Tom's look was murderous as he entered the Great Hall. Abraxas had been getting an increasingly strange feeling the longer Orion had been telling his story, and now, as he saw Tom approaching the table with long strides, it intensified.

"Where is she?"

The words sounded dangerously calm, while hot anger blazed in Tom's eyes. Unsure, Abraxas looked at Orion, who seemed just as intimidated as he was. Hesitantly, he asked, "Where's who?"

"Save the charade, Malfoy," Tom snapped at him. "Where's Hermione?"

Abraxas blanched. If Tom was that upset, then Hermione was in serious danger. He looked at Orion again, but this time he didn't return his gaze. Instead, the boy looked intently at his lap.

Suddenly everything made sense.

"Orion Black," Abraxas hissed quietly as he grabbed the younger student by the shirt. "Where is Hermione? You're part of this conspiracy, am I right? That's why you involved me in this pointless conversation about your feelings. Where is she?" he asked again forcefully. The anger in Tom's eyes was mirrored inside him. He could have slapped himself for his naivety. "Speak, or I will single-handedly ensure that you don't live to see tomorrow."

Tom, who obviously understood that Abraxas was just as unaware of what exactly was going on, sat down on the other side of Orion. The usually cheeky Black slumped down. "I don't know, honestly. All I know is that I was to distract you, Abraxas. Please, believe me, that's all I know."

Abraxas looked questioningly at Tom, who only nodded. He seemed to believe Orion. Abraxas leant forward to say quietly but clearly to the young Black, "You have made a grave mistake, Orion Black. Your participation in this conspiracy will have consequences. You were foolish to turn your back on Tom. You have brought dishonour to the Black name today, and I am ashamed to be related to you."

Without giving him another glance, Abraxas got up from his seat and turned to Tom. "What's going on here, Tom? Why has Hermione disappeared?"

It was obvious that his former best friend was struggling to control himself. Abraxas had never seen him so beside himself. If he didn't know better, he would have said that Tom was scared. His whole body was stiff and his breathing was too fast.

As if he didn't hear the question, Tom stormed out of the Great Hall. Deeply unsettled, Abraxas followed him. If Tom was so upset, something bad must have happened. "Tom, wait!" he called after him as soon as the doors to the hall closed behind them.

"I can't waste time!" Tom replied without turning round to face him.

"Where are you going?" Abraxas asked, trying to keep up with the fast pace of Tom's long strides. "You just said that you don't know where Hermione is."

Tom stopped abruptly and turned to face him. "If you don't have anything intelligent to contribute, then leave me alone."

Not letting his words upset him, Abraxas placed both hands on his shoulders. "Why don't we try to retrace her steps? She had Alchemy this morning. Let's go to the classroom and see if we can find anything there."

Tom just looked at him for a moment, then turned on his heel and made his way towards the Alchemy classroom. Abraxas followed him with an inner sigh. He had never seen Tom so distraught. So far removed from rational, practical thoughts. Tom's fear frightened him.

And alongside the fear was self-reproach. He had heard and seen for himself how Rufus had planned something. He had known that Rufus was bothered by Hermione. He had known that Rufus wanted to do something. And he had sat there, listened to him, even supported him. In his selfishness, he had hoped that he could have Hermione for himself if Rufus managed to separate her and Tom. He had betrayed his best friend, the man he had sworn to be faithful to. And he had put the girl he loved in danger because he had been so blind.

He grimly twisted his mouth into a sharp line. As he hurried through the castle behind Tom, he realised how much he let Rufus get to him. He heard how disparagingly he spoke about women. Why did it never occur to him that Hermione would come to harm if Rufus tried to break her and Tom up?

He ignored the other students who gave him and Tom confused looks as they rushed headlong through the castle. He also ignored the shouts from Professor Selwyn, who reminded them that the next block was about to start and that neither of them had their school bags with them.

Out of breath, they arrived in front of the classroom. The corridor was now deserted. When Tom opened the door, all they found was emptiness. Cursing, Abraxas slumped against the stone wall. Hermione wasn't here and there was no one left to give them any information.

Tom's hand trembled as he stared into the empty classroom. Silence settled over them like a cold grave. What should they do now?

A soft whimper reached Abraxas' ears. He immediately pushed himself away from the wall and stepped into the middle of the corridor. Where did that come from? Tom, who obviously also heard the noise, let go of the door and turned round. They remained motionless, ears pricked, foreheads furrowed.

A sob.

Abraxas narrowed his eyes and looked at the door opposite the classroom. Could the solution be that simple? Tom didn't seem to give it another thought. He pulled out his wand, pointed it at the door, and with a rasping crash it exploded into thousands of splinters of wood.

Screams could be heard from inside. Abraxas immediately rushed through the destroyed opening. The image that presented itself inside made his heart stop.

Hermione was lying on the floor, her legs spread wide. Above her was Rufus, who was pulling up his trousers with wide eyes. Sitting on a chair right next to her was Avery, also with his trousers down and his privates in his hand.

For a moment, time seemed to stand still. As if they were all frozen, they stared at each other. Even Tom, who had just been so hectic, stood motionless next to him.

"Tom..." Hermione's tear-filled sobs reached his ears.

Abraxas automatically looked at her and his heart broke. She suddenly looked so small and vulnerable. So utterly terrified.

A movement out of the corner of his eye finally woke him from his stupor. As if in slow motion, he realised that Tom was raising his wand arm and pointing it at Rufus. He opened his mouth and Abraxas guessed, no, he knew what was about to happen.

"Avada..."

"No!" he cried out in horror and wrapped both arms around Tom. The spell was interrupted, but Tom didn't lower his arm.

"Let go of me, Abraxas," he demanded with icy calm, not looking at him. His gaze was fixed on Lestrange.

"No, Tom, I can't let you do this," Abraxas insisted as he drew his own wand and pointed it at Rufus. "I can't let you destroy your life."

For a moment, he struggled with Tom, who tried to push him away, but then he finally gave in. He lowered his wand and stared at the ground. Relieved, Abraxas looked at Rufus and Avery, who were both dressed again and looked at them in confusion. Did they really not expect to be caught in the act?

Tom Riddle rarely felt like he was losing control of a situation. He hated that feeling and therefore always did everything he could to avoid it. Right now, however, he had to admit to himself that he no longer had any control. Neither over himself, nor over Lestrange, nor over Hermione. They had all done things, allowed things to happen, that he had not foreseen.

His first instinct was to kill Rufus Lestrange. That hot rage still burned inside him, suffocating any rational thought. But Abraxas was right - he had worked so hard, made and abandoned so many plans. He couldn't destroy it all by killing the son of one of the most powerful wizarding families. If he did that, he would never get anywhere near his goal.

His gaze travelled to Hermione, who was still lying on the floor. Her bare legs, her torn underwear, her tear-stained face, everything spoke for itself. Lestrange succeeded in doing what Avery had tried to do so many weeks ago. She had allowed someone like Rufus to humiliate her.

He felt a tremor go through his body. She failed him. She was inferior to Lestrange, of all people. She was weak.

Before he even knew what he was about to do, he was at her with two long strides, kneeling down and pulling her into his arms. He buried his face in her hair, which had come loose from her elegant pinned-up hairstyle, and hugged her as tightly as he could. For a moment, she didn't make a sound. Then, finally, her arms closed around him and he felt her body shake with violent sobs.

Rufus did this to her. And he would pay for it. Not with his life, but he would pay for it.

"What is this?" he heard Abraxas' cool voice. Without looking up at his friend, he knew that he had to be similarly angry about the incident. He knew that Abraxas was in love with Hermione, had even deliberately let it happen so that he could manipulate him better.

"I did what Tom wanted us to do," Rufus replied just as coldly. Tom's body stiffened. What he wanted? How could Lestrange think that he wanted this?

"You think this is what Tom wanted?" Abraxas voiced his thoughts. "Rufus. I went along with your plans because I thought you cared about the well-being of Tom and Hermione. How dare you go after her?"

Tom listened to the conversation with his eyes closed. Rufus misunderstood everything. His own plan had backfired so badly that Tom couldn't help but doubt the sanity of all his followers. Did they really not realise that Hermione belonged to them? Belonged to him? Did they really still think he wanted to get rid of her? He had always laughed inwardly at Abraxas, who had the naive hope that he could win Hermione over one day. He found it amusing to be able to manipulate his best friend so easily through these feelings. But in the end, he seemed to have been the only one of them all who saw Hermione for what she was: superior to them all and the only one allowed to stand by his side.

"Tom?" Abraxas snapped him out of his thoughts. "What are we going to do with these two fiends?"

Tom carefully released himself from Hermione's grasp. She was pale and did not return his gaze. But she was alive. That was the only thing that mattered right now. She was alive. He reached under her knees and stood up with her in his arms. His anger had subsided and given way to ice-cold determination. "I'll take Hermione to her dormitory. You go to class and tell the professors she's had an accident and is resting. You have my apologies as Head Boy for being late because you were assisting me. If anyone asks why she is not in the hospital wing, say that was my assessment of the situation. I will be happy to tell Professor Dippet in confidence what happened if he asks."

"And what about these two?" asked Abraxas, who still didn't lower his wand.

Tom turned his gaze to Rufus, who looked nervous for the first time. His fingers were playing with his tie and he looked down at the floor. Tom explained emphatically, "We're all equally to blame for this misunderstanding. We'll talk about it calmly in the group on Sunday."

Abraxas opened his mouth as if to protest, but Tom beat him to it. "That was an order. Carry it out, no argument."

Abraxas immediately shut his mouth again. He stared at Tom for a moment, then finally lowered his arm, turned round, and left in a hurry. Lestrange and Avery, both still looking confused, followed the blond Slytherin out of the classroom.

They were alone at last. Tom gently set Hermione down on one of the desks. She was still avoiding his gaze, so he grabbed her chin with one hand, forcing her to look him in the eye. "How are you, my heart?"

Tears immediately welled up in her eyes again. "I'm sorry, Tom. I didn't want this! I didn't have a chance, you have to believe me. They just overpowered me and then Rufus... he just..."

She broke off and hid her face in her hands again. Tom clenched his jaw tightly. Her words showed understanding, and yet they made him angry again. She knew she had done something wrong and she apologised to him for it. Why did he get so angry? He felt like grabbing her and shaking her and shouting at her.

Instead, he took a deep breath, took a step back, and held a hand out to her. "Come on, let's go to the dungeon. Can you walk?"

She just nodded without looking at him, but she grabbed his hand. Slowly, making sure she didn't accidentally fall, he led her out of the classroom, down the stairs into the dungeons, through the common room to her room.

Once there, Hermione insisted on taking a shower alone before lying down. Tom merely nodded. While she was in the bathroom, he sat on her bed and waited. He could still feel the tightness in his chest. He wished he could just tie Hermione to his bed and never let her out again. Then this would never happen again. If she never left his side again, no one would ever be able to hurt her again.

Annoyed, he realised that every muscle in his body was tense. He took another deep breath and tried to relax all his muscles as he exhaled. He had to stop these irrational feelings and thoughts. He had to get back to his clever mind to find a solution to the problem.

He would make sure that Hermione was never alone again. Whatever he had to do, he would find a way.

No matter the cost.