Tom sat staring at the plain witch from Gyffindor. His mind was a whirl of confusion and chaos, not a normal or comfortable thing for him to deal with. He was used to order…in his mind and in his life. And then she had come along on the first day of his new life at Hogwarts and upset the entirety of his well thought out plans. He was always the smartest and most loved in school and here was this little swot stealing his moments to shine and garnering the same attention that he wanted…no deserved!

Then…today happened! He had heard the hiss too. Only his warning had been a split second too late. He knew the moment that sharp whisper of anger bubbled up from the frothing liquid in their cauldron that they were both about to be in serious trouble. And then strong hands had landed roughly on his chest and he was stumbling backwards, his arms pinwheeling as he tried to stay on his feet. He had landed in a heap on the floor just as the blue shimmer of a shield surrounded his lab partner and the world had become loud explosions and her anguishing screams.

Even as the class had cowered and cried, run for cover and panicked, he had been unable to do anything but watch in fascinated horror as the girl he thought to be his greatest nemesis arched in searing pain as the potion ate through her shields and scalded her back. As students fled and the teacher rushed forward to help, all he could think in a loop of his own mental chaos was, 'she saved me…why?'

Her groan of pain brought his mind back to the present and with a few quietly spoken words to her, not even sure what he said exactly in his dazed state, Tom rushed to get the school Matron. He waited as patiently as possible, shifting on his feet as his hands clenched and unclenched at his side as the girl…Hermione…was given more healing and another pain potion. He couldn't understand it yet but he didn't like being so far from her form and he wished the mediwitch would hurry up and go away.

As the weeks passed he found that he couldn't seem to stay away. She had saved him from an immense amount of pain and a part of him he had no idea was there suddenly sprang to life. He owed someone…and he was going to repay her!

And so with the same single minded focus he put to his school work and his future plans, he turned his attention to the tiny witch stuck in the hospital wing with massive potion burns. He made sure to gather all of her homework and course work. He spent every waking free moment by her side going over the subjects and making sure she was not only caught up but ahead like she seemed to prefer. He couldn't even fault her on that as he was the same way. He found as time moved on that he seemed to also benefit from her need for more and more knowledge. Not only did he learn the subjects he was supposed to be studying but found interest in others that she was reading on the side.

The first day back to class found him sitting in his usual seat beside her, a seat assigned at the beginning of the year in hopes of promoting unity between the two brightest students of the year instead of animosity. A hope that had been dashed to pieces…until now. He listened as she answered questions and looked to her for her approval when he answered his.

He felt his lips tilt in a slight smile at her first nod of agreement and an odd feeling washed over him. It felt like warm water being poured through his veins starting from his chest. He had no idea what it was or why he felt it and he didn't care. He had never felt anything so nice before and he made a promise to himself to try to catch that fleeting feeling as often as possible.

Turns out the only way to do that was to spend time with his once sole competition. On the walk to one of their classes it was obvious her wounds were still hurting her and she dropped the book she had been carrying in her hands. Reaching down he picked it up for her and on impulse he reached over and took her satchel as well. The least he could do for being unharmed was keep her pain at a minimum until she was fully healed.

Her timid smiles and confused brow scrunches only seemed to make that warmth grow through him and as they entered potions that day, he couldn't help but keep his body slightly angled to protect her from any possible mishaps. His meticulous methods became obsessive as he made sure not to add any ingredients that were not part of the process. He would not let her get hurt for him again.

All of his attention as he sought that warm, fuzzy feeling came to a head at the end of her first week back as she addressed him for the first time about something other than school.

"Not that I want to go back to the way things were…but what is going on Riddle? A month ago you hated the very thought of my existence and believed every breath I took was one stolen from you. Now you are like this dark knight standing at my side. It's…odd…"

Taking his time to look up at her, Tom considered giving her some Slytherin answer that would deflect this line of questioning completely but found he wanted to ask his real question more.

"Why did you save me?"

"What?"

He could tell he had caught her off guard with his bluntness and though he tried to stop it, he felt himself preen inside at having tilted her world on its axis once again.

"I asked 'why did you save me?' That day in potions…you knew what was going to happen before it happened. I heard the hiss and I knew something had gone wrong but not what. You knew and instead of saving yourself…you saved me…why?"

He watched that infernal lip disappear under her teeth and he had to really focus not to get lost in his own thoughts. Something about that action seemed to drive him towards an instinct he did not understand. And he did not like following instinct…it caused more trouble than it was worth.

"I…don't know. I saw the fairy wing stuck to your robe and before I could utter a warning it had already fluttered into the potion. I remembered reading that fairy magic could be volatile if added too early and I just reacted. I…well I mean…no one is heartless enough to let a fellow classmate get hurt if they could help it…right? I knew it was coming and you didn't. So I did what anyone would have done. I got you out of the way and did what I could to protect myself."

Frustration was the first feeling that came over him. No! No one was that selfless in his opinion. Everyone was always out for themselves and if stepping on their fellow classmates and peers got them where they were going then so be it. He knew if the roles had been reversed he would have saved himself and not given one thought about her well-being. His frustration pushed his response out before he had time to really consider his words.

"That's just it Hermione…not everyone would have done that. Most would have saved themselves or frozen in fear and both of us would have been hit with the blast. Instead you pushed the boy you hate the most out of harm's way and you cast…wandlessly I might add…fast enough to keep the explosion contained and keep it mostly off of you. Slughorn said if it had not been for that, you may not have survived and more of the class would have been hurt."

Standing he walked around the table to kneel in front of her. He watched her shift back in her chair and at first he thought it was in fear until he looked into her eyes. Her pupils had dilated and her breathing seemed to be coming in shallow pants but what he saw was not fear. How…curious…

Taking her hand in his as he searched her eyes he spoke his thoughts in a string of rambling nonsense.

"Is it because you are a Gryffindor? The other lions all dove for cover when you shouted your spell. None of them moved to help or showed any kind of bravery or foolishness."

"Is it because you are brilliant and your brain worked fast enough to react? Salazar knows I started to react the moment I heard the hiss but I was a second later than you in realizing the danger. That second could have cost me my life or you yours."

"No one in my entire life has ever cared enough to help me, let alone risk their life to save mine. I am used to being alone and having to stand on my own. I have been doing it since I can remember. Then this annoying, swot of a witch comes along and not only proves she is as smart and as powerful as I am but also has the ability to hate me and put me verbally in my place as much as I do to her. Then she goes and does something I could never have imagined."

He looked down in contemplation, his fingers running over the softness of her palm and tracing the lines in her skin. He didn't touch girls as a rule. The opposite sex was a distraction and a cruel and manipulative one at that. His mother had taught him all about the disgusting dangers of the female sex when she admitted to drugging his father in order to have him for her own. Tom would never be any woman's fool! Her shiver brought his mind back from that dark abyss and he let the rest of his thoughts free.

"I am trying to understand and I can't seem to. It doesn't add up. You hate me. You despise having me near you. I make you cringe and snarl and scream in frustration. You have called me every name in the book and have even cursed me to many a dark and rotting place. Yet when the unthinkable happened…you saved my life and I can't get that moment out of my head."

He lifted his eyes back to hers, looking intently at her and trying to figure out what made her tick…what made her the way she was. She was a mystery to him now and he hated an unsolved puzzle!

"I have to know how everything works. I can admit it's a serious problem. I break things down until I know how they tick, how to break them, and how to build them better and more to my purpose. I thought I knew you…had you all figured out. And now I realize I don't know anything and that is making me crazy!"

Her giggle turned him frustration into annoyed anger. Here he was being completely honest with her…with anyone for once…and she laughed at him for it. He cut his eyes back up to glare at her as he started to shift to move. Her next words stopped him however.

"I'm sorry. I'm not meaning to laugh at you. It's just…you look so serious and upset that I did not fit inside some box you thought I fit into. People aren't like that Riddle. People think and feel. They have experiences and memories, hopes and dreams, needs and desires."

"All these things paint who they are, who they want to be, and who they will be. Some may be more predictable than others but every person has the capacity to be spontaneous, surprising, other than they are. Even when people are civil and routine, they are still just directed chaos. Anyone can change at a moment's notice in the right or wrong situation."

Though he heard every word, his mind stuck on one thing and completely without his permission his mouth let the word slip before he could stop his idiocy.

"Tom."

Again her confusion came out as a startled 'what' and he felt his lips tilt on one side again as he let his amusement show. Taking a covered deep breath he decided in for a knut in for a galleon.

"My name is Tom. I hate when you call me Riddle. It's what you called me when you were spitting your brand of venom at me. I find in my confusion that I don't like to hear you say it anymore."

He watched her surprise fade to contemplation and he waited to see if she would acquiesce to his request or not.

"And why would I call you anything else? I saved you from being hurt sure but you still hate me, we still aren't friends, and you are still the boy who has made my life hell the past three years."

That warmth inside turned to a sharp ache and once again the smile slipped from his lips as he internally winced. He had no idea what the hell that feeling was but he hated it.

"No I'm not. I am not that same boy. I don't hate you. I did make your life hell and my excuses for that are childish and do not need to be said. But I don't hate you and I would like it if maybe we could try to be friends."

She stood at that pulling him with her. He had no idea what was about to happen but he felt his feet root to the spot in anticipation. Taking one step back from him she held out her hand and in confusion he looked from it to her as she spoke.

"Hello! I'm Hermione Dagworth, Gryffindor half-blood know-it-all swot."

Her smile came easily and warmed him to the core as she waited on his response. Reaching forward he carefully slid his hand into hers, enjoying the feel of her soft skin against his calloused palms.

"Tom Riddle, Slytherin half-blood, orphan, overall cold jerk with a god complex and very few manners. It's interesting to meet you Miss Dagworth."

Her eyes lit with amusement as she giggled again and this time it caused his heart to stutter in his chest instead of the anger he normally felt when anyone laughed at him. She pumped their hands up and down a few times in a solid hand shake before he watched her tongue peek out to run along her lips. That same primal instinct he did not like at all came roaring to the surface and he shoved it back inside the box he held it in. He would not give in to his baser instincts.

"It's a pleasure Mr. Riddle. As I feel that maybe, manners lacking or not, you and I could be friends, you can call me Hermione if you like."

At that he knew he gave her a full smile. Not something he did often he watched her eyes shine in appreciation. He knew he was handsome and he knew the effect his smile had on people, especially witches. And he admitted to himself in this moment he had no shame in using it on his little lion now. Holding her hand between both of his, he let her see the warmth he normally reserved for his father and grandfather.

"Then I insist you call me Tom as I believe you are correct…I think we will become fast friends my little lion."

"Okay…Tom."