She another ominous dream that night, only this one was a little different. She was walking somewhere dark, but she couldn't be sure of where. There was a distinct buzzing sound somewhere in the distance. She met a stranger, but couldn't see his face for he was half-hidden in the shadows. No matter how much she tried, the stranger wouldn't reveal himself. He spoke to her as if he was warning her of something, but disappeared before she could ask anything else. The buzzing noise increased in sound and Hermione awoke to the buzzing of her alarm clock. Rolling over and groaning, she hit the snooze button. It was only seven a.m. Her train didn't leave until noon. She still had plenty of time.

When she awoke again, it was a quarter to nine. Her alarm was distinctly buzzing, yet she chose to ignore it. Yawning, she rolled over to face the wall and drifted into sleep again. When she awoke the third time, it was nearing ten o'clock and she decided that she had better get up. Throwing on her housecoat, she trudged downstairs, still feeling sleepy.

"Morning, sleepyhead!" her father teased. "Is that what that school is doing to you? Making you sleep late every morning?"

"Morning, Dad," she said, sitting down at the table. Her mother placed a cup of coffee in front of her and she drank it slowly. Her parents began asking her questions about her schooling this year and about her NEWTs. Before they realized it, it was almost eleven fifteen. They had forty-five minutes to get Hermione packed and off to the train station.

It was possible. The Granger family car rolled into King's Cross at eleven fifty-five, giving Hermione five minutes to fall casually through the barrier and grab a seat on the train. She kissed her parents goodbye, promising to write as soon as she could, and headed for her train.

The train was much more packed than it was when Hermione came home. She couldn't find an empty compartment so she asked a young man who looked her age if she could share his compartment. He looked up from his book slowly and nodded before continuing to read.

Hermione got settled in the seat across from him. She couldn't resist looking at the title of his book.

"Oooh! 'Running with Vampires'! I love that book!"

"Oh yeah?" The boy looked up and Hermione noticed how striking his blue eyes were. His face was pale but it could have just been the fact that his hair was jet-black and gave off the appearance that his face was pale. He was handsome and Hermione looked away from him, blushing. "It's my favourite book, too," he said. His voice was soft, but she detected a small hint of arrogance.

"I've read it at least five or six times," she said, suddenly feeling shy around the good-looking boy.

"Same as me." She raised her glance to meet his and was shocked to see that his eyes had almost changed colour. They appeared more of a greenish-hazel now. She said nothing, but he noticed her staring.

"I'm trying to alter my appearance on command," he answered her unasked question.

"What are you doing here?" she blurted out. Her curiosity got the better of her.

"I'm going to visit a friend of mine at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," he said. "How about you?"

"I go to school at Hogwarts!" she exclaimed, rather excited at the prospect of seeing this boy around school for awhile. "It's nice there," she finished, feebly.

"I know. I've been there before." The boy got a distance look in his eyes and Hermione left him alone for a few moments. She stared out the train window at the passing scenery.

"What's your name?"

She looked back at him. "Hermione Granger. What's yours?"

"Tom," he answered.

"Don't you have a last name, Tom?"

"Not one that I'd like to talk about."

Hermione nodded, although she couldn't understand why. He must have had his reasons so she left it at that. She found she could talk just as openly and as candidly with Tom as she could with either Harry or Ron. They discussed everything from the Ministry of Magic to the latest Quidditch news. Hermione was grateful she had listened to Ron and Harry discuss the latest Quidditch status last week. In all the excitement, Hermione never thought to ask Tom what school he went to.

When they arrived in Hogsmeade, Tom got out of the compartment first, standing out of the way for Hermione to go first. As they exited the train together and started heading for Hogwarts, Hermione noticed that Tom didn't have any luggage with him. She mentioned it as they approached the path that led to the school.

"I already sent my stuff ahead," he answered quickly, pausing at the entrance to the tree-covered pathway. "Would you like to get a drink or something before we go to the school?"

Looking at her watch, she noticed that she was supposed to meet Ron and Harry in half an hour. But what would one drink hurt?

"Sure!" she replied. "Why not?" And the two of them headed off towards the Main Street again. When Tom started to head away from the Three Broomsticks, Hermione pulled him back. "Where are you going?"

"The Hog's Head," he replied simply, as if she should have known that. Hermione shuddered but followed him. She had only been in there a few times before, but was never eager to go back. The Hog's Head attracted a far less civilized group of witches and wizards.

Upon entering the tavern, Hermione thought that the room had gone silent. Shocked glances stared at them from every angle and Hermione felt herself checking to see if she had cabbage or something stuck between her teeth. When she found nothing there, she followed Tom self-consciously up to the bar where he ordered two Butterbeers for them. When the drinks arrived, the tavern still silent, Tom proposed that they go sit in a quiet, dark corner with their drinks.

Hermione agreed, hating to be the centre of attention. They sat down at the most deserted table area in the entire inn and began sipping their drinks. Once again, they delved into conversations about school and how appropriate the lessons they were teaching were.

"What school do you go to?" Hermione asked, drawing a finger around the rim of her glass. She tried to look cute while doing it, but was also trying to clean the dirt off of it before she took another drink.

It took Tom a moment to answer. He made a big show of taking a drink and swallowing it. "Durmstrang," he finally answered and Hermione felt a pang of guilt. She had been writing a student there awhile back, but they hadn't kept in contact after he left school.

"I thought that school studied a lot of Dark Arts," she said, still cleaning the rim of her glass.

"It does." Tom's voice had a note of finality in it, so she dropped the subject, instead asking whom his favourite Quidditch player was.

An hour had gone by before Hermione realized the time. She jumped up, knocking over what was left of her Butterbeer. "Oh no!" she cried. "I was supposed to meet my friends thirty minutes ago!"
"We should go then," Tom said, standing up. He began to walk out of the tavern and Hermione followed him quickly, apologizing for the mess she had left on the table. They quickly approached the walkway and Tom slowed his pace.

"I like walking through here," he said as they entered it and the trees shaded them from the afternoon sun. "It's peaceful. And private."

"Right," Hermione said, rushing along. She was worried that if her friends didn't find her in the castle, they would think something had happened to her on the journey back. She didn't want to worry them, so she tried to edge Tom along as fast as he would go.

He was behind her and she turned to look at him. He had stopped several feet behind her and was staring at her oddly. "Tell me about your background," he said strangely.

"Um, there's not much to tell," she replied, grinding to a halt as well.

"Are you a pureblood?"

Something in his voice irritated her and she found he sounded an awful lot like Draco Malfoy when he was taunting her about it. The defiance in her mind forced her to answer, "Yes. One of the few families left."

"I didn't know the name Granger carried pure blood with it," Tom said, smiling bizarrely. He approached her slowly. "But if you say so, I guess I'll believe you."

Hermione began to feel very uneasy at the whole thing and a sharp pang in the side of her stomach caused her to drop her bag. She clutched the spot in pain as Tom approached her. "I won't hurt you, Hermione," he said, his voice dark and shallow. "I promise. But I need you to do something for me."

Hermione doubled over, more from fear then pain. She continued to clutch her side and soon felt Tom's hands on either side of her waist. He drew her close to him and put his hand on her abdomen. For a split second, she could have sworn she heard voices. Then they came back, louder and more distinct than before.

"I didn't get enough from dear Ginny, Hermione. She was a pureblood and that matters, but my choices are running low. You're brilliant, just like me. Together, we can create sparks. Together, we can create a magic that even dear old Hogwarts can't teach. If we were just one person, Hermione Granger, we would be dynamic. So let it be."

With a sharp force, he pushed her by the abdomen and she fell to the cobblestone walkway in tears. When she looked up several minutes later, Tom was nowhere to be found.