A second year tapped Hermione's shoulder at breakfast. "Dumbledore has requested to see you after breakfast."
Hermione was excited. She had not spoken to Dumbledore much since she'd told him of her unusual arrival to Hogwarts. And so, Hermione shoved the rest of her waffle down her throat and took a quick swig of pumpkin juice before rushing off to Dumbledore's office.
"Oh Miss Granger, you got here quickly." Dumbledore spoke in his warm and comforting tone. "I just wanted to update you"
Hermione perked up, excited and hopeful.
"I, unfortunately, have no news about your time travel. I'm sorry dear, it is a very difficult and complex sort of magic and not much is known about it. But I'm sure with time, I will find out more" Dumbledore's sympathetic tone comforted her, only slightly. Hermione's hopes were crushed in an instant. She really really wanted to go home. She wanted so badly to rejoin the battle, to finish the war she had been fighting since she was eleven. It wasn't fair that she was ripped away from everything and thrust into a place that was no kinder than the other. At least in her time, she had friends. People she loved more than life itself. Here she had nothing. Friendship with Cynthia and Abraxas based on lies. And an enemy in Tom Riddle.
"It's okay professor, I have faith in you" And Hermione was being truthful. If anyone could get her out of this mess, it would be Dumbledore.
Hermione had plans to meet with Abraxas for this morning's quidditch game. Slytherin vs Ravenclaw. Abraxas was the captain of the Slytherin quidditch team and had been chattering all morning about how impressed Hermione would be with his skills. Abraxas really did remind her of Ron. And perhaps that is why she is in the stands cheering him on. It felt normal, besides the green robes and scarf.
Abraxas hugged Hermione tightly after winning the game. "See! I told you I'm really good" he whispered proudly in her ear. Hermione grinned, pulling away from the hug slightly, "I don't know if i saw enough talent out there, maybe it's just because you have a better broom." She teased him with a smile, watching his indignation at her words. "It is not!" Abraxas exclaimed but he laughed when he realised Hermione had just been teasing him.
Hermione and Abraxas walked together back to the castle. Cynthia was walking a few metres in front of them, holding hands with Anthony Longbottom. Cynthia turned her head to look at Hermione and winked.
"Look, Hermione, I need to talk to you. It's important" Abraxas's usual playful grin was gone, instead replaced with a solemn and an entirely un-reassuring smile. The expression looked wrong on his face. Hermione turned to him but kept walking at a slow pace. "What is it?"
"You need to stay away from Riddle, he's…not what he seems." Abraxas muttered quietly. "You don't know him the way I do…please, for me, just stay away from him." Abraxas was obviously fearful of Riddle. And Hermione was struck again with the notion that Abraxas was a death eater and so were his son and grandson..or will be. He is currently a knight of Walpurgis, that's what Tom Riddle called his early death eaters. Hermione wanted to tell him that she knew about Riddle. She knew probably more than anyone what he was capable of.
Whatever the mission she was sent on, she knew it had to do with Tom Riddle. Whether she was meant to kill him, change him, redeem him, find information on him…she didn't know precisely. But it was all about him…so she couldn't stay away from him.
And honestly…she sort of didn't want to. Tom was fascinating, in a twisted way. Most of everything he did was calculated and he was so powerful. She could feel his magic swirling around him. A force to be reckoned with. He was also rather intelligent, rivalling her own intelligence. So, yes, Hermione wanted to understand him, know him. Maybe it could give her an edge against him if she ever returned to her time.
"I know what he can be like Abraxas, and don't worry about me, I can protect myself." Hermione replied. Abraxas's worry didn't lessen, she knew he wanted to say more but couldn't, for the fear that he would anger his lord was too great. "Okay" he murmured.
Riddle was scary. In a way that few people could ever be. She hated him so much that burned her from the inside. She could hardly contain herself from lashing out at him. Recklessness was a Gryffindor trait, though she was always more rational than any person in her house. It seems that has changed since she arrived in 1944.
Seeing him strut through the hallways, pretending not to be a monster, It made her furious. He was everything the Order fought against. He was the creature that plagued her nightmares. Evil, cruel and merciless. He had tortured her, and she'd expected it…but it still angered her. It made her obvious hatred of him justified. She has always loathed him, of course, but now she had a reason that she could bring up in an argument. If he ever asked her why she hated him again, Hermione would only need to cite the time he had tortured her.
This was fucked up. This entire situation was weird, and a mess that even she couldn't sort. Hermione still couldn't believe she was here.
The weekend passes in a blur of books, and research into runes that didn't seem to exist anywhere on earth. Perhaps they didn't exist yet…what if the runes and ritual were invented after 1944. Hermione shoved the thought away and continued her research. She couldn't lose hope.
After two days of nonstop reading, she was glad when professor Merrythought told the Defence Against the Dark Arts class that they were doing a practical today.
Her excitement was ruined when the professor announced they were duelling. "I will be pairing you up with another student that is on the same or similar level. Therefore you will be duelling fairly." Professor Merrythought exclaimed.
And surely enough, Hermione was partnered with Tom Riddle. Who could have ever seen that coming, Hermione thought while rolling her eyes. "Is there anything you wish to say about my choice in partnership, Miss Greene" Professor Merrythought scolded. "No professor," Hermione mumbled, slightly embarrassed. Tom smirked at the interaction.
Riddle stood across from Hermione in a duelling stance similar to hers. Hermione was scared…as hard as she tried to remain calm, her nerves were building at the sight of his wand pointed at her. Calm down. Calm down. Calm down. Hermione willed herself of her nerves and assessed her opponent. That's all he was, an opponent. A skilled and powerful opponent. Not the most dangerous dark wizard to ever exist…no, just a normal schoolboy. That's all.
Riddle cast the first spell, a simple stunner that Hermione easily blocked. He cast another, an Expelliarmus. Hermione blocked that with a simple protego. She was now wary, these were simple spells. What was he playing at?
Hermione sent him a spell that pushed powerful winds, which threw opponents into walls. Tom raised a shield. He quirked an eyebrow and retaliated with a slightly stronger curse, which Hermione could only mutter the counter curse.
"Oppongo" An army of vicious birds attacked. He turned them to dust.
"Expulso" He waved his wand in quick precise movements. And while Hermione was busy casting a protego, Tom cast a "Flagrante" which she had to dodge as she didn't recognise it and could not counteract it, the curse skimmed past her arm leaving a searing, painful heat.
"Caecus" Hermione waved her wand. It was a curse that temporarily blinded. It was not very well-known. The curse hit Tom full-force and he glared at her unseeing. Hermione quickly cast the same powerful wind that pushed Tom to the floor. No doubt bruising his backside. Before Hermione could blink, Riddle cast a curse, one that she recognised from fighting his death eaters. Hermione wondered if he had taught it to them. The curse was fast, and she barely managed to cast a Protego Maxima. It was a powerful shield against dark magic. One that required much skill to cast.
Hermione noticed Riddle's growing fury. And surprise. He cast a quick statue curse, which if it made contact - would turn her to stone. Hermione panicked and cast another more powerful protego maxima, which surprisingly stopped the curse. Her shield flickered and died upon contact with the next of Riddle's curses. And so, a weakened curse hit Hermione in the chest. It felt like she'd been hit by a truck. Hermione quickly muttered a non-verbal but strong healing charm. Vicissim et sana.
Hermione was getting frustrated. His curses were very powerful. And he was quick to counter any curses she threw at him. Even ones that weren't well-known in the slightest. Hermione was quick too, his spells rarely made contact. Hermione's shield charms were strong and she was an expert at healing spells, so when they did hit her, she reversed the effects almost immediately.
Hermione distantly noticed the other students surrounding them, having stopped their own duels to watch Hermione and Tom. She heard loud noises and Hermione wondered where professor Merrythought was.
"Scalpere" Tom threw a strong curse at her. It was dark magic she recognised, but didn't know the counter curse to. The curse hit her left arm, slicing it open. Crimson coloured the sleeve of her robes and Hermione went blind with rage.
Sectumsempra. Hermione made erratic patterns of slashes with her wand and muttered the spell non-verbally. It was a low blow, she knew. The curse hasn't been invented yet. It wouldn't be until Snape would create it a decade or two from now. Hermione watched Riddle's eyes widen as his protego maxima shield was unable to stop the curse. Slashes upon slashes littered Riddle's chest, like he was being cut by an invisible sword. Riddle used a powerful anti-curse which stopped the attack.
There was a quick moment of stilted silence, in which Riddle looked at Hermione in the most intense rage she has ever seen from him. His eyes flashed red. Still bleeding furiously, Tom conjured another curse. And instead of toeing the line between light and dark magic he was crossing right over it. Hermione watched in horror as black flames erupted from his wand. Tenebris flammae. Hermione knew it, and had read it in a book about ancient dark curses in the restricted section. But she struggled to remember the counter curse and so, she cast an incredibly powerful shield charm non-verbally. Defendat aeternum. It took a lot of effort to maintain and used a lot of magic, but she only needed it for a few minutes.
The black cursed flames surrounded Hermione but did not touch her. Tom conjured more of the black flames and her shield faltered only slightly. But it was enough for the flame to touch her and cause a searing pain on her shoulder. It was so agonising that a tear slipped from her eye. A small burn was left on her shoulder, it could never be removed. Burns from the Tenebris flammae could never heal. Never. Hermione's shield charm was still in place but it took more and more effort to maintain. Finally, Riddle's cursed flames were extinguished.
Both Hermione and Tom raised their wands to continue their duel when a loud shout captured both their attention. Professor Merrythought, Professor Dumbledore and Headmaster Dippet stood to the side, their mouths agape. "Enough! That is enough, both of you come to the headmasters office, right now." Dumbledore bellowed in a heated tone. "NOW!" He shouted when both Tom and Hermione did not move. They brushed past the sea of students surrounding them. Their faces would almost be comical, had this been a different circumstance. Their eyes were bulging out of their heads and their jaws were hanging open. Murmurs and whispers spread between the students. Hermione caught the gaze of Abraxas and Cynthia in the crowd. Cynthia mouthed a shocked 'What the fuck'. And Hermione just shrugged in response.
The walk to the headmaster's office was silent. Hermione and Tom did not look at each other.
Hermione could not believe she just did what she did. It had to be the most reckless and foolish thing she has ever done. Though, to be fair, it was mostly in self-defence… not the Sectumsempra, she thought guiltily. Hermione wasn't like this. She has always been rational, calm and collected. While she had a fiery temper, she mostly kept it in check.
Hermione was reminded of that time she had cast Oppugno on Lavender Brown and Ron, when she had caught them together. Perhaps, she was not always cool headed and rational.
But lately, she has been making impetuous decisions based mostly on anger. That was something Ron and Harry did, not her.
Riddle made her act this way. He clouded her head with intense blinding rage and she couldn't think.