EIGHTEEN
Wednesday, 17 September 1944
Hermione had gone back to the classroom to find that Merrythought and Riddle were the only ones left. She apologized for running away and explained that the duel had prompted some of her flashbacks from a previous experience. Merrythought accepted the answer and told her she wouldn't have to duel again unless she was comfortable.
Riddle hadn't said a word, but the way he was staring at her made Hermione squirm.
Afterwards, Hermione had gone to her dorm and slept. She wasn't sure if Malfoy had gone to his Ancient Runes class that morning, but she certainly skipped Astronomy. She woke sometime before dinner and asked Malfoy if he wouldn't mind eating in the kitchens with her instead of the Great Hall. Then they had gone back to the dungeons and Hermione slept until the following morning where she felt strong enough to eat breakfast in the Great Hall.
During Transfiguration, Dumbledore had asked them to stay after class. There, he let them know the details of their upcoming guest on Saturday. With plans to meet in the Hog's Head for lunch, Dumbledore stated he would escort them and they would return right after.
Charms had gone by as it always did; without any sort of mishap. It was Potions that they were dreading the most. And their suspicions were confirmed when Slughorn assigned everyone in the room with the name of one of three potions. Then he asked the class to form groups of three, making sure to include only one "representative" of each potion to that group.
As luck would have it, Hermione got Blood-Replenishing Potion, Malfoy received Calming Draught, and Riddle had the last one; Strengthening Solution. They exchanged a glance and Malfoy sneered at the hand they had been dealt as Hermione turned and locked eyes with Riddle.
Everyone else in the room had already split into pairs and since the rumor mill was just as thriving here as it was in the nineties, no one wanted to come anywhere near her at the moment. She titled her head as a gesture for him to join them and he did so with no hesitation.
"Alright, everyone, start working on your potions. You will be doing this today and Friday as well. You must pass as a whole so if one of your group gets their potion wrong, the three of you will fail." He smiled and waved at them to start before sitting behind his desk again.
"About yesterday-" Hermione started.
"Despite what happened, Miss Granger, I harbor no ill will towards you. It was a duel. You won." He smiled and extended his hand for her to take.
She looked at it and then back up at him. She could feel Malfoy against her back and his anger was rolling off of him in waves. "I was going to say that I know you were in my head and I did warn you about going in there." She gave him a dazzling smile as she grasped his hand, shook it once, and then released it quickly. "Now, let's get started. I will not be sacrificing my grades for either of you," she said and set about making a list of what they all needed.
When she was done making the list, Riddle held out his hand politely. She hesitated for a moment and he stretched his hand out further. "I can handle the ingredients, Miss Granger."
She needed to talk to Malfoy anyway, so she nodded and handed over the list. "Thank you," she said, mustering as much politeness as she possibly could in that moment.
Most of the class had chosen to worry about their own potions instead of truly focusing on the group aspect of the project. Which meant Hermione had a moment to speak to Malfoy without a ton of eyes on them. "Muffliato," she whispered and turned to stare at her partner.
"This has to be the worst cosmic joke ever played," he groused.
"It's not that bad. We'll just work on the potions and that's it."
"Do you not know how hard it is to know that he was fucking with you and that I have to keep my silence? That I'm afraid that either he'll attack me for standing up to him or that you'll attack me for defending you?"
She took a half step back as she raised her hand to her lips.
He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "That came out a bit too harsh," he sighed. "I'm not afraid of you, I just didn't want to risk a fight with you. Not over putting him in his place."
"I've already done that."
"You said he laughed at the end," Malfoy pointed out. "And the rest of us didn't hear a peep from him. If anything, I'd say all you did was recharge him and let him know you're a hundred times stronger than he already suspected."
Her eyes flickered towards the supply closet when students began coming back out of it. "It doesn't matter," she tried to reassure him. "He can goad me all he wants; I won't fall for that again." She couldn't risk it.
She could tell from the way the grey of his irises shined bright that he had questions about what he saw, but he knew better than to ask them here. Even as she saw him debate with himself on whether or not he should risk it, Riddle came back with their ingredients and she removed the silencing charm around them.
She helped him distribute the ingredients and began barking orders at the two of them as if they were Harry and Ron. It wasn't until Malfoy made a comment about knowing his way around a cauldron that Hermione stopped what she was doing. She took in the sight of Riddle to her right and Malfoy to her left. As reality sank in that they were certainly not her best friends, she items she was holding fell from her hands and she collapsed into her chair.
"Miss Granger, are you alright? You look a bit pale," Professor Slughorn said as he approached their table.
She nodded, but was desperately trying to breathe in a calm way. She could feel the panic attack coming and knew she didn't have long before it hit her with its full force. And just as her lips parted to start hyperventilating, she felt that familiar prickle at the back of her mind. She went still. Her skin prickled with gooseflesh and she stared down at her hands. She shivered as she saw the same Dark magic as the day before coiled around her wrists, ready for use again. There was a nudge at the back of her mind telling her to surrender and claim it.
She latched on to the presence in her mind and pinned it to the fringes. She concentrated and held it there while she brought forth every happy memory she could think of, slamming them with full force at the presence. The day she received a visit from a Ministry Official when she turned eleven. When she saw the library at Hogwarts for the first time. When Harry and Ron saved her from the Troll in First Year. So many of Harry and Ron. And of Malfoy telling her that he wasn't going anywhere.
When that memory faded, the Dark magic disappeared and the presence vacated her mind. She refocused on the fact that she was in the potions classroom and everyone was staring at her. Except Malfoy. He was staring over her at Riddle.
She cleared her throat and wiped at a few stray tears. She pushed herself to her feet and smiled at Slughorn. "I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" he asked.
She nodded. "Yes, Professor."
He assessed her for another moment and then nodded, turning to the rest of the class. "Show's over! You have potions to brew!"
Everyone scrambled to get back to their own work and soon a pleasant chatter filled the air. She laid her hand on Malfoy's forearm and he did a double take as if forgetting she was there. "You actually do seem a bit pale," he said with concern.
"I'm fine. Still burnt out from yesterday," she said, giving him a weary smile.
He nodded slowly, but she knew he didn't buy it for a moment. He went to his potion after a moment and Hermione stole a glance at Riddle. He was staring at her with an unreadable expression. He studied her, searching for something. She had confused him, overwhelmed him with all her happy memories. Slowly but surely, he was able to tear his gaze away from her and the three of them set about brewing their potions.
Neither of them spoke again for the duration of the lesson.
Friday, 19 September 1944
Thursday had been a strange day. In Defense, Hermione had made sure to stay as far away from Riddle as she could and Merrythought opted for a lecture instead of another duel amongst students. All the anxiety she had had about Riddle coming to the library for their study session was relieved when he sent a note telling her there was a Prefect's meeting and he wouldn't be showing up. Only then did Malfoy pack his things and leave for class.
She had debated heavily whether or not to go to Astronomy, but in the end, decided to just go and get it over with. Riddle left her alone for the most part. When the bell rang, he looked as though he wanted to ask her something, but she had shaken her head and bolted from the classroom. She had spent the rest of the evening with Malfoy in the Room of Requirement.
It was Friday that really put Hermione in a mood. There was really something to be said about waking up on her birthday thirty-five years before her actual birth. It left her in a funk she wasn't quite sure how to shake.
She had barely paid attention in Transfiguration, kept to herself during their break, and in Charms, she let her mind wander too far. She had spent the majority of that class thinking that if Harry or Ron were there with her instead of Malfoy, they would still make her celebrate the day. Which turned her thoughts to Ron.
How she had spent the majority of their friendship harboring a crush for him. How he hadn't even noticed her until a little over a year ago and even then, hadn't really made a move until just a few weeks ago. And then she found herself comparing him to Malfoy. That he had admitted to noticing her since Third Year and the only reason he hadn't done anything about it was their opposing sides of the war. How, after only a few days of admitting there was a something between them, he was just waiting for her to sort herself out.
Which brought on a slew of other thoughts.
What would happen when they finally left this time and got back to their own? Would he even still want something with her? Was this something between them just a product of circumstance and a stress relief, or would they feel the same later? And how in the world would she explain any of this to Ron? What if they went back and Voldemort had won?
It was when the bell rang that she snapped out of her thoughts and found Malfoy watching her curiously. She cleared her throat and blinked as she realized she had been staring at him. A blush crept to her cheeks as she packed her bag. Had she been staring at him the entire class?
Lunch went about the same. Riddle had asked them to join and she accepted for the both of them. Malfoy may have been on edge about what happened in Defense on Tuesday, but Hermione hadn't shared with him what happened during her panic attack on Wednesday. She had sat on Malfoy's right, putting her at the edge of the conversation. She hadn't planned on participating regardless if she spent her lunch zoned out, pushing food around her plate with her fork.
Despite the fog in her mind and not to anyone's surprise, at the end of Potions, Riddle, Malfoy, and Hermione had turned in three perfect potions. They had found a rhythm after her panic attack that worked well for the three of them and it had resumed on Friday. The tension was still there between the three of them, but it was barely there by the time Potions started.
During the break, they went back to the dorms and Hermione laid down for a moment. She had told Malfoy that she would meet him in the Great Hall for dinner, but once she was sure everyone was eating, she took her leave and went to the Room of Requirement. Tears sprang to her eyes as she stepped inside. She hadn't really asked for anything specific, but she was longing for something familiar; something to bring her comfort. The room had conjured up and exact replica of the Gryffindor common room just as she remembered it.
She made her way to the little table behind the couch. She quickly removed her jumper in favor of the red and gold one that was laid out for her. Changed, she curled up into the arm of the couch and let the warmth of the roaring fire send away the chill of the dungeons. Slowly, tears leaked from her eyes and dripped down her cheeks. More thoughts of Ron and Harry surfaced and mixed with thoughts of Malfoy and Riddle. She let her mind sift through it all and continued to huddle and cry until there was nothing left inside.