authorsnotes: o-k yes it is another wip, buuuut it is in a different fandom! I used to write loads in the hp verse, and I miss it so much, it is a great fandom with a plethora of awesome works! and so, I wanted to add to that. this pairing is a lil different but super fun to write and with so much potential, hopefully you give them a chance, and hopefully you enjoy!

some important stuff to note for this fic: the timeline is a little different, I've condensed some stuff, and you'll see some minor changes I've made to fit the story. please know any changes I make that effect canon/timeline stuff I will always say and will be clear in the story.

please let me know if you like this via review, and fav/follow, it is always appreciated.

songrecs: I started a joke - confidentialmx

6th year had been stressful on them all, a constant fear surrounded the school. Even she found her focus slipping from her NEWTS to what was to come next. Harry had his secret meetings with Dumbledore, though he of course told them everything and they learned more and more about the man Tom Riddle and the monster he had become in Lord Voldemort.

He told them of his journey from orphan boy with a talent of making people do what he wanted and the parsaltongue ability he shared with Harry, to his time at Hogwarts, when he had excelled beyond all else and slowly went about collecting his followers. They learned about his years at Borgin and Burkes the position beneath him but a simple means to an end in achieving what he wanted. They learned of his past, so they could understand him now, in his future, as Lord Voldemort. It made sense, even if it did make her a little sick.

To see someone so brilliant, so naturally gifted, to see him turn down the wrong path … it was dreadful. She thought once or twice, when lying in her twin bed in Gryffindor tower, she thought about what he could have become if he hadn't had a bad childhood, if he hadn't thirsted for power. She thought what he could have been. Instead of what he had been instead of how twisted and depraved he had become.

Horcruxes, it was a dirty word, and the main thing tying Voldemort to the earth. Harry and Dumbledore went on a mission to find them, and found and destroyed three: the ring, the locket, the diadem in the space of less than a year, but not all, it wasn't enough. They had more to do, and as Harry chased the objects with Dumbledore, Hermione did research, Ron provided much needed levity. They soldiered on, determined.

They would defeat him, the man that would see her killed, Harry murdered and even Ron executed, blood traitor and all. They would destroy him, they were determined, three teenagers and a brilliant wizard would see the biggest evil the wizarding world had ever known dead. She was sure of it.

And then Dumbledore fell.

Hermione had been too shocked to cry, as Harry told them, as he sobbed, and Ron pulled his best friend into a hug. Hermione had only stood, unable to believe it. Dumbledore? The great Dumbledore? Disarmed by Draco Malfoy and then executed by Snape? It felt unreal, too insane to be true… though what came next was even more insane.

He disappeared.

Voldemort, the spectre that had hung over them for years, that had ruined Harry's life, terrorised all around him, persecuted her. He had just up and vanished. For the first few months they simply thought he was lying low, but months passed by, his Death Eaters were rounded up, found, locked up. The dementors perished in a sea of screams on one random night. The giants went back to their caves, the pureblood families carried on with their blood purity and their sneers but nothing else. Even Snape, revealed his true allegiances, showed his memories and confirmed, his fake master had disappeared.

He was simply gone.

And only 6 months after they had not heard a peep, as the last Death Eaters were thrown in Azkaban never to be released, as Fenir Greyback was killed in a Ministry standoff did they finally celebrate that he was gone. No one knew how, but they knew he was. They danced, drank, and cheered until dawn. Parties erupted across the country as the Ministry officially announced they believed him dead. People partied, cried, smiled, celebrated that he was gone.

They celebrated too soon.

He showed up at the start of 7th year. Apparently, he was at Durmstrang and his father moved over here for work, and he had no choice but to follow. She could see immediately he resented being here, his eyes screamed 'I am better than this' and he rolled those eyes as he walked past her seat. He was sorted after the initial sorting and the hat barely brushed his head before it shrieked Slytherin. More concerning it flopped onto the floor after he was sorted, writhing on the podium before it jumped back up as though nothing was wrong. He shrugged as though he didn't care, took a seat next to Draco Malfoy (pardoned and much quieter now) and fell quiet. Why she was watching him part of her still doesn't know, but when he met her gaze, she dropped hers a second too late.

The next morning the girls at every table were gigging over him and he was ignoring any attention, only talking quietly to the little gang around him; Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott. He ignored everyone else, as though they were not worth his time, as though just acknowledging them was beneath him. That morning he did look at her again, which she caught out of the corner of her eye and tried to pretend she hadn't seen, but by his smirk she could tell he knew she had. He stared at her a lot back then, as though trying to unpick her, often she didn't mean to, but she ended up staring back, his eyes boring into hers before she found the will to break free.

She disliked him, and her petty reasoning behind her dislike was both childish and trivial but it just was. He was soon beating her in class.

He raced ahead her of, and she was soon bumped down to the number 2 spot, with Malfoy nipping at her heels as he always had been. But this new boy? Tom, she learned his name was, he was ahead in everything. Whilst she sat in the library for hours slaving on an essay, he'd do it the night before and still beat her. When she sat in class going over and over the wand movements to make it perfect, he'd simply flick his and it would work. He didn't even have to try, and he was leagues ahead of her. And again, he didn't seem to care, he knew how good he was, and he didn't even care.

They had a round of practice NEWTs, he had O's across the board, whereas her one 'E' felt like a stain on her record. He'd even achieved 100% in Transfiguration and Defence, whereas she'd hit nothing over 90% in hers. It was stupid she knew, it didn't matter, but by god it made her insides burn. That this boy, this arrogant, handsome, smug faced boy had waltzed in and taken the top spot without even any effort! If he'd worked hard for it and grinded like she did she could have admired it, but when a Professor called on him, and he didn't bother to practice before he got it in one, god it made her want to kill him.

He didn't even bother revising, not for the practice exams and not even as NEWT's got harder and more intense. Instead he sat in the library, heavy tomes in front of him in Latin, and in Runes, complex that even she couldn't understand. And, if he wasn't in the library he was with his cronies, the band of 4 soon inseparable.

Just a month into 7th year and he corrected her on an essay, "The easiest way to circumvent Gawps 4th law is to..." But she cut him off.

"You can't circumvent Gawps laws" She scoffed then, her mind so narrow at that point. She dismissed him, how smart was he then? If he was coming out with such outlandish theories? She felt a little smug then, clearly, he wasn't so smart if he didn't understand some basic principles, that made her feel better, at least she was better in one thing than he was.

But he hadn't seemed embarrassed to be wrong, or believe he was wrong, instead he just rolled his eyes, put a finger under her chin (to which her splutter of protest had been roundly ignored), to tilt her gaze to him and said "You disappoint me Hermione" before he walked away. She didn't wonder how he knew her name, she brushed her hand over where his fingers had touched her chin, where it had felt like it burned and felt an odd twinge in her stomach.

For days after she caught herself looking at him, and it was the only time he didn't look back, he didn't spare her a glance, and she found she missed his gaze and was roundly furious at herself for thinking such a thing. Still, she did miss it, no matter how angry she was at herself for doing so.

The quidditch season soon came upon them, and he didn't seem to give a damn. He ignored the games, didn't even attend, even as his cronies played on the team (except Blaise, who looked like he'd rather die than muddy his robes), he sat in the library or was missing all together. Hermione attended of course, always to support Harry, clapping but secretly itching to get to her charms essay or a good potions book.

For one game it was pouring it down with rain, and Harry and Ron both gave her a smile before telling her to head to the library, letting her off the hook. She had grinned at them both, wished them luck and jokingly ruffled their hair before heading for the comfort of her books and the smell of parchment. The library was empty, the masses still attended quidditch in a small storm, and so the library was devoid of people for once.

Except for him of course.

He sat in what was usually her preferred seat, in the back corner, tucked between the more advanced books that were rarely visited, these books were for Mastery students, complex magic few understood. She glared at him as she arrived and saw the seat occupied. He didn't even look up from the book he was reading but raised a hand to indicate the seat opposite him was free. She hesitated and he lifted his gaze to meet hers, a little smirk on his lips, his head tilting this time to indicate she should definitely sit down. She wanted to storm off to prove a point and yet she found herself sliding into the seat opposite as though against her own will. He said nothing as she did sit, just went back to his book as she opened hers.

They sat in silence. It was a comfortable silence, and Hermione liked that he didn't feel the need to fill the air with chatter, though she broke the silence first.

"Working on anything interesting?" She asked, her tone clipped in an effort to seem neutral, focused, rather than distracted as she was by the urge to look up at him. She had to play it cool, that was another thing that had bothered her about him, he always seemed unfazed by anything, so collected, the opposite of her with her heavy bookbag she often dropped and her frizzy hair. He glided through the corridors so self-assured and confident, and that made her hate him a little more.

He was so put together, handsome, and sure of himself. The girls fawned over him of course, handsome Tom, smart and aloof. She saw the girls giggling over him, she heard Lavender and Pavarti gossip about him, though there wasn't much to gossip about. Rumour had it he poor, lived in Lancashire (though he had an upper crust accent that Hermione was sure had to be fake), and had no interest in dating. He didn't mingle with girls, was rarely seen around the castle outside of class. However, his handsomeness was the subject of much gossip, and rumour had it when spoken to he was charming if a little snobby. The girls adored him, and he already had a pack of loyal friends.

"Nothing you'd understand" He replied, his tone neutral, no harshness there, and yet her mouth had opened in outrage and she had spluttered, glared at him, but once again he cut her off. "Not that I mean any offence, few would understand" He said it again, like a fact and she wanted to snatch that book from his hands and prove she could understand. How dare he question her intelligence!

"How dare…"

But again he cut her off, "I'm not questioning your intelligence" Had he read her mind? At that he lifted his gaze to hers, and she worried for a moment he could read her mind … but no, he was powerful yes, talented but also a 7th year, there was no way he could perform legilimency. He smirked again then, as though he had thought of something very amusing and she glared back before he continued on, his smirk did not drop. Whoever had said he was charming was a liar, he was infuriating … albeit easy on the eyes.

"I don't question your intelligence, it is undeniable, you're probably the brightest witch of your generation, I only question your narrow mind" He said, dropping his gaze back to the tome.

Affronted and deeply offended Hermione stood to her feet and snatched up her things, she would study elsewhere, perhaps the common room, where her intelligence wouldn't be (wrongly) questioned. She glared at him but couldn't leave without saying a last word.

"I'd question your intelligence, when the text your reading is widely considered to be full of false hoods" She sneered, she hadn't known she could sneer before and yet she did.

He didn't seem fazed though, didn't even look up, "I know" He said simply, and she resisted the urge to shriek at him, and instead did the sensible thing and marched off. She didn't see him smirking as she left, nor did she see him close the book with a snap and watch her as she left.

She didn't see him smirk to himself, and she certainly didn't realise that he was now thinking of all the little things he had effortless picked out of her head.

'Handsome'

'Self-assured'

'Confident'

'Easy on the eyes'

She didn't realise her thoughts on him were now his to own.

She didn't realise that one day she would be his to own too.

sooo thoughts?

little confusing huh? all will be explained in time I promise, so please stick with me! also this is kinda like a little prologue to set up the main story, the next chapter will thus be posted asap.

if you enjoyed pls let me know via review and fav/following. always appreciated fo real!

speak soon