authorsnote: I love cliffhangers ... but I also love resolving them.

do enjoy, leave a review if you did! (or didn't, just be nice!).

songrecs: traitor - olivia rodrigo

"Explain, and do so quickly, its only an hour until classes and we're doing mock NEWTS"

She knew she sounded bossy, demanding, spitting out a demand as though to throw it away from her. She had sunk to the floor, the others following but she hadn't relaxed, no she was tense, hands drawn into fists, nerves chasing up her spine.

She trusted her friends, Harry, and Ron more then any, but Neville, Ginny and Luna too, if they had concerns, she knew she had to hear them, and so she waited, hands curled in so not to shake, waited.

"We don't know much" Harry continued, again clearly the one who'd been volunteered to break the news to her, whatever that news was, "But after…" He paused then, "After yesterday we felt we should try and figure Tom out"

"Figure him out?" Hermione asked, eyebrow raised. She felt a need to defend Tom rear up in her swiftly, but she logically pushed it away for the moment. If they started with insults then she'd let her protective streak come out free and clear, but for now she knew she needed to listen.

Each and every one of them looked at her with only concern, even Ron who'd been humiliated the day before, all of them were just looking out for her. And so, she forced down her temper … for now.

"Yes" Ginny continued on, glancing at Harry and then back to her, "He's very powerful, so we decided to make sure he isn't crazy or something"

Hermione nodded, though felt that urge to defend him once more, she understood it, would do the same if she was switching places with any of them, but she still didn't like it.

She knew now she'd given her heart to Tom, packaged it up and handed it over willingly, in a little box, for him to take care of. She loved him, she couldn't deny that now, even though they hadn't said it, she did, and so to doubt him … it hurt her heart.

He had her right where he wanted her, ready to defend him to her own best friends, heart away from her and in his hands, and she didn't even realise it.

Inevitable, this moment had been, she just hadn't seen it.

"And?" She prompted, even though half of her wanted to storm out, she only sat still through her sheer need to know everything, and the respect she owed her friends, for now at least. One insult to Tom and she was leaving.

"And he's not a transfer" Neville said, as had been said earlier, "We kind of erm…"

"Broke into McGonagall's office" Ginny said, boldly, only second to Harry in her bravery really, and perhaps even more brash, "To check the records"

"He didn't transfer from Durmstrang" Harry said, continuing on, "The records don't have anything about his past, just that he started this year and his house"

"But…" She leaned forward then, realising she'd been drawn in. Something was creeping up her spine, some anxiety or fear she couldn't quite place, threatening to wrap around her. "What does that mean?"

"It means he's a liar" Ginny said furiously.

"How did he get in?" Luna chimed in then, evidently to cut off any yelling, though Hermione had slumped a bit, her fear overtaking her need to defend.

"In?" Hermione asked, eyebrow raised, waiting for their friend to continue.

"To the school" She mused, "Without any transfer records? Without his OWL results, or any record of how he's paying for school, or his parents, or family"

"I…" She paused, she'd read Hogwarts A History back to front a hundred times she knew you couldn't just waltz in and be a student, there were protocols in place, tuition to be paid, a record of accidental magic, all of it. "Maybe because he's older?"

"They'd still need to verify who he is" Harry said gently, and she near flinched at his tone, now they were being gentle … this was bad.

"But…" She stopped, wanting to defend but how, if this was true … what did this mean?

"It means he tricked McGonagall" Ginny said, looking furious again, cheeks a little red, as were Ron's ears when he was mad, "How else could he get in?"

"I…" She didn't know what to say, when she knew Ginny had to be right, how else could he have just enrolled?

And worse, though she didn't say it out loud, her one rebuttal would have been he wasn't capable of doing so, but she knew full well he was, both in ability and morals.

"And" Harry paused then, looking guilty almost for piling more on, but Ginny nudged him and he ploughed on, "There's something strange about him with the map"

"On the map?" She asked, eyebrow raised, her head felt as though it had almost gone into a fog.

"Yes" Harry said, looking now more sympathetic, that was bad, "See"

He held the map out then, clearly thinking showing it to her was better than explaining. It was, as she quickly flickered her gaze over the parchment, could see everyone's names, first and last.

But no Tom.

She spent five minutes looking at every name, every person in the Great Hall, in the Slytherin dungeon, making their way in-between, and yet nothing.

She did find Malfoy, Zabini, Crabbe, Goyle, Parkinson, but no Tom. He couldn't be in the Room of Requirement since they were occupying it. And so where was he?

Another mystery.

"Is that all?" She asked, whispering now. She didn't know what to make of this, that Tom might have lied, his past a mystery, but why? Was he a muggleborn keen to deny it considering his ambitions? She remembered something at his Sorting about him living with his Father in Britain now they'd moved, was that true?

And then she flinched again, as something she hadn't even picked up in passing danced to the forefront of her mind, something he'd said, evidently in error…

'Let me make it clear that I despise muggles, my Father was a filthy fucking muggle, and I hated him'

How had she missed that? She remembered it had been in the broom closet, in the middle of an intense argument, but now it came to mind, and concerningly his use of the word 'was' and 'hated', not present terms, suggesting his Father was no longer around.

And so, who had he moved here with? He couldn't live alone at only 17, maybe at a push legally but practically? She felt herself begin to shake, though she didn't say a word of what she'd remembered out loud, not yet.

She didn't know why, she should, but she didn't, loyalty it seemed cut to Tom.

And yet now her mind was spinning as she sorted through the facts in her mind, as she was so good at doing;

Tom had 'transferred' from abroad but her friends had found no account of transfer.

Tom had moved here with his Father but had spoken of him in the past tense, as though he were gone.

Tom was extremely powerful, scary, and had stepped into place as the Slytherin gang leader within days of arrival.

Tom didn't show up on the Marauders Map, at all.

Tom had spoken of his want, no need for power, and how far he was willing to go to get it.

All in all, it created a very murky picture that Hermione couldn't quite work out, how had he come to be here? Who was he?

"I…" She stumbled again, what could she say? Not only did her friends see her as dating the enemy (and Ron still couldn't quite look her in the eye), but now she was with someone potentially more dangerous.

And yet…

Even with all of this Hermione felt worried yes but not unsafe, Tom had never made feel unsafe, not for a second. Unsafe in her emotions and thoughts, yes, but not for a second did she think he would hurt her.

And so, where did that leave them?

If Tom wasn't who he said he was, what did that mean for them?

What did it mean for her?

The day went by in a complete blur.

Arithmancy, Runes, Potions and Charms had all flown by, mock NEWT written exams in each meaning she didn't need to speak to anyone thankfully. Her concentration was shot she knew, her focus poor, but thankfully she was sure she'd still performed well.

The fact she still cared about exams was something at least, with how scrambled her head felt.

And so, the exams had flown by, and then dinner in which she'd ignored everyone (and her friends had given her space). Hours later, and her friends had let her drift away, accepting her mumbled words that she needed to 'think', (okay Harry and Ron had protested but Ginny had shot them such a scorching looks he'd been able to hurry away). She hadn't returned to the Common Room though, knowing the boys would get her there, and Ginny would grab her in the dorm.

Instead, she had wandered to where a lot of this had began …

The Astronomy Tower.

The sight of their first proper argument, and the moment she had began to realise just how deep in she was, as she took the last step, and walked into the centre of the room, the circular tower room, and looked up at the night sky she remembered…

"I am not some easy piece of skirt who will let you push me around. I am worth more than that"

"I know what you're worth Hermione"

"No, you are bad news"

"You're just realising that now?"

"I am bad news Hermione, but I know that is what you like"

"I know you want me; you know you do too"

"You just need to decide what you want to do next, and I'll be waiting"

"You can't run forever Hermione"

Decide what to do next … she had no idea what to do next.

The sky was bright that night, even in Scottish Winter, the stars twinkling, the candles adrift on the tower making it glow. It was peaceful too, quiet, and the air was crisp, filling her lungs, making it easier to breathe.

What did she do?

Confronting Tom would be difficult, how could she explain what she knew without implicating her friends? What would his explanation be? That scared her more than anything; would he lie to her? He hadn't yet, but would he? Or would the truth be too hard to bear.

Who was he?

She sat, her back to the furthest wall of the tower, breathing in the cold air and contemplated the question.

Who was he?

To her he was Tom, infuriating, maddening Tom, who beat her in class, made her want to tear her hair out and scream at him sometimes. No one could confuse their relationship being devoid of fireworks, even if sometimes they exploded too loudly. And those fireworks exploded into passion often too, Tom making her feel pleasures she hadn't known she could feel.

But it wasn't just fighting and riling one another up, it was more than that.

Tom had shown a side to her she was sure he had shown no one else. He had shown her his protective side, his possessive side yes, but also his kind side, flashes of a true smile, of moments of true caring. Sure, he was no typical boyfriend, but he made her feel things she'd never felt before; not just butterflies in her stomach, or a quickened heartbeat but more than that.

Who was he?

Tom was someone who'd threatened the Slytherins, tortured them even, but only to ensure they treated her right. He was someone who'd humiliated one of her best friends, but only in defence of her. He was someone who pushed her and riled her up, but only to make her better.

What did she do?

Did she love him? Deep down she knew the answer, as she looked up at the night sky she knew, she knew without question.

Yes, she did.

And that made things so much more complex. This wasn't a little crush like once upon a time she'd had on Ron, or a fleeting relationship like she'd had with Viktor. This wasn't some silly dalliance she could throw away and recover from. She loved Tom, truly she did, with all of her heart; so, what were she to do if he'd been lying to her?

She had no idea, and that was the scariest thing of all.

"You are a hard woman to find"

She had been avoiding him all day.

He could tell when she was avoiding him, she was far too easy to read. She kept her gaze down, hurried in the opposite direction of him and found herself sat next to others in class. He was no fool, and she was terrible at subtlety.

And yet for once he didn't know why she was avoiding him.

The other times they'd fought he'd either known outright why she was annoyed, had been the intentional cause of it or had at least had an inkling and had cleared it up quickly.

This? He had no idea.

It made him tense, so much so he'd near snapped two quills throughout the day, only keeping a hold on them for the sake of his image; teachers' pets didn't snap quills after all.

Fuck, sometimes he despised the role he had to play.

But it was the role he was bound to, until they were all under heel, and then he could do away with the simpering and the bullshit, when they all bowed to him.

Except Hermione.

He didn't want her bowing to him, he wanted her next to him, when that had changed, he didn't know. She had done that to him.

And now she was mad, no … not mad, upset and that was worse. If she screamed at him, it was easy, a few pretty words and she was either in his arms or apologising, easy, but upset? That was always more difficult.

Still, he'd tracked her down (after checking only two other places, he knew her now, maybe in some ways better than she knew herself), and now he'd find out what was wrong. He couldn't think of anything, unless she'd figured it out…

No, that couldn't be it, wouldn't be it, how could it be?

And so, he walked up the steps to the Astronomy Tower, catching a glimpse of her, sat on the floor, a sad expression in place. Upset was more difficult to deal with, and yet he felt a roar of anger in his chest to see her upset.

Usually tears and frowns irritated him, but with Hermione? He just wanted to wipe them away to a smile, her smile.

And he would, he always did.

sooo thoughts?

hope you enjoyed!

and I was honest! I do love cliffhangers and resolving them ... sort of!

a big conversation is coming next chapter, and a whole lot more.

also ppl asking for more tom pov - this is hermione's story and so will primarily be her pov but I do like sprinkling tom in!

speak soon