Greetings!

I know...gasp...two chapters in one day. I was on a roll and I had the next scene in my head so vividly that I was able to write it all down before the end of my day. Instead of holding it like a villain and posting it Monday...I decided to give it as a thank you to all of my followers and those who have made me smile already today with reviews that were just wonderful.

I am taking all the liberties I want with Tom and Hermione and this story so anything you see that does not match up to the story...its on purpose because I am not going to try to dig out little bitty tidbits on Tom to make it match when there isn't a lot out there. Hopefully you all still like the story in the end even with my liberties.

Have a great rest of the week and weekend. I am off until Monday, so I will be back on a roll then.

Always

~Tempest

Trying to get through dinner and his school work while keeping up a calm and aloof façade was harder than he realized it would be. Though he tried to brush it off as excess energy, Tom knew deep down he was just excited and a bit nervous to see HG face to face again. He could not pinpoint why yet but he seemed to really enjoy being near her and hated being punished and not able to see her at all. He had made a vow to himself just a few hours prior that he would do everything in his power to keep her from running away again. He needed time to figure out why he hated not being near her so he could get control of that part of himself as well.

Listening to the other boys move around the room from behind the privacy of his bed curtains, Tom pulled out the journal and ran his fingers over the engraving in the bottom corner. He was not sure why he had done it but using his wand he had engraved his initials into the gold plating and right below his he had engraved HG. Each time they talked it felt more and more like she was becoming a part of him that he would not want to go without. Disgusted at the thought he had tried to erase the feeling while she had been away but in one moment all his hard work was for nothing. The warming of the journal, her beautiful looping script, and he was hooked once more on talking to her.

Sliding the journal under his pillow, he laid back and let his mind drift over that realization but really could not come to any understanding or conclusion that made sense to him. He was pretty sure she would be able to tell him but he was not willing to risk letting her know how addicting she was just to get the answer. Maybe he would ask one of the females he saw every day and see if they could explain it to him. Of course he would have to charm one of them into talking to him first. What a bunch of rubbish!

Casting the warding spell and silencing spell that HG had taught him the first weeks of school, he relaxed more into his bed and waited on the magic of the journal to activate and take him away. Muffliato was an interesting name for a charm. She had told him it was created by a wizard that would become his most trusted follower and one he needed to learn to appreciate and not degrade. He wasn't quite sure what that meant yet but he would be patient until she was willing to tell him more. He would just have to find out what spells his 'followers' created as he acquired them until he came across this particular one.

Drifting off to sleep was a bit harder with the adrenaline of knowing she would be there running through his veins but eventually all the noise and movement in the room stopped and the day caught up to him. Rolling to his side as he drifted deeper, Tom reached under the pillow and wrapped his hand around the edge of the journal with a slight smile on his face.

"For Godric's sake Ronald, I am not going to do this with you…again! I don't have the time or the patience to try to make you understand why I have no choice in what I am doing."

"That is a crock Mione and you know it! I don't care what Dumbledore and that greasy git said…this is too dangerous and not even going to work! Look at what just happened…you almost died and it would have been his fault!"

Reaching to grab her arms to pull her to a stop, Ron yelped when he received a shock to his fingertips instead and the spell rolled through him and made him feel sick to his stomach.

"Blimey Hermione…that damn journal attacks anyone that tries to touch you or get close to you when you are just carrying it around with you. Even that small piece of him is still as evil and hateful as it always was! You really think you can get the whole of that kind of darkness to just suddenly change and be all light and unicorns?"

Glaring at him for trying to grab her and running her fingers over the vibrating journal to sooth it, Hermione turns to face Ron and ultimately a very annoyed Harry with what little patience she has left.

"IT is a HE and he can hear you! That small piece of him is also residing in the journal now with a small piece of me you git which is why he attacks. He feels like you are being threatening to what he considers his property and yelling loud enough to wake the dead is not helping matters."

Sighing and setting the journal on the table so that the fractured soul of Tom could not lash out at Ron again, Hermione walked over to her best friend and put her arms around him to pull him close. Squeezing him in a warm hug, she takes a few breaths to calm her nerves before leaning back to look at him.

"Look Ron…I know you are worried and I know you don't like what I have to do but that is not going to change the fact that I am going to do it. You were not in all the meetings but I promise this has to be done or things will end badly for everyone."

Resting his forehead against hers, Ron groans at her logical answer.

"I know it has to be done but why does it have to be you? Why can't one of the other Order members put themselves at risk? What happens when he figures out how to counter the magic that gives you full control and takes back his part? What if he really hurts you one day before you can escape? There are plenty of others who could have done this mission!"

Rubbing her hands up and down his sides, Hermione sighs again but this time in understanding and sadness.

"They tried to get someone else. No one was qualified enough to do it. If they were smart enough than they were not empathetic enough. Others could not see past his deeds to treat him with respect or any form of caring. And not a single one of them was willing to use that dark spell Dumbledore had to tear a small piece of their soul off and stick it in the horcrux."

Lifting her head to look him in the eye, Hermione gives him a small smile and gently cups his cheek.

"In the end, I was the only one willing to do all that was needed for it to work who also had the brain to talk to him, the empathy to accept him as he is, and the bravery and loyalty to be willing to face him head on even if it meant pain or suffering. I will not back out now…not even for you Ron."

Watching the sadness come into his eyes again, Hermione blinks several times to keep the tears from forming in her eyes before turning to look at Harry.

"Will you…?"

Nodding at her, Harry walks over to put his hand on Ron's shoulder.

"Come on mate…it's for the greater good. She has to go before the journal heats up and she misses the opportunity. Let's go play chess while she is gone yeah?"

"Yeah…okay Harry. Be careful Hermione. I mean it! You are still not fully healed from that stupid escapade into the ministry. You heard what Madam Pomfrey said about using too much magic and exhausting yourself. Short and sweet this time!"

Watching her best friend and her brother turn and walk away Hermione had to bite her lip against the pang of remorse and sadness that she felt. She never meant to hurt Ron and truly thought he would be happy with Lavender. Giving a piece of her soul to Tom Riddle had tied her to him for the rest of her life…no matter how short or long it ended up being. There was no turning back, no matter how Ron might care for her.

Picking up the journal and hugging it to her chest, Hermione headed up to her private dorm to get settled in for her own game of chess…only hers could not be reset and really was for keeps. She felt like they were going to save the Sorcerer's Stone all over again.

Tom opened his eyes to see that he was once again back in the forest clearing that HG seemed to be fond of. He really was going to have to find out where this place was so he could come to it in real life and see the appeal for himself. Leaning against the tree across from him, HG seemed to be lost in thought and her eyes looked…sad. Not knowing why exactly, Tom felt his temper flare slightly at that look. He didn't know who had put that sorrow in her eyes but they would pay for it.

Turning her head finally, she met his gaze and gave him a small but warm smile. He watched her eyes move down as if she were checking him for any harm. Once she seemed satisfied she looked back up at him and held out her hand.

"Walk with me?"

Looking back and forth between her eyes to check her sincerity, Tom came to the conclusion that she was being completely open at the moment and walked forward to take her hand. Turning, they both started to slowly wander through the beautiful trees.

"Why do you like to come here?"

Her smile growing and taking on a wistful air, HG took a deep breath and suddenly he could not only see the trees but smell the pine from the needles. He could feel the dampness in the air and even taste the rich loam around him.

"My parents and I used to come here during the summer to camp and just be alone together without the interference of the rest of the world. It was their chance to escape their busy lives and my chance to spend more time with them. Being an only child was never that bad but there were times when I would get very lonely while they were at work or off to some conference. This was my time to get to be their daughter without the rest of it in the way."

Looking down he realized the nice feeling he was getting was her thumb rubbing what seemed to be unconsciously back and forth against his hand. He could not remember a single time that someone touched him without it causing pain and he had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from ripping his hand away in anger and confusion. That would not help his plan to win her over and gain more control of the situation.

"Once I started Hogwarts, the distance between them and it became even more pronounced. I would go home for the summer and we would take a small vacation together but for the most part they thought I would enjoy the alone time since I had to spent the rest of my year surrounded by Griff…other students…"

Jerking his head up to look at her face at the slip, his grin widened at her biting her lip and obviously berating herself silently for letting that tidbit through. Playing it smart for the moment, Tom looked back to the path and continued forward hand in hand.

"So basically they stopped bringing you here and ultimately left you to your own devices and went about their own lives. Rumor has it that that happens a lot with the muggleborns that end up in our world. The muggle parents do not truly know how to take the wizarding world or their magical child and the family grows apart with the separation of their world and ours. Am I getting that right?"

Nodding she looked down at him and gave him a warm smile that made his heart feel like it skipped a beat before settling into a fast rhythm like a stampede of hippogriffs.

"Don't get me wrong though. I love my parents and they love me. It just became hard to talk about what I had been doing when I had to explain the basics first just to tell them about a class or some new theory or spell or rune or whatever. Forget trying to explain Quidditch to them. My dad loved sports but trying to explain brooms and the points and how to score and bludgers and snitches…a nightmare! And I don't even really like Quidditch so that made it worse."

Letting her head fall back as she laughed about it, Tom had a strange moment where he realized that not only was she brilliant and brave but she was beautiful as well. If he were ever inclined to take a female for his own as he had heard and seen others in his house do…he realized he would want someone like HG. Reminding himself to always be honest at least in his own mind he amended that it would BE her and not someone like her.

The only problem with that was that if he got to that point, he had no way to know which time to find her in and if he would live that long. Making a mental note to start researching magical ways to slow one's life down, prolong it, or even become immortal when he returned to school after the summer, Tom tuned back in to the conversation to listen to her tell him anecdotes and funny stories about her muggle parents and their experience with magic.

During her stories and laughter they had managed to find a nice log next to a stream and she had sat down pulling him with her. He found himself mesmerized by her hand gestures and facial expressions. For the life of him he could not figure out the feeling that sat in the pit of his stomach but knew that it had something to do with everything she had shared with him today.

Then it hit him…jealousy…he was jealous? She did seem to have very loving parents even if they were a bit distant due to her magical abilities. Her childhood was full of laughter and love and fun and he realized he was not only jealous that he had not gotten to experience that for himself but was jealous that her parents had gotten to share that with her and vis versa. He wanted to know what it felt like to come home to a mother or father that was happy to have you there and wanted to know all about your time even if they didn't fully understand. At the same time he wanted her to come to him with her day and what she did and no one else. It was a very confusing and he knew twisted feeling so for the first time outside of meditation, Tom pulled on his will power to erect his first full occlumency shield to try to block out the feeling.

He was so focused on what he was doing that he didn't realize HG had gone silent until the smell of the trees faded and the sound of the stream went quiet as well. Looking up at her, he noticed she was studying him like he studied other people and he didn't much care for the feeling that brought about.

"What did I say or do to push you to fade behind your occlumency? Though I have to say bravo for already having worked that out and being able to use it but I thought we were having a nice time…"

Her worry and confusion was evident on her face and as she leaned back on her hands he caught a flash of hurt in her eyes as well.

"Nothing. Listening to you about your life I started to feel jealous…about several things. I am not good with over bearing feelings and I especially do not like jealousy as it points to the thought process that something in your life is lacking to be jealous over. So I decided to see if I could use the occlumency to control it so that I didn't lose my hold on my temper next."

The smile that bloomed on her face made his chest ache and caused him to lose all concentration on his shield.

"Well I never thought I would see the day! Tom Marvolo Riddle Junior is jealous of little muggleborn, Griffindor Her…uh me. I need to mark this on and then off of my bucket list."

Her grin turning into an unladylike snort and then a chuckle had his temper rising along with the urge to give her an incredulous smile. Knowing which would make her more susceptible to his charm, he let the self-deprecating grin form on his face and watched her eyes get wide and her laughter die though she did not lose her own grin.

"You should smile more often Tom…it makes you much more inviting and approachable."

Tilting his head in a mock bow like he had seen the other purebloods do to each other he lifted her hand and gently brushed his lips across her knuckles.

"As my lady commands it…so shall it be."

The blush that rises on her cheeks and rushes down her neck causes his adrenaline to start pumping in his veins again. It seemed that wherever she was from the boys there had not learned or did not treat her with the etiquette that was to be afforded a lady. And just like that he had his way in to her head and her heart. She would be his very soon indeed and he would be able to get all the answers he was looking for about his future.

"Now…since we have established that your life has been much brighter and kinder than mine and that I am indeed jealous of your fortune…how about we discuss this slip of yours. Griffindor house…really HG…did you have to be a Griffindor?"

Wrinkling his nose as if he smelled something foul, he watched her roll her eyes and try to hide the grin that was trying to bloom by biting her lip.

"Well TJ…can I call you TJ?"

Raising her eyebrow in challenge, she turns her head to the side to give him a mock coy look that makes him chuckle. Pretending to consider it he nods his head in acceptance like a prince would to a servant and watches as her face lights up in brilliant laughter again.

"If one were to believe in fate and not just chance then yes TJ, I had to be a Griffindor. Only a Griffindor would have the courage to take a leap like I did on you."

"What do you mean by leap?"

Sliding forward and placing her hand on his chest right over his heart, HG meets his eyes with such an open look that for a moment he wants to lash out just to make her back away.

"I told you I was here to save you or destroy you. To get close enough to you over time and space, I had to give up a piece of myself to you. That won't make any sense yet but in a few years you will know exactly what I mean. No matter what the outcome is now…I couldn't go back to before if I tried. I am as locked into this now as you are. No one else was willing to sacrifice that much to give you a chance…except for me. And a large part of that decision at first was that my Griffindor nature would not let me back down to my own fears."

At the point where her hand connected to his chest, Tom could feel a warm, radiant wave flowing from her into him and back out. He was not positive but it felt almost like her very essence or as the muggles liked to define it…her soul.

Looking back up at her face to ask a question, Tom pauses as he notices her face losing some of its color and sweat beginning to bead on her forehead. Forgetting completely about what he was going to ask, Tom moves to kneel in front of her as he places his hand on her face.

"HG what's wrong? You look sick or something…" Keeping his voice soft with an inflection of worry, Tom searches her face for the answer.

"I am going to have to cut this meeting short TJ. I told you that it has been hectic in my time line. As you said, hectic was a synonym…for dangerous and in my case almost deadly. We got into a skirmish of sorts and I got hit by an unknown dark curse. I managed to silence the dea…the culprit but the spell still hit with enough potency to cause serious damage."

As she talked her hands started to shake and she gripped them together to try to contain it.

"The healing process is taking longer than they thought it would and my magic depletes faster the more I use it. I think I may have over exerted myself by making the environment more real for you so you could know this place like I remember it. I was told to take it easy…I didn't listen." Giving him a weak deprecating smile, she tries to stand only to wince and fall back to the log.

Moving to make sure she doesn't hurt herself more, Tom wraps his arms around her to slow her fall and does his best to use his smaller size to its fullest.

"Who hurt you HG? Give me their name and I will make sure they never survive to get to your time and hurt you!"

His eyes losing all warmth as he lets his inner being free, Tom gently holds her chin to make her meet his eyes.

"I can't do that TJ…I don't know what that kind of change would do to the time line or even to me at this point. Time is a capricious thing and we must be very careful how we tread."

Standing in a burst of violence, wishing he had his magic available so he could destroy a few tress, Tom stomps away from her as his voice rings through the forest.

"BULLSHIT!"

Turning back to face her, seething in his anger, he glares at her through burning eyes.

"I want to know the name of the wizard who fired the curse at you HG. You are going to tell me today or you will tell me in the future but I WILL have his name and I will make him pay for hurting you!"

Her eyes filling with tears, that make his chest ache again, HG pushes to her feet and leans heavily against the nearby tree.

"You want the honest truth of it then Tom? I warned you not to ask questions you didn't want the answer to."

At his furious nod, HG takes a deep breath and closes her hand into a fist at her side.

"It was you Tom. Another wizard may have cast the curse but it was done out of devotion to you and by your orders. Who hates me for my blood and my status enough to try to kill me…you do."

With those last two whispered words and the lone tear falling down her cheek, HG opens her hand and vanishes.

Sitting up in bed with his hand stretch out in front of him and no pouring from his lips in a raged plea, Tom looks around and realizes she has left him again and he is back in his bed…alone. Leaning forward and putting his head in his hands, Tom touches the tear that is on his cheek that matches the same placement of her tear and lets his mind blank as the ache in his chest deepens to a crushing weight. Ripping the journal out from under his pillow, he summons a quill and opens to the first free page. Throwing caution to the wind he reaches out one more time.

Don't leave me HG…please…

Waiting with baited breath, Tom feels the ache ease as he reads the words that slowly form on the page is a shakier version of her handwriting. Putting the journal away and laying back down, he closes his eyes and lets her words run over and over in his mind as he drifts back off to sleep.

Never Tom…I will never leave you