Sorry for the wait everyone but it's finally here :) enjoy :)
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! :) :) :) :)
Chapter 14
The men nervously stood waiting for their master to enter, all too aware of their failure at infiltrating Hogwarts.
They stiffened as one as the door creaked open and the shadows were released, crawling and slithering towards them one by one.
The youngest of them all, James Brown, gulped anxiously, his fear so evident it called the shadows with the promise of a meal.
Small whimpers escaped from within his throat as they clung to his small legs, climbing up none too stealthily, tongues flickering, tasting the flesh of the mortal before them.
"Flint. Step forward."
The shadows hissed in disapproval as he arrived, called back to their master without a meal.
"Master," the forty year old answered, bowing his head and back in deference to the man that now stood before them, the shadows curled around him menacingly.
"How is it, that even with my precious gift, you come back to me empty handed?"
"Master, it was Dumbledore who stopped us. He knew how to trap us so that not even time could affect us."
Grindelwald froze, his eyes bulging for a second before he laughed the matter away.
"Never mind then, we will spend our time instead searching for who the intruder is and capture them while they're on holiday." His sickening smirk was the last they saw of him as he twirled on the spot and disappeared, leaving behind the shadows that swam away, their disappointment at being refused a meal clear to all as they whipped their tails in frustration before disappearing too.
As Hermione woke up that morning she grimaced as her head began to throb.
She had been warned that this was a possible side effect and had been told by a very stern looking matron to come to her immediately were this to happen.
Groaning, she slipped out of bed and clumsily wrapped her robe around herself, her feet already beginning to move out of her dorm and into the common room.
She passed Tom on the way as he sat in an armchair reading, but as he didn't comment on her presence she chose to ignore him too, instead willing her headache to fade away.
As she travelled through the many corridors towards the Wing her mind drifted back to Tom. She didn't know how to act around him anymore. He wasn't Voldemort, anyone could see that, but he was so damn close to him that it scared her. She thumped her head on the nearest wall as she slumped against it, head in hands.
Maybe she was being too harsh on the boy. He had saved her after all hadn't he? Clearly he still had a bit of humanity left in him somewhere.
'Somewhere deep, deep, deep down,' her mind snorted but she ignored it.
'If he does still have a bit of humanity in him then I need to keep it there.' She thought resolutely, standing up and once again moving towards the Wing, determined to reach there before her headache got any worse.
She would be herself, and she would imagine that she didn't know Tom's future and that he was her friend, just as Harry and Ron had been.
She would ignore his questionable traits and pretend that he was a normal boy worth befriending.
She would stop her stalking, stop her nosiness and just let him be.
'Why did Dumbledore choose me again?' She whispered to herself, her mind lacking its usual confidence.
"Up you get Miss Granger, you're free to go." The matron smiled gently down at the girl who actually followed her advice and came to her instead of ignoring the pain.
"Thank you Madam…er…"
"Weasley."
"Weasley?" Hermione froze; her eyes bulging as she finally registered the red hair and freckles.
The matron was taken aback as she suddenly found Hermione wrapping her arms around her desperately, hanging onto her for dear life.
"Miss Granger?"
Hermione's mind finally caught up to her body's actions and she hastily stepped away, blushing from the roots of her hairs.
"Sorry ma'am."
The matron laughed it away and beckoned her out of the Wing.
"Never mind, now don't let me see you back in here Miss Granger."
"Of course," Hermione answered slyly, already plotting away at ways she could return without seeming like a stalker.
Hermione was a ridiculously cheerful child Tom thought as he watched her skip to class.
Everyone else knew to be more mannered and graceful than a grasshopper but she must have missed that memo.
She drove him mad and he had no idea where she was to be placed in his grand scheme plan to over rule the world and that ticked him off even more.
At first she was the most annoying person he had ever had the misfortune to meet; she had been clingy and ridiculously girly too. Then she turned into the sternest person who seemed to see through his façade and then she was back to being cheerful, albeit less clingy which he had to be grateful for.
'She's retarded,' he thought spitefully as she sat down next to him in class, her eager face ticking him off.
"Woke up at the wrong side of the bed?" She asked him and he stared at her, befuddled by her words before she hastily retreated to her books and blatantly ignored him.
Not that he had a problem with that.
Hermione was just coming back from dinner that day, turning the by now familiar corridors to the dungeons when she rounded on a scene that chilled her to her bones.
Raven hung mercilessly from the ceiling by his hair whimpering, his wand in Tom's hands as he stood below him staring up with a vicious gleam in his eyes.
"Intus San-"
Her brain finally catching up to the events she sprung herself between them and grabbed Tom's hands in the middle of its motions.
"No!" She cried, horrified at his choice of curse.
"Get out of my way Granger," he whispered, his eyes never leaving his victim.
She forcefully gulped down her fear before grabbing his chin and forcing him to look at her.
"Look at me Tom!"
His eyes slowly slid down from Raven to glare silently at Hermione.
"You're better than this Tom," she whispered for his ears only, her eyes desperately searching his for the spark of humanity that she knew existed but all she could see was the sickening, twisted love for torture and pain.
"Tom! Listen to me!"
His smirk widened as she saw no way into his heart and her heart sank at the realization.
"Tom…Please."
His eyes never flickered as he began to raise his wand once more at Raven who squeaked and desperately tried to loosen himself free but failed miserably.
"Ferven-"
"TOM!" She shrieked, pulling at his arm with all the strength she possessed.
"Don't!"
He didn't listen though and growled as she wouldn't let go of his arm.
"Leave, Granger."
Desperate now she called on her magic and non-verbally cast Petrificus Totalus on Tom, sighing in relief when he could move no longer.
She hurriedly released Raven from his jinx and cushioned his fall, saving him from a few broken bones.
Without thanking her he ran from them both, his sweat leaving an undesirable smell behind him.
Turning back to Tom she glared at him before dragging them both to an empty classroom and shoving him into it, closing the door behind them.
Bracing herself for a possible attack she removed the spell and yelled as he quickly sent a curse her way, blocking it only by her instincts.
"Granger," he growled, lowering his wand. "You had no right to interfere."
She bristled at that, her fear quickly transforming into anger.
"No right? You were about to kill him!" She shrieked.
"Don't be so overdramatic Granger!"
"Overdramatic?" She demanded. "That was dark magic Tom!"
His lips tugged at the corners before his reply came.
"And how would you know that Granger?"
She huffed before answering. "I've studied it enough so that if I ever meet an idiot who thinks he won't be consumed by said magic, I can stop him."
Tom's immaculate eyebrows rose in laughter as he answered, his voice sprinkled with mirth.
"I don't fit either of those categories and so again I must ask, why did you stop me?" The mirth in his voice had disappeared but she ignored it, rolling her eyes at him.
"Sure you don't," She muttered but hastily continued as he opened his mouth in retort.
"You were still going to kill him Tom and no matter how cruel that boy can be… he's just a boy. He deserves a chance to live his life, to learn from his mistakes, and grow into a better man."
Tom snorted at her before making his way to the door.
Blocking him once more she tugged at his arm before enveloping him in a hug.
"You're better than this Tom, I know it. I've seen it. Don't let the darkness fool you." She whispered in his ear, but if he was affected by her words he didn't show it. Yanking his hand back from her, he strode out of the room, slamming the door behind him in anger.
Sighing, she too made her way back to the common room, not too sure what had transpired.
Tom snorted in disgust as her words played over in his mind.
He was in control of the darkness and it was only those too weak in character that resorted to saying that.
'She's not weak though,' his mind argued with him but he promptly ignored it and forced his mind blank as he fell asleep.
So what did you think? R&R :)