Hey guys. Sorry it took so long for me to update. I hope you like the chapter. I enjoyed writing it! You know I don't own anything, but I just thought I would remind you. =]
What have you done now?
Why, why does fate make us suffer?
What have I done? I chanted through my mind as I paced the length of my bedroom. Hermione... Granger had managed to weasel her way back into my mind. I was careful. I ignored her. But I dropped my guard for one solitary moment and she was back in my head. I am now afraid that she would never leave. I, Tom Riddle, do not mind her presence at all. But Voldemort, I feel the pit of fire burning in my chest and the loathing that my alter ego presented whenever Hermione was around me. No, Voldemort was not pleased with the bushy haired girl and the way she had managed to break through my tough skin into the interior.
I stopped my pacing and leaned against the window, letting the cool glass sooth me. How had I let myself get so attached to her so fast? She walked in my door four and half hours ago and all of my work to shut her out the last week had gone to waste. I had been sitting in my room for the past four hours pondering these thoughts, all of my questions still had no answers. I left my spot by the window and went to lay down. The clock that ticked away on my wall read 12:32 am.
I must have dozed off because I remembered waking to the sound of a shrill, terrified scream coming from Hermione's room. In a flash I was by her side. She was curled in a ball, scrunched into a over sized chair. I tried to shake her awake but my efforts were useless. She continued to scream and clench my arms, digging her nails into my skin.
"Hermione! Wake up! It's a bad dream! Open your eyes!" I yelled back at her. I repeated my words until they eventually sunk in. She looked around her once her eyes finally opened, I was guessing she was making sure she was safe. Her eyes settled on me as I stared at her with the same intensity trying to figure out what scared the fearless girl to such a state.
A second later tears flooded her chocolate brown eyes and she succumbed to the terror her dream had caused her. I backed away from her, not sure what I was supposed to do when something like this happened. Sure I had seen girls cry but never had I had to comfort one. She sobbed deeply into her hands causing her whole body to shake. Not knowing what else to do, I knelt down and forces her tiny hands from her face. "It was just a dream, Hermione. You're safe now," I reassured her. She nodded before succumbing once more to her fear. With every tear Hermione shed I felt a brick being removed from the wall I placed around myself, my guard was falling faster than I could rebuild it and my emotions came flooding into my being.
I wrapped her in a tense hug and held her close to me. She clung to me with a strong grip I didn't know she possessed. I let myself hold her like that for a while. My body eventually relaxed into her and cradled Hermione even more. Hermione quieted every time I rocked her until silence filled the Head Girl's dorm. She pulled away from me and leaned into the arm chair. I plopped down across from the chair against the wall so I could study her. I didn't plan on leaving her tonight, not in her current state.
The cold of the window that was above me made me shiver slightly and wish for Hermione to be in my arms once more. "Do you want to talk about it?" I asked the girl in the chair who was trying to pull herself together with grace. The silence was deafening and I could no longer stand it.
"I just had a dream of the night..." She trailed off with her last word. She looked at me with knowing eyes and I had to lower my gaze. I nodded once before realizing I had to leave the room, the air suddenly became too heavy with the guilt I felt that I could barely breath. I shot up from the floor and all but ran from the room. I continued my fast pace until I reached my room and slammed the door behind me. It was all my fault. The tears, the fear, all of it was on me. I was to blame for Hermione's condition and I could barely stand it. Why do you care? The ice cold voice in my head inquired. What's it to us if the mudblood suffers? You relished in that pain only weeks ago and now you have grown weak. I shook my head to make the voice stop. I would not let the Voldemort side of me be in control. I, Tom Riddle, liked to be this way. I liked having someone around, someone I felt I had fallen completely for. I didn't want the evil side of me to take that away.
A small knock came from my door. I jumped a little from the sudden noise coming from the quietness. I went to the door and waited a minute with my hand on the door knob. I knew full well who was outside my door but I still couldn't help but hesitate before opening it. The door swung open to reveal Hermione. The chocolate brown eyes were no longer moist and her skin was glowing in the moonlight radiating in from my window. I also saw that she had managed to pull her hair back into a wild bun.
"Hermione, what are you doing here?" I asked quietly as if someone would catch us. She bit her bottom lip and shifted her weight from foot to foot, letting her uncomfortableness show freely.
"I don't want to be alone," She said in a voice that was barely audible. She lifted her brown eyes to cast her gaze on me. "Do you mind if I...?" She trailed off and just pointed to my room instead. I felt my eyes widening. She was asking to stay with me... in my room. I stared at her, stunned at was she wanted. She noticed my pause and shook her head. Hermione chuckled half-heartedly. "This was a stupid... I'm sorry I bothered you," She turned around and took a step away. My hand instinctively went out to her wrist to stop her.
"If you like you are welcome to stay," I told her. She paused before turning her head to look back at me. She smiled a little and walked into the room. I closed the door and looked at her. Hermione was standing in the middle of my dorm awkwardly. I didn't know what I was supposed to do. I had never been in a situation like this with a girl, not to mention, one like Hermione Granger. I tried to snap my mind out of it. "Um, you can take the bed, I'll sleep on the couch," I told her. She responded with a small nod and a lift of one side of her mouth. She went to the bed and sat down. I watched her a few more seconds before walking over and taking my pillow. I laid down on the couch and threw the blanket that rested over the couch on top of me. It wasn't until I was settled in that I realized I was still in my Hogwart's robes.
It was too late now to change and even if I did there was no way I would feel comfortable sporting pajamas in front of Hermione. I put my hands under my head to support it and looked up at the ceiling. A few moments later, Hermione's breath became slow and even. She had fallen asleep, hopefully awaited by better dreams than she had earlier. My eyes started to drift closed until sleep took over me. For the first time ever in my life, I fell asleep with a smile on my face.
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I woke the next morning to see my bed empty and made. Hermione must have left before the sun rose. I sat up and stretched my back to it's maximum. It was slightly sore due to my sleeping arrangements but I didn't mind too much. I rubbed my eyes and sat back on the couch. It was the first Saturday in October, meaning that today was the first Hogsmeade weekend. I groaned at the thought. I had never been one for the Hogsmeade trips. Never having someone to go with, I never attended myself.
I looked at the clock and noted that it was way past the time I usually slept till. I stretched one more time before deciding to get up, shower, and change my clothes. I didn't really have many clothes in this time so I had to resort to wearing a pair of khaki's and and white oxford.
Running my hands through my hair, I headed out of my room and down the stairs. To my surprise Hermione was sitting at our small table with a bowl of cereal. She looked up from her book at the sound of my footsteps. The girl smiled. I felt my mouth curl up into something similar. She motioned to the seat across from her and I went to sit down.
She returned to her book and pushed the box of sugary cereal towards me. I almost laughed at how engulfed in the story she was. I got up from my chair, went to our kitchenette, and grabbed an apple from the basket that lay on the counter before returning to the table. I rubbed the apple on my shirt before taking a small bite.
I watched Hermione switch from taking spoonfuls of cereal to reading a page. She must have felt my eyes on her because she placed the marker in her book and placed it to the side of the table.
Hermione tapped her fingers on the table top, this time I was assuming it was out of habit more than a need to annoy me. The common room filled with silence as we sat awkwardly. The events of the previous night hung around us as if we were in a cocoon that wrapped us in what happened.
"Are you going to Hogsmeade today?" Hermione broke the silence with a question. My eyes shot up and gazed at her. Her face showed that she was genuinely curious for my answer. The thought made me grin.
"I doubt it," I told her truthfully. If I didn't know better I would have said that her face fell a little but I knew that would be completely improbable. Hermione nodded her head and returned to tapping her fingers.
I watched as her fingertips rose and fell against the wood. There was a scar on her right hand just below her wrist that shone a bright pink against the rest of her skin. It looked like it was once a long, deep gash that extended from her knuckles to the spot where her hand ended and arm began. Hermione stopped tapping abruptly and placed her hands in her lap. I looked up at her and her eyes darted away from my glance. She probably felt my eyes on her.
"You should go," She said out of no where. I furrowed my eyebrows to her.
"Go where?" I inquired.
"To Hogsmeade. I have to pick up somethings there and Merlin knows I have no one to accompany me. If you want, you may," She told me. Just as they had last night, my eyes grew wide in shock. Hermione's feelings had changed drastically since last week. I had no clue what had gotten into her but I had a strange feeling that I liked the change.
"It'd be my honor," I responded. One side of her mouth pulled up in a half smile.
"Okay, then. It's settled. I'll meet you down here in an hour," She nodded her head and got up to clear her dishes. Now that she was standing I saw she was dressed in a pair of old jeans and a ratty Qudditch t shirt. On anyone else I would have said the outfit was hideous but on her it just looked adorable.
I dropped my eyes as she turned around and took another bite of my apple. Hermione picked up her book and headed for the stairs. I leaned back in my chair and relaxed while I could. I knew there was no way I would be able to keep myself calm while spending the entire day with Hermione Granger. The thought ran through my mind and caused me to feel more nervous. The moments of ease I had felt only a fraction of an hour earlier were long gone and replaced with anxiousness.
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