I do not own the quotes in bold. They are from NBC's Hannibal.

Also, there's a bit of time skip that isn't really specified, I hope it isn't confusing.

There's non-explicit dubcon, I'm not a big fan of writting this kind of thing which is why it's not so well written but it's part of the story for a reason. It's almost 1 am as I'm writing this and I understand it may be a little confusing so if you have any questions, I'll gladly answer them. Thank you all for your reviews.

"The light from friendship won't reach us for a million years"

Tom heard the water running from Hermione's bathroom and tried not to feel so insulted. He knew she couldn't just not shower and keep his own scent on herself, but he wanted it to be so overwhelmingly obvious that Hermione was his.

He wanted to touch her again and smell himself on her. Tom wanted to bury his nose in the crook of her neck, feel her pulse quickening, and taste her.

Last night had left him hungrier than ever.

He looked down at the shirt in his hands, the stain was almost completely gone by now. Gods, Hermione had killed for him. Tom smiled at the thought. She had really done it. Tom wondered briefly what else she would do for him.

His thoughts were interrupted when someone knocked on the door.

With Hermione still in the bathroom, Tom decided to check who it was. He frowned when he saw Ginevra's brother through the peep hole. What was he doing here?

With nonchalance, Tom opened the door. He raised an eyebrow as he gave the boy a once over. What had Hermione ever seen in him? "Yes?" Tom asked.

The boy seemed startled, "uh," he began, pointedly looking away from Tom's bare chest. "Is, uh- Is Hermione home?"

"She's taking a shower, did you need something?" Tom made sure to keep his tone as polite as he could manage.

"I- She hasn't called in a while, I guess I just wanted to make sure she was okay," he managed to say. "Aren't you Ginny's doctor?"

"Was," Tom shrugged, "She stopped coming to me a few weeks ago. Have I met you before?"

Ron blinked, "She hasn't stopped-..." he shook his head, thinking Dr. Riddle probably had too many patients to keep track of all of them. "Uhm, yeah we have met, the same day you met Hermione actually, we're pretty close..friends. Best friends actually-"

Tom grinned, "You're Harry Potter? Hermione has told me so much about you."

Ron looked away for a second, but Tom saw the hurt. "No, I'm Ginny's brother-"

"Ginny's brother. Oh, Are you Fred or George?" Ron shook his head awkwardly and was about to reply when Tom continued. "Percy? Oh, of course, I'm sorry. I didn't get the impression you two were so close. She did tell me of all your success-" Tom tried to continue despite the look he was receiving from the redhead. It was just too much fun to jab at the boys self esteem. He knew from what Ginny had told him that he was just as vulnerable with so many siblings. Tom knew the boy in front of him was Ronald Weasley, he didn't need to be introduced twice to remember someone's face and name. He also knew he had to take advantage of the time alone he had with him.

This boy thought he was good enough for Hermione, and Tom just couldn't have Ron thinking too highly of himself.

"I'm Ron," he interrupted loudly. "I made Hermione an appointment with you? You probably just can't remember her talking about me."

Tom tilted his head, "Ron? Hm. I know there's Bill and Charlie. Ginny always looked up to them. Hermione mentioned Percy's intelligence. She loves Fred and George almost as much as she loves her friend Harry. I don't recall another Weasley…"

Ron flushed, scratching the back of his neck. "Well, I'm the youngest Weasley boy."

"Ron," Tom pretended to think hard. "Wait," he laughed, "Are you the boy with the rat?"

Tom didn't think he could see someone so upset over being overlooked. While his sister Ginny become angry at the fact, Ron looked closer to tears than anything. Tom suppressed another laugh.

"Uh, yeah," he answered awkwardly.

"Hermione mentioned that. You do know how filthy those things are don't you?" Tom looked him over again, "Though I suspect filth isn't something you worry too much about."

Ron eyes flashed at that, "Yeah, well, whatever. Can you just get out of the way? I want to talk to Hermione."

"She's in the shower," Tom answered curtly.

"I'm just going to let her know I'm here."

"I'll give her the message," Tom replied, lowering his eyes at the boy. "She'll call you when she wants to talk to you."

Ron's jaw tightened, "Right, well… I'll call her later then. I'll make sure to tell her I talked to her new friend."

Tom smiled, "See, now I know you aren't her closest friend, otherwise she would have told you about me."

"Maybe you're just not important enough."

"I suppose that's a possibility," he shrugged. "But it definitely isn't what it feels like right now." Tom ran a hand through his hair and sighed, "Well anyways, it was nice meeting you, but I'm still kind of tired. We had a long night and Hermione asked me to stay until my next appointment this afternoon and I think I'm going to have to catch up on my sleep while she cleans herself up."

Before Ron could answer, Tom smiled politely and closed the door.

When the door was between them, Tom locked the door with a scowl.

It wasn't until a few minutes later that Hermione walked out, a towel wrapped around herself and her curls pulled up into a drenched ponytail. "Was someone here? I thought I heard Ron."

"And yet, you're walking out here nearly naked?" Tom tried to sound like he was teasing.

"We grew up together, he's seen me like this plenty of times," she shrugged.

Tom forced a smile, "I don't think I like that."

Hermione smiled back, raising an eyebrow, "Oh?"

He walked towards her and took her waist in his hands. "I want you all to myself," he murmured, dipping his head to press his lips on her neck. He licked the droplets of water that were running down her throat before biting down gently. "From now on, only I get to see you like this."

Hermione hummed at the feel of his lips. "Okay," she agreed, closing her eyes.

"Good," he smiled, pulling up to look at her again. "Now, go get dressed. I have an appointment with a patient soon."

"What does that-"

"I'm not going to leave you here alone silly girl," he rubbed her cheek with his thumb. "You can look through my library while I work."

"How big is your library?" she whispered.

He laughed softly and pressed his lips against hers. "It's an impressive library Hermione, and if you ask nicely, I can show you how fun it can be."

She smiled back at him and he felt something inside him clench.

"You're alone because you're unique."

"I'm as alone as you are."

Tom smiled as he prepared dinner in his kitchen. Hermione was sitting on the counter beside him, a cooking book in hand. If it had been any other person, Tom would have scolded them and pointed them to an actual chair, but with Hermione, he was pleased she was so close to him. In the past weeks that Tom had convinced Hermione to stay over, she had made a habit out of staying close to him as he cooked.

"Is pretentious food the only thing you can cook?" she teased.

"It may be hard to believe, considering the type of friends you use to have, but some of us can appreciate delicacies."

"The kind of friends I use to have…" she bit her lower lip and flipped a page of Tom's cookbook. "They're still my friends Tom," she said surely but quietly.

Tom smiled tightly and stopped the knife that had been efficiently chopping shallots. "You said you'd distance yourself from them."

"I have but I'm not going to completely abandon them-" Hermione shook her head and put the book down. "Do you need any help?"

Tom continued slicing through the shallots, "You can season the pork," he replied. When Hermione hopped off the counter to go wash her hands, Tom looked up again. "Have they asked you anything?"

The water turned on and Hermione didn't say anything for a while. "Ron thinks she ran away, Molly.." Tom could hear her breathing getting louder. "Molly can't help but think the worst. The police can't do much and Arthur -" the water stopped and Tom dropped his knife. "What if… what if we just send them a note, anonymous of course, but just one that says Ginny died," Hermione turned to look at Tom, her eyes pleading. "Just so they'll know."

"Let it go Hermione," Tom told her, his voice stern. "You're not a suspect now but if you start moving things around, they'll start a more in depth investigation and we can't have that."

Hermione didn't look too convinced.

"It's just very selfish of me," Hermione said. "Ron's entire family is suffering because I can't face the consequences. Ginny is gone because of me and I'm not willing to say anything about it to save my own ass."

"I was there too," he reminded her.

"Neither one of us is innocent Tom," she said.

Tom lowered his eyes and let her words sink in. She was right of course, they were both tainted, Tom had thought it would have been enough to get her involved but it wasn't. Tom reached out for Hermione, rubbing his thumb over her cheek in mock affection. "Your words hurt me Hermione. If anyone is to blame, it's Ginevra."

"Harry hasn't talked to me since Ginny went missing," she said quietly. "Ron doesn't want to talk about Ginny and even though we were always pretty much inseparable, he hasn't tried to call once. When I went over, he barely looked at me."

Tom tilted his head, his smile unnerving as he spoke slowly, "You went over? When?"

Hermione shook her head, "Last week, you said you had errands to run and I took the time to visit the Weasleys."

"You didn't tell me about this," he noted.

Hermione laughed shortly, "I didn't think I had to tell you about everything I do."

Tom kept his smile as his hand went down her cheek,over her neck, and back to tangle his fingers in her curls. "I just worry for you darling," he said, "Just a minute ago you told me you were distancing yourself from them, but now I hear you're visiting them? I don't like lies Hermione," he tugged on her curls slightly so it wouldn't hurt her but enough to tilt her head back. "So which is it love? Are you distancing yourself from the Weasleys or are you not understanding how crucial it is for you to let them go."

Hermione pulled her head away from his touch, and gave him a hard look. "I can't do this Tom." Though her expression was composed, it didn't take long before her eyes began to water. "I can't just leave them, I can't pretend I didn't do something terrible."

Tom gritted his teeth. He had thought it would have been enough to use her own freedom against her. Who would accept life in prison because of a guilty conscious?

It was too bad she was so attached to the weasels, despite his efforts, she was still not entirely his. She would rather give up her time with Tom than keep the truth of Ginevra to herself.

"I hate seeing them hurting Tom, Molly and Arthur, they've been nothing but kind to me. They deserve to know, they had nothing to do with whatever was happening between Ginny and I. I don't like knowing I hurt innocent people."

"Nobody's innocent Hermione," he said gently, her tears making the tugging in his chest stronger.

"They're hurting because I did this. They don't deserve this."

He took her in his arms and held her tightly. "You need to calm down, have you taken the anxiety medication I gave you?"

Hermione shook her head, "I stopped a couple of weeks ago. I was feeling well again."

"I have something that will calm you down," he said gently pulling himself away. "We can finish dinner later, I'll make you some tea and you can go take a quick nap." Tom brushed her tears away. "How does that sound?"

Hermione wanted to say no, she hated the drowsy way the medication made her feel, but she could feel her chest tightening uncomfortably. She knew it only got worse after her chest began to feel that way, and Tom was looking at her so intensely, she found herself nodding.

"Good," Tom smiled, patting her head in approval. "Go lay down, I'll bring you the tea, give me a minute."

"Psychopaths are not crazy. They are fully aware of what they do and the consequences of those actions."

Tom watched Hermione on his bed. Their bed. They had been sharing it long enough to be called theirs.Tom knew she wasn't leaving anytime soon, or ever if he had things his way. Luckily for Tom, he always had things his way.

Hermione had pulled her hair into a bun again, though he always insisted she keep her hair down when she went to bed. He always said it was so she could be more relaxed, less pressure on her head and other shite like that. Truth was, Tom loved seeing her with her wild hair all around her pillow.

He traced his fingertips over her creamy thighs. She usually wore shorts to bed, today she wore the ones he had asked her to throw out. "I'll buy you new ones darling," he had said to her, "these have holes on them." Hermione though, hadn't been interested in buying new clothes, she insisted they were too comfortable to give up. He didn't push too much, but only because they were an improvement to what she use to wear. He scolded at just the thought of her wearing mens boxers to bed. She had assured him they were new when she got them from Ron.

"He got a lot of them for Christmas," she had shrugged. "Apparently boxers are the go to gift when you're trying to save money."

Tom hadn't cared that the boxers were unused, he took them from her drawer and threw them out the first chance he got. Just the memory of her in such things made Tom grip her thigh tightly.

She was his.

"Tom?" she murmured, still half asleep.

"Sorry love," he murmured back, rubbing the spot he hurt. When she mumbled something to him, Tom laid back into the bed, his head next to her. "What was that?"

"I had a weird dream," she said more clearly, her eyes fluttering open. "You were in it and so was Ginny."

"A nightmare?" he let his hand roam up her thigh.

"It was just… weird," she answered, turning her head away.

Tom pulled her face back to him and pressed a kiss to her lips. She didn't complain. "Tell me about it."

Hermione rubbed her eyes, her eyes stinging from the drowsiness. She wanted to go back to sleep, but Tom's hand was getting higher and his touches more insistent.

Hermione blinked repeatedly, feeling Tom settle himself over her.

He saw her trying to wake herself up, her eyes almost forcing themselves shut.
"Don't fall asleep," he said, his face now only inches from hers. He liked the way Hermione's gaze tried to focus on him. "I don't like these shorts on you," he whispered, a smirk playing on his lips before kissing her again. He forced his way inside her mouth, feeling her hands on his chest. He wasn't sure if she was trying to push him off or not, but he took them and led them to his shoulders. "I want you to keep your arms there," he said. She didn't hold on too tightly, but as Tom nuzzled her neck, he pretended Hermione was pulling at him desperately. "I love you so much," he breathed out.

He took his time with her, pressing kisses where he wanted to feel her warmth, and biting down where he wanted to taste the saltiness on her skin.

Hermione remembered idly wondering if there was something Tom was suppose to get before the rocking began.

With her whimpers, Tom whispered reassurances in her ear.

The pleasure was almost too much. Her body pressed up against his, the sweet taste of her warm kisses, the sweat that stuck her hair to her forehead, the feel of her all around-

"Oh gods," he groaned, the rocking increasing. Hermione with her hands already fallen off his shoulders, echoed his groan. "You're mine," he said fiercely. "You're mine and no- oh gods- nothing, will take you- nothing will take you away."

It didn't take Tom many more thrust before he shuddered and let himself go.

Hermione gave a heavy sigh and tried to pull away again. Tom smiled at her, silly girl thought he was done. He laid beside her, wrapping his arm around her waist before giving the nightstand a wary look.

He knew inside the first drawer was the small wrapper he should have gotten out. He looked back at Hermione, her face flushed and eyes closed. Hermione murmured something to him, something he didn't hear.

"What?" he asked gently.

"In my dream," she breathed out. "Ginny told me to be careful."

Tom pushed her hair away from her face and smiled. "Ginevra is dead." He placed his hand on her waist and let it roam to her stomach.

Hermione had been scared of hurting the Weasleys, Tom had to hold in a laugh. Lately Tom had become worried that Hermione would give up and tell the truth, but now, he smiled at his plan.

His plan ensured Hermione to stay with him, and for her to keep quiet, She hated hurting the innocent? Tom would gift her with a truly innocent being, one she would never want to leave. She would stay and she would do everything it took to stay out of prison.

Tom's smile couldn't get any brighter, it only faltered when he thought of the details.

He needed more time.