Chapter Five

The Hog's Head was not the same color in the past. Hermione was not surprised by this, of course. Who would leave their restaurant unpainted for fifty years, even in the Wizarding world? Tom watched her as she looked around, and couldn't help but smirk.

"You've been here before, surely, Granger?" he asked after a few moments passed and she still hadn't subsided.

"Yes, of course," she said. "It seems—different. Not as dark. And the hog's head at the entrance still has both of its eyes."

Tom smirked. "I wonder why it would not have both eyes."

"You know, I'm not sure," Hermione answered. "I never bothered to ask. And it certainly wouldn't be useful to ask about it now, as it hasn't happened yet."

"Careful, Hermione," he teased as he put a hand at the base of her spine to scoot her into moving again. "You can't just go around remarking upon things that haven't happened yet in a public place. You never know who might hear you."

"Yes, you're right," she agreed. "That was stupid of me."

"No, not stupid," he corrected. "Just a bit careless. You must remember, especially among the Slytherins, that there are many subtleties hidden beneath the surface. One can never tell the true agenda of their classmates, and so we must all put on an outward face, if only to protect ourselves."

"That seems like such a terrible way to live, always pretending," Hermione told him. "I think I should much prefer to be as open as possible."

"My dear, I fear they are going to eat you alive," Tom said against her ear, then nuzzled his nose in her hair and inhaled sharply. "You bought perfume?"

"No, the woman at the scent counter sprayed me," Hermione answered with an amused grimace. "I guess that sort of thing transcends time as well as culture."

"Silly girl, you're just determined to keep me curious, aren't you?" he whispered. The hand at her back slid slightly lower, sending heady tingles up and down Hermione's spine. She had the distinct impression that he would love to do far more interesting things with his hands, but that he was restraining himself.

"Not at all," she lied, then stifled a giggle when he squeezed her right butt cheek in punishment. "No, I'm serious," she insisted with an innocent smile. "I'm really not trying to make you curious at all."

"Good, because curious is not at all the word I would use to describe what you make me feel," he told her, then softly kissed her on the side of her forehead before he let her go. "Ah, I see some of our friends are here already. We should join them."

Hermione felt her face flaming as he took her hand and brought her with him to a table full of Slytherins. She was somewhat surprised to discover that among the eight people waiting there, the amount of boys and girls was equal. She'd been expecting more boys than girls to be present, for some reason. At least she could be sure this wasn't a meeting of the knights—or at least she didn't think there were so many girls in that group.

"Hey, Tom, who's your friend?" asked a smirking girl with long, blonde hair who was seated next to Abraxis.

"Lucretia Black, this is Hermione Granger, the new Head Girl," said Tom with a somewhat satisfied smirk on his handsome face.

"Ah yes, the mystery girl," she sneered as she gave Hermione the once-over. "Good luck with the cursed Head Girl position."

"Cursed?" Hermione inquired, frowning at Tom in confusion.

"It's just a silly rumor," Tom told her. "Some of the students think that the position of Head Girl has been cursed because no one has lasted the entire school year in that past five years. Of course, I think it's a ridiculous story, and I'm certainly not going to let any harm befall you, in any case. Shame on you, Lu, for trying to upset Hermione like that."

"Well, I'm just glad I graduated already, and don't have to worry about such things," she huffed. "Isn't that right, Brax?"

"Oh, sure," he agreed even though he hadn't listened to a word she'd been saying.

"Here's Avery with the drinks," said Tom with a smile as he sat Hermione down beside him on the bench. Consequently, everyone else at the table had to scoot over so she wouldn't slide off the end. The young man on the other end was forced to move so he wouldn't fall off either. "Thanks for moving, Alphard. You're a great sport."

"Like I had a choice," he grumbled.

"You didn't," Tom pointed out, smirking even more. The young man took a seat in one of the chairs and remained sulky for the rest of the evening.

"So, Hermione, tell us about yourself," Lucretia said with an indulgent smile that clearly was less than genuine.

"Um, what did you want to know?" she asked, trying not to appear the least bit intimidated by the overbearing girl. She really didn't like most girls, and this one seemed worse than most as far as she was concerned.

"How come we haven't seen you at school before this?" she wanted to know.

"I was home-schooled," Hermione answered. "I'd still be there now, except—" Hermione paused. Though Dippet had said her family was lost to her, they hadn't exactly discussed how that had happened. What was she supposed to say had taken her family from her?

"Yes?" Lucretia prompted, waiting for her to continue.

"It's difficult to talk about," Hermione said, looking down momentarily as she continued to rack her brain. "You see, my parents were called away on business, and they both died, leaving me completely on my own. I didn't know what else to do but come here to finish my schooling, for they always told me that without a diploma I'd never be able to land a really good job."

"Let me tell you something about landing a good job, Hermione Granger," she said, leaning forward with a superior air. "There are two types of jobs, those that the deserving get without really trying, and those everyone else does. The question isn't if you have the diploma, it's whether or not you have the credentials. Granger is an unfamiliar name to me. Where does your family originate?"

"Oh, well, we are actually from—er—from the south of France," she said. "Yes, France. My father used to work in a vineyard with his friend. I don't know much about vineyards myself, of course, but I guess he put spells on all the vines to help them grow better fruits."

"It sounds positively ghastly," she said. "And anyway, what kind of business would pull a vineyard wizard someplace from which he never returned?"

"I really don't know," she admitted. "My parents were very secretive about many things. I just know that I'll never be seeing them again."

The dejected quality of her voice was quite convincing mainly because it was real. She really did miss her parents, and really did know she would never see them again. Often she missed them very dearly, and just now she missed them even more, as she was trying to think of a good reason why they were gone.

"Your father sounds common," Lucretia commented cruelly. "Tom deserves better than a common sort of girl. Perhaps you should leave him to more capable hands."

"Do you mean like yours?"

"Precisely," she purred. "Wouldn't you like it, Tom, if you were in my capable hands? You seemed to like it before."

"Your hands are of no concern to me," Tom told her coldly. "I'll thank you to let Hermione be. She's been through enough already without you rubbing it all in her face."

"I can take care of this myself, Tom," Hermione informed him. He raised a brow and subsided. Hermione turned back to Lucretia. "My origins are of no concern to the likes of you, Lucretia. The job of my deceased father fed his family and enabled me to become the powerful witch I am today. You would do well to learn a whole lot more about me before you set yourself up to be my opponent, because when I play, I play to win. You'd best remember that."

Lucretia gazed at her hotly for a few moments, but then she seemed to sense that Hermione was not playing around, and she backed off. The glint in Hermione's eyes gave even Tom Riddle a pause.

After a few seconds of looking at her with admiration in his eyes, Tom turned to Avery. "Well, then, Avery, you didn't get a drink for my Head Girl. What would you like to have, Hermione?"

"I'll just have a butterbeer, please," she answered as she smiled up at him. Avery smiled back, and stepped off to do her bidding without any hesitation. She thanked him for the drink, and sat back to watch her new companions with extreme interest. From a standpoint of history, it was quite fascinating to realize that she could now be a part of it. Maybe even a bigger part of it than she should.