didn't realize in her exhausted state.
"That's alright then. We can't leave you alone to work on this potion because it requires a double set of minds. Now, lets see who we can pair you up with." He made a show of finding her a partner when suddenly he looked as if he spotted a bag full of galleons. "Ah, mister Riddle, I think Mister Malfoy can pair up with someone while you partner with Miss Silverstone."
Hermione didn't even have it in her to object. She saw the boy who has been fixing her with very intense gaze throughout the past month, and the one who she had been avoiding all together, raise his eyebrows as if to challenge the Professor and then turned to look at her.
A heat shimmered in the depth of the vibrant green eyes and Hermione had to blink twice to realize what was she seeing. Did the wind blow strangely?
She watched as if in trance as he stood up gracefully to his full height and carelessly and with practiced ease scooped up his bag and moved to sit besides her.
Hermione turned her eyes from his passionate ones and blinked hard. She then realized that her heart was beating rather fast and an unknown nervousness took residence in her.
What the hell is happening to me? Hermione thought and focused now on the merry professor, and banished all the thoughts of Tom Riddle from her mind. The result being her getting drowsy again.
She jolted awake when the sound of chairs scraping back reached her ears. She realized that the class had ended.
What the? Where was she when Slughorn was teaching? Once she would have had an aneurysm at sleeping in a class but now she just blamed it all on that bloody Vampire head and went to the library to do her assignment which she had the sense of jotting it down from the board.
She checked into the library and went to the Potion section and took out the required book, sat on her favorite table and promptly fell asleep.
Somebody shook her gently and Hermione jolted back.
She blinked her eyes and saw a guy, seventh year by the looks of it, was sitting right in front of her with grey green eyes that somehow looked very gentle. A cute little smile was playing at the corners of his mouth.
"Hi, sorry to wake you up but I think the librarian would eat you alive if she found you drooling on her books." He said politely, and Hermione took an instant liking to him. She realized it was not like her but her gut instincts told her that he was genuine. "I'm Alexander Rafferty, by the way." He said extending his hand.
Hermione shook it. Her eyes then went to the bronze and blue crest on his robes, Ravenclaw… smart!
"I'm Hermione. And thanks for saving my neck."
"No, no problem. Though from your bloodshot eyes I think you are in a desperate need of sleep." He said frankly.
"Oh you bet. Its been a nightmare…" she mumbled and cursing the damn vampire head once again.
"Well since you are awake now, I better get going. It was nice meeting you Hermione. See you around." He said getting up and flashing her a smile. Hermione couldn't help but notice the dimples and the bright smiling eyes of his.
"You too." She said and watched him go in a trance. Then abruptly she jerked and realized that she was sleep deprived and right now her brain was the consistency of mush, and she was thinking about the cute, hot seventh year Ravenclaw.
She shook her head and started to focus on her homework. After an hour or so she exited the library and decided to skip the classes. As she was passing the third corridor a group passed by her, and Alexander was in it. He flashed her a smile. She noticed how his eyes crinkled at the corners and gave him a smile as well.
The guys catcalled and whistled, and Hermione shook her head. A smile in the forties was a big deal…
With a small smile on her face Hermione moved forward, happy with the prospect of a warm bed and at least ten hours of sleep. She was so lost in her dreams that she didn't realized that there were at least four people standing in front of her not ten meters away.
Hermione stopped as soon as she realized who they were. Malfoy, Black brothers and of course Tom Riddle. The latter was looking very pissed off. She suppressed a groan at having another obstacle in the way towards her bed. She could easily shoulder her way, or she could hex them very fast but she relented, as they didn't bother her any more. Why make things more difficult?
"Abraxas, Orion, Cygnus, Riddle… what a pleasant surprise! I thought we all saw each other in Potions."
Hermione noticed how hard did Tom clench his jaw when she addressed him by his last name. She wanted to put as much distance between them as possible. She still shuddered when she realized what had been promised as her future. But she would not be a victim to such tomfoolery. She will fight till her last breath.
The others looked at her without any hostility, though their expressions were carefully blank. At this Hermione had to suppress another groan, they were here for another encounter. Damn them, she wanted to sleep!
"Silverstone… I want a word" Tom spat at her, his eyes flashing dangerously. What had him in a twist Hermione wondered?
Lets get it over with, she thought.
"Sure" she said and noticed that his eyes narrowed.
"What the bloody hell are you hiding?" he asked head on. Damn him, Hermione will have to start her brain again.
"Everything" she saw him gritting his teeth and found immense pleasure in irritating him.
"Don't mess with me Silverstone… I'm in no mood for-" Hermione cut him off mid sentence.
"Nor am I Riddle, not one little bit. Why do you have to poke your nose in someone else's business? Do you have to know everything?" his eyes flashed red but Hermione was venting her week's frustration even offering her life in the process.
"If I'm hiding something that means that I don't want you to know. Get a hint from it and stop digging because you will not know, not from me and not from anybody else."
She didn't realize but in her furious state she was almost chest-to-chest with him, and didn't realize the shocked gazes of his henchmen.
"Don't unearth things that are not meant for your ears. Believe me, I learnt it the hard way, they get stuck to you and you wont have any chance to get rid of it." She was breathing rather heavily by the end of her rant. It was one of those moments when you could hear crickets in the background.
Silence.
Her passionate eyes were locked with his, and he was looking at her with a gleam in his eyes.
"Mind telling me then what did you do to my snake?" He asked with clenched teeth.
"Nothing." She said and was about to move from the close proximity when he grabbed her elbow and brought him right against himself.
Hermione then realized that her palms were sweating, her heart was beating rather fast and her throat was parched. She could smell his cologne; it was citrus, woodsy and earthy all at once. The smell was having a very dangerous effect on her senses.
Since she was right up against him, she could feel his heartbeat and see the nerve throbbing at his temple. His pale skin was almost translucent, showing an intricate patter of blue veins beneath it.
"So you mean you didn't do anything to make my snake flee?" he asked and Hermione felt his cool minty breath on her face.
"No" she said and only one word shouted out her current feelings. It was a breathless whisper and for a second he froze. An abrupt stillness came over him, and Hermione gulped. Her tongue came out to moisten her suddenly parched lips, and watched as his eyes followed her tongue's progress.
When he looked into her eyes, she found his pupils dilated; only a ring of green could be seen around the black depthless pools.
Since their company was long gone, they were perfectly alone. If somebody would have seen them, he would have surely commented that they fitted perfectly, and were right for each other, but little did they knew that it was one of those moments in which the stronger and more manipulative candidate used the situation for their own gain.
"Are you sure?" Riddle said in his rich, slightly husky baritone, bending forward his eyes stuck to hers as if by force.
"Yes" Hermione replied, unable to move her eyes from his hypnotic gaze, but then something changed behind those eyes. That depthless pool began to contract and a shocked and triumphant look took dominance.
"This really proves that you indeed do something to my snake, princess" Hermione blinked her eyes and her befuddled brain began to work overdrive. He didn't speak; more like hissed this last sentence. And she was so clouded with desire that she didn't really understand what he had been doing.
He indeed was the most notorious of all Dark Lords. He knew how to play whom and when. All this past month when Hermione thought maybe, that maybe, because he was in the Hospital Wing when they all heard about the promise, that he would try and reform his ways. Instead of doing that, he embraced the idea and used it for his own purpose.
Hermione was shameful, angry, shocked, disgusted, cheated and bitter all at once. She had felt a tingle of electricity from their touch, and reacted instantly. Never had she felt like that before. It was as if it was natural, for her anyways. She even forgot he was The Dark Lord Voldemort, for Merlin's sake!
And he used this all to trick her. He spoke parseltoungue and Hermione was too enthralled that she automatically replied in the same tongue. She might as well have surrendered her wand.
She wrenched her elbow from him, and backed from him all the time blinking away angry, and painful tears. He had a frown on his face as if thinking what made her so upset.
"Happy now. Now you must be really content to your heart's desire taking someone else's secret by playing a dirty trick." Hermione said as the first humiliating tear fell, and saw his frown deepen. He was good; she had to give him acting as if he didn't know what was happening.
"Hermi-"
"Don't you dare Riddle. Don't you dare speak another word. You are good because I was this close, this very close to fall for it." And with that she turned and fled. Had she been looking she would have found a paler than usual Riddle, holding the railing for support looking punched staring after her, thinking that was she really about to kiss him?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'M REALLY SORRY FOR THIS LATE AND SHORT UPDATE. I WAS REALLY BUSY AND DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO EVEN MAINTAIN MY SOCIAL BLOG MUCH LESS WRITE.
HOPE THIS QUENCHED A BIT OF YOUR THIRST…
ANYWAYS, THE REVIEWS DID PERSUADE ME TO WRITE BACK. WILL DEFINITELY BE BACK, AND I HAVE RETHOUGHT THE ENTIRE STORY WHICH IS NOW MUCH MORE BETTER THAN MY ORIGINAL PLOT.
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW.
FAN. AT YOUR SERVICE.