ELEVEN
Friday, 5 September 1944
Hermione had gone back to the common room right away. She hadn't even waited to see if Malfoy followed her or not. She was fuming by the time she got to her dorm and threw herself onto the bed. She stared at the top of her canopy, thinking of all the ways she should have hexed him instead of walking away.
Eventually, her thoughts had turned from anger to the reason behind it. She found herself reliving the kiss; imagining the way his lips felt as they moved against hers. She shuddered as she remembered the way his arousal had felt pressed against her hip.
She squeezed her eyes shut and forced away the images. They went away, only to be replaced by her kiss with Ron. At the time, the kiss had felt as natural as if she were breathing; as if it were the very thing she needed to live. Now, looking back on it, it was nothing. Nothing compared to the way Malfoy had made her feel.
She cast an extra silencing charm for good measure before turning over and screaming into her pillow. Her scream turned into a sob as she thought of her friends; the ones that were in the distant future with no idea of where she was.
She didn't even realize when the thoughts had turned into dreams and she woke with a start. She groped around in the dark for her wand and waved it to reveal the time. She had a little over an hour before she needed to meet Riddle in the common room. With a sigh, she pushed herself out of bed and ducked into the loo before her roommates saw her. She wasn't sure if they were awake or in the room, but she wasn't about to let any of them spot her in this condition.
She did a double take at the sight of herself in the mirror.
Her hair was wild and frizzy; much like it was in the early years of school. Her eyes were swollen and red. It wouldn't take much more than a sideways glance for someone to know that she had been crying. There were even dried tears that had crusted on her cheeks and the sides of her eyes.
She used her magic to freshen up, but nothing she did could erase the sadness from her eyes.
With a sigh, she grabbed her bag and made her way to the common room. As much as she wanted to stay in her dorm, she knew she was less likely to repeat her emotional outcry if she were in a place where people could see her.
She paused at the sight of Malfoy on the couch closest to the fire. He was sitting with his feet propped up on the coffee table with a book in his hands. His eyes lifted to hers for a moment, but if he realized her plight, he gave no indication as his eyes went right back down to his book.
She inhaled deeply and took a seat on the large wingback chair opposite him and dug into her bag for her Astronomy text. She was sure she wouldn't read one word, but she was at least going to pretend.
The silence lasted for all of fifteen minutes at best before Hermione snapped her book closed and glared at him. "Is there a reason you're not in bed?"
He shrugged, keep his focus on the book. "Not tired."
"I don't need your protection, Malfoy."
"You've made it quite clear you want nothing from me, Granger. But don't worry. I'm just here to read." His hand slowly came up to turn the page and Hermione felt her anger flare.
"Let me guess, you'll still be reading when I return?"
He merely shrugged his shoulders and Hermione scowled. She opened her book again with a huff and tried to focus on the chart. A few more minutes went by before she looked up towards the corridor leading to the boys' dormitory. She swallowed at the prospect of seeing Riddle joining them soon. It was starting to become a reality that she would be alone with him.
"Do you have your book?" Malfoy asked.
It broke Hermione out of her thoughts and she looked at him. He was looking at her this time. She nodded.
"Good. Keep it out."
She held her tongue. She wanted to tell him that she didn't need him, but as time ticked down, she realized that she did. "I will."
He nodded and the common room door opened. Riddle and the male Fifth Year Prefect entered the room. The Prefect waved goodnight at them and made his way to his dorm. Hermione got to her feet as Malfoy turned back to his book. Only this time, his relaxed pretense was gone; replaced by tension that was only ever caused by Riddle.
"Ah, good. I was hoping not to have to wake you," Riddle said with a smile. "Draco, I am surprised you are up as well."
"That is the general consensus," he muttered.
Hermione got to her feet and slung her bag over her shoulder. "Are you ready?"
"I just need to retrieve my bag," Riddle said and turned to leave.
Malfoy got to his feet as well. He tugged a piece of parchment from a random spot in the book and used it keep his place before he set it down on the arm of the couch. Hermione smiled, glad he didn't dog-ear the page like Ron and Harry were prone to doing. It was her biggest pet peeve.
"Will you be up when I get back?" she asked.
"As if I could sleep knowing you're alone with him," he said, his voice low as he stepped towards her. "It's not too late to ask Dippet to drop Astronomy."
She shook her head and tucked some curls behind her ears. "We'll see how tonight goes. I'll write you if I need to. Just…" Her voice trailed off; she wasn't even sure what she meant to say. She was saved from having to think of it as Riddle reappeared in the common room with his bag. Hermione swallowed and stepped into Malfoy, placing a quick kiss on his cheek. "Goodnight, Draco."
Malfoy's eyes dilated as he watched her with curiosity. She waved as she followed Riddle out of the common room and into the hall.
"Do your patrols run this late every night?" she asked as they began to walk.
"Not usually, but students get very excited for the weekend," he replied. "I find the most rule breakers on Friday and Saturday nights."
Hermione nodded; it made sense. The Hogwarts that she knew was like that as well.
"Combined with the first weekend of the school year means more culprits to be found than ever."
"Do you turn them in for wrong doing or do you let some slide?" She wasn't sure why she was trying to make conversation with him. She supposed it was better than a strange silence. At least her emotional outburst earlier was keeping her too drained to even be fearful of his presence. It was there, lingering beneath the surface, but it wasn't outright like it usually was.
He shrugged as they took the first stair case. "Depends on who I find and what they are doing." She saw him watching her as they ascended. "You would be surprised the secrets this castle has to offer at night."
His words made her shiver. She nodded and gave him a tight-lipped smile. She knew full well what kind of secrets the castle had to offer. Particularly one large one that lived in a secret chamber. One that was alive and well here in this time.
Neither one of them spoke again until they reached the observation deck of the Astronomy tower. They unpacked what they needed to and Riddle waved his wand to sanitize the telescope. "You can never be too sure who is carrying what germs," he said as he caught her watching.
She smiled. "That is true. When I was eight, there was an outbreak of pink eye at my school. It spread like Fiendfyre." She stopped with her hand in her bag as she realized what she had said. More that she had said it so casually in front of him.
"You were educated before Durmstrang?" he asked.
"Mmm," she said and sat down on the stone floor to pick up her textbook. "You said we could discuss ideas for our project. Any ideas what you'd like to study?"
She held her breath as he stared at her, but then let it out with relief when he let it drop. "I was thinking we could focus on the moon."
"The moon?" she repeated. "Half the class-"
"Will be focused on the full moon and its strong connection to the wizarding world," he interrupted with a smug smile. "But no one ever focuses on the new moon. The end of the lunar cycle is a key component for a vast array of potioneering and complicated spell work. If we work this from the right angle, Daedalus cannot give us anything less than top marks," he concluded.
Hermione nodded. Academically, she wanted something obscure; something no one else would have thought of until she had brought it up. In reality, it was kind of nice to have something where the information was readily available. There wasn't going to be much time to research it anyway.
"Sounds good," she said, looking up at the sky. "When was the last new moon anyway?"
"The first," he replied. "Just a few days ago. The moon is on its waxing cycle back to the gibbous phase."
Hermione made a note of that on her parchment. She reached for her textbook again and flipped it open to the chapter about the moon cycles. With a sigh, she closed it rather quickly. "I spend most of my time in the library; I'll check out some books and do the research."
"At Durmstrang, did you find yourself doing all the leg work for your partners?"
She smiled a little as she thought of Ron and Harry. "It's possible."
"You will come to appreciate that we might be matched in academia. I am aware that you spend your free time after Astronomy with Draco. Perhaps one of those days we can meet for research?"
It was strange to hear him say Malfoy's first name. As if they were friends now. "What about before? We have that hour break after Defense and then he has Ancient Runes. I don't have anything before lunch. Do you?"
He looked thoughtful for a moment, as if debating whatever it was that he did insignificant enough to blow off with her. He smiled and shook his head. "Thursday would be best for me."
She nodded and then stepped up to the telescope.
"May I ask about your dueling experience?"
She stilled and kept her eye pressed against the telescope even though it was closed. "What do you mean?"
"In class the other day, Professor Merrythought asked if anyone had dueling experience outside of a controlled one. You and Draco both raised your hand." She slowly stepped away from the telescope and turned to find him closer behind her than she thought. "May I ask what happened?"
"You may," she replied. "But I don't feel like talking about it. They aren't exactly fond memories."
"It must have been quite the ordeal," he said, tipping his head to the side. "But if it is fear you feel towards them, you should know that it is always better to speak of your fears. For fear-"
"Of a name increases fear of the thing itself," she finished, tilting her chin up to hold her ground. "Trust me, I have no problems facing my fears head on."
He let out a slow chuckle. "Yes, it would appear so. After all, you are doing a marvelous job of not fearing me tonight," he said, stepping forward.
Hermione moved out of the way and watched him as he took over the telescope. "It takes far too much energy to be afraid. You're simply not worth the toll." It was more or less the truth. She was sure the fear would return tomorrow after she'd slept off her episode from earlier, but at this very moment, she couldn't care less if she showed fear for Tom Riddle right now or not.
He stepped away from the telescope and took a seat on the floor, using the wall of the tower to rest his back on. Hermione followed suit, leaving a fair gap between them. They both pulled out a fresh piece of parchment and she used her book she'd linked with Malfoy's to write on.
For the remainder of their hour, they plotted the gist of their project and made notes about what they needed to research more. By the time the hour was up, Hermione was yawning into her hand nearly every thirty seconds.
As they left the tower, Riddle filled the silence of the castle. "Will you join us for breakfast tomorrow?"
"As I said, I wouldn't want to-"
"Intrude on the boys club, yes, I remember," he said, turning to face her, thus stopping them in the middle of a hallway. He gave her a smile; one that was meant to reassure, but came off as slightly menacing given the shadows that splayed across his face. "I do hope you reconsider."
"No thank you," she said. "I have a feeling only you and Draco would want me there. I can put up with a lot, but people thinking they're better than me because they're rich and, well, a man, is not something I strive to be around," she said and slipped past him.
"I agree, they do give off a certain air of arrogance, but I assure you, once they get to know you-"
"You don't know me, Riddle. I just met you four days ago and today was the first time we had a semblance of a conversation. I'm glad you're making friends with Draco; which I'm sure is more due to the fact that he's sharing your dorm, but you don't know me."
He was there to block her path again and she huffed in annoyance. "Simply because you will not give me the chance to change that."
Hermione stared at him silently, not sure what to say in this scenario. Instead, she yawned and shook her head. "It's late, can we just get back to the common room so I can sleep?"
He inclined his head and stepped aside so they could walk side-by-side. "I am sure Draco has been waiting up for you," he said, his tone dark. "He made it quite clear he does not trust me around you."
Hermione didn't say anything as another yawn tore from her lips. Sure enough, Malfoy was still in the spot on the couch, reading the same book. He and Riddle exchanged a nod before Riddle took off towards the dorms without another word.
"How'd it go?"
"Fine, actually," she said and yawned again.
He stood and walked with her to the split between the dorms. "Granger-"
"We can talk in the morning," she said with a wave of dismissal, another yawn garbling her words. She smiled apologetically and he smiled back. "I'm fine, really. Goodnight."
"Night, Granger," he said and watched her turn down the hall until she was out of sight.