Perhaps Hermione would have found this situation awkward, had she not been fully convinced that Tom Riddle was leading her towards the Room of Requirement to throttle her with full intent to murder. She had briefly considered being subjected to the cruciatus curse, but after receiving an icy glare from Tom she was certain it would be a more hands on deck type of murder.

With an impending sense of doom upon Hermione Granger, the pair were switching staircases then, waiting for them to shift to the position they needed. Step, step, step. Hermione did not quite have the courage to ask any questions, or breathe properly in fear of it being too loud and thus inconveniencing Tom. Thus she stood a healthy, and safe, three feet away from Tom. It was perfect, she was not within arms length whilst also simultaneously not being too far away to be discourteous. Though Tom likely did not care, as he would not spare Hermione a single glance since his last glare (approximately 4 minutes and 28 seconds ago). Still, Hermione followed behind meekly. You've really done it now, Granger, she thought miserably. She wallowed in self pity on her own, for if she were to die here only Theodore and Abraxas would attend her funeral. That is if she even had the good fortune of having a funeral in the first place.

"Get in," Tom finally spoke as the arrived at the corridor of the seventh floor. He had not asked this of her, he had commanded her.

"Yes, my Lord," Hermione choked out, trying hard to not pout in front of the angered dark wizard.

Inside the Room of Requirement, were rows of shelves stacked with book and a single table in between. Hermione walked inside, loitering about the entrance, refusing the turn back as Tom walked in she stood with her head down. Before she could react, Tom placed an arm over her and locked her neck, digging his wand into her flesh with his spare hand. "Who am I, Granger?" Tom snarled.

Tears welled in Hermione's eyes as the tip of Tom's wand heated up against her unblemished skin. "My Lord, Lord Voldemort," she hissed. She refused to cry, even as the smell of burning flesh pricked at her nostrils.

"As your Lord, my words are final. You will obey me," he sounded as if he were grinding his teeth.

"Yes, my Lord, I apologise for my foolish behavior."

"If anyone finds out about the afternoon and I will punish you with more than a small burn, is that understood?" Tom's voice, despite the anger it held, was oddly melodious.

Hermione swallowed against his arm, trying to keep her composure, "yes, My Lord." Tom seemed to turn his head to face her, as his warm breath tickled her side of her neck moments before he pulled away and walked over to the seats.

I could avada him square in the back and this would all be over, Hermione subconsciously grumbled, raising a hand to lightly run the pad of her thumb over the burn. The skin was warm and soft, like a sac housing fluid inside it. Tom walked towards the seat in a few long strides, settling down without much hesitation. "What are you waiting for?" He snapped. Hermione jolted upright, scampering over to the seat.

"You know I like you, Hermione. You would not do anything to anger me, would you?" He began, eyeing her with great interest. Hermione suppressed a shiver.

"Of course not, My Lord. I am here to please."

"Good girl," he pocketed his wand, not breaking the eye contact he held with Hermione, "it would do you well to not try to dig further. Alright?" I mean, I definitely will be digging further, but alright.

"Yes, my Lord," Hermione massaged her neck.

Tom got off his seat, instead sitting on the smooth surface of the table, "forget the meeting at six, what was it you needed to tell me?" He extended a hand to her neck and wrapped his hand around it, rubbing the pad of his thumb over the small burn, just as Hermione had been doing mere moments ago. The only difference being Tom's cold hands. His fingertips were cool to the touch, soothing her burn like a salve.

"Th-the routine you asked me to set up..." she began, distracted, "Sundays and Thursdays would be best for the Knights' meeting."

"And training?"

"Mondays, Fridays and Tuesdays, though I do not have much of a schedule so I would be available whenever most convenient for you," Hermione sighed, restraining herself from leaning into the touch of the Dark Lord's hand, which continued caressing her skin with utmost tenderness.

Tom mulled over Hermione's words, "very well, but I have a task for you and your friends."

"Yes?" Hermione was nervous, though she hoped it was not visible on her face. She would prefer it if her friends did not get involved at all. Nevertheless, she needed Tom to trust her. The thought brought forth a wave of nausea, she felt like an imposter, picking and choosing which one of her friends deserved to lead an innocent life.

"I will leave the Grindelwald investigation solely upon you, Malfoy and Nott. I will be announcing this as Rosier's task tomorrow, as a cover to the situation." Tom was just sitting on the desk now, his hand rested on Hermione's shoulder as he stared off at the aisles of books.

"Very well, but I would need all the reports of Rosier's letters-"

"Work it out, Granger," Tom snapped. Hermione blinked, surprised at how irate Tom was behaving suddenly. "Now leave, if that is all."

Hermione frowned, is this a good time to bring up the Galleon? Ah, fuck it, "my Lord, if I may," Tom raised his eyebrows, prompting her forward, "I had an idea to propose to you," she mumbled.

"Go ahead."

Hermione swallowed nervously, "to set the time and date for impromptu meetings is becoming further and further troublesome. I've noticed that many people are catching on about our cause as well-"

"Are you pitching a business to me, Granger? Just come out with the idea you have." Tom looked amused at her rambling.

"Very well," she fished in her pockets for a second, bringing out the fake Galleon, a perfect copy of the ones she had made for Dumbledore's Army, "you see the numerals around the edge of the coins? On real Galleons that's just a serial number referring to the goblin who cast the coin. On these fake coins, though, the numbers will change to reflect the time and date of the next meeting." She spoke quickly, a sense of déjà vu overcoming her.

"It seems... a bit juvenile," Tom shrugged, "but you are correct in stating that others have been catching on lately. I assume these are conjured?" Hermione nodded feverishly in response, "then bring the required number of Galleons to the next meeting on Thursday."

Tom retracted his hand, leaving Hermione to jump off the couch and all but run out of the Room of Requirement. She felt as if her heart would beat its way out of her chest. Clutching onto her shirt trying to catch her breath, she felt no different than she would had she experienced an adrenaline rush. But Hermione did not have time to remain idle. She needed to find out exactly what had happened in the past and what was happening now.

•••

The rest of the day passed with little to no memorable events, save Theodore stubbing his toe and Abraxas following suit in order to "show solidarity".

The three friends were currently studying together in the library, with a number of books sprawled out in front of them as they worked on. Each were huddled up with their own work. Though Hermione was hardly getting any work done, with Tom's orders stuck in her head like a horribly catchy tune. Except none of it was catchy and all of it was horrible. "I have to speak to you guys," Hermione began nervously, unsure as to how they viewed her now that her 'personality' was showing. The personality she had hand crafted only for Riddle.

"If it is about you playing a role in Tom's Knights, it's alright, 'Mione," Abraxas gave her a half smile. It was off putting, less due to the fact that it was not quite genuine and more due to the fact that it was coming from Abraxas.

Theodore seemed to pick up on Hermione's distress quickly, jumping into the conversation, "it's okay, we made the decision to join so don't try to talk us out of it. A long time back, we had considered it too," he was honest, which Hermione appreciated. Theodore smiled at her sadly, though it was less miserable and more supportive.

"Thank you, I was worried you guys just agreed without understanding the risks... but I actually had something else I needed to discuss with you two..." she trailed off, her ears heating up, "Tom assigned us a task, together as a team."

"Oh, we assumed you would be busy trying to read into Grindelwald's next- wait. No way-" Abraxas' eyes widened as he realised the implications of Hermione's words. "What do we even do?" He yelped, pulling away. He almost looked affronted that such a task was given to him. Hermione could not help but smile at his nonchalant behaviour, suddenly missing her friend Draco Malfoy.

Theodore threw an icy glare at Abraxas, before turning back to Hermione, "it's good that we at least get to work with you," he spoke honestly, "that way we can make sure you're alright." He was jesting, Hermione knew, but she also understood the weight and intention of his words.

Abraxas, on the other hand, looked shaken, "what will a boy as young and disconnected as me even achieve?" He sniffled, "oh, woe is me, woe is me."

Theodore rolled his eyes, "please forgive him, 'Mione. He tends to forget he is the heir of the most influential family in the Wizarding World."

"It's just that, it will be kind of dangerous. If they find us, the trouble will likely not end with a stern lecture from the headmaster," she sighed.

"Just... you guys can pull out of this one, since it is just your first time. So feel free to. I can do this-"

"Alright, alright, alright, if we did not want to, we would not do it," Theodore crossed his arms, eyebrows furrowed.

Hermione bit the inside of her cheeks, "thank you, Theo. But um... Abraxas-"

"'S like you don' even know me," Abraxas pouted, "plus, 'm really stressed righ' now, so just know 'm doin' wha' I want and don' try to talk me outta it," he grumbled, diving back into his textbook.

"What has gotten your wand in a knot?" Theodore snorted.

"My brain, 's physically rejectin' 's host body righ' now," Abraxas summarised. Hermione shook silently with laughter. Abraxas scowled, shoving his face between the pages.

"Anyway, would you guys like to be briefed on our current knowledge of Grindelwald? Or would you rather Tom hand out the task himself?"

"Yeah, we would rather know about it beforehand," Theodore said. After a beat of silence, Abraxas raised his hand, in agreement.

"We currently know that he is attempting to establish a group of followers in Hogwarts, obviously we have been targetted. But, the reason we were targetted was because-"

"Were you lot keeping tabs on them from before this incident?" Hermione nodded, pursing her lips.

"Yes, Rosier was maintaining the contact with a member of his family who had 'turned'," she made air quotations, rolling her eyes, "but Druella Rosier is one of Grindelwald's most loyal followers, so of course all he achieved to do was give away information to the enemy."

"What, no way were you guys sending confidential information from the Hogwarts Owlery?" Theodore mocked.

Hermione stared at him, "well, we weren't," it was true, it wasn't Tom that was sending the private information over.

Abraxas raised his head, eyebrows furrowed in obvious confusion, "what, did Rosier send intimate details privately?"

Hermione stared at him with her lips pursed, making his lips part slightly in confusion, "huh? He didn't really..."

Hermione shrugged, "I wasn't initiated back then so I don't exactly know how it went down, but yes. It was found out that Rosier had been exchanging personal letters with Druella, which contained confidential information. The issue is, Druella reports to Grindelwald so he now knows just enough to exercise control over us."

Theodore pursed his lips in concern, while Abraxas kept his head burried in his book. "So how do you plan to outsmart Grindelwald?" Hermione shrugged.

"We will discuss that on Thursday, I assume. Also, Tom will officially be allowing Rosier to handle this, so neither party gets too suspicious. We have a mole within the Knights, so it would be best to weed them out as soon as possible."

Abraxas raised his head, eyeing Hermione with intensity in his gaze, "don't worry too much, 'Mione. We won't let you down," he shot Theodore a half smile.

"I have a prediction regarding this, actually."

"Alright, Oracle of Delphi, hit us. What have you got?" Abraxas chuckled.

"I think Dumbledore will be fighting Grindelwald," she studied the looks on their faces.

"I can get behind that. Sounds like the righteous Dumbledore," Theodore sniggered.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "the important thing is, Dumbledore and Grindelwald were once allies, spare me your shocked faces," both Theodore and Abraxas had this jaws practically on the ground, "so it would not be farfetched to believe Grindelwald wishes to set a connection within Hogwarts just to one up Dumbledore when the time comes." As Hermione spoke, she considered the reality of that. Did this actually happen in the past? Dumbledore, as prejudiced as he may be, would definately shield children who had been taken advantage of. But then again... this also involves Tom Riddle, who Dumbledore could not stand. Specially after the death of Myrtle Warren.

"There's no way, what're we even expected to do? Assassinate a fully grown wizard? Tha' too being one of the strongest wizards?" Abraxas scoffed. Theodore seemed to be lost in thought.

"So basically, whatever we do, we will be stuck," realisation gleamed in Theodore's eyes as he assessed how truly messed up the situation was.

I am sorry, Theodore, Abraxas. I promise, I will look over the two of you.