Author's Note: I'm on break, so the next chapter should be out faster than normal. Enjoy the fast releases, because it's not going to last.
*Note* None of the characters besides Nick is made up. They are all real characters in the books, though in some instances, first names weren't given, so I took the name of another character in the series and meshed the two together.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the plot. Everything belongs respectfully to JK Rowling and I am not using this fanfiction to make money.
All Hermione wanted to do was to lie down and sleep. She hadn't slept well the previous night, tossing and turning, too excited to sleep. She had ridden the Hogwarts Express, and though she dozed off a bit, it only slightly quelled her fatigue. Not to mention, she was walking up the stairs to a dormitory in Hogwarts. Hogwarts. Words could not explain how happy she was.
Her mind was in a slightly jumbled state after the sorting hat's decision. She understood that it meant well, and sorted her honestly, but was none of it biased? She had nothing against Slytherin, but she couldn't help but notice that most of the evil wizards came from that house. Did the sorting hat foresee that she would follow her father's footsteps? Did it see her becoming a dark witch?
Hermione had pushed open the door, half dead, when she was met by the sound of shrill giggles. They sounded like Lavender's, except they sounded rather insane. Hermione froze in her tracks; the sound of the girl who had just laughed, it couldn't be—
"Oh my god, Tracey," someone giggled, and Hermione almost groaned. Out of all the rooms she could've been in, why did she have to get this one? The speaker turned towards her, narrowing her eyes. Her friends sat around her. One of them had short, dark hair and was pug-faced. The other girl also had dark hair, though it was more navy colored than brown. She observed Hermione carefully. She did not have disgust in her eyes, but no kindness was present either.
There was one last girl in the room who sat away from the others, reading a book. She had wavy brown hair, and she paid Hermione no mind. Well, Hermione snorted. I'm going to have an easy job making friends here.
"Walburga," Hermione greeted frostily. The girl glared at her. "Aren't I lucky."
Walburga sniffed. "Oh, trust me, you're not the only one angry about this arrangement," she narrowed her eyes. "What did you do? Did you force Tom to let you come here?"
Try the other way around. Before Hermione could answer, the pug-faced girl looked up and smiled at her. Hermione was taken aback by her sudden display of kindness. The girl squealed, "Ooh! You know Tom! Tell us about him."
Ah, not kindness then. The three girls looked at her expectantly—even Walburga—and Hermione sighed. "Sorry," she said, not sounding very apologetic at all. "I don't know Riddle that well. Why don't you ask him yourself?" Without waiting for them to respond, she dragged her luggage over to the only free bed and plopped herself down.
"You should totally do that, Tracey," Walburga nudged her friend. "You know Tom can't resist your charms."
Tracey frowned, and then turned to her brunette friend. "Violetta," she asked. "What do you do with Cygnus?"
Hermione recognized the name, but kept her eyes shut, trying to block out the sound. It didn't work.
"Cy?" Violetta frowned. "Oh, I don't know. Whatever pops up, I guess…"
The girl obviously didn't want to talk about it, but her friends kept pushing her. Eventually, their shrill voices got the better of Hermione, and she clamped up her ears and curled herself in to a ball. If they said one more word…
"I wouldn't recommend sleeping," an amused voice cut through her thoughts, and Hermione opened her eyes. The girl who had been sitting on her bed, reading a book, grinned at her. "Their voices will keep you up. Might as well do something productive while they're chatting. It saves time."
The girl had a point, so Hermione sat up and ruffled through her robes for her wand. "I'm Hermione Granger," she introduced, looking over. The girl had gone back to her book whose title Hermione couldn't make out.
"Eileen Prince."
Hermione nodded, and left the girl in peace. She waved her wand around, sorting all her belongings onto shelves. She stepped back and looked with a smile; she had always dreamed of having her own bed in Hogwarts. Now it seemed like a dream come true.
"So, tell me, Hermione," Tracey drawled, causing Hermione to jump in surprise. Eileen grinned at her, before tucking her book back into her bag and leaning against her bed. She seemed to have decided the conversation was more interesting than her book. "Walburga says that you're quite familiar with Tom and his friends."
Not this again. Don't they have anything better to do with their time? "Not familiar," Hermione shrugged. "Acquaintances."
Tracey looked pleased, for some reason. "Is Walburga telling the truth?" she leaned forward eagerly. "Were you really a slave at Abraxas's house?"
Hermione felt irritated, but nodded anyways. Eileen shot her a glance she couldn't interpret. Was she disgusted by her now?
Tracey beamed happily, which was not the reaction she had been expecting. "You're so lucky!" she gushed, and then turned towards her friends. "Isn't she lucky? She got to spend some time alone with Abraxas," she swooned. "I would die to be in that situation."
Wasn't she just lusting after Riddle seconds ago?
"I was in that situation," Walburga said, obviously irritated that she wasn't included in Tracey's statement.
"Yeah, but you were hanging out with Gabriel," Tracey shot back, rolling her eyes. "Everyone knows Abraxas is the cuter one."
"You're just saying that because he's harder to get," Walburga murmured back.
Hermione almost gagged. Wait till Abraxas hears about this, she giggled to herself.
Violetta suddenly turned around, her voice quiet, and asked, "Was Cy there?"
"No," Hermione replied, and quite frankly, she was glad. She knew she wasn't supposed to be making assumptions about a person she just met, but the boy was just plain rude. Just because she wasn't pureblooded didn't mean that he could just treat her like crap.
"That's good," Violetta said, chewing her fingernail. She turned back to her friends, and the three of them began amiably whispering about a topic. Hermione was glad that she no longer was included in the conversation, and picked up her textbooks. She was going to take an official Hogwarts class tomorrow! It was exciting.
"Seems like you'll fit in here perfectly," Eileen said, casting her a sideways glance. "The gossip girls love you already."
"Love is a strong word," Hermione commented dryly. "Gossip girls?"
"Yep. Walburga Black, Tracey Parkinson and Violetta Bulstrode. Hogwarts' very own gossip mill. You'll learn soon enough that they never stop talking. Never." Eileen laughed as Hermione groaned. "The library will be your best friend here. I go there whenever they get too loud."
Hermione nodded. She just wished she could go to the library to sleep. A headache was starting to form, and she gritted her teeth, hoping to make it go away. Unfortunately, it didn't work.
"Out of the three of them, the nicest is, by far, Violetta," Eileen was saying. "She and Cygnus are really close friends, and she's the only one that Cygnus opens up to, and trust me, it's harder than it looks. Violetta also has a crush on Cygnus, though I'm pretty sure it's one sided. She does go after Tom sometimes, but I believe it's only to fit ini. Tracey likes to make a big deal out of it though." Eileen cast her a glance. "Just catching you up on the latest Slytherin gossip."
Hermione nodded. "What about Walburga and Tracey?"
"Tracey," Eileen rolled her eyes, lowering her voice so the trio couldn't hear. "You think she's annoying now, right? Oh, this isn't even a tenth of how annoying she is. She just gets lousier and lousier as time goes on." Hermione wanted to cry. "She usually lusts after the Slytherin boys. She and Orion have this special flirty relationship."
Opinion of Black going down.
"But she mostly goes after Tom Riddle. Walburga does too. Don't ask me how they can tolerate going after the same boy. That's just disgusting in my opinion. I predict an all-out war breaking out in the next couple months."
Riddle has girls fighting over him, doesn't he? Hermione mentally rolled her eyes. I should have guessed.
However, she had to admit, being with Riddle wasn't all that bad now. Of course, she still had hated for what he did to Tim, but he was slowly improving in her eyes. She could now be in his presence without wanting to murder him…much.
Eileen snapped her fingers. "That's right. Tracey said you were a servant at the Malfoy Manor?" Hermione nodded cautiously, not liking where the conversation was going. "How was it?"
"It was good," Hermione said shortly. "Lots of work."
"You mentioned to Violetta that Cygnus wasn't there," Eileen pressed. "Who was there, then?"
Hermione almost rolled her eyes; Eileen seemed to be quite the gossiper herself. "No one that important." She shrugged. "Just a couple of the Malfoy's friends, here and there." Hermione cringed at the weirdness; she had never called Abraxas 'Malfoy' before.
"Like?"
Hermione sighed. "Abraxas and Gabriel, of course. Riddle and Black stayed for a few days as well."
"Black?" Violetta butted into their conversation. "You told me Cygnus wasn't there!"
"He wasn't," Hermione started to feel irritated. Were boys the only things in their lives? This was pathetic. Boys weren't going to help them through life in any way. "I'm talking about his brother, Orion. Why don't you ask Walburga about it? She was there as well."
Walburga glared at Hermione. It seemed like no matter where they were, the girl was never going to stop hating her. Tracey punched her friend in the arm mockingly, laughing. "Walburga was too busy making googly eyes at Avery."
"You met Avery as well?" Eileen inquired curiously. "You pretty much know all the important Slytherins already."
"Yourself included?" Hermione commented dryly.
"Of course," Eileen smirked.
Hermione sighed as Tracey spoke up again. "First thing tomorrow, I'm going to compare my times table with Tom. I hope we have potions together." She turned to Hermione, as if needing to explain herself. "Slughorn is the professor," she said. "Tom is his favorite student, and he lets Tom chooses his seat. He'll choose the seat next to me, obviously."
"So confident," Hermione muttered under her breath, and next to her, Eileen grinned.
"Compare your times table with me, Tracey," Violetta said quietly. "I compared with Cy earlier, and I know which classes that he has with both me and Tom."
"Violetta, you're a life saver," Tracey gushed, and reached for her fancy luggage, shifting through the perfectly folded robes and other stuff. Hermione looked down at her own luggage; aside from the books, everything was scattered.
"What classes are you taking?" Hermione asked Eileen, who was watching Tracey with an amused look on her face.
"Only the necessary ones. Transfiguration, defense against the dark arts, charms, potions, herbology and artihmacy." Eileen tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I think that's it."
"Six," Hermione repeated in disbelief. "That's it?"
Eileen laughed. "I should've guessed you were a bookworm. I'll have you know that most people in the school only take transfiguration, defense against the dark arts, charms, potions and herbology. I decided to take artihmacy and sacrificed my free time." Eileen looked at her. "How many classes are you taking, then?"
"Ten."
Eileen whistled. "You're Tom's competitor, aren't you?" she teased. "He doesn't take Muggle Studies, but takes everything else. What class aren't you taking?"
"Muggle Studies and Divination."
Eileen nodded, and Tracey butt in, once again. "What was that about Tom?" she batted her eyelashes innocently.
"Nothing," Hermione said coldly, at the same time Eileen said, "She's taking a lot of classes, so it guarantees that she has at least one class with Tom."
Hermione glared at Eileen, who just smirked back. Tracey turned her head slowly towards Hermione, and she wondered if the girl was just going to curse her straight outright. However, she turned thoughtfully back to her friends. "That is the bright side to taking many classes," she said. "I'll have more of a chance to be with Tom." She turned to Hermione and did the last thing she expected; Tracey beamed at her. "Thank you, Hermione."
I have no idea what to make of this girl.
Eileen elbowed her. "Told you they loved you."
Hermione rolled her eyes, but said nothing.
ஐ
Hermione ended up skipping breakfast the next day.
She honestly wanted to sit and eat in the Great Hall, but her roommates, Tracey especially, had kept her up. She had simply slept through her alarm clock, and when she woke up, her room was empty. It seemed that none of her roommates, not even Eileen, bothered to wake her up.
Some 'friends' they are.
She had grumpily pulled herself out of bed, only to realize that class started in five minutes. She hastily got dressed, packed all her books into her handy dandy bottomless pit bag, and flew out of her room. The common room was completely empty—everyone was in the Great Hall, she presumed—but she didn't have time to stop and admire. She was out of the common room in less than a minutes, and flew down the dungeons.
She looked down at her times table. She had potions first, meaning it was a Gryffindor and Slytherin combined class. Hermione hoped Nick would also be in the class. She hadn't had the time to ask him which classes he was taking.
Not to mention, she discovered last night that Riddle was in her potions class, along with Cygnus, Tracey, Violetta and Walburga. The whole crew. Eileen had a free, so she would've gone to the library by now.
Hermione got to the potions room seconds later, quite relieved to find it mostly empty. She would've died if she was late on the first day; that would've given the professor a horrible first impression of herself.
There was a person tiding up the desk in the front. She assumed that to be Slughorn. So this is the head of Slytherin. Hermione thought. I expected him to be more…malicious looking.
The student's desks were each arranged in groups of three, though only two desks of each row had name tags on top of them. Is Riddle really allowed to choose his own seat? Hermione snorted. Of course Riddle would be able to.
Hermione spotted a couple of Gryffindors whispering among themselves on the left side of the room. She didn't recognize them, and when they saw her, they frowned at the color of her robes. She had tried not to feel insulted, and instead turned towards the other end. Abraxas was sitting in his assigned desk, whispering to Black, who was sitting right in front of him. Cygnus was sitting right in front of Slughorn, and when he saw her come into the room, he gave her a look that could've made Riddle himself flinch.
"Hey, Hermione," Abraxas said cheerfully as Hermione approached him. She noted, with relief, that her name was on the tag on the desk next to Abraxas. "I was looking over at the Gryffindor table this morning, but I didn't see you."
"I overslept," she told him, and he grinned easily. "And why would you look over at the Gryffindor table?"
"Why wouldn't I look over there?" Abraxas asked, confused. "You're in Gryffindor, aren't you…" he trailed off as his brain registered the color of her robes. "No way. You're in Slytherin?"
"Yeah," she slid into the seat next to him. "Why, don't want me here?"
"N-no," Abraxas sputtered. "It's just that, you. Slytherin." He turned towards Black, mouth wide. "She's in Slytherin."
"Told you Squirtle wasn't as innocent as we all thought," Black replied cheerfully.
Before either Abraxas or Hermione could respond, the professor came bustling over. "You must be Miss Granger! Albus told me about you."
What could Dumbledore have possibly said about me? He barely met me. "Nice to meet you, Professor Slughorn," she plastered a huge smile on her face and nodded politely. "Thanks for having me in your class."
"It's no problem, none at all." He clapped his hand together and beamed at her. "Always nice to see new faces." He glanced around the room. "Excuse me, m'dear, but I need to go prepare. Students are beginning to come in, after all." Violetta came in, and hurried to sit down next to Cygnus. The two of them whispered to each other. Walburga and Tracey followed, leaving a desk between them empty.
For Riddle, Hermione almost snickered.
"Of course, Professor," Hermione said sweetly. "Don't let me hold you up."
Slughorn gave her one last beam, before hurrying back to his desk.
Abraxas and Black snickered, and she glared at them. "What?"
"That was laying it a bit thick," Black smirked. "That was good acting skills, Squirtle. They might just rival Tom's."
As if on cue, Tracey and Walburga came over, sending flirty winks at the boys. Seriously, the word 'Tom' is taboo. Say it and they come rushing over. Abraxas deliberately ignored them by pretending to pick something up from the floor. Black, however, smirked and leaned over to whisper something into Tracey's ears. She blushed and gave him a grin.
Yuck.
"What is it about Tom?" Walburga asked curiously.
"None of you business," came Abraxas's muffled voice from under the table. Hermione sighed and turned around, just in time to see Ron come into the room. Unfortunately, no Nick followed him. He caught her eye immediately, and noted the color of her robes. He looked sad, but nodded at her. She offered him a small smile in return.
"Abraxas," Walburga was saying. "How's Gabriel doing?"
"Fine," Abraxas said shortly, grabbing something out of his bag. Tracey was sitting on Black's lap, but Abraxas didn't pay his friend any attention. He grabbed something from his bag and poked Hermione. "Hey, look at this."
Tracey shot her a look, though Hermione couldn't tell if it was a warning or a sign of encouragement. She didn't care; she wasn't taking orders from Tracey. Hermione turned around, and was greeted by the sight of a whole bunch of papers.
"Remember this?" Abraxas asked, and showed it to her proudly. Remember she did; it was Abraxas's summer homework. The two of them had spent so much time on it over the summer. It was how she met him.
"Yes," she said, squinting at the name on the top. 'Abraxas Malfoy' was scribbled hastily on the line. "I think you put the wrong name, though. It should be my name up there."
"I think I did more work than you," Abraxas said. "It takes a lot of effort to listen to your long speeches and pick out the important parts, you know."
Hermione crossed her arms. "The whole thing was important."
Abraxas rolled his eyes, only to be promptly socked in the arm by Hermione.
"Ow," he glared at her, and then turned towards Black. "Speaking of summers, Black, you missed it. I took her flying. It was better than the Quidditch games here."
Jealousy surged through Tracey's eyes, and Hermione suddenly wished that she had not chosen to take potions. Black, however, grinned at Hermione and said, "Really? That good?"
Hermione scowled. "It was just me screaming on a broom. Nothing good about that."
"That could be interpreted in so many wrong ways," Black muttered under his breath, and Tracey, who was still fixed on his lap, heard him and blushed. It seemed that he had calmed her down slightly, but Tracey was still glaring daggers at Hermione.
"We should reenact it one day," Abraxas said cheerfully, and Tracey shot her a look of pure jealousy. What was the girl jealous of? She was sitting on Black's lap, for Merlin's sake. And last time Hermione checked, she had been ranting about Riddle, not Abraxas.
"Absolutely not." Hermione said firmly.
Walburga looked like she wanted to butt in—no doubt to take up his offer—but Slughorn clapped his hands loudly. Tracey shot one last hostile look at Hermione—there goes my friends, Hermione thought sarcastically—before she and Walburga hurried to their seats. Riddle was still nowhere to be found, though Hermione's suspicions were verified when each row contained exactly two people and one empty desk. Slughorn really does love Riddle.
"Hello, hello," Slughorn said joyfully. He looked around the room. "So many familiar faces! I think I've had you all, except for Miss Granger, of course." He smiled warmly at her, causing her face to heat up at the amount of stares she was receiving. "I hope you will all go out of your way to make her stay here pleasurable. Now, on to business…"
The door bang open, and Riddle strode in. If Hermione thought he was popular before, it was nothing compared to his treatment now. Every girl in the room—from both Gryffindor and Slytherin—swooned, with the exception of her. Even the Gryffindors, who usually looked hostile towards Slytherins, showed indifference towards him—some even smiled. Slughorn looked delighted to see his favorite student and beamed at him.
"Sorry I'm late, Professor," Riddle said smoothly. "I had to help a first year find his way to the transfiguration room."
"Of course. I always knew you were meant to be a prefect," Slughorn said happily. "Like always, Tom. Please choose a seat."
It seemed to be a ritual; no one looked too surprised by it. The girl next to Black looked rather hopeful, but she kept stealing glances at Walburga and Tracey. It seemed like the two of them were confident, and Tracey scooted her chair in and sent a smile at Riddle.
Who cares if Riddle goes to sit with them?
Hermione turned back towards Abraxas, who had his summer homework laying on his desk, and was staring at the situation with an amused expression. He and Hermione shared look, and Hermione leaned over to whisper something to him when she heard someone drop down next to her.
She whirled around and was not only met by the glares of the girls—Tracey and Walburga especially—but a smirk from Riddle. "Hello, Granger," Riddle said silkily, taking out his notes and quill. "Slept well last night?"
I'm not going to sleep well tonight because of you! "Fine," she said curtly, not wanting to speak too much and give the other girls the wrong idea. She didn't want to be attacked. "And you?"
Apparently, it was the wrong thing to say. The other girls clearly thought it was best if she had just ignored him. Well, she wasn't going to do that and risk soiling Slughorn's impression of her. "Fine," Riddle replied, and sat up straight in perfect posture. Hermione almost snorted, but refrained from doing so. Riddle never looked back at her, but kept his eyes politely trained on Slughorn.
That prick.
"You," Hermione hissed in his ear. "Are going to get me dead."
"Not my problem," he replied, smirking.
Slughorn finally realized that his job was to teach students about potions rather than to smile at Riddle, and he clapped his hands together loudly. Tracey threw her one last glare, before stiffly turning to face the professor. Hermione gulped; she was going to get a bed full of cockroaches—or worse.
"Welcome back, welcome back," Slughorn said cheerily. "Please take out your summer homeworks. I will be collecting them for a grade. No, Mister Weasley, you may not do it now," Laughter erupted in the Gryffindor side of the room, and Hermione watched—though blocked by Riddle's body—Ron scratch the back of his head sheepishly. She allowed a small smile, before risking a glance at Riddle's homework.
One word came to her mind.
Mesmerizing.
His handwriting was perfect. It was even better than her own, something that was quite difficult to achieve. Perfect inked letters blotted his parchment. He caught her looking, and sent her a smirk. "Like what you see, Granger?" he whispered at her. She scowled and turned away, though not before hearing him chuckle in amusement.
One look from Tracey informed Hermione that the girl had indeed heard what Riddle said, and she was after Hermione's blood.
So much for being 'friends' with her.
Slughorn came around, personally collecting each person's papers. When he got to their row, he made a big fuss out of Riddle's homework, showing it to the class, but turning and smiling at Hermione.
"I'm sure you'll catch up fast, m'dear," he said, winking at her. "I'm sure Tom wouldn't mind helping you." Hermione realized that he probably thought she and Riddle were a couple. Before she could protest, he leaned over and collected Abraxas's homework.
"Not bad, not bad!" Slughorn said happily, examining it. "Mister Malfoy, I always knew you could do it." He took the stack of papers back to his desk and stored them away. Hermione shot Abraxas a triumphant smirk, and Abraxas rolled his eyes.
"We'll start this year," Slughorn rubbed his hands together excitedly. "With the Draught of Peace. Who can tell me what it does?" he looked expectantly at Riddle, as did every other individual in the room. No one else raised their hands, and a pleasant smile crossed Riddle's face as he raised his arm slowly.
I've lost to Riddle enough times.
Hermione's hand shot up, and she heard collected gasps from throughout the room. She didn't miss Abraxas rolling his eyes, and she stomped on his foot. Slughorn regarded her with interest, beaming positively. Riddle stared at her for a few seconds, before smirking and putting his hand down. The glares from the girls only intensified.
Hermione stared at Riddle, who leaned back in his chair leisurely. He seemed to be challenging her with his eyes.
Bring it on, Riddle.
"Yes, Miss Granger?"
"The Draught of Peace," Hermione began. "Is a potion that helps relieve anxiety. It requires powdered moonstone, syrup of hellebore, powdered porcupine quills, valerian root, and powdered unicorn horn. It should be turquoise blue when finished, and should simmer before being drunk. However, it is said that ironically, this potion is extremely difficult to make. It requires precision, and one small error can cause drastic consequences. If brewed correctly, the potion emits a silver vapor, but if it is not, then the appearance can vary from dark grey steam to green sparks."
Silence was met by her response, and she chewed her lip, suddenly nervous. Was she wrong? Maybe she messed up on one detail while reading about it. However, before she could think about it further, Black started applauding loudly, drawing all attention to himself. Hermione glared at him, and he threw her a cheeky grin.
"You're welcome for the books, Granger," Riddle smirked. On contrary to the girls who figured it was up to them to defend his honor, Riddle looked perfectly content with letting Hermione answer the question instead of him.
Hermione crossed her arms and scowled at him. "You didn't even buy them, Riddle."
Riddle had a smug look on his face nevertheless, though he didn't say anything else. He turned back to Slughorn, ignoring the pity look that Tracey was throwing him. Why would you pity him? Hermione thought bewilderedly. Nothing bad has happened to him.
"Excellent, Miss Granger! Five points for Slytherin." Slughorn walked around, beaming ear to ear. "Now, who can tell me what is most important to remember about this potion? Miss Granger?" he said, spotting Hermione's hand, which was in the air again. Riddle had a smirk on his face.
"The potion needs to be stirred ten times, both clockwise and counterclockwise. Afterwards, before the final ingredient, hellebore is added, the potion has to be allowed to cool for seven minutes."
"Very impressive, Miss Granger. Another five points for Slytherin." Tracey was now openly glaring at her, though Slughorn remained oblivious. I'm earning points for our house, why would you be mad at me? Hermione thought sarcastically.
"Yes, Miss Granger," Riddle whispered softly so that Slughorn could not hear him imitating him. "Very impressive indeed."
Hermione glared at him and he sat, smirking. Why was he so happy? Shouldn't he be angry as the other girls were, because Hermione had 'stole his spotlight?' Or maybe he was happy that she was going to be murdered by his admirers the second she got back into her room. That had to be it. Maybe the librarian would let her camp out in the library tonight.
"Alright, class. Please get started. The instructions are in your textbooks, and also on the board." Slughorn flicked his wand, and white chalk filled the board. After seeing Riddle's handwriting, she was forced to admit that even Slughorn's seemed like kindergarten's writing compared to Riddle's. "As always, everything you need is in the closet. Help yourselves!"
Hermione looked at Riddle, who looked back to her. They came to an agreement, and spun around to face Abraxas. "I vote Abraxas gets the ingredients," Hermione piped helpfully.
"I concur with that," Riddle nodded.
Abraxas stared. "That's not fair."
"Majority rules, Abraxas," she clipped, though she couldn't prevent a smirk working its way up her face. "Go get it."
Abraxas grumbled, and went to get it grudgingly. Hermione giggled softly, but her smile slid off her face when she saw who was coming over to her table. She glanced at Abraxas, wondering if she could join him, but he was with Black and his seat partner, and they seemed to be laughing at something the girl had said. She didn't want to interrupt him, and instead turned back to Riddle, who was smiling pleasantly at Tracey.
"Hello, Tracey," Riddle said, though Hermione was surprised to see no sign of him flirting. Perhaps Tracey was flirting enough for the two of them. "How was your summer?"
"It was awesome!" she gushed happily, motioning for Walburga to hurry over. "I went to Romania with my parents. They bought a house there, and I spent an entire month there. Too bad we didn't have a pool. I really wanted a pool." Tracey pouted.
Is that how you expect to win boys? Make them feel poor? Hermione smirked in her mind. Riddle, however, slid forward, his eyes intent on Tracey's. The girl blushed, obviously enjoying the attention Riddle was giving her.
"Romania?" Riddle asked quietly.
"Yes, Romania!" Tracey squealed. "It was sooooo fun, Tom. You should come with us during the Christmas break. Mother and Father love you." She shot Hermione a glare. Why, does she want me to be jealous that Riddle has already met her parents? Hermione thought, amused. I couldn't care less.
Walburga flounced over. "What about Romania?"
Hermione tuned them out as Abraxas returned with the ingredients, Black and his seat partner engaging in some sort of staring war. The girl introduced herself as Eleanor Bletchey, the keeper for the Slytherin quidditch team. She didn't display any hostility towards Hermione, but that would be hard to do since the girl hardly spoke to her.
"Let me lay down some rules before we start," Abraxas said, glancing towards Riddle. He was still in an intense conversation with Tracey, leaning so close to the girl that her entire face turned red. Riddle, however, was pure business. Abraxas sighed and continued, "It's just my luck that I'm sitting next to the two smartest people in the grade, so I expect to not do any work this year."
"Smartest people in the grade?" Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Riddle, maybe. How do you know I am? I could be stupid."
"You could be, but you're not." Abraxas replied. "It's the way you answered Slughorn's question. Even that annoying Minnie doesn't answer it that thorough." Catching Hermione's bewildered face, he added, "Minnie, as in Minerva McGonagall. She's been fighting with Tom for top spot for awhile now. Guess she'll be bumped down to third."
"We'll see," was Hermione's response.
After a couple more minutes, in which Hermione began setting up her ingredients and instructing Abraxas what his job was, much to his displeasure. He argued that he learned the fastest by watching, but Hermione would listen to none of that. Finally, when she was wondering just how many words could come out of Tracey's mouth, Slughorn came and shooed her away. She bid a sad farewell to Riddle, who was deep in thought, and threw Hermione another glare.
She doesn't know when to give up, does she?
"Riddle," Hermione snapped at him. He regarded her curiously. "Get to work. We don't have all day."
Riddle raised an eyebrow at her flippant tone. "Oh? And what made you the leader of this group?"
"Thank you!" Abraxas said. "She wanted to make me do at least a third of the steps. That's not really fair, is it?"
"No, it's not," he smirked at Hermione. "I would've made him do the whole thing."
It felt good to laugh again.
ஐ
"Excellent, excellent! Splendid effort, everyone." Slughorn said an hour later, walking around. Hermione saw him walk up to Ron's desk, his potion emitting green sparks, and offered words of encouragement. It didn't seem to be new, though, because Ron just joked it off with his friends.
Slughorn walked over to Tracey's potion, and Hermione smirked when he shook his head sadly. Walburga kept glancing at Riddle, but he wasn't even looking. He was staring at the potion, as if checking to make sure everything was a hundred percent correct. Walburga whispered something to Tracey, who breathed a sigh of relief. Just because Riddle isn't watching you doesn't mean your bad grade just disappears.
Slughorn stopped before Hermione's row, and beamed down at them. Their cauldron sat on Hermione's desk, and it was bubbling a nice silvery vapor. Abraxas looked worn out; to his defense, she and Riddle had pushed him rather hard, making him do the majority of the work while the two of them supervised. Hermione had almost cursed him when he was about to stir the cauldron one extra time clockwise. She had thrown herself at his hand, and the two of them had ended up on the ground in a rather prominent position. The class had snickered.
At least I saved the potion, right?
"Perfect!" Slughorn cried, and Riddle sat there, a self-satisfied smile on his face. "Everyone, this is what the Draught of Peace should look like. Good job, Tom, Hermione, Abraxas." He beamed down at the three of them. "Ten points to Slytherin apiece, and on that note, you are dismissed."
He then glanced at Hermione. "Hermione, do you have a moment?"
"Er, now?" Hermione asked. "No. I have class. I can come during my lunch if you would like."
"No, it's alright. I'll write you a letter. Wouldn't want to take away your precious time with Tom here." He winked not so subtly, and Abraxas snorted next to her. Before Hermione could retort, Slughorn rushed over to the other side of the room, where Ron's friend blew up the cauldron, causing the Gryffindors to erupt in laughter.
"He wants to invite you to the Slug Club," Riddle explained, packing his bag neatly and standing up. Hermione followed after him. She saw Tracey packing furiously, determined to catch up with him. "They're pointless, really, but he only invites his favorite students."
"Guess he doesn't have a lot of favorite students," Hermione said. "If I'm one of them."
Riddle smirked, but changed the topic. "What class do you have now?"
"Transfiguration," she watched as Black parted ways with Eleanor and jogged over to meet them. Abraxas departed for Charms. "And you?"
"Transfiguration, my favorite class," Riddle said, a hard edge in his voice. Hermione almost groaned when Black caught up to them and waved his brother over. Great, another class with Cygnus the grump. Cygnus nodded politely to Riddle, paid no attention to Hermione, and started a conversation with his brother.
"Dumbledore's not that bad," she teased. Riddle's only response was the darkening of his eyes, and he didn't say anything else. Hermione knew that if he did say something, it would only be insults.
"Hermione!" someone called. Eileen caught up to her and smiled. Books were piled in her bag, and Hermione looked at them in jealousy. She couldn't wait to get to the library later. "Transfiguration?"
"Yep."
"Great. Let's hope Dumbledore puts us together." She glanced over, suddenly realizing Riddle was also standing there. She shot Hermione a quizzical look, before greeting him. "Hi Tom."
"Eileen," Riddle inclined his head politely, and then entered the room after Black. He held the door open for Hermione, and when she stepped inside, her hand accidently brushed against his. One look at him told her he did it on purpose, so she ignored him and stepped around him.
It was an all Slytherin class, and Dumbledore stood in the front, assessing everyone. He offered her a small smile when he saw Hermione, and she returned it. She noticed that, like Slughorn, Dumbledore had put name tags on everyone's desks. It seemed that they were awfully keen on using muggle methods.
Hermione felt her heart drop when she realized who she was sitting next to.
Cygnus.
And judging from the scowl he sent her, he wasn't pleased with the seating arrangement either.
"Good luck, Granger," Riddle smirked, taking his seat next to Eileen in the back of the room. Black sat two rows over, the seat next to him currently empty. Why couldn't she have been in the back as well? Why did she have to be in the front with Cygnus?
Life was cruel.
When she trudged herself to the front of the room, Cygnus reluctantly moved his bag over, but only after she managed to trip over the strap at least twice. Cygnus had rolled his eyes not so discreetly, and Hermione had fought the urge to punch him.
The two of them sat stiffly throughout Dumbledore's lecture, a fair distant away from each other. Hermione took notes throughout Dumbledore's lecture—there was something about the way the man talked that made her want to jot down his every word—but Cygnus just sat there. No quill nor parchment was took out. One quick glance around the room informed her that no one, aside from her, was taking notes. Even Riddle sat there, no quill in hand, a smirk on his face. He didn't seem to even try playing perfect student in front of Dumbledore. Eileen sat away from him, her arms crosses, eyes staring at the wall. Hermione wondered what happened between them.
"And now," Dumbledore concluded. "After you have listened to my long speech, we will now practice the vanishing spell. Please take three snails from the box up here," he nodded towards his desk. "And use it to practice. Remember, the incantation is Evanesco. Now, off to work."
Hermione stood up, and was the first one to reach the box. However, right as she reached in to it, six snails came flying out. She had to duck to avoid getting hit, and whirled around. The culprit sat in the very last row and went by the name of Tom Riddle. Hermione narrowed her eyes; of course he would be too lazy to get up. He smirked at her, before offering three to Eileen. She huffed and snatched them out of his hand without thanking him. Hermione stared at the box, and then grabbed six. She dropped three on Cygnus's desk, and then sat down beside him.
She drew out her wand, when she heard Cygnus say the first words he had said since the lesson began. "Did I ask you to get these for me?"
Hermione frowned. He was almost as obnoxious as Riddle. Who did he think he was, using that type of tone with her? "No, but you didn't have them, and since I was there, I got some for you." Why couldn't he just accept it and move on?
"I didn't ask for these." Cygnus said flatly.
Hermione rolled her eyes, and arranged her snails into a line. "If you don't want it, go up and put them back."
Cygnus stood up and did exactly that. Hermione felt her face burn with humiliation. How dare he! She was trying to be nice, and he had to ruin it. Between the outgoing Orion and the moody Cygnus, Hermione couldn't see any similarities. She began to really appreciate Orion.
Hermione tapped her snail, ignoring Cygnus as he sat back down with three new snails. She tried to mimic the wand movement that Dumbledore had shown. "Evanesco." Nothing happened. Next to her, Cygnus rolled his eyes.
Hermione felt fury surge through her, and took a deep breath. She tapped the snail again, and said, "Evanesco." The snail turned paler, but didn't disappear like it was supposed to. This time, a snort left Cygnus's mouth, and Hermione was fuming angrily. He certainly wasn't getting any progress either. Where did he get off laughing at her like that?
"Evanesco," Hermione said for the third time, more forcefully than before. This time, her snail completely disappeared, and she beamed proudly. No sounds came from Cygnus, and Hermione was more than happy to keep it that way.
Dumbledore came bustling over, his eyes twinkling and he smiled down at her. "Now, Miss Granger," he said gently. "Did you lose your snail?"
"No, sir," She replied politely. "I vanished it."
"Very good, Miss Granger. Take ten points to Slytherin." He beamed at her, before moving onto Black's table, where he had managed to turn his snail blue. Her eyes slid over to his seat partner and she almost gasped. Avery sat there, snorting and rolling his eyes, but amusement was written on his face. When he caught her eye, his eyes narrowed in recognition and he scowled.
Another fan of me.
"Evanesco," Cygnus murmured, jerking his wand. "Evanesco, evanesco,"
"You're doing it wrong," Hermione said, trying to sound gentle, but her voice came out bossy. Cygnus turned his dark eyes towards her, unblinking. "You move your wand like this." She demonstrated, and then looked at him expectantly.
He was silent for a few moments, and Hermione was debating about poking him to see if he was dead or not, but then he said quietly, "Why are you helping me?"
Hermione stared at him. "Because you looked like you needed help?"
"I don't want your help." Cygnus stood up as the bell rang, dropped his snail back into the box, and left the room swiftly. Hermione stared at the spot he had just been sitting in a couple of moments ago. What was his problem? If he didn't want it, or thought she was too bossy, he could've told her nicely.
She stormed over to where Black was sitting. Avery made a face at her, but Black just grinned, levitating his blue snail back towards the box. "What's up, Squirtle? See, I even modeled my snail after you."
Hermione ignored him. "Your brother is a prick." Avery raised his eyebrow at her flippant tone, but Black just laughed, standing up and gesturing for her to walk outside with him. She glanced over at Riddle and Eileen, but the two of them were in a heated debate about something, so she followed Black.
"Cy's quite nice, actually," Black glanced sideways at her as they walked towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts room. It was the last class Hermione had today, and she couldn't wait until she could go to the library.
"I could tell," Hermione muttered under her breath.
"He doesn't know how to open up to someone he's not comfortable with, though," Black replied easily. "If he likes you, he'll do anything for you."
"How exactly do you get him to like you?" Hermione asked. "Everything I've done has made him hate me even more."
"That is something you need to figure out yourself," Black said thoughtfully. "Want to know how I made him like me? I pulled down his underpants when he was two. We've been inseparable ever since."
Hermione looked at him wryly, but didn't respond.
There was a kind looking woman in the classroom, though her grey hair and wrinkles showed that she wasn't as young as Hermione would've expected for a job that required a lot of demonstration and moving around. "You must be Miss Granger!" The woman said cheerily. Hermione beamed back at her. "It's nice to have you in my class. I'm Professor Merrythought, and I'm your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Please make yourself comfortable."
Hermione nodded politely and looked around, noting that there were no name cards on the desk. Merrythought added, "In my class, you are free to sit wherever you would like. We move around a lot, so the seating arrangement doesn't matter much, anyways. Since this is a mixed Gryffindor and Slytherin class, though, Slytherin usually sit on the right, though there are some cases of house unity."
This was another Gryffindor and Slytherin class? Why was it that the school thought it was proper to put the enemy houses together? Black scowled when Merrythought mentioned house unity, and stalked over to the right side of the room, dropping his bag on a desk in the back.
"Why did you leave without me?" Eileen came into the room, scowling. Riddle followed, looking rather amused. He offered Merrythought a polite nod, and a huge smile broke on the professor's face. He caught the look Hermione was giving him and smirked at her.
Show off.
"Sorry," Hermione apologized as Eileen sat down next to her. Riddle, no doubt to infuriate her even more, sat in front of her. She scowled as he smirked at her. What had happened between the two of them? "I was too excited to get to class."
Eileen's face softened slightly, but Riddle ruined it by saying, "Of course you were."
Hermione scowled as Abraxas came stumbling in to the classroom. He offered a cheery hello and sat in front of Black. Merrythought bustled over to speak with him while beaming at Riddle at the same time.
Eileen nudged her. "You're a liar."
"What?"
"You said you didn't know them well," she jerked her chin towards the three boys who sat in front of them. Riddle was leaning towards Merrythought with a pleasant smile on his face, and the woman was getting flustered. Hermione rolled her eyes as Black purposely leaned closer. Really, flirting with the teacher? Why do I even put up with them?
"I don't," Hermione watched, thoroughly disgusted, as even Abraxas leaned back to join in on the conversation. She knew he had a policy about dating, but flirting didn't fall into that category, did it? Suddenly, Hermione was struck with how little of Abraxas she actually knew.
"Doesn't seem like it." Eileen said, looking at her. Hermione quickly shifted her eyes away. Why would she care if they were getting friendly with the teacher? It certainly wasn't her problem. Minerva McGonagall chose that moment to walk into the room, chatting with her friend. Her friend had hair so red she could've easily been a Weasley. Surprisingly, when Minerva saw Hermione, she motioned her friend to sit down and headed towards the Slytherin section of the room.
"Hi," she said stiffly, glancing at Riddle. He met her gaze coolly, before resuming his conversation with Abraxas. "I don't know if you remember me, but I'm-"
"Minerva McGonagall, the prefect." Hermione nodded. "Of course I remember you."
Minerva looked rather flattered. "I know you're in Slytherin, and Gryffindor and Slytherin don't usually get along, but if you need help, don't hesitate to ask me." Her eyes softened slightly, and Hermione finally saw her as a regular teenage girl rather than a rigid old woman.
Riddle finally turned around, raising an eyebrow. "Are you suggesting that I can't handle my own house, Minerva?" he asked softly.
"I am doing no such thing, Tom." Minerva harrumphed. "I'm just telling Hermione that if she ever needs a girl to talk to, I'm here for her."
"That's why there are two prefects for each house," Riddle drawled. "One boy and one girl. I see no need why she has to confide in you."
Minerva opened her mouth, anger etched on her face, but Hermione interrupted her. "Shut up, Riddle." She told him, and he smirked at her and held his hands up. She turned back to Minerva and said, "Thanks for your offer. I really appreciate it."
Minerva nodded once, threw a nasty glare at Riddle, and promptly turned on her heels and stalked off. "Bye Minnie!" Black called. Minerva looked around, noted that Merrythought was still deep in conversation with some other Gryffindor, spewed a very nasty word out of her mouth.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Black said, eyes wide. He dramatically placed his hand to cover his open mouth. "Who would've guessed that Minnie had a vocabulary like that?"
Hermione felt a little sympathy towards the girl."She did nothing to you," she informed Black coolly. "Leave her alone."
Black eyed her. "Oh no, you're not mad at me, are you? Squirtle's mad at me," he turned towards Abraxas and fake cried. "What am I ever going to do?" Merrythought had reappeared and was watching Hermione with interest. She had never wanted to punch Black more.
"Squirtle?" Eileen asked curiously.
"He thinks I'm short, so I'm a squirt. Apparently squirt sounds similar to Squirtle," Hermione explained. "Don't ask me to explain Black's logic. It used to be Shortcake."
"You are short."
Hermione crossed her arm. "We've been over this. No, I'm not."
"You're easily the shortest person in this room."
"Am not,"
"Are too,"
"Shut up, Black."
"Make me, Squirtle."
"I somehow can't take him seriously when he calls you that," Eileen murmured.
"I can't never take him seriously," Hermione rolled her eyes.
Black gasped dramatically. "Be nice."
"I am nice."
"Guys?" Abraxas interrupted them. He nodded at Hermione, who glared at him angrily for interrupting her feud with Black. "Hermione, there's someone here to see you." Riddle tensed up as he looked at the person behind her. Eileen turned around curiously as well. Slowly, Hermione turned herself around and saw a flash of blue. That was all the clarification she needed. She stood up quickly, the chair scraping the floor loudly. Merrythought looked up from where she was talking to Minerva and her friend, smiled, and made her way over the Slytherin side. However, before anyone could do anything, Hermione threw herself into his arms, almost knocking him down.
"Hi to you too," Nick said, spinning her around slightly. Hermione saw Eileen narrow her eyes at the color of Nick's robes. "How's your day so far?"
"It's good," Hermione said breathlessly, stepping back. His blue eyes twinkled as he stared down at her, a smile on his face. "I earned thirty points so far."
"I haven't earned one," Nick said, shrugging indifferently.
"That's not good," Hermione said. "You need to make sure to raise your hand in class. Most teachers give at least five points for a correct answer, and even if you're wrong, there's always next time, right? Don't tell me," Hermione's eyes grew wide. "You didn't answer every question wrong, did you?"
"Oh, I forgot, because to you, that's the worst thing that can happen," Nick rolled his eyes. "Relax. I haven't raised my hand yet, so I have a perfect record."
Hermione crossed her arms. "That's not much better."
"Not everyone can be a genius like you, Hermione." He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "I want to talk to you privately sometime. Want to meet somewhere?" Hermione nodded. "Astronomy tower at one?"
"Don't you need your beauty sleep?" Nick teased. "You need to be up fresh tomorrow, don't you? You don't want to oversleep again."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "I won't be getting much sleep tonight anyway." She told him. "My roommates aren't particularly happy with me right now, so I'm not going to go to sleep in front of them. Who knows what things I might find on myself when I wake up."
"You've managed to piss them off already?" Nick snorted. "Bravo."
"So, is it okay?" Hermione said, deciding to raise her voice above a whisper. If they kept talking softly, people would start to suspect something. More and more students piled into the room, and they were regarding the two of them with curiosity. It wasn't often that a Slytherin and a Gryffindor were civil towards each other.
"Of course," Nick replied, reaching towards her and squeezing her hand reassuringly. Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw Riddle tense up at the contact, but she pushed that thought out of her mind. "I'll see you around,"
With one last nod, he turned around and headed towards the Gryffindor side of the room. Hermione watched him go, before sliding back into her seat. Eileen nudged her. "Spill."
Hermione looked at her. "What?"
"You. Him." Eileen made a little heart with her hands.
"Don't be silly," Hermione chortled. "He's my best friend."
"Just because you're best friends doesn't mean you can't be in love," Black sang. To prove his point, his glanced towards Abraxas, wiggling his eyebrows. Abraxas rolled his eyes, but grinned at his friend nonetheless. Riddle, however, was still staring at her. Hermione couldn't tell if he was angry or indifferent, and she suddenly felt compelled to explain.
"He's my half brother," she added. "It feels kind of weird being anything but friends with him."
"He's your half brother?" Eileen asked, staring back and forth. "I couldn't tell."
"Well, obviously he wasn't born with blue hair."
Eileen looked like she wanted to say something else, but Merrythought chose that moment to clear her throat loudly. Abraxas turned around and shot Hermione a look, and she knew she had a lot of explaining to do.
ஐ
"This is awesome."
"Calm down, Squirtle. No need to wet your knickers," Black said, earning him a glare. "We eat here three times a day. You learn to get used to it."
"I don't think I'll ever get used to it," Hermione looked around in awe. The ceiling was bewitched to look like the sky outside, as she read in Hogwarts, A History. Still, not even the book could've prepared her for this. What a sight! It was truly a beautiful piece of magic.
She looked towards the staff table. Dippet sat with Dumbledore, Slughorn, and two other professors. Hermione guessed they were the Heads of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Merrythought was sitting two tables down, leaning into a male professor that Hermione had never seen before. Merrythought blushed and giggled, reminding Hermione of a teenage schoolgirl.
Speaking of schoolgirls…
Hermione glanced at Riddle, who was sitting across from her. Tracey almost sat on top of him, and Walburga leaned into his arm from the other side. The idea of Riddle in a threesome revolted Hermione so much she almost threw up all over Black. He looked at her amused, before returning to his conversation with Abraxas.
She had met Lestrange, another one of Riddle's lackies. Like Avery, the boy had also been held back a year. Riddle chooses all the stupid ones, eh? Hermione thought to herself. Maybe that way, it would prevent them from having the brains to rebel against him.
Crabbe and Goyle were another two Slytherins who Hermione was unfortunate enough to meet. They were both extremely slow, and Hermione wouldn't be surprised if they were the next Avery and Lestrange.
She had been introduced to some of the Quidditch players, and some other 'friends' of Riddle, but she could only remember names and faces, not being able to put them both together. She had eventually given up, but she spent all dinner getting stared at by people who she didn't know the names to.
"Cy," Black called over Hermione. She had been unlucky enough to be sitting next to Cygnus, but he had been focused on talking to Violetta, so he had ignored her the whole time. It was better that way. Cygnus turned towards his brother, his eyes hardening when he saw Hermione. Gritting her teeth to control her anger, she moved out of the way so the two brothers could talk.
"Did you ask Mother about the Hogsmeade permission slip?"
Cygnus nodded curtly. "She owled it to me yesterday. It's in my dorm. I'll give it to you tomorrow."
Black shook his head. "Keep it, just don't lose it before the trip."
"I won't." Cygnus turned back around to Violetta, who was waiting for him. Cygnus said something, causing the girl to giggle. Hermione hadn't seen the girl giggle like that, even when with Tracey and Walburga. She had forced some laughs, sure, but it never reached her eyes.
"What's Hogsmeade?" Hermione asked Black curiously. It sounded familiar, though she couldn't place a finger on where she heard it before.
"Something Squirtle doesn't know? The world is ending," Black grinned as she punched him in the arm. "Hogsmeade is a village close to Hogwarts. There's a lot of stores and students are allowed to go on weekends. Though, if two people go to Hogsmeade together, it often starts rumors that the two of them are in a relationship." He nudged Abraxas, who was sitting next to him. "Want to go with me?"
"In your dreams, Black," Abraxas stuffed another chocolate marshmellow into his mouth. "Go ask Eleanor. I'm sure she'll go with you."
"Aww, but you know I don't love her like I love youu," Black cooed, leaning towards Abraxas with his hands outstretched. A disgusted look crossed Abraxas's face as he pushed his friend away, though was unable to prevent a grin from appearing on his face. Hermione giggled at the sight; the two of them really were close.
Suddenlly, Black flew back into her, and she was knocked sideways. Unfortunately, she bumped into the person sitting next to her, which happened to be Cygnus. To make matters worse, he had been drinking out of his goblet, and the liquid inside covered both him and Violetta. Violetta squealed and jumped up, dabbing a napkin at her robes. Cygnus stood up as well, and assisted her out of the Great Hall, but not before glaring at Hermione. She sighed.
Tracey and Walburga didn't even look up as their friend rushed out of the Hall to go and clean her robes. Some friends they are. Riddle, however, smirked at her. He obviously was not paying too much attention to what the two girls were doing to him, and Hermione had to admit that they were stupider than she thought. Did they not notice that Riddle was not responding, or were they just trying to ignore it?
"Nice job, Squirtle," Black snorted. "Real smooth."
He had been the reason why this incident had occurred, but Hermione was too tired to tell him that. She stood up abruptly, and began packing her bag. The grin slid off Black's face, and for once, he looked at her seriously.
"Did I offend you?" He asked. "I'm sorry. You don't need to leave."
Hermione blinked at him. "Who are you, and what have you done with Black?" she asked, slightly relieved when his trademark smirk returned. "I promised Eileen I would meet her in the library." And I need to prepare to go meet with Nick.
"See you then, Squirtle," Black waved cheerfully at her. Abraxas nodded, and resume his conversation with Eleanor. "Quidditch tryouts are tomorrow at ten. Don't be late."
"Nice try, Black," she called at, and he grinned at her. As she headed out of the Hall, she snuck a glance at the Gryffindor table and saw Nick looking right at her. He tilted his head questioningly.
"Library," she mouthed.
Nick rolled his eyes, but grinned. He shooed her away. Ron, who he was talking to, noticed Hermione and offered her a small smile. Hermione knew that he didn't feel comfortable talking to her because she was in Slytherin, but she was grateful for these small gestures.
It wasn't until she got out of the Great Hall that she found it.
Later, when she tried to recall the memory, she could never remember why she did it. She couldn't remember what had tempted her. Her wand was in her pocket, but she didn't need to pull it out at that moment. Whatever the reason, Hermione had decided to stick her hands in her pocket, slightly surprised when her hand brushed against a small slip of paper.
She pulled it out and read it under the castle torches, the seven words printed on the sheet causing her to freeze and her brain to stop working.
I know your secret. I'm watching you.
To Be Continued…
