A/N: And here there be demons!
Nibbling on the end of her quill, Hermione smiled at Tom from across the classroom. The sunlight streaming down from the window onto him gave him an angelic quality.
Feeling eyes on him, Tom lazily brought his head up and slowly drug his eyes around the class room. He wondered who would be so brash as to openly stare at him.
A smirk fluttered across Hermione's face. She enjoyed watching Tom scare their classmates. Finally, his dark eyes met her honey colored ones. She winked at him, before turning her attention back to their professor. Not that she needed to, it was Professor Binn's class and he never paid attention to his students.
As the students streamed out of the History of Magic classroom, Tom took Hermione's bag from her shoulder. "Abraxas wanted to meet in your special room this evening."
"Abraxas did?" Hermione smirked.
"Yes." Tom smiled. "When I want to meet you, we'll meet in the Forbidden Forest."
Sending him a sultry smirk, Hermione flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Well, we do need to talk to the Centaurs."
Chuckling darkly, Tom shook his head. "It wouldn't be to talk with the Centaurs, Mia."
Hermione tilted her head to the side. "Oh?"
"There are places in the Forest that you would love to see." Tom grinned.
"What kind of places?"
"The kind of places that cause it to be forbidden." Tom whispered against her ear.
A mean grin crept across the witch's face. "When are we going?"
"Patience."
Hermione stopped just inside the Room of Requirement. Mabel Clearwater was bound and gagged by the boys' feet. "What is my roommate doing here?" Hermione asked in a soft tone that made the boys shift nervously.
"She called you a whore." Tom smirked from where he sat in the only chair. "Our Knights brought her here."
"Our Knights?" Hermione cocked her head to the side, regarding the girl in front of her with cool eyes.
"Yes, ma'am." Dolohov bowed. "We are the Knights of Walpurgis."
Hermione snorted. "Take off her gag."
With a flick of his wrist, Avery caused it to fall away.
"You called me a whore." Hermione slowly approached Mabel and squatted down. "I want to know why."
"You spent the summer with eight boys." Mabel stated like it was obvious.
Nott sneered down at her. "Like my father would let anything untoward happen under his roof."
"Not with a Pureblood; but with a mudblood, I'm sure he fu…"
Malfoy smacked her across the face hard enough to knock out a tooth.
"I didn't think you were raised to hit a lady." Standing up, Hermione arched an eyebrow.
"I didn't." Abraxas smiled. "Hit a lady that is."
Smirking at him, Hermione sauntered over to Tom and sat on the arm of the chair.
"What do you want us to do with her, Mia?" Tom smiled up at his witch.
Hermione examined her fingernails. "Imperious her, and have her meet us in the Forbidden Forest. One of your secret places."
"We're not supposed to go into the Forest." Rosier frowned.
Tom sighed. "Rosier, rules are made to be broken."
Getting to her feet, Hermione started toward the door.
"Where are you going?" Tom asked.
Pausing and turning around slightly, Hermione arched an eyebrow. "You don't expect me to go tramping through the Forest in a skirt, do you?"
"No?" Tom grinned.
"No, I'm going to change." Hermione shook her head. "I've traipsed through the Forest in a skirt, it's not fun."
"What is this place?" Hermione asked as they stepped into a clearing.
There were no trees growing in about a ten foot radius, and the moonlight streaming from the opening in the canopy seemed to be swallowed up by the black dirt. Flexing her fingers, Hermione could feel the Dark Magic vibrating through the air.
"Someplace wonderful." Tom grinned.
"More like creepy." Mulciber whispered to Avery.
Ignoring the byplay between his two followers, Tom lifted the Imperius off of Mabel.
The Ravenclaw started screaming, hoping someone would hear her.
"No one can hear you." Tom smirked.
"You're all going to be expelled." Mabel swallowed. "When I tell Headmaster Dipit."
"Do you really think you're going to survive this?" Hermione sneered. She was reveling in the feeling of Dark Magic gliding over her skin and twining around her fingers.
"You're not going to kill me." Mabel licked her lips.
Hermione stalked around the frightened girl. "And why not?"
"People will miss me."
"So?" Tom chuckled.
"Mabel." Hermione grabbed her chin and yanked her to her feet. "Do you really think your body's going to be found?"
Mabel's eyes widened in fear and all the blood drained out of her face.
Hermione brought her lips to brush against the other girl's ear. "Crucio."
The whispered curse ripped a scream out of the Ravenclaw's throat. She grabbed at Hermione's wrists, breaking skin; but the Dark Magic slipped into the cuts and sealed them.
Sneering at the girl, Hermione tossed her toward the ground. Looking at the dark wisps floating around her arms, she grinned. "I could get used to this."
Tom licked his lips at the power radiating off her. While the boys just stared at her in awe, they had never even dreamed something so dark could exists.
Stalking toward Mabel, Hermione kicked her onto her back.
The Ravenclaw cried out in pain as three of her ribs snapped.
"I now see why Lord Nott had me exercising my body, this magic would have ripped me apart." Hermione cocked her head. "Tell me, what do you think the spell Hostia Cruor Emundo Incaendium does?"
Mabel shook her head.
"Come on, you're in Ravenclaw." Hermione taunted, landing another kick to the girl's already broken ribs.
"I… don't… know." Mabel wheezed. "Something about heat."
Hermione squatted down and, grabbing her chin, forced the Ravenclaw to look at her. "There are a few ways to translate it from the original Latin, but the spell." Hermione chuckled darkly. "The spell means: Sacrificial blood purified by fire."
"No." Mabel weakly protested.
"Guess who's the sacrifice?" Hermione sneered.
"No, please."
Leaning down, Hermione whispered. "You."
Gracefully rising to her feet, Hermione tilted her head. "Dolohov, Avery, center her in the circle."
The two boys were quick to comply.
"Now, make eight points in the circle." Hermione ordered.
"What are you doing, Mia?" Tom asked, not moving.
Hermione regarded him for a moment. "Something I read in a book. Now, are you going to help me or not."
Inclining his head, Tom took the top point.
"Please don't do this." Mabel plead.
"Why?" Hermione smirked. "What do I have to gain by not doing this?" Raising her wand, Hermione centered her mind; then, with a cool, level voice spoke the incantation. "Hostia Cruor Emundo Incaendium."
Black flames leaped onto the Ravenclaw and tore through her skin. Her screams tore through the night air as her blood hiss away under the fire's heat. Her eyes popped from the intense heat and soon her screams died away. Her body still burned for a time.
As the last of the Ravenclaw's ashes settled onto the soil, Hermione took a steadying breath. She had thought she understood the allure of Dark Magic before, but now… Now she understood the headiness of holding someone's like in your hands and then snuffing it out. Opening her eyes, Hermione looked at her followers and Tom. "We should head back to the Castle, it will do us no good to be missed."
"How are you going to sneak into you dorm room?" Tom asked.
"I plan on sleeping in the Library." Hermione shrugged, unfazed that she had just burned someone to death. "I do it often enough that no one will question it."
A/N: Don't hate me, you had to know this was coming eventually.