Ultima ratio

by Winterblume

Ultima ratio - the last resort. At last the day of the Final Battle against Lord Voldemort has come. Harry, Ron and Hermione fight bravely against their nemesis - but then something goes wrong. And Hermione finds herself alone in a precarious situation.

25. Chapter Twenty Four: Where Your Home Is

Title: Ultima ratio

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

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Chapter Twenty-Four: Where Your Home Is

Hermione, aimlessly, wandered the many corridors of Hogwarts castle. She felt just horrible since her little confession. Longbottom had reacted in the worst way Hermione could have imagined.

Well, at least he didn't curse me… or Tom. Hermione thought frustrated as she strolled down the corridor. Her steps echoed loudly on the stone floor. Right now she was in a rather secluded part of the castle as she desperately tried to avoid the company of other students. They were sure to either pelt her with questions about Tom or would skip the talking and just hex her.

She sighed loudly and pondered what to do next. She couldn't very well wander the castle's corridors forever. But returning to the Gryffindor common room was certainly not an option either. She strongly assumed that that was where Longbottom had stormed off to so furiously. Lupin and Weasley should be there too and probably tried to console Longbottom after he had received those shocking news. For another matter Hermione didn't want to go to the common room because then she would run the risk to meet her chatty dorm mates. After this display in the Great Hall they would surely try to squeeze as much information out of her as they could. Maybe the best course of action would be to just flee the castle and start a new life far far away from here, Hermione thought wryly.

The Caribbean should be nice at this time of the year.

Hermione chuckled softly as she rounded a corner and entered a new passage way.

Or Albania. Maybe the weather is not as mild there but then Tom would come along.

Hermione was deeply immersed in her escaping plans as she heard a deep voice behind her, "What did your dear friends say?"

She turned around and found Tom leaning against the corridor wall. Hermione nearly rolled her eyes as she saw a smirk plastered all over his face while he scanned her in amusement.

"What are you so happy about?" Hermione asked him somewhat irritated.

Her anger only invoked that smirk on Tom's face to grow even wider.

"Nothing," he said in an annoyingly cheerful tone.

Then he pushed from the wall and walked over to her. The Slytherin-smirk was still tugging at the corners of his mouth as he looked down at her. Then he took her hand in his and started to walk. Hermione sighed but she followed him.

"I thought we would meet right after you talked with those boys," he said, surprisingly without any accusation in his voice. He seemed to be in a good mood.

Hermione made a non-committal sound that could have meant anything.

"So? What about your friends?" Tom inquired again as he led her through the corridors. His voice was light as if he was pondering the weather. It was annoying.

"What did they say to your shocking relationship?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him warily. "Why do you suddenly care about what my friends say?" she countered with suspicion in her voice.

Tom chuckled in amusement, "I just want to be prepared if your stupid friends decide to assault me."

"They're not stupid," Hermione retorted while she hit him with a withering look.

Tom didn't seem to be concerned by her dark scowl. He just continued to smile at her innocently which caused her level of annoyance to rise a little further. As they entered the next passage way Hermione instantly noticed a group of Ravenclaw girls walking in their direction. They were probably fourth or fifth years. Hermione nearly groaned as she saw the hostile stares some of those girls hit her with. Since she had left the Great Hall she hadn't met other students so she didn't really know what Hogwarts' population thought about her relationship with Tom. But now those Ravenclaw girls gave her an impression of how the other students were reacting to the news. She could see that one or two of the girls were eyeing her and Tom curiously but the rest of them were throwing rather nasty glares Hermione's way. Though she guessed that they would prefer to throw actual curses at her if Tom hadn't been with her right now. Hermione sighed tiredly. That was just the last thing she needed, a bunch of vengeful Tom fan-girls out for her blood. It reminded her of that episode before the break as they all thought she was a crazy stalker who tried to molest Tom. Thought back then at least her friends had tried to cheer her up. Something they would surely not do again, Hermione realized with a pang of regret. She wasn't really concerned about those misdirected girls. She had already known that a lot of them didn't like her very much but she could live with that. Honestly she had survived worse. A lot worse actually.

No, what really got to her was that look on her friends' faces as she had told them the truth. She just hoped Longbottom would somehow forgive her. She kind of needed him to forgive her because that hurt look on his face had been exactly the expression she had always imagined to be on Harry's or even Ron's face if they could see her now. If Longbottom couldn't forgive her, then her friends from the future would never have accepted her new relationship either. In addition to that she knew it would hurt her if her friends turned away from her. They were always giving her that feeling of normalcy she had lost a long time ago. With them around she could sometimes feel like a normal girl.

As if never been touched by darkness. Hermione shuddered as that thought hit her and she huddled a little closer to Tom while clutching his arm with both her hands. He looked down at her with one eyebrow raised questioningly.

"Didn't go down too well, did it?" he asked her and the slight taunt had by now disappeared from his voice.

"Well, Amarys and Richard were rather understanding," Hermione said softly then she hesitated. "Marc on the other hand…"

"Longbottom?" Tom asked quietly.

Too quiet to be actually true, Hermione thought.

"Yeah, he doesn't like you that much," she said tentatively.

Tom sniggered at that rather darkly then he said, "Really?"

She decided to not comment on that.

It was after a few more corridors that they stood before some well-known, huge wooden doors and Hermione furrowed her brow.

"The Library, Tom?" Hermione asked him somewhat surprised.

He just smirked down at her and stated rather condescendingly, "It's Sunday, dear. Believe me, we will be pretty much alone in there."

Hermione just shrugged and followed him inside. At the entrance she saw Ms Peters sitting at her usual place. Hermione shortly wondered when, if ever, that woman had a day off.

"Ah, Ms DeCerto," Ms Peters exclaimed happily as she spotted Hermione. Then her gaze wandered to Tom standing beside her. "And Mr Riddle. I was wondering when the two worst bookworms of this school would find each other."

"Hello, Ms Peters," Hermione smiled at the librarian.

Then she allowed Tom to drag her into the Library. Hermione was not really surprised that he pulled her in direction of the Restricted Section. Though as they reached the Restricted Section they didn't enter but passed it. Hermione scowled at the Dark Arts books she could see standing in the shelves. She could almost feel the ungodly dark aura they were radiating. Tom seemed to have sensed her displeasure as he now asked,

"Don't like that Section of the Library, do you?"

"No," Hermione replied while she still glared at the Dark Arts books.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Ms DeCerto not liking books. I am utterly shocked," he said dryly.

Hermione unfixed her eyes from the Dark Arts tomes and looked back at him. Then she said in a quiet voice, "Those books are dangerous."

"I find them fascinating," Tom replied as his gaze traveled shortly over the Restricted Section.

Hermione wasn't particularly surprised to hear that but she didn't like his enthusiasm at all.

"I think those books are restricted for a reason," she then told him.

Tom frowned at her. "So you think its okay to limit the access to knowledge?" he asked her while his face was once again covered by this emotionless mask.

She pondered him for a moment then she replied, "If that knowledge is dangerous, then yes."

Tom stared back at her before he stated colourlessly, "I think ignorance is a lot more dangerous than knowledge can ever be."

Hermione looked up at him. In a way, he was right. In a way.

Another few steps and they finally left the gloomy atmosphere of the Restricted Section behind. Tom seemed to head for a huge window on the far end of the Library. It was quite hidden here in the back where normally no student set foot on. They had to step around another shelf full of old, dusty tomes to finally reach the window. Hermione had to agree with Tom's earlier statement. It was very unlikely that anyone would disturb them here. Under the window was a huge wooden windowsill. It looked rather inviting, Hermione decided. The weak rays of the winter sun fell softly through the glass of the huge window. Outside she could see the grounds of Hogwarts which were still covered by a thin layer of white snow while the Great Lake lay glistening in the sun, though its water looked ice cold.

Tom pulled his wand and waved it at the windowsill. Some comfortable looking cushions appeared out of thin air. Then he sat down on the sill and pulled Hermione down with him.

"I often come here to read," Tom told her with a sideways glance.

Thus the close proximity to the Restricted Section? Hermione wondered while she looked at him, though she didn't voice her suspicion. Instead she sat down beside him.

"I am quite surprised by you," Tom said in his teasing voice as she had comfortably snuggled against him.

She raised her eyebrows at him questioningly which only caused a smirk to take form on his face.

"I never really thought you would tell your… friends about me," Tom said casually. "I rather had the impression you were ashamed of me." As an afterthought he added in quite the conceited tone, "And let me tell you, that was something new for me. Any normal girl would parade me through the school."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him which caused him to chuckle in amusement.

"I am normal!" she blustered before she nudged him.

She was quite surprised as he winced in pain when she punched his arm lightly. Hermione frowned in confusion until she remembered that she had hit him with a cutting hex on that arm. She felt a stab of guilt in her stomach as she watched him rubbing his arm cautiously. She had really lost it last night on the Astronomy Tower, hadn't she? Those had been quite the dangerous curses she had hurled at Tom. If it wasn't for him being such a powerful wizard, she could have caused some serious damage. Hermione slowly looked from Tom's arm back to his face.

"Tom, I… I don't know what came over me yesterday," she mumbled softly. "It was… I was just so angry, and…" She searched for the right words as she stared up into his grey eyes. "It was just too much," she finally whispered.

"Well, at least my skin is still the same colour," Tom taunted while a small smirk curled up the corners of his mouth.

Hermione averted her eyes from him and looked down at her hands. The guilty feeling even intensified as she was again reminded of how she had cursed Nicolls. Back then she had really lost control because she had known that Nicolls wouldn't be able to defend herself.

"Aww, please, Hermione," Tom then said arrogantly. "Don't tell me that you are still feeling guilty about Nicolls."

She looked up at him again and found him smirking. Then he said in a light tone, "You know, this morning in the common room Nicolls seemed to already have forgotten everything about your attack on her. She felt good enough to try to seduce me again."

Hermione's eyes widened and she stared at him.

"She even asked me if I was alright. And if you had hurt me," Tom said in an innocent and conversational tone while even his smirk had left his face.

There was now a look of shock on Hermione's face.

"Don't worry," Tom continued in his most honest voice. "I lied. I told her you would never hurt me."

"What?" Hermione asked weakly.

She stared at Tom with wide eyes while he just looked back at her. His face was carefully arranged into an expression of innocence while his eyes glinted with sincerity. But after a while he couldn't hold back any longer and broke out laughing.

"Really, you Gryffindors are just too gullible," he finally managed to say while still sniggering at her. "I can now fully understand why they put you in that house."

Hermione glared at him angrily. But that didn't stop him from still laughing at her.

Which caused her to huff at him, "I really hate Slytherins."

"But you've only known us for what? A few months?" He smirked down at her. "I'm sure you'll learn to appreciate our fine humour."

The glare she hit him with grew even darker then she said in a low voice, "I don't think so."

Tom didn't seem to be concerned by her rather hostile scowl. Instead the smirk left his face and he now looked at her with a mock-sad expression on his face.

"Still feeling bad about having cursed me?" he asked her in a solemn voice.

"No," Hermione informed him in a clipped tone. "I can suddenly remember why I cursed you."

Tom chuckled again but then she was surprised as there now appeared a smile on his face. This time it was not a smirk but a genuine smile.

"See? You really don't have to feel guilty," he whispered softy.

He smiled at her reassuringly and there was again this tingling feeling in her stomach as she looked up into his startlingly grey eyes. Tom extended a hand towards her and skimmed with his fingers gently over her cheek. The fluttery sensation in her stomach intensified so Hermione decided to follow that feeling and huddled closer against Tom. Then she slung her arms around his neck before she pulled his head down to her. She closed her eyes as she pressed her lips against his. One of her hands wandered up his back and ruffled through his dark hair, thus completely destroying his perfect hairstyle. But Tom didn't seem to mind, pulled her even closer to him and then deepened the kiss.

Hermione panted slightly as they finally broke apart. She snuggled against him and put her head down on his chest. His arms were still gently wrapped around her. They stayed like this for a while and Hermione couldn't have felt more comfortable.

After some time Tom shifted slightly then he asked her in a soft voice, "How do you feel today?"

Hermione looked up at him and found a little bit of concern shining in his grey eyes. She was surprised as she now noticed that Tom looked a little tired.

"Fine," Hermione answered his question in a small voice.

Tom wrapped his arms tighter around her and pressed her against him.

"Maybe I should always sleep in your bed," he then whispered seductively in her ear. "Don't want you to have any more nightmares," he tried to convince her innocently, though Hermione could feel him smirk against her skin before he kissed her on the cheek.

"In fact, why don't you move into the Slytherin dorm?" he continued in his milky voice.

Hermione glanced up at him. He was smirking down at her but she again noticed the tiredness on his face.

"Don't be silly. The gloomy atmosphere would surely drive me nuts," she sneered in a good imitation of Tom, though the amused grin on her face gave her away.

Tom chuckled before he said in a patronizing way, "It's not gloomy. It's sophisticated classiness. But of course, you wouldn't understand."

"Sure," she replied amused. But then she narrowed her eyes at him as he tried to suppress a yawn. He seemed to be really tired. "When did you leave my dorm last night?"

"Hm?" he looked down at her through hooded eyes. "Don't know. Late, I think." He smiled at her.

"You didn't need to stay so long," Hermione said softly.

"But what if you had another nightmare?" Tom taunted gently before he sighed melodramatically. "Whatever would you do without me?"

Hermione leaned back against him and enjoyed the comfortable feeling of his arms wrapped around her. It even let her ignore his light mock.

After a while she asked, "How did you get up the jinxed stairs to the girls' dorms anyway?"

Tom didn't reply anything.

"Tom?" she asked and then slightly turned her head to look up at him as he still didn't answer.

His eyes were closed and he leaned against the window frame while his arms were still looped around her. Hermione smiled as she scanned him. Obviously he had been more tired than he had admitted. She flexed her wrist and her black wand landed in her hand. Then she waved the wand at the shelf of books standing not far away from their window. Instantly an ancient looking book with gilt edges soared towards her. Hermione caught it and read its title: Magical Flora and Fauna of the West Indies. She didn't want to wake up Tom so she suppressed a chuckle as she read the title. That just fitted too well into her previous, far-fetched escape plans.

She could still feel Tom's arms around her as she opened the book. The content smile never left her face as she started to read.

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"I can't believe she's together with that freak," Longbottom huffed furiously.

"Yeah, I'm surprised myself," Lupin admitted as he looked up from the book he had been reading in.

"Do you think he hexed her?" Longbottom asked while he looked with raised eyebrows at Lupin. "Maybe he confunded her and she doesn't really want to be with him."

Lupin sighed at his friend's hopeful expression. "No. She didn't appear to have been hexed."

Longbottom leaned angrily back against the sofa he was sitting on. Then he continued to glare furiously at nothing in particular and mumbled angrily away to himself.

After a while he lost his temper again and burst out, "She can't be serious. Riddle's a creep. An evil creep. How can she like him? After all the things he did."

A few other Gryffindors threw curious glances Longbottom's way. The three friends were currently sitting in the Gryffindor common room and Longbottom was still more than angry about finding out about Hermione and Riddle.

"Well, we can't do anything about that," Weasley said softly thus trying to calm his friend down.

He stiffened as Longbottom now glared angrily at him. "She can't have forgotten all the things Riddle did to her before the break," he hissed enraged. "I mean he tried to ruin her reputation. And then that disgusting snake even threatened her."

"Yeah," Weasley conceded. "But she told us that she met Riddle during the break. Maybe he apologized to her."

Longbottom just drowned Weasley in an incredulous look. "Like that git would ever apologize to anyone!" he bellowed irately. "And even if, how can she forgive him?"

"Well, whether he apologized or not, obviously Hermione has forgiven him," Lupin said in a collected voice. "Think about it, Marc, Riddle never tried to curse her or really hurt her. Hermione barely knows him for a few months. She has no reason to hate him."

Longbottom now glowered darkly at Lupin who just continued to look back at him stoically.

Then Longbottom spat at him bitingly, "Never tried to hurt her? You haven't seen what happened during Slughorn's party."

Lupin raised his eyebrows in question at him so Longbottom continued his rant.

"Back then I've only left Hermione for a few minutes but when I found her again Riddle had already cornered her. And he had grabbed her by her wrist!" Longbottom clamoured furiously. "I'm sure he was about to hit her. There was this evil glint in his eyes."

"Are you really sure?" Lupin asked unbelieving as he frowned at Longbottom. "I just don't think Hermione would let anyone treat her that way."

Longbottom threw his arms up in frustration. "You know Riddle! He's an evil bastard!" he exclaimed rabidly. "What can Hermione do against him? She's just too nice."

Then Longbottom continued to badmouth Riddle while he started to question Hermione's soundness of mind. His two best friends tried to calm him down a little. But the blond Gryffindor was just too enraged to listen to them. He was really angry with Hermione.

After some time the three of them saw Hermione enter the common room. Her eyes quickly darted to the three boys sitting on the sofa. She hesitated shortly but before she could walk over to them, Longbottom looked away from her pointedly and crossed his arms before his chest. A sad expression crept on her face as he was ignoring her. Then Hermione turned towards the stairs and continued her way to the dorm. All the while she completely ignored the curious glances the other occupants of the room were throwing her way.

Hermione felt horrible as she made her way to her dorm. Obviously Longbottom was not going to forgive her anytime soon. That angry and even disappointed expression on his face had told her so. As she entered her dorm she instantly retrieved Peverell's manuscript from her trunk, flopped down on her bed and quickly drew the covers shut around her before her dorm mates could storm into the room and start to question her. Then she eyed the book lying in her lap. Was this her only hope? Or something that could spoil her happiness? She wasn't sure anymore what it meant. Her thoughts wandered back to the Library. She had felt so comfortable as she had sat there snuggled against Tom. It was such a nice feeling having him around.

Hermione's fingers skimmed over the old leather binding of the book. After they had left the Library again she had told Tom that she still had some homework to do for History of Magic and that was why she needed to return to her dorm. It had been a lie. Her essay for professor Binns was already lying finished on the table beside her bed. There was no essay she had to write, there was only this thing, Hermione thought as she looked down at the small book in her lap. She felt guilty for having to lie to Tom but she also felt guilty because she had neglected the book for so long. It still was her mission to somehow find a way back in her proper time period, wasn't it? Still, she was loath to continue that book. After she had finally achieved to steal it during the break that book had seemed to be her last chance to find a way home where she belonged. Now it was just an irksome remainder of a duty she still had to fulfill but slowly began to question.

Hermione sighed as she slowly opened the book. Then she reluctantly began to read. Peverell's way of describing magic annoyed her now. It was complicated and just unintelligible. Hermione read for some time until again she came upon one of his personal notes. As she read it she instantly understood the importance of the entry. She would have been excited by it before, now it only scared her.

After I racked my brain for weeks and weeks I finally decided on the object I would create to win the challenge between my brothers and I. I needed it to be powerful and deeply magical. There is really only one thing that is nearly as powerful as a magician himself and that is the wand he uses. So I decided to create an entirely new kind of magical object by combining the venerable craft of wand making and the art of creating magical objects. Now that I have seen the possibilities I know that those two formidable arts belong together. They are so similar and yet so different. They complete each other and seem to be nothing without the other. My brothers will be very astound when we will meet in nearly a year time, because I will surely win our challenge. I have set my mind on creating the perfect magical object, bound to be the most powerful creation ever made.

I will create an unbeatable wand.

With a loud thud Hermione hastily closed the book. Her breathing was quickened as she stared down at the book in her hands. As she read Peverell's last words she realized that subconsciously she had been hoping for some time now that the book was a dead end. She lifted it up with a trembling hand. While she tried to suppress that lump of guilt in her stomach she got up from her bed and hid Peverell's manuscript again in that secret compartment in her trunk.

I'm going to read it later, she promised herself, though she knew damn well that there was no real reason why she didn't continue the book now.

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"I can't believe he wants to spend time with that ugly trollop!" Lestrange exclaimed loudly.

"I dunno about the trollop," Avery sniggered darkly. "But she's not that ugly, is she?"

"You've gotta be kidding me," Lestrange hissed at him. "Her hair looks like a pot scraper and she's totally insolent."

"She just needs someone showing her her place," Avery countered. "If you know what I mean," he added while winking in a dirty way.

"DeCerto still is one insufferable Gryffindor," Alba threw in the conversation angrily.

His magic was still damaged due to the fact that Riddle had thrown that dark curse at him after he found out they attacked DeCerto. Alba still held that against DeCerto.

What a bunch of idiots, Malfoy thought as he followed the other boys' ranting. He really couldn't understand how those fools dared to doubt Riddle's decisions like that. If he ever found out, they were in big trouble. A small smirk appeared on Malfoy's face and he turned back to the book in his hands. He had no intention of participating in that potentially dangerous conversation.

"I'm sure Riddle's just playing around with her," Avery said slowly.

"Of course he is," Lestrange sneered at him. "But surely he can find someone better than her."

Malfoy suppressed an evil snigger as he heard that. Was that stupid prick trying to get himself killed? If Riddle ever found out about this, Lestrange would be in so much trouble.

Currently they were all sitting in the sixth years' dorm. They often did that when they felt the need to discuss things they didn't want the other Slytherins to hear. No-one of the other students would dare to burst into the room they knew Tom Riddle was living in. Today Malfoy had come here to have a bit quiet and finish his book. Unfortunately, his dorm mates as well as Avery who was a seven year had decided to force their annoying presence on him. Malfoy was sitting in one of the armchairs while the other three boys lounged on the sofa right beside him. So it was rather impossible for Malfoy to ignore their conversation.

Right now they were discussing Riddle's newest fling. Malfoy himself had been rather surprised, to say the least, as he had seen Riddle snogging that Gryffindor girl in the middle of the Great Hall. He had not been surprised by the act in itself but more by the girl. DeCerto just didn't seem to be a girl Riddle would like. Lestrange had been right after all. DeCerto was certainly not the prettiest of girls in Hogwarts and she really was incredibly impudent. Then again she had managed to beat those idiotic boys single handedly, Malfoy remembered as his eyes wandered back to the boys sitting on the sofa. Not that he thought those gits were really powerful opponents to begin with. But still, DeCerto seemed to be quite gifted for a witch. Riddle had always been interested in power. DeCerto certainly was intriguing. Malfoy remembered that day before the Christmas break as they had cornered DeCerto and then dragged her to the Forbidden Forest. Back then Riddle had hit her with the Cruciatus curse but the girl had still refused to tell him what he wanted to know. Malfoy knew how it felt to be hit by the Torture curse. He shuddered as he remembered that unbearable pain. He had been a little impressed by DeCerto then. Riddle was very intimidating when he really wanted to extract information from someone. But DeCerto had never caved in. Malfoy had no idea what it was Riddle wanted her to tell him but obviously he had changed his strategy now. He wasn't going to take the information by force but tried to pry it from her. That had to be the reason he had so suddenly started to seduce her. Malfoy had to admit that he was quite impressed by Riddle's ability to charm girls. After all Riddle had hit that Gryffindor girl with the Cruciatus curse. It was a miracle that she now allowed him to kiss her. Obviously Riddle could get away with everything.

"That slag really needs to be put in place," Lestrange continued to badmouth DeCerto.

Avery laughed filthily and a rather evil smirk appeared on his face, "I would really enjoy to be the one to make her scream."

Alba looked at him in disgust, "You're twisted. There's no way I would touch that ugly cunt. You don't even know where she comes from."

"What do you mean?" Lestrange asked.

"I mean did you ever hear of any DeCertos before?" Alba replied in a snobbish tone. "I'm sure she's just a dirty mugglewhore."

"You think she's a Mudblood?" Lestrange asked while a disgusted expression appeared on his face.

"At least we cannot rule out that possibility," Alba drawled.

Malfoy shook his head as he heard the new direction their conversation had taken. Now this was really dangerous. They were insinuating that Riddle spent time with a Mudblood. Malfoy knew that Riddle would do a lot of things if he thought they would help him gain whatever he wanted. He was quite the manipulative bastard after all. But even if he tried to get information from DeCerto, Riddle would never touch her if she were a Mudblood. Riddle hated all Muggleborns and Muggles with a passion. Even Malfoy, who had grown up in a rather prejudiced family, had been surprised by the aversion Riddle held for Muggles. Malfoy assumed that Riddle hated them because he had had to grow up in a filthy Muggle orphanage. Riddle would still curse anyone who brought up this family back ground of his. Malfoy could understand that he tried to hush up that embarrassing part of his life. Malfoy shuddered as he remembered what Riddle had done to the poor soul who had last tried to ridicule his parentage. He still wondered how Riddle had managed to come out of that one without a stain on his clean slate.

To sum it up, yes, Riddle was a little… touchy when it came to his parentage. Malfoy was pretty sure that Riddle was no Mudblood even if he had to grow up amongst Muggles. He couldn't prove it but he was quite convinced that Riddle was the Heir of Slytherin. Those attacks on Mudbloods last year were just Riddle's style. But if Riddle really was the Heir of Slytherin, then he was also responsible for the death of that girl last year. So Riddle didn't even shy away from murder. Not that Malfoy was really surprised.

Malfoy's eyes slowly wandered over the group of boys sitting on the sofa. They really shouldn't talk like that about DeCerto. Not when Riddle was interested in her.

"I would so like to curse that disgusting girl," Lestrange hissed rather darkly.

You already tried that, idiot. Didn't work out as you planned, did it? Malfoy sneered at the other boy in his mind.

"After Riddle loses interest in her we could have our fun with her," Avery proposed in a low voice.

Malfoy doubted he was only talking about cursing the girl. Avery had quite the warped mind. But he didn't really care what Avery wanted to do to DeCerto so Malfoy turned back to his book.

"I really hope you are not talking about Hermione here." Malfoy stiffened as he heard a quiet but all the same icy cold voice. "For your own sakes," the voice added with dark amusement.

Malfoy dared to look up from his book and found Riddle standing by the door of the common room. He could see that Riddle had carefully arranged his features into a mask of boredom but there still was a murderous glimmer shining in his eyes.

"So, my choice doesn't meet your standards?" Riddle asked in a light, almost conversational voice while he strode over to the small sitting area in the dorm.

His gaze swiftly wandered over the three boys sitting on the sofa and as Malfoy saw that disturbing cold glint in Riddle's eyes he was glad that he hadn't participated in the previous conversation. He barely dared to breathe as Riddle had finally reached them and sat down in one of the chairs opposite from him. Luckily Riddle didn't pay Malfoy any attention but faced the other boys.

Malfoy dared to carefully glimpse at Riddle. He sat casually in the chair and looked with mild interest at the three boys. Malfoy wasn't fooled by Riddle's show of nonchalance. There were unmistakably traces of his dark magic in the air. As Riddle's gaze wandered slowly over the boys in front of him there appeared a vicious glint in his steel hard eyes.

"I had hoped you would take my little rebuke at heart," Riddle now said in his strangely light tone which made the hairs on the back of Malfoy's neck stand on end.

"Especially you, Lestrange," Riddle continued and there now was an evil smirk on his face as his hard gaze swept over Lestrange's bandaged hand.

"We would never doubt your choices," Lestrange chocked out in fear.

"Hmmm…" Made Riddle and the lack of emotion on his face was quite frightening.

"She… she's a Gryffindor," Alba finally and very stupidly blurted out what probably everyone of them was thinking.

Malfoy could see a dangerous crimson tinge appear in Riddle's eyes as they flashed at Alba, though he still managed to reign in his obviously angry magic.

"So what?" Riddle hissed.

For once Alba showed a little common sense and remained silent as he stared in fear at Riddle but avoided to meet the other's eyes.

"Do you think I care about what that stupid sorting hat says?" Riddle spat and his authoritative voice was tinted with cold anger now. "Which, by the way, was created by that same Gryffindor you so despise."

He continued to stare at the boys and there was now a deathly cold glint in his eyes. The other Slytherins squirmed uncomfortably in their seats. But no-one dared to say anything as they were suddenly hit by that raw magic Riddle seemed to emanate.

Malfoy inhaled deeply and tried to suppress the upcoming fear. Riddle sat elegantly on the chair as if he had no concern in the world but his hate and malice was flowing from him in form of his vicious magic. Malfoy gulped nervously as his eyes glided inconspicuously over Riddle's form. He wondered how Riddle managed to maintain that front of the perfect and innocent student in the eyes of the staff when he was in fact the most dangerous wizard Malfoy had ever met. And he had met a few of them back in his father's manor, even some of Grindelwald's closest followers. The fact that Riddle's halo never slipped in front of others made him even more intimidating.

Malfoy flinched as Riddle suddenly leaned forwards in his chair.

"I think I was really indulgent with you so far." Riddle's voice was now a whisper but that didn't dim the fearsome tint in it. "Haven't I already told you in a very nice way to stay away from Hermione?"

Malfoy was very disturbed as he could see that Riddle had drawn his wand now and twirled it elegantly through his fingers.

"But you impose on my kindness and insist in troubling her, don't you?" Riddle inquired and by now his voice had completely lost the light touch it had at the beginning of this conversation. It was a hiss with an edge of malice in his tone.

"No, no," Avery whined and there was now panic in his voice. "We would never go against your word!"

"Yes, that is what you say now," Riddle replied and there appeared a dark and sinister smile on his face. "But I think a little reminder is in order? So you don't forget who is in command here."

Malfoy then saw Riddle waving his wand. Even though Riddle did the spell nonverbal Malfoy had recognized the wand movement. It was obviously a Silencing spell which now spanned around the dorm. Riddle didn't want anyone to hear what was going on in the dorm it seemed. Again Malfoy was very glad that he hadn't taken part in the other boys stupid ranting as now the furious dark magic Riddle emanated even intensified.

"Now, I don't want you to scare away any first years with your screaming and begging, would I?" Riddle explained amused as he could see the fear in the eyes of the three boys in front of him. The lack of any emotion in his voice other than this cruel amusement was disturbing.

Riddle slowly got up from his seat and started to calmly pace in front of the other boys. He seemed to be totally at ease and was rather enjoying the whole situation as a sick smirk twisted up his features. All the while Malfoy could feel Riddle's magic crackling around him forcefully, now and then angrily lashing out for the three Slytherins on the sofa. Finally the fear radiating from those three had escalated so far that Malfoy could almost feel it in the air. He nearly jumped as his eyes wandered back to Riddle and he now saw a feral smile curling up the corners of his mouth. Then Riddle raised his wand and pointed it at Alba. Alba stiffened in fear as he saw that pale wand aimed at him.

"Please, I'm sorry," Alba whined panicky. "I would never disobey you."

Riddle just chuckled eerily. The fearsome red gleam in his cold eyes intensified then he hissed in a vicious tone,

"Crucio."

{{{{{{{{+}}}}}}}}

Hermione woke up the next day and it already started horribly. As she crawled out of her four-poster she was greeted by her dorm mates. Lucia and Rose were sitting on Lucia's pink bed while Diana and Violet stood nearby. All of them wore expressions of curiosity on their faces. Hermione really didn't have to guess what exactly they wanted to discuss right now. Yesterday she had slipped back into the common room without talking to anybody. She had even avoided her friends or, more precisely, Longbottom. She knew it was rather cowardly but she somehow was afraid to face Longbottom again. He had been really angry with her as he had found out about her and Tom.

But right now, she had other problems as her four dorm mates still fixed her with their inquisitive stares. Hermione just stared back at them, unwilling to give them any information voluntarily.

After a while of staring at each other Rose asked her with barely suppressed nosiness, "So, slept well without your Prince Charming?"

Yep, they definitely wanted to squeeze more information out of her, Hermione thought frustrated. She looked at Rose with raised eyebrows.

Actually no. I always need a man in my bed to feel well. That was what Hermione wanted to tell them, just to see their faces. It would be hilarious.

Instead Hermione sighed and replied politely, "Yes, thank you."

"Ha, we knew you would become his new girlfriend," Lucia all but squealed in delight. "You are such a lucky girl"

"Yeah!" Rose contributed to the conversation. "You've been here for just a few months. But you managed to get what every girl here wants."

Hermione just frowned at her. She very much doubted that any girl would want to be stuck in this moral dilemma she was in right now.

"You allowed Riddle to kiss you in front of the Great Hall," Viola stated in her gruff tone. "That was rather daring, don't you think?"

Hermione was confused by Viola's comment. Though Longbottom had said something similar yesterday. Why was it such a big thing that Tom had kissed her in public? Hermione wondered while she tried to hold her own against those inquisitive stares she was still hit with.

"You really shouldn't have done that." Hermione's eyes wandered to Diana and she was again mesmerized by those emerald green eyes, Harry's eyes. "If a teacher had seen you, you would have been in trouble," Diana chided in her soft voice while she scanned Hermione concerned.

"Aw, Diana. Don't spoil everything," Rose exclaimed. Then she took one of Lucia's pink pillows and hugged it against her chest while there appeared a glassy look in her eyes. "That was just perfect, how he kissed her. Sooo romantic."

Lucia nodded eagerly while she broke down in giggles. Hermione on the other hand was starting to feel sick. That was just a tad bit too much girls' talk for her to stomach. So she turned away from her dorm mates and opened her trunk. A sick feeling of guilt tore at her as her gaze glided over the part of her trunk where she knew the Peverell manuscript was hidden in. She hadn't continued reading the book yesterday despite the fact that she had had plenty of time to do so. Well, she couldn't read it now, Hermione reasoned with herself. Not with all her dorm mates around and by the way today was Monday. She had to go to the classes. So she just pulled her uniform out of the trunk before she walked over to the bath room.

Unfortunately Hermione didn't really manage to escape her dorm mates. They insisted in accompanying her down to the Great Hall. All the while they were chattering happily about Hermione and her new relationship. But during the last few months Hermione had grown quite proficient in blocking out their annoying voices. Though that didn't help her to heighten her spirits as now her thoughts wandered back to the book lying in her trunk.

They passed the Gryffindor common room and Hermione wasn't really surprised that she was hit by many curious and a few hostile stares. She could see no way to evade the other students any longer. Now that she walked the crowded corridors of the castle in direction to the Great hall she realized that Hogwarts buzzed with the newest rumour. Though now that Tom had kissed her in the Great Hall Hermione doubted that it could be classified as a rumour anymore. Whatever her relationship with Tom was, it seemed to be the most favourite gossip topic in the school. Hermione could almost feel the stares following her wherever she went. Some of them were just curious whereas others would be better described as glares. Evil dark glares actually.

As she arrived in the Great Hall and had her breakfast it got even worse. Obviously it wasn't only the Slytherin and Gryffindor students who were interested in her new relationship but the other houses as well. Hermione got a little irritated by the constant stares. She glanced at Tom's direction but couldn't find him at his table. She wondered where he was but then decided to end her breakfast early as she couldn't eat anyway with all those curious eyes around her.

It was a mystery to her why her relationship with Tom had caused such an uproar. Obviously Tom had had a few girlfriends before her. Pseudo-girlfriends or fake-girlfriends Tom would probably call them. But he had had quite a lot of them. So why was it suddenly such a big thing that Tom Riddle had a new girlfriend? As Hermione stood up from her seat she saw Lupin and Weasley walking over to her.

"Morning," Lupin greeted her and Hermione couldn't help but notice that concerned glint in his eyes as he looked at her.

"Good morning," she mumbled awkwardly.

Then she glanced at Longbottom. He still sat at the table and ignored her as best as he could, Hermione noted sadly. Obviously Lupin had noticed where she had looked at as the pity in his eyes intensified.

"He's not going to talk to me again, is he?" Hermione asked in a soft voice.

"He's just disappointed, Hermione," Lupin replied.

"I'm sure he'll get over it," Weasley tried to cheer her up while he smiled at her encouragingly. Hermione could see the doubt in his eyes.

"Why didn't you tell us about Riddle before?" Lupin suddenly asked her reproachfully.

Hermione bit her lip as she stared at him then she said in a small voice, "I just wasn't sure about it myself. And… I didn't want you to be angry with me."

Lupin sighed then he said while he eyed Longbottom, "Well, that is exactly what you managed."

Hermione looked down at her feet and whispered, "I'm sorry."

She raised her head as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Lupin looked down at her and she could again see that concern in his eyes.

"No need to apologize," he told her gently. "We're just worried about you. I know most teachers and students think Riddle is a nice guy." He paused shortly as if he tried to find the right words to soften the blow then he said in a grave tone, "But there is something wrong with him. I think you should be really careful around him. Riddle is dangerous."

Hermione stared at him. What could she reply to something like this? That Tom was not dangerous at all? That would have been a lie. And there were already enough lies in her life as it was.

"You don't need to worry," she said and opted to be as truthful as she could be under the circumstances. "Tom's not going to do anything to me."

There was again the doubt on both her friends' faces as they eyed her concerned. They obviously thought that either Tom was using her to gain something or that he was just playing a cruel game with her. Judging from Tom's behaviour up until now Hermione could see where their concern came from.

"We just don't want you to get hurt," Weasley said softly.

Hermione cast him a small smile. "I'll be careful," she insured, trying to assuage their concern.

Later Hermione was on her way to the Potions class room. On her own, she realized with a pang. Longbottom had still not spoken one word with her. Weasley and Lupin had wanted to accompany her to the class room. But Hermione had known that Longbottom would never join them if they were with her. She really didn't want to take away his best friends. The other reason was that both of them would every so often glance at her with a concerned frown on their faces and then sigh. They were apparently thinking she was making the biggest mistake of her life by staying with Tom – which she probably was but she didn't need them to remind her of that. So she had told Weasley and Lupin that she would walk alone to potions. She slowly regretted that now as she was rather exposed to all those stares following her. So she was glad as she arrived in the dungeons and the Potions class room. She stepped into the room and was again hit with nasty glares.

Out of the pan and straight into the fire, she thought dryly as she slowly made her way to her seat.

Most of the other students already sat on their places. Hermione's eyes quickly darted to her Gryffindor friends' table. Lupin looked back at her curiously as if he still tried to understand her decision. At least there was no hate in his gaze. Weasley who sat right beside Lupin looked at her a little compassionately. Hermione cast the both of them a small hesitant smile. As her eyes wandered from them to Longbottom her stomach flopped and the smile on her face quickly died down. Longbottom had his eyes narrowed at her and she could see the suppressed anger in them. He seemed to be enraged by her pure presence. As Hermione stared at him she suddenly heard a hard voice coming from behind her,

"So there you are dirty whore."

Hermione turned around and looked at the group of Slytherin girls sitting at the back of the class room. They all glared at her evilly.

"The nerve of you!" one of the girls spat at her aggressively. Hermione recognized her. It was Susan Yaxley and she had never liked Hermione. "You come from Merlin knows where and have the impudence to steal our men. And don't think we don't know about what you did to Melanie, bitch."

Hermione raised her eyebrows at the girl's apparent disgust. She really seemed to hate her. Though it was rather ridiculous what she suggested. It sounded as if she had forced Tom to stay with her.

"You're just jealous, Yaxley." Hermione frowned at Rose who now stared at Yaxley triumphantly. "Because a Gryffindor is now Riddle's girlfriend and not one of you snake-women."

Hermione didn't know if she should cry or laugh now. It was so absurd. Those girls were quite the nuisance. She didn't really care what the girls thought about her so she just turned away from them and continued her way towards her seat. All the while she ignored that heated discussion which had now broken loose between Slytherin and Gryffindor girls.

Hermione could feel her stomach clench as she realized that this time neither of her friends had defended her. Something they normally would have done. She glimpsed in their direction and Hermione's heart sank as she found Longbottom staring out of the window. He seemed to really insist on ignoring her. She felt a little better as she saw that Lupin and Weasley cast her encouraging smiles. But obviously they, too, thought that she had to solve her little popularity problem alone.

Hermione sighed softly as she sat down at her table which wasn't that pleasant an experience as she shared it with Malfoy. He already sat at the table with an empty seat between the both of them. Hermione tried to ignore Malfoy's eerie and calculating glances while she wondered where Tom was. She retrieved her things from her school bag and arranged them on the table. Then she reached for her potions text book and began to read, all the while she tried to ignore the other students and the whispered conversations that were going on around her.

_._._._._

Tom still sat in the Slytherin common room and he knew he would have to skip breakfast if he wanted to be on time for potions. But still this thing here was more important, he decided as he stared down at the Auror report. The word 'confidential' was written in red letters across the front of the thin folder but Tom ignored it completely and flipped through the pages. Malfoy had handed him the report this morning. Obviously his contacts into the Auror department had been successful and Malfoy had managed to complete the task Tom had given him last. Not that Malfoy had another option. Tom never accepted failure. Malfoy would have regretted it very much if he had disappointed Tom.

Last week Tom had ordered Malfoy to find out everything he could about that theft which occurred in Nicolas Flamel's flat. Tom had read about the theft in an article in the Daily Prophet. It had caught his eye because there were quite a few odd coincidences that made Tom suspect Hermione had broken into Flamel's flat. Finally, Malfoy could present him some results. It wasn't much but enough.

Tom turned the next page over. There he found a list of the objects that had been stolen from Flame's flat. It wasn't a long list. According to the report the only thing stolen during the theft was a book written by one Ignotus Peverell. Tom's eyes widened as he read that name. He, of course, knew who Peverell was. He was a legend in magical history. One of the greates wizards ever. A book written by Peverell himself was nothing short of invaluable. Tom wondered longingly what wonders of magic would be stowed inside of the pages of that book.

As exciting as that discovery was Tom continued to skip through the Auror report until his eyes landed on the witnesses' statements. Those people hadn't seen the actual crime but could at least tell the Aurors who had entered the house during the time the theft took place. As Tom scanned the list of the witnesses he frowned. Only Muggles! he thought disgusted but he still read the statements. It seemed that some of the witnesses had seen a bunch of dark cloaked men entering Flamel's flat around the time the theft must have taken place. That information was intruiging. Tom remembered how Hermione had been hunted by men clad in black as he had met her for the first time during the Christmas break. That had been the day Flamel had been robbed. As Tom read on he came upon something that was really interesting. It seemed that one of the witnesses had seen a woman entering the house. He described the woman as young with long curly brown hair.

Tom sat back in the Slytherin sofa while a small smirk appeared on his face.

Finally all the clues and his suspicions came together. He had been right! He'd known it since he had read that article in the Daily Prophet. Here it was, the evidence. The sighting of that strange woman combined with the black cloaked men finally turned his previous assumption into fact. The day the theft had taken place Tom had run into Hermione in the vicinity of Flamel's flat while she had been hunted by men in dark cloaks.

It was Hermione. She broke into Flamel's flat. Judging by the hostile behaviour of the men in black, she had also managed to steal the book written by Peverell. Tom's eyes glided again over the Auror report lying in front of him. The question remained to be why Hermione had stolen the book. That girl was just full of secrets, it seemed. Tom intended to solve them all.

It was some time later that he entered the Potions class room. The Auror report was safely stowed away in the Slytherin dorm but Tom's thoughts still swirled around this new discovery of his. So as he stepped into the class room his eyes instantly darted to Hermione. Right now she sat at their table and was occupied with arranging her potion supplies. Her curly hair was falling into her face as she leaned over the wooden box. Involuntarily a small smile appeared on his face as his eyes wandered over her. Since he knew Hermione she had always been full of secrets. It certainly was a challenge to uncover them all. Tom didn't doubt that in the end he would surely solve them all.

Sadly the Peverell problem was just one of her many secrets, Tom decided as his gaze wandered slowly over her form. She had always been a mystery, bursting with secrets and half-truths. The longer he knew her, though, the more secrets he managed to uncover. She had even willingly given some of them away. It had shocked him quite a bit as she had unveiled that she had had to fight in a war. Granted she hadn't told him much but she had nevertheless shared a little of her past with him. At the very least now he knew why there sometimes was so much grief and sorrow in Hermione's hazel eyes. He didn't like the reason at all.

His furious magic died down as he again scanned her, still sitting at the table. She hadn't noticed him yet. Somehow Tom was glad that she had told him a little about her past. He knew it meant she finally started to trust him. He was pretty sure that she had told no-one but him about her past. Not even her so-called friends knew about it, he thought a little haughtily as his eyes darted briefly to the three Gryffindor boys.

She trusts me, Tom thought satisfied as his gaze wandered back to Hermione. As he looked at her this avidly feeling was back again. He wanted to possess her. The urge to own her was still as demanding as ever. The greed always ripped at him. Now that she was his girlfriend Tom knew the the bond between them had solidified. She belonged to him and he was never going to let her go again.

Though now that he looked at her Tom had to admit that aside from the greed there was something else. It was strange and completely alien to him. He had consciously noticed it for the first time as she had broken down the night after the Quidditch match. She had seemed to be so desperate and frightened then. As he had seen her in this vulnerable state Tom had found himself wanting to console her. He had wantend to protect her. Tom had never before felt the need to comfort or protect another person. He had never cared about anybody but himself. Though now, that seemed to have changed slightly. He had yet to decide if that new feeling of his was a good or bad thing.

As he looked at Hermione he suddenly noticed an angry frown between her eyebrows. She seemed to be a little irritated, annoyed even. Tom had an inkling of why she seemed to be a little aggravated. He had noticed all this chatter going on around him after all. But he was quite satisfied that aside from that anger Hermione seemed to be okay. She didn't appear to be tired or exhausted this morning. That meant she obviously didn't have another of her nightmares. Tom was relieved. He didn't want her to have to go through all those horrible dreams.

Here I go again with wanting to protect her, he realized somewhat amused.

Though that wasn't going to stop him to try to solve her many secrets. She hadn't told him anything about Peverell's book after all. Whatever Tom felt towards her he wasn't going to tolerate her tendency to have her secrets from him. And if she wasn't willing to tell him, well, then it seemed he had to find out himself, Tom decided as he continued his way towards her.

Hermione tried to sort her potions ingredients so she had something to occupy her with and didn't need to pay attention to the other students in the room. She just rummaged through her dried salamander tails as she felt someone sitting down beside her. She looked up and found Tom smirking down at her.

"Good morning," he purred at her with his smooth voice.

"Mornin'," Hermione replied rather unenthusiastically. Though she was really glad he was here now. At the very least he had stopped that stupid chatter.

Tom arched one eyebrow elegantly before he said with a good amount of sarcasm in his tone, "You are quite the sunshine today, aren't you?"

Hermione ignored that but asked him reproachfully, "Why are you so late?"

Tom didn't comment on her irritated tone but replied, "I had to sign-in for the apparition lessons." Then he leaned casually back in his chair and eyed Hermione amused before he scoffed, "You know, I completely forgot about it because I had to convince this stubborn Gryffindor girl that I am unresistable."

Hermione narrowed her eyes and glared at him darkly. Then something struck her and she started to giggle. She leaned in to Tom, which caused some of the girls sitting in the class room and Longbottom to stare at her angrily. Then Hermione whispered teasingly in Tom's ear,

"Does that mean the powerful Tom Riddle doesn't know how to apparate?"

Tom frowned down at her which only caused the smirk on Hermione's face to widen. Obviously she had been right.

"What about you then, my dear?" Tom jibed. "You never showed me your apparition licence. Did you even got one before you started to apparate people around against their will?"

"Of cou-" Hermione started dismissively before she stopped herself. Well, she did have a licence though that was dated to the year of 1996. It wouldn't be exactly a good idea to show Tom her licence, would it?

She glanced at Tom. He was still looking in expectation at her with an annoyingly innocent smile on his face.

"I never took the test," Hermione mumbled grudgingly.

Tom just tsked at her in a reprimanding way before he turned away and started to get his things from his school bag.

"As if you never broke any rules," she hissed at him.

Which only made him chuckle infuriatingly as he placed his quill and parchment neatly on the table. Fortunately for Tom, as Hermione now really wanted to hex that smirk off his face, professor Slughorn entered the class room. He smiled widely at his students as he made his way towards his desk.

"Good morning, good morning," he greeted them with his booming voice. "How very nice to see you all again after such a long break."

Hermione watched how he now pulled his wand and swiftly waved it at the blackboard behind him. Instantly white letters appeared. She took in a sharp breath of air and her hands grabbed the edge of the table tightly as she read the instructions for the potion they would brew next. She had totally forgotten about that! Her head began to swirl and her eyes darted nervously towards Tom and then back to the blackboard. But the writing was still there.

"Are you alright?" Hermione stiffened as she heard a gentle voice whisper to her.

"Y..yes," she mumbled softly but avoided it to look at Tom.

Luckily he couldn't question her further as now Slughorn said in his cheerful voice,

"As promised, we will now start to brew the Ortus Potion. It is quite the difficult potion-" Hermione could hear some groans coming from the Gryffindor side of the class room. "-but I am sure most of you will succeed."

Here the professor winked at her and Tom. Hermione nearly rolled her eyes at his enthusiasm. For the first time ever she wanted to fail a class.

The Ortus Potion! How could that have escaped her mind? The stupid thing could very well be her downfall. She remembered how she had researched that potion before the break. It was an age revealing potion, which was in itself not the problem. The real disaster was that the Ortus Potion didn't determine the age of a person but the actual date of birth. That was really bad. Fatal, if anything. For Hermione's birthday was in 1979.

She had no idea what would happen if the potion was run with her blood. Maybe it would really reveal the year she was born in. Then everybody would know that she was in fact from the future. Or the potion would simply not bear any results at all if run with her blood. That would be more than suspicious as Hermione knew that the Ortus Potion was a very reliable potion. It was a catch-22 situation.

"-you know what to do then." Hermione had completely drowned out professor Slughorn's voice as she had gone straight into her panic attack but now she tried to listen to him again. "Today we start simple, with just brewing the foundation of the potion. The instructions are on the board," Slughorn said as he gestured at the black board behind him. "You may begin."

What to do now, what to do now? Hermione thought frantically as she pulled her wand and shakily waved it to ignite the fire under the cauldron. Somehow she must have waved it a tad bit too much as now her text book, lying on the table, caught fire. Tom pulled his own wand and brandished it quickly at the book. The flames instantly died down. Then Hermione could see how he eyed her with suspicion. At least she was convinced that glint in his eyes was suspicion. He could probably see right through her, she thought panicky.

"You sure you are alright?" Tom asked her concerned.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Hermione replied and really hoped she had managed to ban all the panic from her voice.

Tom continued to look at her and now there was a dangerous frown between his eyebrows.

"Normally you don't set your surroundings on fire," he stated slowly. "At least not accidentally."

"Er… well… I'm just a little over-enthusiastic this morning?" Hermione said in a suspiciously shrill tone.

"Hmm." Tom didn't seem to be very convinced and Hermione squirmed as he continued to hit her with his inquisitive stare.

She breathed out relieved as he then turned away from her and started to light the fire himself. She pretended to read the instructions on the blackboard as her thoughts ran wild in her head.

Calm down, Granger! she told herself.

There was no need to panic like this. At least not yet. To brew the Ortus Potion would take a lot of time, probably the best part of the second semester. So there was still time. She just needed to somehow find a way out of this. She quickly glimpsed at Tom who now started to cut the toadstools. She needed to proceed really cautiously if she didn't want him to notice anything. Tom was terribly perceptive.

For the rest of the lesson Hermione tried to come up with something to ruin that stupid potion. Consecutively she couldn't concentrate on brewing the foundation of the potion and was no help at all. Her clumsiness caused Tom to frown at her a lot. Which caused Hermione to be even more jumpy and that led to quite a few accidents like the one with her text book.

So Hermione was very glad as the lesson finally came to an end. She was even a little impressed that Tom had managed to prevent her from harming anyone with her clumsiness and simultaneously had also succeeded in brewing the foundation despite her questionable help. As Slughorn saw the silvery colour of the potion he praised Tom's work to the skies.

"That is the best work I have ever seen," Slughorn exclaimed happily as he bend over the cauldron full of silvery grey potion.

As he straightened up again he beamed at Tom, Hermione and even Malfoy who also was in their group.

"Twenty points to Slytherin for each of you," Slughorn announced to the two Slytherin boys while he smiled proudly at Tom.

Then his gaze left Tom and Malfoy and he smiled suavely down at Hermione.

"And of course twenty points to Gryffindor. Good work, Ms DeCerto."

Hermione could feel a blush hitting her face as she stared back at the professor. She so not deserved his praise.

{{{{{{{{+}}}}}}}}

It was later that day when classes were over that Tom slowly walked down a corridor. In his hand he clutched a small slip of parchment so tightly that it was completely crumbled now. A third year had delivered it to him as Tom had just left the Slytherin common room to search Hermione who had been rather strange since Potion today.

At first Tom had thought the slip of paper was a letter from Slughorn to invite him to one of his get-togethers. But as Tom had opened the letter he had instantly recognized that fine handwriting. Dumbledore wanted to see him.

Now he walked to the transfiguration professor's office. He had shortly considered to just ignore that summon. But in the end he had to accept that he really didn't have a choice here. What did Dumbledore want from him? Tom's hands balled into tight fists, crumbling the parchment even further. This time he had no idea what the hateful professor could want from him. It was still months until the next break so it couldn't be about him having to go back to London, he reasoned with himself. Whatever it was Dumbledore wanted from him, it couldn't be a good thing. It never was.

As Tom reached the door leading into Dumbledore's office he put the crumbled piece of parchment into his pocket skimming his fingers slightly over his wand as he did so. Then he breathed in deeply before he knocked at the door.

"Enter," Dumbledore answered through the door.

So Tom opened the door and stepped reluctantly into the office of his least favourite teacher. His gaze instantly wandered to the person sitting behind the desk. Dumbledore was wearing one of his ridiculously flamboyant robes and was hitting Tom with one of his glares. Tom looked right back at him. He didn't want to appear shaken by that piercing stare Dumbledore was throwing his way. As he reluctantly walked over to Dumbledore's desk his eyes wandered over the disorder in the office. How could anyone be so messy? Tom felt annoyed at having to obey someone who didn't even have control over his own things. But as it was, Dumbledore still had the upper hand.

"Please, sit down, Tom," Dumbledore said as Tom reached his desk.

Seeing no other option, Tom sat down but remained to be very tense. Dumbledore sat opposite him and looked at him intensely. Tom had no idea what the professor wanted from him but he wasn't going to let that old man play his games with him. So he got rid of all emotions that could have showed on his face and stared coldly back at the professor.

After some time Dumbledore sighed before he said in a soft tone, "I know that you think I hate you, Tom."

Tom couldn't stop his eyebrows from rising up a little as he heard the professor's statement. What was he planning? He really didn't like that grave look on Dumbledore's face.

As Tom neither denied nor agreed with his statement Dumbledore continued, "But that is not true. My behaviour towards you might have appeared as harsh, but I always had only your well-being in mind.

Tom clenched his jaw and had to breathe in slowly to not immediately lose control over his magic. It rushed through him like an angry, burning current which desperately tried to find a way out. He stared into Dumbledore's eyes and was appalled as he saw this fake honesty in them. The hate boiled up in him and he almost trembled from the suppressed force behind his anger. What did Dumbledore plan? Despite his anger Tom knew he had to somehow react to the other wizard's statement. Though he was walking on thin ice here because Tom had no idea where Dumbledore tried to go.

So Tom raised his head slightly and then said in a perfectly controlled voice, "I do know that, professor."

Dumbledore would never buy that, of course, but Tom wasn't going to contradict him. Not when Dumbledore obviously had a scheme after which he was acting now. Tom watched a sad smile taking form on the older wizard's face as his blue eyes still gazed at him so piercingly.

"You have always been a very convincing actor, Tom," Dumbledore told him, still in that unnerving soft voice which was surprisingly not in the least bit accusatory.

What was going on here? Tom wondered in suspicion. Why did Dumbledore suddenly let go of all pretence? They both were acting here. They always did whenever they met. Tom didn't know how to reply to Dumbledore's statement. The professor was acting different today and Tom didn't like that sudden change in his behaviour at all. Surely Dumbledore hadn't summoned him to chat about the tense situation between the two of them. So Tom stared back at Dumbledore and tried to hide his confusion. The last thing he wanted to do was letting show how much Dumbledore unsettled him.

Right now Dumbledore's eyes wandered swiftly over him and Tom saw a strange look of wistfulness in them.

After a while he spoke again, "You are gifted, Tom. You have a talent others would kill to have. Things that appear to be impossible, you can accomplish effortlessly."

As he heard Dumbledore saying that, Tom's mistrust intensified. Dumbledore had never before praised him in any way and Tom doubted the old fool had suddenly found a new affection for him. Tom just couldn't see what the old wizard intended to achieve so he still remained silent.

Dumbledore leaned forward in his chair and eyed Tom sharply before he continued in that same soft voice, "Such talent is a gift not many of us are lucky enough to receive."

Tom could see a strange expression flitting over the older man's face but before he could identify it it was gone again and Dumbledore continued, "But that talent is as much a curse as it is a gift. While you can achieve wonderful things with that talent it is simultaneously incredibly dangerous."

Dumbledore's eyes still fixed Tom with that strange stare and Tom was surprised to see sadness crossing his face.

Then Dumbledore continued in a grave voice, "It is so very tempting to think that because you are so powerful, you are superior to the people around you. That conviction is just one step away from beginning to use your power to force others to do what you think is right. That is the danger lurking behind such extraordinary talent."

Tom nearly frowned at the professor. Why was Dumbledore telling him this? Tom again felt anger bubbling up in him. Did that insane old geezer sent for him just to tell him this rubbish? He was just wasting his time here while listening to this pointless rambling.

"I don't know what you are trying to tell me, sir," Tom said in a polite but all the same icy cold voice.

His anger intensified as he saw a sad smile taking form on Dumbledore's face.

"Of course not," the old wizard said in a sincere and understanding voice which made Tom want to curse him on the spot. "It is very difficult to understand, especially for someone as young as yourself. Let me try to explain it in a more comprehensible way."

Slowly Tom was getting really angered by Dumbledore's patronizing way. His magic still rushed furiously through him and he wanted nothing more than to just give in to that need and release his magic. But Tom tightly controlled his magic and continued to look at the professor with his fake polite interest.

"Since I have met you the first time, Tom, I have known that you are an incredibly talented wizard," Dumbledore continued while he still hit Tom with his penetrating gaze. "I can remember very vividly our first encounter. You have been so young and you had no idea that something like the wizarding world could exist. I have always enjoyed it to introduce young Muggleborn witches and wizards to the magical world. They are always so very excited and surprised to discover this world full of magic and wonders. Just like you, Tom. You have been very excited as you heard about you being a wizard. But unlike the others you haven't been surprised. You already knew that there was something more to you and your powers."

Tom felt very uneasy as he stared back at Dumbledore. He still managed to hide his discomfort behind his mask of politeness but Tom was now definitely alarmed. The most disturbing thing was this expression of sadness or regret he could see on Dumbledore's face.

Tom still managed to appear unconcerned as he listened to Dumbledore's words which were still spoken in this soft voice, "Already you thought you were something special. And you were quite right. You have a natural understanding of magic that cannot be learned from books. That indeed distinguishes you from most wizards. Back then I told you that you were right and that you really were something special. I remember that you were quite happy with that insight." Here Dumbledore stopped shortly and Tom again saw that horrible look of regret crossing the other's face. Then Dumbledore sighed softly before he continued, "But I knew better, Tom. Being special is not something desirable. No, it is a burden. It can misguide us and lead us to doing things that are detestable. I knew of that danger so I decided to help you on your way, to prevent you from going astray and stumble down a path that only leads to grief and sorrow."

Tom felt his temper rising again as he heard those words, spoken in apparent false sincerity. That man really had the audacity to say he wanted to help Tom? His magic started to rip at him again and furiously demanded to be released. Dumbledore had never helped him! He was the one who always punished Tom and sent him back to that abhorrent orphanage every summer. How was that any help?

Tom's hands were clutching the armrest of his chair tightly as he continued to listen to Dumbledore's voice. Still he could hear that fake kindness in the older wizard's tone, "Since you started at Hogwarts I have watched you very closely because I knew about that dark path you have always been confronted with. With increasing sorrow I have seen how you took your first tentative steps down into the darkness until you truly walked this path. It let to you doing horrible things."

Dumbledore's eyes filled with sadness and even pity as he stared at Tom.

"It started with the incident that occurred after your first year. Back then I had already known how very far ahead your were power wise in contrast to your year mates. But I have to admit I had not expected you to already be able to control such powerful magic like you performed during that summer break. It came as I had feared, you used your power to control and to hurt others. I had been shaken as I discovered your crime for I could already see were that path would one day lead you. But as I found out about the crime you committed I decided to protect you, Tom, and not to surrender you to justice. You were just a child back then, and I was convinced that I could still save you."

Dumbledore looked at him and Tom now felt his mask of fake politeness slowly melting from his face. He wouldn't be able to maintain his act for long now. What did Dumbledore have in mind?

"So I took measures to prevent you from again getting in a situation where you would use your powers in the wrong way. You were still so young and I knew that if I managed to keep you away from the temptation, you would eventually see the wrongness behind that path."

"But just as I had decided to keep a closer watch on you there appeared an unexpected threat that had nothing to do with you. It demanded my attention as the appearance of this threat was partly my fault." A tired tinge appeared in Dumbledore's voice as he said that. "So I could no longer watch you as closely as it would have been necessary. Though my absence didn't stop me from hearing about the crimes you committed. I know a lot of them, more than you presume. They were appalling and unsettled me but they were not so severe that I felt the need to intervene. But then last year you did something that again shook me up."

Dumbledore fixed Tom with that piercing gaze again before he said in a grave tone, "I can't prove it, Tom, but I know that it was you who opened the Chamber of Secrets."

Tom stiffened as he heard those words. Obviously Dumbledore didn't expect him to answer to this accusation as he continued in a severe tone, "As I heard about that new crime you committed I was devastated. For it proved that my previous efforts had been in vain and you were still walking down that path I so desperately tried to protect you from. So as I learned that you opened the Chamber of Secrets I knew I had failed to protect you once again for now a death lay on your conscience."

"Even after that incident I still had hope left. I still thought I could tear you away from that path you have decided to follow. That death was dreadful but everything indicated that it had been an accident. So I hoped that you had just made a terrible mistake and that you had never planned to take a life."

Dumbledore shook his head sadly before he continued, "Now, Tom, I am not so sure anymore. Maybe it was I who made mistakes. I have ignored the facts for far too long. Because now, just a few months later, you again broke the laws."

"What are you talking about, professor?" Tom asked calmly as he fought to maintain his self-control.

Dumbledore hit him with a hard gaze as he answered, "I know that you left your orphanage during the break."

Tom couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath of air. How did he know? He stared with wide eyes at Dumbledore. Tom could feel how he slowly lost his cool. Dumbledore was not allowed to know that he had left the orphanage.

Then Dumbledore continued and his voice was now terribly cold, "We had an agreement, Tom. Yet you broke your word. Again. I have given you plenty of chances but it seems nothing gets through to you. You still just do whatever you like."

"I am quite sure you left the orphanage during the summer break too, but this time I can prove it. I have talked with the patron of the orphanage and Mr Carter confirmed that you haven't been there for more than a few days."

Tom stared at Dumbledore. He still managed his face to look blank, but only just. His emotions underneath were swirling.

Dumbledore leaned forward in his chair and looked directly into Tom's eyes as he said in his cold tone, "It appears that my efforts were in vain and you are incorrigible. But don't think I have given up on you, Tom. I won't abandon you. I just have to change my strategy slightly."

Then he again leaned back in his chair but his hard gaze still hit Tom. "I know about the temptation that comes from Dark Magic. Those with an exceptional understanding of magic have always been the ones the most easily to yield to that temptation."

"Before, I have tried to show you the wrongness of your path but it is clear that you are not able to withstand the allurement Dark Magic offers. Now, I will take away the temptation."

Tom's breathing was now quickened as he stared back at the older wizard. Dumbledore still looked at him with that strange sadness showing on his face. But it were his next words that made Tom feel like someone had kicked him in the stomach,

"It is very regrettable, but I will speak with headmaster Dippet about your expulsion."

Tom's eyes widened in shock and his head started to swirl. Then Dumbledore continued and Tom felt sick as he heard that pity in his quiet voice,

"You should not see this as a punishment, Tom, but as a chance to begin anew. On this new way you won't run the risk to succumb to those temptations. I know that it will be difficult at first but it is a necessary step. You are strong, I am sure you can manage."

Tom stared in panic at the older man.

"You can't send me back there," he finally hissed at the professor in a sharp tone. By now he was unable to maintain his self-control.

Dumbledore just looked at him sadly then he said in a horribly soothing tone, "It is not the end of the world. You can still lead a fulfilling life. Even without your magic."

Tom felt the panic now taking a hold of him. He couldn't go back. If he really had to go back into the Muggle world, he would be forced to live in the orphanage for the next two years until he was eighteen. It was worse enough to be send back into that hell during the holidays but he wouldn't stand it to be forced to live there for years. Without any hope. Just the knowledge that there was no way to escape. He would never survive it.

Tom felt his hands starting to tremble slightly.

Memories of his last stay at the orphanage resurfaced again. It had been horrible. He had been locked into that chamber for days, always in fear that Carter would return and hurt him more. No, he could not go back there. Without his magic, he was nothing.

He stared down at his hands laying in his lap. Then he whispered in a soft voice, without looking up at Dumbledore, "Please, don't send me back."

There was a pause but then Dumbledore spoke again and Tom cringed as he heard that finality in his voice, "It is the only way. I will speak with the Headmaster about your expulsion."

Tom slowly raised his head to again look at Dumbledore but he only found conviction and grim determination in the other's eyes. Then Dumbledore said in a hard voice,

"You should go now and pack your things, Tom. Though I am afraid you will have to leave everything behind that can be related to the magical world."

{{{{{{{{+}}}}}}}}

Author's notes: So again another chapter. I have to aplogize for the late update. But I was hit by the famous writer's block. I knew where to go and what to write but it just didn't come out of me. Thus the long wait. I'm sorry.

I still don't like the flow of this chapter. But I really hope you liked it anyway. Quite a few important things happened in this chapter. I somehow got the impression I needed to move the story along. Hope it doesn't appear as rushed.

Next update? Should be in two weeks like always. I'll try to finish. Can just hope my muse won't abandon me again. ^^

Now let me thank all of you who wrote a review. I looove reviews! A lot! So thank you all:

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