"Abraxas?"

Groaning, the blond boy turned over in his bed. He barely slept through the night and although he knew it was not proper for someone like him to stay in bed late on a Sunday, he did not find the strength to get up. Hermione's Cruciatus left his bones on fire.

"Leave me alone, Rufus," he replied weakly.

Much to his displeasure, the curtains of his bed were jerked open and his housemate approached him. "It doesn't suit you at all to stay in bed for long."

Gasping, Abraxas turned to Rufus. His friend was right, but he lacked any strength to leave the bed or even sit upright.

"By Merlin," Rufus snapped, "what's happened to you? You're even paler than usual!"

A pained grin appeared on his lips. Abraxas knew that his family was famous for their fair complexion, so he had to look really bad when Rufus accused him of being even paler than usual. Croaking, he groaned out, "Tom had his fun last night."

With a sigh Rufus lowered himself onto the bed beside him, ran a hand through his hair, and looked at him intently. "So it was finally your turn too, huh? A Cruciatus from Tom is not easy to digest."

Abraxas closed his eyes and shook his head. "Not from Tom. From Hermione."

Rufus' voice sounded as incredulous as it was sharp as he instantly followed up, "What, the little girl tortured you?"

Abraxas realised that he could hardly escape a prolonged conversation with Rufus now. Coughing and groaning, he straightened up until he was leaning against the back of his bed in a half-sitting position. "She's not a little girl. Tom ordered her to try the Cruciatus on me. It was quite obviously the first time she used the curse, but it was powerful and she ... you should have seen her. The same ... the same lust as Tom's was in her eyes."

Hard Rufus grabbed him by a shoulder. "Has Tom lost his mind? He lets Hermione Dumbledore, Professor Dumbledore's niece, do one of the Unforgivables? Does he want Dumbledore to have a reason to kick him out of school?"

Again, Abraxas shook his head. "You underestimate her. Hermione's loyalty to Tom is absolute. She's his, Rufus. They're a couple, have you forgotten that?"

Rufus let go of his shoulder to lean against one of the bedposts at the foot of the bed instead. "Of course I haven't forgotten. But I thought it was part of Tom's plan to distract or annoy Dumbledore. I would never have guessed that he was actually interested in getting her on our side. Which I can sort of believe, but that she'd go along with it? Come on, Abraxas. There has never been such an inappropriate snake in the house of Slytherin. Her moral standards are so different and misplaced."

Involuntarily, a laugh escaped Abraxas. "Moral standards? You should have seen her yesterday. She was ..."

He broke off. What he had seen the day before still gave him a headache. And if he was honest with himself, he did not understand Hermione. She let Tom touch her in a way that only a husband should, and on top of that she allowed it in front of him. To his shame, he had to admit that he had hardly been able to take his eyes off the spectacle, that for a split moment he would have liked to be in Tom's place himself, Hermione in his arms, so open and willing and erotic. But he had known that the concentrated focus of their energy would be directed against him, and so he had lapsed back into shock the next moment.

If Hermione was so devoted to Tom, if she actually and sincerely enjoyed his touch, why had she said those things to him after Tom had left her alone?

"What did she do?" The harsh voice of Rufus snapped him out of his thoughts.

Blushing, Abraxas looked to the side. He wanted so badly to talk to someone about this, to share his disbelief, to reveal how different Hermione really was. With difficulty he searched for the right words. "Tom and Hermione did ... things that only married couples should do to each other in the privacy of their bedroom. In front of me."

To this, Rufus obviously knew nothing to say, for he only looked up at the ceiling, lost in thought, and rubbed his chin. Deeply, Abraxas exhaled. It was not right to sully a woman's honour like that and talk about her intimate secrets in front of other men. Yet he felt it was right. Rufus should start treating Hermione with respect.

"Her American heritage seems stronger than I thought after all," Rufus murmured softly, "You can almost understand Avery approached her, mh?"

Eyes wide, Abraxas stared at him. "Excuse me?"

Rufus just snorted. "A decent woman would never do what you just implied. For someone like Tom to defend her honour so fiercely when she clearly has no honour ..."

"Watch your mouth, Lestrange!" Abraxas hissed, "You should know better than to insult Tom or Hermione lightly."

Clearly amused by his reaction, Rufus crossed his arms in front of his chest and raised an eyebrow. "Why? Are you going to run to Tom and tell him what nasty things I said if I don't?"

He merely rolled his eyes. "Of course not. But I don't like you talking about my best friend and his girlfriend like that either."

"Oh, my good Abraxas," Rufus grinned, "You're so easy to see through. Don't you think you're in much more danger than I am? With your feelings for Hermione so obvious?"

His anger fizzled out. Of course, Rufus only wanted to provoke him, to make him see his own weakness. He sighed. "I suppose the episode yesterday also served the purpose of punishing me for that very fact. It is also my own fault. Tom made it quite clear to me several times that I should stay away from Hermione, and I still didn't."

Rufus rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I was always under the impression that she wasn't completely averse to you either. Under the circumstances, it's quite amazing that she was even able to torture you with a Cruciatus. It requires a considerable amount of mental strength. You have to want it."

Cautiously, Abraxas began to get off the bed. His legs felt weak, but he forced himself to stand upright and not sway in the process. Slightly out of breath, he replied, "Her loyalty belongs to Tom. When he demands it of her, she seems capable of anything. I have no comparison, but Tom has praised her for her Cruciatus, so it must have been strong. And it felt strong."

There was a strange glint in Rufus's eyes. With difficulty Abraxas peeled himself out of his nightgown and slipped into his trousers and shirt for the day. He had the feeling that Rufus was on to something, that he wanted to tell him something without saying it directly, but he did not yet understand what it was.

"Well, come along, my good fellow," Rufus finally said, rising and putting an arm around Abraxas, "Let's see about getting you down to the Great Hall and prescribing you some nice hot tea."

Gratefully, Abraxas accepted the help, even if he was still sceptical about what exactly Rufus wanted from him. Did he really care about genuine friendship, or was he trying to manipulate him? You could never be sure with a Lestrange, he had already learned that much. Rufus was almost as clever as Tom, which made him dangerous and at the same time very valuable.

oOoOoOo

Hermione looked around in amazement. The chamber was clearly less damp than when she had been here with Ron. What had happened in the meantime? Now it seemed almost inviting, at least if one liked eerie green light and was not put off by snake statues.

"This Chamber of Secrets was once created by our founding father, Salazar Slytherin," Tom explained in a loud, carrying voice as he paced in front of her. "It houses a monster, so they say, but it's actually a guardian angel."

Hermione listened to his words, though all this was familiar to her. There was something magnetic about Tom when he spoke so enthusiastically and confidently about a subject.

"The being that Slytherin has placed here in the chamber for the protection of all wizards and witches is loyal and devoted only to the Founder himself and his heirs," Tom continued and at the following words he turned to her, "Even if others manage to enter the chamber, they have no power here. The great serpent that watches over us all obeys no one but the heir. Whoever strays here is doomed to die."

Hermione remembered all too well Harry's descriptions of how, despite using Parseltongue, it had been impossible for him to control the basilisk. Salazar Slytherin must have put a powerful spell on the chamber that the basilisk not only seemed to survive indefinitely down here, but could also detect the bloodline of any intruder.

"Should it one day come to pass that the Muggles attempt to conquer and destroy Hogwarts, this serpent will awaken and turn on all who don't belong here," Tom continued to pontificate, "And as long as I'm here, the serpent will help me advance my interests."

Hermione almost laughed out loud. It was certainly in Tom's interest to kill Myrtle. It had gotten him so much further. He had risked his beloved Hogwarts being closed and having to return to the home just to demonstrate his power over the basilisk.

"I have heard rumours," she said cautiously, "that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened recently. I did not understand what was meant by it, but now ..."

Tom actually had the audacity to grin broadly at her. "Your uncle told you about that, didn't he? I'm only too happy to admit it. I found the chamber and tried out what their monster is capable of."

"You're talking about a snake," Hermione said, pretending to think, "From what I understand, a few students were injured before a girl actually died. It must be a powerful snake that even older students couldn't do anything against it."

Tom seemed to enjoy her guessing game, for he merely stood there, grinning, hands buried in his trouser pockets, and raised both eyebrows promptly.

He probably did not expect her to actually guess what kind of monster this was, but Hermione did not have to guess. She knew what it was, so she stood directly in front of him, jutted her chin and looked him firmly in the eye. "We're dealing with a basilisk here."

Only briefly did his smile fade, then Tom raised a hand to pat her head in a proud gesture. "Clever girl. Of course you would manage to piece together the few clues to the correct answer. Yes, there is a basilisk living here."

"This is probably the moment I should get scared, isn't it?" she asked playfully as she pushed his hand away from her head. She did not like this patronising gesture at all.

"Oh no, my heart," Tom replied and pulled her into his arms. "As long as you are with me, the basilisk will not harm you. You don't have to be afraid. I'll protect you."

Hermione snorted and pushed away from him. "I don't have to be afraid as long as you're trying to protect me. But if I ever draw your hatred and murderousness again, I now have twice as much to fear."

Suddenly Tom became serious. He put a hand on her cheek and looked deep into her eyes. "You need never be afraid of the basilisk. As I said before, you are mine. I will not allow anyone but me to harm you. Not even a creature under my control. If you die, it will be directly by my hand."

Hermione's knees went weak and she was grateful that Tom was holding her. He was so thoroughly insane, so possessive, and yet she sensed that there was actually a beating heart underneath all those cold, calculated words. He felt something for her that he had obviously never felt for anyone else. Perhaps she would succeed in strengthening that part of him. She also already had a rough idea of what she could do to achieve this goal.