A/N: Thanks Shadow6116, for beta reading this chapter. (:

Kolybel'naya

Chapter 15: Bats and Ashwinder Eggs

"What else did you take, what else!?" Hermione curled up on the floor as Bellatrix Lestrange yelled, her boot heels clicking against the wooden floor with each step she took. "ANSWER ME!"

"Nothing! We didn't take anything!" The younger witch cried out as Lestrange's boot hit her under her ribs, making a jolt of pain shoot across her chest. "We were never in your vault!"

"LIAR! You filthy Mudblood, don't you dare to lie to me!" Another kick and Hermione screamed again before the Death Eater knelt down in front of her, grabbing her face and digging her long nails into her skin. "You will tell me how you got into my vault." Granger felt her stomach turning when she felt Bellatrix's breath against her face. "And what you got from there. And, if you don't do so, I think we'll have to talk with someone else."

The woman nodded her head towards someone behind the Gryffindor, and, before Hermione could try to guess at what was going to happen next, Fenrir Greyback appeared next to Bellatrix, dragging someone along the floor by the back of its shirt. The person, a woman whose face was hidden by her dark, messy hair, was kicking and screaming, trying to get away from the man's hands. It was only a matter of time until the girl recognized her voice and felt a shiver running down her body.

"No!" She tried to reach for the woman, but Bellatrix's grip on her face tightened, and she threw her onto the floor. Fenrir was now grinning, baring his yellow and crooked teeth as he pushed his victim onto the floor. "No, please!"

"The other one, where is he?" Lestrange spat and, quickly, Scabior appeared, pushing a man in front of him and made him kneel next to the woman. "Now, Mudblood, do we have a deal? The answer to my questions for your disgusting Muggle parents' lives."

Hermione sobbed, looking at her parents. Mr. Granger's face was covered in bruises, his nose was crooked and bleeding and one of his front teeth was split in half. His wife was not in a better state; her face was dirty and smeared with tears while she cried uncontrollably, a long cut crossed her forehead, her hands were filled with tiny cuts on it and one or two of her nails were missing. Bellatrix giggled as she stood next to Mrs. Granger, letting her hand run through her hair.

"Don't touch her!" the girl screamed and tried to get up, only to be thrown back by a spell cast by Scabior.

"Tell me how you got in there," hissed Lestrange, pulling her hand back, and pointing her wand to the Muggle woman. "Tell me what else did you take."

"I did not enter your vault!"

"LIAR! CRUCIO!" Mrs. Granger cried out in pain, her body contorting from the curse while her husband and daughter watched, horrified. Without noticing, Hermione found herself screaming, begging for that horrible woman to stop. "Do you want to know what's so funny about this all, Miss Know-It-All?" asked Bellatrix, ending the curse and letting her mother fall to the floor, gasping and moaning in pain. "That you beg me to stop hurting them, but you don't do anything. You do not get up and fight! You do not react!"

The Death Eater's high-pitched laugh was enough to set Hermione on another attempt to attack her. This time, Scabior did not raise his wand but the girl found herself unable to move a muscle when she tried to do so. She just sat there, on the floor, unable to move her limbs even though her mind wanted them to do so.

" 'Mi-Mione…" Her mother sobbed, stretching one hand out to her, asking for help.

"Mum," she whispered and then looked at her father, who watched the whole thing with wide eyes. "Dad…"

"See? You are leaving them at our mercy!" Another laugh came from Bellatrix. "You are leaving every one of your friends at our mercy, Mudblood! Where are you when they need you? Where are you? Not here, surely. Not fighting!"

"S-Stop…" Hermione shook her head, feeling the tears burning her eyes. "Stop!"

"You are hiding like a coward." The younger witch's eyes snapped open when she heard the voice. It was cold and controlled, not mad and hysterical like Lestrange's. Raising her head in order to see who it was, Hermione gasped when she saw Tom Riddle kneeling next to her mother. His pale hands were caressing Mrs. Granger's back in a comforting way, and she looked up to him with her eyes filled with what looked like hope. "It's alright, Mrs. Granger."

"No, mum, don't listen to him!" Hermione screamed and Riddle simply raised his blue eyes to her.

"Your daughter is doing a great job in school, you know, Mrs. Granger?" Tom spoke in a soft voice before chuckling. "She's almost beating me, and I am the best student Hogwarts has nowadays. She's being a good student, doing her homework and school projects while she allows her friends and relatives to be tortured and hurt in a war."

"Shut up! Mum, don't… Don't listen to him, please!" Her mother's eyes left the boy's face and met hers. The witch winced when she noticed how hurt the expression on the woman's face was. "Please…"

"Why, Hermione?" Mrs. Granger asked in a whisper before a sob shook her body.

"Shush," Riddle whispered, wrapping his arms around the woman's shoulder. "There's no need to cry, Mrs. Granger."

"Don't touch her, you bastard!" Hermione shouted, once again trying to get up and failing miserably.

"I won't let anyone hurt you, Mrs. Granger, unlike Hermione." The boy lowered his face until it was hidden in the woman's messy hair. The Gryffindor, once again, felt all the contents of her belly turn. How dare he touch her mother like that? How dare he speak with her in that tone? How dare he turn her against her own daughter? How dare he to act as if… As if he was her son? Before her thoughts could go any further, Hermione saw the glimpse of something pale sliding into Tom's hand, before he turned his head to look at Hermione, pointing the object he was holding at the Muggle woman's neck. "Avada Kedavra."

Hermione screamed louder than she thought it was possible when her mother's body fell limp into Riddle's arms, her dirty face not showing life anymore, and her dark eyes were staring into nothing.

"You let her die, Hermione," whispered Tom, looking down at Mrs. Granger face and placed her body on the floor while Hermione kept screaming. "Just how you are letting everyone die, all of your friends." He got up and looked at Bellatrix, who bowed to him before leaving, and then to Scabior, who did the same. "Greyback, you can have the man."

The only thing the witch was able to see was the twisted smile that spread over Fenrir's mouth before he launched himself on her father, who screamed. She cried out as she saw the wizard's huge body over the Muggle, but couldn't watch anymore because Tom put himself in front of her, gently holding her face in place. The only thing Hermione could see was his handsome face, so calm that it was almost possible to believe nothing bad was happening.

"You are a coward, Hermione." He leaned his forehead against her. "You are a coward, do you understand me?"

The girl didn't answer; she didn't think it was possible for her to do so, not with the powerful sobs that shook her body or the huge lump that was in her throat.

"Hermione." She closed her eyes, trying to ignore his cool voice. She didn't want to see or to hear that… that monster.

"Hermione…"

"Hermione!"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" The girl screamed, throwing her arms open, finally being able to move them, and pushed Riddle away.

"For Merlin's sake, Elston, what is going on!?"

Hermione blinked, feeling her watery eyes and wet cheeks, before her sight could focus on the person standing in front of her. It wasn't Tom Riddle, no… The boy standing there was taller and had broader shoulders, and had a good head of blond hair.

"Abraxas? What did you do to the girl!?" Malfoy turned around, and another boy was standing next to him. He was almost the same size as the blonde, had dark hair, and a jovial face.

"I did nothing! We were supposed to meet fifteen minutes ago there." Abraxas pointed to a classroom's door. "But she didn't show up, so I came to look for her. I found her here and she was asleep. It's not my fault she was having a bad dream."

"Are you alright?" the dark haired boy asked. Hermione got up, leaning against the wall in order to keep from losing her balance.

"Yes… Yes, I am," she whispered, drying her cheeks with the back of her hand before shaking her head and sighing. "It was nothing."

"We can see that," said Malfoy, arching an eyebrow. "If you want, we can take care of that potion later…"

"No, I already said I'm okay!" Hermione breathed deeply and started to walk in the direction of the classroom she had agreed to meet up in with Abraxas earlier. "We better get going if we want to start this potion today."

"If you say so," murmured the blonde boy, following her. "See you later, Al!"

"All right." The other Slytherin, Al, nodded before turning around and walking away.

By the time they reached the empty classroom, Hermione's hands were still shaking a bit and her breath was still ragged, but at least her legs had stopped shaking and she could now stand without leaning against anything. Malfoy's eyes didn't leave her during the whole walk and, now that the two of them were standing in front of the cauldron he had set up earlier on a table, he seemed to want to say something to her.

"What?"

"Are you sure you're okay, Miss Elston?"

"For Merlin's sake, Malfoy." She sighed. "I fell asleep and had a bad dream, something that happens to everyone once in a while. I got scared, but that doesn't make me a porcelain doll that'll break if I try to brew a potion."

"All right, all right, I'm sorry!" Abraxas pulled a face as he reached for Moste Potente Potions and opened it to the page where Amortentia's instructions were written.

"Oh, you got a copy too. Riddle made it seem like it was impossible for someone to get this book out of the Restricted Section," Hermione said, putting her hand into her pocket and pulling a hair clip from it. She pulled her hair back with the clip, and then she looked over to Abraxas, who now was looming over the book, adjusting his pair of glasses.

"Tom likes to be dramatic sometimes." The boy laughed, tapping his fingers on the list of ingredients written down on the book. "Slughorn only let me take three of these for now, he said the rest will only be needed in a few weeks."

"Okay, what did you get?" asked Hermione, watching Malfoy put a wooden box onto the table. He opened it, revealing several bottles, pots and what looked like big lumps of something dark.

"Flax and Ashwinder eggs." He pointed at a group a bottles filled with small seeds and, then, at a few glass pots with eggs that seemed to be made of nacre. "And bats." The wizard grabbed one of the black things and pulled it out of the box, revealing it to be a dead bat.

"All right… According to the book, the first thing we should do is to prepare the ingredients," said the girl, reading the instructions. "Clean the flax with Siren's water, which will… 'Enhance its properties'. Did you get this?"

"Sure." Abraxas handed her a green bottle.

"And we also have to get the bats' flesh…"

"So we have to cut them up?"

"Obviously. We can't put whole bats inside the potion." The girl opened her bag, searching for her potions kit. As soon as she found it, Hermione put two small knives on the top of the table. "Then we have to clean it with Siren's water, too."

"And then store the flax and the bats in Formaldehyde solution," said Abraxas. "Imagine the taste of this thing…"

"It's tasteless, that's why people can put it in food and drinks without it being noticed. Well, you start with the bats and I'll put the linseed in the water."

While Hermione occupied herself with filling a clay bowl that Malfoy had also brought along with the contents of the green bottle (a whitened liquid that seemed to emit a faint gleam), he made himself comfortable in a chair, put one of the bats in front of him, and started to cut its chest open.

"So, I take it you are enjoying Hogwarts?"

Hermione stared at the Slythern as she put down the water's bottle and grabbed another bottle, this one containing linseed, and poured it into the bowl.

"Hm, yes, it's quite difficult not to enjoy it."

"Believe me, Miss Elston, I bet several people hated Hogwarts in their first years." Malfoy laughed. "They missed their homes and their parents, got frustrated because Hogwarts is just another school, with tons of homework and tests, didn't get along well with their classmates…"

"This happens in every school around the world," said Hermione. "Muggle and wizarding ones."

"I know." The boy shrugged, raising his eyes from the dead bat and looking at her. "But there are people who think Hogwarts will be different just because it's a school of magic. Most of the time its Muggleborns who end up like that."

"You can't blame them, though." The witch put the linseed bottle down and waved her wand to stir the contents of the bowl. She had to keep herself from revealing her blood status. Riddle and Minerva were the only students who knew about it and it was already bad enough with them knowing. She didn't need another Pure-blood Slytherin knowing that her parents were Muggles. "They come from a life where magic is not a reality and then… Wow! A school that teaches magic? They think it's the most incredible thing in the world and that the only homework they'll have will be how to fly on a broomstick or how to transform a cup into a frog because that's what Muggles think wizards would do if they were real."

"But it's not only them, you know?" A faint smile appeared on Abraxas' lips. "A few Pure-bloods have this shock when they end up here at Hogwarts. I guess it's because we're away from our families for the first time."

"Hm."

"You're not very talkative, are you, Miss Elston?" He laughed. He raised his hand to push his glasses up his nose, but missed the bridge and hit the lens instead. "Oh, for Merlin's sake!"

"Scourgify," Hermione whispered, pointing her wand at the Slytherin's glasses.

"Thank you," he said, smiling and then looking back down to the bat. "I hate these glasses with such a passion, you have no idea. They are the most inconvenient things I am stuck with."

"They're not that bad."

"Oh, they are. I can't read a book without having to put them on. I wish I was still short-sighted…" Malfoy grumbled.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm naturally short-sighted, got it from my mother's side of the family, but, a few years ago, a healer my father knew created a spell that could correct myopia and, as he was searching for people to test it on, I volunteered. Imagine not needing to worry about your glasses during a duel? That would be awesome!" Abraxas laughed and shook his head. "The spell worked, you see, but only until it turned my myopia into farsightedness. He didn't get the spell approved by the Healer's Council after other volunteers ended up with the same side effect. One of them even lost his sight."

"Oh… I'm sorry, I guess." Hermione furrowed her brows.

"At least I can still see."

And he went back to cutting his dead bat.

"Damn it." Tom looked at the tip of his quill, which was now bent and broken thanks to the excessive pressure he had applied to it, and then at the piece of parchment he had been writing on, which now had a big blotch of ink in its middle. "May I use yours?"

"Sure," said Lestrange, handing Tom his own quill before going back to the magazine he was reading.

"Healer Octavian would say you need to learn to control your nerves, Tom." Atlas let a quiet laugh escape from his lips. "What happened? Broken quills are new to your repertoire of actions."

"Avery, please," Riddle hissed, taking a deep breath.

"Alright, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Now, Tom, don't be mad at me, I'm just curious… Did you discover anything new about the Elston girl? I was talking with Nott and he said she's rather odd. Every time we try talking to her…"

"Have you tried to talk to her?" Tom's eyes narrowed.

"We just said a couple of 'good mornings' or 'good evenings' to her, that's all." This time it was Lestrange who spoke.

"But she always acted as if she hated us, even if we never interacted more than that. It's as if she knows something, Riddle."

"She doesn't, don't worry." It was true. Hermione Elston knew nothing about the Knights of Walpurgis, he was sure of it, and the only reason she might not be nice to his classmates was because… Well, they were his classmates. And she didn't like him, not even a bit; therefore Hermione would think that all of his friends were not worth her attention. Except for Abraxas, but that was because she needed to be with him thanks to Slughorn. "I bet it's just because her fellow Gryffindors told her we're evil snakes that can't be trusted or something like that."

"I still think she's a Mudblood." Avery shrugged. "You're right, it is difficult for her to know about us but it's plausible that she's a Mudblood and is avoiding us because she knows we come from traditional families. Traditional, Pure-blooded families."

Riddle nodded, as if agreeing with what the other had just said, just to look up and find Atlas staring at him.

"What?"

"Do you know if she is one? A Mudblood, I mean."

"Merlin, Avery, I already said I don't know!" Tom got up, gathering his things and tucking them all under his arm.

"I just asked because you always know stuff about everyone!" said Avery, rolling his eyes. "No need to act like that! It sounds as if you know something and don't want to tell us!"

"I already said, Avery, I am not a fucking seer, I can't know everything and I don't need you telling me I should!" shouted Riddle, walking away from them, not without receiving a 'shhh!' from the librarian on his way out.

It was as if the whole world was conspiring against him now. Everything seemed to be able to irritate him more than ever, even Avery's well known annoying behaviour. Tom blamed it all on his bad nights of sleep and Hermione's recent news about life at the orphanage. It shouldn't have affected him so much, after all. Martha and Alexei were not his, they were not family and they were not friends; the only thing they could be considered were his caretakers and only because it was their job. It wasn't his business that they were going to have a kid of their own – and God knew Martha was in need of a child, she had wanted one for forever, he had seen it in her mind – and it was not as if he would be living with them for too long… He turned eighteen this year and, as soon as Hogwarts' year ended, he would leave the orphanage and never see Martha, Dr. Mazarovski or their child again.

His thoughts were only interrupted when someone bumped into him in the middle of the corridor right outside the library.

"Ah, 'm sorry!" Riddle looked up to see a way taller boy with wild, dark hair looking down at him. He was holding the Slytherin's shoulders in order to keep him from falling, but quickly let him go when he saw Tom's face. "Riddle…"

"Can't you watch your way, Hagrid?" The smaller wizard caught his balance and glared at the other, puffing his chest and raising his chin in a failed attempt to look taller next to the half-giant groundskeeper. "What are you even doing in here? Shouldn't you be outside with Ogg, doing your job?"

" 'm sorry, Riddle. Mr. Ogg asked me to come 'ere and find Professor Kettleburn to tell him about Explosivins he found-"

"I really don't need to know about the great tasks of a groundkeeper, you great oa-"

"Mr. Riddle?" The boy froze and stopped talking immediately.

"Professor Dumbledore, sir." Hagrid smiled and, soon, Albus Dumbledore was standing next to them.

"I heard you are looking for Silvanus, Hagrid." The deputy headmaster smiled at the groundkeeper. "He's in his classroom, feel free to go there. As you know, you are allowed to walk around Hogwarts just like any other teacher or student."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir!"

As the taller boy walked away from them, Riddle felt his cheeks burn. That was everything he needed: an irritating Dumbledore bothering him when the only thing he wished to do was to go back to his room and spend some good time by himself.

"That's something you must know too, Tom. Hagrid may not be a student anymore, but he still belongs in Hogwarts and, for that, he has all the right to walk around the castle and the grounds without being reprehended by any teacher or other member of the staff, let alone a student."

"I understand, sir," said the Slytherin, lowering his head, avoiding Dumbledore's blue eyes. "I'm sorry for my behaviour, sir."

"As long as it does not happen again." The teacher's hand rested on his shoulder and he had to restrain himself from withdraw from the touch. "Tom, look at me."

"Yes, sir?" Riddle kept his face expressionless as he raised his head to stare at the older wizard. Dumbledore was the only person whose looks were able to make him feel like he was under the effect of Legilimency and he always wondered if it was people felt when he looked at them.

"Is everything all right, Tom?" the teacher asked in a soft, reassuring voice. "Is there anything you want to tell me?"

"No, sir," answered Tom, blinking and trying to look as if he didn't understand the reason Dumbledore seemed to be worried about him. "Everything is fine."

"Oh, good." A soft smile appeared on the man's lips and he let go of the student's shoulder. "I have to get going, the first years await for me. Have a good day, Tom."

Riddle couldn't bring himself to reply, so he simply watched as Albus Dumbledore walked away from him, softly singing what sounded like one of the songs the Hogwarts' choir was always singing from what he could make out of the lyrics - ferte in noctem animam meam illustre stellae viam mam or something like that.

Minerva McGonagall was having a good day. She had managed to practice Quidditch and finish her homework, which meant that, now, she was free to do whatever she wanted until she went to bed. That was good. It was not everyday that she managed to do everything she needed like that, and that was the only thing she was thinking about when walked past a group of Slytherin boys that was standing in the corner of a corridor, chatting. Recognizing Canopus Lestrange and Atlas Avery, the witch decided it was of no use to greet them – if it were Alphard Black, it would be a different story. Alphard was way more acceptable than his classmates – and kept walking, ignoring the low snickers that escaped from the boys until a single word reached her ear, making her stop and turn around. Her grip on her broomstick tightened as she glared at them.

"What did you call me?" asked Minerva.

"We just called you what you are," said Atlas, laughing quietly. "You are a Mudblood, aren't you, Minerva?"

"And you are a git, Avery." She rolled her eyes. McGonagall knew better than to pick fights with people like Avery. Better: she knew she would always be able to get back at them on the Quidditch field.

"See? That's why they are bound to be ruled by us." She heard Avery speaking after she started to walk again. "They can't stand up against others. They know their place."

"Atlas, shut up, for Merlin's sake!" shouted McGonagall, trying to suppress her urge to hit the Slytherin with her broom. "Do you even understand what you are saying?"

"Of course I am." Another laugh escaped from the boy's lips. "You are a Half-Blood, aren't you? You have Muggle blood in your veins, therefore you are a Mudblood, and everyone knows the place of people like you is beneath us." He gestured to the other Slytherins surrounding him. All of them were from well-known wizarding families.

"Yes, of course, say whatever you want." She sighed.

"You'll see, McGonagall." The smile that appeared on Avery's lips almost scared her. It looked twisted and almost evil. "One day, people like you will be bowing to us. Mark my words. It's just a matter of time from now, and soon, we'll be coming for you and the rest of the dirty blooded wizards and witches that-"

"Avery!"

Minerva didn't know if she was relieved or even more worried when she saw Tom Riddle walking down the corridor, approaching them. Atlas would shut up now, sure, he always calmed himself down once Riddle was near, but the look on Tom's face made her shiver. Yes, he looked as calm as always but she could see a small crease between his brows and a tiny, odd look in his eyes. He was angry. Actually, he was furious, she could tell.

"Malfoy is looking for you," said the Head Boy, casting a quick glance towards Atlas before turning around to look at Minerva. "What's wrong, Miss McGonagall?"

"Nothing, Riddle," she said. "But you should keep an eye out for your friend and tell him not to walk around telling people that, one day, he'll rule us, the 'scum' of the wizarding world, as he so gently put. This way people will think you may be up to something."

"Oh?" Tom raised an eyebrow, turning to look at Avery again, and laughing. "Don't listen to him, Minerva. Atlas likes to make a scene."

"And quite the scene he likes to make." McGonagall narrowed her eyes before walking away from them. The group of Slytherins remained silent while she crossed the corridor.

From time to time, Minerva couldn't help but be grateful they had Riddle. Yes, the boy was a huge arse kisser and could drive her up the walls with that fake gentleness of his, but he was the only one who seemed to be able to control the Slytherins. She still remembered the day when Darius Nott decided to beat up Peter Brown, a fourth year Gryffindor, after Peter accidently bumped into him on the corridor, and how the Slytherin only stopped his brutal display when Riddle – way smaller than Darius and armed only with his wand and his wit while his classmate had a pretty strong pair of fists – showed up and, quietly, told him to step away from Brown. Tom took at least fifty points from his own house and took the Gryffindor boy to the school's Healer while Nott disappeared for the next two days, ashamed of being caught by Riddle, people said. It was times like these that the girl felt glad they had someone like Riddle around. Not that she would ever admit it, though.

"Oh, hello, Minerva!" The Gryffindor looked around to see Hermione approaching her, followed by… Was that Abraxas Malfoy? "I thought you would be at Gryffindor tower."

"I was practicing." She pointed at her broom and then glanced at Malfoy. "Hi, Malfoy."

"Hi. I hope you don't beat us again next time we meet in the pitch," he said, furrowing his brows.

"You bet we'll do it. Oh, you were looking for Avery, right? He's near the stairs, with Riddle," said Minerva, trying to get rid of the blonde as soon as possible.

"Was I looking for Avery?" The Slytherin cocked his head to the side.

"Riddle said you were." McGonagall narrowed her eyes, seeing Hermione also give the boy a suspicious look.

"Oh, yes." Abraxas let out a laugh, shaking his head. "I needed to talk to him about his Charms essay. He asked me to take a look at for him. I must go then… See you later, Miss Elston!"

"See you later, Malfoy." The girls watched as he walked away. "What was that?"

"That was a demonstration showing that something really odd going on with those Slytherins," whispered Minerva, still looking at where Abraxas had turned at the end of the corridor. "Also, what were you doing with him? Potions project?"

"Of course, what else would I be doing with Abraxas Malfoy?"

"Oh, I don't know." McGonagall shrugged, laughing as she saw the other girl blush. "It would be a nice change to see someone fancying Malfoy instead of Riddle. God knows how every living female soul of this castle fancies Tom Riddle… And I dare to say that even the dead souls do it too."

"Oh, Merlin, ghosts too?" Hermione giggled.

"Just pay attention to how the Grey Lady talk to him and you'll see what I mean!" explained Minerva as she started to walk again, going back to the Gryffindor tower and being followed by the other.

"What about you? Does Minerva McGonagall fancy Tom Riddle?"

"Oh God, no!" The Gryffindor laughed out loud. "I mean, yes, he's handsome and intelligent, but I know better than to be fooled by that pretty face of his. Believe me, Hermione, one day we'll see Riddle doing something that goes completely against what people expect from him. Slughorn says he's going to be the next Minister of Magic. I say I wouldn't be surprised if I saw him on the Daily Prophet, being chased down because he did something illegal. He's brilliant, yes, but too much brilliancy can lead to some nasty things when in the hands of certain people."

"So you don't fancy him?" asked Hermione, bursting into laughter when she saw Minerva's face.

"No, not now."

"Not now?"

"I may have fancied him when I was fourteen. Or may have not done so," she confessed, suppressing a chuckle. "You can't blame me, back in our fourth year Riddle stopped being the creepy, isolated boy he had been when he got here. And he was as handsome and intelligent as he is nowadays… The only thing is that, back then, it took me some time to notice it's all a game of his to manipulate others." Minerva took a deep breath, looking at the other girl. "And before you ask, no, he didn't do anything to me. It was just a matter of observing how he acts towards others… Next time you see him, take a look at how he behaves when he's talking with one of his friends and, then, with someone else. It's like Tom Riddle is a completely different person. He changes from person to person, and if that's not a way to manipulate everyone, then I have no idea what it is."

Hermione simply bit her lower lip and shrugged, trying to keep herself from telling Minerva that she knew very well how many faces Tom Riddle had.

A/N: This chapter is a bit long, sorry... Well, I hope you liked it (: We finally started on the Amortentia, yay. I hope you guys enjoyed it and thanks everyone who reviewed the last few chapters (: More information on Brax's sight and a bit on the Amortentia brewing is on my tumblr (themuggleriddle). Please, tell me what you think of it.