A/N: Hey everyone! OMG I am so tired! I wanted to get this chapter out tonight so I tried to finish it as fast as I could. It's kind of short but it's the best I could at the moment. I had a long day today so I am really exhausted and my bed looks so comfy right now : ). I hope you all like this chapter….if you don't then please don't hurt me! I know it seems like fluff, but I tired to put some angst in it as well…I hope it worked. I can't believe I'm on chapter 20! This is farther than I ever thought I would go! Thanks for sticking with me through this you guys! I appreciate it more than you know : ).

Hermione sighed as she looked up at the darkening sky. She felt so content and peaceful just being outside and alone with her boyfriend. Tom looked down at her and tightened his hold around her waist, causing her to snuggle more closely against his chest. Their breaths hung in the frosty air, illuminated by the light of the full moon that had arisen ever so slowly. The cold had no effect on the couple, however, because of the warming charm Tom had cast as soon as they had stepped out onto the freezing balcony.

They had been silent for some time now, just enjoying being together. Now that it was winter break, the couple didn't have to worry about people gaping at them every five minutes, and the absence of classes gave them plenty of alone time…which they took advantage of.

Hermione yawned for the tenth time in the last ten minutes, causing Tom to chuckle.

"Hermione, if you're tired then we can go back in the castle." He said as he stroked her hair.

"I'm not tired…just exhausted." She replied sleepily.

"Same thing, love," Tom commented with an amused smile. "I think you loose some of your common sense when you're sleepy."

"Maybe," Hermione said, just before another yawn escaped her lips.

"Hmm, you must be tired from the large amount of nothing you did all day." Tom said sarcastically.

"Watch it Mr." Hermione said while snuggling more into his chest. "I think it may just be the winter weather that has me so drained."

"I'll take you inside so you can sleep." Tom said softly. He leaned his head down just a bit and kissed the top of her head. He never knew that hair could smell so good.

"No, I'm not that tired, and I want to be alone with you right now." She said.

"Ten to one you'll fall asleep within the next five minutes." Tom chuckled.

"Then you'll just have to keep me awake. Tell me a story."

"Will Little Red Riding Hood suffice?" He joked.

"No silly, I mean a story about you…about your past." Hermione shifted a little in his lap so she could see him better. Tom looked a little apprehensive.

"My past isn't so great love." He said quietly, almost shamefully.

"Tom, I told you that you can tell me anything. It may do you some good to get certain things off your chest." She brought her hand up to his face and caressed his pale cheek.

"W-what do you want me to tell you?" He asked hesitantly.

"You can tell me about anything…I'll love you just the same no matter what I hear."

Tom smiled.

"There are a lot of bad things I have done…but there is one thing that has always haunted me the most. Maybe I'll feel better if I talk about it."

Hermione nodded her head for him to continue.

Tom took a deep breath before he began.

"It happened in my fifth year. It's about the girl I um…told you about."

"The one you had sex with?" Hermione asked.

Tom nodded and continued.

"I told you I did it because I was upset about my father, but…that's not the real reason why I did what I did."

Hermione could see that he was having a hard time trying to talk about this. She took his hand in hers and held it tight, earning her a smile from Tom who seemed to relax a little now that he had some support.

"Hermione, have you ever heard of a Roctive Ritual?"

"I'm not familiar with it, no."

"It's a…a kind of sex ritual." Tom told her while trying his hardest not to blush.

"Oh." Was all Hermione could say to that. She was a bit surprised by this information and she hoped that it didn't show. Tom continued whether it did or not.

"It's very dark magic that brings a lot of power to the person who performs the ritual. Your partner doesn't even have to know that it is going on, because it is an incantation that can be said in your mind during intercourse. I found out about it from a Dark Arts book and was eager to try it. The thought of gaining that power excited me, and I couldn't have cared less what I had to do. I picked a Slytherin girl who I knew had a crush on me. She was beautiful, but that didn't really matter; I just wanted to do the ritual."

Tom was too ashamed to look into her eyes as described the next part of his story.

"I-I had her meet me in the Boys' room one night when I knew that no one was going to be around. She walked in and went straight at me…she even tore my shirt a bit in her haste to remove it. I was so aggressive with her. I pushed her on the bed after we were both naked, and I…I just went into her. She screamed in pain, but only for a moment; she must have lost her virginity ages ago. I was barely even paying attention to her because of the spell that I was saying in my head. I just kept on going, loving the new feeling of power that was surging up in me from the ritual. My climax came when the power had filled me completely; she climaxed soon after. She wanted to stay with me that night, but I told her that I wanted to be alone. The next day she tried to talk to me at breakfast, and I told her to get the hell away from me. She ran away crying…I went back to my food."

Tom looked back at Hermione and saw tears in her eyes.

"Did you…perform the ritual again?" She asked.

"No. I felt sick after I had done it. I think that's why I ignored her; I couldn't stand to look at her without feeling disgusted."

"Is the power still with you?"

"No. You have to do the ritual over and over again to maintain it."

Hermione nodded and fell silent.

"Are you angry with me?" Tom asked in a quiet, defeated voice.

"No. I'm very proud of you for telling me. I know it was hard for you, but you needed to be able to tell someone."

"I did. I feel better now that you know."

Hermione smiled. "What was her name?" She asked after a moment.

"Elizabeth Bell."

"Whatever happened to her?" Hermione asked.

"I believe she went on to date Brian Nott. He is…was a mate of mine. Well….not really a mate, more like a servant I suppose."

"Nott?" Hermione said awestruck.

"Have you heard of him?" Tom asked.

"Yes I have. He's a Death Eater."

Tom's face paled. "Is he really? I guess that makes sense. He was apart of my group from day one. He's a decent guy. Horrible and cruel, yes, but that was what I considered decent back then." Tom gave her a sad smile…one that she returned.

"Most of your old friends probably are or were Death Eaters. Their nothing but servants who believe that Voldemort is some kind of god; they would do anything to please him. It's sickening really."

"Thank you for referring to Voldemort as a different person. I don't like to think of myself as being him." Tom said, frowning at the thought.

"You're not him, Tom. Voldemort is an inhuman monster who delights in pain…your Tom Riddle…a human being who feels emotion. You are nothing like him."

Tom smiled and pulled her even closer to his chest.

"Tom…I have been wondering something." Hermione began hesitantly.

"What is it, love?"

"Why…why did you change so quickly? Not that I'm not extremely grateful for it…but you seemed so willing to change when we first brought you here. How did it come on so sudden?" Hermione asked while staring at him intently.

Tom stared at her for a moment before answering.

"It was actually Harry who had sparked something in me. Do you remember that speech he gave in Dumbledore's office that fist night?"

Hermione nodded.

"Well, at that point, I was rather angry with what was happening. Here I was, thrown into the future against my will with nothing but two Gryffindors and an old codger for company."

Tom and Hermione smiled at each other before he continued.

"Then Dumbledore told me about the plan and I thought he was completely mental. I was two seconds away from cursing all of you when Harry started up with his little speech. He said that he didn't like me, but that he was willing to give me chance. He was honest with me about his feelings and what he said made a lot of sense…so I just thought 'what the hell'. It wasn't like I had much of a choice anyways. But then I got to know you, and I feel in love with what you are. You care so much Hermione, and it gives you inner beauty that matches your physical beauty. You have so much life and spirit that it makes my head spin. Even your anger is perfect."

Hermione laughed as her eyes began to well up with tears.

"You make me feel alive when I was once felt dead. Your forgiveness gives me hope and your love gives me strength…and I'm terrified of losing that. I don't want to leave you and go back to a life that was empty and lonely. I'm so scared Hermione. What if I can't do it without you?" Tom felt his own eyes beginning to tear up, but he forced himself to keep his composure.

Hermione, however, had tears streaking down her cheeks. Tom brushed them away and hugged her closer.

"Tom," Hermione began with a shaky voice. "I know you can do it without me. You just have to be strong." Hermione hated herself for crying because she wanted to be strong too, but the thought of losing Tom tore her up inside.

"I'll be strong for you Hermione. I promise…"

Tom leaned down and gently brought his lips to hers. Kissing her still brought butterflies to his stomach, and he cherished the feeling.

Hermione felt better after their kiss and yawned again after their lips had broken apart.

"Sorry." She smiled apologetically.

"I am taking you straight to bed." Tom said while putting an arm under her knees and picking her up. He walked out of balcony and into the warm hallway while carrying her in his arms.

"Honestly love, I didn't know you wanted me that bad." Hermione joked. "It's not like you haven't seen me naked already anyways."

"Hush you." Tom said as a blush crept up into his cheeks.

"Why Mr. Riddle, your blushing. You weren't blushing that afternoon when you were staring at me. Well, flushed maybe, but I doubt it was from embarrassment."

"Hermione, can we please not talk about that." Tom begged. His whole face was a perfect shade of crimson.

"Why not Tom? Does it embarrass you that much?" Hermione said, grinning mischievously at him.

Tom stopped abruptly in the middle of hallway and set her down on her feet. Hermione looked at him curiously as he pressed his body against hers. Then her eyes grew wide in surprise.

"That's why." Tom whispered huskily.

Hermione didn't know what to say. There she was standing in the middle of a hallway with her boyfriend's arousal pressed against her. She was too shocked to speak.

All she managed to get out was a murmured "oh" before she fell silent once more.

Tom, despite his current 'situation', chuckled a little and backed away from her.

"Well you wanted to know why…so now you do."

It was Hermione's turn to blush.

"Why Miss Granger, your blushing." Tom mimicked. "Does it embarrass you that much?"

Hermione laughed and bit her bottom lip.

"No. I'm just…" Hermione's vision blurred suddenly as a dizzy spell hit her. She lost her balance and toppled towards the side, but Tom reached out and caught her before she fell and sat her down on the ground.

"Hermione are you ok?" He asked worriedly. "What's the matter?"

"I don't know. I just feel really dizzy all of the sudden." Hermione closed her eyes and tried to focus. Her head was spinning and she felt like she hadn't slept in ages.

"I'm taking you to the hospital wing." Tom said as he picked her up once more.

"No Tom. Please just take me back to the Gryffindor tower. I just really want to get some sleep."

Tom didn't want to argue with her and upset her more, so he reluctantly agreed. He carried her into the Common Room and spotted Harry and Ginny at a table playing a game of Wizard's Chess.

Hermione had already fallen asleep in his arms and didn't even stir as he laid her down upon the largest couch in the room.

"Is she ok?" Ginny asked quietly as she and Harry got up from the table.

"I don't know. She almost passed on our way over here. I was going to take her to the hospital wing but she wanted to come back here and sleep." Tom said while pacing nervously.

"Has she been tired all day?" Harry asked in concern.

"Yes, she has. In fact…she's been tired a lot lately."

Harry nodded his head. "I've noticed it too."

"So have I." Ginny added nervously. "I just thought that it was from studying too much or something."

"Could you two keep an eye on her for me? I want to head over to the hospital wing to see if I can find some pepper up potion. It should give her some energy." Tom said.

"You don't even need to ask." Harry said.

"I'll go wake up Ron. He should be able to entertain her in case she wakes up. He's rather amusing when he's just woken up." Ginny said while rolling her eyes.

Tom smiled. "Thanks you two…I wont be long."

"She'll be ok." Harry said comfortingly.

Tom gave a small nod before he walked over to Hermione. She looked tranquil as she slept, but that didn't make Tom feel any better. He leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before he lowered his lips to her ear.

"I'll be right back love." He whispered.

Hermione stirred a little but soon fell back into her peaceful slumber. Tom placed another kiss on her temple before he got up and walked towards the portrait door.

He walked out into the hallway and tried to force himself to relax.

"She's just tired." He reassured himself. There was no need to be getting worked up over it like he was, but he couldn't seem to quell the sense of dread that was rising up in him.

What if there was something really wrong with her? What if she was sick and not telling him or the others?

Tom forced those thoughts into the back of his mind. He knew that Hermione would tell him if she was sick…she wouldn't keep something like that from him.

"She's just tired." He said to himself again, as he sped down the halls towards the hospital wing.

"She's just tired…"

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Good? Bad? What did you guys think? I hope to hear from everyone! Thanks so much to everyone who reads this story! You all are wonderful! Muah! -Mandy