Author's Note: So here it is. Aha. So as I stated before, expect longer waits for longer chapters. Also, I'm going to start skipping time, and I mean heavily. Expect two weeks after a diary entry or just whenever I feel like skipping time I'll do so. I'm not going to write a chapter for every week because that would be ridiculous (and I'm also no capable of writing that much, I don't have enough free time)
Anyway, keep reviewing!
Keep reading!
I really have nothing to say.
I'm like happy with this chapter like maybe 6-7/10
So enjoy! (also chapter three of private intentions is up so read and review that too)
Tom Riddle's Diary:
I'm not sure exactly what's happening. I had no intentions of saving any of those children, I had every intention of turning and walking in the opposite direction. She shouldn't have been out there. I should have brought her with me, she can't be alone.
She gets in trouble every time I'm not around, she can't take care of herself.
I have no idea why I even care, why I even want to protect her. She's nothing, she is nothing to me.
If I hadn't come back from seeing Remus early...she could've died. I don't know what is wrong with me. This stupid young girl is messing with everything. I'm supposed to be in control, I'm supposed to hold all the power.
Why do I feel like she's holding something over me?
And God, her taste. I've never tasted a woman...I don't know why I did it. I just needed too, I needed to touch and taste her. I needed to show her what I can do to her, show her who is in control. I needed to show her she needed me. God, and the way she moved. Her body was so soft…
I won't let some young girl's body take over me. I can't forget about my business. I can't let her distract me from what I need to do, what I have to do.
She actually let me touch her, she felt it too. She felt that...that burn. I could see it in her eyes, the way she looked at me. She needed it just as much as I did. Why is she so different than anyone else, why do I even care? She's just a girl, nothing more. She's nothing more than a girl. I can't stop thinking of how hot she was, how tight it was with her body wrapped around my fingers.
Stop, I have to stop. We were supposed to stop, this isn't the way this was all supposed to happen. She was already in my grasp, she already agreed to help and do what I needed. Why have I taken it so far? Why is she making me do this?
She can barely take care of herself, I find myself wondering how she was even able to aid the Potter boy or her friend Weasley in living.
I've tricked her into trusting me, I've lured her into all of this and I've trapped myself. She has no idea what she's pulled herself into. I've no idea what I've pulled myself into. I'm losing control of this entire situation. Remus's wolves aren't doing their job, Ambrus is nowhere to be found and I haven't been able to leave the castle for weeks. Dumbledore is angry, to say the least. The dementors were a warning, do your job or I'll find someone else who can. Quit asking questions or I'll give you a final answer you don't want.
The dementors were Dumbledore showing who's in charge, they were his warning on how little he cared who got hurt in his way. Those were the friends Fenrir was referring too. If Remus can just keep track of when Fenrir is leaving and going, I can go find Ambrus. If Ivan was sharing anything with him, it was Dumbledore's current plans. If I can at least figure out his next damn mood I could leave the castle and finish my damn job.
How am I supposed to finish the job if I can barely keep my damn mind off that damn imprudent girl. She's going to ruin everything.
She is going to ruin me.
I won't let her ruin everything I've worked for, I am so close. I can feel that old man's blood in my hands. As long as Dumbledore stays located in Scotland, finding them and destroying them should be no problem. She has to be prepared by then, she'll have no choice.
One small incident could kill me.
It could kill us.
-Tom Marvolo Riddle
(Two Weeks Later)
"You're dead." Tom's wand held tightly to Hermione's throat, his breath hot in her ear.
Her breath was heavy as she ripped herself out of his grasp, turning to glare at him. Her hair had grown heavy and frizzy and her cheeks burned a hot red color. She gripped her wand tightly in her hand, a part of her desperately tried to tell her to be careful not to break it. She'd been practicing spells and dark arts dueling for two hours now and she was tired. She was angry and tired. She was nowhere near as good as he was and Hermione doubted anyone on this godforsaken earth was as good as he was. He certainly hadn't been in any rush to take it easy on her either.
"You have at least twenty years of practice on your side! I'm always going to die!" She gritted.
"You think that matters?" He was raging on being just as angry and annoyed as she was. "It doesn't matter how many years I've had to practice or how much I know! Any good witch or wizard would be able to at least defend themselves." He stepped back and raised his wand in front of him.
"This is ridiculous! We've been at this for hours now and I obviously haven't made any progress. Just let me leave, Tom." She pleaded.
Hermione didn't often find herself pleading to be done with work, training, or any type of work for that matter. However, this time was a little different. She had, most plainly put, been slammed on her ass, back, arms, and knees at least twenty times. She'd been cursed, killed, and had her throat slit at least double that. Hermione, so far, had only managed to send flying birds at his head for a matter of two seconds before Tom was surrounded by tiny chicken nuggets.
"Do you think Dumbledore is going to let you take a break Hermione? You're skills are hardly passable and I won't allow you to come with me if you're this utterly useless." His demeanor reminded calm and collected, but angry at the same time.
"I'm not worried about meeting Dumbledore anytime soon because you've yet to find a single horocrux." She replied smartly, immediately biting her tongue.
Riddle's eyes tapered and his eyes flashed irately. Two weeks had flown by since she had found herself lying on her Professor's desk gasping his name. Two weeks had passed with intimate touches and Tom politely kissing her on her mouth as she left their nightly meetings, but nothing more and nothing less. Hermione had never felt so confused and unsure of anything in her entire life. She wouldn't exactly call what was happening a relationship nor would she say it wasn't. One thing Hermione was sure of was this wasn't something she felt she was going to be able to stop, not that she wanted too. She hadn't completely sorted through the emotions or mental thoughts of what was happening, she just knew she felt...she felt good whenever he kissed her or put his hands on here in general. They certainly didn't speak of it and Hermione didn't have the guts to bring it up in a conversation, how exactly would that go anyway? Hey, listen. I know I'm your student and you're also training me to help you defeat my old evil headmaster...but are we dating or is this strictly platonic or what's happening here? No, it didn't sound good at all.
"If you don't wish to be a part of this all Hermione, then by all means, leave. I'm sorry that you feel this is a waste of your precious time." His voice spat venom and she cringed.
"That's not what I meant...I just. I...I want to be good. I'm sick of being killed or put on my ass all the time." She hung her head, her body was beginning to feel the ache of tonight's battle.
"You're proving true to your breed Hermione." Hermione stared up at him, feeling as though she had been slapped in the face. "You're doing nothing but proving to me that mudbloods are nothing but useless-" He took a step closer, his face cruelly staring down at her. "Dirty, worthless-"
Hermione had her wand waving before he could finish. Riddle had been prepared, his wand quickly waving a shield before him but the force from her curse pushed anyway, throwing Tom back into the desk behind him. She continued, raising her wand and shouting, Riddle quickly paring to keep up with her. Hermione could feel pure hot white adrenaline rushing through her bloodstream, pumping raw power into her hand. The wand pulsing beneath her fingers. Five minutes passed and she still held strong, a powerful shield flexing with her body as she quickly danced around the curses he blew at her.
Hermione noticed a muscle in Tom's cheek beginning to twitch slightly, his hand gripped his wand with white knuckles. A bead of sweat worked its way down Hermione's face, the concentration of being able to keep her mind blank to work wordless spells strained her. Still, she held strong. Tom's curses grew more so with every slash of his wand, soon they were billowing against her shield, her teeth gritting to hold the shield that stretched around her body. She quickly flicked her wand turning ever so slightly, Riddle moved to anticipate it and she double tracked, quickly flicking the spell in the opposite direction that Riddle had moved too. His eyes widened slightly as the spell hit him, the shield he had up momentarily blinking, a moment enough for the spell to crash through it.
His body flew back across the desk, flipping over across it onto the floor. Hermione stopped, her mouth gaping at what she'd just done. Oh god, I've cursed a professor. Oh god, I've cursed Tom. I just cast a spell on a professor and oh my god, what if he's injured. Oh shit, I am so in much trouble…oh my god. I won. I actually beat him! I won! Hermione tried to wipe the smile off of her face as she saw Tom's hand grab the desk from which he had flipped over. His face cringed as he stood up, wiping dust off of his shirt and slacks. He eyed Hermione and she could've sworn to see a ghost of a smile reach the corner of his lips.
"That'll be good for today."
(One Week Later)
Hermione had trouble explaining all the bruises that appeared on her body to Ginny and Harry. Ron could have cared less, it seemed he was out to show Hermione that she didn't exist unless Harry forced the two of them together at the same time, which seemed to be frequently. Harry seemed to think that if he were to question Hermione about the injuries at Dinner time in front of everyone, she would be more willing to answer, he was wrong of course.
"Nobody falls that much Hermione, just tell us. Is Riddle beating you? What's he making you do down there?" Ginny was of course involved in Harry's questioning.
"I'm being honest! We are just cleaning the room and I'm clumsy! Half the items in that room are enchanted or heavy and some cursed!" She felt she was being convincing, especially since she wasn't exactly lying.
Tom was still making her clean the room, for appearances sake. At one point while cleaning the room, Hermione had found a small box that looked just like a jewelry box. The box itself was beautiful and the designs shaped around the box were welded in beautiful intricate designs. It almost looked like the jewelry box she had at home, that when opened play Fur Elise and had a small ballerina spinning inside. Curious to see if it played any music, Hermione forgot all common sense and simply opened the box. That was when all hell broke loose.
A dark cloud billowed out of the box straight into Hermione's face, who had immediately gasped out of surprise and fear, causing her to inhale a large amount of the smoke. She couldn't exactly remember what she began seeing, but the hallucinations were awful and that's all she knew. She began screaming, blood curdling, ear splitting, throat ripping screams. Hermione's fingers had locked around the box in a vice like grip, allowing it to remain open. Tom had to physically pry, (and break some fingers) to remove her from the box. Blood had begun pouring out of her nose so reverently it was a wonder she was able to breathe through the blood and screaming.
When Tom had finally gotten the box out of her hands and slammed it shut, Hermione had three broken fingers and Tom had a rather nasty bruise on his cheek from ripping it out of her hands and smacking himself in the face with it in the process. It'd taken him over an hour to calm her down and clean up the mess. Tom was actually very good with healing spells and managed to mend her fingers (which were still sore to this day) and stop her nose from pouring blood. Hermione had no idea what had happened to the box afterwards, but she made sure from now on that she didn't open anything she found in that room. There had been several more times when she'd dropped heavy objects on her foot, tripped over objects in the room, or had something fall on her while she tried grabbing something else. While most of the bruises were from dueling and training, she could say at least one fourth of them were from the room.
"Nobody is that clumsy Hermione," Harry said, his mouth partially full of potatoes.
"I would like to see you try and clean this room and not get injured. I swear, it's cursed to maim and kill anyone who tries to help it." She argued.
"I'm going to figure out what's going on-"
"Attention please, Students! Attention!" McGonagall interrupted Harry's, her voice booming around them like she was speaking into a microphone. "Thank you. I have an announcement to make. The ministry and the school want the students of Hogwarts to know that we are stronger than we know. Hogwarts stood together and together we rebuilt this school. More than just blood, sweat, and tears helped bring us all back together. I-"She took a moment, wiping a very solemn lonely tear out of her eye with a handkerchief. "I am so very proud of all of you, nobody is as strong as the people sitting in this very hall. Nobody could have fought and worked as hard as all of you have. For that, the ministry has something to give you in return. Though, nothing can fix the losses that we've accumulated or the scars that will forever remain, we must rejoice in each other. The ministry will host a Christmas Ball for those students who wish to attend. The ball is open to students of all ages-"
Immediately the entire great hall broke out into whispers. Hermione stifled a small giggle at some of the groans she heard from the boys emitting across the room. Girls began turning to each other, whispering excitedly. She even caught some eyeing boys from across the room. Hermione blanched when she turned and caught Cormac staring right at her, winking in her direction.
"Looks like Cormac's already got his plans laid out for the ball," Harry whispered, his body trying to contain laughter.
"Oh, har har har." She rolled her eyes, glaring at him.
"Silence!" McGonagall's voice whipped out, silencing most of now gossiping students. Hermione could still see and hear several girls using hushed tones to gush to their friends. "The Ball will take place Christmas Eve. Of course only students staying for Christmas break will be allowed to join. You may not return to Hogwarts for the dance," Several students groaned at this. "It will be customary that you wear your dress robes and gowns. More information shall be posted soon, thank you."
McGonagall bowed her head slightly and returned to her seat, upon which the great hall became so loud with voices and excitement Hermione could hardly hear the people speaking in front of her.
"Who will you go with then?" Ginny turned to Hermione, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Myself, I can't really think of anyone who I'd like to go with." Her eyes began to float slowly towards the staff table. He was turned and talking to Professor Flitwick. She stared at him for a second, and as if on cue, his gaze turned sharply and met hers. She turned away quickly.
"It's still three months away, you've got time to ask anyone you want. Though most everyone will have a date by then. I wonder if they allow you to bring a date that isn't from the school, I bet Krum would go with you!" Hermione kicked Ginny under the table, she knew she didn't like to talk about Krum.
"I'm sure he would," She said through her teeth. "I'm not even sure that I'll go. I usually have so much homework over the holidays you know…" She trailed off.
She knew exactly who she would prefer to go to the ball with. She could probably guess that things like balls and dances were beneath a man like Tom, but she still could picture it in her head. Him, dressed sharply in a black dress robe, his hair parted and waved to perfection. His hands on her back, waltzing her around the room. She shook her head, that seemed highly unlikely.
Hermione woke up Saturday morning, pleading to herself that there was an owl at her window telling her Riddle was going to be busy and that they couldn't go to detention. She was positive over eighty percent of her classmates were getting ready to go to Hogsmede and she was going to be stuck here. When she finally sat up in her bed and opened the curtains surrounding her beds, her stomach panged with a mixture of excitement and disappointment. There, sitting there at the window was a very familiar black owl. Its large eyes staring at her impatiently.
It turned its head at her and stuck its leg out expectantly. She walked over and grabbed the letter tied onto its leg. It pecked her hand rudely and flew out the window, nipping her in the head with its very large wings. That owl is the devil in animal form, I swear it. That owl gets more evil with each letter it delivers to me. She unrolled the letter, sucking on the finger that Archimedes had bit.
Hermione,
Pack a bag. We leave soon.
-Tom
Hermione stared blankly at the letter. What does he mean we're leaving? And what does he mean pack a bag? Where are we going? What do I pack? Why the bloody hell does he have to be so cryptic? Hermione stuffed the letter in her pocket and turned to look at her dorm. How in the world was she going to explain to Ginny why she was leaving for a weekend? Surely her friends would notice her just being gone for two days with no explanation? Still, she began to pack a bag. She collected two sets of clothing, her jacket and a few other necessities and she placed them in her enchanted necklace and made her way down to the dungeon, carefully avoiding any of her friends who might see her wearing her necklace and become suspicious.
"Are you all packed?" She stared at her professor in complete surprise, he was dressed in casual attire, or what she assumed to be his casual attire. He was a wearing a pair of tan slacks with a simple emerald green V-neck sweater. Does he ever look bad in anything?
"Yes, but where are we going? Your note didn't explain much." She walked up to him and stared at the arm he was holding out for her to grab. "We can't apparate on Hogwarts grounds."
"I don't plan to apparate Miss Granger." Hermione looked at the desk in front of him and saw a very broken rusted picture frame. "Now, if you please. It's set to leave momentarily."
Hermione stared at him for a second before putting her arm into his and stood next to him patiently. He waited a minute, staring at his watch and then urged Hermione to put a hand on the object in front of them, he turned to look at her, a small smile forming on his lips.
"Have you ever been to Budapest Hermione?"
Hermione didn't have the time to answer, she was suddenly thrown into the space in front of her, jerked around endless. Her body twisting and turning into nothing, desperately trying to hold onto Tom and keep her finger on the picture frame in front of her face. They stopped suddenly and Hermione was thrown down harshly on her chest, forcefully removing kicking the air out of her. She looked over to see Tom standing gracefully, dusting his sweater with class.
She pushed herself up groaning and rubbing her elbows where they had slammed down
into the dirt. She looked around as she stood up, taking in her surroundings. The ground beneath her was a very lush green grass surrounded by a thick patch of trees. Hermione found herself marveling at a very large castle.
"How do you land so neatly?" She muttered, looking away from the castle to wipe at a grass stain that she'd received on her jeans.
"Welcome to Vajdahunyad Castle, Miss Granger." He ignored her muttering and began walking, leaving the broken frame in the grass.
"Why are we here? Will you please stop ignoring me and answer me?" She picked up her stride to keep up with his fast paced long footsteps.
"Remus and his wolves have finally done something right-"
"Remus? Remus Lupin?" Surprise filled her voice, he gave her a look and she fell silent.
"As I was saying, Remus has finally decided to keep to his word and Fenrir has gone off to do errands in Egypt. Sources tell me he'll be there for a while. Ambrus has information from Dumbledore that we need before we carry on to the locations where the horocruxes are. Ambrus has taken to hiding here, in Budapest. Quite a luxurious hide-out if you ask me."
"Do you know where Ambrus is hiding here?" She moved watching as Tom nimbly jumped a fence, attracting the attention of several passer-bys. He landed lightly on his feet and looked at Hermione and then at the fence and back at her.
"Oh, you're kidding me. " She looked up at the fence then back down, Tom was staring at her impatiently.
She sighed and grabbed the fence and began climbing sucking air into her throat, ignoring a slight ping of fear from the height growing beneath her and the ground. She reached the top and awkwardly swung her body over and gripped the fence on the way down, jumping and landing slightly less gracefully than he had.
"It's not of concern how I know where he is, but we will meet him soon. We will meet him and stay here, our next portkey won't be here until the next night. It's slightly difficult to arrange portkey's under the rug, they can't be done one after another so we will have to wait. I hope you brought some nice clothes, you won't be able to wear that where we're going tonight."
"Where are we going tonight?" She asked looking up at him as they made their way down crowded sidewalks.
"Dinner of course." He said as if she should have known.
"You want to take me to dinner?" She eyed him suspiciously.
"That is what a date entails doesn't it?" He asked, reading a street sign in front of them. Apparently he can read Hungarian, why am I not surprised?
"Wait," Hermione stopped mid-trek. Tom turned to look at her, an amused expression on his face. "You're taking me on a date?"
"Why wouldn't I?" He asked, looking at the watch on his wrist. "Come along, we'll be late."
"You're absolutely impossible to understand. First you practically ravage me and then you act as if nothing happened, then you do it again, again never mentioning it, and then kiss me and-"
"I'm fully aware of my actions towards you Hermione, you don't have to tell me." He interrupted her. "If the thought of dining alone with me bothers you so much, I can cancel of course. However, I assumed that a nice night away from cursing each other and dueling would be nice." He shrugged.
"No!" She blushed at her sudden outburst. "No, I want to go. I'm just…surprised that's all. You didn't seem like the type for romantics."
"You don't know me very well then, do you?" He looked down at her, smiling slightly.
"I don't know anything about you at all really." She paused in her mind to think on it. No, I really don't know anything at all about him. Sure the students here pick and gossip but there's no telling what's true and it isn't. Something about attending school in Paris, and both his parents being dead. Only gossip shared by teachers to students. "Which isn't really fair, because you seem to know a lot about me."
"Only what you give away, Hermione. You have no problem sharing what you've been through. You'll learn, Hermione, that an awful lot can be learned about a person through their actions."
"So you think you know me, but you aren't sure?" She said, jerking to stop as Tom's hand shot out in front of her. He turned to look right at her.
"I think I know everything."
He looked away and looked across the street, in front of them was a very large city park. Lush green trees stood everywhere, green grass rolled down the hills and was absolutely swimming with people. Hermione had no idea what Ambrus looked like so she simply watched Tom as he scoured the area. He put his hand behind near the small of her back and led her to continue on into the park. They continued walking for at least fifteen minutes into the park, deeper into the center. Her skin buzzed where his hand had touched and a part of her just wanted to stop to feel it again. Tom stopped again and this time realized why. The area surrounding them was less populated here and Hermione realized they had come in a complete circle, the castle from which they had landed was laying across the pond in front of them. They had come to the edge of a very long pond that had a single bench which a lone occupant facing towards the lake.
"Say nothing." Was all Tom said as they made their way towards the bench. Tom seated her at the very edge and he in the middle, the man said nothing.
Hermione wasn't positive she knew what the Greek God Adonis looked like, but if she had to make a measureable guess, it would have most likely been the man in the bench. He had brown hair that was styled impeccably. He was dressed in black pin striped slacks and a white long sleeve button up, his jacket laying on the arm of the bench beside him. His eyes were so incredibly green Hermione had doubts that they were human. He was incredibly muscular and it showed through his clothing. He almost made Tom look normal, almost.
"Tom, long time no see." The man's voice was deep and scratchy, it didn't fit his face.
"Ambrus, you've been doing well for yourself." He replied politely, staring off into the lake.
"Who's the girl?" He asked, turning to look at Hermione. She caught eye contact with him, and he smiled and winked. Hermione blushed so heavily she thought her cheeks had caught on fire.
"Easy," Tom's voice dropped an octave, warning. "She belongs to me. She's helping me with our little situation."
Hermione's body jerked at his words, she belongs to me, she belongs to me…she belongs to me…I belong to him. He said I belong to him. I'm his.
"No harm, no foul then. You must have a good personality Tom, she's much too pretty for the likes of you." Hermione was praying that something was going to suck her straight into the ground. "I hear Ivan's gone."
"Ivan wasn't too careful with his affairs." Tom leaned back, an arm casually coming around Hermione causing her to freeze. Am I going crazy? Surely this is all a dream and I just haven't woken up yet. "I need to know what all he told you Ambrus, this isn't a game anymore. Things are getting serious. He's beginning to move forward and he's leaving me out of it."
"Dumbledore's little pet lost its bed huh?" Ambrus chuckled. "He's got dark things planned ahead Tom. It was no surprise to me that Ivan was killed, sharing what he did. I'm surprised I'm not dead."
"Don't beat around the bush. I know what he's capable of and I know what he wants for his end result. He's lost faith in me since I've left his side. He thinks I've asked for too much information and questions my loyalty. It's risky for me to be here with you, I need to know what Ivan told you."
"Their hiding in the Shetland, couldn't tell you where either. Ivan couldn't tell me, unbreakable vow by the looks of it. Dumbledore's got a lot up his sleeve. He's in the ministry, got people everywhere." Tom's face remained blank. "He wants to rally his posse, send them all to ministry. The way his plans are looking, no one will know its happening. He wants to do it all at once, the ministry, schools, wizarding villages. He won't creep his way in like Grindlewald did, he's going to go in and enslave the whole damn race at once. He wants the list, and once he gets that list of all the wizards and their types...well he'll have his way with it then won't he? Ivan never told me how he was going to take care of it all, couldn't tell me, 'nother unbreakable vow I suppose. Just that it was all going to happen at once and it was going to be big."
"Last time I checked, he didn't have enough followers to go through with something like that. " Tom said after a moment.
"From what Ivan told, he's got more than enough. Got almost all the packs in London on his side. Magical creatures tired of being mistreated, tired of being punished from Grindlewald. I heard once the list is in his hands, he'll lock them all up, slave them away. I heard he's got Grigore on his side, that block and his pack from Romania. S'not good news for anyone, biggest damn pack in almost all of east Europe."
"He can't just waltz into the ministry, even with all that power and the followers. They've changed things since Grindlewald. Kills traitors before they even walk in the damn door." Tom watched a child flying a kite near the lake on the other side.
"You don't know then," Ambrus turned to look at Tom, almost with pity.
"Don't test me Ambrus, you'll find I'm not in the mood for your teasing and games." His voice was sticky with poison and Ambrus seemed to have caught on to the lingering threat.
"He's already overridden the Bulgarian Ministry Tom, been taking over the smaller countries, one by one. Got men in powerful places in Bulgaria, Italy, Denmark, he's got them everywhere."
Hermione felt Tom's arm stiffen immediately, his eyes flashed and darkened and a tick formed in his cheek.
"He's already started then, where will he be heading next?" He spoke through his teeth, Hermione still couldn't understand why he was so angry.
"Spain will be his next stop, from what I've heard. He'll be traveling within the next two months. Course, he'll keep headquarters in the Shetland, but it'll give you enough time." Ambrus already seemed to know of Tom's plans.
"We'll be seeing you then?" Tom stood up suddenly, startling Hermione. She stood up in suit.
"I'm always 'round, you know how to reach me." Ambrus smiled, and turned his gaze on Hermione. "If you ever feel in need of new scenery, you let me know, eh?"
Hermione looked down, stammering in embarrassment. Tom grabbed her hand and without her expecting it she heard him snap his fingers and she felt her body being jerked up away. She opened her eyes, trying to force the feeling of nausea she always got from apparating away to look where they had landed. Hermione blinked in surprise, they appeared to be in a very luxurious hotel room. The floors were a beautiful dark hardwood and a very large king bed made up with one of the fanciest bedspread she had ever laid eyes on. She double-taked, there was only one bed.
"Tom, there is only one bed." She looked around the large hotel room, half expecting another bed to pop out from the wall.
"You have keen eyes Hermione," He spoke, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a suitcase that looked as if it belonged to a mouse.
"Where am I to sleep?" She asked annoyed. She walked over to the couch that lay in front of the bed, trying to see if it held a sleeper, checking in the room outside the bedroom where another couch and very large and fancy entertainment center stood.
"If sharing a bed is such an indecency to you Miss Granger, you may sleep on the couch." He waved his hand over his suitcase and it grew to normal size.
"That's not- I simply-" She was at a loss for words. "I just meant I didn't realize…"
"Dinner will be in a few hours, I assume you didn't bring clothes so we shall have to fetch you some." He ignored her stammering and pulled out some clothes from his suitcase and hung them in the closet behind him.
"I didn't bring any money…" She trailed off.
"I don't expect you to pay for anything when you're with me Hermione. I would be a considerably bad partner if I did." He turned to look at her. "Would you like to unpack your bag?"
"Oh...yes." Hermione took her necklace off and removed her clothing from it.
She felt slightly stupid and embarrassed. Tom had packed and folded his clothes while she had simply stuffed some of the first things she could find into her necklace bag. She kept her eyes down as she folded them up and placed them into the chest under the television.
"Where will we be eating?" She asked timidly.
"Somewhere where you won't be able to wear jeans and a tee-shirt." He reply was short, but then he sighed as if in some small resignation. "We won't be dining here in Budapest. I've made reservations elsewhere."
"Somewhere like a different country? Or different city?"
"Do you speak much Russian, Hermione?"
_()_
Hermione had been nervous many times in her life. She'd been nervous when she held Harry's hand and kissed him on the cheek as he walked into the room to face Grindlewald for the very last time. She'd been nervous when they'd snuck into one of Grindlewald's hideouts together to find the sorcerer's stone he had stolen to make potion for everlasting life. She'd been even more nervous when they barely escaped the damn place with curses and hexes flying every which way. She'd been nervous when she shared her first real kiss with Viktor Krum even. However, Hermione had never quite felt as nervous as she did now.
Tom had taken her into a very small Hungarian boutique and stood by patiently while she thumbed through very dainty cocktail dresses. While Tom had said he was going to pay for her dress, that hadn't stopped her from checking the price tags. It was only after she saw the first price tag that she tried desperately to beg Tom to find a cheaper shop. Tom had only shook his head in annoyance and very firmly told her to pick something out or he would do it for her. She looked quickly and although he had told her to never mind the price, she had chosen one of the cheaper dresses in the store. A very simple, slim fitting, lace backed black dress. Hermione adamantly refused to pick a pair of shoes after seeing the total and Tom was forced to do it for her.
Hermione picked fretfully at the hem of her dress which had seemed a lot shorter than it had on the rack. Her legs felt weak and slightly wobbly under the three inch heels Tom had chosen for her, something she wouldn't be struggling with if she had simply picked her own shoes out. She felt no need to wear makeup (not that she had brought any to wear) and she had simply pinned some of her flyaway curls back into a small plait behind her head. She'd nearly swooned when Tom had emerged from the bathroom. He wore a simple white oxford and black tie with a fancy pair of trousers and shiny black shoes. He had styled his hair slightly, coming the wave in his hair over more to give it a more dignified formal look. He'd looked as though he'd just left a fashion ad from a magazine. She felt herself burning inside her dress when Tom's eyes had widened upon seeing her, though he'd say nothing besides asking her if she was ready to leave.
"We're lucky I didn't break my bloody legs apparating. I've no idea how woman wear these things on a daily basis." She shook her head, steadying herself with her eyes closed.
"You could've removed them." He shrugged.
Hermione opened her mouth to reply but realized he was right and decided against arguing the fact she would have rather worn different shoes in general.
"Where are we?" She asked, peeking around the corner of the building Tom had chosen to land them in.
"Moscow, I'm surprised you've never been here." He remarked, straightening his tie.
"I've been to Bulgaria and France, but that's really it. Viktor Krum invited me one summ-" She cut herself off when Tom flashed her a dark look.
Tom began walking then stopped, holding out his arm for Hermione. She stared at his arm as though it were a foreign object, unsure as to what he was wanting her to do. She slowly pushed her arm around his and they began to walk. Her body seemed all focused on where his arm held hers, guiding her down a sidewalk to a building diagonally from them.
"Бронирование на Риддла." Hermione felt the need to roll her eyes but resisted when the man at the front door that Tom had just spoken to looked over at her.
"Прошу за мной." The man's accent was incredibly thick as he gestured for them to come inside.
Tom released her arm and grabbed her hand, the shock of which resounded through her entire body causing her to almost fall. He gently guided her up the steps and then proceeded behind her, his hand on the small of her back as they followed the usher to their seats. The restaurant was beautiful and dimly lit, it was scattered full of couples sitting across from each other looking lovingly, chatting and holding hands. Tom came behind Hermione's seat, politely seating her before turning to his and allowing the usher to seat them.
"Одна бутылка Louis Roederer, пожалуйста," Tom glanced over the small menu board a waiter had handed him.
Hermione waited until the waiter walked away to finally speak out.
"What languages don't you speak?" She asked, eyeing him curiously.
"My Greek could use some work, and occasionally I switch a few words around in Mandarin. French is my best however," He allowed a small smile to pass at Hermione. "Pouvez-vous parler un mot de français, Hermione?"
Hermione spoke French, and very fluently at that. Even while she was at Hogwarts, her parents had pushed her to learn at least one foreign language. She had begun taking French lessons when she was only nine years old and continued with summer courses while she attended Hogwarts. Her family constantly vacationed in France during the summers and the language always seemed to come in handy.
"I started learning French when I was nine, it's the only other language I know." She turned to see a waiter coming towards them with a bottle of champagne and two flutes.
She watched as he poured the bubbling liquid into the two glasses and then handed them two menus, speaking to them both. Hermione had absolutely no idea what he was saying but Tom was nodding his head, keeping along.
"Мы будем иметь два из Жареная говяжья вырезка под бальзамическим соусомFiletto ди Мандзо аль Бальсамицьо." Tom pointed on the menu and handed his menu back to the waiter, Hermione quickly following suit.
"Where did you learn to speak so many languages?" She asked, taking a small sip of her champagne, it bubbled all the way down into her stomach, trailing a very warm sensation into the pit of it.
"I had a very rough life growing up Hermione, not that it's any of your concern," He always managed to put off his life details with an insult. "I knew very quickly at a young age that to be powerful, it took great skill and knowledge of all things. Learning languages came easy to me, earning money proved to be no problem with the right set of skills, and reaching high ranks in the right places found me rather than the opposite way around."
"It would seem as though you've led a very gifted life then," She inclined her head. "It sounds to me that you came about all your power and wealth through illegal means." Tom's eyes flashed and a very rare small smile procured on his lips.
"You'll find that in life Hermione, some of the best things in life are only easy if done the right way, and the right way isn't always the legal one."
"How did you find yourself in Dumbledore's rank?" She found herself speaking quietly, fingering the fork that lay on the table in front of her.
Tom stared at her a moment, as though he were trying very hard to gauge what she was thinking.
"I don't mean to brag, but talent with the likes of mine hardly goes unnoticed. He ran into me abroad. I ran into a few of his men while running an errand for someone and he was impressed with what he saw. He recruited me immediately, of course I'd already heard of him. I keep my nose in places it oughtn't to be. As a teen, I found myself attracted to the dark arts, but not its leaders nor its actions. I ran many errands for followers of Grindlewald, I met Dumbledore when Grindlewald put in his laws against Muggleborns. I was quick to earn his trust and climb my way through his ranks. I kept eyes on followings throughout Europe, especially in France. I attended school in France and kept track over his proceedings there as well as a few other things."
"When did you decide you were going to kill Dumbledore?"
"There was no decision, I've known. I may be in the wrong with some certain beliefs of mine, and I'll admit to many of my wrongdoings, but no world, no matter what breed or blood they may be, deserves to be ran by a tyrant such as Grindlewald or Dumbledore."
"Why did he send you to Hogwarts?" She asked, leaning back in her chair to stare at Tom.
"The boy, as I've told you. The boy was cursed at a young age, you know how his story goes. Parents killed, cursed, curse rebounded on him and somehow he lived. Dumbledore feels like the prophecy written about the boy wasn't meant for Grindlewald, but for himself. I think it's a load if you ask me. He raised the boy to kill Grindlewald for him and now he wants me to keep a watch on the boy to make sure no harm comes of him. He believes that if he doesn't kill the boy before he comes to power or if something happens, then something will happen to him. He's superstitious. Remus and his pack also work through Hogwarts, you know Remus Lupin, yes?"
"Yes, he was in the Order back in the beginning of the war." She took another small sip.
"He's got his own pack. One of the larger packs in Scotland and Britain. They play for our side of course. Dumbledore has a right to be fearful of what his pack can do, I'm here watching them. Making sure their playing fair."
"And now he doesn't trust you?" She questioned.
"Let me give you a scenario Hermione." He sat up a little bit and leaned forward, the dark spark lighting behind his eyes. "Imagine you're plotting for a very dominant powerful position over wizarding kind. It won't be given to you, so you'll have to take it. Not only do you want to lead wizarding kind, but you want to enslave a third of its race. None of this is an easy task of course, even though over seventy percent of the wizarding population has no idea what's about to take place, there's still that thirty percent that does. You could probably assume that a good chunk of that thirty percent is on your side, but maybe one percent wants to stop you. You have to watch your back at all times, nobody is safe from this eye of scrutiny. Now, you have a right hand man. One who does all your bidding, follows your every command, you keep him at your side but then you need him somewhere else. He begins asking too many questions, wants too many details...what would you assume?"
"That he was curious?" She guessed.
"No. Being superstitious and being aware that your every move or any person could end up ruining everything you've come so far to work on, you become suspicious and you block them out. No matter how important they are to you, no matter how much they've done. You watch their every move. I began asking questions before he assigned me this task. He picked this location not only because he needed someone here, but he wanted me away. Do you understand?" He was very far forward on the table, his eyes piercing into hers.
"Why doesn't he just kill you if he's so suspicious?"
"He can't kill what he needs Hermione. He can't prove his suspicion and I'm much too important an asset for him to lose." He leaned back in his chair as the waiter approached with their food, nodding him thanks as he set the plates in front of them.
Hermione sat quietly, picking at her food and mulling over everything he was telling her. She had ultimately promised herself she wouldn't get into this kind of mess this year. She had repeatedly reminded herself that if she just stayed under the radar and did her homework and schoolwork and kept to herself, nothing would happen to her. She found herself questioning how she kept ending up in this situation year after year, where she would tell herself it would be a regular school year then, lo-and-behold, here she was again. Except this time it was just her, not Ron and Harry.
"Why were you so upset by what Ambrus had told you?" She asked between chews.
"I already knew of his plans to take over the ministry and go from there. I knew of his plans to acquire the list of muggleborns. Ivan knew of Dumbledore's secret weapon in all of this, something he couldn't tell Ambrus. As you heard him tell us, an unbreakable vow. His location and his big weapon will be kept under lock and key. I had an inkling that he would try and get into other ministries, but I didn't realize he'd already started. If he's already taken over so many ministries, it reduces our time we have until he reaches full power."
"What will we do if he reaches our ministry before we can get all of his horocruxes?" She took another bite of food.
"Then we pray."
_()_
Hermione felt onto the bed, her head spinning from apparating. She had drank at least three glasses of champagne as well as dessert with her meal. Her body was now threatening to make its presence again. She stood up and sat on the edge of the bed, removing her heels from the night. She looked over and realized Tom had walked away into the bathroom where she could still see him.
She wouldn't precisely say what she was doing was peeping, but it was. Tom took his time, unbuttoning his shirt and loosening his tie. She watch as he unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt and rolled up his tie, setting it on the counter. He slowly and gracefully removed his shirt, his skin looked pale and smooth in the light of the bathroom. He came out and looked up and stopped when he saw Hermione staring at him.
"Are you not going to get dressed?" He asked walking over to his closet and removing a pair of sleep pants.
"Oh yeah…yes. I was just waiting…" She had no excuses.
She sat there for a moment longer as he went back into the bathroom to change into his pajamas. She walked over to the dresser in front of the bed and pulled it out, looking for her night clothes but froze suddenly when she felt Tom's fingers at the nape of her neck. She held her breath, her body stiffening while the electricity running from the tips of his fingers pulsed through her body. He held the back of her dress up while slowly unzipping the dress, running a finger up her spin, her body moving with it. She closed her eyes, relishing in the feeling of his fingers on her bare skin. He pushed the arms of her dress down, kissing on her bare shoulders and up the side of her neck. Her head fell back, small sighs of pleasure emitting from her mouth.
He pushed the dress down until it was at a small heap on the floor at her feet. His hands came around her body, rubbing and touching wherever he wanted. One hand wrapped across her hip onto her stomach, the other running its way from her breast down to her waistline then up towards her neck. He used his hands to turn her around and kissed her so deeply and passionately, she could've forgotten her own name. His hand waved and the lights in the room turned off, the only light now was from the very bright moonlight shining through a crack in the curtains, falling across the bed.
Hermione didn't push him away when he kissed all over her body, snaking his tongue out at her wrists, tasting her exposed flesh. She squirmed and thrust her body towards him when his mouth kissed around her panty line, then slowly back up. He placed his mouth on hers and kissed her, his kisses began to soften, slowly, until they feather across her neck and he pulled her into his body so she could feel every inch of him. She relaxed, her eyes refusing to open, sleep calling away to her body.
"Sweet dreams, Hermione." Was the last thing she heard, his lips pressed against her ear as she drifted off into darkness.