DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER!

The Kid and I

Chapter 5

"Tom, are you listening?" Hermione demanded. It was the third time that Tom had met with Hermione after hours and she was getting annoyed. He'd nod along with her whenever she was explaining something, would seem to understand her but then when he was asked a question; he would shrug and shake his head. Normally, she is able to be very patient with a student when they didn't understand, if they truly didn't, but she was smart enough to know that Tom was a faker, and a bad one at that.

"Of course I am, professor."

"Did you understand what I just said?"

"Yes, I do, professor. To defeat a Hinkypunk, you must-"

"Why are you doing this, Tom?" She asked bluntly.

"Pardon?"

"Pretending to be stupid. You're a smart boy. Why are you doing this? We're wasting each other's time."

"I…There's something about you, professor, that…Calms me. Normally, I am quite an angry person. But with you…It fades away."

"Do you think I wasn't smart enough to figure out what you were doing?"

"Of course I don't think that, miss." He hadn't called her 'miss' in years, only when he was desperate or uncertain and seeing as how that occasion had stopped happening, the use of the name had died out.

"Do you understand what I've been teaching in class?"

"Yes, professor."

"Then you don't need any private tuition. Pack up and get out of here." He nodded solemnly and began to do so. She watched him as he closed his bag and stood up. "And, Tom?"

"Yes, professor."

"I don't want to see your grades dropping again. If they do, we'll have serious words, and they won't be nice ones. Do you understand that?"

"Yes, professor."

"Good. Now get back to your common room. It's late."

"Goodnight, professor."

"Night, kid." She'd taken to calling him that over the past few months. She didn't know where it came from or why she chose that particular word, it just felt right. She knew he didn't particularly like the name, but that was the point. It was supposed to be a bit derogatory, in an attempt to degrade his self-esteem and lower the chances of him becoming Voldemort. She was naturally a kind person and she didn't like the idea of belittling a student, but she knew that it was for the greater good. Of course, she had also considered the other side of the argument. The hurt and embarrassment of her belittling him could also turn him into Voldemort. She knew it was a fifty-fifty chance, so she decided to go with the method she thought would most likely have a chance of winning. And if she had to make herself look like a bitch, then so be it.

!"!

"Have Mr Riddle's grades improved yet?" Dumbledore asked Hermione as they sat at the top table in the Great Hall. The end of second year was approaching, and so were the end of year tests.

"Yes, they have. He's back onto his usual O's and E's."

"He doesn't seem very happy, though."

"He's not a happy child." She said simply, taking a slice of chocolate and cream gateau.

"Have you prepared all of your end of year tests for your students?"

"I have, Albus. I think they're all fair and thorough. And I look forward to a nice long summer of marking them all." She joked. Albus' eyes twinkled as he shared her amusement. "What about your tests?"

"They're all complete and ready to be tried. I hope my students do as well as last year."

"So do I. Still, an eighty-nine percent pass rate is still pretty good." She smiled to herself at her own accomplishment.

"Indeed, you should be proud. I can only imagine how well Mr Riddle will do. He's sure to pass with flying colours."

"I believe he will."

"He's a very bright boy."

"He's a very special boy."

"What you…What you told me. Of what is to occur in…In time. It is still to happen?"

"It's too early to know for certain. But I think…Yes. I think most likely it will happen."

"Oh dear."

"You could say that, Albus."

"Yes…We shall have to be prepared."

"We are prepared. If my plan fails, you always have time to try and gather your forces."

"Do you know of how you will return home?"

"No. As far as I know, I'm stuck here, I think."

"I've put a proposition to the Ministry of Magic. We have Time Turners that can go backwards through time. But what an interesting idea it would be if we could go forwards as well."

"And what did they say?"

"They said they would start work as soon as possible."

"Thank Merlin."

!"!

Third year came and went.

Fourth year was when things began to get interesting. Tom became tall and handsome, and slightly dangerous. In his first few years, Tom was never seen talking to people, and never seemed to have any friends. But at the start of fourth year, that all changed. All the boys were scrambling to sit near Tom and to talk with him, and all the girls were always watching him and smiling at him. It was curious to Hermione how the status quo had changed so drastically and so suddenly. Tom, the lonely little boy, had suddenly become Tom, the young man everyone wanted to be seen with. And she was not the only one watching.

Whenever she was at the front of the class, or marking papers while the classes worked, or dining in the Great Hall, she'd feel his gaze. Every time he thought she didn't know, he watched her. He'd watch her hands when she wrote, he'd watch her mouth when she spoke, he'd watch her legs as she walked. It seemed that he was now a young man, who was learning the art of womanising and flirtation. At first it was flattering, but it was getting a little odd. For his first few years, she knew he watched her, but she thought it was out of curiosity, maybe even admiration – she was the woman who had brought magic into his life, and she had always imagined that he watched her to learn more about his new life and everything around him. That was possibly true for first and second year, but what about the third and now the fourth? She needed to talk to him without being too obvious that she knew he was watching her. The truth of it was; him watching her made her very uncomfortable. Everyone around him could feel his power growing and she knew it was only a matter of time before he chose his future as Lord Voldemort. She also knew that she did not have that long to get to him. She would have to do it soon.