37

"I'm really tired Tom," Granger whispered, as her eye lids fluttered open in a sleepy daze. Tom was carrying her to her dorm with one arm under her knees, and the other holding her upper body against his chest, after she had fallen asleep on the grass. The new dress he had bought her was now slightly damp, as the water from the ground had soaked in, leaving her body slightly cold. She shivered lightly in his arms, while pushing herself closer into his warmth.

"Almost there," he told her, looking down at the beautiful girl in his arms. She nodded her head gently, and let her eyes drop back down, so that her eyelashes curled against her skin. He tried to walk as steady as possible, because he didn't want to disturb her blissful sleep.

"Alohomora," Tom muttered, not even batting an eyelash, and Granger's door flung open.

"Wandless magic. Impressive," she slurred, while keeping her eyes shut. It was obvious that he had, seeing as both his arms were occupied holding her.

The corner of Tom's lip lifted upwards, smiling at the girl in his arms. Hearing her complement him was more pleasant than he thought.

Hermione Granger's room wasn't immaculate like he expected, however he had expected the number of books that were stacked on wooden shelves. Her robes were hung neatly behind the door frame, but the rest of her clothes looked like they had been flung aimlessly at her open drawers, then shut with half the clothes still flowing out. A picture frame rested on her drawers, which contrasted to the rest of her room, as it was perfectly straight, and the metal shone as if she had only polished it a few minutes ago. The picture inside of it was tiny, only pocket-size, and Tom was too far away to see who the picture was of.

He walked her over to her un-made bed, and slowly lowered her down. She stirred lightly in her peaceful sleep, but he managed to tuck her into the covers without her lifting her eyes. However, if she slept in the dress she was in, she was sure to catch a cold. Tom wanted to just leave, seeing as she was safely tucked in her bed, but he couldn't. Instead he sighed, and walked over to the closet.

He rummaged through her clothes, trying to find something suitable she could wear for bed. Deciding on an oversized plain T-shirt, he closed the wardrobe and peered closely at the picture frame. The picture was of her standing next to a tall and happy looking red-head, both smiling with their heads resting against each other. It didn't take a genius to work out who the boy was.

Flipping the frame face down, Tom walked over to wear Granger had snuggled up into her blanket, and kneeled down beside her.

" .Hermione," he whispered softly, shaking her body slightly, trying to wake her up.

"Wha...ugh..shhhh" she stirred, moving her body to face him, but her eyes were still closed.

"I need you to wake up for me; just for 2 seconds. Can you do that?" he said, while placing his warm palm on her cold cheek.

"I'm tired," she moaned, trying to lift her heavy eyelids.

"I know, I just need you to change into something not wet." He placed the t-shirt under the covers and into her hand, and thankfully she started wriggling out of her clothes. He turned around to give her some privacy, although she was under the covers anyway.

Tom waited until the sound of her moving under the covers stopped, and he turned around to see her sleepily staring up at him with droopy eyelids.

"Are you going to stay?"

Her question caught him off-guard, and for a moment he was left with his mouth hanging.

"Why would I stay...? Do you want me to stay?" he managed to ask without stuttering, but a weird feeling was gathering at the pit of his stomach.

"Yes, I...I want you to stay," she replied, but her eyes were already fluttering closed. He could slip his shoes off, and climb under the covers. He could hold her close, and wake up with her in his arms. But the glimmering light that flashed for a millisecond attracted his attention, and he walked over to see what it was.

On her shelf, on top of a book, rested a ring.

I ring with a tiny diamond attached on the band.

A ring with the words "forever yours" carved inside.

"Goodnight Hermione," he muttered, walking back and placing a kiss on her forehead. But she was already asleep.

Abraxas Malfoy watched as Draco Adler, once again, stole another quick glance at the breakfast table. His "glances" were becoming more and more frequent, and he was finding it weirder and weirder.

The boy was interesting looking, with dark black hair that made his pale white skin look even paler. His hair was neatly brushed back, without a strand out-of-place. Just like his.

When he stole another quick glance across the table, Abraxas decided he had enough.

"What are you looking at Adler?" he sneered, narrowing his eyes into intimidating slits. The boy blushed lightly, but duplicated the sneer better than anyone apart from his dad had.

"Are you so full of yourself that you think I'm looking at you."

Abraxas turned to look behind him, to see if their was anything to look at. Sure enough there was a pretty Ravenclaw girl, chatting to her equally hot friend. They both turned there heads at the same time, and went bright red when they saw 2 Slytherine boys staring at them. However, Abraxas had been sure the boy had been looking at him. Instead of saying anything, he shook his friend, and cast his attention on something else.

Hermione Granger was walking towards the Slytherine table, her hair falling in ocean waves around her shoulders. He watched her walk up, taking her usual seat at the other end of the table. She nibbled on the edge of a toasted piece of bread, getting lost in her thoughts. He wondered where her mind had taken her, whether she was thinking of Riddle.

Riddle didn't deserve her. Not in the slightest.