A.N: I think you know what I'm about to say: pottersgirl91, xxxCheezItxxx, nehimasgift, svelte, tofuubeaver, litprincess, san01, Hippy Chick21, Lizzy Evans, PapayaCrazy, hanvu, Silver Tears 11, and moonlights desire. Thanks y'all for all your greatly apprecited, loved, and kind reviews.

Chapter 8 – A Trip to Town

Hermione wandered through the castle, her hands behind her back, and a bored expression on her face. She was an hour removed from breakfast and wishing there was something to do. With no Lord Jonhalin there to teach lessons, she had nothing to occupy her time during the day. She rounded a corner and spotted Tom standing in the corridor, his wand out as he charmed a vase.

"What are you doing?" Hermione hissed as she rushed up to him. "Put your wand away... anyone could see you!"

"I was trying to make a Portkey to 1997," Tom informed heatedly. "Since you're too important now to help."

"Oh, I'm not in the mood for this," Hermione groaned as she rolled her eyes and pulled him into an empty room. "Look," she began, but that's all she got to say.

"I suppose you're going to say that you have a better idea, and it's that we should wait this out until a better time?" Tom snapped. "Well, I'm fed up with your ideas, so now we're going to do things my way because I don't think you really want to even leave here!"

"Not want to leave here? And what exactly gives you that idea?" Hermione retaliated.

"Well, let's see," Riddle drawled heatedly, "you're a princess here, and you have a really easy life with maids and private lessons and a father who seems to want to spoil you rotten as apposed to your old life where the guy you loved didn't want you, and you were always worried about school and-"

"Shut up!" Hermione roared as she drew her hand back and smacked him across the face.

Tom stumbled backward a step or two from the force as Hermione winced and shook her hand which was throbbing with a stinging sensation. Riddle touched the throbbing spot on his cheek as his head pounded as a dizzy feeling set in.

"You're on your own now, Granger," he stated in a strangely calm voice, most likely out of shock.

"What d'you mean 'I'm on my own'?" Hermione inquired as he left the room. "Tom!" Her shoulders slouched in self-disappointment as she sighed heavily. "Great," she mumbled to herself as she left the room.

"Princess?" Mary called as she entered Hermione's room.

"I'm out here!" Hermione yelled back as she stood on the balcony fingering the lattice and its leafy vines.

"Janessa and I must go into the village to pick up some of your tailoring, if you should need anyth-"

"Did you say that you were going into the village?" Hermione questioned.

"Yes, ma'am," Mary replied.

"Would it be all right if I accompanied the both of you into town?" Hermione inquired.

"Well, your father - the King - said that if you were to leave the castle grounds, you were to have an escort of no less than four guards with you," Mary sighed.

"Oh," Hermione muttered as she recalled the King mentioning that when she was first brought to the castle.

"But that's all right," the maid perked. "He left the names of four guards for just such an occasion."

"Really?" Hermione asked happily.

"Mmhmm," Mary nodded. "I'll get fetch them now while you prepare to leave."

"Thank you," Hermione beamed as she turned, entered the room, and went straight to her vanity. She grabbed a rather large powder puff as Mary left the room, and Hermione was about to dab her face with the powder when she stopped. Realizing what she was about to do, she became aware that she wasn't acting like herself. 'Why am I suddenly primping? I never would have done this in my time,' she thought in growing worry. 'Maybe Tom's right. I am getting too much into my temporary role here.'

"No," she breathed as she looked up to the vanity mirror. "I'm just doing my part to seem like someone they think I am so I can safely get out of here."

With that assurance to herself, she dabbed her face with the powder, spritzed perfume about herself, and smoothed some ruffles and folds from her dress. Hermione turned and left the room and was halfway to the main hall when Janessa came rushing around the corner of a corridor.

"There you are, Princess," she greeted. "The carriage is waiting to take us to town... Come along."

Hermione followed the maid to the front doors of the castle and out into the bright afternoon sun. She boarded the carriage with Mary and Janessa, not paying attention to the guards standing behind the carriage. They rode into town, Hermione admiring the beautiful little town as they neared it.

It was exactly as Hermione had expected an eighteenth century village to look She watched white houses with brown wood work grow larger, their brown shingled roofs making the houses look so inviting to her. Buildings, businesses no doubt, were made of red, gray, and brown brick with heavy doors and large front windows seemed to nab villagers as they passed by. Hermione felt excitement build as the carriage stopped, and Mary and Janessa got out ahead of her.

The Gryffindor stepped from the carriage with the help of the driver and was about to walk over to a little stand that sat on the sidewalk like so many others which lined the cobblestone street, but she stopped abruptly in alarm. Four young men had stepped up to surround her, one hanging a little out of the close range that the other three had formed.

"Um," Hermione uttered nervously as she looked to Mary and Janessa who were waiting for her to start walking.

Hermione looked at the two guards in front of her pointedly, and Janessa quickly picked up on the meaning.

"You're suffocating her! You're to guard her, not squish her!" the maid exclaimed as she pushed the guards out so that there was two feet of space between each of them and Hermione. But when Janessa came to the last guard, she pulled him closer as he was four feet away.

Hermione finally caught sight of who it was and frowned as Tom rolled his eyes and looked down the street. Obviously, he had the same idea she did, and that was to get to the alley they had first appeared in and search for any means of escape from this time period.

"Come along, Princess," Mary chimed as the group of seven started down the street.

Hermione was curious at first, glancing into every shop window she passed, but then she started to feel uncomfortable. Everyone's head turned, and eyes glued to her as she went on her way. She tried to keep in step with the guards so that they shielded her from the vision of the people a bit, but their step was much too stern and robotic for her.

"Hold your head a little higher and just stare at the shop carts and products," the guard behind her on the left instructed kindly. "They won't notice how you notice them noticing you then," he laughed.

Hermione smiled and looked over her shoulder at him, her chocolate eyes locking on sapphire blue eyes. Hermione felt her head loop in excitement and her heart flutter strangely. She blushed at her actions when he smirked in amusement and winked at her. She bit down on her lip to try and stop the grin that was spreading on her face, but she couldn't stop it.

One thing she wished a second later that she had stopped was her flirting so she could have paid attention enough to walk properly because she ran into the shoulders of the two guards in front of her.

"Whoa!" laughed the sapphire eyed guard as he stepped forward and caught her when she stumbled backward. "Careful."

"Sorry," Hermione flushed as she stood up straight and looked herself over.

He stared at her in an unashamed manner that made her extremely nervous. She swallowed and looked to her left and then her right, spotting a stand with pearls hanging on its canopy.

"Oh!" Hermione sounded breathlessly. "Pearls."

She was about to walk across the street when the guards did an about face toward the stand. Tom was a little behind, but he caught on nonetheless while mumbling something about it being stupid to protect her like this. She bowed her head a bit and began walking, stopping in front of the stand and admiring the jewelry upon it.

"Good day your highness," greeted a rather thin man with a little, thin curling mustache.

"Hello," Hermione acknowledged as she glanced along the stand.

"See something you like? A nice set of pearls maybe? Or perhaps a new broach? A diamond choker possibly?" the salesman offered, pointing to each piece which either sparkled or gleamed beautifully in the afternoon sun. "Or maybe you like this special piece I have just for you," he added as he pulled something out of the stand's cupboards.

He sat a tiara upon the stand, and Hermione fought off the urge to grimace. She hated tiaras. She had felt like a fool every time those people up in the castle had made her wear one. Tom had even taken enjoyment in telling her she looked just as she felt a couple of times.

"I don't think," Hermione declined as she shook her head some and held her hand up to the piece.

He shrugged and put it back below, his demeanor becoming a bit snooty as Hermione continued to examine the things upon his cart. She picked up the diamond choker and turned it over and over in her hands before someone spoke up. It was the guard who had been trying to start conversation with her all morning.

"I think the earrings would better suit you," he whispered as he leaned over, his breath tickling her neck and ear.

She leaned away slightly and smiled, a tinge coming to her cheeks again that afternoon because of this boy. Riddle stood behind them looking utterly disgusted while crossing his arms and looking up and down the street.

'Where's that ruddy alley?' he pondered while taking in a careful observation of the street. 'Anderson & Allies was the building across the street from it... now where's that?'

"You need to increase your distance from the Princess," the sapphire eyed boy declared, snapping Tom from his street sweep.

He turned to see the three other guards standing in front of Hermione as though they were a shield, and three rather large guys who looked to be in their early twenty's standing before them grinning. Each of the guards, except for Tom, had their hands on their sword hilts, and Hermione was standing behind them looking alarmed and a little pale.

"Oh, c'mon little red coat," laughed the biggest of the three guys. "We're just looking to have a little chat with the Princess. See if we can't get her to sneak out in the night to runaway with us," he chuckled cruelly.

Tom narrowed his eyes on the guy. Riddle hated guys like this. They made the male race look completely ignorant, and, at times, even primeval. 'Although this place is a bit primeval anyways,' he thought in irony.

"I'll warn you one more time... step back!" ordered the sapphire eyed boy.

"Listen midget," the large, burly guy growled. "Just step aside and let me talk to the Princess."

That being said, the guy stepped forward and made a grab for Hermione through the guards, his fingers brushing her shoulder and making her jump. It was then that Tom saw true fear in her eyes and noticed that she had only ever looked at him like that when they had first appeared in her dorm. 'No one strikes up more fear in people than I,' Tom thought haughtily as he watched the blue eyed guard get into the man's face, or rather, his chest.

"I am obliged to defend the honor of the Princess!" he exclaimed. "Give him a sword!"

One of the other guards handed the man a sword, and a circle was quickly cleared in the middle of the street as people rushed to get away from the duel.

"I'll enjoy kissing the Princess after I've gotten rid of you, junior," the burly man taunted.

"Only in your eternal dreams after death," the guard challenged back.

'Idiot!' Tom thought as the brawny man lunged his sword at the guard. Hermione gasped, and Riddle huffed as he looked annoyedly toward the sky. Then there was an anguished groan that caused his eyes to snap over to the duel. The guard was kneeling on the ground, his arm across his abdomen, and his sword laying under the large man's foot.

'This has gone on long enough,' Tom mentally droned as he watched the man turn to the two remaining guards while his friends cheered him on. The guards cowered slightly, yet held their places, chins stuck out and hands on their sword hilts. 'Weaklings!' Tom spat in his mind as he drew his sword and stepped up to the man.

"What's this? Another challenge?" he chortled.

"Not a challenge. Your demise," Tom stated coolly and confidently.

"A bit cocky, aren't you, boy?"

'Why does everyone insist on calling me boy?' Tom wondered angrily. 'Do I look like a boy to them? I'm a man!' Tom then flicked his sword and cut the hand of the buffoon that was holding the sword. A flame rose in the guy's eyes, and he grit his teeth as he lunged out at the future Dark Lord.

Swords clattered and clashed, and yet, surprisingly, Riddle remained on an equal level of fight. He had never done this before, so it was quite a feat. 'I am equal to no one' he thought heatedly with one swift swish of his metal blade. The man's shirt sleeve ripped open, but no flesh was harmed as he glanced at the shirt and snorted in amusement.

"That the best you've got, boy?" the burly monster scoffed.

"No," Tom growled as he jabbed his sword at the exposed flesh and watched it enter the guy's shoulder.

Riddle withdrew quickly as his opponent crumpled to his knees, clutching his shoulder which was now gushing blood. The youthful Voldemort smirked as Hermione broke past the other two startled guards and began running in his direction. He sheathed his sword and was ready to hold his head high as she thanked him immensely and told him how great he was, but she didn't do that. Instead, she rushed right past him and over to the blue eyed guard who was now laying upon the cobblestones.

Tom glared and grit his teeth as he watched her cradle the boy's head in her delicate hands as she made over him. 'Pathetic!' Riddle hissed in his mind as he narrowed his eyes on the boy who was now being picked up by the two other guards. Hermione stood and watched them carry him to the carriage as her two maids rushed over to her and checked her up and down.

The two maids looked to the green Dark Lord who stalked over, stopping only for a second to shoot daggers at Hermione out of the corner of his eye before continuing on then toward the carriage, leaving the pretend princess and her maids to follow.

Later that night after dinner, Hermione sat on the balcony of her room. She had already been down to see the injured guard, whose name she learned was Porthos Richelieu. 'French name,' she noted to herself. 'Although he doesn't seem very French... maybe it was being brought up around here,' she concluded.

She was about to get up and go wash up for bed when she heard gravel crunching and bushes rustling below her balcony. She looked down and saw a dark head of hair headed in the direction of her room. She knew at once that it was Tom by the sulky, brooding walk and the angered movements as he ripped roses off the bushes and pulled the petals from them.

"Tom!" she hissed.

He stopped and looked around as she called quietly to him again. He finally looked up and saw her leaning over the balcony. He smirked and threw the rose in his hand on the ground, squishing it out with a quick turn of his toe in the gravel.

"Juliet you're not. You're far too ugly and far too stuck on yourself. I wouldn't be your Romeo if my life depended on it... So rotten day to you, and I'll be leaving now," Riddle called in a somewhat hushed voice so only she could hear.

He started to walk away again when she spoke up once more.

"Come up here. I need to talk to you," Hermione growled.

"What for?" he droned in irritation.

"Please, Tom," she begged.

"Very well," Tom mumbled before walking over and carefully climbing the lattice.

He then stood before her on the balcony, arms crossed and a cocky expression on his face as he waited for her to state her purpose.

"Well?" he urged when she said nothing.

"I'm desperate for your help now... I need to be able to get to somewhere where someone can help us without knowing we're from the future. So, I thought that we could go to Hogwarts of this day and see if anyone there-"

"Are you dense? I know how you depend on Dumbledore, and I'll be more than happy to inform you that he doesn't even exist yet. Dippet isn't at the school yet either," Voldemort's younger self popped off. "So who exactly would you expect to get help from there, then?"

"Oh, all right," Hermione sighed. "But what if we get to Diagon Alley? Surely we could find Nicholas Flamel. He is – or will be – a friend of Dumbledore's, and he's worked with time travel. Surely he could help!"

"Fat chance," Tom drawled boredly.

His lack of help and missing enthusiasm were really starting to get under Hermione's skin.

"Listen, Riddle," she snarled. "If you know so much, then why aren't you trying to help?"

"Because I've told you already. You're on your own!" he replied shortly.

"This is stupid!" she groaned urgently. "We need each-"

"No! That's where you're mistaken," Riddle fired as he took a step closer to her, her back now against the railing of the balcony. "I don't need you or your help, you foolish little lovesick girl."

"Lovesick?" Hermione repeated in disgust. "I am not lovesick."

"Oh, and that's why you were flirting with that boy today. Why you made over him after I defeated that man in town today."

"So this is what that's about?" Hermione asked in half astonished amusement. "You're jealous of him because I didn't rush to you and gush all over you about how noble and powerful that was of you."

"No!" Tom spat.

"I think it is!" she challenged. "You're jealous of him."

"No! I'm angry because you're making goo-goo eyes at some boy who thinks you're someone you're not while you should be worrying about getting out of here!" he roared.

"What was I supposed to do? That guy in town tried to grab me up, and Porthos just happened to be brave enough to stand up to him and defend me," Hermione retaliated.

"Correction!" Riddle hissed. "Defend someone he thinks you are."

"Fine! But either way, when Porthos got wounded, I couldn't very well walk past him and step on his pride – which is something I'm sure you would have liked to do very much," Hermione argued.

"Yeah, Granger, I would have loved to walk all over that prissy boy's pride, and his face too for that matter," he assured her cockily.

"You're a real git!"

"Oh, am I? Okay, I'm a git," Tom mock laughed. "Need I remind you that I'm the git who saved your behind in town today after your gallant Porthos went down trying to fight that ogre?"

"You're just mad because Porthos tried to save me. You probably would have rathered that he left me to be carried off by those three idiots," Hermione accused.

"Yeah, sure," he agreed sarcastically. "That's why I defeated him."

"Certainly not for my honor you didn't. You did it for your own pride and ego," she added haughtily.

Tension was so thick in the air after that that neither of them dared move. They just stood there glaring at each other, eyes trying desperately to burn a hole in the other's face. They didn't know how long it was that they stood there, but it was the thought that entered Tom's mind that broke the stare. 'She's rather attractive when she's mad.'

He quickly looked away from her and walked toward the lattice as Hermione huffed and stamped her foot. She turned on her heel and stormed into her room as he descended to the gravel below.