Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, this is just for fun.
AN: Thank you all so much for your awesome reviews and kind words! I hope you love this extra long chapter! xoxo...things are beginning to heat up!
Hermione woke from a troubled sleep, and groaned when she recalled the events from the night before. It would have been bad enough that her professor found out that she was attracted to him, without him literally seeing it in graphic detail. To make matters worse, she had Defense class as the last class of the day.
Wonderful.
She showered quickly and made her way down to the great hall, purposely avoiding the staff table, and quickly slipped into her seat beside Ginny.
Just as Ginny made to open her mouth, Hermione held up her hand and stopped her.
"I swear to god, if you say anything; anything at all asking me how last night went, I'll hex you so badly, St. Mungos won't be able to heal you." Hermione said as she stabbed her fork into her eggs.
Ginny's eyes widened and she chuckled, "That bad, huh?"
Hermione shot her a glare, but didn't comment.
"Did you hear about the dementors? I heard they managed to enter the grounds last night." Ginny said as she buttered her toast.
Hermione just stared pointedly at her until Ginny froze and her eyes widened.
"Oh my god! Did you see them? You were in the forest last night…"Ginny said putting her hand over her mouth in shock.
"You could say that." Hermione sighed and took a bite of her toast, in an obvious attempt to thwart the discussion.
"But Tom was with you, wasn't he?"
"Professor Riddle." Hermione corrected out of habit, and then frowned as she pushed her plate away remembering her embarrassment from the night before.
"Whatever. He was though, wasn't he? I would have shit myself if I saw one." Ginny stated matter of fact.
Hermione choked on her pumpkin juice at Ginny's pronouncement, "Well, it's a good thing I have good bowel control." Hermione answered sarcastically while wrinkling her nose at Ginny in distaste.
"Anyway, from what I heard, the Aurors were here early this morning to make sure the castle and grounds were secure; there was no trace of them by the time they arrived. Awfully strange, don't you think? I mean, dementors just showing up in the forest like that?"
Hermione had to agree with Ginny's assessment; it had struck her as odd as well. Just as Hermione was getting ready to leave, an owl landed on the table in front of her, holding out its leg with a letter addressed to her.
She recognized the handwriting as Tom's, and almost cast an incendio on it out of spite knowing he was probably watching her, though instead, she took the letter and shoved it into her bag without opening it, and stalked out of the Great Hall without a word.
By noontime, she had no appetite, and hadn't had the courage to read the contents of his letter. Rather than heading to the great hall for lunch, she swept out of the castle and walked down towards the black lake. It was an unusually warm sunny day for mid-September, and she relished the time alone. As she reached the lake, she pulled her black outer robe off and spread it out on the ground like a blanket, and sat down. After leaning back on her hands for a while just absorbing the sun's warm comforting rays, she grudgingly sat up and reached into her bag to pull out the letter.
What could he possibly say that would make this situation any better?
She couldn't bring herself to read the awkward lecture he had undoubtedly written on how inappropriate the interaction had been, and without opening it, she pointed the tip of her wand toward it and whispered incendio.
She felt a sense of cathartic release as the paper was consumed by flames, and watched as small bits of ash drifted up into the sky. After nearly forty-five minutes of staring out at the lake, she sighed and stood up, brushing the bits of dried grass from her robe as she pulled it back over her shoulders, and headed determinedly back into the castle with her head held high.
oOo0oOo
She sat in her seat, making a concerted effort to keep her eyes trained firmly on the black board, or on her parchment and not on her professor. She was relieved when he made no move to approach her, or call on her in class, and was beginning to think that she could get through the rest of the year without ever laying her eyes on him again until she heard him call out.
"That will be all for today, however I expect two feet of parchment on the Inferius curse when you return next week. Miss Granger, may I have a word, please?"
Déjà vu
She froze in her seat, her fingers still grasping her quill tightly until she looked around and saw a few of the other students looking at her strangely, and cleared her throat; Hermione may have been many things, but she was never disrespectful towards a teacher.
"Of course, Professor."
As the rest of the students filed out, she took her time packing up her things with trembling hands. She felt like she was going to be sick.
As the last student left, she heard the door slam shut, and the crackle of magic in the air as his wards slid into place. She took a deep breath and reminded herself that she had done nothing wrong, and it was he who should be apologizing for his blatant violation of her privacy. When she finally turned to face him, he was gazing at her with an unreadable expression.
"What can I do for you, Professor?" she said coolly, as she stood by her desk.
He frowned at the use of his title rather than his given name, and she felt slightly bolstered by his reaction.
"Did you receive my letter?" he asked, standing stiffly in front of his desk, though he made no move to approach her.
"I did." she said shortly, folding her arms defiantly across her chest.
"And?" he asked giving her an expectant look.
"I burned it." She replied flatly.
The corner of his lips twitched in amusement, and he nodded.
"So you didn't actually read it then, I take it." He asked chuckling as he began to walk toward her desk, closing the distance between them.
"No, I didn't bloody read it! You-" she began to shout until she was promptly silenced by his lips crashing into hers. He took control of the kiss, pulling her against his chest as his tongue traced along her bottom lip demanding entry. She was momentarily stunned by this unexpected turn of events, and found herself kissing him back wantonly against her better judgement until she found an ounce of her self-control and pushed him away, breathing heavily.
"What the hell was that?" she asked moving her trembling hand up to her mouth.
He chuckled, "That, Hermione, was a kiss…a bloody good one, if you ask me."
She opened and closed her mouth several times, seemingly at a loss for words, until she finally blurted out, "What was in the letter, Tom?"
He smirked as he approached her again, and brushed his hand over her cheek.
"It was an apology. One which I hope you will accept…and the password to my quarters."
Wait, what?
"Wait…You're giving me the password to your quarters?" she asked in confusion.
He was still smirking at her, as he nodded, "Yes, that's right. If we are to be intimate, Hermione, I prefer to do so in the privacy of my rooms…though I admit, the desk was a nice touch." He added mischievously and winked at her.
"So let me get this straight; you want to sleep with me?" She repeated, still in shock at what he was telling her.
"Hermione, the things I would like to do to you have zero to do with sleep." He laughed.
She swallowed thickly as her eyes raked over his chest. As usual, he looked good enough to eat. Not that she had ever…oh hell.
"So how do you expect this to work? I could be expelled and you could get sacked if anyone found out." She asked trying to process his proposal.
"Quite easily; we've already established a working relationship; as far as anyone knows, your association with me is purely professional. You'll be graduating in less than a year, and I trust you can be discreet?"
Her brain was working overtime again taking in everything he was saying. She couldn't make a decision like this on the spot, she needed time to think.
"I need to think about this." She said honestly, crossing her arms over her chest and looking at him imploringly.
He nodded in understanding and moved over to her again, grasping her chin with his fingers and tilting her face towards his, brushing his lips lightly over hers.
"I'd be disappointed if you didn't. If you change your mind, the entrance to my quarters is through that wall; the password is Dominus." he said softly as he stepped away, and released his wards.
She had to tear her eyes away from him as she picked up her bag and strode from the room. Her legs were shaking the entire way back to the Head's quarters, and she almost collided with the Head boy as he was on his way out.
"Hermione! Are you alright? You seem distracted."
Hermione snorted, that's the understatement of the century, Terry.
"I'm fine…NEWTS are coming up, you know…" she said giving him a small smile and slipped past him into their common room. When she was finally in her room, the thought crossed her mind that even Professor Trelawney couldn't have predicted the situation she currently found herself in, and she slid down the closed door as laughter bubbled up in her throat.
The extremely gorgeous, young, and brilliant Defense Professor wanted to fuck Hermione Granger; Bookworm extraordinaire.
Her inner cheerleader was doing back handsprings at the thought, but of course, her more sensible side was shaking her head in admonishment. Logically, she knew that if she did this, she would be crossing a line that could never be un-crossed. It was wrong, yet the thought of telling him no made her chest ache. The truth, no matter how much she wanted to deny it, was that she had fallen hard for her professor. There was still so much she didn't know about Tom, other than what she was able to piece together from the bits she'd learned since the start of term. He'd never once talked about himself, only about her. He was an orphan, according to Professor Slughorn, and obviously raised by muggles if his choice of sandwich was anything to go by. Perhaps they had much more in common that she thought?
Her mind drifted back to the kiss. Just the thought of those sculpted lips moving against hers made her knees weak. At the time, she had been so stunned that she probably seemed extremely inexperienced to him; she wasn't an expert by any stretch, but she had been kissed before. Tom though, wasn't exactly a boy, and he wanted to do a hell of a lot more than snog her on his couch.
Was she ready for that?
She was just about nineteen, her birthday was the following week, but she was still a virgin. Would Tom still want to be with her if he knew? Should she start taking the potion?
She sighed and rubbed her hand over her eyes. The hardest part, was that she could tell absolutely no one. Not even Ginny. The thought worried her, considering how probing Ginny had been lately concerning her feelings towards their Professor, and one thing was certain; Hermione was a terrible liar.
Her stomach chose that moment to grumble, reminding her that she had skipped lunch, so she shrugged off her school robe and decided to head down to dinner, choosing to think on it later in favor of a bit of normalcy.
Harry, Ron, and Ginny were already seated at the table when she arrived, and she slipped into the seat beside Ginny.
"You seem less…homicidal this evening. Let me guess…NEWTS?" Ginny commented as she eyed Hermione's much more relaxed posture.
For once, she was grateful that Ginny thought her thunderous mood that morning had been caused by stressing over exams. Normally, she would take the opportunity to remind her that exams were no joke, and that she should be studying now if she had any hope of passing, but instead, she gave a small smile and nodded in agreement, helping herself to the roasted chicken, peas, and potatoes.
"Well, since you skipped out on us last night-" Ginny began before Hermione turned to gape at her
"I didn't skip out on you! I told you-"
"I know, I know…You and Mr. Wonderful had a date picking weeds for Professor Walrus. I got it." Ginny said chuckling at Hermione's glare, "The point is, it's Friday, and we're having a party up in Gryffindor, and you're coming. No excuses."
Hermione sighed. Truthfully, she missed spending time with her friends, and if there was ever a time she needed to blow off some steam, it was now.
"Sure. Count me in."
"Are you sure you don't need permission from Tom?" Harry interrupted wagging his eyebrows at her, and she promptly choked on her pumpkin juice.
"Harry, it's Professor Riddle. And no, as Head Girl, I surely don't need permission to attend a party with my own house." She said in her usual lecture tone as she flicked a pea at him.
She was laughing at one of Ron's stories when her eyes swept over to the staff table, and she found her Professor watching her. The heated gaze he gave her while he ate his dessert was enough to make her flush, and she quickly looked away.
Oh God, the way he was licking the cream off that spoon…it was indecent really.
Before long, she headed back to her room to get ready with the promise that she would meet her friends in the Gryffindor common room after she completed her rounds.
oOo0oOo
After curfew, Hermione stepped out of the Head's quarters to do her rounds. Each of the prefects had been given assigned floors, as well as Terry and herself. In order to make sure the prefects weren't looking the other way when their housemates were out after curfew, it had been her idea to assign the prefects to floors further away from their own common rooms. She was certain that if Draco Malfoy was patrolling the dungeons, none of the Slytherins would ever lose any house points.
Tonight, when she found herself assigned to that very floor, she wished she had kept her big mouth shut. Not having much of a choice, she headed down into the bowls of the castle looking for students out of bed. Much to her relief, Slytherin seemed to be taking a page form Gryffindor and throwing their own party that night, which meant there were less students roaming the halls. She was just about to head back to Gryffindor tower, when a hand clasped over her mouth and pulled her into a hidden alcove. She struggled to get free until she was turned around, and Tom held a single finger to his lips signaling her to be quiet. She relaxed when she saw that it was him, and nodded. He pushed her hands up over her head against the wall, holding them securely with one of his own, and dipped his head down until his lips brushed against her ear, as he whispered, "I've been looking forward to seeing you like this…"
She sucked in a breath as the implication of his words sunk in, and a pulse of desire coursed through her. His lips continued to trail kisses down her throat, causing her to moan softly. He pulled away immediately, once again pressing a long finger against her lips as a reminder for her to remain silent. Feeling emboldened by her desire, she pressed a kiss to the finger pressed against her lips, and sucked the tip of it into her mouth. She was rewarded by the sound of his shaky exhale, as he regarded her silently, his intense eyes burning into hers.
He pulled his hand away from her mouth and trapped her body against the wall with his, allowing her to feel just how much of an effect she had on him.
"Come to me tonight…" he whispered against her cheek, inhaling her scent.
His offer was extremely tempting, so much so that if he kissed her properly right then, she was sure that she would give in; Gryffindor party be-damned. But he didn't.
"I have plans tonight…" she whispered, biting her lip as she looked up at him.
His eyes darkened at her words, and she could see a muscle twitching in his jaw as he clenched it tightly.
"With whom?" He asked, tightening his grip on her wrists.
Was he was jealous? Oh my.
"It's just a party up in Gryffindor tower with my friends. Besides…I haven't agreed to anything yet." She answered.
He scoffed, relaxing slightly, before he relinquished his hold on her and stepped away.
"I think we both know that it's only a matter of time before you say yes, Hermione." He smirked before stepping out of the alcove, and leaving her standing there gaping after him.
By the time she arrived at the Gryffindor common room, her legs had finally stopped shaking, though she couldn't stop thinking about how his body had felt pressed against hers. She was pulled from those thoughts as Ginny made her way over to her, pushing a glass with some sort of brown liquid into her hand.
"What's this?" she asked, taking the glass and sniffing it cautiously.
"Fire whiskey. Fred nicked it from Filch's office. Probably took it off of one of the Slytherins." She yelled over the loud music that was playing, and clinked her own glass against Hermione's before swallowing it in one gulp.
"You know, as a Prefect, you're supposed to be setting an example." Hermione shouted back over the music.
Ginny merely arched an eyebrow at her, and smirked, "Oh, I am…an example on how to properly drink this foul shit."
Hermione chuckled in agreement. She wasn't a fan of fire whiskey, having tried it once before, but she desperately needed to take the edge off after her encounter with Tom in the dungeons.
She blew out a breath, and quickly swallowed the entire contents of the glass, as the room erupted in cheers. She blushed the shade of the Gryffindor House tapestry as she realized everyone in the room had just watched the Head Girl take a shot.
"That was a perfect example by the way, nicely done!" Ginny laughed as she strode away, ignoring Hermione as she flipped Ginny the bird.
"Hermione!" Harry's voice came from behind her as he enveloped her in a hug, "It's about time you showed up. We were just about to play Truth or Dare. Are you in?"
Fantastic.
Truth or Dare in Gryffindor tower never ended well. She sighed, seeing no way out of it and shook her head. If she wanted to avoid any probing questions, she would just have to choose the dare option. How bad could it be?
"Brilliant!" Harry exclaimed and pulled her over to where everyone was gathering to play.
She took the open seat on the couch, and resolved to stay for no longer than an hour, fervently hoping that no one would pick her. After that, she was home-free, and could excuse herself to the safety of her own rooms. Harry tossed the golden snitch he had caught at his first quidditch game to Seamus, to begin the game.
"Lavender, Truth or Dare?" Seamus asked.
Lavender sat up straight, holding a hand to her mouth in an attempt to stop giggling, which didn't actually help, before she answered, "Dare."
Seamus glanced over at Ron and smirked, "I dare you to snog Ron Weasley…with tongue."
She saw Ron's eyes flick in her own direction briefly, as if gauging her reaction as Lavender approached him.
Sorry Ronald, that ship sailed a LONG time ago.
She had to give Lavender credit though, as drunk as she was, she really went for it. It was almost comical watching Ron's hands flail about as she held him down and snogged him senseless. When she finally pulled away and sat up, she was chewing Ron's gum, and proudly held up the snitch.
The game continued on this way for several minutes, with thankfully no life-threatening injuries, and she was beginning to relax thinking she was going to be able to get away scot-free when she heard Ginny call her name.
"Hermione."
Fuck.
"Truth or Dare?"
She sighed. She knew that if she chose truth, Ginny would grill her about Tom.
"Dare." She answered, raising an eyebrow in challenge, as she mentally congratulated herself for being so clever.
The smile that spread across Ginny's lips then was positively evil.
"I dare you to drink this vial of veritaserum, and answer my question."
Bloody. Fucking. Hell.
Not seeing any way out of it without looking like a Hufflepuff, she snatched the small vial from Ginny's hand, and glared at her former best friend.
"You do know that it's against school rules for any student to have Veritaserum in their possession, don't you?" Hermione admonished as she held up the vial.
Ginny waved her hand dismissively, "Of course I do, but since it's you who is holding the vial…well…drink up, buttercup."
"I hate you." Hermione snapped before she swallowed the contents of the small vial, and forcefully shoved it back into Ginny's hand.
"You are a right bitch, but I can't stay mad at you, even when I want to." Hermione said and clapped her hand over her mouth.
Ginny chuckled, "Well, now that we know it works, let's get down to it."
Rather than saying anything, Hermione just held up her hand to continue. Lord knows what sort of nonsense she would have spouted if she opened her mouth.
"Hermione, what do you really think of Professor Riddle?"
Dammit. She was so going to get her back for this.
"I think he's the most beautiful man I've ever laid eyes on, and I want him to bend me over his desk and-"Hermione began, blushing a bright shade of red before Ginny stopped her by clapping her hand over her mouth to shut her up.
The girls were all giggling madly while every single male in the room was staring at her with a new appreciation.
"Okay! We got it!" Ginny said having the grace to look sheepish. She knew Hermione had a crush on Professor Riddle, and she wanted her to admit it; she didn't realize it went quite that far.
"Oi, Hermione…fancy going to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?" Dean shamelessly asked, earning him a slap upside the head from Harry, who stood up and held out his hand to Hermione.
"Okay, show's over!" He shouted, and pulled Hermione towards the entrance to the common room, "Hermione, you look tired, why don't you go to bed and sleep it off." He said giving her a small smile, and she was grateful for his intervention.
She nodded and stepped out, completely mortified that she had said something so scandalous in front of practically everyone in Gryffindor tower. At least most of them were drunk, and likely wouldn't remember a thing the next day. Before she knew it, she found herself standing in front of the Defense classroom. She hadn't meant to come here, but it seemed her subconscious did. Still feeling aroused from their earlier encounter, she looked around quickly making sure no one was watching as she slipped inside the room, quietly closing the door behind her. She made her way across the room to the wall where the entrance to Tom's quarters was located, and she whispered the password before she could talk herself out of it.
"Dominus."
Just as he'd said, the door appeared, and she opened it. She stepped inside quickly, and leaned back against it as it closed behind her with a soft 'click'.