Authors note: So HERE IT IS. The third chapter, and I'm not sure if I like it or not but oh well. I tried and I feel like I thought too much about it, but review it and tell me how you feel!
But honestly, the reviews you guys are leaving are the sweetest things ever. I've never felt so happy in my life and it's amazing. I cannot believe how much positive review I got, I'm honestly surprised!
I also read a review asking me about a possible Riddle POV AND YOU READ MY MIND because the next chapter will be written mostly in his POV (well his diary) to give you the introduction into the plot and where this is all going, because I won't lie. I didn't even have an outline. I just started writing and I finally sat down and started writing an outline and I have it all ready. I'm terrible honestly.
Please keep reviewing and giving me helpful hints or just letting me know if you like it, because I love the reviews and I need them for support! Thank you, Enjoy!
~~Chapter Three~~
"Can't believe you, The Hermione Granger, already have detention. On the first day of school none the less!" Ginny said over her Pumpkin juice.
Hermione pushed around her food on her plate with a fork, Lunch didn't seem to hit her fancy today, it was no wonder. Ginny was right, she couldn't believe that she, out of all people, had detention. She felt a simmer of anger in her stomach and the thought of eating any food at the moment made her want to throw up.
"'Least it wasn't me or Harry. If he's gotta thing for Hermione, I know he'll have it out for us." Ron spit food as he spoke.
"Well I'm glad I was able to warn you before it happened to you Ronald," Hermione glared at him, he turned red looking away. "I didn't even do anything wrong, I can't help it that I'm the only one in the class with general knowledge."
"I wouldn't exactly call knowing everything a general knowledge." Harry muttered quietly.
Hermione shot him daggers and stared down at her plate before finally pushing it away. She was simply too upset to eat anything.
"Surprised your head isn't as big as your teeth with all that knowledge Granger." A voice drawled from behind them.
Hermione was not in the mood for this today, not now.
"At least my bloody teeth are smaller than that damn ego Malfoy." Hermione whipped her head around, staring hard at Draco Malfoy.
"Looks like the Mudblood wants to play with the big boys today, eh boys?" Malfoy fingered the wand that lay in his pocket.
Hermione placed her hand on her wand which lay on the seat beside her, she felt Harry and Ron next to her reaching for their wands as well.
"Miss Granger, as if it wasn't enough to have your constant speaking in my class, but now you seem to be threatening students." She heard the voice and her eyes closed. Maybe if I could just melt into the floor, surely I'll wake up in my bed. Surely this is all just a dream, he's not really her- "I hope you don't have any plans for the rest of this week Miss Granger, because you will be accompanying me in Detention for the rest of it."
Hermione opened her mouth to speak and argue, however at the look on his face, Hermione changed her mind. She quickly closed it and instead felt the blood in her skin boil and flame. She could almost feel it bursting to rip through her skin.
"And you, Mr. Malfoy, 15 points from Slytherin for the use of obscene language. If I catch that word out of your mouth one more time, you can look forward to two months detention. Leave before I change my mind." His voice was threatening, Hermione herself felt a trepid shiver run down her spine at the tone of it.
Nobody at the table spoke as Malfoy and his gang shuffled their feet angrily and walked out of the dining hall.
"I'll see you tonight at 7:00 sharp Miss Granger." He spoke briskly and eyed her up and down before walking away, not waiting for a response.
Hermione felt herself release a large breath of air, not even realizing she had been holding it. Her hands unclenched as she tried to relax her body into a state of calm. She didn't have to look around to see that almost all eyes in the Great Hall were upon her and her friends. Ron was cursing quietly behind her, however, the faint sound of blood rushing in her ears distracted her. She had to get up and she had to get away. She didn't even want to attend the rest of her classes, she just wanted to go sit in the library and read until her eyes were sore, until they refused to see anymore.
"At least he took away points from Slytherin," Ginny said comfortingly.
I don't get detention, I don't get in trouble. I do not get points docked from my house. I do not get yelled at by teachers. I don't get spoken to like a child. I don't get treated this way. I'm smarter than this. I 'm better than this. Hermione spoke to herself, trying to comfort her raging mind. She felt a storm in her head, a tornado whirling throughout her brain making her dizzy.
"Hermione, are you okay?" Ginny asked, placing a tentative hand on her back.
"I think I need to go sit down somewhere, I'll see you later." She stood quickly, jerking away from Ginny's hand and grabbing her bag before rushing off.
She still had three classes left until dinner, of which Hermione felt unsure of attending. She couldn't handle being around any more people today; she had already been embarrassed enough and felt horrified. There was nothing new to Hermione about being called a Mudblood and there certainly wasn't anything new about being treated the way Malfoy and his posse treated her, but to be treated like a child, especially after all she had been through, was new.
Hermione came upon a pillar and laid her head against the cool stone column, begging for the pounding blood in her head to stop beating so ruthlessly. She realized she simply couldn't skip her next three classes, she couldn't bring herself to do something to senseless, especially on the first day of school. Today wasn't going to get any better and nothing changed the fact that Hermione was going to have to spend who knows how many hours alone with Professor Riddle doing heaven knows what. She might as well go to her next classes in an attempt to cheer herself up before dragging herself into the depths of hell.
~~Dinner~~
Hermione felt considerably better after going to classes. Her classes were specifically purposed for becoming a magical healer and Hermione felt pleased that most of her classes seem to pose at least some of a challenge for her. Hexes and Curses and their Cures, Advanced Potion Remedies, and Herbology for Healers. She found herself enjoying these classes even more when she realized how few of her fellow classmates were in them, and it was the same group of students in each class, the only down side being that Cormac McLaggen was one of them. Apparently Cormac hadn't relieved his slight crush over Hermione either for she found herself seated next to him in every one of her courses.
"I honestly have no idea how we're going to do any of these classes without you Hermione." Harry signed, sounded slightly exasperated.
"Maybe if you and Ron pushed yourselves, you might pass without me." She said haughtily.
"That's not fair Hermione, you know we try."
"I'll believe that when I see it." Ginny rolled her eyes, taking her seat next to Hermione. "Excited for your detention tonight? I've heard some of the girls are jealous that you get to spend the next few hours in a room alone with him."
"Jealous?! I'm going to detention, it's not as if we will be snogging on all the desks!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Try telling that to Hannah Abbot, I was afraid she was going to do something stupid just to be in the same room with him."
"I don't understand why anyone would want to be around him at all. He's absolutely terrible and it's only the first day of class. I can't imagine what this year is going to be like." Hermione had begun to lose her appetite again and prodded her potatoes.
"Best thing to do would be to just keep quiet from now on Hermione, you don't want to egg him on." Harry suggested softly.
Hermione knew Harry wasn't trying to be rude when he said it, but she felt a ping of hurt at his suggestion. She knew that many people thought she knew too much and her overwhelming knowledge could tend to get on people's nerves, but it wasn't fair that she had to dumb herself down in order to keep peace.
"I ought to get going, I don't want to be late for detention." Hermione stood up and grabbed her bag, she glanced up to the table to see if Professor Riddle was there but he was nowhere to be seen. "I'll see you all later then."
"I'll wait up." Ginny called as Hermione walked away towards the staircases.
~~Detention~~
Hermione stopped herself at his door, taking a deep defeating breath before knocking. The door swung open, cold air rushed into her face as the door whined loudly, it's hinges almost screaming for oil to sooth their rusted bolts. The room was dimly lit, the torches that surrounded the walls flickering as if they were going to sleep.
"Good evening Miss Granger." Hermione spotted him sitting at his desk, his face buried in a depth of papers and books.
His face rested on his hand, his eyes lazily skimming over the works he was so engaged in, Hermione burned to get closer and peak at what he was so immersed in. She walked slowly into the room, approaching his desk. The hand that held his desk had perfectly manicured nails with long fingers, the cold air that blew from the back of the room brought his scent to Hermione's attention and it made her head swim, a deep musky scent. It had a woodsy undertone with a sweet and somewhat spicy edge, it made Hermione want to lean in and inhale it all night.
He sighed and shut the book that he had been reading, Hermione managed to catch the title and felt herself a little shocked; Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. A muggle book?
"Whoever kept this dreadful room last left a rather large assortment of junk. You and I will spend the next few evenings together clearing it all out. I hope you don't mind getting your clothes ruined, it won't be a clean job." He stood up, his voice held a tone of boredom almost.
Hermione shook her head and set her bag down. She removed her robes, she didn't mind getting her skirt and oxford dirty, but her robes were a tad more expensive and harder to clean, she didn't feel like getting them tattered quite yet. She looked up and found him eyeing her up and down before extending his hand towards the storage room behind his desk. She flushed at his examinations, thinking of how she must look. Her hair seemed to stick out in all directions, humidity had that effect on her. Hermione had her skirt rolled up a little bit higher than her knee's and her socks made her knees and legs look slightly knobby, she felt almost hobbled staring at them. Her skin was still pale and patchy from this morning's nightmare and to be honest, she had never felt like she was all too pretty to look at anyway.
The storage room he led her into seemed to come from a nightmare. The room was in itself a small classroom filled with everything from empty fish tanks the size of classroom desks to a smoking book that was chained up sitting on the very top of a fifteen foot tall bookshelf. The room was musty as though no one had stepped foot in it in ages. The floor was barely visible under papers and endless amounts of wizarding trinkets, some of which Hermione recognized from her previous professors. Hermione felt a smile crack on her face at the sight of a large golden cage…a cage she was sure had at some point held Cornish Pixies.
"Sir, if I may, why don't we just use magic?" She asked bending down to pick up a piece of paper.
"Because, Miss Granger, I find it builds much more character if you learn to use your hands for something, and what is detention without hours of persistent labor?" He had a small smirk on his lips as he sat down upon the floor and began grabbing papers and sorting through them.
"Of course." She replied stiffly, sitting down next to him and grabbing her own handful.
The next hour went by quietly, with only the sound of shuffling paper and the occasional clinking of the magical instruments that lay upon the floor. Hermione found that most of the paper that littered the floor were old lesson plans, homework, and even bits and pieces of text books (Who in their good mind treats text books this way?!).
"I'm curious to know Miss Granger, how do you know so much about the Dark Arts?" He asked throwing a stack of papers into a rubbish bin.
Hermione took a second to reply, it seemed like such an obvious question. The past six years of her life had been completely immersed in the Dark Arts, hadn't they? Sure he didn't mean a question so obvious?
"What do you mean sir?" She asked politely, handing him a stack of papers, avoiding eye contact.
"The intricate details, Miss Granger?" He asked, she could feel his eyes on her, tempting her to look up at him.
"I read a lot professor." She answered simply, she wasn't really in the mood to make conversation with him quite yet. Hermione still felt a small anger in her stomach over her day, which she blamed completely on him.
"Is that all your knowledge is Hermione," Hermione finally turned her head at the sound of her name, looking into his deep blue eyes. "Book smarts and no common knowledge?"
Hermione felt a twinge of annoyance prick at her, he was just trying to rile her. What did I ever do to him?
"I'll have you know Professor Riddle, I'm the smartest witch of our class. I have eleven, eleven, O.W.L.s and am currently known as the brightest witch of my age" Hermione felt herself growing red, unable to stem the flow of words from her mouth. "My knowledge is more than just book smarts, Professor! I'll also have you know that without me, Harry Potter would have died!"
Professor Riddle eyes flashed quickly with what Hermione thought was a sense of humor, however it was gone as quickly as she saw it.
"Do you find it smart to speak to your professors that way, Miss Granger?" He asked, his voice slick with sarcasm.
Hermione suddenly felt very embarrassed and dismayed at her sudden outburst and turned her head away from his gaze. Her skin prickled uncomfortably at the gaze that still held her. How did he manage to make her feel like such a child?
"I might warn you that it is prevalent to not speak with your professors in such a way, it usually leads to trouble. Especially ones that can easily wield control over you." Hermione looked back up again, a malice hid in his eyes, was he threatening her?
Hermione turned away and began picking up some of the objects that littered the floor. What does he mean, wield control over me? Hermione refused to speak to him after that, she felt angry and ashamed of herself for allowing herself to become so angry. Besides Ron, Hermione had never met anyone that could break her so easily and cause such an outburst. Time passed as Hermione continued picking up the room, she could feel the tension slowly building, like not speaking to him was creating an unbearable silence between the two of them. Another hour or so must've passed before she finally heard him speak again.
"Miss Granger, you're much smaller than I am. Would you mind climbing on this ladder and putting his box on this shelf?" He held a box of small pamphlet books in his arms and stood next to a ladder that went the top of the surrounding book shelves.
Hermione stared at it pointedly before walking over and grabbing the box awkwardly with one hand, grabbing the ladder with the other and working her way slowly up the ladder. She reached the top, her legs shaking slightly as she tried not to look down, she was at least seven feet up, a fall would certainly break her ankle, maybe her neck if she was lucky (and she felt quite lucky today).
It turned out Hermione was luckier than she thought, for as soon as she reached up, putting more weight upon the bar holding her feet, it snapped. She screamed as the box tumbled down, carrying her with it. She heard a gasp as she hit Professor Riddle's body, his arms closing around her as if to catch her as they both barreled to the floor.
Hermione took a second to read upon the situation she found herself in. Riddle lay beneath her, she could feel every part of his body pressed against hers. His muscles flexed against her skin as he groaned in pain. His arms, having tried to have caught her, had curled up and his hands rested on her bare thigh below her skirt, which had fallen up revealing her dark green knickers. She felt electricity seemingly running through her body as she realized how much of his body was on his. His face was pushed into the back of her neck, covered in her hair. She quickly tried to sit up but blushed furiously when she realized she was only pushing herself farther into his…his "area". He moved to push her off of him, but Hermione's body melted and caught fire where his hands slid across her thighs to move off and it lit a trail all the way into the pit of her stomach.
"Are you alright?" He asked, his voice hot on her ear. His breath made Hermione shiver, it was hot, baritone. Hermione could listen to him whisper in her ear all night.
"Y-yes." She felt her legs lock as his body slid up behind hers, standing up. Her face was burning, she was afraid it might singe her hair she felt so hot.
He held a hand out to her, she looked up, his face seemed to hold a small grin, as she took his hand. She winced as she felt pain through her body where it had hit the ground.
"I think we might call it a night Miss Granger, fate seems to think it's time for us to part." He smiled and she felt his cool fingers squeeze her hand before letting it go.
Her hand felt hot where his fingers had been. He slowly walked behind her as she grabbed her bag, not speaking a word. She didn't feel like her body was agreeing with her movements, she couldn't stop thinking about the way his body had aligned perfectly against her back. The way his muscles moved smoothly against hers, the way his fingers slid slowly over her thighs.
"Goodnight Miss Granger, I'll see you tomorrow at Seven, don't be late." He smiled, it held an almost wicked edge to it, and the door closed behind her.
Hermione could still feel his fingers pressed into her inner thigh, his hot breath against her ear, and his body matched with hers as she struggled to fall asleep. It was almost as if he were still with her. Hermione fell asleep with the hot coil in her stomach burning away at her insides.