Chapter Nine: The Knights of Walpurgis

Previously:

Tom chuckled, and for the first time, he paused and frowned. But smirked after a moment and leaned in close to me so I could feel his warm breath on my cheek.

"Who are you really?" he whispered.

I could have killed him to be honest; Slughorn had said no private questions, he had just defeated the whole point of him wasting his breath.

"Hermione Jane Granger." I whispered.

***

I didn't bother trying to convince Tom that I had been talking nonsense, because he knew that the potion worked. We had both discovered hidden secrets about one another, secrets which would best not be repeated.

"I couldn't help myself," is what he said. I didn't completely understand that to be honest; he had always given me the impression he couldn't stand me. He disregarded our equal intelligence and focused on the fact that he had power over me; he could kill right before my eyes, yet still he would kiss me and everything else would disolve. It was a mystery to me why he had that effect on me, but he did and I couldn't stop it. I constantly told myself to be more realistic, after all he was Voldermort! A blood thirsty, murdering, evil, heartless, extremely intelligent monster! But something about him drew me closer, made me curious, made me desire to discover what made him tick…it angered me to say it, but I was indeed attracted to him.

Yes, he flirted. Yes, he cast me aside. Yes, he kissed me and then he attacked me…but I knew there was more behind it than that. There is a reason behind everything; I just needed to get close enough to him to decipher him and hopefully figure out how to end this once and for all.

Tom stood rigid before me; he hadn't known what to expect obviously. He wore no expression but his eyes blazed with curiosity, as did mine.

Slughorn appeared not 2 seconds later and I was given the Antidote. The lesson finished soon enough, and not one word was exchanged between me and Tom. What could we have said? He had told me…what? What had he told me? He only said he found me interesting and acted on a sudden urge; not that he liked me, not that it meant anything, he has told me practically nothing. I mentally kicked myself for not rephrasing the question…but it was done now, and I couldn't change what I had asked him. The questions he had asked me had been typical of him; I could have seen those from miles away, yet he had found out only one of the secrets I held close to my chest. It was downright sly of him to ask me such a question, he completely ignored Slughorns orders and practically dived into a pool of private questions!

Did I find him attractive? How petty; what did he care if I found him attractive? He asked that purely to get my back up and boost his already swollen ego. Did he really need yet another girl telling him how fantastic he was? He practically had the whole school swooning at his bloody feet! It seemed me, Minerva, and Druella were the only sane women in the building who could see through his oh-so-perfect mask. That did, however, give me a glowing sense of pride; I could turn a shoulder at his charms, he didn't affect me whatsoever because I knew of what he was, an evil bastard who holds unnecessary grudges against innocent people who never did any harm to his precious face…so why did I feel strangly drawn to him? It certainly wasn't an attraction, yes he was handsome and charming to a point, but that was all an act and no way in hell could I like such an insufferable prat such as himself.

Keep telling yourself that Hermione, a voice in my head muttered, you might feel a little better when you have to kill him.

My hands clamped down on my ears and my eyes squeezed shut as I attempted to block out the voices in my head, to no avail.

Face it, you're attracted to him, they taunted, but you're a Mudblood. I wouldn't hold my breath.

They continued to haunt me for the best part of an hour before I stormed from my room and joined Draco for dinner. The majority of the Slytherin house were tucking into their dinners, but quite a few were missing I noticed. Tom's followers seemed to have their names engraved on certain seats, but today, they were empty; Riddle, Avery, Nott, Mulciber, Rosier, Dolohov, Lestrange, Crouch, and…Cygnus Black. Nine seats were left empty, and a confused frown crossed my face.

I would have asked Draco to explain were he not in a discussion with the Slytherin slut, Mona Parsons. I sniffed disapprovingly and leaned over the table to interrogate Druella instead.

"Why is so many people missing?" I asked, taking a spoon full of raspberry jelly and filling my plate.

She glanced over to the empty seats then her eys flickered back to cock an eyebrow at me. "Where do you think they are?" she muttered.

Then it dawned on me. Of course, they were his followers. No doubt they were somewhere dark and secret torturing an innocent for no reason! It made me physically sick to know what they did to people, but I couldn't do anything about it. Who would believe me? Dippet was an idiot who would believe you if you told him Grindelwald was infact his mother! Tom had him wrapped around his little finger, and although Dumbledore could see through him, what really mattered was that the headmaster believed every word that spilled from his mouth, as did the other Professors. But convincing people of his evil ways wasn't a must on my To-Do-List; and it wasn't the main prority at the moment.

"Have you seen Theodore's injuries from the other night?" Druella whispered, leaning in closer so our conversation was less public.

"No, I haven't…but I know something happened with him and Riddle," I replied, she didn't need to know I was spying on Tom, "'Ella, could we talk outside for a moment?" I asked.

"Sure," she replied and hopped from her seat.

"Tell me about his followers," I said.

'Ella and I were sitting rather comfortably in the Slytherin common room with mugs of hot chocolate and a tray of shortbread sent by the house elves.

My companion was dressed like a typical Slytherin girl. She had painted her nails dark green, and wore green eyeshadow which made her dark eyes glow in the dim light. She sipped at her drink nervously before placing it down on the table and fiddling with the hem of her skirt. This was obviously a touchy subject for her; but I absolutely needed to know.

"Please, Druella, tell me. I really need to know this. I realise this may be dangerous for you to tell me…but I will help you if anything happens." I assured her, a friendly smile in place.

"Keep your word, Hermione. If he finds out I told you, I am in deep, deep trouble." She begged.

I nodded, and gestured for her to continue. She took a shaky breath and clasped her hands infront of her before speaking.

"Well, Tom has a number of…followers. He calls them the knight of Walpurgis. They started during out fourth year; Avery and Cygnus were the first to join him. Not many Slytherin's knew of them, but the ones who did were usually either one of them, or close to them." She paused and fixed her eyes on the marble floor, "Their goal is to erradicate all Muggles and Muggleborns. None of us know where or how his hatred for them sprouted; none of us dare ask, but they go along with him because they seem to believe him. Personally, I see no sense in it, but who am I to go against their ways? It would only earn me a trip to St Mungo's if I challenged Tom. So when I first heard of their ways, I kept quiet, I didn't question. Cygnus had joined anyhow, and I was considering joining myself at one point. I decided not to, but let's not go into that," she chuckled darkly and stared me strongly in the eyes.

Her expression unsettled me; it was an expression of pure sadness, regret, frustration, and hatred. She hated Tom or what he had created; that was clear. And who wouldn't? I certainly didn't blame her.

"Anyway, now there are ten of his followers all together, plus hisself. They call him "The Dark Lord", but his prefered name has always been Voldermort…" the malice in her voice brought shudders to my spine and I found my hands shaking uncontrollably, althought I couldn't figure out why.

"They have meetings every now and then. I'm guessing they are having another one now, seeing as none of them are in the hall." She whispered.

"What sort of things do they discuss in the meetings?" I inquired.

"All sorts. From who to torture next, to which students piss them off the most. Tom has requested my presence a few times during the meetings, although Cygnus doesn't approve, he doesn't voice his concerns. Dumbledore is fully aware of what Tom does, althought we all know he can do nothing against him because he has no evidence.

In fifth year, the knights performed an attack on the young Hufflepuff, Hertia Lee. She is a Muggleborn, and got on the wrong side of his followers. Cygnus informed me to stay away from the corridors on the second floor after 9 o'clock because he didn't want me involved in it. But I didn't listen to him, I shadowed Hertia's footsteps all night until they showed up." A sob broke from her lips and her hands instanly moved to cover her face as tears overwhelmed her.

I watched her sobbing and trembling for a few more minutes before I passed her a tissue and whispered; "You don't have to continue, Druella."

She shook her head furiously and stared up at me, eyes wide and red. "No, you asked me to tell you, so I will." She croaked and dabbed a little more at her eyes before straightening up and continueing where she left off.

"Tom had sent five of them to attack her. Cygnus was among them…as was Avery, Rosier, Mulciber, and Dolohov. Seeing them like that…scared me beyong hope. They weren't the boys I had grown up with anymore. They were monsters, heartless monsters. You may not know, but Mulciber specialises in the cruciatus curse and he used it on her countless times as Rosier and Dolohov pinned her down. Avery raped her and Cygnus was the look out. But he had his eyes fixed on the scene before him none stop. I remember seeing the sneer plastered on his face the whole time as he watched Avery have his way with her.

I didn't know him anymore. Cygnus only told you half of the story before; he didn't tell you the part where he was involved in the torture and rape of an innocent girl!" she exclaimed, her face gradullay growing red. She took a deep breath and hung her head in shame, "in the morning, she was "found" by Tom, who took her straight to the Matron and claimed he has just found her there, unconcious and broken. You could tell in Dumbledore's eyes that he didn't believe one drop of poison he spouted from his mouth, but Dippet…well, he awarded him 50 house points for finding her. No one suspected Tom; why would they? He was the most intelligent student in the school, the most well behaved, and the least likely to perform such a cruel act. She regained consciouness 2 weeks later; apparently she just slipped the cluthes of insanity due to the power of Crucio's inflicted on her.

After that incident, I refused to speak with Cygnus. To me he was just like them, a monster. I told myself he was a monster, I didn't know him anymore, he didn't deserve my kindness, he didn't deserve to be loved." She chukcled softly, "well, that's what I told myself, but here I am. Defending him once more. I'm too forgiving." She growled.

I grimaced and took a sip of my slowly growing cold chocolate.

"Did you notice the three Gryffidors missing from dinner, Hermione?" she asked quietly.

I frowned and shook my head.

She smiled sadly and tugged at a strand of hair, "Cygnus and Avery kidnapped them this morning. No ones seemed to have noticed they're gone. Jeremy Wood, Daniel Brown, and Billy Longbottom; no doubt, they are at the meeting as we speak. I don't know what they have done to upset Tom, but whatever they've done, he's serious about it. He's been discussing them, for a while now, he has something brutal in store for them." She said with a small shudder.

We sat there for a few minutes longer in silence. Druella looked very troubled, and she had the right to be…she was in danger of being found out now because she had spilled information to me. I found myself scared for her, even though I had promised to protect her should they find out.

The silence was broken by a gasp from Druella. I glanced up to see her eyes focused behind me, so I turned to find Avery with an evil smirk plastered on his face, staring at me.

"The Dark Lord has insisted your presence, Dehavilland." He purred.

I snorted and turned away, "Well, you can tell your…Dark Lord, that I am in no mood fit for a good beating at the present thankyou." I replied smoothly.

Druella's eyes seemed to bulge out of their sockets. I smirked at her reaction and turned back round to confront a rather calm Slytherin. He didn't seem phased by my reply on the outside, but the shock lining his eyes said it all!

"You will follow me, Dehavilland," he replied firmly, "you would do well not to question My Lords temper." He warned, a small hint of menace in his voice.

His words didn't affect me, so I returned to my chocolate and sipped it slowly.

"Stupid girl," Avery growled from behind me and before I realised what had happened, a bright red light caught my eye and I was emerced in black.

Hot pain seered through my skull as I regained my consciousness and moved painfully without openning my eyes. My hand instictively shot to my head in a weak attempt to stop the pain. As soon as my fingers touched my hair, I felt something wet soaking finger tips and my eyes shot open to stare down in horror at my blood smeared palm.

I was bleeding. Quite badly from my skull…what had happened to me?

I could vaguely remember speaking to Druella about the knights, then Avery turning up…and blackness. Just…nothing.

My eyes squinted in the dark as I glanced around…wherever I was. I couldn't tell who was with me, or where I was, because it was so dark.

Just cast a light spell, I thought calmly.

I nodded to myself and reached in my robes to retrieve my wand…but my pocket was empty. My eyes snapped sharply to my pocket where my wand usually was, but there was nothing there. Nothing. My wand was gone!

"Looking for this?" a voice purred from behind me.

I stood as fast as I could and whipped round to see who had spoken.

Tom stood before me, tossing my wand from hand to hand, staring at me with amused eyes and a typical Riddle smirk scraped on his dimly lit face.

"Give me my wand back." I croaked. I had intended to sound threatening…but my throat felt awfully dry, and it sounded more like a weak beg more than a threat.

Tom's smirk grew wider, "I don't think so, Hermione." He chuckled and took a few steps closer to me.

He had obviously expected me to step backwards as he grew closer and closer until out chests were pressed close, but I stood my ground to show him I wasn't scared of him and his murdering pack of puppies.

His warm breath tickled my neck as he leaned forward to whisper in my ear; "I won't return your wand unless you agree to make a deal with me, Hermione."

I sneered at him, trying to appear disgusted by his closeness…but honestly, I liked him being so close. It made the butterflies in my stomach flutter like crazy and shivers run up my back.

"Are you cold, my dear?" he pouted with mock concern.

"No." I replied simply.

He smirked, "I must say, I have never met a witch like you before. Such courage, such bravery, such skill, such power." He pulled away from my ear to lean in closer into my face so that his lips hovered close to mine. Too close.

"Yes, Hermione, such ambition," he continued, "Such…potential." He growled, staring mesmerized at my lips.

For a moment, I panicked that I had some food stuck in my teeth…but I diregarded that thought and focused on thinking of a way to get my wand back.

"Did you think your peeping would go unnoticed, Hermione?" he asked softly.

Shit, I thought.

He chuckled softly, and lifted my wand to flick a strand of my hair over my shoulder. "Yes, I am not as stupid as you may think, my dear."

I smiled sweetly, "I never doubted you for a second, Riddle."

His eyes darkened immediately and his free hand moved upwards to my cheek. His fingertips stroked my skin slowly, painfully, sending lightening through my veins and my raw magic bristled violently.

"Join me." He said suddenly.

My eyes widenened, "W-what?" I stuttered.

He smirked and traced a finger from my cheek to my jaw and back, breathing in the scent of my skin and closing his eyes.

"You crave the darkness, Hermione. I can see it in your eyes; you desire respect, knowledge, and above all…power," he purred, "Join me. Join the Knights…and you can have all the power you wish for. Fear is the height of power, my dear."

I shook my head, not quite believing what I was hearing. This couldn't be right. I wasn't evil; not like him and the rest of them. I wouldn't be as low as he was. Never, not after everything ive fought for.

"Do you know what, Riddle?" I replied carefully.

I shuddered as his nose skimmed my jaw line and his his breath warmed my neck, soaked with blood.

"Give me my wand back, and I'll give you your answer." I continued, squeezing my eyes tight shut to ignore the sparks he was creating inside me.

"Hmm, how do I know I can trust you?" he murmered against my cheek, sliding a hand round my waist and pulling me closer to him.

"You can't," I replied, "You're just going to have to believe me, I suppose."

He remained quiet for a few moments before watching my eyes carefully, searching for any hints that I might be using this agaisnt him. I kept my face blank and my eyes locked on his. He frowned and stared deeper into my eyes before muttering, "Ok, I will trust you. but at the first sign of trouble, my Knights will be upon you in seconds." He agreed.

I nodded as my eyes focused on my wand infront of me, which slowly returned to my palm. I gripped it tightly and held it close to my side, still staring into the dark eyes of Voldermort.

"Your answer, my dear?" he purred, taking a slow step away from me and releasing my waist from his grasp.

I breathed deeply before taking a tentative step towards him and tracing my fingers up and down his broad chest. He made no reaction, but his eyes definitely darkened as I touched him.

I smirked slightly, feeling rather dominant. "I will give you my answer, Riddle." I said slowly, putting light pressure on my fingertips.

I paused for a very long time, long enough for him to become frustrated at my time wasting.

I smiled for a moment, watching the rise and fall of the dark wizards chest.

"Tom," I said teasing, "You can take your proposal, and you can shove it up your evil ass!" I exclaimed, the once pleasant expression tranforming into one of true malice and disgust.

Before my words could sink in, I aimed all of my raw magic which he had conjoured inside me from touching me and aimed it at his chest through my fingertips which were still tracing light circles on his chest. My eyes lit up as I felt my magic surge through my body and pummel into Tom, sending him souring into a wall with a very loud crash and a painful cry.

"Lumos." I whispered quickly and the whole room lit up.

To say that what was revealed had shocked me would be an understatment…before me stood a beautiful mirror with a large golden frame and engraved writing which I couldn't decipher. I had read about this mirror before, Harry and Ron had told me about it aswell.

The Mirror of Erised.

To Be Continued…

***

Well, I am kinda happy with this chapter, took me a while to write though :L got stuck a few times too, but hey ho atleast it's done eh? thankyou to those who reviewed the previous chapter; especially my gorgeous friend, Liane.

+ Flowerchild67: I assure you, Draco and Parsons would have to murder me before they got together :L

keep reading and reviewing my beautys xx