Disclaimer in chapter one.

Author's note: Another late chapter. What can I say. Everytime when you think: It can't get any worse. It's like the universe hears it and needs to prove you wrong -.-

Ah well, I am ever so grateful that you all took the time and wrote me a review. It really is the best thing getting feedback. So thanks a lot to:

le-femme-cavalier, MuggleBornWY, Anon, gakuhaitsu, NY GE Pyromaniac, DArk 16EtErnIty z8, Gabby0515, Anon, XxTaintedxDaggerxX, KamiaKeller, justy13, Angellwriter, nlech16, everlastingtrueromance, FadedSunset, SAMANTHARENEE, cathy loves heath, sheddingeverycolor, funnygirl, 372259, Smithback, vamp1987, Lolita, HereToRead84, Jen103, Sin-and-Smokin, Ceralyn, LoriAnnRut, vampireluph, azulaiii, AlwaysthereforTaraxx, ra1nf1re, Jlasriddlemethis, Barryium, absolutemalfoy, sKyLaR KnIgHt, hollanddj13, QueenyT, Wfhbe, Shan84, MommyHolly, Jules31, hateme101, I Growl For Fun, Amorgen Lestrange, LaPetiteDreamer, hithere, min, anon, riddle luurrver, MiSSxMELON, Indiana

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Chapter Thirteen: Grow Red With Shame

A few days into her stay at Hogwarts and Hermione was convinced that she would love every class the professors could throw at her. Ancient Runes was brilliant, so was Arithmancy. Potions, although taxing, was incredibly interesting. Hermione couldn't think of anything better than to go to Charms, Astronomy, Herbology or Care of Magical Creatures. She truly loved each and every one of her classes.

…or so she had thought before today. A thick frown wrinkled her forehead as Hermione sat in the History of Magic classroom. As it was a Slytherin-Gryffindor class Riddle sat on the chair right beside her. Hermione's gaze left her seat neighbour and wandered back to the professor. Her red hair was cut short and ruffled stylishly. Not very tall, her skin almost as white as snow, Professor Alecto Carrow stood before her class, imperiously scanning her students. A half smile tugged at her thin lips as she continued to lecture,

"-but let us leave behind those dark times and continue with modern history." The smile widened and she concluded, "Gellert Grindelwald."

Carrow elegantly sat on the teacher's desk, her legs crossed gracefully, and scanned her students expectantly,

"Now who can tell me: What is Grindelwald's most important achievement?"

Many students raised their hands and Carrow nodded at a Slytherin. "Yes, Mr Flint?"

The boy with coarse black hair replied proudly, "He won the Civil War."

Carrow inclined her head and said, "Surely a great feat. Grindelwald revolted against an unjust government and managed to overthrow it. Can you also tell me when this war took place, Mr Flint?"

"1941 till '45," Flint replied easily.

"Correct," said Carrow. "He won the war against the Ministry of Magic and took over. A very important victory for Grindelwald and for us, but not his greatest achievement." She raised her eyebrows. "Anyone else? Mr Finnigan?"

Seamus scratched his head before he replied, "He beat Albus Dumbledore in a duel?"

"Yes, yes, Dumbledore." Carrow giggled shrilly. "Many foolishly considered that man to be the most powerful wizard of his time. In reality, Dumbledore was a traitor and a criminal. Unprovoked, he attacked Grindelwald. Of course, Dumbledore was no match for a wizard like Grindelwald and got himself killed."

Carrow glanced at Seamus and shook her head "An important moment in Grindelwald's life. But not the answer I am searching for. Anyone else?"

No-one raised a hand. Neither did Hermione. She glanced at Riddle. For once he didn't seem to be interested in answering either.

"Fine then. I'll tell you," Carrow smiled condescendingly. "Grindelwald's greatest achievement was the improvement of the Statute of Wizarding Secrecy."

"What do you mean, professor?" asked a Slytherin girl.

Carrow smiled at the girl indulgently. It made Hermione's skin crawl unpleasantly.

"Before Grindelwald took over, the Ministry of Magic was disgustingly weak," the professor said. "The Statute of Wizarding Secrecy merely stated that our world should be hidden from Muggle eyes. It didn't forbid wizards to wander into the Muggle world and freely mingle with them as long as they hid their wizarding origin."

Carrow sneered the last part in disgust. She got up and started to pace to and fro in front of the class, eyeing them sternly.

"Grindelwald stopped this grotesque perversity," the professor said fervently. "He sealed our world off. So that today no Muggle-influences can reach our world anymore. Every witch and wizard is now protected from having to deal with Muggle abnormalities."

Hermione glanced at the other students. A lot of them nodded in agreement with Carrow. By no means only Slytherins, many Gryffindors accepted Carrow's opinion as well. Hermione stared down at her empty parchment and swallowed thickly.

"What do you think would have happened if we continued to mingle with Muggles?" Carrow asked but didn't wait for any answers. "I can tell you that: Muggles would soon overrun us. They would sneak into our world and slowly but surely our wizard blood would get thinner and thinner until nothing is left. We would all turn into Muggles."

A shudder went through the class that left Hermione nauseous. Carrow, seemingly pleased with her audience, continued,

"That's why we should be grateful that Gellert Grindelwald fought for us. He won the war for us. To save our world from being destroyed by filthy Muggles."

A sharp smile appeared on Carrow's mouth. She strode through the classroom and came to stand in front of a table where Lavender and Parvati sat. The girls had been giggling and clearly hadn't paid much attention. Hermione shuddered as she saw the cruel smile on Carrow's face.

"Ms Brown," the professor said quietly.

Lavender looked up at Carrow, trying but failing to look innocent.

"You don't think Grindelwald's work is worth your time?" the teacher asked softly, dangerously.

Lavender whimpered softly and quickly shook her head. "I'm sorry, professor."

Carrow merely snickered coldly, "Do you know what would have happened if Grindelwald hadn't fought for you?"

Lavender swallowed and slowly shook her head.

"You-" Carrow leaned down to the girl. "-would have been married off to a Muggle man."

Lavender's eyes widened fearfully as if she had been threatened with a marriage to a Dementor.

"That is right," Carrow said forcefully, now addressing the whole class. "If Grindelwald hadn't stepped in, the government would have continued to marry witches to Muggles. They would have let those filthy animals defile our mothers, our sisters and daughters, ourselves. Witches would have been forced to give birth to abominations. Half-bloods and Mudbloods would have poisoned our magical blood. They would have lived amongst us as if they were equals. In reality, they would have weakened us from the inside. And soon, our world – we all – would have perished."

Carrow's cold eyes landed on a shaken Lavender and hissed, "I expect a little more respect and gratitude towards Grindelwald."

Quickly Lavender nodded her head. Hermione watched to whole thing and felt sick. 'Filthy animals'? Her eyes travelled over Lavender. The girl still seemed to be shell-shocked by Carrow's speech.

†

Hermione's next class was loads better than History. Transfiguration was taught by her head of house, Professor McGonagall. Although the woman was quite sinister looking, Hermione liked her a lot. Her class was incredibly interesting. Sadly it couldn't completely distract Hermione from the previous class. She felt dejected as Carrow's cold words kept spinning through her head. 'abominations… filthy animals…'

Was that was she was? An abomination? Less talented, less powerful and less intelligent… that was what people had yelled at Hermione so often, she had started to believe it. Wasn't it the natural order of things that she should be a servant and the Purebloods were her masters?

So Hermione had thought, but then she had met Riddle. He had allowed her to keep her wand, he had taught her spells and he had taken her with him to Hogwarts. Now Hermione lived in the castle and attended classes. Despite being a Mudblood, Hermione wasn't any slower than her pure-blooded peers. In fact, McGonagall had just awarded her five points for answering a question correctly.

'Grindelwald's greatest achievement'… Hermione certainly didn't feel any gratitude towards the man. She was startled from her thoughts as someone poked her in the side.

"Stop daydreaming."

Hermione turned her head and looked up into deep blue eyes. Riddle smirked at her and scoffed,

"What's wrong, little Hermione? Can't transfigure the bird?"

Hermione bristled at his words and Riddle's smirk only widened. She angrily snatched her wand and told him bossily,

"Just you watch."

She jabbed her wand sharply at her Transfiguration textbook and bent her magic into the required spell. The book jumped once. Then it changed form until a magpie merrily hopped around on the table. Smugly Hermione smiled up at Riddle. He merely returned the smile and waved his own wand. Not much later a tiny little winter wren appeared from his textbook. The small bird saw the magpie and quickly fluttered from the table up to Riddle's shoulder. Hermione eyed the bird in annoyance before she rebuked Riddle,

"We were supposed to transfigure it into a magpie. Didn't you hear?"

Riddle merely shrugged his shoulders, causing the little wren to chirp disapprovingly. Hermione huffed at his disregard of McGonagall's instructions. In the meantime, said professor had walked up to their table and watched Hermione's magpie which greedily tucked at the silver fastening of Riddle's inkwell.

"Very good, Ms Rookwood," McGonagall praised. "Five points for Gryffindor."

"Thank you, Professor," said Hermione smilingly.

McGonagall's stern gaze wandered from Hermione's magpie to the winter wren lazily sitting on Riddle's shoulder. The professor arched a thin eyebrow and said,

"Interesting choice, Mr Riddle. Good work getting around the size differences. Ten points for Slytherin."

Riddle threw a charming smile at McGonagall and said modestly, "I didn't do much. You gave us all the necessary spells in your lecture, Professor."

McGonagall left their table and Hermione's eyes narrowed angrily at Riddle as he smiled at her arrogantly. Huffing in annoyance, she waved her wand over her magpie and transfigured it back into her textbook, while muttering under her breath,

"Pff, ten points for Slytherin. For what? Not following the rules?"

As Riddle heard her grumbling the haughty smile on his face only widened. Hermione threw him another glare. Then her gaze slipped to the tiny bird on his shoulder. It had begun to groom its feathers and looked adorable. Riddle waved his wand over the small bird, wanting to un-transfigure it.

"Wait. Give it to me. I want to hold it."

Smiling sheepishly Hermione held out a hand. Riddle rolled his eyes at her but complied. Hermione laughed as the wren hopped around on her hand, being ridiculously cute. In the meantime, McGonagall had concluded the lesson and Riddle started to pack away his things.

"Give me my textbook," he ordered Hermione.

Reluctantly she brandished her wand and turned the little bird back into the book. Riddle merely raised an eyebrow and commented,

"Do you always use non-verbal spells?"

"Er..." Hermione followed him out of the classroom. "Yes."

She turned to make sure no-one listened in to their conversation before she whispered bashfully,

"In Malfoy manor I always recited spells when I had to do my chores. Of course, I did it silently. Now I have problems with verbal spells." She glanced at Riddle worriedly. "Do you think that's bad?"

Riddle snickered softly. "No, Hermione. I doubt any of the professors is going to mind."

{{{{{{{{+}}}}}}}}

Hermione liked the Malfoys' library but Hogwarts' library, she loved. To pieces. Big grin in place she scanned the rows and rows of books only waiting to be read. She may spend the rest of her life here and would never get bored. Riddle, who sat opposite from Hermione at the library table, caught her staring at the books with a stupid smile on her face.

"Are you already finished with your work?" he scolded.

Hermione's gaze snapped to him. "No, Tom."

Hastily she returned to her Potions essay. For a few minutes she worked in silence then she glanced at Riddle. He was writing something down in that elegant script of his. Hermione pursed her lips as she watched him. Then she cajoled,

"To-om?"

Riddle looked up and raised a suspicious eyebrow. Hermione tried very hard to put on her best puppy-dog face before she mumbled softly,

"Er… there's this party next Friday."

"A party?" He furrowed his brow at her.

Hermione shifted nervously on her chair but wanted to pull through with it now.

"Yes. It's a Gryffindor party," she explained quickly. "And everybody is going."

"Is that so?" Riddle said in his silky unreadable voice.

He scanned her attentively, his piercing eyes boring into Hermione. Still he hadn't yet snapped at her, so she asked,

"Now that I'm a Gryffindor, I wondered… if I could go? Please?"

Riddle just continued to stare at her and Hermione's nervousness spiralled up. Finally he opened his mouth and asked in a quiet voice,

"And where is that mysterious party going to take place?"

She inhaled deeply before she answered, "By the Black Lake."

"Hm," made Riddle and asked colourlessly, "When does it start?"

"Right after dinner."

His face was completely unreadable but he hadn't immediately refused to let her go. Hermione took that as a good sign. Riddle's fingers thrummed against the desktop. He seemed to at least contemplate the request. That was more than Hermione had expected.

"Very well, Hermione," Riddle finally said. "You may go."

Hermione's heart skipped a few beats in joy as she heard it and a smile broke out on her face.

"Thank you, Tom," she said, voice laced with happiness.

"We don't want you to stick out in any way," Riddle replied dryly. "Staying away from a social event like this might get people starting to wonder."

"Of course."

Riddle's frosty eyes shot at her and he said sternly, "Let's establish a few ground rules, though."

Hermione nodded obediently.

"I don't want you to drink any alcohol," Riddle ordered sharply. "I know how those Gryffindor parties go and you will not participate in any form of drinking."

"Yes, Tom," she quickly agreed.

"I also know how lax Gryffindors are concerning rules," he continued, dangerous tint in his voice. "You are a seventh year, curfew is at eleven o'clock. I want you to be back by that time. If you are not, Hermione, I'll come down to the lake and fetch you myself. You certainly don't want that to happen."

Hermione again nodded. Then she hesitated before she said, "Um. The party is rather unofficial. Just Gryffindors know about it. So…" She threw an ingratiating smile at Riddle. "It would be really great if you didn't mention it to anyone. Especially any professor."

Riddle glared at her irately. Hermione pretended not to notice and returned to her essay.

{{{{{{{{+}}}}}}}}

It was already Thursday that Riddle stood in the DADA trainings hall. The first week of classes was almost over and he was quite content. So far, his little Mudblood had done really well in classes. Annoyingly well, Riddle admitted with a smirk. Seemingly, Hermione was a know-it-all but that was still better than her failing her classes. That would make people suspicious.

Riddle dropped out of the teacher's lecture, explaining which curse they were learning today. He sneered inwardly as his gaze wandered over the other students. Most of them would be lucky to be able to produce a simple Stupefy. It was pathetic. Riddle's gaze stopped as it met with a certain curly haired girl. Hermione stood at the back of the crowd, seemingly trying to look inconspicuous. Her head was slightly bent, hiding her face behind strands of her curly hair. Riddle's brow furrowed as he scrutinized Hermione. Strangely enough, he didn't like her display of timidness. A dark shadow crossed Riddle's face as he glowered at the red-headed boy who stood right beside Hermione. Ron Weasley was a pathetic wizard. Still he dared to get closer and closer to Hermione.

"Tom?"

"Hm?" Riddle turned to Malfoy.

The blond smirked at him, looking annoyingly smug, and drawled, "I found out about what you asked me yesterday."

"Yes?" Riddle said curtly.

Malfoy's smirk widened and he puffed up. "I asked father. He replied today. You were right. Obviously there's a soiree planned in a few weeks. Down in Cornwall. A lot of high-ranking Ministry officials will attend. Maybe even the Minister himself."

"I see," Riddle hummed.

"Some old aristocrat is the host. Her name's Smith." Malfoy ran a hand through his blond hair. "I forgot her first name. Something like Barbara."

"Hepzibah Smith?" Riddle suggested quietly.

Malfoy nodded. "Yeah. That's the one."

A smirk slid on Riddle's face. His steely eyes left Malfoy and travelled back to the Mudblood. The girl was still hiding behind her classmates. He really needed to find out if Hermione was up for her task, Riddle decided, coldly amused. Without looking at Malfoy, he asked,

"So, when exactly is that soiree going to take place?"

†

The DADA teacher was odd, Hermione decided. She brandished her wand and shot a Blasting Curse at one of the wooden trainings dummies. The dummy was forcefully thrown against the stonewall. Ginny, who had the dummy right beside Hermione's, grinned at her and gave her a thumbs-up before she waved her own wand.

"Deleo!" Ginny cried.

Hermione could see her wand movements were a bit off. Surely enough Ginny's spell missed her dummy and detonated into the wall. The red-head shrugged her shoulders and grinned lopsidedly at Hermione. Then she tried again. Hermione smiled as this time Ginny hit her dummy.

Hermione's gaze left Ginny and wandered over to the teacher who walked through the room appraising his students' work. The man was rather tall and quite muscular. He actually didn't look at all like a professor. Instead of the common wizard's robes, he wore a black t-shirt and black combat trousers together with heavy boots. His wand was stowed away in a holster at his belt. His light brown hair was tied together at the back of the man's head to keep it out of his face. Inconspicuously, Hermione eyed his face. His skin was tanned as if he spent a lot of time outdoors. His dark skin colour made the white scar stand out even more. It ran from his forehead over his left eye and down the whole length of his face. Hermione wondered what had caused that huge scar. Most distinct on his face, thought, were the eyes. They were an unnatural yellow colour, giving the man an animalistic look. Hermione stiffened as suddenly those sharp yellow eyes snapped to her.

"No slacking off, Rookwood," the man barked at her in a raspy voice.

Hermione ducked her head. "Sorry, Professor Lupin."

He threw her another stern look before he inspected the other students' work. For the rest of the lesson Hermione tried not to stand out in any way. She could see some of the students struggling with the Blasting Curse and nearly all of them spoke the incantation out loud. Hermione hoped that Riddle had been right and no-one would mind that she was bad with verbal spells.

Hermione breathed out in relief as, after some time, Lupin stopped the training. Without being ordered to, the students gathered around a duelling platform, which stood in the middle of the room. Lupin stood on the platform and menacingly eyed his students. A feral grin hung from his lips as he pronounced,

"Time's almost up. You know what that means."

"Duelling!" an enthusiastic voice suggested.

"Exactly so," acquiesced Lupin. "Any volunteers?"

A lot of hands shot in the air. Riddle's as well. Hermione held herself back. She really didn't want to duel in front of everyone. Lupin's steely gaze came to rest on Riddle and he raised his eyebrows. Obviously it wasn't common for Riddle to volunteer.

"Fine," Lupin said. "Riddle, get up here."

With serpentine grace, Riddle stepped on the duelling platform.

"Uh-oh," Hermione heard Seamus beside her mumbling. "Since when does he stoop so low as to duel with us common folk?"

Meanwhile, Lupin scanned Riddle and asked curtly, "Who's going to be your opponent?"

A faint smirk graced Riddle's face as he replied, "Ms Rookwood."

Hermione's eyes widened as she heard it. It wasn't that she was really surprised, but she had hoped Riddle would spare her. Lupin's sharp eyes snapped to her and he contemplated her doubtingly.

"Rookwood, hm?" Lupin pondered. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, sir," Riddle replied smugly.

Lupin merely shrugged and ordered, "Rookwood, come up here."

Slowly Hermione made her way to the duelling platform. The other students observed her, curiously, pityingly. Ginny patted her shoulder encouragingly, grim expression on her face.

"Do you accept the duel?" Lupin asked as Hermione stepped on the platform.

Hermione opened her mouth, but the professor cut over her, "Be aware that we have no special treatment for girls here, neither do we coddle rookies."

His eerily yellow eyes bored into her and he growled, "If you fight, you fight."

That was not really encouraging. Still Hermione whispered diffidently, "I accept."

In face of her timid behaviour, Lupin cocked an eyebrow, grotesquely wrinkling the scar that ran over his left eye. He shrugged his shoulders, seemingly washing his hands of it. Then Lupin glanced at Riddle and reminded sternly,

"No excessive violence and no lethal curses."

He agilely jumped off the duelling platform while barking, "Now, begin!"

Hermione barely had the time to pull her wand as Riddle already slashed his wand through the air. A dangerously crackling curse sizzled Hermione's way. Surprised by the attack, she had to dodge the spell and awkwardly flung herself to the side. Her shoulder cried in protest as Hermione landed hard on it. Riddle didn't give her any time to recover but attacked again. Hermione rolled over and the dark curse impacted with the floor, leaving a smoking black spot.

Shakily she stood up and instantly had to again dodge a curse. Tightly her fingers grabbed her wand but she had yet to fire something back at Riddle. Last time she had duelled him, they had been alone. Hermione just couldn't tune out the many eyes that followed this duel.

†

"That's going to end badly for her," Dolohov remarked indifferently.

Rosier shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well, it's Riddle. No-one can beat him."

Regulus didn't participate in that conversation but silently watched as Riddle sent another curse at the poor girl. She was already lying on the floor and only managed to roll out of the curse's way. Regulus flinched as she was very nearly hit. He could see the girl trembling slightly as she looked at Riddle, anxiety in her eyes. Regulus felt sympathy for her. Riddle was a frightening opponent. Luckily he couldn't use any of his crueller curses during DADA in front of a teacher. For that Regulus was grateful.

"Why's he taking so long?" Malfoy asked languidly as Riddle threw another curse at the helpless girl.

Dolohov, standing right next to Regulus, shrugged. "Maybe that's Riddle's idea of foreplay."

Bellatrix cackled evilly. She stepped closer to Dolohov and snaked an arm around his waist while her other hand played with his tie.

"Mm, Antonin," she whispered seductively. "How about I show you what foreplay really is?"

Dolohov cocked an eyebrow at the witch. She fluttered her thick eyelashes up at him, a destructive smirk on her pretty face. Regulus averted his eyes. He knew Dolohov was sorely tempted by Bellatrix' offer but was also afraid to accept. The witch was dangerous and slightly insane too. A rather unhealthy mixture. Once again Regulus cursed his inbred family. The Noble House of Black. He very nearly rolled his eyes. Surreptitiously he glanced at his cousin. The only authority Bellatrix really accepted was Riddle and even he had problems keeping her in line.

Regulus ignored the other Slytherins and re-focused on the duel. There was a sadistic smirk on Riddle's face that made unpleasant chills darting down Regulus' spine. The dark wizard flicked his wand and sent a curse at Rookwood. Regulus breathed out in relief as it was only a simple Vanishing Spell. The spell dashed through the air, obviously aiming for Rookwood's left arm. The girl managed to step out of the way, but the spell still grazed her left arm slightly. The cuff of Rookwood's black robe sizzled and vanished. Nothing a few tailoring spells couldn't fix, though. Still, a look of absolute horror crossed Rookwood's face as she stared down at her half-exposed left forearm.

"What's he doing?" Bellatrix grumbled, clearly bored by the one-sided duel.

Regulus furrowed his brow. This really was a strange duel. Riddle was way out of Rookwood's league. Why didn't he end it? Instead he threw simple Vanishing Spells at the girl. Regulus watched in trepidation as Rookwood pressed her left arm protectively against her chest and stared at Riddle, true fear in her eyes. A nasty smirk on his face, Riddle scanned her mockingly. Regulus was disgusted by the duel. Riddle just toyed with an obviously weaker opponent. Not that Regulus was surprised. Riddle was a sadistic bastard.

†

Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!

A voice screamed in Hermione's head as she stared at her destroyed uniform sleeve. A little bit more and everybody would have a clear view of her Dark Mark. Hermione glanced at Riddle and found a mocking sneer on his face. What was he doing? Did he want her to end up killed? Seeing Hermione's panic, a derisive smirk twisted Riddle's face.

Hermione gritted her teeth as she felt white hot anger building up in her. All thoughts about the other students watching left her and she just glared at Riddle's mocking smirk.

The bastard!

With a newfound resolve, Hermione slashed her wand sharply through the air and formed her incensed magic into a curse. A sickle of light erupted from her wand. It crackled dangerously as it rushed towards Riddle. He erected a shield around himself. Hermione's curse crashed violently into the shield. It held, but the force behind the attack was strong enough to hurl Riddle away. He brutally slammed into the floor. Remotely Hermione heard surprised gasps coming from the audience.

"Ha, serves you right," she hotly told Riddle's crumbled form.

He got back to his feet and looked at her. Hermione was mildly surprised to not find an angry snarl on his face. Instead, he smirked at her, showing his teeth.

"No gloating," he told her, dark amusement hidden in his voice. "We are not finished yet."

With that, he brandished his wand. This time, Hermione was prepared. She quickly raised her wand and drew a wide circle in the air in front of her.

Clipei!

As she completed the circle a thick green barrier appeared out of thin air. Riddle's curse slammed into the round shield. The shield absorbed the attack's power until nothing was left, then it shattered like glass. Hermione didn't wait for another attack. She raised her wand over her head and brought it down in a diagonal movement. Instantly a Cutting Hex detached itself from the wand's tip and rushed towards Riddle. Hermione didn't stop there but repeated the movement a few times so that a succession of hexes dashed towards Riddle. He erected a strong shield with a flick of his wand. Hermione's first Cutting Hex crashed into his shield and was easily stopped. But as more and more hexes pelted down on it, Riddle's shield flickered dangerously. Satisfied, Hermione watched the annoying grin finally melt from his face. Her last Cutting Hex thundered into his weakened shield and cut through. Unhindered, it dashed towards Riddle. He barely had the time to jump out of the way. Hermione's Cutting Hex crashed into the ground and left behind a deep gash in the wooden floor, the edges sizzling angrily.

Hermione knew it was wrong, but she felt a little bit pleased as she saw a cut in Riddle's leg right above his knee. Red blood trickled from the cut. By now the mocking countenance had left Riddle completely. All playfulness gone, a dark glint glistened in his frosty eyes as stared at the slash in his leg. Slowly he raised his head and his cold gaze landed on her. Hermione could feel Riddle's angry magic in the air gaining in power. It now furiously stormed around the wizard while he glared at her darkly. It made chills darting down Hermione's spine and she nervously grabbed her wand tighter.

It was then that Hermione remembered a curse, she found in an old book in the Malfoys' library. Of course, she had never tried it. Glancing at Riddle, Hermione saw that he started to wave his wand, intending to attack her. Quickly she reacted. Abruptly, Hermione spread her arms to the sides, pushing her magic into them. Then she moved both arms in front of her and grabbed her wand with two hands, pointing it at Riddle.

Fulmen!

Channelled through the wand, Hermione was able to focus her magic. She flinched as the curse tugged drastically at her reserves. A blindingly bright flash of light left her wand's tip. It cut through the air like a lightning bolt, followed by the associated thunder.

In the blink of an eye, it reached Riddle. The wizard hastily aborted his own attack to raise a shield. A thick translucent wall formed itself in front of Riddle just a second before Hermione's curse thundered into that defence. It held. Riddle had his left hand raised, palm pointing to the barrier to maintain the magic. Hermione narrowed her eyes and her fingers flexed around her wand as she pushed more magic behind her attack. Under Hermione onslaught, cracks appeared in Riddle's defence. His eyes widened in surprise and he stared at Hermione, disbelief barely hidden on his face.

A small crack appeared in his barrier. Parts of Hermione's curse passed and angrily wrenched at Riddle, forcing him a step back. Riddle bared his teeth in a snarl. His left hand was still raised to maintain the protective wall but he now slightly flicked his wrist, changing his hand's position. His shield rotated around itself and slammed sideways into Hermione's attack. The lightning bolt was not stopped but its direction was diverted. It missed Riddle and instead slammed into the stone wall on the other end of the duelling room. The stone cracked and a crater was ripped into the thick wall.

At the same time, Riddle raised his right arm and waved his wand at Hermione. She was too slow to protect herself in any way. Hermione gasped in pain as a curse crashed into her side, knocking the air from her lungs. She was violently thrown to the ground and cried out in pain as her elbow was painfully dragged over the floor, leaving an abrasive burn. Hermione came to rest, lying crumbled on the floor and holding her painful elbow.

She ignored the pain but quickly sprang to her feet. Riddle again brandished his wand gracefully. A thick iron chain sprang forth from the tip of his wand. It rushed through the air, directly towards Hermione. Quickly she whirled her own wand.

Sphera! Hermione cried in her head. A greyish shield formed itself around her. Like a bubble it completely surrounded Hermione. The iron chain reached her and immediately wrapped around the grey shield. Hermione was surprised as she could feel no magic radiating from the chain. It didn't challenge her shield at all. The heavy chain clanked rustily as it coiled itself over Hermione's entire shield. Still, it was quite easy to hold it off.

Hermione furrowed her brow in confusion about Riddle's weak attack and glanced at him through the chain links. He was staring back at her. The malice stealthily lingering in his gaze didn't manage to reassure her at all. Then Riddle again raised his wand. This time his wand movement was incredibly complicated and Hermione didn't recognize it at all.

"Hephaistos," he whispered the spell softly.

Hermione gasped as suddenly she felt the chain charging up with magic. First slow but then faster and faster, the iron chain glowed with thick magic. As a result the chain – now strengthened – tightened threateningly around the bubble shield. Hermione had to direct more of her magic into the shield. She groaned softly as yet again the chain constricted around her defensive shield. As if exposed to a powerful heat source, the iron started to glow in a bright red light. Beads of sweat appeared on Hermione's forehead as the air around her began to heat up. Mercilessly the chain burned and melted into her shield. Already Hermione's bubble shield lost its round form and was deformed where the chain's coils compressed it. While Hermione desperately tried to maintain her shield, she could glimpse Riddle and the cruel satisfaction on his face.

As her shield began to collapse Hermione summoned as much of her magic as she could. Determined, she waved her wand at the chain. Only a small gash appeared in the chain and the destroyed chain links rapidly melted together again. Hermione didn't hesitate. She flung herself through the small opening, burning herself where she touched the white hot iron.

Hermione cried out as she impacted painfully with the floor. All breath left her and she lay on the floor, dizzy. Then she felt her wand shooting out of her hand and knew Riddle had sent a disarming spell at her. Her head was spinning as she rolled over and pushed herself up. Crouched on the floor, she looked up and nearly snarled at the sight that greeted her. Insidious smile in place, Riddle casually twirled her own wand through his fingers. Fury swelled up in Hermione as she saw the scorn in the wizard's blue eyes.

"Oh, dear." Riddle exclaimed. Hermione gritted her teeth angrily as she heard the mock concern. "I hope I didn't hurt you there."

The polite worry Riddle displayed was a travesty. Hermione could clearly see the derisive smirk underneath his façade. Anger boiled up in her. Seeing her ire, Riddle winked at her, his scorn hitting Hermione hard.

The duel was over. Hermione had been disarmed. But she was unable to stop now. White hot fury rushed through her veins and she couldn't stand that smug expression on Riddle's face. In one fluid motion, she pushed herself from the floor and raced towards Riddle. He clearly wasn't expecting her attack and had no time to react. Hermione jumped and tackled him. Although she was lighter than Riddle, she had the moment of surprise on her side. He was flung to the ground with Hermione on top of him. A soft gasp of pain escaped him as the back of his head bumped into the floor. Hermione, for one, didn't stop to see if he was alright. She already reached for her wand which was still in his hand. Dizzily, Riddle struggled beneath her, moving her wand out of her reach. Hermione quickly latched onto his left arm and tried to pry his fingers from her chestnut wand. Riddle only gripped it tighter and now raised his other arm, aiming his own wand at her. Seeing this, Hermione clutched his left forearm with both hands. Then she bit down hard on Riddle's hand, drawing blood. He cried out in pain. His grip slackened and Hermione's wand fell from his fingers.

With an angry snarl, Riddle violently pushed Hermione from him. His now profusely bleeding hand closed around her neck, squeezing painfully. Then he brutally twirled her around, so that now Hermione was lying on the floor with Riddle looming over her. His hand never released its painful grip on her neck as he pinned her down. From lack of oxygen black dots already danced in her vision as Hermione glared up at him. The wrath of hell maliciously raged in Riddle's eyes as he stared down at her. The hand that was not chocking the life out of her pointed his wand right into her face. Although barely able to breathe, Hermione sent a grim smile up at Riddle. Then she raised her hand and bored her own wand firmly into his stomach. She could see his eyes widen slightly as he realized the compromising position he was in. His fingers angrily tightened around her neck, as a result Hermione cruelly jabbed her wand into his stomach. Riddle furiously bared his teeth and Hermione merely smirked at him. It seemed they had hit an impasse.

Before they both decided to curse the other, a deep voice barked out, "Enough!"

For a second, neither of them moved. Then slowly reality seeped back to them. Riddle reluctantly released the death grip he had on her neck. Hermione gasped in a breath of air and slowly removed her wand from him. Riddle climbed from her and got up from the floor. All the while, he kept aiming his wand at her. Hermione mimicked his actions and shakily stood up, never releasing the tight grip on her wand. No emotion was on Riddle's face as he looked at her. Only his deep blue eyes were glowing wildly, dangerously. Hermione never let him out of her line of view. Through the corners of her eyes she saw Lupin hopping on the duelling platform.

Seething hot, Hermione remembered that they were actually not alone. Nervousness rushed back to her and she turned her head. The other students still stood around the platform, now in stunned silence. All of them eyed her with varying degrees of shock on their faces. Hermione lowered her head, feeling painfully exposed. In the meantime, Lupin strode over to her and Riddle. Cautiously, Hermione peered up at the man. He scanned her through his strange yellow eyes. After a moment, he decided in his rough voice,

"Good duel."

He didn't say anything to Riddle. Lupin turned to the crowd of students and addressed them,

"I hope you all learned something from this duel."

He bared his teeth in a feral grin. "In a real fight, there are no rules. You only win when your opponent is down."

A murmur went through the crowd as they wondered what exactly Lupin meant with 'being down'. The man's fierce grin widened, then he barked,

"Class dismissed!"

Hermione didn't dare to throw another glance at Riddle. Pocketing her wand, she quickly left the duelling platform. She spotted her house mates and stepped over to them. Ron's eyes were comically large as he stared at her. Hermione shuffled uncomfortably. Dean and Seamus had pretty much the same expression pasted on their faces. It was Ginny, blinking at Hermione in amazement, who spoke first.

"Hermione," she whispered. "That… that…" Ginny stepped closer and suddenly a smile split her face. "That was awesome!"

Hermione furrowed her brow, confused. "Really?"

"Yes," exclaimed Ginny excitedly. "I've never seen Riddle getting battered like that."

Finally the other Gryffindors were ripped from their stupor and grinned at Hermione. Ron clapped Hermione's back and chortled,

"It was brilliant."

"Didn't know you had it in you." Grinned Dean.

Hermione intentionally avoided it to look over to the Slytherins as she left the trainings room together with her friends. Seamus was laughing,

"Gods, you should have seen Riddle's face as you suddenly jumped him."

Hermione cast down her head, embarrassed. She couldn't go and attack her master like that. Nausea made her head swirl as she remembered how she had bit Riddle. Merlin!

Are you stupid? a nasty voice in her mind hissed at her. The next time she was alone with Riddle, she would be lucky if he didn't crucio her into insanity. Hermione was feeling shaky on her legs as she walked into the Great Hall. Glumly she realized that after dinner she would have to go to the Heads' common room and face Riddle.

"How did you learn to fight like that?" Ginny's voice drifted through Hermione's anxiety.

"Well… ehm…" she stuttered. Then she remembered her fake background story and said, "My father was an Unspeakable. He taught me."

Ginny nodded, seemingly buying the lie.

"Lucky you," the redhead said. "My father only ever taught me how to use a telephone." She paused before adding suspiciously, "And I think he did it wrong."

Hermione furrowed her brow. "Telephone?"

That was a Muggle invention. With the strict separation from the Muggle world, wizards were not allowed to make contact with Muggle items. Seeing the frown on Hermione's face, Ginny quickly explained,

"My Dad works for the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office."

"Aw, Ginny. Don't bore her." Ron intervened.

He gently pushed Hermione down on her seat at Gryffindor table while he continued,

"Seriously, though. I don't think I've ever seen someone duel like that. Finally that stuck up snake got competition."

"Erm…" Hermione stuttered.

Now that they sat in the Great Hall, she could see the other students scanning her curiously. A blush hit Hermione and she lowered her head. If only she hadn't duelled against Riddle. Obviously Ginny had seen the nosy stares as well and noticed the effect they had on Hermione. She cleared her throat pointedly before she changed the topic,

"So what did you think of Lupin?"

Hermione glanced at Ginny's smiling face.

"He's…" she said hesitantly. "I don't know… he's kinda…"

"Scary?" offered Ron, grinning broadly.

Hermione's own lips curved into a smile and she nodded.

"It's no wonder," Seamus supplied. "Lupin's a werewolf."

"What?" gasped Hermione, her eyes large.

Seamus nodded importantly. Seeing her shocked face, he chuckled, "Yup, he's a werewolf."

Hermione blinked at him and breathed weakly, "I- I didn't know they were teaching."

"They don't," said Ron, stuffing mashed potato into his mouth. "Lupin's an exception."

"And we're damn lucky he is," expressed Seamus, angling for a dish with lamb chops.

Hermione stared at Seamus for a moment. Then she couldn't hold back anymore.

"We truly are." Her eyes glistened with enthusiasm. "Wow, a real werewolf. Why did no-one tell me? I could have asked Professor Lupin so many questions."

"It's bloody brilliant," Seamus agreed. "You know, after I graduate, I'm going to submit my application to the Corps."

Ron raised his eyebrows, scepticism clear on his freckled face. "You know it's harder to get accepted into the Corps than getting accepted into Auror academy, don't you?"

"Yeah," Dean commented. "You'll need more than just a handful of NEWTs."

Seamus shrugged and defended, "I can manage."

Dean merely raised his eyebrows in doubt. Ron grinned while wolfing down his meal. Ginny only shook her head and warned Seamus,

"If you're going to enlist, that's for life. No way back once you're bitten."

†

Hermione dragged out dinner until almost all students had already left the Great Hall. Only then did she get up and sluggishly made her way to the Heads' common room. She wondered how Riddle would punish her. After all, a wizard's duel didn't involve tackling the opponent and half gnawing his hand off.

Glumly Hermione walked up to the centaur that guarded the Heads' chambers. The stone statue jumped out of Hermione's way even before she could mutter any password. Obviously Riddle awaited her. Hermione led her head hang and opened the door. Heart thrumming in her chest, she stood on the threshold. Hermione tensed as she heard Riddle walking over to her but she didn't dare look up at him. Not even as he stood directly in front of her. Her gaze immediately wandered to his left hand. She worried her lip as she found a white bandage wrapped tightly around the hand just where she had bit him.

"There you are," Riddle's deep voice said. "Took you long enough."

Although his voice had not been the expected angry snarl, Hermione still cringed. Riddle's hand closed around her shoulder and pulled her into the room.

"Come in," he said brusquely.

Trepidation turning her stomach, Hermione stood in the Heads' common room, still not looking up at Riddle. He stood before her and Hermione knew he was going to yell at her or, even worse, curse her. So, she quickly bowed to him and whispered,

"I don't know what came over me during the duel. I'm sorry."

"Hm," Riddle hummed.

A finger under her chin forced Hermione to raise her head. Riddle's face was an impenetrable mask but Hermione stiffened as she saw his eyes raging with the same fire she had seen while duelling him. His fingers wandered around her chin until he held her jaw in a painfully tight grip. Hermione supressed a whimper. Riddle's deep blue eyes cut into her, something gleaming in them sinisterly. Then he opened his mouth and said, a threatening tinge laced around his low voice,

"You are sorry, are you?"

His fingers bit achingly into her skin as Hermione blinked tears from her eyes. Swallowing down her fear, she managed to argue weakly,

"I didn't want to duel. You chose me..."

The murderous sheen in Riddle's eyes flared up and he inquired glacially, "So it's my fault that you fight like a rabid dog, is it?"

Hermione scanned him. His grip was so tight now, she feared he would break her jaw. Painful disappointment crashed down on Hermione. Riddle wanted her to take all blame for that disastrous duel. Hermione shuddered. Somehow she had thought Riddle was different. Special, even. Hermione had hoped that he was nothing like Draco Malfoy, nothing like all those people who continued to spit on her very existence. 'Filthy animal!' Hermione shuddered at Carrow's cold voice. She had hoped that Riddle would be able to see more in her.

Maybe Riddle is nothing special after all.

Hermione ignored her racing heart and the painful stab in her chest. Looking up at Riddle, she said firmly,

"I only tried to defend myself."

After this, Hermione knew Riddle would slap her. A Mudblood did not have any business defending herself against her master. Riddle would surely curse her. The vicious gleam still burned in his eyes and now flared up even more. He didn't react in the expected way, though. Before Hermione knew what was happening, Riddle abruptly bent down to her. She gasped in surprise as he crashed his mouth against hers. Hungrily his lips moved against her as if he had waited for this to happen.

"Of course you did," Riddle whispered against her lips. "And quite spectacularly, I might add."

With that Riddle straightened up and scanned her through hooded eyes. Hermione was completely flustered by him. She had expected a different outcome of this conversation.

"You are very powerful, Hermione," Riddle whispered, his voice a seductive purr.

Gently he pushed her backwards. Hermione gasped as her legs hit something. She lost her balance and fell down on the couch. Riddle lowered himself down to her. His mouth teased her earlobe before he whispered,

"Never apologize for that."

His fingers skimmed over her cheek and down her neck. Gingerly Riddle pulled at the collar of her blouse, exposing the red skin where he had grabbed Hermione during the duel. He bent down and placed gentle kisses on the sore skin. Then he glanced up at her and said seriously,

"I'm sorry I hurt you."

Hermione's eyebrows shot up and she mumbled, "It- it's fine. I've had worse."

A faint frown appeared on his face as Riddle heard that. Quickly, though, it disappeared. The devilish smirk was back in place and he cooed,

"Still, I want to make it up to you."

Before Hermione could question that, he swooped down to her. Once again his mouth was pressed over hers. He sensuously nibbled at her lips, his body pressed against her. All will to argue instantly drained from Hermione. Riddle's fingers gently carded through her hair, drawing a content moan from her. His hand left her hair and skimmed down. Tantalizingly his fingers traced patterns on her stomach.

"T- Tom?" Hermione breathed.

Riddle only chuckled darkly and proceeded to kiss her. Desire welled up in Hermione as Riddle's sneaky fingers teasingly wandered to the buttons of her blouse. Hermione found her head swirl. She couldn't think straight anymore between Riddle's hot kisses and his hands on her body. Hermione knew this was going too far. Yet she was powerless to stop him. Riddle sneakily opened the buttons of her blouse to then greedily brush his fingers over her exposed skin. Hermione shuffled under him, pleasurable shivers running up and down her body. Soon Riddle's fingers made contact with her bra and Hermione gasped softly.

"No," Hermione stuttered weakly, fighting against that traitorous feeling bubbling up in her. "We can't do that."

Riddle didn't want to listen. His hand greedily skimmed over the swell of her breasts. Hermione moaned. His touch evoked incredible feelings to crash down on her. While he caressed her breasts, Riddle's other hand decided to travel slowly down Hermione's body. She knew she needed to push him away, but somehow couldn't convince her arms to move. Hermione's breathing hitched as Riddle's fingers brushed over her leg, fondling the inner side of her thigh. His ministrations lit an exciting fire in Hermione's stomach. She was consumed by that fire and could do nothing but moan as Riddle placed hot kisses over her neck. Hermione moaned as his sneaky fingers wandered upwards her leg until they met with her knickers. Feather-light, the tips of his fingers danced over her clothed skin. Hermione almost burst with lust as she felt the contact. She was unable and unwilling to stop Riddle as his hand found the hem of her knickers and slipped inside. Hermione gasped as he touched her tender flesh. His skilful fingers wandered over her, teasing, exploring, until they found that small nub. A soft groan left Hermione as he started to rub it.

"Y- you…" she choked, her thoughts threatened to be carried away by the hot desire burning in her. "You need to stop."

Riddle replied nothing. His thumb and index finger pinched that little button and Hermione cried out as a wave of pleasure overwhelmed her. She helplessly thrashed under Riddle's body as he explored her needy flesh. A cry of pleasure left her as one of his fingers slipped into her.

"Tom!"

"Yes?" Riddle whispered into her ear, his husky voice showing a hint of amusement.

Hermione's voice was rough with desire but she still managed to argue, "It's wrong…"

He wriggled the finger inside of her and Hermione groaned. Another finger entered her, stretching her. Her breathing came quicker as she felt his fingers moving in and out of her. Hermione could hardly concentrate on anything but that burning feeling originating from her stomach.

"I am your Master," Riddle's voice ruthlessly broke through her daze. "So I guess you'll have to just take it."

Hermione could only answer with a groan as all those feelings and urges were pelting down on her. Riddle's mouth traced her neck with kisses as his lips wandered down. She gasped again as he bit her skin where her neck and shoulder met. Riddle quickly tugged her bra out of the way. Then his mouth reached her breasts. Hermione could feel his hot tongue on her skin, playing with her, teasing her. A helpless tremble ran through her body as his tongue traced her nipple. She felt his teeth biting gently down on it and another wave of this burning feeling hit her hard. She could barely concentrate on anything else but his touches, his kisses. He was forcing this on her. Always had she been afraid something like this would happen to her, then why was she feeling so good?

"No," she choked, desperately fighting against that urgent need building up in her. "Stop."

His soft chuckle sent shivers over her whole body. His fingers again entered her tight passage, now deeper than before, while his thumb danced over that little button. Hermione moaned. Riddle's lips left her breast and he raised his head, looking up at her. His blue eyes were glinting darkly as they bored into her, mirroring her own lust. Hermione wanted to but she couldn't avert her eyes.

"I don't think I'm going to stop," Riddle said in his deep voice.

Maintaining eye contact he slid his fingers out of her, just to enter her again, more forceful than before. A tremble ran over her body and she let out another moan. A smirk curled up his mouth.

"No need to lie, Hermione. I can feel how much you enjoy this," Riddle whispered. "Just relax."

The feeling of his fingers sliding in and out of her drove her almost crazy. Her breathing ragged, she still managed to shake her head. It just made him laugh. Then he pressed his mouth over hers, engaging her in a bruising kiss. He sucked at her lower lip, bit it, and again Hermione could do nothing but moan. His tongue slipped into her mouth, taking possession of her. Riddle explored her mouth while his fingers were pumping in and out of her faster now. Her body tensed. The burning ache built up more and more. Hermione couldn't take it anymore. All her thoughts dropped into the back ground. Only that feeling was important. She didn't think any more about who Riddle was. She just raised her arms and wrapped them tightly around his neck, pulling him desperately against herself. Feeling her touch, his kiss became even more passionate. Hermione moaned and ran her fingers through his dark hair.

Then she kissed him back for the first time ever.

Urgently she rubbed her tongue against his, not letting him play alone anymore. Now it was her who plunged her tongue into his mouth. Hungrily exploring, claiming. Everything tingled. Her whole body was on fire. Riddle's lips, his tongue and his hands, they made her almost burst with torturous anticipation. Harshly, Hermione bit down on his lower lip and ripped at his dark hair, demanding his full attention. She wanted him closer still. A gasp left her as his fingers again entered her forcefully and stayed deeply lodged inside of her. With that the burning feeling in her stomach exploded and ran through her whole body. Hermione stopped the kiss and buried her face into Riddle's shoulder as she screamed out in pleasure while clawing at his back. Her whole body trembled as she clutched him desperately, completely enjoying the feelings rushing over her.

Hermione's breathing was heavy as slowly the pleasure ebbed away. Tiredness spread and she leaned against Riddle. Her face was still pressed against him and her arms were tightly wrapped around him. As she lay in his arms, her thoughts decided to come back to her. Slowly Hermione's mind caught up with her actions. What had she just done with Riddle? Heat hit her face hard and Hermione knew she was blushing fiercely. Now she pressed her face against Riddle not because she felt spent, but because she wanted to hide.

It was Riddle who moved first. After a while, he pulled away from her. He sat beside her on the sofa and Hermione knew his eyes were wandering over her, but she didn't look up at him. She was so embarrassed. What had come over her?

Hermione startled as she again felt his hands on her. She was surprised as he pulled down her skirt, tugged at her bra and carefully buttoned up her blouse so everything was where it should be. Hermione's eyes fluttered up at him. She found Riddle smirking down at her. Surprisingly, it was neither mocking nor in any way degrading. He leaned down to her and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

"You are beautiful," his dark voice whispered to her.

For the moment, Hermione decided to ignore her doubts. She smiled up at Riddle and nestled against him, relaxing comfortably against his chest. She contently closed her eyes as she felt him encasing her in his arms.

{{{{{{{{+}}}}}}}}

'If I saw young girls from their mother's arms

Bartered and sold for their youthful charms,

My eye would flash with a mournful flame,

My death-paled cheek grow red with shame.'

- Frances Ellen Watkins Harper

(* 1825 †1911)