Luna collapsed onto the bed closest to her. She was doomed. She wondered what her punishment might be once he found out she was lying. There was no escaping now. The only comfort she could seek was that Hogwarts banned the use of the three Unforgivable Curses. Otherwise, all the imaginable torture Riddle could wreck upon her raced through her mind. She tried to collect herself. The only way she could worm her way out of this predicament was to figure out where exactly she was. If what she heard was true, it meant that Luna was about fifty years in the past, 1943 to be exact.

She stood up and scanned the room, looking for any remaining signs of the previous occupants. The beds looked like they hadn't been touched for at least a month. The tapestries were dusty and the counter tops bare. She was about to give up when she caught something on the wall. She walked around the second bed and looked up at the small poster that was left behind. It was a photograph of a quidditch player she didn't recognize. It was signed and dated 'Link Quintus, July 1943'.

Luna paled. Stunned, she stumbled backwards and fell against the bed. Could it really be that she travelled 53 years back in time? She scratched her head, trying to come to terms with the possibility. If this was true, it would explain many things like how Dumbledore now appeared so young, how she recognized none of the students anymore, or the professors for that matter. She sighed. Luna wasn't sure if she would have preferred to stay in the dark about her current circumstances.

Slowly a plan began to formulate in Luna's mind. She had to distract Riddle while she figured out what exactly brought her here and if indeed here meant 53 years in the past, how she was going to get back to her time. She knew she couldn't trust him yet, and there was no way she was going to tell him about what she had just discovered. She had to buy herself time while making it seem she had entrusted herself with him. She had to play vulnerable to gain his trust or in other words, be herself.

Luna huffed and laid herself down onto the bed. She couldn't help but feel tired. She wondered if he was going to return to check on her and how often he would. The events of the day were beginning to take a toll on her. Without realizing, she quickly fell into a deep sleep.

~.~

Riddle took the stairs two at a time. He didn't know what had gotten into him as he was never this expeditious. Nothing had ever put him so over the edge that he felt the need to hurry his steps. Each step he took was always with confidence and had a purpose, but they were never rushed. He consciously tried to slow down, but his legs kept their swift pace bringing him closer to her.

He had finished dinner in half the time he usually took and was bringing with him some scraps of the feast that was still ongoing in the Great Hall. He reached her chamber in no time and hesitated right outside the door. He contemplated the situation at hand. From having everything exactly under his precise control to not knowing what to do with a very large problem, he was well beyond his comfort boundaries.

He chided himself for lacking his usual ruthlessness, but this was different. He could not turn in the girl to Dippet, because he wouldn't be able to see her. There was also a selfishness within him that he didn't want to admit to. He wanted to know the truth behind this invisible girl that was only visible to him. He wanted it to mean, to finalize, what Dumbledore knew but never spoke of: that he was special. He was different. Being able to see this odd girl meant that he was great, he was to become a very powerful wizard. He felt the need to keep her around to prove himself right. This was the only way he could justify himself with allowing her to stay so close to him.

Riddle pushed the door open to reveal the blonde-haired girl curled up in a fetal position sound asleep on one of the beds. He sat down on the other side and settled the foods onto the bedside table. He was uncertain if he was to wake her up or let her continue to snore. Unable to stand the sounds any longer, he cleared his throat loudly. To his displeasure, she continued to snore. "Lovegood," he nearly shouted.

Luna jolted awake. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she propped herself up on one hand and looked around. She had fell into such a deep sleep that she had forgotten where she was. Her eyes wandered around the room and landed on a pair of inquisitive, green eyes, and instantly the past two days rushed back to her. She scrambled into a sitting position, brushed her robes off, and mumbled, "Sorry."

Tom rolled his eyes at her simplicity. How a girl like this could even begin to create a problem for him, he had no idea. "Here," he produced the drumstick and baked potato he had procured during supper. "If I see a single crumb in this room, you can expect to starve for the rest of your captivity." He left the food floating in midair in front of Luna.

It didn't escape Luna that he had used the word 'captivity'. Was she really held captive? Was she his prisoner now? It frightened her to even begin to fathom what was going to unfold so she pushed the thought away, and concentrated on not leaving any bits of chicken or potato on the floor.

"Tell me," he suddenly commanded, as she was about to take the last bite of her drumstick.

Luna hesitated. It was now or never. She knew he didn't have to say another word to make her talk. Her mind was racing as she scrambled to put a story together. "I was in the Headmaster's office. He wanted to see me about some of my things." She realized as she was saying this, the words were not far from the truth. She did remember entering the office and the reason for the meeting. However, between the professor leaving the office and ending up on the second floor staircase with him, it was as if a wall was put up in her mind.

"What things?" he immediately interjected. He wasn't about to let the tiniest detail slip past him.

Luna took a breath before she explained. "Every year, my belongings go missing one by one. Sometimes it's a notebook, a magazine, next time a sock, or one of my shoes." She shrugged carelessly. "It always miraculously turns up again at the end of the year."

"Why?" he pressed.

She felt herself redden a little bit. She was surprised she was having such a reaction, because she didn't care how people felt towards her, and she certainly didn't care whether people felt sorry for her or not. Luna hesitated before saying, "People don't really like me."

It was Riddle's turn to pause. He didn't betray any reaction on his face. "Go on," he goaded.

"They think I'm weird. Different. They call me Loony Lovegood behind my back, and think that I don't know." She realized she was playing with her Butter beer cork necklace again and saw that Riddle was staring at it.

"What happened in the office?" he redirected.

"Professor Dumbledore was there," Luna made a note to not call him headmaster. "And had just left to deal with an argument that was happening elsewhere, so he left me alone in the office." She peered cautiously through her eyelashes at Riddle, who was sitting on the bed rather autocratically. "I got impatient waiting for him so I left. That's when I found him downstairs talking with you."

"Where was Dippet? Why would Dumbledore meet you in the Headmaster's office and not his own?" he sneered.

Luna's eyes widened. He knew she was lying. She already put a foot out into the oncoming traffic, she had to finish the crosswalk. Unforgivable Curses are banned at Hogwarts, she kept repeating to herself. "The Headmaster was there as well. He was the one that dismissed me after the professor didn't return." She gulped.

Riddle let out a cruel laugh which stunned her. "Did I tell a joke without meaning to?" she inquired.

"Lovegood, you must think I'm completely daft." He slowly stood up to his full height and walked around the bed towards her. Each step he took made her heart clench. He didn't stop until his mouth was next to her ear, so close that he almost touched her. Goosebumps began to rise all over her body. "Do I need to remind you what will happen to you if you lie to me?" he whispered softly, but with every ounce of threat one person could muster.

She shivered slightly at his words. There was no turning back now. "No," she whispered back. She could see his snarl grow into a malicious smile, but she kept her mouth shut and didn't let the whimper escape.

~.~

Luna stared at herself in the mirror in the Prefects' bathroom. He had let her go freshen up before he was to go on his nightly patrol as the Slytherin Prefect. He wasn't about to let her out of his sight for a single moment if he could help it, but simple human needs were unfortunately necessary so he gave her directions and expected her to return ten to ten on the dot.

She thought how it was just two days ago when she was also staring in a mirror, but in the comfort of the Ravenclaw Fourth Year's bathroom. She saw how the days have physically took a toll on her. There were growing blue circles around her eyes; her skin was turning into a sallow paleness unlike her usual paleness; her hair was even more tangled than before; and her robes were beginning to wrinkle and smell. She was in dire need of a bath and this bathroom was about the best thing to have happened to her since.

She climbed into the tub and the hot water immediately relaxed her muscles. For a moment, all her troubles were washed away from her body and she forgot how desperate her situation was. She closed her eyes and the heat and her exhaustion began to lull her into a hazy dream.

Luna jerked up and felt the water in the tub splash around her and over onto the tiled floor of the Prefects' bathroom. Disoriented, she realized she had fell asleep in the water and had a dream. She stood up a bit too quickly and had to clutch the wall to steady herself as her blood slowly rushed back up to her head.

Luna was confused by the dream she had. All she could remember was seeing a silvery liquid swimming around in a bowl. The substance wasn't necessary a liquid for it behaved like both a liquid and a gas. She was perplexed that her dream wasn't about the ever haunting green eyes, but of such a matter. Did it concern her current predicament or was it simply a random image her mind conjured up to relax her body?

She grabbed the towel Riddle had given her before she'd left the room and wrapped it around her body before the goosebumps could form. She patted herself dry as she pondered as to what the dream meant. She was still thinking about it when she returned to the room and found that he was still there waiting for her.

"What took you so long?" he growled. It made him feel anxious to not be around her constantly. This was going to be difficult. He certainly wasn't expecting to feel this way whenever she wasn't around him, especially since he had only met her last night.

"I fell asleep in the tub. The hot water made my head a little fuzzy," she replied.

His eyes narrowed in scepticism, but he let it drop. Even though he didn't want to let her out of his sight, there were duties a prefect had to oblige. But being a prefect also had its perks. For example, like having an excuse to wander the halls late at night.