Nevalia: Thank you very much for your comments. I am very much aware that, for now, Hermione seems excessively powerful. However, as the reader, you know a lot more about Hermione's powers than anyone else in this time period: she hasn't given anyone but the basilisk a power display yet, so Riddle hasn't seen enough to be properly annoyed. Also, I have not given any backstory to Riddle, but he will have power himself that approaches Hermione. Finally, I'd like to remind you that, in this story, Hermione is already an adult, though physically de-aged to appear fifteen, so she has nearly a decade of experience and power on Riddle at this point. Once we start getting into the power play and manipulations that a Tomione story could not do without, I think Hermione will start looking like less of a Mary Sue.
The next day, Hermione struggled to be patient through her classes as she waited for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Having already passed all of her classes with the highest scores in history, the classes were already boring to her, but the added excitement of a duel at the end of the day made them simply unbearable. To add to her restlessness, Tom had been smirking at her all day, and she wasn't sure if it was because her excitement was visible in her actions, if he was eager to show off, or if he wanted to see how she fared in her duel, since she was to fight in the first duel of the tournament. During lunch, after having eaten extremely rapidly, she went outside for a run around the Black Lake to burn off some of her excess energy. When she returned, she found herself feeling a little more relaxed, but not nearly enough to sit through both her free period and Potions. In an effort to calm herself further, she went to her room to get the self-adjusting dueling robes each of the students had been given that morning and disappeared for an hour to the Room of Requirement, where she spent her time dueling (and decimating) dummies the room provided for her. She hadn't even broken a sweat, but she felt marginally calmer. She managed to contain her excitement through Potions and during her walk to the Defense classroom with Tom, but when she caught her reflection in a window as they passed, she noticed her eyes gleaming with excitement. In the back of her mind, she recognized it as bloodlust for Tom's demise, even if only temporary, at her hands in front of the whole class, and, hopefully, the whole school.
When they finally arrived in the Defense classroom, where the desks had all been vanished and a dueling arena established, as well as a changing room for each gender. Hermione hurried into the girl's room and changed into the dragonhide dueling robes that adjusted to fit her body perfectly as soon as she had dressed. The Hufflepuff girl she would be fighting, she hadn't learnt her name, was preparing herself on the other side of the room. Hermione went over and touched her shoulder. The girl jumped and spun around, her face pale. "Oh- Um, hi!" she squeaked. "Listen, I'm a really bad dueler, so, um, could you maybe go easy on me? I mean, um, just don't kill me, you know? I don't mind if I lose badly, I'd just like to keep all my bodyparts, you know?"
"Of course! Don't worry. I'm only mean to people who deserve it. I promise not to hurt you, ok? Just stay calm and do your best. I'll bet you're better than you think you are. Good luck!" Hermione calmed the poor girl, then left the tent to take her position on the dueling floor.
When the shaking Hufflepuff had taken her place, Professor Richmond reminded them of the rules, then began the fight with the customary, "Wands at the ready!" and a blast of green sparks from his wand. Hermione waited for the girl to take her first shot, determined to at least give the girl a chance. The girl sent a weak Stupefy towards Hermione. Though her aim was true, Hermione simply batted the spell away with her wand, then sent a quick verbal Expelliarmus-Stupefy combo at the girl, ending the duel quickly and cleanly. After the professor called the duel in her favor, she ennervated the poor girl and helped her up, leading her to a table that held stacks of Honeydukes chocolate to help reinvigorate students who had been stunned or injured. This first duel was rather anticlimactic for Hermione, who had been hoping for at least a bit of a fight, especially with her purposefully degrading her dueling ability.
For the rest of class, Hermione languished in the chairs arranged around the room for those who were not dueling while different pairings fought each other. These first few battles were especially boring, as they were between the students with the poorest dueling ability. To amuse herself, Hermione transfigured one of her quills into different shapes and materials, sometimes animating an animal or figure for a bit of a change.
Between two of the duels, Tom made his way over to her. "It's a bit boring when you're not the one fighting, isn't it?" He began. She just nodded in response, paying more attention to the quill, which was currently a silver rabbit hopping in circles. "Why did you wait for her to cast? You could have ended it in seconds. What was the point?"
Hermione glanced at him carelessly. "She knew she was going to lose. She said as much in the changing room. I felt the least I could do was give her a shot. There was a small possibility that she might catch me in a bad moment... I figured, what can it hurt?"
Tom was baffled. He couldn't understand why anyone would waste their time giving someone who had no hope a chance. Then they might try something stupid or unexpected and get you while you were distracted. His curiosity piqued, he decided he would call a meeting of his followers that night. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small black piece of parchment and set the tip of his wand to it. An elegant silvery script flowed from the wand, which would be copied on the pieces of parchment that all his followers carried with them. Tom watched as several students in the room reached into their pockets and surreptitiously read the summons.