Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, this is just for fun.
AN: Seriously, you guys...over 1200 views and 45 favorites, and that was only from the first two chapters! Holy moly! Thank you all so much for your awesome reviews, they totally made my day 3
"Miss Granger, might I have a word?" Professor Slughorn called as the rest of the class began to file out, and she made her way up to his desk expectantly.
"I'm sorry again for being late, Professor-" she began before he once again waved off her apology with a good natured chuckle.
"Nonsense, Miss Granger, think nothing of it, dear girl! After all, Professor Riddle speaks very highly of you; you've been most helpful to him, I hear." The Professor beamed at her as he strode around his desk.
"That's kind of you to say-" she began before he continued on as if she hadn't been speaking.
"He was a student of mine, once upon a time, did you know? Very talented, I always knew he would do well."
"Oh?" she replied, trying to appear polite, but slightly unsure as to why he was telling her something obviously personal.
"Had a rough go of it in the beginning of course, coming from that dreadful orphanage" he shook his head sadly, seemingly lost in thought and not noticing the look of shock on Hermione's face.
"Orphanage, sir?" she asked in surprise. Had she heard that right? Tom was an orphan?
The Professor seemed to suddenly realize what he said and to whom he had said it, and cleared his throat nervously before attempting to change the subject.
"Well, humble beginnings and all that. The point is, Miss Granger, that you can achieve whatever you set your mind to!"
Hermione furrowed her brow, and nodded. Clearly he wasn't going to elaborate.
"If that's all, Professor, I should be heading to my next class." Hermione asked wondering if there was a point to his rambling.
"Incidentally, I do have a favor to ask, if you're agreeable?" He asked as he rolled the end of his mustache between his fingers.
"Of course, Professor, what can I help you with?" she asked politely, hoping that he wasn't going to try and get her to grade essays for him too.
"You see, quite a few of my potion's ingredients are running low, and I haven't found the time myself to replenish them; Professor Riddle has graciously volunteered his time, however, it really is a job for more than just one person…" he said cryptically.
"You would like for me to assist Professor Riddle with collecting potion ingredients?" she asked, making sure she understood what he was asking her to do.
"Only if you have the time, you understand, I wouldn't want to pull you away from your studies." He answered.
Hermione bit her lip. On the one hand, she already had a lot on her plate, but if she agreed, it would mean more time alone with Professor Riddle. She immediately scolded herself internally for even thinking it, but she was already nodding her agreement before she could stop herself.
"Brilliant! Tom will be pleased that he'll not be undertaking such an arduous task alone." He beamed at her.
Hermione cleared her throat nervously, dreading the question she was about to ask, "And when would we be expected to begin, sir?"
"Tonight would be best; it is a full moon after all, and I wouldn't want to waste the opportunity!"
Hermione groaned inwardly. There is no way she would be able to put him out of her mind if she was constantly being thrust into his presence.
"Excellent, I'll let Tom know to expect you in the entrance hall at ten this evening." Professor Slughorn said jovially as he gave her a dismissive wave and turned his attention back to the stack of essays on his desk.
oOo0oOo
"Hermione, do you think you'll have time to come by the common room tonight? We haven't seen you hardly at all since the start of term." Harry asked as he sat across from her in the Great Hall absent mindedly picking at his food.
She felt her stomach drop to her feet as she looked up from her plate to see Ginny, Harry, and Ron all looking at her expectantly.
"Oh…erm…" she stammered as she nibbled her bottom lip nervously.
Ginny rolled her eyes, "Let me guess, Mr. Wonderful has you grading essays again?"
Hermione scoffed at Ginny's moniker for their Defense Professor, "No, actually. Professor Slughorn's asked me to assist in replenishing his potion ingredients tonight, since it's a full moon and-" she rambled before Ginny held up a hand to stop her.
"So he's sending you, a student, alone into the Forbidden Forest at night?" Ginny asked raising her eyebrows in disbelief.
Oh shit.
"Not exactly…" Hermione hedged, shoving a spoonful of mashed potatoes into her mouth so she wouldn't have to explain.
At this, Ginny's curiosity was piqued.
"So not alone then?" she asked, arching an eyebrow at Hermione.
Hermione felt the tell-tale blush rising to her cheeks, and nodded.
"Mr. Wonderful?" Ginny prodded, her smirk growing exponentially wider, the deeper Hermione blushed.
Just before Hermione could open her mouth to respond, Ginny turned to look at something over Hermione's shoulder, and her face lit up in a beatific smile, "Oh, hello Tom."
The blood drained from Hermione's face; had he heard?
"Ten points from Gryffindor for inappropriately addressing a Professor, Miss Weasley." Tom's silky voice came from behind her, and she wanted to melt into the floor boards. Of course, he would know that it was she who told Ginny his first name.
Ginny had the good sense to look contrite, though Hermione could still see the ghost of a smirk playing at the corner of her lips.
Bitch.
"Miss Granger, I assume Professor Slughorn notified you of the meeting time for this evening?" He questioned stiffly, no trace of the relaxed demeanor he had with her earlier. Was he mad?
"Yes, Professor." She answered automatically, feeling herself relax slightly when she saw the corner of his lips twitch in amusement.
He nodded and continued on past them to the staff table, and Hermione watched as he took a seat beside Professor Slughorn. She hadn't realized she was staring until his dark eyes locked with hers and she quickly turned back to stare at her plate.
"He totally likes you." Ginny blurted out beside her.
"What?!" she asked, her eyes snapping back to Ginny's, "He's a Professor, Ginny, that would be extremely irresponsible, not to mention highly inappropriate." she admonished.
Ginny chewed thoughtfully, and ignored Hermione's offended tone; "That doesn't change the fact that I'm right."
Hermione scoffed. There was no way…
"Why would you say such a thing?" She asked trying to seem unaffected.
Ginny snorted, "Hermione, no offense, but it's pretty obvious."
Was it? Not to her…
"What do you mean? I should think if it was so obvious, he would have been given a stern talking to by the Headmistress, not to mention he'd probably be sacked." Hermione argued.
"Well, he's been subtle about it for sure, but it's obvious if you're paying attention." Ginny explained.
"Well, oh wise one, do enlighten me then." Hermione said trying to sound sarcastic, though truthfully, she really wanted to know.
"Well for starters, he watches you a lot. Then there's the asking for help with the first year essays; I mean do you really expect me to believe that he's incapable of doing that himself? And oh! Now he's conveniently volunteered to help you gather potion ingredients for Professor Walrus?"
"That's Professor Slughorn." Hermione corrected, mulling over Ginny's analysis; she had to admit she had a point. She definitely wasn't going to mention the neck massage, or the fact that he'd shared his lunch with her, or that he'd walked her to class, or the fact that he'd asked her to call him by his given name when he just took points from Ginny for doing the very same thing…
"That's all just speculation. Honestly Gin, a man that gorgeous is surely spoken for." She said without thinking and clapped her hand over her mouth as soon as the words left her lips.
"Or he's a poof." Harry interjected, to which Ron added, "My money's on Poof."
Ginny smacked Ron upside the head and turned back to Hermione with a cheshire like grin, "So you do like him, then."
"Shut it, Ginny!" Hermione snapped even as she bit back a grin.
"It's liberating, isn't it? Say it with me; Professor Riddle is a fine male specimen." Ginny said in a sing-song voice as she draped her arm around Hermione's shoulders and stared blatantly in their Professor's direction.
"On that note, I'm leaving." Hermione chuckled and stood quickly, not missing how Tom's eyes caught hers and the corner of his lips quirked up into a small smile.
oOo0oOo
Tom was already waiting by the door when she arrived in the entrance hall, and she had to mentally remind herself to breathe when she felt his hand land on the small of her back as he ushered her through the castle doors.
For the last hour, she had been pacing frantically in her room over-analyzing every little interaction she'd had with him since the start of term. Part of her wanted to believe that Ginny was wrong, and that he was only being polite, or maybe even that he was gay; though there was a small part that hoped that it was true. Regardless, the conclusion was always the same; no matter what he thought of her, she was a student, and she would not jeopardize her education or her role as Head Girl by encouraging…whatever it was that was happening between them.
As he fell in step beside her, he noticed her shiver.
"Are you cold, Hermione?"
She looked up at him in surprise, focusing once more on what they were there to do, and shook her head.
"No, I'm fine, thanks."
His lips pressed into a firm line, as if he didn't quite believe her, but said nothing. As they reached the perimeter of the Forbidden Forest, he stepped ahead of her, and lit his wand with a muttered, "Lumos".
There were fallen tree branches, and dead leaves littering the familiar path into the woods, and she followed his lead and lit her wand as well. The deeper they moved into the forest, the darker it became, as if the trees themselves blotted out the light from the moon. She was just about to ask how much further they were planning to go, when he stopped suddenly, and held out his hand to silence her.
She held her wand in front of her as her eyes registered the ice crystals that were swiftly forming on a small puddle to her left, that could only mean one thing; dementors.
"Get behind me" Tom whispered as he moved into position, swirling his wand in a complex pattern, and muttering a spell she had never heard before. Light burst from his wand, enveloping them as it lit up the surrounding area enough so that she could see that they were surrounded by more than a dozen dementors.
The adrenaline pumped through her veins as she watched her professor as he moved with cat-like grace, firing off spells in every direction. Still, she could see that his shield was beginning to weaken and she knew she had to do something to help. She took a deep breath and focused on her happiest memory as she pointed her wand at the nearest dementor, and yelled, "Expecto Patronum!"
Tom stilled his movements, and turned to see a fully corporeal patronus in the shape of an otter, spring forth from her wand, chasing away all of the dementors with the blinding light that followed in its wake.
Exhausted, both from the energy needed for a cast of that magnitude, as well as the adrenaline spike, she fell to her knees as soon as she saw the last dementor flee.
"Hermione!" Tom called and dropped to his knees beside her. She was cold, and shivering, and he pulled her against his chest in an attempt to warm her.
She looked up at him, too tired to protest, and allowed her eyes to fall shut as she inhaled the spicy scent of his aftershave. Her last thoughts before everything went dark, was that he smelled exactly as she had imagined in her dream.
oOo0oOo
Her eyes fluttered open, and she sat up nervously when she didn't immediately recognize her surroundings. She was lying on a couch, beside a warm fire that was crackling merrily in the hearth. She jumped when she felt a warm hand land on her shoulder.
"How are you feeling?"
Confused…And oddly comfortable.
"What happened?" she asked him, as she looked around realizing that they were in his office. Why hadn't he brought her to the hospital wing?
"We were attacked. Do you remember anything?" he asked as he handed her some chocolate.
She took it gratefully, and nibbled on it while she tried to recall the last thing she remembered.
"Dementors. How did they manage to get passed the wards?" Hermione asked in alarm.
"I'm not sure. I've notified the Headmistress, and she has contacted the Aurors to investigate the breech. She has assured me that while the grounds may not be secure, the castle is protected."
Hermione nodded, and worried her lower lip as she mulled over what he was telling her.
"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked suddenly, and she looked up at him with a wide-eyed expression.
"Tell you what?" she asked nervously. He wasn't talking about her feelings at a time like this, was he?
"That you could cast a Patronus. Who taught you? I don't recall seeing that in the school's defense curriculum." He said as he leaned back against his desk with his arms crossed over his chest expectantly.
"Oh…that." She answered in relief, to which he just raised an eyebrow in amusement.
"Professor Lupin taught Harry how to do it back in third year…he had a bit of a problem with Dementors that summer when Sirius Black escaped from Azakaban, and well…he taught me." Hermione said sheepishly, as if she had been caught cheating on a test.
The corner of Tom's lips twitched in amusement, and Hermione let out a relieved breath, glad for the fact that she wouldn't get in trouble for knowing such an advanced charm.
"Wasn't he a werewolf?"
Hermione chuckled, "Yes, though aside from his most unfortunate malady, he was a wonderful teacher. It's a shame the board of governors insisted upon his dismissal…not to imply any slight against your teaching methods, of course! " Hermione corrected as she realized that her words could easily be taken as an insult.
He grinned at her, and stepped away from the desk to take a seat beside her on the couch. She shifted so that one leg was tucked beneath her as she turned to face him.
"None taken, Hermione. Every time I think I have you figured out, you manage to surprise me." He said leaning towards her just slightly, gazing at her intently.
"How so?" she breathed as she unconsciously leaned towards him, and licked her lips, unable to tear her eyes away from his.
Suddenly, she found herself back in his classroom, watching a scene play out in front of her, with him standing at her side; oh shit. They were in her dream. She couldn't move or speak, only stand there and watch as her professor lifted her onto his desk, kissing her as if his very life depended on it. She was utterly mortified. Hot tears sprang to her eyes as the scene continued to unfold in all of it's NC-17 glory, and she felt thoroughly violated as he stood there watching it silently. Finally, she forced her eyes shut, and when she opened them again, she was back on the couch in his office, breathing heavily, as tears leaked from the corners of her eyes. Her brain worked quickly to make sense of what had just happened, and then she realized that it began when she looked into his eyes; he was a Legillimens.
Before he could say anything, her hand darted out and slapped him hard on the cheek and she sprinted from his office.
By the time she made it back to the safety of her room, she was breathing heavily, and she collapsed on the floor, her whole body shaking with quiet sobs.
How could she show her face in Defense class ever again after he saw that in her mind?
She wracked he brain going over every possible option she could think of on how to avoid him, but all of them would seem highly suspicious. If she asked the Headmistress to be removed from Defense Against the Dark Arts, there would be too many questions, more so because she had never once chosen to take less of a course load, always more.
Seeing no other way around it, she resigned herself to the fact that she could either report him for his inappropriate use of magic against a student, or she could continue on, avoiding him as much as possible, and pretend that the whole thing never happened. It was her last year of school; she could do this. She finally fell asleep with her decision made.