Just a word about my writing process-I try to write daily. I've basically been working on this since I finished "In the Name of Science". This story has really gotten my attention, the characters are quite forceful (especially Tom Riddle/Lord Voldemort) and I have the major plot points pretty well set in my head. I've written a lot of key scenes, which means a lot of Hermione & Tom/LV since they are the protagonists. Where I sometimes struggle are the connecting pieces, where the ancillary characters are moving things along or I haven't quite figured out who will do what, but it's a plot point that is basically "unassigned". This is where reviews really help me. Some of that kind of writing is gritty, in the trenches, 'get it done' kind of stuff. When I get a lot of reviews with meaty comments, it inspires me to plug on through those parts of the story. When I don't get that, I am not as keen to do it, so the story languishes a bit. So that's why I ask for reviews, because they motivate me!

Relatela, I write about 6k words a day if I have time and things are moving along for me. As I said, it is not all sequential-some main story arc pieces with pivotal scenes I had to get down. I'll just keep plugging away, please keep reviewing!

Grace Hearford, I hadn't really thought about her physical state, but that is a good point. :)

Katie, sorry to drive you crazy. That's in a good way though, right? :D

LK Hogwarts Headgirl, glad you liked it!

So are you getting a sense for how things are deviating from canon? Other than the whole time travel thing, of course. :) I mentioned Professor Snape in the last chapter, and Hermione is an Occlumens! Let's see what happens next. Please review! It makes my day to read your reviews!

"Professor Dumbledore?" Hermione peeked her head around the door to Professor Dumbledore's office, which had opened after a brief knock.

"Come in, Hermione—just one moment, and I'll be with you."

Hermione's head swiveled and she realized that Dumbledore was looking at something with one of his contraptions, the headpiece obscuring him almost totally from view. She waited patiently while he clucked his tongue and flicked his fingers toward a waiting quill, which transcribed the symbols he was writing in the air.

"There, that's better," he said, finally pushing the silvery frame away and fixing his gaze upon her. "Now, you said it was rather urgent. Does this perchance have aught to do with Mr. Riddle escorting you to Hogsmeade this past Saturday?"

Hermione let out a sigh of relief. She had worried that the professor did not have his penchant for omniscience yet, but clearly he was aware of more than he let on, as her housemates thought he was a bit absentminded. "Yes, it is. I wanted to talk to you about him."

Professor Dumbledore rose from the stool he had been occupying and moved toward his desk, gesturing to the seat across. Hermione sat and Professor Dumbledore opened a box that was placed on the corner of the desk, removing a candy that squiggled in his grasp.

"Grapefruit glow-worm?" he offered, and Hermione politely declined.

"No thank you." She couldn't help the fact that her nose wrinkled slightly as she watched him take a bite, an expression of mild disappointment crossing his features as the remaining half wiggled.

"I must admit, the centers of these confections are always lacking," he said sadly, popping the other half into his mouth.

"You should try Muggle sweets," Hermione suggested, and Professor Dumbledore cocked his head.

"Perhaps I should. Now, about the Head Boy…what exactly about your outing with Mr. Riddle has concerned you enough that you made an appointment with me today?"

Dumbledore leaned forward in his chair, his hands steepled on the desk, waiting for her reply. She felt a bit nervous, because however kind he was, he did not know her nor anything about her, and this naturally gave their interactions an impersonal veneer which contrasted oddly with what she knew of her future headmaster. It was a jarring incongruity, and she had not fully processed it.

Nonetheless, she explained in guarded terms that Tom was very curious about her arrival at Hogwarts, and was under the impression that she had taken part in a battle of some kind. She further relayed that he was aware of her state when she arrived, telling him that he had disclosed how he had seen Headmaster Dippet helping her. She had decided to keep his attempted Legilimency to herself. Regardless of the wrongness of Tom's action, she had to do her best to preserve the original timeline, which meant Tom Riddle must remain at Hogwarts until he graduated. Therefore, as much as it grated on her to keep his underhanded attempt a secret, it was necessary that she do so.

When she finished, Dumbledore leaned back slowly in his chair, bringing his hands to rest on his middle as he thought about what she had relayed. He looked at her with a curious expression on his face, then said, "What exactly is it about the Head Boy that bothers you, Hermione?"

Hermione did not like the particular gleam in his eye, as if he were hoping for some evidence of malfeasance. She had thought long and hard about what Dumbledore had told Harry in future about Lord Voldemort's days as a student, and here she had the uncomfortable feeling that Professor Dumbledore, while being the only one smart enough to recognize the danger of Tom Riddle, was perhaps now disposed to think ill of him. It placed her in the very uncomfortable position of deciding Tom Riddle's fate, to an extent, and she wondered what Professor Dumbledore would say if he realized that his explicit and frequent cautions on the day after her arrival about interfering with the events of this timeline were already in conflict with her ethics and morality. She squirmed in her chair slightly, sitting up more, then answered, "He is very arrogant, and I'm afraid I cannot like that about him."

Hermione could tell that he had been hoping for something more salacious or perhaps incriminating, but he covered it speedily. It reinforced her decision to not mention Tom Riddle's attempt at Legilimency. After all, he had not seen anything that could not be explained as fictitious previous visits. Professor Dumbledore sat up as well in his chair and again placed his clasped hands on the desk.

"Why do you suppose Tom asked you to Hogsmeade, Hermione?"

Hermione had thought about that quite a bit, but she wasn't sure if her conclusion was as solid as she wanted it to be.

"I believe he is curious about me, and saw an opportunity to learn more so he took it," she replied slowly, her head tipping down toward her lap briefly to hide the frown on her brow. "I really cannot think that someone like him, who is known to be a bit of a loner, would really have any interest in me otherwise."

Dumbledore's expression seemed to clear briefly, and he smiled warmly at Hermione. "Yes, that is exactly what I think. Therefore, we must remove that which he is curious about, and that will likely be the end of his interest in you. To whit, I propose that we remove and store your scant memory of your arrival here. I will helpfully drop this information in such a manner that the Head Boy is certain to become aware of it. I predict that when this occurs, his interest in you will wane, and you may proceed with making yourself comfortable for the duration of your stay here."

"And do you know how long that will be?" Hermione tried to keep the wistful note out of her voice, but she obviously failed, because Dumbledore's look changed to one of compassion.

"I'm afraid it is still early days yet, my dear. I suggest you put it from your mind as best you can, and I promise to inform you as soon as I learn anything further. Now, shall we see to that memory?"

Hermione nodded, and noted idly that Professor Dumbledore's wand was a warm yellow wood, possibly beech or rowan. She wondered what its core was after he pulled the slippery, small stream of those fragmented seconds from her mind, then secured them in an unbreakable phial.

"There, that should keep Mr. Riddle's curiosity at bay," Professor Dumbledore said, storing it in a small, mirrored glass cabinet behind his desk. He turned back to her with brisk efficiency, then paused as he took in her appearance. "May I suggest, Hermione, that you take the opportunity this time affords you to truly rest and recover yourself. You have clearly been through quite a few trials, and despite the Head Boy's boundless curiosity, I believe my Hogwarts can be a place of refuge for you if you let it."

"Thank you sir, I will try," Hermione promised, and stood to shake the hand he offered.

"Very good. And do let me know if you run low on pocket money…there are not many opportunities for students to earn their own around here."

"Thank you professor," Hermione said, turning to leave on that clear note of dismissal. Professor Dumbledore watched her go, then turned in his chair to look at the mirrored cabinet. He sincerely hoped that had been the right thing to do…

Tom Riddle stared idly at the piece of parchment in his hand. It was a mere scrap of paper, a small thing pinned to her that could have been overlooked for a bit in the dark courtyard had anyone other than him found her first. It was fortunate that the greedy Xander Aloysium had been so very ill from eating too much pudding during the feast, as it had given Tom the perfect excuse to be out of the Great Hall. He often found the communal meals tiring, so he welcomed any opportunity to play the perfect Head Boy, helping others who had various problems at mealtimes. It gave him leave to wander the castle for a bit, earning the gratitude of the prefects as a bonus, since most would prefer to enjoy their meal in peace.

The fact that he had had a bit of warning from the wards helped as well, one of the few advantages from Salazar's chamber that he was still able to use. It had been simple to examine the witch just as she arrived and pocket the note and dagger, then wait in the shadows for Dippet to come and see what had disturbed the wards. No one had realized that he wasn't already back in the Hall when they were trying to save the girl's life.

He turned his attention to the small dagger that had pinned the parchment to Hermione's shoulder. The parchment had actually been tucked into a small notch in the blade, a curious arrangement he had not seen before. It was almost a stiletto, but as short as it was slender. It had a nice heft to it, the kind of weapon that was easily thrown. It was keyed to him, a fact he had verified by driving the blade into the wall and commanding one of his Knights to remove it, then the others in succession. Only Tom was able to take it out. That meant the note was specifically addressed to him, and by someone close enough to him to be able to match his magical signature. It was absolutely maddening, therefore, that he could not make the parchment reveal its contents! He had obliquely questioned his Knights under the Cruciatus, and even Abraxas had denied any knowledge of it, and he usually knew about anything unusual in the wider magical community. So, somehow, someone outside of Hogwarts knew him well enough to key an encrypted note to him, and had planted it where he would be able to retrieve it. And said person knew his habits well enough to deliver the vessel for it at a time and place where he was most likely to find her.

"My lord."

Evan Rosier kneeled with his arm pressed over his chest, the picture of a perfect servant. Rosier was indeed quite loyal, more so even than Abraxas. The latter had too much arrogance from his upbringing, but Tom had almost beaten that out of him. At least Malfoy was good at following orders to the letter, and his brawn made the younger Slytherins think twice about disregarding an instruction from the Head Boy.

"Ah, Rosier. Stand." Tom stood from his desk. He appreciated the solitude offered by the Head Boy's quarters, the lack of roommates a distinct pleasure he had never before enjoyed in his life. "I have an assignment for you, but it requires discretion and subtlety. I trust you recognize the implications of failure?"

Tom's voice was silvery smooth and moderate, but Evan could not help the shiver that ran over him when Riddle alluded to punishment. He had felt the force of Lord Voldemort's curses, and he had no desire for a repetition.

"Just tell me what I am to do, and I will obey."

"You are to keep an eye on Miss Girard for me. She is quite an unusual witch, and I require her…assistance with a project, sometime this winter. I fear she may prove somewhat intractable, and therefore, I expect you to learn her habits and patterns so explicitly well that, should I require it, you can tell me where she is at any instant. And you must do so without her detection of your presence, as she is too clever for her own good. Do you understand?"

"Yes, my lord. She will never know I am there," Rosier promised, and Tom was satisfied. He had other projects to keep in train, and he suspected it would take a good deal of force to break Hermione Girard down. Fortunately, he had the entire school year to do so, and he was already off to a very good start. One, Hermione had now had a taste of what he was like; two, she had no way of escaping him when he was ready to try again…and three, she knew it.

Hermione was doing her best to ignore the arrogant Head Boy. It was clear from how people talked about him that they were impressed by his magical talent, but also wary of getting on his bad side. Hermione privately admitted to herself that he was nauseatingly good in every subject, and she was hard pressed to match him. Somehow, the way he was treating her made it seem even more important that she meet or beat him whenever possible, simply to survive.

Just to keep her off guard, he would carry her bookbag for her occasionally and escorted her to random meals, his hand lingering on her arm as he whispered little irritations into her ear, causing her to flush and their audience to draw exactly the conclusions he wanted. He was careful to do this in the halls for the benefit of the students, always leaving her side at the doors to the Great Hall.

The subject matter in Magical Theory had caused them to become de facto opponents whenever a controversial subject was being discussed. While Hermione loved the class, given that it was no longer offered in her time, she found it infuriating that no one else dared to debate Riddle on subjects that were clearly prone to abuse by Dark wizards. She enjoyed the format which Professor Cavallo used for the course, and his mustache would quiver with appreciation whenever a student made a good point. However, it was insufferable the way her housemates would simply agree with whatever Riddle said. Honestly, who could possibly think it was ethical to use a morality dampening spell during interrogations? Yet she was the only one to argue about it, putting forth her reasoning and listening to Tom eloquently defend it as if it were a natural course of action.

"If you reduce the tendency of a witch or wizard to rely on their moral compass, then you permit them to be more forthcoming about events that they would otherwise be inclined to hide or not disclose, but which may provide relevant information to the authorities," Tom said, as if it were the most reasonable thing in the world to strip a wizard or witch of their morality in order to gain any salacious secret they might hold.

"But you have no guarantee that the information they disclose is relevant to your investigation! And by doing so, you remove from them the ability to protect others who may not be involved in the investigation at all, and who are entitled to their privacy. Additionally, you provide the authorities with potentially explosive information which unethical employees could use to blackmail the individuals involved," Hermione said.

"But Hermione, the Ministry and its employees take oaths which would surely prevent such conduct. Or are you saying you don't trust the Ministry and the safeguards they provide for information they might acquire during an investigation?"

Tom's expression was almost beatific, and Hermione knew he had nimbly boxed her in. Now she seemed to be sympathetic to Dark wizards and witches and their potentially salacious secrets, and distrustful of the authorities! Her jaw clenched briefly and a twitch of amusement flashed in his eyes as she darted him a look of distaste.

"That is not what I'm saying at all. I am, however, saying that it is unwise to use techniques which are not directly relevant to the investigation, and which might cause considerable harm. And what of the effects on the questioned individual when they recollect what they let slip under the spell's effects? They could suffer psychologically if they disclosed something that they find embarrassing or potentially damaging to themselves or others if it were public knowledge."

"But surely if they are innocent, they have nothing to hide?" Tom asked, aware that Professor Cavallo would likely cut off the debate shortly as the end of class approached. He did like this, seeing Hermione get all fired up while the rest of the class was too spineless or too in his thrall to disagree with his opinion. It was…refreshing to have someone stand up to him, although of course she would never win an argument.

"We have all done things which we are not proud of," Hermione said. "And to say that the authorities are entitled to discover those things simply because you might become messed up in an investigation is overreaching and wrong."

"Surely you haven't done anything of which you aren't proud, Hermione?" Tom replied easily, a hint of amusement on his face.

"Now, now, nothing personal in debates, please!" Professor Cavallo said amiably, clapping his hands together.

Tom nodded in acknowledgement and continued, "Besides, morality should always be filtered through one's magic, not the other way around."

Hermione bristled at this. "If that were true, then you would color your morality to suit the desires of your magic. The entire point of morality is to provide an independent check on things which you may desire, but which may be harmful to yourself or others."

Tom's mouth quirked upward at the corner slyly. "That is convenient as long as the magical community is not endangered. But in the situation we are discussing, the individuals are accused of nefarious deeds by our government. In the words of Benedictus Solispraxuus, 'Magic's foremost aim is to protect itself.' Thus, my point stands: morality must be filtered through one's magic in order for it to not conflict with the very nature of magic itself."

Hermione opened her mouth to reply, but Professor Cavallo stood up from his relaxed lean against his desk and drew their attention with a gentle fall of sparks from his wand.

"I think we all appreciate the points made by both our Head Boy and Miss Girard! Fascinating topic! Now, next week we will be beginning our studies of spell creation, so I expect you all to refresh your memory about magical laws. Class dismissed!"

Hermione noticed that her Ravenclaw classmates were darting looks at her comprised of pure horror, curiosity, or shock. The Slytherins were far more composed as they shuffled out, their glances consisting of amusement and expectation. Of course, they expect him to punish me, Hermione thought viciously to herself, shoving her book and notes into her bag. Hermione felt him beside her desk but refused to acknowledge his presence while Tom's Knights darted sly smirks and pointed looks in her direction as they filed out last. She didn't look at him as she shoved her book into her bag, merely said, "What do you want now, Riddle?"

"I would almost think you had a personal interest in that debate, Hermione," he said, his fingers slipping over hers to take the strap of her bag. Hermione ignored the skitter of her nerves and flung her hair back over her shoulder, forcing him to step back, albeit with her bag.

"We both know that you are one to talk about morality," she said. "I am not continuing this conversation with you. I don't even like you."

Tom fell into step beside her, the students in the hallways parting before him as usual, and since she was by his side, her as well. He replied easily, "Oh now, you're telling me you can't find one redeeming thing about me? Not even one thing you like, or even admire?"

Hermione was piqued, but her innate honesty compelled her to admit at least to herself that there were things she admired about Tom Riddle, even if she would cut off her own tongue before she would tell him what they were. She snuck a peek at him and deduced from his smug expression that he had already gleaned her reply from her silence.

"Too afraid to tell me what they are, hmmm?" he teased, chivalrously holding the door open for her as they exited the castle. Why did the walk to Herbology have to be so long?

"I'd rather not inflate your ego more than it already is," Hermione said tightly. Tom took hold of her arm and turned her to face him, an amused look on his face.

"One thing," he asked. "Then I'll leave you alone."

"No you won't," Hermione said. "You're a terrible liar."

"Au contraire, ma petite sorcière. Je suis un excellent menteur." He had moved closer now, and her heartbeat sped up without her permission. "As are you. You should have been in Slytherin."

"I didn't want to be in Slytherin," Hermione said, boldly meeting his gaze even as she hoped she wasn't flushing from the acceleration of her heart, his closeness extremely disconcerting.

"Do you mean that the Sorting Hat wanted to put you there, or that you heard from your relative that it was a poor House to be sorted into?"

"I refuse to answer that pointless question," Hermione said, finally breaking eye contact and turning back toward the safety of the Herbology greenhouses.

"I believe I have my answer," Tom said, a satisfied expression on his face as he began walking again to keep up with her.

"You are insufferably arrogant," Hermione said coolly, doing her best to keep her tone level. Why did he have to be so damn intelligent?

"And I'll say what I know you think but are too cowardly to voice—you know, and like, that I am an excellent student." With that salvo, Tom handed her bag to her, Hermione not even caring for once about the students who were gawking at every interaction between them. "Until later, Hermione."