Chapter Two
Strange Occurrences
Tom's POV
"Now then Black, what shall we do about your insubordination?" This was the most crucial component to Tom's growing power. To ensure complete control over his followers he would have to install a healthy dose of fear. Early in his life Tom had learned that the fear of those that surrounded him was much stronger, and more efficient than any flimsy friendship he could derive. While honey attracted more flies, how loyal would those flies be to your honey? Wouldn't they eventually wonder on to other people with sweeter honey than yours? Loyalty in people was a rare thing to capture. Constantly their wants and needs are changing, and once you could no longer fulfill either they would stray away. That unpredictability had to be eliminated from the equation all together. Pulling his wand from his robes Tom absorbed the horror that was consuming everyone present. The only one allowed to be unpredictable there was him. Tom slowly, calculatedly circled Orion much like a predator would his weak, vulnerable prey. He was prolonging the group's apprehension, and taking great pleasure in their obvious discomfort. Once he had fully rounded Orion a single time Tom leveled his wand with the boy's chest. This was going to be ever so satisfying for him "Crucio." The unforgivable curse left his mouth with a sense of eloquence as a wicked smirk pulled at the corner of his lips.
Orion Black dropped to the ground in a heap of dead weight the very second that streak of lime green lightning struck his chest. Eerily his body convulsed silently atop of the grass as his fellow deatheaters fell too stunned to breathe. Tom highly doubted that any of them had even heard of the unforgivable curses, much less ever seen one in action. The beauty of this curse was that it would attack the receiver's nerve endings, which would in turn cause excruciatingly painful shock waves throughout the body. In addition Tom had to commend the brilliance of it all, which was the fact that this curse left behind no evidence. No one would ever know that it had been administered to the other person, and that was the very reason he found it so useful. It was a way to keep his follower's in check without drawing too much unwanted attention to them later.
After a full minute of his little torture session Tom finally relented. Orion's body lied limply against the cold, hard ground. Apparently he didn't have a high pain tolerance. Ignoring the fainted fool Tom took his attention to the—by now—hysteric crowd "If any one of you speak of what happened tonight this will be you." Tom stated pointing directly to Orion's motionless body "Now, with the exception of Cygnus, all of you are dismissed." There was no hesitance in the way each and every one of them all but ran from the meeting sight. There was a lot of stumbling and tripping over each other as they cleared out of there like bats from hell. Tom's attempt to scare them seemed to have worked flawlessly. Turning to Cygnus Tom found a bit of amusement in how wide eyed the boy was. Cygnus Black had never been quite as noble or brave as his older cousin. In fact he was much less out spoken, and rather pathetic. Due to a crippling asthma Cygnus had always been feebler than his healthy brother, sister, and cousin. The disease was rumored to be so advanced that the Black family originally wasn't going to allow him to come to Hogwarts. However the boy had wanted so much to be like all the other children in the family that they couldn't bare denying him that experience. Since, it has seemed like Cygnus's health has significantly improved "Take your cousin back to his dorm." Tom ordered.
"O-Okay." Cygnus stammered. Quickly the boy moved to his feet, and closed the distance between him and Orion. The both of them had been a bundle deal. Due to Cygnus's poor health he had always fallen in his cousin's shadow. Orion was passionate, strong, and the prodigal child of the Black family. He was everything that Cygnus could only aspire to be. So when Orion decided to daringly join Tom's cause, Cygnus wanted to join as well. The sickly boy had surely not been his first pick, but Orion had made it clear that unless his cousin could join then he would withdrawal. So begrudgingly Tom had to take both of them. He had marked it off as a small loss. Cygnus wouldn't have anything particularly appealing to offer, but Tom supposed that the boy just made an easily disposable member. Someone he could toss out to the wolves if so needed. After all that was all he could be good for.
Turning his back on the two Black's Tom left, trusting that his deatheater could follow such simple directions. After all it was becoming rather late, and it would be unseemly of the head boy to be taking advantage of his privileges. He was supposed to be a superb role model you know. Tom snorted a little at the idea of him being any one's role model. If only the moronic Headmaster, Armando Dippit, knew the truth about his infallible little pet. He probably wouldn't have given him the title of head boy, but Tom had completely deceived the bumbling, scatter-brained dimwit into thinking he was a saint. A little show of respect, a few honorable actions, and some well-timed flattery was all it took to win over the man. Dippit was shallow, pretentious, and dull. Creating a spot in his good graces had been essentially easy. Now Dippit was tightly wrapped around his finger.
As Tom rounded the Black Lake he attentively scanned the landscape for anything out of the ordinary. While being discovered by a professor would not be the end of the world, it would certainly be a huge inconvenience. There would be a drawn out process of explanations, suspicions, and a stern lecture. It was simply unnecessary complication that Tom would rather avoid. Especially since it could be easily evaded by taking a few extra steps to not be detected. Walking across the span of sand alongside of the lake, his black loafers crunching against the small grains, Tom was soon halted by a strange phenomenon. Lying less than two feet away from where he stood was a girl. She was stretched out on her back, one arm thrown over her head, and her legs slightly spread. Hesitantly Tom approached her with the full intent to scold the girl for being out so late; however, as he stepped closer it became clear that she was unconscious. Immediately a bundle of questions seized him. Who was she? Where did she come from? What was she doing here?
Examining her rather indecent state, Tom had to resist the urge to blush at how the girl's skirt had bunched together a little too high on her thigh, revealing the edge of lacy white panties. Removing the robe from his shoulders he draped it over her body. He couldn't just leave the girl like that. Besides Dippit would adore an act of chivalry, such as carrying a distressed girl to safety. Bending down Tom slipped one arm under her back and the other behind her knees. As he lifted her off of the ground he was a bit shocked to discover how light she was. The girl didn't weigh hardly anything at all. Adjusting her in his arms the girl's head tilted to the side, leaning delicately against his shoulder. Her hair brushed against his chin, and he caught a faint scent of strawberries. It was an oddly satisfying smell. Who is this girl? Tom thought once again before beginning to construct his cover story.
Hermione's POV
The first thing that Hermione Granger noticed as she drifted into consciousness was that she seemed to be floating. A slight breeze was teasing the ends of her hair, and her entire body felt weightless. The next thing that came to her attention was the heavy piece of fabric covering everything from her neck down. It was strangely familiar however, as though she had worn something similar to its texture. Finally the sudden realization that she wasn't floating, but rather being carried snapped the young witch back into reality. Fluttering her eyes open Hermione was already half-expecting to see Ron's pale, freckled face; however as her vision cleared and focused, the face before her was most defiantly not Ronald Weasley's. In fact Hermione didn't have the faintest idea who this boy was, though she privately found him rather attractive. A charming, slender, pale face set the standards for a strong jaw line, perfectly carved lips, mysterious onyx eyes, long lashes, and neatly tousled black hair. Over all Hermione admittedly found him devilishly handsome.
"Umm…" Clearing her throat in an attempt to get rid of her raspy tone, Hermione tried for the boy's attention "Excuse me." Immediately the long strides that the boy had been taking came to a rest, and those glittering onyx orbs gazed down at her curiously. A deep crimson blush crept into her cheeks, and burned brightly against her sun kissed glow "Can you put me down?" She asked pointing weakly to the ground below her. For a moment or two an awkward silence filled the tiny space between them, the boy now looking at her as though she had grown three heads. Hermione—who was worried that he may not have understood her—was about to repeat her request when he suddenly dropped her feet to the ground, and snatched what seemed to be his robe from her. Stumbling Hermione quickly regained her footing and gave the boy an infuriated glare. He could have at least warned a person before dropping the, like that. He is so rude. The boy sent her a snide little smirk, then turned on his heel and began to walk away "Wait!" Hermione called, but was too late. The boy had already disappeared into the shadows of the Hogwarts castle.
Utterly dumbfounded by the incident Hermione stood rooted to the spot he left her in, completely lost as to what had just happened. After a minute or two of her absent gawking the witch finally regained her composure. Putting her strange encounter aside she focused on going inside, and making her way to the Gryffindor common room. As she pushed the huge, ten foot, wooden door open Hermione was met with a rush of heat. She welcomed the warmth with a content smile and closed the door behind her with an echoing thud.
Since her last year began Hermione had found solace within the halls of Hogwarts castle. It had gradually became a second home over the years, and when she no longer had a home to return to, the old castle had become her only home. Throughout the summer, before school was once again in session, Hermione had come to help with the aftermath of the battle. She had help to magically repair walls, and clear out the rubble that couldn't be restored. Ron and Harry had begged her to spend the summer resting with them, but she had politely refused their pleas. Since this was now the only home she had, Hermione felt a sense of responsibility to help reconstruct it. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes. Hermione kept them at bay. Before tonight she had promised to spend her breaks with Ron and his family, but now it seemed that she would be here during semester breaks after all.
Wrapping her arms tightly around her waist Hermione decided to push any thoughts of Ron from her mind. It was pointless to suffer over him. Hermione firmly reminded herself that he had never actually belonged to her. The entire foundation of their relationship was built upon a devastating lie. She had been nothing more than a charity case, too pathetic to turn down. Biting into her bottom lip Hermione choked back the despair that threatened to drown her. Even their history together was empty of any meaning for him, yet for her it had been so much more. Ron had been her everything. Hermione had invested her heart in him, trusted him with what was left of her, and he handed that love back to her mangled and broken. She couldn't pretend that it didn't hurt. All those feelings she had for Ron were genuine, and that kind of betrayal was so painful. Maybe if he hadn't drawn his lie out for such a long time, hadn't acted like she made him happy, hadn't snuck behind her back because he was too little of a man to tell her the truth—then just maybe she could have been okay. Hermione wouldn't lie, it would have hurt if he had turned her down in the beginning, but it would have been nothing compared to what she felt now. She wouldn't have had time to fall in love with him before.
"What's wrong dear?" Hermione's eyes widened in disbelief, and her face turned white. That voice, she knew that comforting baritone, but how? How could she be hearing his voice? Albus had been dead for over a year. Looking up Hermione felt as though she was going to pass out again. There before her stood none other than a rather young-looking Albus Dumbledore. Hermione would estimate him to be in his early thirties. His usual long greying beard was much shorter, and very red. The wrinkles that had weighed down his cheeks were all but gone, with the exception of a few lines around his twinkling blue eyes "Young lady are you alright?" He asked with a concerned expression. Hermione had seen this man set six feet under and buried. There was no possibility for him to actually be here. Stretching a shaky hand out to him, Hermione reached for the sleeve of his robes. Her fingers were met with solid contact, he was real! Feeling a little dizzy Hermione leaned against a nearby wall. What was happening? "Do you need to go to the nurse?"
Hermione shook her head and sent him a small, reassuring smile "No Professor Dumbledore." Hermione choked those previous tears dangerous close to the surface.
"Excuse me? Have we met before?" His tone seemed to convey a sense of shock.
That was it. She had surpassed her breaking point. Big, hot tears rolled down her rosy pink cheeks as she slid down to the floor "Yes." She blubbered as a trembling hand clasped over her mouth. Whatever was happening Hermione had a feeling that it would turn her entire world upside down once more. She just hoped that she could survive this new development.
A/N: Thank you so much for reading, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter :) Please leave any comments below! :)
