Hermione did not like what she saw when she entered the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom on Friday morning. The tables and chairs had been moved to the side and there was a stage slightly raised in the middle. That could only mean one thing: It was time for another round of duels. They had learned some new defensive spells by now, just as they had worked on the technique for a few harmless offensive spells. Of course, Professor Merrythought had to check their skills at regular intervals, but the fact that she had to face Tom in a magical duel after this night of all nights was not at all what Hermione would have wanted.

She had not slept much that night, the experience with Tom pulled at her nerves too much. She had actually had sex with the future Lord Voldemort and against all reason she had enjoyed it. She knew all too well herself that he was not Voldemort to her for a long time by now, but Tom Riddle, yet a small part of her mind could not help but be shocked at how these things turned out.

And after spending hours analysing her own strange feelings, she made an interesting discovery that night. Tom was right. She remembered only too well what he said about the magical society imposing shackles on young wizards. That much of the actual power was closed off by social norms to prevent young people in particular from succumbing to the lure of the darker side of magic. Just as she remembered that Tom meant those shackles as metaphor for the moral values in society - namely sex.

Tom forced her to submit to him, he humiliated her, and marked his power over her. And she jumped at it. Hermione knew it was not just the rational part of her, the part that was eager to get as close to Tom as possible, that had driven her into his arms. Deep down inside she had wanted this for a long time, had wanted the sex with him. The submission.

What had happened that night was nothing more and nothing less than the bursting of a shackle from her innermost being.

Tom wanted to introduce her to the Dark Arts and not just a little bit, but completely. He wanted to expose everything that was inside her, to blast any moral doubts and misgivings, to unleash her power. The blood ritual on Augusta had broken the first chain. That night with Tom the next. And the worst part of it was: she wanted him to do it again. It was so much easier for her if she just gave in, if she stopped fighting and gave him what he wanted. It was liberating in a way she had never known before. It was irrational and paradoxical how free she felt after accepting that he had complete control over her body.

The darkness that had engulfed her during her orgasm was nothing more than her secret desire to give up control, Hermione was sure of that by now. It was a side of her that scared her, but at the same time it just felt so good.

She set her school bag aside, then joined Abraxas, who, like her, left for class early after breakfast.

"Good morning," she said quietly without looking at him, her hands carefully folded in front of her skirt. If Abraxas was somehow puzzled by her nonchalant manner, he did not let on.

"Good morning, Hermione," he replied just as quietly, as he, like her, kept his gaze fixed on the stage. "Nervous before the big duel against Tom?"

Involuntarily, her shoulders tensed. "A little. I failed miserably last time and I somehow doubt it will be any different this time. Tom just seems to learn so much faster than we do."

"I had the same thought at the beginning of the school year," Abraxas admitted thoughtfully, "As you may know, I was his duel partner before. He always outclassed me, no matter how hard I tried to catch up to him. He just seems gifted."

Hermione was silent. Tom's magical talent was indeed undeniable. No one at this time had any idea what deeds he would yet be capable of, how formidable his magic would yet become, but no one could deny that he was superior to all the students.

"Abraxas," she finally whispered, her eyes intently fixed on the door to the classroom, "I want you to know that ... that you know me better than anyone else here. The side of me that I bared to you in a weak moment ... that was never an act. I can't show myself like that in front of Tom, so ..."

"It is all right, Hermione," Abraxas interrupted her. He was still not looking at her, but his posture changed, he seemed more open, more relaxed, more attentive. She thought she detected a warm undertone as he continued. "Tom is good at making his friends feel weak. And that consequently makes us want to present ourselves stronger than we really are. It's a strange phenomenon, but as his long-time friend, I know it all too well."

Hermione felt an urgent need to wrap Abraxas in her arms. This person was just too good to be true. But she admonished herself not to get too close to him again, she had learned from her mistakes. She swallowed before replying, "I have wronged you and you are so understanding of me. I will make it up to you, Abraxas, I promise. One day I will make it all up to you."

Before he could say anything in reply, Tom's voice came through the half-opened door. Carefully, Hermione took another step away from Abraxas and steeled herself inwardly for the sight of Tom. She had been in the Great Hall early to avoid having to share breakfast with him, but now they would inevitably face each other again.

Tom, apparently engrossed in his conversation with a student from another house whom Hermione did not know by name, came strolling into the classroom without giving her a glance. She almost snorted loudly. Hermione knew all too well what Tom intended by that, and that was precisely why she did not care. If he expected her to find his cool ignorance hurtful because she wanted public displays of his feelings, he was wrong. Yes, she had given herself to him and let him dominate her, but that did not mean that she was now a slave to him in every situation outside the bed.

Her hands still clasped in front of her skirt, she waited for him to deign to give her his attention. This was, as always, all about power.

"Hermione, my dear," he greeted her finally, having almost walked up to her without acknowledging her presence, "I've missed you already. Weren't you at breakfast at all?"

Smiling, Hermione held out a hand to him. "I woke up very early today and finished my meal before you did. I hope I didn't upset you by not waiting for you?"

His melodious laugh rang through the filling room. "But Hermione, you don't owe me an account of your every move. You're my girlfriend, not my house elf."

With those words, he grabbed her outstretched hand and brought it to his lips. The kiss was more implied, a light touch on her fingertips, but the cold glint in Tom's eyes told Hermione that he did not appreciate her composed confidence. Her grin widened. He could just sulk about her lack of submission for all she cared.

Outwardly unaffected, Tom stood beside her after giving Abraxas a quick nod of greeting, but Hermione was sure he was seething inside. Perhaps he really thought he had already won. And perhaps today she would succeed in surprising him in the duel. There was a certain spell she discovered in one of his dark magic books that she was eager to try. She had no illusions about her chances of winning, but at least a surprise would be good.

Professor Merrythought stepped in, glanced contentedly through the well-behaved rows of students and then mounted the small stage. "As you have all correctly guessed, we have another practical test today. You will fight a duel with your partners up here for five minutes each and please use the newly learned spells in particular. Of course, you may use others, but at least once I would like to have seen each new spell."

Silently, Hermione watched as the first couple on stage went into duelling stances. She was only too aware of Tom's proximity; it was as if his body was radiating heat similar to that of the previous evening. Out of the corner of her eye she watched him. His face was impassive, seemingly focused on the spectacle before him, but she could clearly see his cheekbones standing out now and then, the muscles and tendons on his neck tensing briefly before he became aware of his body's unconscious reaction and relaxed again.

"Nervous?" she whispered almost inaudibly to him. Grinning, she registered his hands clenching into fists briefly before he got himself back under control.

"Don't provoke me, Hermione," he replied just as quietly, but even from that whisper she heard the clear, ice-cold threat. She briefly felt queasy at the thought of having to duel an angry Tom Riddle in a moment, but quickly pushed the thought aside. She could still provoke him and that was very good.

Concentrating on the duel ahead, Hermione did not notice how quickly the time flew by and before she knew it, the hour was almost up. With a tense expression on her face, Professor Merrythought turned to her and Tom at last. "I am very excited to see what you both have to show me, but please be more careful this time. We don't need any accidents; it would only challenge my teaching methods again."

It was obvious that her words were directed mainly at Tom, but he only responds with his usual politeness, "No one would question your teaching methods, Professor, your teaching is very good."

The older woman accepted the compliment with a grim nod, then made room for Hermione and Tom to climb onto the small stage. Hermione could clearly see that Tom was deliberately playing it cool to keep her off balance, but she was not going for it. Her goal was not to win. Her goal was to show him that she was not as far inferior as he probably assumed.

While they got into the traditional duelling position and Professor Merrythought went over all the rules and challenges once more, Hermione silently cast her prepared spell. She had to concentrate so as not to let on that she was already casting spells, just as she was aware that she would always have to put a small part of her attention into it for the rest of the duel. It would not be an easy task, but if she stayed focused, it could give her a speed advantage.

Carefully she waited until she felt the tingling sensation described in the book on her skin, then she knew the spell had been successfully cast. With a cold grin, she fixed her gaze on Tom until the professor gave the signal to start.

As in their first duel, Tom again did not hesitate a second before unleashing the first spell on her. It was spoken aloud, one of those they had only recently learned. With the corners of her mouth twitching, Hermione went along with the game and retorted with the shield spell they had learned in response. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Merrythought nodding appreciatively as they both managed to execute the spells flawlessly.

One after the other, they hurled the curses and defensive spells at each other in well-articulated fashion until the list of compulsory spells was done. Tom's gaze grew colder as he unleashed the first spell of his own, and as with the duel before, it was silent. Hermione knew what the expected reaction was - she would build a shield around herself to ward off the curse, and as quickly as she could send back her own attack spell.

But not today.

She ignored the approaching spell, instead retorting directly with the same attack spell. When the spell hit her, she heard her teacher's horrified gasp, but when she was clearly unharmed, the room went dead silent. Even Tom furrowed his eyebrows into a strained mask.

Again and again, he sent curses towards her, which she always returned. But while Tom cast the right defensive spell each time, she allowed herself to be hit. With each spell that hit directly, Tom's expression became more sinister. He seemed to realise more and more that if she only wanted to, she could be much faster than him, since she did not have to cast any shield spells. From a distance, she noticed sweat beading on his brow.

He doesn't understand, she thought triumphantly, Quite obviously he left out the chapter on defensive magic because he thought it was superfluous. He doesn't know what I did.

Euphoric, she began not only to send back the same curse, but also to cast an Expelliarmus each time. There were few spells easier to ward off for a prepared wizard, but when one had to ward off two different spells at the same time, mistakes happened quickly. And for her, as Harry Potter's best friend, the Expelliarmus was familiar enough that it took her no effort at all to cast it.

She had to admit, it was impressive how Tom still managed to ward off both spells and return an attack almost simultaneously, but his breathing was frantic while she herself was still almost unaffected. Her grin widened.

His gaze grew even darker, if possible, and for a split second Hermione thought she saw a malevolent crimson glow in his eyes. While she was still pondering this phenomenon, she realised that she was unfamiliar with the spell that was now flying towards her. Suspicious, she awaited the impact as she cast a Stupefy and an Expelliarmus.

The force would certainly have knocked her off her feet had she not still been standing in the traditional duelling position. Horrified, she stared at Tom and was already hit a second time. The spell that she cast at the beginning flared up - and went out. Panic-stricken, Hermione jumped to the side as she saw the third attack coming, but right there, a simple Stupefy, which Tom had cast almost simultaneously, was already waiting for her.

The impact hurled Hermione off the stage and the last thing she saw before she passed out was Tom's murderous expression as he stared down at her from above.