Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, Hermione Granger, whoever. None of them are mine sadly enough.

Okay, so this chapter might be a little rough to be honest. I proofed it and everything but my mind was on other things. I think it might work. lol

Onward!

Would you mind if I kill you?

Would you mind if I tried to?

I carried Hermione up to the castle, then to our common room. I swayed ever so slightly as I walked while I took her up the last flight of cold, hard, treacherous stairs that led to her bedroom. My wooziness was not due to the weight of her body rather the weight of the words she spoke before falling asleep in my arms back in Hogsmeade. I thought back to what she said. Because you made me feel something for you. Was that true? Did those feelings she supposedly carried for me cause her so much... pain, so much hurt that she would want to get drunk to forget about them?

Well you did murder her family and friends, there Tom. I heard the ice cold voice of Voldemort in my head, I cringed. I scolded the voice to shut up and struggled to open the door to the Head Girl's bedroom. I was able to balance Hermione in one arm and turn the knob with the other. It was unbelievable how light the girl was but then again she rarely ate at meal times so I shouldn't be surprised in the least. I walked into the spotless room and laid the Gryffindor on her bed. Lifting up the covers, I managed to take her shoes off and slide her under the warmth of the blankets. I sighed as I looked down at the small girl. Hermione looked so vulnerable and... almost scared in her sleep. I knew at one point that she was a strong, lively woman but how had she managed to let herself get to this point?

You. Voldemort informed me. Need I remind you, Tom not that long ago you would have loved the look on that mudblood's face and now-

Shut up! I yelled at the 'Dark Lord'. I ran my hands roughly through my hair and sat down in the large armchair positioned next to Hermione's bed. I'm not that person anymore.

The voice inside my head chuckled. Do you really think so, Tom? You just meet a silly little girl and then give up on everything we have been working toward since you arrived at Hogwarts in your first year? We had plans! We were going to take over the world and everything that was in it! We were going to rid the world of mudbloods like Granger. What happened that weakened you into a lesser man?

I dared a look at Hermione's sleeping form. I fell in love. I confessed to the voice. Voldemort laughed hysterically at me and I became furious. I would love nothing more than be rid of him once and for all but I knew this was a wish that would not come easily to me.

Haha. Oh Tom. You know nothing of love or anything like it. Hate is all you know and that is understandable. No one has ever loved you in your life. I am the closest thing you have to a loved one, but Granger? No. She is nothing.

That is a lie! I fought back.

Whatever you say Tom. But what happened today shows that she resents you and she has good reason to. She might say she has feelings for you but so what? One day she will realize that she could never fully love the man who killed numerous people including her family and friends and tortured countless more. And then you will be left alone and loveless, Yet again.

I didn't kill all of those people though!

Ah, not yet my young friend. But you will and she will hate you for it.

Voldemort's words were getting to me. I had to make him stop talking before he started to control me and my thoughts again. There had to be something...

I love her. You can't understand that Voldemort but it is true. Now leave!

A fading chuckle was the last I heard of him for that night. I sighed and settled into the comfortable arm chair. I would not let his words get to me, every one of them was poison. If I bought into his lies I would be under his control once more. I couldn't do that, not anymore. My eyes drifted to Hermione and I watched her sleep for a time. I didn't know how long I sat there before I drifted off to sleep myself. I had woken up that morning confident in my relationship with Hermione but now I was certain of nothing but the way I felt for her. And that frightened me to the end of my last nerve.

I woke up the next morning with a blanket draped over me. I yawned and stretched my sore, cramped muscles before opening my eyes. Hermione was no longer in her bed. I took a glance around the room but she was nowhere to be seen. I stood up, folded the blanket, and went in to my own room to change my clothes. Like always, I selected a pair of the Hogwarts uniform black slacks and a white button down oxford. But instead of putting on my sweater like I usually did I decided to only wear the white oxford. I left a few buttons undone so I believed my look made me seem slightly like a homeless person but I ignored that gnawing feeling and opted to find Hermione instead. I checked the bathroom but she was not there, neither was she in the common room. I decided to check her bedroom one more time but still she was absent. I sighed defeatedly and slumped onto her bed. I heard a crinkle of paper coming from under my leg. I shifted my weight and removed the paper from under me, and saw that Hermione had left me a note. I read the note and mumbled the words as I went.

"Tom, I needed time to think. Don't try to find me. Hermione." I read the note a couple of times while letting the words register in my mind. Don't try to find me? After what she told me in her drunken stupor I was just supposed to leave her alone? Pretend like she didn't confess her feelings for me, forget it had ever happened? I really hated the idea. I couldn't be expected to sit around and wait for her like some silly love-sick puppy... That's what I would have to do, I figured. I thought to myself that perhaps this was a test Hermione set for me to prove that I have changed... or stayed the same as she had known me to be from my past (well to me it would be my future).

That had to be the answer for her request to be alone. She wanted to see how I'd react to what she asked of me. I'd do it but I wouldn't like it bit had to do this if I wanted Hermione to be in my life. A cackle sounded in my mind and I sighed at the return of the Dark Lord.

Ah, Tom. You stupid, insolent boy. I told you before how this would end with the mudblood. Why do you insist to go on with this charade? Tell me Tom, what do you think will happen between you and the mudblood- that is if she doesn't find you to be the completely spineless piece of scum that we both know you to be? Will the two of you have a happily ever after? Haha. I bet that's what you think will happen. Sad, flighty boy.

I ignored the lies coming through the silence. I knew Voldemort's words were laced with what he wanted me to believe instead of with absolute fact but still I felt some truth to those words. What did I want to happen between me and Hermione? There was no way we could have a normal relationship. Merlin, I've never even dated a girl in my own time let alone fifty years in the future. At that moment I realized how ridiculous I sounded. Who was I to think I deserved Hermione after everything I've done-well what I will do- to her? A deep sigh escaped my chest at the thought.

I just needed to calm down. Since I came here I had changed to the point that I was almost a brand new person. I was no longer angry or power mad. I didn't want world domination or to kill mudbloods. None of that mattered to me any more. It seemed so strange to be relieved of all those pent up negative emotions. I, Tom Riddle, am no longer the person I was fifty years ago and I was hoping that Hermione Granger could one day see that change in me. But still there were two things that stood in the way of me having the life I so desperately wanted with Hermione: One was Voldemort and the other was Miss Granger herself. I made a promise to myself at that moment. I promised that I would prove to her (Voldemort, and myself) that I was worthy of her affection and I would do anything to make her see that I meant it.

An hour later I was getting cabin fever from sitting in the common room of the Head's Dorm all morning. The room felt as if it was caving in on me and I could not take the claustrophobia I was feeling any longer. I had to get out. Grabbing my over due library book, I exited the Head's tower and began the long haul down the endless staircases and corridors that led to the library. It struck me as strange that the Head Dorm was so far from the library. The Head's were supposed to be the smartest, most studious of the students at Hogwarts so why were we the farthest from resources that would only help us further our education? I didn't think on it too long. The incompetence of the architect of the building and the person who decided the set up of the school would not allow me to get to the library any faster.

I walked slowly, studying the paintings on the walls as I went. For the first time in my life, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going or my immediate surroundings. As I looked at a painting of an unusual man in a strange hat I felt something-well, more like a someone- bump straight into my chest. My hands went out to steady them and I looked down to see the person I held was Hermione. Her eyes met mine and I quickly released my grip on her, not wanting to startle the girl more than she clearly already was. The look in her eyes hurt me but I ignored the feeling.

"Hermione, are you alright?" I questioned her. She stared at me for a moment before shaking her head as if to clear it.

"Yes, yes I'm fine." She said quickly. I nodded my head and took a small step back from her to keep her comfortable in my presence. After that, we just stood there and let an awkward silence engulf us. Clearly, neither of us wanted to be the one to say something first but the topic of what happened yesterday had to come up eventually. I dared a glance at Hermione at the exact same moment her eyes lifted to look at me. Both of us shot our eyes in a different direction, embarrassed for getting caught looking at each other. More silence.

Once I thought the silence was going to drive me mad (well more mad then I already was), I decided to say something.

"Look, about last night-"

"About last night-"

We both shut up when we started talking at the exact same moment. Jeesh, what was wrong with us? I chuckled nervously as Hermione bit her lip. "You may go first." I told her with a slight bow. She took a deep breath and nodded.

"Last night, I was..." She broke off and shook her head with a smile on her face as if she was embarrassed for her actions. "...not myself." Were the words she decided on. "I said somethings and I don't know if you heard them-"

"I did." I cut in. She looked at me, blinked, and nodded her head.

"Well, like I said before I was not myself. And I.. I don't know."

She looked so confused standing in front of me that I couldn't help but try to help her and give her an out if she wanted one. "Listen," I sighed. "I'll understand if you want to take back what you confessed. You had enough fire whiskey last night that I wouldn't blame you for saying things you didn't mean at all."

"I did." She blurted out. I blinked at her, trying to figure out what she said.

"I'm sorry?" I questioned the words and thought I might have heard her wrong.

"I meant them, it's just... I don't know if I can trust those feelings or..." She trailed off again not knowing what words to say. I helped her one more time.

"Or me?" I finished while looking down at my feet. She pursed her lips together and nodded.

"I need time." She finished while rubbing one hand up and down the opposite arm, showing how awkward she really felt with this situation we had put ourselves in . A slight pain ran through my chest but I still nodded reassuringly.

"Then time is what you shall get, Hermione." I told her with an almost forced smile.

Surprisingly, she smiled back at me. A silence developed between us again. A thought suddenly hit me. "I found your note and I wasn't coming to look for you if that's what you think. I was just on my way to the library to bring this book back." I flashed her the leather bound book in hand as I tried to defend myself. I didn't want her to think I was following her around the castle or anything like that.

She nodded her head fiercely "Yeah, no I didn't think you were." The Gryffindor pursed her lips together and nodded once more. I did the same.

Without knowing what I was doing I quickly asked if she wanted to accompany me to the library. She stared up at me like I had just asked her to join Slytherin House.

A few seconds later she responded. "Okay."

I tilted one side of my mouth up in some sort of a smile before extending my hand out in front of us, silently saying we should move on. We walked on without a word, unsurprisingly. After what felt like hours of torturous quiet we made it to the large, airy library. I opened the door for Hermione and she said thank you.

"I'll only be a minute." I told her. She nodded before I went up to the front desk and proceeded to return the book and pay the fine for the overdue volume. When that was finished I turned to see that Hermione had disappeared from my sight. I looked to the doors but I didn't hear them open or close so I assumed that she was still somewhere among the stacks of books. I started my hunt. I searched up and down every aisle and row until I was half way to the back of the library. I found Hermione pacing up and down the shelf, reading the spines of the books that sat there as she went along. I walked over to her and leaned against the table that was positioned in that aisle that was used for studying. I crossed my arms and watched as she looked at the various books in front of her.

I knew she felt my eyes on her back but I didn't feel the need to look away from her. "Find anything interesting?" I questioned. She just shrugged before turning to look at me.

"I always do." She said before scanning the next shelf up. Something caught her eye and she tilted her head to read the spine of a volume more intently. Hermione stretched her arm up to get it but could not quite reach. I looked at her hand and saw the brutal scar that resided there. That scar intrigued me and terrified me at the same time. The scar tissue held something symbolic and meaningful to her history, and I was scared that I was the reason for the scar flawing her perfect skin.

"Tom?" I heard Hermione call to me through my thoughts. My eyes shot up to look at the curly haired girl. I gave her a confused look and she pointed up to the book she had been looking at. "Do you think you could grab that for me, please?" She asked.

I nodded my head. "Of course." With that I got up, went to the shelf, and plucked the one she had wanted from it's spot.

She mumbled a "thanks" before opening the book and flipping through it's pages. I still stood by the shelf, staring at her scar.

"Hermione?" I asked her quietly. Her beautiful chocolate brown eyes snapped up to look into my dark brown ones. "What happened to your hand?" I asked. She looked down at her hand before looking up to me again. I took a deep breath and continued. "How did you get that scar?"

She just pulled her shirt sleeve down over her hand so I could no longer see it in response to my questions, clearly she didn't want to discuss it. My eyes widened and I took a step back from her as I realized what that could possible mean. She only avoiding a subject when it involved... Dear Merlin.

"Hermione, I need you to tell me what I did." I almost whispered.

Her mouth dropped open and her gaze darkened. I shook my head and gave her a pleading look. "I need to know what I have done. All of it."

So, I just read this again and I might have been overreacting. lol. It's been a long day. Leave me a review please! Thanks for reading!