Harry couldn't sleep, he went down into the common room to get away from his thoughts. He knew Voldemort was up to something. Something was happening out there and the complete lack of attention paid to the matter after what happened at the Quidditch World Cup only heightened his anxiety.
When he reached the bottom of the stairs, however, he was surprised to find a familiar bushy tuft of hair poking out from the top of one of the armchairs.
He walked quietly, not wanting to startle the little bookworm, but when he came round to the front of the chair he discovered that she was fast asleep. From one hand dangled a small but thick book bound in black, the page she was open on was covered in indecipherable runes and an unintelligible diagram of a something that involved triangles. Harry shook his head. She had been acting far too strange lately, it was probably his fault, making her worry about the tasks. But normally she was so sensible. Sure, she often stayed up late to work on things but she rarely wore herself out like this. She was enthusiastic and hardworking- not masochistic.
With a sigh he went to put her right, first stooping to brush a stray hair from out of her mouth, and then going to remove the book from her grasp.
Hermione's wand was at his throat before he even reached her. As soon as she realised who it was she lowered her arm, but cautiously, ready to raise the wand again in a split second. Harry almost didn't notice the fiery glint in her eyes before they returned to their perpetually soft and anxious state.
"Oh Harry, I'm so sorry! I just suddenly woke and I thought- I thought- I was so startled from my dreams I must have just- I'm so sorry, Harry! Trust me to fall asleep in the common room. Are you alright?"
Harry chuckled awkwardly as he watched his friend stumble over her excuses, all much too inconclusive for his liking. "I'm fine Hermione, it's you I'm worried about. What were you dreaming?"
"Professor McGonagall had just expelled me, it was very realistic. Very realistic." Her other hand unconsciously drifted to her wand arm and began to wring round her wrist.
"So you drew your wand on her?"
Hermione laughed. "No, no, no! I was just distressed, and when I woke and saw a shadowy figure trying to steal my books I was already on the defensive. What are you doing down here anyway? Can't sleep?" She kept her eyes on him as she wordlessly packed away her things, the concern of a mother in her voice, the love of a sibling. Always so worried about everyone else, never herself.
"Yeah, too warm. Ron's snoring like a fog horn too."
They both knew it was a lie. Neither disputed it. They were both too tired.
Harry cleared his throat. "What about you? Studying for something?"
"Yeah, you know me. I found this really interesting book on more practical applications of ancient runes."
"Of course you did. You've got to go easier on yourself 'Mione."
"Never." She smiled. Then her face changed again, more contemplative. "Actually Harry, I was wondering if you could help me with something…"
"Ready?" Tom asked.
"One moment." Hermione fished the invisibility cloak out of her bag and quickly draped it over herself. A wave of calm passed over her as she saw Tom blink in amazement. It felt better to be invisible.
"Is that-"
"Yes it is an invisibility cloak. No you can't have it. Let's go shall we?"
Tom opened the door. Hermione was about to step through when his hand shot out and blocked her path. "Most students are at dinner currently, but even so I don't want you to wander off, hold onto my robes so I know you're there."
Hesitantly, Hermione placed a cloak clad hand on his elbow.
Tom smiled. "Good girl."
Hermione kicked him in the shin. "Oops."
"Ow! I'll send you back Granger I swear to Circe."
Beneath the cloak she stuck out her tongue at him. She rather enjoyed being invisible.
"Insufferable thing."
They walked quickly through the corridors, making their way to the Ravenclaw tower without crossing many people. They almost made it to the top, in fact, when a girl appeared from around the corner. She was looking grimly ahead of her at first, but immediately burst into an obscene cry of "Oh, Tom!" when she spotted them- him- from the end of the corridor.
Hermione grimaced as Tom plastered on his most indulgent smile. She scoffed and he jutted. His façade nearly crumbled as his eyes slipped to his side. "Ah-
"Where have you been all day? You weren't around at breakfast or lunch, it's so boring without you, nobody is as entertaining as you, Tom. What were you doing? Off with some girl?" Her eyes glowed in clear awe. Hermione almost felt sorry for her. Almost because the next second she flung herself forward and Hermione was forced to step out of her way as she placed herself on Tom's arm, pressing her cleavage up against him in a garish display of- well Hermione wasn't really sure what.
"I'm sorry, Lucretia. I've been terribly busy. If I could I'd strive to be in your presence far more often, but alas, I have to put in the work if I want to be a prefect next year." He spoke in warm tones that Hermione hadn't heard since she first met the strange boy.
The girl- Lucretia- pouted in a much too pretty way. "Oh Tom, you push yourself too hard. You have to give yourself a break sometime."
"Don't you worry, I'll make sure to take a break just as soon as I've taken over the world." He laughed. Hermione shivered behind him, involuntarily tugging on his shoulder. It had sounded so cold, so real.
Lucretia giggled alongside him, polluting the self-assured tones with much too high a pitch, before she sidled closer and rolled her eyes. "You're so funny Tom. Anyway, I'll let you get on with your duties. Just promise me you'll come see me tomorrow."
"I promise, Ms. Black." He said solemnly.
"You better Mr. Rid-" Tom kissed the end of her words away.
Hermione let go of his shoulder, taking in a sharp breath that she hoped was muffled by the surrounding cloak. Luckily Lucretia Black was rather too preoccupied to notice, and Tom had yet to relent his sudden attack.
Her heart sped up at the immediacy of it all: the unexpectedness. She thought she could read him quite well but here he was kissing a girl who moments ago he had been teasing for his own amusement. He had no intention of wasting time on this particular romantic pursuit. He still didn't, she thought. Yet there he stood, snogging the unsuspecting girl senseless.
He let her go with the same abruptness, and Hermione just caught the movement of his sleeve towards his mouth when he caught himself. Lucretia stumbled back in a daze, blinking, lips parted, a picture of naïve bliss. Without a word Tom cleared his throat, nodded, and carried on past. Hermione stayed for a moment longer, hoping for the girl to move before she went past, but she was too shocked to carry on, and instead propped herself against the wall, fingers ghosting her lips as if trying to retain the sensation of his touch.
Still very aware of how much noise she was producing, Hermione crept past, but as she did so she wondered if she had acted half so ridiculously when Viktor kissed her for the first time.
Up ahead, Tom was marching towards the astronomy tower with great, assertive strides, trying to disperse the sensation of that inconvenient interaction. His footsteps echoed in his head, drowning out the sound of Lucretia's voice. Worst of all Hermione had to bear witness to the whole disgusting ordeal. What would she think? What would she care?
Hermione. Hermione!
Tom felt for the hand on his shoulder but there was nothing there. He turned in panic, forgetting her obligation to him, the bond they had established which would prevent her from erring. He just knew that he needed to find her, and he needed to find her now!
"It's alright, I'm here." She said close by, but not as close as she had been. Then he felt a gentle tug at the fabric on his elbow.
She watched as the tension drained out of his face, all the panic and anger. The change had been so sudden that it had shocked her for a moment, all burning eyes and mistrust. It was the first time she had ever seen evidence of his vulnerability. The first time she'd truly registered his mistrust of her.
"Good, Miss. Granger. Stay close to me now, I don't expect we shall have any more distractions like that." He huffed, clearly still recovering from his embarrassment.
"Let's hope not." Hermione smiled, enjoying seeing through his impervious mask as a result of her invisibility.
They walked on in silence, with Hermione admiring the slightly distorted view of a Hogwarts not her own through the cloak. Everything was as it was in her time and yet it all held such a different energy, a different spirit. This Hogwarts felt colder, darker. It was filled with all the same ornaments and statues, all the same lingering Christmas decorations in their royal colours, all the same stone, covered in all the same snow, but entirely apart from what she knew Hogwarts to be. She wondered whether Tom felt this coldness too.
It was, in any case, an entirely new perspective, being led like a stranger through the halls with a confidence that even she found striking. Though, at this point, she would have been disappointed with anything less from Tom. He led quickly and firmly, but he did not tug her with his speed. As in much of what she'd seen of him, he was gently coercive.
They reached the tower in hardly any time at all, walking past only a few others who gave only a cursory nod to Tom if any acknowledgement at all. This was what he'd been counting on. Once they arrived they scoured the area quickly for anybody nearby, but as they had both expected there was nobody. The winter evenings were not conducive to even the most ardent of lovers sneaking off to the tower in the dead of night. It was empty and ethereal, showcasing the dreary beauty of snow in the pale gleam of the moon.
The pair sat close together at the edge, cold in their clothing, not having wanted to draw any unnecessary attention to themselves after all their planning. Hermione pulled out yet another book from god knows where, as she always did, and Tom rested against the stonework beside her, casting his eyes once again on the information he had gained while they waited, patiently for the ghost to appear.
It had all taken so much planning and preparation, so many hours spent pouring over books that held only the vaguest snippets of information only vaguely related to what they needed to know, all for a diadem that they may not be able to locate. Tom was exhausted but sat calmly as he read over his notes for the hundredth time. It was all her fault, being so fastidious, so unwilling to take unmitigated risks, and yet, here she was.
He hated how unpredictable she was. In some ways she was easy to manipulate and control, and yet in others she wasn't at all. He was starting to wonder if perhaps he'd only ever "manipulated" her to do things that she had already decided on doing. It was so infuriating!
But he knew he had to be patient. This operation didn't really matter, after all. This was just an exercise. To build her trust, to win her over. She'd been here, she'd face no harm and then she'd have to give him something in return. He knew what he really wanted, and he had a feeling that if anyone knew where it was it would be this girl, with her personal history, her odd magnetism to secrets.
Tom yawned, letting his mind wander through the secrets he knew she kept.
When he woke, Hermione's face was too close to his own, her hair flying frantically as her eyes flitted between his own and something in the distant to her right.
"Tom. Tom?" She was whispering.
"What do you want?" He grumbled irritably, disgruntled at having fallen asleep in front of her.
"Shh, she's here."
Instantly he shook himself awake. Excitement filtered through his veins and the adrenaline started pumping. Helena was indeed there, though it took him a moment to pick out her form against the darkness and the snow. The second his eyes found her however, he couldn't look away. She was truly beautiful, and her mere profile was enough to shoot through him a feeling of icy solitude and weighty sadness. Something in the way her beautiful features remained so chillingly still.
"What now?" Hermione whispered beside him, herself staring at the figure in the moonlight.
Her sudden words drew his eyes to her, and the juxtaposition of their features highlighted all the more clearly how alive Hermione was in this space, all rose tinted cheeks and warm, feeling brown eyes. He could tell she was feeling the same as him. Helena had imbued the whole space with her melancholy.
"Now, we talk."
"I know you're there." Said the Grey Lady, not relinquishing her gaze from the fields of Hogwarts.
Tom rose slowly. "And so you should. We came in search of you."
Helena laughed drily. "As do all lovers that stumble upon me in the darkness."
"We tell you the truth. We would not lie to one of your renown."
"Renown?" The Lady asked, a bitter mirth slipping through her words.
Hermione panicked and was about to step in when Tom held up a hand to stop her. "You are Lady Helena Ravenclaw are you not? Famed, quite rightly so, for your formidable beauty, and delicate manner."
The spectral figure softened, turning to Tom with unmistakable pleasure. "That is I. But you should not say such things of a lady in front of your lover, it is unkind." She cast her eyes over Hermione coldly.
Hermione couldn't tell what the ghost was thinking in that look, but she knew she didn't like it, Tom, meanwhile was cataloguing what he knew of Helena, how best to play this scenario out. "We're not-"
Tom stopped her once again. "In the middle of a lover's spat. I have hurt her, my Lady, being careless as you pointed out, and unable to regain her good graces, but- believe me, I love her so!"
He spoke passionately, eloquently, taking up the outdated mode of speech without a second's hesitation. The words fell from his lips with such agility that even Hermione was taken aback, somewhat charmed. Helena's expression changed to one of deepest distress.
"Oh no, my pet." She addressed Hermione. "What harm has he done you that his sincere remorse cannot fix?"
Hermione looked to Tom for help, she wasn't prepared to play this role. Tom watched her face as she scrambled, but it only lasted for an instant. Her features changed after a second latched onto his and she turned to look into the eyes of Helena with that fierce determination she wore so well.
"He kissed another woman. When he thought I wouldn't see."
Helena gasped, and Tom had to stop himself from smiling at Hermione's clear reference to the events from earlier that day. Devious witch. Cruel witch. Grudge bearing witch.
He drew himself closer to Hermione, grasping her hands tight in his own and kneeling at her feet to look up at her with all of the sorrow in the world. Despite herself, Hermione shifted uncomfortably at the contact. Two could play at this game.
"Hermione, my love, my dearest, my queen. Please, please forget this. You are the only woman in my heart, the only woman there has ever been. Helena, help me! She won't listen."
"Oh my dear, can't you see he is sorry. Men make mistakes my darling, and most make worst mistakes than him. To be so young and yet so devoted. Look into his eyes and tell me he doesn't love you." Helena cried, her spectral features were pulled into a seemingly fiercer sadness, radiating even more beauty than they had before.
"I-I can't…" Hermione stumbled over her words once again, caught up in the waves of emotion pouring out of Helena, the expression on Tom's face, and the feel of his hands holding hers. "I can't just forget about this. How can I ever trust him again? How can I kiss those lips knowing they've touched another?"
Tom drew himself up to his full height again. "Surely the special bond we share can traverse this minor transgression. Surely what we have means more to you than this. You won't even listen to my reasons…"
"What reasons can you have that would possibly justify that!" Hermione snapped, really snapped. Confusion flitted across her features before Helena interjected once more.
"Please, listen to his words. See beyond your anger. You are too young to feel such pain."
"Hermione," Tom started, placing a hand upon her cheek. "I only ever do what I do to protect you. I kissed her because if anyone knows I have you they will try to take you from me. It was a foolish mistake to make, I should have handled the situation better than that but- I panicked, my love, as I always do when it comes to protecting you, because my love makes me irrational… You make me irrational. I'm so sorry I hurt you. You're my lioness, my queen, to hurt you is to hurt myself. Please, can you forgive me."
Hermione gulped. Tom felt a surge of satisfaction roll through him at the sight of her. He had always been able to see the way that girls had been attracted to him, but there was something infinitely more gratifying about noticing it in this particular instance, with this particular witch. How her untrusting and unyielding self now had to play the part, and how she was reacting a little too strongly.
She bowed her head before looking back up at him, seemingly effortlessly adapting to her part. "I forgive you, Tom. I forgive you."
"Oh, Hermione…" He sighed, pushing her bushy hair behind her ears, and smiling softly as he drew his thumb across her cheek. He leaned in to kiss her, the closing act in this scene, and just had enough time to register the fear that spread through her features before the sound of footsteps startled them out of their performance.
Hermione tore the invisibility cloak from her bag and draped it over the two of them just in time for the figure of Albus Dumbledore to appear at the top of the steps.
A/N: Hope you like this chapter folks! I have been feeling a little iffy about this direction with Helena but I think I've managed to wrangle it. Please let me know if you are liking where this is going, your feedback really helps me to make this story decent, filling in plot holes, tightening my characterisation, etc… So yeah, let me know!
Will try to update again soon!
~Mercy.
