Tom Riddle stared at the small witch before him. Her voluminous curls were bound in a thick plait that rested near her hips. Golden tendrils sprung loose in a chaotic halo that graced her heart-shaped face perfectly. The leggy witch reached to Tom's chest, which was considerably tall since the head boy was about six feet himself. He noticed that she had soft smatterings of brown freckles around her button nose and neckline. The devious wizard wanted to see the mark he gave her, his possession for her growing the closer their proximity. But for now, he would play dutiful head boy. Tom Riddle put on his most swoon-worthy smile and began the very game that would forever change both their lives.
"Evening. I'm sure you are a bit startled to see a wizard when Headmaster Dumbledore informed you that head girl Clearwater would be escorting you. Well, I'm sorry to inform you that has recently come upon a few private matters and asked me to fill in. Allow me to introduce myself, I'm-"
"Thomas Riddle, Seventh year and head boy of Hogwarts.", The fiery witch said with a clinical tone. Her eyes quickly took in the dark wizard before her, he was beautiful, breathtakingly so. Even for Fae standards. His pale porcelain clear skin was stretched over angular cheekbones and a broad chin. The wizard's eyes were an inky black that seemed to reach far beyond his age. She noted that although his beautiful smile animated all the loveliness of his face, it never reached his eyes. They remained cold, the sharp bleak eyes of predator upon prey. Hermione was not fooled by this gorgeous man's chipper demeanor. His magical energy was dark and heady. This was no boy. No, this wizard was a man… a dark wizard. What a challenge she internally smirked.
Riddle smiles at her brash nature. He was amused at her ability to obtain knowledge with only being at the school for less than eight hours. This skill could be used for his advancement, however, he would have to make sure to correct this behavior as soon as he had the chance. There's no way he would allow such insubordination. Even a fae princess.
"I see that my reputation precedes me. I'm happy to see that you are up and feeling better. I was so relieved to find out that you were Dumbledore's niece, to believe a faulty portkey could have created so many drastic injuries."Riddle glances at Hermione's rounded ears before flickering his jet black eyes to her soft brown ones with an indecipherable gaze. He continues, "I do hope that you are recovering Ms…?" He outstretches his hand towards the long castle corridor, his perfectly arched eyebrow raised with amusement.
Hermione clenches her teeth in subtle annoyance. This dark foolish wizard most certainly was the culprit behind her transformed ears and perhaps even her memories. She could feel his dark linger magic form her concealed ears and it matched his intoxicating aura. But why?... How much did he know about her? This means he knows she's not really the Headmaster's niece...Were the two working together? Whether Dumbledor was an accomplice or not, Hermione was quite wary of this man. Hermione decided to play it slow. Let this Riddle think she was unaware and coy. She would explore this new environment and gain the information she needed. When she had enough, she would strike. Until then, she would act naive. She knew she was quite pretty, gorgeous even. Hermione personally never worried about looks, not when the most beautiful beings could be so utterly cruel that their visage was nothing more but a mask of mockery to anyone who befell their grace. No, Hermione was not fooled by beautiful men or women for that matter. Though this remained a quality she was proud to possess, she understood the beneficial qualities of beauty and would use it for her gain if need be. So, for now, Hermione would be the distressed damsel nearly everyone thought her to be. She certainly despised acting like a lamb.
Hermione smiled sweetly and give the cunning wizards a manipulative smile of her own. "Granger. Hermione Granger, although I do not remember much. Upon waking up, I did remember my first name. My distant uncle, your headmaster, instantly knew it was me after hearing my name. I suppose this is all because of you. My safe reunion with my uncle that is., "She stared up at the tall wizard and tried to channel sincere gratitude. Hermione was careful to not verbally thank this mortal wizard. The Fae rules of her father's bloodline were ingrained in her very self. She knew it was dangerous to let this man knew she owed him a debt. He did technically save her life, although she was almost certain his reasons were completely sinister. She begins the journey with him to Dumbledore's office.
"The pleasure honestly was all mine, Ms. Granger. I'm sure Headmaster Dumbledore made sure to relay all the information I told him when I found you last night. I wish there was more I could do about your unfortunate circumstances. I'm certainly happy to see that you are safe in the halls of Hogwarts. I'm assuming that you will be continuing your studies here? Where you attending Ilvermorny in America or were you homeschooled?", Riddle continued towards their destination, making sure to take the long unoccupied way. He wanted more time with his new toy.
The witch was quick with her replies. "Unfortunately, I do not remember much. I'm sure that's due to my chaotic landing. I'm hoping with time that I will discover all that's being obscured from me", She stops near a beautiful painting of a field of billowing wildflowers. A small windmill rotated lazily in an eternal summer sky. Riddle observed the fae witch as she gazed at the painting with melancholy eyes. What a perfect opportunity to dive into her mind and see if his memory block was holding up. Tom stared at the painting, pretending to admire the mundane summer scene while he focused on unsheathing each layer of her subconscious. After several minutes did he find it was nearly impossible to even get a grasp into her mind. Riddle was instantly intrigued, though slightly annoyed that his witch was more skilled than he expected. If her mental walls were naturally up then she was skilled in magic, perhaps in more than one type. Tom stared at the small witch before him, she remained completely unaware of his intended intrusion. Was she so naturally gifted that she did not even know of his attempted legilimency?
As if to answer just this very question, Hermoine sighs softly and snaps her eyes to his perplexed ones with avid clarity. "I'm sure we will have many more encounters like this where we can figure out the dynamic of this new situation we find ourselves ensnared in. For now, I would like to continue onwards to my great-uncle's office to be sorted into a Hogwarts house. Shall we perhaps find a shorter route, ?", her voice was sweet and airy though her eyes held an insurmountable depth of cunning malice that Tom found he respected.
He nods silently and the two continue to the Headmaster's Office with no more words spoken. It seemed that both were deep in thought as to how much power the other held.
Tom Riddle watched as his witch disappeared behind the moving staircase leading to Dumbledore's office. He realized that he may have overestimated this little fae witch. She may not be as easy to control as he thought. Although she seemed apt at controlling her emotions, her copper eyes gave away all her hidden turmoil. He wondered did his memory block hold up, He would have to severely incapacitate her if he was to ever get past her defenses. He wasn't sure if fae bodies held the same consequential principles as humans when it comes to magic. He would have to discover how much she really knew as soon as he got the chance. He was for certain that she knew she wasn't that moronic Dumbledore's distant great-niece. The dark wizard nearly rolled his eyes when the Headmaster said this to Tom and Madam Pomfrey upon discovering the battered women.
Tom headed towards his private dormitory, deep in his methodical planning. The intelligent witch was quite tactful with her maneuvering and was most likely trying to figure out her new environment. Tom wondered how old could she really be? Did half-breeds live as long as her fae counterparts? He was not able to find much material about half-fae wizards at Hogwarts library. If he could just find the Founders Chambers! Tom thought bitterly. He was certain there would be loads of information in its secret crypts. Until then he would have to wait until this week's meeting and see if Zabini has found any foreign material on the matter. Riddle's morning was not all a complete failure. He did find out that Rowena Ravelcalw mysteriously disappeared a little bit after Salazar Slytherin left the school. Some say that she went to search for the Slytherin founder, her secret lover. Another lore states that she went to search the world for magical discoveries. Riddle believed that Hermione could be a very close descendant to Rowena Ravenclaw. Given the medieval clothing, though he also didn't know what Fae fashion looked like. After several thorough diagnostic spells did Tom discover that the Ravenclaw pendant was authentic. So she at least knew someone or was the heir of Ravenclaw. This brought Tom back to their recent encounter. Riddle did not like being challenged no matter the subtlety. He had an inkling that not only could his fae witch see through his careful persona but she wasn't as innocent as she portrayed herself to be. Riddle admitted that he found her manipulative tactics extremely attractive, though she could use some critique. For one, her golden eyes gave away every thought her plump lips refused to confess forth. Tom could see her dark potential, he would just have to make sure his fae princess knew her fangs were to never be bared at him. To do so would bring forth much pain and humiliation. Riddle grew hard at the idea of correcting her impudence.