Hermione did not fail to notice that Tom seemed unusually distracted today as they walked from Defence Against the Dark Arts to History of Magic. His distraction went so far that he actually had to return to the classroom to get his pen. He assured her that she could go to the next lesson without him for once, but his behaviour made her more than suspicious, so she went back with him and was now waiting for him to find his pen in the classroom.

The start of the next lesson was approaching and slowly the first students of the fifth grade arrived, who now obviously had Defence. From a distance Hermione saw Augusta Bargeworthy coming towards her. Immediately, she tensed up inside. The last thing she needed now was for Tom to see any friendly exchange between her and this girl. She wished she was in the Muggle world, where she could have just stared at her wristwatch to avoid eye contact.

A few steps behind Augusta there was also a boy from Slytherin whom Hermione recognised as Orion Black. She remembered how he had asked unabashedly about her duel with Riddle after her first lesson in Defence. To her surprise, he caught up to Augusta with hurried steps, only to head for the door to the classroom at her side.

As Augusta passed her, she barely noticeably nodded to Hermione, who she replied just as cautiously. There was still no trace of Tom, so she could return the polite gesture with a clear conscience. Strained, she listened to the quiet conversation between the two students.

"... and now you want to warn me about him?"

Augusta sounded irritated and Orion turned red. Curious, Hermione moved one step closer to the door to continue listening to the conversation. Luckily for her, the unusual pair had stopped right behind the entrance and were now whispering quietly while standing there.

"I know it must seem odd to you that I first wanted to keep silent about Tom Riddle, and now I come to you with such words, but please believe me, Miss Bargeworthy..."

Hermione's heart skipped a beat. What was Augusta thinking talking about Tom with a Slytherin student of all people? And what exactly did young Black want to warn her about, after all, he had always seemed like a fervent supporter before. Nervously, she wiped her sweaty hands on her skirt and leaned even closer to the door.

"I told you about his extracurricular activities when we first talked," Orion hastily continued, "and I'm afraid they are not good in nature. I think our head boy is a thoroughly evil person."

Silence followed, while Hermione tried to process what she heard. Was he serious? Was that really how he felt about his idol? But as far as she could remember, the Blacks were not exactly enemies of Lord Voldemort. After all, they had wiped Sirius out of the family for supposedly making friends with the wrong wizards. Bloodtraitor, as they called it.

"Shall we?"

Shocked, Hermione spun around. Out of nowhere, Tom stood beside her and smiled innocently. With a raging heart and still unsteady breath she just nodded before she linked arms with him. It did not escape her that he looked back for a second, and for a fraction of a second an expression of fierce satisfaction flitted across his face.

"Your new friend seems to have a truly big heart," he began in a chatty tone as they walked with measured but swift steps towards the History classroom.

"I beg your pardon?" Hermione asked irritated. She was sure something was going on that she should have noticed but just did not see.

"What I meant to say is, she's not only befriending one student from Slytherin, but several."

There was something in Tom's voice that made her nervous. It was like he was so very obviously hinting at something, but she did not understand at all what he was getting at. She smiled hesitantly. "Maybe I was able prove to her that all snakes aren't just scary and full of fangs."

Tom laughed cheerfully. "A beautiful picture. You'd be hard pressed to find a single venomous fang in you, wouldn't you say, my heart?"

"What I have seen of Mr Black so far, the same is true for him," Hermione replied unmoved. She had no intention of being provoked by Tom today. He could make his snide remarks about her lack of cunning all he wanted. He did not know where he really stood with her.

"You see, and this is what I mean, my heart," Tom replied.

He stopped outside the door of the classroom and turned directly towards her. The remaining students had already entered, as the lesson would begin shortly. Since they were all alone in the corridor and no one could watch them, he dropped his mask a little.

With a show of great affection, he placed two fingers under her chin to force her to look up at him. "You, Hermione, are so far from being a snake that you might as well be a lost bunny rabbit. You underestimate your classmates so regularly that I really have a hard time not to laugh out loud."

Angrily, Hermione clenched her fists. "And who was it that underestimated me several times? I seem to recall it was the very gentleman who thinks of himself as the king of snakes."

All amusement disappeared from Tom's face, and the fingers that had previously been under her chin moved down to her neck, which he grabbed with light pressure. "I swore to myself it would never happen again. And now, tell me, dearest, when was the last time I underestimated you?"

"Who knows?" Hermione hissed angrily, "I'm hardly likely to make you aware should I realise that you underestimate me. I'm not that open with my cards!"

His arrogance made her furious. Of course, she had tried to lull him to safety and give the impression that he had a firm grip on her. But the confidence with which he spoke ill of her awakened ambitious and, above all, easily irritable monsters inside her. She was no fool. She was not naive. She was just not scheming and deceitful.

For a long time, Tom just stared at her, unfathomably, as if he hoped to see the bottom of her soul. Unwillingly, Hermione feared that he would use Legilimency to penetrate her mind, but she knew that even if she could not fight it off, she would feel it and realise the magic. He had never used it against her before.

Only when the soft shuffling steps of Professor Binns became audible did Tom let go of her. Silently they entered the classroom one after the other; just as silently they sat down next to each other.

Hermione wondered whether she shut him up for good this time, just as he whispered quietly to her, "This discussion is not over. I will prepare a very special lesson for our session on Friday. Look forward to it."

oOoOoOo

"I don't trust this whole thing."

It had taken another two days, but finally Augusta succeeded to find time for walk around the lake together with Markus and Ignatius, to discuss her conversation with Orion. Now she finally told them everything, but the reaction of her friends was not as she had expected.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I don't understand why Black is suddenly talking so badly about Riddle. Isn't he actually one of his closer friends?"

"It's not sudden at all," Augusta objected as she sat down on one of the many benches along the route.

The two men positioned themselves at the edge of the water and looked at her sceptically.

Frustrated, she explained, "When I asked him about Riddle for the first time, it was already clear that it would be better if I didn't take any interest in him. And that really sounded like a warning. Why would Orion warn me about Riddle if he didn't think badly of him?"

To her surprise, Markus was the one to retort. "As you described it then, he did not really warn you about Riddle, but made it clear that you should stay away. I got the impression from your account of the conversation that he didn't want you to distract Riddle."

"Exactly!" Ignatius nodded, his back turned to her. "Black became angry and dismissive when you came to him, and made clear that you should not be interested in Riddle. Not as in he wants to protect you, but as in he wants to keep Riddle covered."

"You were not there!" Augusta replied furiously. She suddenly felt like a fool for not realising that perhaps she should have approached Orion with more suspicion on her mind.

As if he had noticed her discomfort, Markus stepped towards her to sit next to her. He took her cold in hand in his and said gently, "You have a good heart, Augusta. It's to your credit that you don't accuse everyone of lying and cheating."

"Now, now, you lady-killer," Ignatius interrupted his best friend. "Only because you finally are allowed to call Augusta by her given name, that does not mean that you should immediately become so familiar with her. Restrain your charm."

Blushing, Markus hastily moved away, but she prevented him from letting go of her hand. His warmth gave her strength.

With a sad look she whispered, "Maybe I should have been more careful this time. A healthy distrust is never wrong."

Caring, Ignatius stroked over the head. "Come, do not fall into self-pity now. After all, you said nothing that could get you into trouble. The conversation was completely harmless."

Involuntarily, Augusta squeezed Markus' hand harder. She had kept a part of the conversation from her two friends because even she had immediately sensed that she had gone too far. If Orion really lied, if he really only pretended to think badly about Riddle, this part could be her undoing. She prayed that they were all wrong and that not a word of their conversation would get to Riddle's ear.

oOoOoOo

Tense, Orion watched Tom pacing in his room in front of him. He had been waiting for the right opportunity to tell about the conversation with Augusta. Or, if he was honest with himself, he had hesitated as to exactly what he should tell Tom. For he was fond of Augusta, and he would even go so far as to call her a friend.

But he knew that what he had to tell Tom would reflect badly on Augusta, and so he had delayed the moment of truth. In the end, however, his loyalty prevailed.

Finally, Tom stopped and looked expressionlessly at his bed as if he could see something there that Orion did not see.

Quietly, yet clearly audible, Tom said, "Augusta Bargeworthy and her friends are clearly too curious. I'm going to put an end to this."

Orion swallowed. "What are you going to do?"

Slowly, Tom turned to him as he dropped onto his bed and, lost in thought, stroked the blanket with one hand. "I told you I had an idea of the direction of the sudden interest of our Gryffindor friends, didn't I? That I know who the source is."

"You did indeed, but you wouldn't say who it is."

A smile played around Tom's lips, but the icy cold expression in his eyes clearly showed Orion that his friend and master was in a dangerous mood still.

Still very quietly, Tom replied, "I will not do anything for now. But let's put it this way: This person has recently drawn my displeasure and needs a little reminder of who they are dealing with."

Orion blanched. He had no idea who Tom was talking about, but the hint was more than enough. "You mean like your reminder to Avery?"

"No," Tom retorted with a grin, a sparkle in his eyes that Orion had never seen before. "Every person is different. Avery, for example, is more of the simple, crude sort, he needs direct clues to understand, so I treated him directly and roughly. Miss Bargeworthy, on the other hand, and her source ... they are delicate creatures, dominated by their feelings; intelligent, but ultimately sensitive and emotional. I need not cause them pain in order for them to understand. I have... other methods for such people."

For a split second, Orion thought he saw a red glint in Tom's eyes, but it was over so quickly that he was sure the light from the candles was just playing a trick on him. What remained was that look on his face, that smile on his lips that sent a shiver down Orion's back. He had known from the moment of his admission into the elite circle that Tom had less scruples than most others, that he was able to do what the situation required because of his clear, calculated future plans.

But the Tom who was now sitting on the bed in front of him, this Tom was not cold nor calculating. This Tom seemed to be really looking forward to punishing Augusta and this mysterious source. Trembling, Orion lowered his eyes.

He only noticed that Tom got up from his bed when two dark shoes appeared in his field of vision. Quickly, he also rose and looked up at the taller boy. A cool hand lay on his cheek while Tom bent down towards him. He could feel his friend's warm breath on his neck, just as he was only too aware that Tom's thumb lingered just a touch above his lips.

"You're a good boy, Orion," Tom whispered softly into his ear, "You have done me a good service today, I am proud of you. This will not be without consequences. I promise you."

He could not look him in the eye. He just could not. Breathing heavily, Orion stared straight at the loose tie of the other student while he desperately tried to get rid of his unnatural nervousness. Tom was handsome, even a man could admit that. Tom liked to talk to his followers in private. Tom always praised when someone deserved praise. That his own breath accelerated so unnaturally, that his heart was beating like crazy and he felt strangely self-conscious was just completely out of place.

A barely audible laugh rang out before Tom took a step back and said, "You can go now."

Hastily, still unable to look him in the eye, Orion fled the room.