Author's Note: Yeah, so I finally got off my lazy butt and wrote this chapter. It's been a pretty long time since I last updated, and I realized that the pace of the story is going extremely slowly, so I sped things up a bit this chapter. There are very little TomxHermione moments this chapter, but you'll have to deal with it. It exploits a different side of this very complicated fic. (in my mind, anyway.)

On a second note, I finished my other fic, Back to the Past. It's two chapters long and was for a challenge, so check that out if you have time. Also, I have a new fic featuring some drabbles I write. It's currently at one, but read it if you want to see a collection of pointless drabbles featuring Tom and Hermione.

Once again, thank you to everyone who reviewed! (And waited so long for the next chapter.)

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Meep. I kind of gave up on answering every review…don't hate meee. I'll answer the ones with questions here, and those that don't have questions…well, you know I love you, right? ;) It's just…I'm a terribly lazy person.

Mugglebornsrule: technically speaking, Tom already 'loves' Hermione, in his standards. But we'll see if he can take it even further. And I will keep quiet about the spies; don't want to spoil it for you. It'll start focusing on the Grindelwald's daughter perceptive. Starting with this chapter.

**THIS IS UNBETA'ED**


Nick was still rather pissed off about being flung to the wall by Tom, so Hermione sat with him and his fellow Gryffindor friends on the way to Hogwarts, much to Tom's displeasure. He tried to storm in to the compartment and drag her off, attempting to curse everyone in his path. However, Hermione sealed the door off the muggle way by piling their luggage against the door. Before Tom could blast the door off, the trolley woman walked by, frowning slightly. Tom had no choice but to smile politely and return to his compartment.

He was extremely angry by the time they got back to school. Hermione, on the other hand, was just happy to be back at Hogwarts. She had been worried through the entire winter break that her father would call her back, but she hadn't. The only thing that made her slightly worried was the fact that she hadn't heard a peep from him, but she quickly brushed it from her mind, telling herself she was thinking too much.

Nevertheless, while she was floating in her happy bubble, Tom's anger was building. And Tom combined with anger never resulted in something good.

Her first class back, potions, started off rather awkwardly. Tom was ignoring her, and she could feel dark waves rolling off of him as he scowled at the class. The rest of the class looked quite surprised that the usually perfect Prefect could show such an ugly face. It seemed that Tom didn't even bother to keep up his perfect student act. Tracey looked rather disheartened at his mood, but then glared at Hermione as if it were her fault. Which, she supposed, it kind of was.

Black was sitting in front of her, and he was making a show of speaking to everyone but Hermione. When he accidently dropped his quill near her feet and she bent down to pick it up for him, he made a show of turning around and waiting for her to drop the quill again to pick it off the floor. Eleanor shot her a questioning glance, but Hermione merely shook her head. She had been meaning to tell Black about the cat, but she had forgotten and hadn't made a good enough excuse of why it was suddenly missing. However, she didn't think it was entirely fair how childish he was acting.

Abraxas, being the ever helpful friend, tried to cover up the awkward silence over the group as the class waited for Slughorn to arrive. People were shooting them glances as the usually tight group sat in silence, with Black trying to force a conversation with Eleanor. "So," he said awkwardly. "How was your break?"

However, Hermione's happy mood had been dampened, and she wasn't in the mood to converse. She snapped at him, "You were with me the whole time. Why don't you tell me?"

Abraxas frowned, but took the hint and stopped talking. Hermione sighed; she would've gotten up and moved next to Cygnus and Violetta, except the two of them seemed quite cozy and she didn't want to third wheel their relationship. She noticed Black was also determinedly not looking over at the couple. Trying to talk to Eleanor while avoiding looking at both Hermione and his brother proved to be a very difficult task, and he eventually gave up and stopped talking, glaring holes in to the wall.

"Miss Granger," Slughorn stepped in to the room, followed by Gabriel, who was grinning stupidly. He looked like an older version of Abraxas, but his face was pointier and a permanent jeer seemed to be stamped on his face. Abraxas seemed to tense slightly, before he relaxed and stared at his brother with a cold glare. The latter merely winked at him. "Would you come with me for a second?"

Abraxas shot her a worried glance. Apparently, Gabriel had been missing for most of break, coming home only to get his stuff before leaving again. He refused to answer any questions about his whereabouts, only getting angry when he was questioned. The last Abraxas had heard from his brother, he had gotten mad at Lady Malfoy and had stomped out of the house. Lady Malfoy had fallen down in shock; her most prized possession, her baby, was treating her like trash.

Hermione didn't have much sympathies towards the woman; she no doubt deserved it. However, she was still wary of Gabriel; the boy had seemed quite close to his mother when she was still working as a slave. What caused the certain change of behavior?

Black glanced back, seemingly curious. He looked over at Hermione, remembered that he was ignoring her, and then turned back towards the wall. Tom, on the other hand, didn't show any sign that he heard Slughorn. He busied himself with his papers, not even stopping to acknowledge Tracey, who was trying to worm herself in to her lap.

Hermione just shrugged. She wasn't appreciated here anyway. With a quick reassuring nod to Abraxas, she stood up and followed Slughorn out of the room. Gabriel leered at her when she walked past him, and it took a lot of her restraint to just walk past him without stomping on his foot like she wanted to do.

Ten minutes later, Hermione sat in the Head Boy's room, groaning. Why had she agreed to this? Why had she let Slughorn rope her in to this mad business? There had to be so many more people who were more able at tutoring than she was. Take Tom, for example. He was the perfect student; there was no way he would risk his reputation refusing an offer like this. Why did Slughorn have to come ask her?

Hermione glared darkly at Gabriel, who had his back turned and was retrieving something from his bag. He requested her, of course, though she did not particularly know why. And anything he requested for had to be granted, because he was the new Head Boy.

If Hermione thought Dippet was off his rocker before, he certainly was absolutely insane in her mind now. Why would he put Gabriel, of all people, in the Head Boy position? Dumbledore mostly certainly would not have approved of this, but it was Dippet who had the most power in this school. And though Dumbledore often swayed his decision quite a bit, it was Dippet who had the final say.

Alphard, as she expected, had been removed from the Head Boy post. Slughorn had told her with a straight face that Alphard unfortunately ran in to some wild beasts in the Forbidden Forest and fell off a tree, losing his memory as a result. Either Slughorn had turned in to an extraordinary liar over the break, or that was what Tom told him and he just believed it. It was probably the latter, Hermione reasoned with herself; Dumbledore must've become suspicious, and he had made it up on the spot. Not that it was a good story to ease someone's suspicions, but all the other teachers seemed to buy it.

But still. Gabriel, as a replacement? Did Tom suggest that too?

"I see why my brother hangs around you," Gabriel sat down entirely too close to her. Hermione noticed the way he was trying to peak up her robes and she moved away, glaring. Gabriel laughed, a mean sort of sound coming out of his mouth. Hermione kept her hand around her wand, just in case he tried something funny. "Who knew you were hiding those goods underneath those shaggy robes?"

"I'm here to tutor you," Hermione said in a business-like tone. "You're the one who requested me. If you don't want to work, you can go tell Professor Slughorn that you decided to change your mind." She hoped he would, but no such luck.

"Oh, you're going to tutor me, all right," Gabriel leaned in, his breath foul. He placed his hand on her cheek and she slapped it away. It only seemed to encourage him, as he chuckled. "Whoever said anything about schoolwork?"

Hermione was across the room in a second. Unfortunately for her, the door was behind Gabriel, and she would have to get past him to get to it. She pointed her wand at him, and Gabriel cackled. "Put that away," he snipped. "No need to get so defensive."

Hermione's eyes widened in recognition. "Bellatrix?"

"You do know me!" An ugly expression crossed Gabriel's face. Hermione didn't know if he was just under the Imperius curse, or if Bellatrix had taken over his body. So Gabriel was the spy at Hogwarts? Why hadn't she seen it before? Abraxas had pointed out multiple times how he seemed to disappear mysteriously, always avoiding questions.

It was too easy, though. It seemed like Bellatrix wanted to through some suspicion on Gabriel, and then retreat when it got too complicated. That way, no one would ever suspect anyone other than Gabriel for all the crimes she would commit. And if she stayed with Grindelwald, there was no way to get to her unless Grindelwald himself was defeated first. And that, Hermione knew, was a nearly impossible task.

There were so many things Hermione could've said, but the first thing that popped out of her mouth was, "Were you just looking up my robes?"

"I had to stay in character, honey," Gabriel—or rather, Bellatrix—sniggered. "Unlike you. You've turned in to a big softy, haven't you? You are a disgrace to the Grindelwald line." She, too, retrieved her wand—or maybe it was Gabriel's—out of her robe pocket.

Hermione froze; she sure did have a lot of nerve, saying his name in Hogwarts. But then again, she was safely tucked away somewhere, while Hermione was still out in the open. She had more risk than Bellatrix did. There was no explosions, though, so Hermione figured she should be fine.

"Funny you should say that," Hermione said coldly. "When you yourself aren't even part of it."

Bellatrix's face twisted in fury. It had always been a known fact, even when they were still young, that Bellatrix yearned to be a direct descendent of Grindelwald. She had always been jealous of Hermione, saying that she herself was clearly the more worthy heir. It had been something Hermione had always bragged about, but now that she was more grown up, she wished that she was just a normal person with a normal family.

Unfortunately, there was nothing normal about her.

"Shut up!" Bellatrix cried. "I am clearly more worthy than you! You are a pathetic excuse for a heir. You can't even go on a mission without falling in love," she sniggered. "Do you think your true love will save you? You are an enemy from both sides. You are a traitor for the light, and a failure for the dark. There's no place in the middle, dear." Bellatrix grinned insanely. "Where will you go?"

That seemed to sum up her situation quite nicely, but Hermione wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of letting her know that she was right. "That is none of your business." Hermione said coldly.

"Oh, but it is." Bellatrix cackled delightfully. "Because when you get shunned by the light side, and my Lord finally realizes what a dead sack you are and drop you, I will be there." She smiled sweetly, and if Hermione didn't know better, she would think that she was just another innocent little girl.

If only Bellatrix was innocent.

Hermione didn't even deem herself with a response and tried to step around Bellatrix. Unfortunately, she was still in Gabriel's body. His muscular build blocked the entire door. "Now, don't run away, Hermy," Bellatrix sniggered. "We haven't had fun yet."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, but quickly threw herself to the side as a curse shot out of her wand. Of course; fun in Bellatrix's mind meant having Hermione squirm for hours under the Cruciatus curse. Her suspicions were only proven to be true when Bellatrix waved her wand again. It hit the painting on the wall, which crashed down noisily.

"Come on," Bellatrix taunted as Hermione dodged another curse. There was a glint in Bellatrix's eyes, one that reminded Hermione quite a lot of her father. She herself had never learned that particular skill, nor had she wanted to. Just glaring coldly was enough to make most people falter. "You can do better than that, Hermy."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, dodging another curse that looked quite like the Cruciatus. If a girl like her could ever love anything, it would be that unforgivable curse. "I was giving you a head start, Bellatrix. You'll need it."

Bellatrix snarled, her face darkening considerably. It was weird seeing such a menacing look on Gabriel's face. Usually, a loopy grin or a wicked jeer was on his face. He was more childish than dangerous. Bellatrix, however, was the complete opposite.

"Fine," Hermione's voice was deathly cold. She felt the rush of adrenaline flow through her. After she had come to Hogwarts, ever since she had stopped living under her father's wing to track targets daily, she had forgotten how it felt to fight. How good it felt to wave her wand in the familiar patterns. She never told anyone, but she secretly loved the exhilaration of a fight. She didn't particularly enjoy hurting people, but a casual, intense duel was something she loved to do. "You want to play? Let's play, then."

She had always been a natural born fighter. Even her father admitted so. But there was always something that she could learn. After spending slightly more than a half a year around Tom, she had started to pick up some things from him. It was his style, but she copied it anyway; she pushed people the way he did, throwing curse after curse to overwhelm the opponent.

Five minutes later, Bellatrix lay on the ground, a long cut on her cheek. Her wand was in Hermione's hand, and Hermione's own wand was pointed at Bellatrix's head. Bellatrix's grin vanished when she noticed the position she was in, and she glared up at Hermione.

Hermione, however, just calmly twirled Bellatrix's wand in her hand. It was yet another habit she picked up from Tom. "Once again, I win." She said softly. "No surprise there."

Bellatrix let out a loud screech, and suddenly the door burst open. Abraxas stood there, his eyes wide open as he took in the scene. Hermione became aware that Bellatrix was still in Gabriel's body, and she was currently pointing her wand at his head.

"How did you get in here?" Bellatrix demanded from her spot on the floor. "There's a password to the room."

"I—Slughorn gave me the password. He said how family should get to share the honor," he shuffled around uncomfortably. "Hermione, what are you doing? I heard a yell from outside."

Bellatrix must've been incredibly loud, then, for Abraxas to have been able to hear her from all the way outside. But then again, the girl didn't know how to be quiet.

"She cursed me," Bellatrix butt in before Hermione could say anything, the girl sending her an insane grin. "Just because I didn't get a problem and she couldn't explain it to me. I can't help it that she's such a bad tutor."

"Knowing you, you probably peaked up her robes," Abraxas muttered. Bellatrix's face fell, but to Hermione's displeasure, Abraxas went to help his brother up. "I know he's an idiot, Hermione, but try to refrain from cursing him in the future." He paused. "He's the only brother I have."

And thank Merlin for that, Hermione thought to herself. There was no need for more Gabriels running around the place. Or more Bellatrix's, for the matter.

She was in a stuck position; she couldn't reveal who was inhibiting Gabriel's body, because Bellatrix would no doubt retaliate and drop the bomb on who Hermione's father was. The two girls looked at each other and compromised; neither of them would talk. If she wasn't so scared, if she was as brave as Nick, she would just turn both herself and Bellatrix in. But since she was nowhere near where Nick was, she kept her mouth shut.

As Abraxas helped his brother, Bellatrix shot Hermione a triumphant grin as the latter picked herself up and trudged out of the room. Abraxas barely looked at her as she left. As quickly as they had come, now her three closest companions were all mad at her in some way. And it was then when she finally understood why Grindelwald was so against friends.

They really could break your heart with just the smallest of actions.

'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I accidently left the door open and the cat ran away.' Too convenient, and the less likely he was to believe it. And honestly, it wasn't like her to make such a clumsy mistake. Worse, he would ask her where she was.

'I was experimenting on it, and it accidently grew wings and flew away. Unfortunate side effect.' That sounded too cruel, and she wasn't sure he would forgive her after he heard that. She wouldn't be pleased if she learned that her gift was being used as a lab rat.

'My dad hates pets and he gave it away.' It was the closest to the truth as she could get, but it would make him slightly suspicious. He would want to meet her dad, and of course he couldn't do it. Nobody could ever do so and expect to live afterwards.

However, Hermione was spared of having to knock when the door flew open and she was face to face with Black. His hair was wet and messy, symbolizing that he had probably taken a shower. He stared at her, and she opened her mouth to explain before he could shut the door in her face. She stuck her foot out as a precaution, in case he decided to slam it. To her surprise, he motioned for him to follow her as he went in to the room. Hesitating slightly, wondering if this was some kind of trap, she followed him inside.

She had seen the inside of the Gryffindor dormitory, and it was a complete pigsty. Ron didn't particularly seem to care where he tossed his stuff, and Nick had better things to do with his time than slowly organize his belongings. And Seamus, who was a potion disaster, seemed to be able to blow up everything he came in contact with.

However, while Hermione never prided herself with being particularly neat, the Slytherin boys' dormitory was ten times more organized than her own. While she had never expected somewhat like Tom to be a complete mess, she hadn't expected this either. She stepped in to the room, and she thought she even saw the floor sparkle. That was quite a feat, considering the floor was covered in carpet.

"Hermione," Abraxas greeted curtly from his bed. He still hadn't gotten over the fact that she had been cursing his brother—or who he thought was his brother. It infuriated him even more when Hermione refused to say to justify her actions. What could she have said? There wasn't much she could do when she was found in that position, especially when Bellatrix was right there, ready to blurt out all her secrets.

Tom was lying on his bed, reading a dark covered book. He raised his eyes to meet hers when she walked in the room. Unlike earlier, there was little anger in them. However, she had found out with Tom, nonchalance was nearly as bad. Tom could curse someone with a nonchalance expression—heck, he could curse someone while grinning.

Black sat down on his bed. Upon receiving no invitation, she sat down awkwardly on the floor.

Black was looking at her expectantly. "Look," she began uncertainly, making stuff up as she went. "It was an…unfortunate turn of events, but—"

"You're pathetic," Tom called from his bed. Hermione turned and glared at him, but his focus wasn't on her. "Why don't you just tell him straight out? She was kidnapped, and she saved her own life instead of the cat's." His eyes flicked to Hermione. "Your attempts to apologize are pathetic." Hermione merely crossed her arms and looked pointedly away from him.

Black blinked. "Is that true?"

That was just skimming the surface, but it was better than whatever she had been about to say. She nodded, a little scared what his reaction would be. After all, Abraxas had said he cared quite a lot about the cat. What if he still blamed her? Surely, there had to be some way she could save it?

She was still wondering how it got sent to Grindelwald's headquarters. She doubt that the owl would've found her in the building, so it must've delivered it somewhere else. Maybe to the orphanage, or to the Weasley's house? That would mean that Grindelwald specifically went to get it. Hermione gritted her teeth; sometimes, she really hated the fact of how much power he held over her.

Fortunately, Black's face broke in to a grin that she had missed in the last week. "I'm so glad you're alright," he said, reaching over to hug her, and then quickly pulling away at Tom's dark glare. "Oops, sorry, I tripped."

Hermione smiled back; Bellatrix had said that she was a less than worthy spy because she let her feelings get in her way. But if she could feel like this daily, she would happily take her unworthy status. Hermione decided that there were just some things in life that were more important, and seeing Black's cheerful and concerned smile, she knew exactly what those things were.

And just like that, she was forgiven. If she had known it would be so easy, she would've apologized a long time ago.

"Hermione," Tom ordered, placing a bookmark in his book and snapping it shut, throwing it on to his desk. He patted the spot next to him. "Come here."

Hermione sat down next to him. "Thank you," she said. She knew it was wise not to bring up her earlier decision to sit with Nick on the train. Tom's and Nick's relationship had gotten worse. After her little encounter with Bellatrix, she wanted to go talk to Nick about it. She had witnessed a rather physical encounter with the two of them in each other's faces, hissing threats. She finally managed to drag Nick away, but she decided to hold her information for later. Nick had been clearly enraged, and Hermione doubted he would've heard anything she said.

"I didn't do it for you," Tom said, looking rather amused. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "There's still something you're not telling me. But that something is only for me."

"So only you can know about it?" Hermione's lip quirked up.

"Exactly."

Judging from the way he was talking to her, Abraxas hadn't yet told him about her encounter with Gabriel. If he did, Tom would've been questioning her about it already. She was thankful for that, and she caught Abraxas' eyes and gave him a small smile. If he returned it, it was extremely miniscule and unnoticeable.

"So, Hermione," Black grinned innocently. "You know how—"

"No."

"I haven't said anything!"

"Yes you have." Hermione looked at him sternly. "Do your own homework, Black. I'm not going to let you copy mine."

"But Herrmyyyy," Black crooned, and Hermione automatically flinched. Stupid, she told herself. It was a perfectly reasonable nickname. It just happened to be the nickname Bellatrix had been calling her ever since the two had met.

She shouldn't fear Bellatrix. She really shouldn't. She could easily beat Bellatrix in a duel. However, ever since they were young, it was always she and Nick who got punished. Bellatrix always seemed to get away with everything. She also harbored quite a big hatred towards Hermione, and she attended almost every one of Hermione's torture sessions. Hermione could still remember the maniacal look on her face as Bellatrix pushed her off a broom three stories high.

Bellatrix might as well be Grindelwald's own daughter, from the way he was completely spoiling her rotten.

Black didn't notice her silence, but Tom, being ever so perceptible, did. It also helped that he was watching her intently. "What?" he asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Nothing."

"Didn't look like nothing."

"That's rich, coming from you, Mister Mysterious."

Tom raised an eyebrow, but thankfully didn't pursue the topic. "Mister Mysterious? Aren't you awfully creative?"

Hermione laughed. "At least I'm not the person who came up with Walmart."

"What's a Walmart?" Black asked Abraxas, but the boy just shrugged. "Is it a nut? Like a walnut?" Another shrug from Abraxas. "Oh, is it those flavored types? Let me guess—it's blueberry. I like blueberry." This time, Abraxas just rolled his eyes and ignored his friend.

"How do you even come up with that? Why use a 'w' as the first letter?" Hermione continued. By now, she really had no idea what she was saying. "Why not use something like…a 'v?' Valmart sounds cool too, doesn't it?"

It was Tom's turn to flinch.

"What?" Hermione asked, even though she already knew the answer.

Tom's lips quirked up. "Nothing."

The two of them stared at each other, neither of them backing down, before the door banged open. In strolled Cygnus, Violetta following behind him. Hermione wondered if what Nick told her was correct. They did seem slightly more comfortable with each other, but she wasn't entirely sure. Her gaze dropped to Violetta's hand, and she found it. Hermione sighed and looked worriedly at Black, who hadn't noticed yet. He, especially, was going to take the news rather hard.

"Hey, Cy," Black called cheerfully. "Been doing some naughty things? Your robes are inside out."

Cygnus started and looked down, only to glare darkly at his brother for tricking him. Black laughed and tried to sit up, rolling off the bed in the process. Abraxas rolled his eyes at his friend, who was proclaiming the fact that he was dying from head trauma. Cygnus, however, looked uncertain. "Actually, that's what I want to talk to you about."

"You want to ask me for advice on making out?" Black repeated from his spot on the floor. "I'll admit that I am the most experienced person, but I'm not going to share with you." He wrinkled his nose. "Ew."

"No!" Cygnus said, and then took a deep breath, looking around the room. Violetta herself looked quite nervous as well, but Hermione shot her a reassuring smile. "There's something I need to tell you."

He pulled Violetta in front of him and raised her hand for everyone to see. "Vi and I are engaged."

There was complete silence. Tom, eloquent as always, broke the silence and said, "That's nice." He went back to his book. Violetta looked slightly crestfallen at his response, but it was Tom they were talking about. Hermione had expected him to completely ignore them.

Abraxas looked slightly confused at the lack of excitement. "Congrats," he told Cygnus sincerely. He glanced over at Hermione. "Did you already know?"

"Yeah. Nick met them in Diagon Alley," Hermione said, and then smiled. "Congratulations. You two will make the best couple." It was a little early to be marrying, but with the threat of Grindelwald always looming over their heads, many people decided to get married young. Also, with Violetta's health condition, Hermione supposed that they wanted to get married as early as they could.

Hermione then glanced over at Black, who was still on the floor, staring in shock. The smile started to slid off Cygnus' face as he looked at his brother. "Orion…" he trailed off. It was obvious how much his brother's approval meant to him.

Black swallowed, and then forced a cheerful grin to his face. "Congrats, you two." He waggled his eyebrow at them. "I expect lots of babies." Violetta blushed, and Cygnus visibly relaxed. However, Hermione could still see the obvious sadness in his façade. Black wasn't Tom, after all; he didn't have the perfect acting skills.

Black stumbled to his feet. "Excuse me," he said, pushing past Violetta and his brother. "I need to get some fresh air." He made his way shakily out of the room, letting the door slam behind him. The room was filled with awkward silence, as the two recently engaged people shifted around uncomfortably, wondering what they could've possibly done wrong.

"I'll go get him," Hermione said gently after no one moved. Tom looked up from his book, but before he could stop her, she sprinted out of the room.

She found him on the Astronomy tower.

"How does he stand this?" Black asked quietly without turning around as she approached him. The sun was just beginning to set, and the sky displayed a series of pretty reds and oranges and yellows. A cool wind was blowing as the snow that had been covering the ground for so long began to melt slightly. The green tips of the grass began poking its way, breaking the surface of the snow.

"Who?" Hermione stood next to him, giving him the space he needed but was close enough for comfort.

"Porter," Black said sourly, and Hermione blinked; what did Nick have to do with this? "He can stand there and watch you prance around with Tom, yet he can stand there and pretend to be happy." There was a bitter tone in his voice. "He must be a phenomenal actor."

"You're wrong," Hermione shook her head. "Nick doesn't think of me like that. We're best friends. We have been best friends ever since we were born." It had been written, even before they were born. Their moms had been almost inseparable. It was only fitting to have their children nearly be the same.

Black snorted. It sounded rather pathetic and halfhearted. "Just because you don't like him doesn't mean he doesn't like you."

"Nick and I are practically siblings!" Hermione said, rather appalled at the conversation. When she had chased after him, she had expected to comfort him about Violetta, not get in to an argument about whether or not Nick had feelings for her or not. She knew he didn't have feelings about her; it was too dangerous for him to. He had told her that before, but she couldn't tell Black; he would wonder exactly why it was dangerous, and she couldn't say anything.

"Practically doesn't mean a thing," his eyes darkened. "Violetta and I were practically siblings. Didn't stop me, did it?" His hand gripped the windowsill tightly, his knuckles turning white and his jaw clenched.

"Oh, Black…" Hermione moved towards him, and placed her hand on his arm. That was what triggered it.

In a second, he had her in a tight embrace and was soaking the front of her robes with his tears. "I can't help it," Black sobbed. Hermione awkwardly patted his back. She had known that he loved Violetta, but she hadn't expected his feelings to be so deep. "I tried to stop. I really tried."

"It's okay. You can't help it sometimes," she thought of her own situation. How easy would it have been to not let her feelings get away, to not care about her friends. As her father often said, having friends would just weigh you down. She would've been free. But never, if given the chance, would she have go back and change the friendship she had formed.

She had been taught the feelings were bad things while she was growing up. But now that she had come face to face with them, she had serious doubts about that. Life was about sacrifice. She had to learn what things were worth gaining, and what things were worth letting go.

"I want to be happy for them," Black mumbled. "But I just can't. I feel like my heart if breaking in to two."

Hermione, who had never really been in a situation like this before, said the first thing that popped in to her mind, "Who would've guessed that the number one heartthrob of Hogwarts was a major romantic sap?"

Black lifted his head and glared at her. "You suck."

"Very advanced vocabulary."

"Poopy. Butt face."

Hermione sighed. "It looks like you're back to normal."

Black shook his head and held his hand above his heart. "Nope, I'm not. My heart still hurts like crazy."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Take some tums, then."

"Tums?" Black blinked, looking rather confused. "What's tums? Is it like a tummy?" He wrinkled his nose. "You want me to eat your tummy?"

"No," Hermione rolled her eyes. "Do you want my help or not?"

"Yes," Black responded. "But you're not being very helpful. You told me to eat a tummy." He let out a gasp. "You didn't mean Tom did you? You want me to eat Tom?" Black paused. "I don't think that will end well. He'll blast me to Antarctica if I even get two feet near him."

"I don't know why I even bothered to feel bad for you," Hermione sighed. "You clearly are perfectly fine."

"No, don't stop," he gave her his best puppy eyes, which, Hermione had to admit, were quite effective. No one seemed to be able to pull it off quite like him. "It helps if we talk about other things to take my mind off the subject." Hermione just shrugged, motioning for him to go on. She doubted that she would've been much of a help if they stayed on the topic of Violetta, anyway. "Okay. What's with you and Abraxas?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Nothing is with me and Abraxas."

"Could've fooled me. He walked in looking like you pulled out your mad kneeing skills again," Black barely had time as Hermione swung up her knee to demonstrate her said skills. He laughed. "Come on, it can't be that bad."

Hermione shrugged and looked away. "He walked in on me cursing his brother."

"Ouch," unlike Abraxas, he didn't seem enraged by that idea. In fact, he seemed rather amused. "But it's you, though. You don't do anything without a purpose. He probably looked up your robe or something."

"Funny," Hermione smirked. "That's exactly what Abraxas said."

"Great minds think alike," Black proclaimed. "Except my mind is great, and the other one clearly is not." He paused, getting serious again. "Abraxas, though he often doesn't look like it, cares a great deal about his brother. Gabriel used to be his role model, and Abraxas would follow him around wherever he went. It was impossible to separate him from his older brother."

"Used to be his role model?" Hermione raised an eyebrow. "So who's his role model now? Tom?"

Black shot her a look of mock hurt. "Me, of course. Everyone wants to be just like me." He struck a pose. "I'm perfect."

"Of course," Hermione nodded.

"I don't really like Gabriel though," Black said rather loudly. He frowned dramatically. "He's taking over my spot of the top pervert in the school. It's really not cool. Now I can't even look up someone's skirt without thinking that Gabriel had looked at the same things."

Hermione laughed. "Only you, Black."

"Actually, no," he grinned cheekily. "There's only one girl's skirt I even want to look up…" he trailed off, and a frown appeared on his face once again. Hermione sighed; once again, they had gotten to the forbidden topic of Violetta.

Thankfully, Black didn't ponder too long and changed the subject. "So, what's up with you and Tom?" he asked, eyeing her cautiously. Hermione just shrugged, unsure of the answer herself. He could be concerned about her, and then automatically flip and start cursing her. It made her feel like all the moments he had seemed to 'care' about her were all an act.

"You act so oblivious to it. No one can be sure if you really don't know, or if you're just acting." Hermione blinked at him in surprise. "Abraxas, for one, finds it extremely annoying how the two of you just fight every chance you get. That's not normal."

"Because Tom and I are the definition or normal," Hermione argued back.

"True," Black shrugged. "We're not asking you to get all lovey-dovey." He paused. "Though that certainly would be interesting to see. Can you imagine Tom saying 'I love you?'" He laughed, before noticing the ugly look on Hermione's face. "Oops, were you expecting to hear that?"

"No," Hermione clipped. She had known that it was impossible, but having it thrown in her face like that still stung. "I was expecting to hear why you think it's necessary for you to intrude in my life."

"I have proclaimed myself as your official match maker," Black declared, either oblivious or ignoring her tone. "You two are fine, but both Abraxas and I agree that you two need to share more…emotion."

"Tom and I share plenty of emotion," Hermione replied hotly, wondering why he was suddenly so interested.

"Yes, you share anger," Black frowned, as if it really troubled him. "Every time I see you two, you're trying to hurt him physically."

"So you're concerned about his looks," Hermione said flatly. "I won't hurt him too badly. He can still have his pretty face. His other parts, I'm not sure."

Black sighed dramatically. "You're purposely making this difficult for me, aren't you?"

"Listen. Tom and I get along just fine. This is how we communicate with each other. I appreciate your concern, but I certainly am not going to go up to him and snog him senseless and declare my love for him."

"Hey, that was your idea, not mine."

Hermione glared at him. "We're changing subjects."

"So impatient, Hermione," Black tsked, grinning slightly. However, before he could say anything else, his head was suddenly flung forward and his lips brushed against hers. It was only for a second or two, but there was the unmistakable flash of the camera. Followed by some giggling.

"Gotcha!" the invisible person squealed happily, and they charged away. Hermione tensed; she knew that voice. Just how many times a day did Bellatrix have to annoy her? Wasn't it enough having that much power over her head? Did she have to flaunt it too? Furthermore, what on earth did she want that picture for?

"I'm sorry," Black said shakily. "I'll explain to Tom."

It was obvious that that idea was less than appealing to Black. Hermione forgot sometimes of how superior Tom was to the rest of his followers, and how his followers were deathly afraid of him. Spending time with Abraxas and Black, they often covered it up amidst their joking, and Tom usually tried to keep his cursing to a minimum. But in reality, Tom had a lot of power over his followers.

"It's okay," Hermione said softly. "I'll talk to Tom myself. And if he doesn't understand it, then that's too bad for him. It wasn't your fault."

"Noo," Black moaned. "I have failed you, Abraxas. I have lead to another argument between Hermione and Tom. Please forgive me. Don't whip me."

"Don't be silly," Hermione scolded. "Tom and I will not argue. If he tries anything, I'll just knee him again and walk away." Black visibly gulped. "And Abraxas does not have whips."

"He does!" Black nodded excitedly, like a child opening a Christmas gift. "It was for his horse, but after he gave it away, he still kept the whip. He had to do something with it, didn't he? It was nice on display, but apparently whipping me was a better source of entertainment."

"Liar."

Black grinned cheekily. "It was worth a shot."

"Abraxas had a horse?"

"Abraxas has everything," Black said. "He's rich, in case the mansion escaped your notice. Anything he wants, he gets. The Malfoys have been learned to spoil their heirs rotten. It explains the current state Abraxas is in, anyway," Black made a face.

"What about you?" Hermione asked. "You're rich too, aren't you? The Blacks are a long line of powerful, wealthy purebloods."

"Yes," Black shifted uncomfortably. "I usually try not to ask Wallie's parents for too much, and they don't offer. I have to ask them for whatever I want. They give it to me without protest, but sometimes I can see that they really just wish I would be quiet." He shuffled around. "I don't really ask for more than food and supplies nowadays."

Hermione looked at him. "You are a really great man, Orion Black." She said, and Black looked at her, surprised. "Whichever lady who gets to start a family with you in the future will be the luckiest of them all." And she truly meant what she said. It was too bad that she seemed to like dangerous, sadistic wizards when there were other, kinder men out there. But then again, Tom was one of a kind, and she liked unique people.

Black sighed and looked back outside. "I don't think I'll get over it," he said quietly. "It'll probably lessen over time, but I think I'll always love her, just because I've known her for so long. I tried to distract myself, but obviously, my thoughts keep flowing back to her." Black let out a frustrated growl. "Sometimes I wish Cy wasn't my brother, so I can beat the crap out of him."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "You have to move on, Black." It wasn't the most helpful thing that she could say, but it was all she could come up with at the moment. Maybe even Tom was better at consolation than she was. She was really terrible at this.

"I will." He closed his eyes and sunk to the floor. Hermione sat down next to him. "Just…give me some time, okay? I'll get better with time." There were no more tears flowing, but the pained look on his face just said everything.

And she gave him time. She stayed with him the rest of the night.

Hermione woke up the next morning with Black's head propped against her shoulder as the two of them slept peacefully. They hadn't found the strength to drag themselves back to the Slytherin common room. Hopefully, the person who had taken the picture of their supposed 'kiss' didn't come back and take one of the two of them sleeping. There would be enough rumors as it was.

Not that she was particularly worried about rumors. She was fine with them. She just didn't know how well Black would stand up against them. She didn't fancy going against his fan club, either. They were mad enough at her already for taking Tom.

Groggily, Black sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Morning, Hermione," he greeted, yawning with his mouth wide open as he stood up and stretched. "Do you know what time it is?"

Hermione shrugged. "The sun's still down. Maybe four or five?" She looked at him. "Do you want to go back?" She picked herself off the floor, her back aching from leaning against the hard wall.

Black started to stay something, and then narrowed his eyes. "Is that Tom?"

Indeed it was. Tom Riddle was making his way down the field, looking left and right as if checking to see if anyone was following him. Hermione frowned; what was he doing so early in the morning? He looked as if he was going to go out of the school territory. She nudged Black. "Let's follow him."

"What?" Black yelped. "Do you think I have a death wish?"

Hermione shrugged. "Suit yourself." She headed down the stairs. Minutes later, curiosity won out and Black fell in to step behind her. Hermione immediately regretted asking him; he walked like an elephant and would not keep his mouth shut.

Half an hour and many close encounters later, Tom sat in a pub in knockturn alley. Hermione had never been here before, but it certainly looked shady. Tom most certainly chose a pub where he would not be recognized. It wouldn't be good for him if rumor that he was out drinking before dawn got back to the ears of Dumbledore.

"Should we go get him?" Hermione whispered, watching as Tom took a couple of sips from him drink. A couple of girls wearing skimpy outfits were eyeing him, but they hadn't approached yet. Hermione clenched her fists; did he come out and cheat with her every morning?

The look on Black's face clearly told her what he thought of that idea.

Hermione was about to step out of her hiding place to go confront Tom and yell at him, when a woman stepped in to the pub. She wasn't the other girl's in this place; she wore a pretty pink dress that was usually worn to only balls or other fancy events. A hat covered her face, so Hermione couldn't see what she looked like as she sat down across from Tom. She looked rich; completely out of place in an environment like this. The other girls' hissed in protest, but Tom paid them no mind, focusing only on the woman who sat in front of him.

"Tom, dear," the woman cooed, holding out her head. Tom took it and kissed the top gently, and Hermione almost gagged. What was he doing? Was this his way of extracting information? She would've thought that he would use a more violent approach; in a pub like this, she doubted anyone would've cared if he crucio'ed the woman in front of him instead. "I have brought what you have asked,"

"Have you?" Tom inquired in a deep tone. He caressed the woman's hand lightly for a couple of seconds, before letting it go, smiling gently. Hermione had seen him act in the past, but this new face of his was really convincing. If she didn't know better, she would just think he was a romantic flirt. "I'm terribly sorry to have caused you so much trouble."

"No, it was a pleasure." The woman's lip quirked up. Black was trying to peak under her hat from their hiding spot, but the way she sat in the shadows made that idea impossible. "It was quite the venomous snake you asked for."

She pulled out a cage from seemingly nowhere. Inside sat a very large, hissing snake. It slithered around, and then its beady eyes fixed itself on Tom's. He met its gaze calmly, his eyes calculating as if judging it. He then hissed a few words at it, which the snake responded. He nodded shortly at the woman.

"What was that?" she looked amused. "You look as though you were having a fit, hissing like that."

"I'm fine, ma'am," Tom said politely. "I'll take her."

"Tom is going to have a snake in the room?" Black gulped. He clearly did not like the idea as the large snake lifted its head up to sniff the air. "Hermione, may I sleep with you?"

Hermione glared darkly. "In your dreams, Black."

"Good," the woman's lip quirked up. "She was causing quite some trouble amongst our snakes last week. We are glad to see her go to such a fitting owner." Her eyes raked up and down his body, not even concealing her actions. Tom looked amused, and leaned in even closer, reaching out to twirl a piece of her hair around his fingers.

That was what he always did with her, Hermione thought angrily. Now he was going to go doing it with everyone else? If that were the case, maybe she did want rumors about her and Black to spread. It would pay him back for him cheating on her, right in front of her eyes.

She had known it was happening, but actually watching was like igniting a flame inside of her.

The snake hissed, obviously displeased that the attention was no longer on it. The woman looked at it with distaste, but Tom stuck a finger in. Hermione had a mini heart attack; the woman had said that the snake was venomous, didn't she? As angry as she was at him right now, she didn't want him to die.

However, instead of injecting its poison as Hermione expected, it simply scuttled over and allowed Tom to pet its head. Tom stroked the scaly scalp with one long finger. The woman looked on, looking rather amazed.

"You seem to be quite popular among snakes, Mister Riddle," the woman purred, leaning in closer. The snake hissed, annoyed that its Master's attention was off of it again, but this time, Tom did not look back at it.

"Jealous?" Tom smirked, leaning in even closer. This time when she saw that there was no way the two of them were going to stop, she closed her eyes, unwilling to watch. There was no way she was going to look as Tom snogged another woman. She would be scarred for life.

However, a large thud made her open her eyes again. Tom had accidently knocked the woman's hat off, and piles of black hair fell out. She was beautiful, Hermione supposed, but one thing that struck Hermione as odd was the fact of how old she was. She most certainly did not look like someone who had just graduated from Hogwarts.

Hermione made a face; Tom really was willing to snog anyone who had anything useful of his. Maybe he even kissed old ladies. The thought made her cringe. She had nothing against elderly people, but she really didn't think it was necessary for them to kiss someone who was more than half a century younger than them.

She turned to Black, but found him staring at the woman, his eyes open wide. Hermione groaned; did Black also think she was attractive?

"Black," Hermione said irritably, poking him. There was no response. "Black!"

Black shook his head, as if convincing himself that he was no seeing things. "That," he pointed a shaky finger at the woman. "That is…" he trailed off, and then inhaled loudly. "She's my mother."

Five stretched his limbs and looked at the ceiling. Hermione Grindelwald, the girl who was so rebellious in nature even though she didn't know it. Perhaps that was why she was a constant target. She was just so gullible. He had even heard Bellatrix Lestrange say that it was so amusing to trick her, just because she was so easy.

He had met her, had spoken to her. However, did the girl really deserve this? Sure, he knew that in the system, torture and other things were necessary. That was just how things worked around here. But was murder really the best option?

The plan was supposed to start in a week. He really hated this. He was sick of having to obey Grindelwald's every order, to inflict pain on such innocent victims. He despised the looks of terror and hatred they gave him as he tortured them. To want to stop his hand, but was too much of a coward to do so.

Nicholas Porter. Now that was a name that was familiar among them all. The first and only person to attempt to and successfully slip away from Grindelwald's grasp. Grindelwald tightened his hold after he left. Many of the others were also looking at Nicholas as a role model, and Grindelwald had them all executed. It wouldn't do for all his secrets to be out of his reach.

Hermione Grindelwald had always been great friends with him, and his departure hit her especially hard. Then again, so did the punishments Grindelwald inflicted on her. Nicholas Porter was out of his grasp, so he tortured the next person in line. That had always been how this system worked here.

Everyone, of course, got tortured at one point. It was Grindelwald's way to remind them their job, who they were and how much power he had over them. Hermione Grindelwald always seemed to get punished more than the rest, though he had always assumed that it was because she was Grindelwald's own daughter. He had to have higher expectations for her, after all. But after she was assigned this mission of hers, he couldn't help but wonder if they were just simply using her. She was such a clueless little girl, not even knowing what her mission was. The mission itself was highly guarded, and he himself would've not known about it if he hadn't done some snooping around. But really, what could the girl do without knowing what to do?

What surprised him was the fact that Bellatrix Lestrange knew about the mission. She always seemed to be around Grindelwald, but he was even more surprised that Bellatrix was told about these top secret missions. She was about the same age as both he and Hermione, and as far as he knew, she didn't do anything special other than cackle all day.

Though, she did enjoy causing pain, something that was absent in both him, Nicholas and Hermione. Well, in him and Nicholas, anyway. He had seen the way Hermione was before she attended Hogwarts. While she wasn't as ruthless as Bellatrix, she carried out the orders given to her. She was more composed, which made her deadlier. Not to mention, she was ten times better at dueling than Bellatrix would ever be. Nicholas' influence, he supposed. He had seen the boy duel, and he himself did not want to get on the wrong end of his wand.

Hermione had changed after attending Hogwarts. She wasn't as ruthless. She questioned Grindelwald's orders. She started to care about other people. He used to wonder how a person who loved Nicholas so much could be so cold and nonchalant towards others. Now, he knew that she was just reserving her feelings for the right people.

Unfortunately, it was those feelings that were getting her in trouble.

He shifted slightly, and accidently pressed down on the bruise he had received as a punishment today. It seemed that no matter how perfect he was, Grindelwald always seemed to find the littlest of things to punish him on. Not Bellatrix, though. Even when she had messed up badly and had to kill two Hogwarts students as a result, she got a mere scolding. She was not whipped or tied on a heater or left to drown. She got a mere 'do not do that again.' It really was not fair, nor was the way Bellatrix flaunted it.

He wanted to leave this place. He really did. This was a place for people who loved to immerse themselves in the dark arts, to inflict pain on other human beings, to discriminate against blood statuses. He was not that kind of person. While he was not necessarily kind, he did not wish for harm upon anyone either. He had almost considered going up to Nicholas and asking him for a way out. Because though Nicholas would be skeptical at first, he knew how to win the boy over. It would be too easy, and there was no doubt Nicholas could get him far away from here.

But he couldn't do that, for the exact same reason he had signed up for this in the first place.

The girl next to him shifted, and he turned around to see her brown eyes wide and a loving expression on her face. "Hey," she giggled, her breath warm against his skin. She placed a hand on his cheek, and just like that, all thoughts of running away left his mind. There was no way he could leave this place, because that would mean leaving her.

He placed a soft kiss on her lips and pulled back, studying her. "I'm sorry I woke you up."

She giggled again. "You didn't. I woke up from excitement," even in the dark, he could see her eyes twinkling. "We're getting our first mission! I'm excited, yet nervous at the same time," she bit her lip. "What if I don't meet up to Master's standards? What if I disappoint him?"

His heart clenched seeing her like this, seeing her talk like this. She had been independent before, and now she was worrying about pleasing someone else. "Don't worry," he told her earnestly, wrapping his arms around her. "I'll protect you."

He nearly melted under the smile she sent him. "Thank you," she touched his forehead to hers. "We're in this together, right? Till the very end." She smiled gently. "I remember our promise."

He nodded. Of course he remembered the promise. It was what he reminded himself every night, that he had promised to stay by her side. He swore he would stay with her; he wasn't going to take the easy way out and run away.

Her fingers brushed against his cheek. "I—I can't hold in my excitement though!" She giggled again, and he had to try hard not to frown at her obvious enthusiasm. "It's such a big opening task! I feel so flattered that he would ask me to do this." She paused. "You're more experienced, though. Maybe he wanted you to do it, and I'll just be a heavy weight you drag around."

She looked so crestfallen. It pained him to see her like that. "Of course it isn't like that," he reassured. "You're a perfectly capable witch. I'm sure your magical abilities caught his eye."

Her face brightened considerably. "I spent the afternoon with Bella," she said. He flinched slightly at her name, but she didn't seem to notice. She and Bellatrix seemed to be pretty good friends, something that worried him. Sure, he had living proof right in front of him, but whenever he saw her with Bellatrix, it was a constant reminder that she had changed dramatically. "She told me the whole plan. It'll be so easy," her eyes shone with adoration. "He'll never know what' coming."

He felt sick. He loved the girl in front of him, he really did. It was just at moments like this that he didn't recognize her at all. She had changed so much from the carefree young girl he had met many years ago. And while he was trying to keep up with her, he found that she was changing much too fast, changing in to a different person entirely. And he most certainly did not love this new person.

The girl he loved would not talk about someone else's assassination with a huge smile on her face, as if she were just discussing what flavor of ice cream she enjoyed to eat.

She snuggled in to him, her eyes blinking drowsily at him. "I have to sleep. We have a busy day tomorrow." She laid one last kiss on his lips and smiled gently, a look that melted him in to a puddle. "I love you."

That was all it took; he was absolutely smitten with her again. He absolutely despised the moments where she sounded like Bellatrix, but if that was the price to pay to see her like this, he would happily take it. "I love you too," he whispered back, and she closed her eyes. "Sleep tight."

There was nothing he could do about it. He would never find the courage to leave her, and if he couldn't leave her, then he could never leave Grindelwald either. He just hoped Hermione Grindelwald would be able to stop her father, but he seriously doubted it. For someone so smart, the girl was strangely oblivious to her surroundings.

There was a huge storm that was about to hit Hermione Grindelwald, that was for sure. And the girl didn't even know it was coming.


Author's Note: The ending scene has something to do with the plot, but I think I mainly put it in because all these lovey-dovey moments are absent with Tom x Hermione, so I had to get my romantic-ness out somewhere.

And honestly, Hermione. You're terribly at consoling someone. Even I could do better. But then again, with company like Tom, she doesn't get much of a chance to use that skill.

Until next time.