Disclaimer in chapter one

Author's note: Hello, my dear readers. This is not really a new chapter, but an additional scene for 'Please, save me'. I got a wonderful review for chapter 23 from WrittinInStone, which made me write this little extra scene. I hadn't planned anything like this, but I really liked the idea. So here is my interpretation of Hermione's and Tom's couple time alone.

I wasn't sure to put it here or in a separate story upload. Well, it ended up here. Too late now hehe

Enjoy… hopefully ^^ and review if you like, of course.

"Some romantic one on one Tom/Hermione time. Maybe Hermione can suggest a get-away over a break and get Tom to take her somewhere they can just be a couple. It would be different for Tom and I would enjoy seeing how he would react to something like that." - WrittinInStone

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Chapter 25 ¾ - Special

Tom tapped his fingers against the table top, feeling irritated as his gaze wandered over the revised schedule of the prefects rota. Being Head Boy sure got on his nerves sometimes. Tom still didn't understand why Dippet insisted that the prefects do rounds after curfew to catch any rule breakers. In Tom's humble opinion, the prefects weren't in any way more trustworthy than the other students. The whole thing was just a waste of his time.

On top of his work as Head Boy, Tom still had to complete that pointless essay for Carrow. Tiredly, he ran a hand through his hair, wishing to just curl up on his bed and forget all about his chores. Now that he thought on it, he also had to somehow get back at Anthony Rickett. The stupid Hufflepuff dared to spread some nasty rumours about the Knights. Of course, no-one had real evidence against the Knights. Tom always made sure of that. Oh, he really didn't want to deal with this insipid drama. He couldn't care less what the whole school thought of his Knights. Unfortunately, as their leader, he needed to deflect all those rumours from his person …no matter how true they might be. Tom groaned wearily and blinked listlessly down at his prefect rota.

His inner lament was interrupted by the door being opened. Tom looked up and saw Hermione bouncing into the Heads' common room, big smile on her face. He narrowed his eyes at her evidently good mood, feeling even more annoyed.

"Tom," Hermione chirped happily. "I've been searching for you."

Crinkling his nose at the smile on her face, Tom replied morosely, "What do you want?"

His suspicion heightened as Hermione blushed slightly, trying to look innocent, while she hid something behind her back. At least Tom's curiosity was piqued.

"What's that?" he inquired, motioning at her hidden hands.

Hermione grinned at him toothily and stepped closer to him. "The reason I've been searching for you."

With that the Mudblood pulled a magazine from behind her back and put it on the table in front of Tom, showing little respect for his prefects' schedule. Tom blinked down at the magazine and promptly furrowed his brow.

"This is Muggle," he accused sharply.

Hermione nodded and, completely ignoring his outrage, cheerfully flipped the magazine open.

"Ron gave it to me," she told Tom merrily. "His dad works with the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office."

Feeling rather disgusted, Tom glared at the glossy magazine and its non-moving photos. Muggle technology was just useless, wasn't it?

"Why did you bring it to me?" he asked irritably.

Once again, the completely innocent smile slid back on Hermione's face and she fluttered her eyelashes at Tom. He groaned,

"What do you want?"

She pointed at an article and gushed enthusiastically, "Look. Isn't that great? It sounds fantastic and I checked it out, it's not even that expensive."

Tom pursed his lips and reluctantly skimmed over the article. It was some inane chatter about hotel recommendations. He sneered down at the magazine.

"Why are you showing this to me?"

Hermione quickly put her finger on one of the tested hotels and explained happily, "Look at this one. It's in Seaton and very close to the beach. Just five minutes by foot. And the beach is really nice, too."

A deep frown appeared on Tom's forehead as he finally understood what the girl wanted. Sighing deeply, he voiced his rejection, "Hermione, I really don't thi-"

"I know… it's a Muggle hotel," she whispered hesitantly. "I just…"

Tom looked up at her and watched as the happy smile melted from Hermione's face. Her brown eyes were fixed on the photograph of the beach and he could see something wistful and sad clouding them. Then her gaze wandered to him. A despondent look darkened her features and Tom was annoyed as he felt a small stab in his chest. Hermione threw him a bleak smile.

"You're right. It's a stupid idea. It's just… Ever since you showed me the Room of Requirement, I just couldn't stop thinking about the beach."

Tom's eyes widened with comprehension. Gesturing at the picture, he said, "That's the beach you've been with your parents, isn't it?"

Hermione looked down at the magazine, thin smile curving her lips, and nodded. Tom sighed deeply. He really had neither time nor money for this. He glanced at the crestfallen look on Hermione's face and sighed again.

"Okay," Tom said reluctantly. "I guess I can make time for this. How about this weekend?"

Hermione stared at him in surprise and Tom was glad as he observed how the jaded look left her eyes and they sparkled at him again. A wide smile lit up Hermione's features.

"Really?"

Tom nodded slowly, wondering why the hell he agreed to this. Hermione laughed cheerfully. She wrapped her arms around Tom's neck and placed kisses all over his face.

"Thank you!"

"Yeah, yeah," Tom replied surly and pushed her away from him. "Now, leave me alone. I have work to do."

Hermione nodded and, still beaming widely, skipped out of the Heads' common room. Tom rolled his eyes at her enthusiasm. He wondered whom he would have to imperius to be able to afford that hotel.

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Turned out, it was the receptionist of the hotel. Though, Tom only needed a little Confundus Charm and not an Imperius.

Feeling pleased with himself, he stepped into a large hotel room, closely followed by a very excited Hermione. It was the most expensive room of the hotel and rather lavishly furnished. Tom's gaze wandered over the huge, soft looking king-size bed and a smirk twisted his lips. At least he didn't have to actually pay for it, he thought maliciously as he put his duffle bag beside the bed.

Meanwhile, Hermione danced through the room, admiring it with wide eyes. Tom tried to hide his evil smirk. She was such a goody two-shoes sometimes, and would probably not approve of him basically stealing from the hotel.

"Oh, look at this bathtub," Hermione's excited voice trilled into Tom's ears. "It's really big."

Tom flopped down on the bed and watched as Hermione left the bathroom and happily skipped around the room, looking at the TV set and marvelling at the nice view from the balcony. She grinned cheerfully as she plopped down beside Tom on the bed.

"Did you see the restaurant downstairs? We could eat something," she chattered merrily away. "And I also saw that there's supposed to be a golf course around somewhere here. Did you ever play golf? I didn't. We should try it out. It's cheaper for hotel guests. Also, I think there's some kind of hiking trail around here. We could che-"

"Hermione," Tom interrupted her amusedly. "Didn't you want to come here because of the beach? We only stay the one night. How about we go down there now?"

And just like that, the happy smile slid from Hermione's face as if it had never been more than a thin façade. She breathed in deeply and stared down at her hands lying in her lap, lost look on her face. Tom was confused by her sudden change of mood.

"Hermione?" He slid closer to her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong."

She laughed nervously and glanced at him with watery eyes. Then she quickly avoided his eyes again. Tom raised a hand and clasped her chin so he could tilt her face up.

"Tell me," he ordered her sharply.

Hermione blinked at him, lips pressed into a thin line. Tom's fingers tightened their grip and he wished he could simply force her to talk. With Hermione, though, violence wouldn't have the desired effect. She would clam up even more. So Tom pushed his incensed magic away from her. Then he bent down and kissed her on the forehead before he released her again.

"You can tell me, you know," he said, attempting to sound gentle.

Hermione breathed in deeply as if trying to brace herself. She twisted her hands nervously. For a moment, it didn't look like she would ever reply anything, but then she started in a quavering voice,

"I haven't been here since I visited with my parents. I don't remember much from… before I entered the Wizarding World. But I do remember that beach. How I played in the water. And… and how I built a sand castle with my dad. Mum b- bought me ice cream. And I w- would nap on the towel under our beach umbrella…" She raised a trembling hand and rubbed it over her face. "Those were our last holidays. That year, they… they died."

Hermione's hand wandered to Tom and he felt how she tightly gripped his wrist. It was strange how her weakness didn't cause contempt to bubble up in him. Instead, seeing her sadness made white-hot anger rage in Tom. There was nothing he could do, though. No-one to curse. Tom could not travel into Hermione's past and make everything right. In the end, he knew that even if he could change her past, he wouldn't. All the things that had happened to her, had ultimately driven her into his arms.

"I'm scared," Hermione confessed quietly. "of seeing that beach again… I shouldn't have come."

Tom leaned back on his arms and eyed the Mudblood. She looked shaken with her pale face and wide eyes. Tom had to admit, he wasn't very good at comforting people, at least not in a sincere way. Unfortunately, Hermione would see right through it if he pulled any of his usual lies. In the end Tom told her,

"It's just a beach, Hermione."

It came out a lot more callously than he would have liked and he only managed to make Hermione sniffle pathetically. Frustration mounted up in him. This was way harder than he had expected, but telling her that she was being stupid would probably make everything even worse. Tom now regretted having brought Hermione here.

Maybe she could somehow sense his upcoming annoyance, because she now peered at him and whispered a soft, "I'm sorry."

Tom looked at her. She tried to hide it behind a thin smile, but he still saw the insecurity and sorrow on her face. Dealing with the Mudblood could be very tedious at times. Tom didn't reply anything, but wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her down with him so they ended up lying on the bed. He couldn't help put tighten his arm around her, possessively tugging her body into his side.

"I'll get you a new beach towel and an umbrella," he told her decisively. "It's not really the height of the season, but I'm sure I can find you some ice cream somewhere."

Hermione sniffed again tearfully, but then she nestled closer against him. Tom felt how she draped an arm around his chest, holding him tightly, and buried her face in his shirt. Her voice was muffled, but he somehow could hear a small smile in it as she asked,

"Are you also going to build a sand castle with me?"

Tom relaxed a bit. At least he had managed to calm her down. He raised a hand and gently ran his fingers through her curly hair.

"If you want me to," he conceded.

Hermione's arm tightened around him and she nodded, face still buried against him. A smirk slid on Tom's face. For a while, they just lay on the bed while Tom continued to rake his fingers through her hair and Hermione snuggled against him.

"I don't even have a swimsuit," she told him after some time.

Tom chuckled, "It's too cold to swim anyway."

"Hm." She raised her head and looked up at him, small smile hesitantly tugging at her lips. "Shall we go now?"

Tom wiped a strand of her curly hair behind her ear.

"Yes."

†

It was a beach: Sand, ocean, squawking seagulls and an unpleasant drizzle from the waves. Nothing special, really. Tom eyed the beach in disinterest while Hermione stood beside him, holding his hand in a vice-like grip. He could feel how she shivered slightly.

"Want to go closer?" he asked cautiously.

Hermione nodded, eyes fixed on the ocean while her lower lip trembled slightly. Tom pulled her from the pavement and down to the sand. The beach was empty. A distance away, Tom could make out a solitary jogger, but that was it. Not that he was surprised. The weather really left much to be desired. The sea looked decidedly uninviting as it lay before them in an ugly grey colour. The cold wind ripped at Tom and he just wanted to go back to the warm hotel room.

Hermione, though, had other plans. Stock-still she stood beside Tom and her eyes slowly wandered over the sand and the ocean, drinking in the dreary picture. To Hermione it didn't seem to be so dreary after all, because she breathed in deeply and suddenly there was a smile curving her lips. She turned her head and beamed up at Tom.

"It's beautiful."

Cold wind still ripping at his jacket and salt water assaulting his face, Tom was off another opinion. Still, he lied and said,

"Yes."

Hermione nodded, eyes flashing with excitement. "I forgot how wonderful it was."

Tom was satisfied that she had seemingly overcome her despondent mood. With a furrowed brow, he watched as Hermione then bent down, slipped out of her shoes and pulled off her socks.

"What are you doing?"

Hermione smiled up at him as she rolled up her trousers. "We have to get closer. Walk in the water."

As he continued to just look at her in displeasure, she tugged at his hand. "Come on."

"Why?" Tom inquired, bemused by her actions.

Hermione bent up again and shrugged, still smiling. "Because it's fun?"

Reluctantly, he eyed the ocean licking at the beach. The water still looked cold and unpleasant.

"Can I wait here?"

Hermione shook her head. "No."

Tom screwed up his nose, but still allowed her to pull him with her closer to the water. A contemptuous look slid on his face as he watched Hermione splashing with her feet around in the water while laughing softly. He shook his head and cast a quick Impervius Charm on his shoes and trousers. The girl threw him a reproachful look.

"You're missing out on the fun," she informed him.

"I'll survive," said Tom dryly.

Then he offered her his hand. In an instant, the smile was back on Hermione's face and she clasped his hand. Together they meandered down the beach. Hermione obviously enjoyed having the cold water freezing her feet. Now and then she stooped down to pick up a shell, smiling widely. Tom could only shake his head at her antics, but didn't comment.

Holding her hand tightly, he had to admit, though, it wasn't too horrible here.

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