Hermione stood outside the girls' toilet with Abraxas and waited. Tom had big plans for today, even if she didn't yet know how big. After their night together, he instructed her to pick up Abraxas after lunch and wait for him outside the toilet that formed the entrance to the Chamber. He was probably going to fetch others.

"Has everyone been down there yet?" she addressed her blonde friend, who seemed just as restless as she was.

His bright blue eyes flitted to her and immediately back to the spot on the floor that he had been staring at intently the whole time. He shrugged. "I don't know who Tom wants to take with him today. Peter, Rufus, Humphrey, Orion, and I have been there before."

Puzzled by his reticence, Hermione moved from one side of the corridor to the other to stand next to him. "Do you know what lives there?"

For a brief moment she saw his neck tighten, then finally Abraxas straightened up completely and looked at her. "Rufus and I know. As for the others, I can't say."

Hesitantly, Hermione stepped closer to him until they were almost touching. "Abraxas, what's wrong? Is something weighing on your mind?"

His eyes widened a little. "Me? You're asking me? Hermione, what happened to you this week..."

"No!" she interrupted him immediately. Abraxas instantly raised both hands as if to apologise, but Hermione beat him to it. Determined, she took his hands in hers and looked up at him. "Don't talk about it, please. I want to forget. I want to focus on what's in front of us."

Warmth settled in the blue eyes. "I understand. Forgive my careless words. I blame myself for my negligent actions, but it is not for you to absolve me of my conscience. I am sorry to have caused you more pain with this memory."

A tremor ran through Hermione's body. Abraxas understood a surprising amount about other people's feelings. He recognised when it was wiser to remain silent and when he could move others with the right words. Smiling, she placed a hand on his cheek. "Thank you very much. I'd like to look ahead together with you and Tom. The school year is half over and the new year will soon be upon us. Let's leave all the bad things in 1944 and hope that 1945 brings us only happiness."

Abraxas placed his larger hand on hers and turned his head slightly so that he could place a gentle kiss on the palm of her hand. He didn't take his eyes off her for a second. A hot shiver ran through Hermione's body. Abraxas was maturing more and more into a man. If the circumstances had been different, she would have loved to plan a future with this Malfoy.

Footsteps told them that other students were approaching. Instead of stepping away from her as if caught off guard, Abraxas simply lowered his hand, which was still holding hers, and turned to face the newcomers without letting go. Heat spread across Hermione's cheeks, but she wasn't ready to take her hand away from him either.

Led by Tom, seven Slytherin students came round the corner. Nausea rose in Hermione as her eyes fell on Lestrange and Avery, but she forced herself to appear outwardly impassive. Only her hand, clutching Abraxas' tighter, betrayed her tension.

Tom's gaze lingered briefly on her hands, but he said nothing. He didn't say anything either when he opened the door to the toilet and motioned for everyone to come in.

Orion complied immediately, but the others were blocked by the massive figure of Dolohov, who stared at Tom with his arms crossed in front of his chest. "Is it customary in your circles for men to use the ladies' toilets?"

Hermione stifled a grin. From the perspective of the three newcomers in the group, this must have seemed really strange. Tom, on the other hand, looked less than amused. "It's customary in my circles to use your head for more than just showing off your hair. Didn't you realise what kind of place this is?"

Although Dolohov was much broader and slightly taller than Tom, it was obvious to everyone present that the head boy was looking down on the younger pupil from above. The cool expression in Tom's eyes didn't seem to bother Dolohov, however. "Myrtle Warren was found dead here."

"That's right," Tom confirmed, a sudden sneer on his lips. "Unless you want to find out here and now how exactly she died, I recommend you follow Orion and enter."

A cough that sounded like an unsuccessfully hidden laugh came from Rosier, who was standing behind Dolohov, shaking his head in obvious disbelief. However, when all those already initiated turned to him and stared blankly at him, his grin disappeared and gave way to a sudden pallor. He looked uncertainly from Tom to Orion and then to Abraxas. "Are you serious?"

To Hermione's astonishment, it was Abraxas who replied in a cool tone that he copied perfectly from Tom, "Do you think we're meeting here for a tea party? If you're not ready for what's coming, this is the end of the line."

Mulciber next to him swallowed with difficulty before following Orion with unsteady steps. The others followed suit and entered the anteroom of the girls' toilet. Only Dolohov still seemed unconvinced. His arms still crossed in front of his chest, his gaze travelled to Hermione, whom he towered over by almost two heads. "And the perfect Miss Dumbledore is here too? Does your uncle know that you spend your free time in dodgy places with various men?"

Tom, who also already entered, turned round and raised an eyebrow questioningly, but Hermione just shook her head slightly, signalling that he had nothing to worry about. She straightened up to stand proud and tall opposite Dolohov's massive figure. Tilting her head slightly to show off her slender neck and intricate updo, she looked up at him. "My uncle doesn't know many things about me. Do you feel offended by the presence of a woman?"

Smirking inwardly, she noticed the tall man rubbing the back of his head uneasily. She had already noticed in the Hog's Head that Dolohov clearly didn't know how to deal with women, especially not ones like her. She enjoyed teasing him a little. In his future, he would try to kill her, but here he was just an intelligent boy dreaming of a glorious future.

"Quite the opposite," Dolohov replied, apparently having decided not to be intimidated by her. "I'm just surprised to see you here. Do you even know what's going on here?"

She grinned broadly at him, deliberately showing her teeth. "Unlike you, I know exactly what's happening here. You, on the other hand, Mr Dolohov, have no idea. I hope your determination is as great as your intelligence."

With these words, she left him standing there and followed the others into the toilet. She winked at Tom with a smile and accepted his offered arm, while Dolohov finally followed them and Abraxas closed the door. It amused Hermione that Tom had obviously not informed the three newcomers about the Chamber and was instead literally throwing them in at the deep end. She clung to this thought and kept her eyes fixed on Dolohov, Rosier, and Mulciber to avoid looking at other, less welcome people.

Tom stepped in front of the secret door, which was not visible to anyone as such, and spoke the hissing words in Parseltongue. Hermione listened carefully to memorise the sounds for the future. She had successfully imitated the Parseltongue once before and she hoped that she would be able to do it again when it mattered.

"After you, gentlemen," Tom encouraged his followers after the sink opened to reveal the black maw.

Abraxas squared his shoulders and was the first to enter the opening. One second, he could still be seen climbing in, the next the slippery tube swallowed him up and then a muffled thud rang out from below, signalling that he arrived. Avery and Lestrange climbed in after him, followed by Orion and Nott.

The three newcomers to the group looked more confused than before, but Rosier and Mulciber seemed to have decided to simply do as others did. They followed their housemates without hesitation. Tom let go of Hermione and stood in front of the opening, also ready to make the less than elegant descent.

"Be a dear and enlighten our poor, confused friend, my heart," he said to Hermione with a smile, before pushing off briskly and sliding into the darkness.

With a smirk on her lips, Hermione approached the sinks. "You're hesitating, Mr Dolohov?"

The broad man shrugged somewhat awkwardly. "I'm trying to understand what's happening here."

Hermione tilted her head playfully and tapped her lips with her index finger. "You know that this is the place where a classmate died cruelly. And you know the rumours surrounding the death."

"The Chamber of Secrets," Dolohov said without looking at her. His gaze was fixed intently on the darkness. "Does it really exist? Is that what's behind here?"

Hermione nodded seriously. "That is indeed correct. Only the true heir of Slytherin can open this Chamber and control the monster within."

Dolohov turned to her and stepped closer until he was standing only a few inches away. Hermione forced herself not to flinch away from him. She knew that Tom left her here alone with him because it was important to convince Dolohov completely of the cause. He was too proud and too intelligent to get involved with Tom without at least beginning to understand what it was all about. And he was too proud to submit to a woman. She had to prove to him that she knew things that interested him. She would not be intimidated by him.

"How is it that you know so much about it?"

The question was so open and direct that Hermione could only stare for a moment. Perhaps it was because they were here alone and he didn't have to try to put on the façade of the perfect Slytherin. Perhaps it was his intelligence that made him more cunning and suspicious. It didn't matter to her. All that mattered was that she could give him a direct answer now.

"I'm not just a simple student, Mr Dolohov," she explained with a smile. "I'm not just a witch, nor just a woman. Tom knows that. I've enabled him to do things that help him move forward. I can do things for him that no one else can. And that's why I know more than Tom would ever tell anyone else."

"But you're just a witch," Dolohov breathed, clearly still unable to understand that she, a female, could be valuable.

"My gender doesn't define me," Hermione contradicted. She leant forwards a little and leant her head back so that she could look him straight in the eye. "Before I'm a woman, I'm human. A magically gifted human. I may be physically inferior to men, but our magic is completely unaffected by gender. Just as our intelligence is completely unaffected by it. We women may think and feel differently from men, but we are just as capable of great deeds as men."

Without blinking, Dolohov returned her gaze. She could read in his eyes how confused he was. His chauvinism was nothing like Lestrange's. There was no malice behind it, but simple ignorance.

For a split second, his gaze flitted to her chest and waist. It happened so quickly that Hermione wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't been waiting for it. Why was it that all men were so predictable and easy to manipulate in this time? In her time, no wizard had ever been interested in her as a girl. Even Ron, for whom she had once harboured feelings, usually didn't see her as a woman, just a friend. Here, however, she hardly had to make an effort and the wizards already made it abundantly clear that they saw her primarily or exclusively as a woman. She didn't envy her peers who were seriously looking for a groom at this time.

With a knowing grin on her lips, she stretched a little to lay a hand on his cheek. "Well, Antonin. We don't want to keep the others waiting. And we certainly don't want to keep Tom waiting, do we? We wouldn't want my beloved Tom to get the idea that you were behaving inappropriately towards me. I wonder if he would approve if he knew how you looked at me?"

As she had expected, Dolohov's eyes widened in shock and he frantically took a step back. It really was too easy with these guys. All the rules of propriety and the girls' vaunted chastity only meant that they all jumped at every drop they were offered like they were dying of thirst. She knew it wasn't her beauty that made Dolohov's eyes wander over her figure, just as she knew it wasn't her charm that made Orion try to kiss and touch her.

They were all just overwhelmed by their natural instincts and because only prohibitions were waiting everywhere in response, they were hopelessly at the mercy of the easiest temptations. And therefore so easy for Tom to manipulate.

With an indulgent smile, she approached the dark opening to the underground. "Don't worry, Antonin. I'm not blaming you. But you should use your intelligence more often, you know? Think critically about situations and, above all, think before you do anything. Even if it's just a cursory glance. You never know what can be used against you."

For a moment, Dolohov stood frozen in place, then he sighed deeply and turned to face her. "I understand what Tom sees in you. I'm sorry for pushing you and looking at you that way. I mean that sincerely. A gentleman should never do that. Forgive me."

Hermione could only shrug her shoulders in response. If he knew what had happened to her a few days before, he would understand that his look was the last thing on her mind. "There's nothing to forgive," she replied simply.

She knew that Lestrange would get his just punishment today for what he had done to her. She wanted to see him suffer. She wanted his basic trust in other people to be wiped out, just as her basic trust lay in pieces on the ground. It was this thought that allowed her to stand in the same room as Lestrange, Avery, Nott, and Black without feeling ashamed.

Determined, she stepped into the darkness and slid down.

She was strong. No one would ever be able to break her again.