Amy's blonde haired head decided to finally pop out of the small hole she had been hiding inside for the last couple of months. Frantic blue eyes looking in all directions that was possible, she'd deduced that it was indeed safe to finally come out.

Her nerves were all on edge as she swiftly made it to her bed. Her laptop resting comfortably at the bottom. Sitting herself down, she blew and swept off all the dust that had made itself a lovely little home over it.

Amy clutched several written on sheets of paper tightly, as if afraid to loose them... again. Her laptop needed a few smacks, much like herself after a long nap, but eventually it came back to life again!

A wicked smile played over Amy's face as she logged onto FanFiction. She unscrunched the pieces of paper in her hand as she opened a new document, and cracked her knuckles, getting prepared for a very long typing session.

First thing was first though...

SOOOOOORRRRRRYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chapter 21

Hermione groaned as she sat up on her bed. She felt as if someone had tied her body down and let Buckbeak trample on top of her several times. Her head was practically pounding! As she moved her hand into a position to support herself while she sat up, she realised with an irritated sigh, that she was once again in the hospital wing.

This better not become a habit, she mentally hoped, as she righted herself, and then her gown.

"Wondered when you would finally get up."

Hermione's head immediately snapped to attention, as she turned to see where the voice had come from. An action she quickly regretted. "Ohh, head rush," she moaned as she put her fingers to her temples.

She squinted her eyes to look at the amused face of a certain Mr. Potter. Her, soon to follow, growl, only caused him to chuckle lightly.

"Haven't you already had your say?" She didn't mean for it to come out so unwelcome and bit... nope, actually, after all the stuff he said to her during their last little dream escapade, she would make him feel as unwelcome as possible!

She watched as his eyes suddenly lost what little amusement they'd had. He came over to where her bed was and slowly sat himself down at the foot of it, releasing a soft sigh as he did.

"You probably hate me right about now..." was what he started with. This just tempted Hermione to roll her eyes. It was just so... so Harry! This thought, almost made her smile, but she managed to catch herself as her lips just about twitched. She was supposed to be angry with him, if she remembered correctly. "I lost my temper... but...well, surely you could at least see where it was all coming from?" He asked desperately, clearly showing that falling out with her was the last thing he ever wanted to happen.

At this Hermione did roll her eyes. Yes she saw where he was coming from. Now and then. However, she'd hardly been able to get a word in, due to a certain someone's little temper tantrum!

She'd found many reasons and theories as to why she could be hearing Harry's voice inside her head, but had finally figured it out come the last chapter of the small book. Part of Harry's soul had entered her as she'd held him in her her arms, just after he'd been hit by the killing curse. The book had made mention of something called a horcrux. There was little detail of it in the book about them, but enough for her to conclude that this wasn't a case of some sort of dark magic. She and Harry had been so close for so long, and shared a brother-sister-like bond. Before all of Harry's soul could leave his body and magic, it partly entered Hermione as she latched onto him.

Then she'd read that it hurt for the soul to be separated, and that the person who's soul had been split, could never really move on. Inside was a short chant that, when spoken out loud, would put her to sleep and let her escape into her inner mind and seek Harry out. The only reason he couldn't separate from her, was because he didn't want to, or feel ready to leave yet. That was why she had sought him out, to maybe talk with him.

However, when she did find him, he spent, what felt like a life time, ranting at her angrily, accusing her of things she had no control over. It wasn't till near the end on his rant, when she tried to speak, he told her to basically shut it. Not a good move. He practically dismissed her, meaning all the anger, and embarrassment, and hurt that progressively built up through his rant came pouring out of her system.

Through the entire thing, Harry had kept his face stony. That very fact made her almost loose control, and she charged forward and grabbed his collar and started to shake him, desperate to try and make him understand, herself in tears. It was only then that she saw the deep sorrow in his eyes.

The next thing she knew, she was in Riddles arms, her two hands fisted into his school uniform. Still in a daze, she liked to refer to as the aftermath of her rant.

"Yes, I saw exactly where you were coming from, Harry. Although, you should have calmed down so we could at least have spoken like adults." Hermione showed him no mercy. "I know you're angry, and you have every right to be angry and upset. But not at me," she snapped at the end.

Her resolve almost melted when she saw the guilt fill his eyes just as his head lowered. She wanted to wrap her arms round his shoulders as comfort him as she always would've done. But no. Not yet. He needed to hear this first.

"Harry, I hated him. But it's hard to hate someone who has yet to do something to you. The Tom Riddle we know is almost a completely different person to the one I know in this time. It's hard not to like him, to be honest with you. You... you were at the duel, at the end, you saw. You say I've missed all these different opportunities to change our time for the better. In other words, you think I should've kiledl him when I still had the chance. But I couldn't. Can't. And won't. No matter what happened in battle, I'm not an assassin, Harry. For all we know, the future might still change for the better. Tom's... I don't know really what he is... but I don't think he's as evil as he could've and would've been."

Harry's head looked back up at her, a small smile playing on his lips. "You really are so stubborn sometimes."

Hermione's face softened and she allowed a smile to grace her features. "Yeah, I know, Harry. But... I think I should stay where I am, if you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I get you."

You always have, Hermione mentally sighed, glad to have Harry back with her.

"And besides, after seeing someone knock Riddle off of his feet like that, I finally think I can move on as a very happy person."

Hermione couldn't help it, she laughed. It was just so Harry. Harry, too, joined her laughing. It was times like these she missed.

After laughing quite a while, Hermione quietened. "Harry, come here." She beckoned him over with her hand. Harry smiled as he made his way over to her and into her outstretched arms.

Hermione took in a deep breath, promising never to forget what his hugs were like. Like a big brother's. "Oh, Harry. I promise to do you well in the end. I love you so much."

A yawn escaped her lips, and she could feel herself being lowered down back onto the bed by Harry. She felt tired.

Harry looked down at her, a happy smile on his face. "Goodnight, Mione," he said, brushing a couple of strands of hair away from her face.

She gave him a tired smile. She could vaguely see the outlines of his body beginning to fade away, just as she felt herself fall asleep. "Goodnight, Harry."

Tom Riddle didn't know how long he'd been sitting up on his bed for. He'd had no sleep at all, and was far from tired. He couldn't take his eyes off of the large ring grasped tight in between his two fingers.

He couldn't quite believe it, if he was to be honest with himself. How could pieces of his soul just remove themselves from the object they were magically tied too and simply stitch themselves back together?

He could only think of one thing.

Or one person, that could maybe be responsible for this.

Hermione Granger.

The only one that had made a change in him, had been her. Ever since he had set eyes on her younger, six year old form, he knew there had to be something. He was just too arrogant to really make much thought of it at that point.

At the beginning, he thought her beautiful, powerful, able to stand up to him, the perfect fit he'd think for a queen to stand by his side. But now... he hadn't really thought much of it. The life he would have with his knights, that was. It was almost like it didn't matter to him any more. Obviously it still mattered to his knights, who had grown impatient for the next meeting, meaning he would have to make one in order to keep them from stupidly letting slip about something or other that could maybe cause one to be suspicious.

He certainly cared for Hermione, there was simply no denying that factor. Would he be able to drop all his goals and expectations for her? All in the hope that she would stay with him? Cause if he was again to be honest with himself, it was hard to picture life without her now. And she hadn't even been a part of his for very long. He had made all the steps in the right directions in order to accomplish his future...

But that kiss... he didn't know, but surely when someone kisses you and you feel something like a flame erupt in your chest and travel your entire body, up and down, there is more feelings than just 'caring' in the mix.

Something told him that she would be worth it...

Shaking his head, abruptly ending his chain of thought and shoving everything to the back of his head, he turned himself so he could look at the small clock on his night stand.

5:30

Releasing a small sigh, he decided he might as well get up and get ready for the day, and afterwards go swoon the healer into letting him visit Hermione.

When Hermione finally woke up, and her eyes opened, she could hardly resist the huff that left her lips. It simply wasn't fair. She had been fast in hating the horribly clean, white ceiling that belonged to the hospital wing. She knew that this was where she would waken, but she still had a small part of her that had hoped to awaken to the lovely sight that was her bedroom ceiling in the Gryffindor dormitory.

A small chuckle caused her to look curiously to her left.

Tom Riddle sat cross legged, in a very comfortable looking, plush chair. His two hands rested on the cover of the book, that was resting on his lap. "One would be surprised at the dislike you have for this place, seeing as you seem to come here every chance you get."

Fighting back her smile, Hermione chose to stick her tongue out at him instead. Just then, Hermione remembered what had happened the day before. No, not the horrible pain that had caused her to black out into two, very strong arms. But the other little thing - which really wasn't so little - that had happened before that.

Hermione could feel the blush that was creeping up her neck and onto her cheeks. Looking away from him, her eyes found looking down at the crispy, white sheets, quite interesting.

Tom frowned in some confusion at Hermione's sudden shyness. About a second later though, realisation dawned on him. Soon followed was a thought that made Tom want to cringe.

She doesn't regret it, does she? Not so soon after I have finally came to the actual conclusion that I have feelings for her?

Looking at her fingers which were now fiddling with the bed sheet, Tom got up off his seat. Bending over so he was level with her, Tom's left hand came up to touch on her chin, pushing up slightly so she would look at him, then moving further up to rest on her warm cheek. A warm feeling spreading up his arm when she lent into his touch. Whether it was on purpose or not didn't matter to him right then.

"Hey," he said softly. Hermione's wary look made him want to hold her close. "You're not fretting over what happened during the battle, are you?"

He almost winced at how stupid that must have sounded to her. Short and to the point as always. He mentally rolled his eyes at himself.

Hermione bit her lip in thought over what had happened. They'd shared a kiss. Admittedly, now that she thought more of it, she was worried that... well... despite the kiss, that would be it. What if he didn't really care about it all? About her?

Oh, how naive she had been!

Because... along the lines... she cared for him. Like really care for him...

"No... I just- well yes, but to... I... ugh." Hermione closed her eyes in frustration. She never was one for relationships. It's no surprise that speaking about them was just just as awful. "I just want to know what will happen. You know, now."

This question made both of them think.

Neither knew what they where, quite exactly...

They were friends in most senses, but along the lines, both cared for each other a good bit more than friends normally would...

The kiss, for both of them, whether they chose to admit it out loud or not, was amazing, and had felt more than right...

Neither knew how the other actually felt...

... well, this relationship (if they ever finally reached a point in order to call it a relationship!) was off to a great start so far!!

For once in their lives, Tom Riddle and Hermione Granger were faced with a question they didn't know the answer to.

"I don't know," Tome sighed. Moving his thumb soothingly over Hermione's cheek in reassurance that he wasn't about to get up and run.

Hermione looked straight into his eyes. He was just as open to her as he had been inside the massive dome. His eyes seemed to be a much more vibrant green that she remembered.

"Maybe..." Hermione couldn't quite believe she was about to suggest this to Tom Riddle of all people. It wasn't an insane thing to say either, but coming from her, it was a huge step. She was putting her trust on the line with this. "Maybe we can see where it goes?"

A smile played on Tom's face, as he took in all her nervousness. He didn't comment on it, knowing it was the last thing she was wanting to show. Her vulnerability. Using his free hand, he brought it up, then down to gently grasp her own, successfully stopping the persistent fiddling. Bringing her hand up, he placed a gentle kiss on her knuckle. "Sounds like a good idea to me."

"TOM!"

Tom's eyes shut tight together in frustration and annoyance at the healer's ridiculously loud call for him.

Hermione pressed her lips tight together, trying to restrain the laugh from escaping her. Her body shook from the repressed laughter. Tom mock glared at her before giving her hand a small squeeze and then letting go.

Tom stood up straight, and spun round so he was facing the flushed healer.

"Tom, you've been in this wing every moment outside of classes, now go and get some dinner! Miss Granger here needs her rest!"

Emerald green eyes, with tiny flecks of deep red inside them, blinked wildly as they opened. He raised his hand to his head, hoping it would maybe sooth the head ache he had managed to acquire. The second his hand reached his head, however, it paused. It had came to rest on a load of thick wavy hair, that had magically appeared on his head.

Slowly, but surely, he rotated himself in order to stand up from the large bed he had been layed down on. Spotting a full length mirror on the near to the bed, he stood up easily and walked calmly over to it.

He didn't know why he was so shocked to basically see exactly what he predicted to see stare back at him from the mirror.

His height was the same. But his entire structure was more man that snake. His skin was a more healthy pale, compared to the sickly green. His eyes had some green back in them, his hair (something he had secretly missed) was back to it's rich, wavy, ebony. He even had his nose back. He looked like he was twenty something or other again.

Feeling stronger than ever, he snapped his fingers, dressing him in black trousers and a simple white shirt, for which he rolled up the sleeves. A simple outfit, but it hardly made him look simple. Anyone within a ten mile radius could see the power flow from his form, and see the - still quite evil - glint in his eyes.

Another snap of his fingers, and a small house elf appeared before him.

Shaking in fear, the house elf bowed low. "What can Pinny do for Lord?"

"Go bring me Lucius, Pinny."

His voice sounded much richer, and stronger as well.

Nagini. Come to me.

Very shortly, his beloved snaked slithered up his leg, having entered through the door, being goodness knows were, and travelled up his body till her head was level with his own. Staring the snake deep in the eyes, he searched for the same connection he had grown well accustomed to over the years.

Confirming his own suspisions, when he no longer felt said connection, he told the snake to go feed on a morsel of her choice, so long as it wasn't anyone he would deem too important.

Just then, there was a short knock on his door.

"Enter, Lucius."

He almost smirked when he saw Lucius' shocked gaze fall on his form. Voldemort knew that, had it been anyone else, they surely would have been suspicious, but Lucius had seen images of him in his younger body because of his grandfather.

"Y-you sent for me, my Lord?" The blond man half questioned as he bowed down to him.

"Yes, Lucius. Tell me, has there been any misshaps down in the dungeons?" He asked the question with raised eyebrows.

Lucius raised his head in order to answer the question whilst looking at his Lord, showing he wasn't lying in any way. "Nothing as of yet, my Lord. Minerva McGonagal passed out last night, and has yet to awaken, but that has been all so far."

This time, a smirk did appear on his face. "Good. I want you to take the old Professor and put her into her own chambers, and make sure she is taken care of. She is a respectable witch, and I have some questions that require answers."

Despite his confusion, Lucius nodded his head in confirmation.

"Oh, and Lucius. After that, I want you and Snape to head to the library and obtain every single book you can that refers to timetravel. I will join you both later, as I have something planned for you two."

Okay, I know it's short, but now that it's reached this stage in the story, the chapters shall be bouncing back and forth between long, and shorter lengths. S'all in the plot, I assure you!

Thanks again for all the great reviews you've given me, I hope you keep the reviews coming, they're a great help!

Love you's all

Madame Dee! xxx