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Masters of Manipulation	By : Nerys Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Hermione/Voldemort Views: 28506 -:- Recommendations : 4 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

H.P. Lovecraft is the inventor of the fictional book the Necronomicom. He first mentioned this book in his short story 'The Hound' (published in 1924). So I do not own the Necronomicom ('yikes'), which means there really is no point in ramming down my front door in order to obtain it for some satanic ritual; I do not own it!

The Grimoire, I am referring to, was seen in 'Charmed'. It was the evil version of the 'Book of Shadows', and the 'Grimoire' was used to become the Source of All Evil. Naturally, I also do not own 'Charmed' and therefore I am also not the owner of this particular Grimoire (does another Yikes!).

And now I'm depressed about all those things I do not own (winks).

Masters of manipulation

Chapter 14

Inside the Room of Requirement a small, abandoned library was completely trashed by a shock wave of incredible force. Apart from the two thick, leather books, whose leaves were turning due to the tiny breeze that still whirled around the room, nothing had survived the blast intact. The books lay seemingly innocent on top of the debris as if they merely bore witness to the destruction. Small bits and pieces of wood were scattered around everywhere and the breeze in the room slowly began removing the falling dust from view. In the centre of the room remained the motionless, still bodies of two Hogwarts' students, Tom Marvolo Riddle and Hermione Jean Granger.

A flash caused a piece of parchment to appear out of thin air, and it landed between Tom and Hermione. The parchment had a yellow colour with a black rim and it was glowing intensely in a combination of yellow-and-black light. Another flash and two breaths were taken simultaneously, while the parchment appeared to crumble into dust. A cough, another cough, some moaning and groaning, but slowly and surely, the two started to crawl back onto their feet in a daze.

And Hermione felt strange, weird, like she was floating in thin air. She tried checking out her surroundings but saw nothing except for this big, blinding, white light and she felt peaceful yet detached from herself. Her senses seemed to be malfunctioning, because she heard, tasted and smelt nothing. All there was for the moment was this light.

But then, there was pain, incredible pain. And she wanted to return to that light, to that pain-free state of being, and to the peace and calmness it brought. But she fell … and the light slowly dimmed, until there was nothing but darkness surrounding her.

She took a deep breath and coughed. Her eyes opened and there was rubble everywhere. She checked her body, but apart from some minor cuts and scratches, it was still intact. It was peculiar how a blast that destroyed everything inanimate to that kind of degree had left her feeling a bit dizzy and nothing more. She should have died. She thought she had. Hermione looked up and saw a pair of dark eyes glint at her in a peculiar manner. It made her extremely uncomfortable.

'What have you done, Evans?' Tom Riddle asked seemingly pleasant.

Hermione recognised that tone. He had used that tone before today. It was right before he had cursed Avery and Lestrange. Hermione looked around the room and she saw the two books lying still again on the floor.

'There not glowing anymore,' she said curiously.

And before Tom could say anything, she continued her speech, faking ignorance and innocence. 'What do you think happened?'

He eyed her suspiciously. 'You haven't answered my question, Granger. What were you doing here?'

Hermione walked over to the two books. She shook her head and pressed her eyelids together in an attempt to wake up more properly, hoping it would stop that feeling of having cotton-wool stuffed in your mind. She was also stalling for time. She picked up the book from Gryffindor and opened it while she answered Riddle's question, purposely avoiding eye contact with Mr Legilimency. It had not gone unnoticed by Hermione that he had got a shipload of information from her in the past by merely looking at her.

'I had this urge to come here,' Hermione said casually.

She skipped through the leaves of the book, while stating this. Quickly, she formulated a question of her own. 'Why did you come? Same reason?'

And she looked up at him questioningly, knowing it was safe to do so for now, and that it would become extremely suspicious if she kept her nose in the book continuously.

'You had this urge to come here,' Riddle repeated slowly.

'Fine, don't answer my question if you don't want to, Riddle,' Hermione said, annoyed.

'Why should I? You haven't answered mine.'

'Yes, I did.'

'No, you didn't.'

Hermione sighed. 'Now, I could respond by repeating one more time that I did, but I really feel we should have outgrown a childish debate like that.'

'I couldn't agree more, but since you fail to see my point, allow me to explain what I mean. I asked you what you were doing here, and you answered by telling me why you were here. Last time I checked a dictionary those were still two different things, Granger,' Tom added, while he moved beside her and picked up Eternity in Time. He turned his head towards her and looked her straight in her eyes, making it impossible for her to avoid his gaze. 'So what were you doing here?'

'I was sitting at the table watching two books do something peculiar, Riddle,' Hermione answered truthfully.

'And?'

'What is this, Twenty Questions?' Hermione replied, frowning. 'Why were you here, Riddle?'

He smirked. 'Oh, I had this urge to come here.'

'Lie.'

The word fell out of her mouth, before she could hold it in. Hermione held her breath, when she realised what she had just said, but she knew it was true. Riddle was lying to her, when he stated that he had an urge to come here. And there was that peculiar glint again in his eyes.

'So mind telling me why you think I was lying?' Riddle asked, amused.

'Because you were,' Hermione stated boldly. She knew she could not take the statement back anyway, so she might as well see if she could get any useful information out of it. 'So why would you be lying about something so innocent, Riddle?'

'And why would you be, Granger?' Riddle said quietly.

Hermione growled out of frustration over this ridiculous conversation, when she noticed the movement. She had never before witnessed it, but it was like she knew he was going to draw his wand, before she saw it. And she, quickly, pulled her wand out of her pocket and raised it too. The movements came simultaneously. So when Hermione felt the tip of his wand in her throat, Tom realised that hers was pricking in his chest. He frowned.

'Impressive, I've never before seen you draw so quickly, Granger.'

The corner of his mouth twitched upwards when he said it, and he was definitely looking at her with suspicion in his eyes. Tom removed his wand from her throat and stepped backwards slowly, putting some distance between the both of them, while pretending to take in the rubbish around them.

'Strange how everything got destroyed and we seem perfectly fine,' Tom said casually, and he looked back at Hermione.

But Hermione had not put her wand down when he did. She had noticed the predatory glance that passed through his eyes for a moment, and she did not like the sight of it. She knew the threat had not vanished. She just knew it. And there it was again! That same gleam darted in his dark eyes. And Hermione made the decision she was through waiting for Riddle to make the first move.

'Stupify!' she cast.

A deep, gong-like note reverberated from the shield, that Riddle had conjured up, when Hermione's stunner hit it.

'Come on, Granger. Don't tell me you haven't got anything a bit more substantial to throw at me?' he asked tauntingly, and he started moving sideways slowly.

But Hermione did the same, making sure to keep the distance between them.

Tom grinned and he made a sudden slashing movement with his wand. Hermione saw a very familiar purple flame speed towards her, and she dove out of the way, remembering very clearly how long she had been in the infirmary the first time that spell had hit her. She pointed her wand at the rubble. 'Waddiwasi.'

And the pieces of wood flew into the air. They sped towards Riddle and blocked her from his view, but they were also making it impossible for her to see what Riddle was doing.

'Incendio,' Tom cast. The pieces of wood caught fire, and suddenly, the fire started speeding towards her. Riddle must have used a nonverbal spell to direct them.

'Aquamenti,' Hermione responded, and the fire was extinguished.

For a second it was quiet, and then … they both fired at the same time.

'Confundo.' Tom flicked his wand, and a gong-like tone was heard across the room, when his Confusion Charm bounced off Hermione silvery shield.

'Avis Oppugno,' Hermione said, and as she moved her wand around her head, a flock of canaries started attacking Riddle.

But they got transfigured into one humongous snake that turned around and struck...

'Reducto!' Hermione's curse cleaved the snake to pieces mere moments before it would have sank its fangs into her arm.

And again, they cast their curses at the same time.

'Diffindo!' Tom's Severing Charm rammed Hermione's shield, causing her to stumble backwards.

'Deprimo!' Hermione's Pressure Charm impacted upon Tom's shield, forcing him to take a couple of steps back.

'Duro!' Hermione's Stoneturning Curse sped towards Tom, forcing him to dive out of its path, and as he rolled over the floor, he flashed his wand towards her. 'Incarcerous!'

Hermione saw the robes fly towards her to bind her and while she fired an "Incendio" at them in defence, Riddle sent out his next curse. 'Imperio!'

Only barely aware of her surroundings, Hermione felt a delightful feeling flush through her. Everything was fine. There was not a single worry in the world, and only this nice, relaxing happiness remained. And then there was Tom's calming, soothing voice: 'Drop your wand.'

Her hand twitched and she almost let go of her wand, but another voice in the back of her head questioned Tom's suggestion. 'Why would you want to do that?' it asked her.

'Drop your wand,' Tom repeated smoothly.

'Doesn't sound like a smart move to me.'

'Drop it, NOW!' he ordered and all kindness was gone from his voice.

'No, I don't think so … definitely not. NO!' Hermione shouted the last word that came into her mind.

The wonderful feeling of utter bliss was lifted instantly, and she stared straight into a pair of intrigued, dark eyes. Right in front of her! Shocked, she wanted to flash her wand, but his hand was already around her wand-hand.

'Oh no, you don't,' Tom said forcefully, while he physically yanked her wand out of her hand.

'There, much better,' he said, watching the two wands he was now holding onto with satisfaction written all over his face.

Hermione started backing away from him. She had no idea where she was going, but she felt they were way too close for comfort. Her head was swivelling sideways searching the room for some means to use as defence, but the biggest piece of wood, that was lying around, couldn't have been more than an inch or two. Riddle pocketed her wand and noticed she had moved away.

'Going somewhere?' he asked, amused.

Hermione remained silent, but she did halt her movement. It wasn't worth getting Crucio-ed over.

'Hmm… now, what was that question again that I wanted an answer to?' Tom asked himself ironically, pretending to be in deep thought about it. 'Oh yeah, now I remember,' and he gave her a broad smile that frightened her to the core. 'What were you doing here, Hermione?' he simply asked, twirling his wand.

'I already told you. I was sitting…'

'Lie,' he said lazily, and he snorted softly at her shocked face.

And when she remained silent after that, he quietly said: 'Answer me, Hermione.'

'I…' and her eyes darted upwards. 'I … I had this theory on the...'

'Look at me,' interrupted Riddle demanding.

Slightly panicking, Hermione stared at him. So when he took a step in her direction, she wanted to back away. But his wand was already at her head, touching it.

'Don't move,' he commanded, as he followed the lines of her face with his wand intensely. 'What… were… you… doing… here? Legilimency!'

And she was in the Room of Requirement with Harry and the rest of the DA… 'no… no… no…' …walking through the corridors arguing with Ron… 'no… not that either…no…' …sitting with Minerva en the others discussing the Crumple-Horned Snorkack… 'no… please…no…' …and she opened Infinity in Time and emptied the vial of charmed blood on its pages…

And it was over. He was out of her mind. Hermione stumbled backwards, panting and perspiring heavily. Her hand touched her head, holding it to try to stop the pounding sensation, but it subsided on its own accord. She wiped off her forehead and looked up. There was bemusement and concern visible all over Tom Riddle's face, while he watched the books lying a few feet away. But when he looked up to face her, his expression had changed to one of sheer delight.

'Now, what would Albus Dumbledore say if he knew you had performed such a dreadful Dark Arts Charm?' Tom teasingly said.

'Any thoughts, Hermione, on that?' he added smiling, when she didn't respond.

Hermione hoisted her shoulders. 'I really don't care, Riddle. Just stay away from me.'

'Oh? Is that what you want, Hermione?' Tom tauntingly asked, and he laughed. 'Strange, how your actions say something completely opposite to your words. Tell me, dear, did you really expect that I would leave you alone after you completely bonded us together?'

And that predatory glint was back in his eyes as Tom started advancing on Hermione, who started backing up even further at the same pace. She wasn't at all relaxed when she noticed his expression, and she began to realise that maybe this hadn't been such a good idea to begin with.

'Oh no, I knew I should have researched those damn Blood Bonds further, before I did this,' Hermione thought frightened. 'I missed something… I overlooked an outcome… He is way too pleased…'

'Now, let's find out, shall we?' Tom commanded, and he stretched out his hand. 'Take it.'

But Hermione really felt that would be a mistake to do so, and she took another step back instead.

'You didn't have such a big problem with me the other morning, dear,' he said smirking.

Hermione felt the blood rush to her cheeks, and the memory raised a furious temper inside of her.

Tom laughed at her flustered state before he whirled toward her, grabbed her, and pushed her up against the wall at the same time. A piece of yellow parchment with a black rim, that lay underneath the rubble, glowed, and at that exact moment Hermione felt a shock. It was like a bolt of electricity travelled through her body, hitting every nerve as it passed and leaving behind an unusual, indescribable feeling. And she noticed she wasn't the only one, who had felt it. Riddle's eyes flashed red for a second as he too, undoubtedly, was hit by this feeling, this emotion.

Whatever it was that travelled through them, it happened right after Tom touched Hermione for the first time after the completion of Hermione's Blood-Binding Charm. And another page of Helga Hufflepuff's book disappeared into thin air without anyone having noticed its presence.

'Where will you go now, Hermione?' Tom asked softly.

And he trapped her against the wall by pressing his body into hers. His hands travelled upwards from her arms to her neck, until he held on to both sides of her face with his hands.

Hermione did not move. She was staring into those deep, dark eyes of his. They were dangerous, deadly and intoxicating. She could not stop fixating on them, while their bodies were joined together, and her chest rose and fell against his with every breath that she took.

And there was something wrong, only she couldn't remember. And there was something she desperately wanted, but she couldn't recall… Until he kissed her, and she kissed him back. And somehow, at some time, her arms had moved. They were around his waist, and she was pulling him closer as she tilted her head to allow him access. Their tongues met and, as she closed her eyes, she felt the strength of their bond, their union. It engulfed them and took over, and neither one was in charge anymore.

So Time passed, while they stood there, examining each other like it would solve the mystery. They were touching the other to satisfy this desire, this urgent need, to get reacquainted with themselves, until it was done. They broke off their elaborate kissing expedition simultaneously and their eyes met again. Tom's hands moved back up to hold her head.

'Do you want to go to the Christmas Ball with me come Friday?' he genuinely asked, while stroking her hair and face softly.

Hermione almost said yes, but Time moved on. And in the back of her mind something came back to her; something that, somehow, somewhere, and at sometime, had slipped her mind completely. It was the identity of the person she was currently having WAY too much fun with. Shocked, she pushed him away.

'No, of course not,' Hermione blurted out, thinking "What were you doing?" to herself. "Have you gone mental!"

Startled, Tom was staring at her. Hermione could see the wheels of his mind turning, and she saw her own shocked expression mirrored in his, when he too realised what had just happened. He stepped away from her, shaking his head, while stuttering: 'This-this … I …'

But he was, apparently, lost for words and fell silent again, eyeing the two books on the floor anxious and suspiciously. And Hermione felt the anger that was building up inside of him.

'This,' Tom resolutely said, and he motioned his hand back and forth between himself and Hermione, clarifying what he meant by this. Since, apparently, the words to describe this had gone lost in the process of doing it. 'This can never EVER happen again.'

Hermione couldn't agree more.

Disturbed by what had transpired, they were both watching the illustrious books on top of the rubbish. Tom moved first. He picked up the books and tossed Godric's writings to Hermione. She caught it and immediately started checking the contents, but nothing seemed different. She looked up at Tom, but he was shaking his head already. There was no change in there either.

'Perhaps the solution is in the text,' Tom said thoughtfully. 'Check yours.'

He started scanning the pages of his book, but looked up questioningly when he heard the snort leave Hermione's lips.

'Do you really expect to find an answer to a question about Blood Magic in books that deal with changing Time and Space?' she said smirking.

'In case you've forgotten that too, Granger,' Tom sneered.

Hermione glared at him, cross that he brought that visual up in her mind again.

It made him smirk in return, before continuing. 'The books were doing something weird right before that blast. So maybe it wasn't the Blood-Binding Charm alone. You see, charms like that are not supposed to make you lose your mind,' Tom said rather unflattering. 'Besides, Salazar Slytherin used one on these pages, so he might have an explanation about our situation hidden in here.'

Tom proceeded with scanning the book, while Hermione sighed.

'Slytherin used that Blood-Binding Charm as a protective measure. You do not elaborate on your safeguards inside the volume you're trying to secure.That would be stupid,' Hermione said, irritated.

She, stubbornly, crossed her arms over each other and was holding Infinity in Space closed up to her body. She was absolutely not going to waste her time by looking through a book that would not provide the answers. It was all too frustrating, and she felt like trashing something, but everything was already in shambles, so all that remained was the person that continued his pointless search. Hermione hit him hard in his arm.

'Ouch … Granger,' he said, annoyed. 'What is it with you, and that desire you seem to grave in favour of physical violating my arm?'

'That must be my illustrious Muggle background. However, if you rather I hit you in the face instead, I suppose I could always oblige. Now, stop wasting my time by looking for answers in there,' Hermione said bossily.

'Do not tell me what to do, Granger,' Riddle responded menacingly.

He dropped the book and grabbed a hold of her again... Shocked, they both jumped back. Furious, Hermione looked at him. She mimicked his hand movements from not so long ago and said: 'This is NOT going to happen.'

'You have nothing to worry about, Granger. I feel exactly the same way, remember,' Tom replied aghast.

'Then, by all means, keep your hands to yourself Riddle, because it seems to trigger something,' Hermione said, worried.

'I guess we better stay clear of each other. That way we won't risk any unfortunate events from happening,' Tom said, determined to solve the problem at hand.

'And what do you suggest we do about the Unbreakable Vow? We are obligated to read those books and tell the other what's in them. And let's not forget about that infamous Ballroom that appeared out of nowhere. We have to correct that,' Hermione replied, irritated by his stupid solution.

'Since when does reading involve touching each other, Granger? I'm perfectly okay with staying in one end of the Room, if you can control yourself in the other,' Tom sneered.

'If I can control myself? If I?' Hermione repeated resentful. 'You're the one doing the grabbing Riddle. So if you can control yourself, I suppose we could continue our meetings here safely. How about tomorrow evening?'

'Nope, can't,' Riddle said off-handed.

'The sooner we get this over and done with Riddle, the sooner we can stop seeing each other,' Hermione said through gritted teeth.

'We can reconvene here Tuesday evening at eight. I'm available then,' Riddle decided, and he walked over to the exit.

'Riddle,' Hermione said warningly.

He sighed. 'What is it, Granger? You wanted to do this sooner than later, so what is your problem this time?'

'You still have my wand,' said Hermione, holding out her hand.

He smirked at her. 'Gotta dash.'

And he swirled out the door.

'RIDDLE!' Hermione yelled.

His head popped back inside the Room from behind the door, and an infuriating smile was visible on his face.

'It's in your pocket, dearest. You really need to pay more attention when you're around an enemy.'

He winked at her, before closing the door behind him. And sure enough, there, inside her right pocket, it was.

'How does he do that?' Hermione thought frustrated.

She took one last look at the rubbish, before exiting the Room herself, thinking she certainly wasn't going to clean up after him.

The next day Hermione was, finally, allowed access inside the infirmary thanks to the intervention from Professor Dumbledore, and she sat beside the bed of the still sleeping Minerva McGonagall for a long time. Hermione found that the strong, bold Head Girl appeared very small as she lay there, unmoving, tucked into those white linen hospital sheets. She looked extremely pale with the exception of the wounds that were still leaking small drops of blood despite the knitting process.

A large bottle of Blood-Replenishing Potion stood on the bedside table, and the school nurse came by every half hour to wake Minerva up and make her drink a glass full from it. Minerva merely wrinkled her nose in disgust of the taste and fell immediately back to sleep once she finished the potion. She did smile to Hermione upon noticing her sit there. And Hermione started to read to her from Emma, a story by Jane Austen. Hermione wasn't certain whether Minerva would hear it, but it felt comforting to tell her something familiar that had nothing to do with the reason why she was in the infirmary.

Sunday, Hermione went straight back to the infirmary. Minerva was awake, and they talked shortly about what happened. Minerva never saw her attackers, but she did remember that Tom Riddle was the one, who found her in the corridor and brought her to the infirmary. Hermione told her what she knew from the conversation she overheard.

'They better watch out for Augusta,' Minerva said weakly, 'she already hates Lestrange.'

'I told her not to do anything. That it was too dangerous,' Hermione said, worried.

'I hope that'll help,' said Minerva. And she made an attempt to hoist her shoulders, but it was a bit to painful, so she halted the motion halfway through.

At Minerva's request, Hermione read her some more from Emma, while gradually, the other classmates from Gryffindor sneaked in and out of the infirmary to see Minerva too. Until they all got thrown out by the very angry nurse, who felt laughing was by no means a healing instrument. After she was tossed from the premises, Hermione went to Godric's Room to do some more research on Blood Bonds, but she turned up empty-handed. There was nothing there on multiple bonds.

So after dinner she decided to do her homework, since she wasn't allowed to visit Minerva until tomorrow morning, and Hermione went to the library. The only problem was that she wasn't the only one who had that idea. Tom Riddle was already there. He had a huge number of books all stacked around him at his table. Since he was completely entranced with his work and seated behind the ridiculously large amount of books he had at his disposal there, Hermione decided that she could easily sneak into her personal corner of the library without him noticing. Her private corner was located between the shelves on Charms-Notification and the Eagles of Ravenclaw. She made it there without being seen and started working on her Potions essay. After a couple of hours all she had left to do was her Arithmancy task, and she was about to start, when…

'BANG!'

A loud explosion came from the back of the library, or to be more precise, it came from the Restricted Section. Hermione flew onto her feet and stormed out of her corner to check what happened, wand at the ready. A feeling of utter delight welcomed her, when she saw a dishevelled Tom Riddle lying on the ground. Apparently, he was thrown from the Restricted Section due to the blast of unknown origin. Smiling from ear to ear, Hermione asked him if he was all right. The only response she got to her polite question was some incoherent grumbling, while Riddle scrambled back onto his feet.

'Oh, well, it's not like I cared anyway,' Hermione said happily.

'You're here past your curfew, Evans,' Riddle said sharply, dusting himself off.

Hermione raised her eyebrows at him for making such a stupid statement, when she noticed the clock on the library wall. The clock's legs almost reached the number twelve, but that must be wrong. Surely, she could not have been here for so many hours.

'At least I'm not trying to blow up the only library this school has. I guess that means you're going to beat me in the amount of detention that will come of this,' Hermione said cheekily.

But then she frowned. Why hadn't anyone else arrived yet? It wasn't like it had been a soft, quiet blast. And as she turned to watch the library doors curiously, Riddle spoke up. 'I wouldn't be expecting any company if I were you. I used an Imperturbable Charm on the doors and walls.'

With firm strides, he paced back into the Restricted Section and started examining the backdoor.

Hermione snorted.

Riddle gave her a disturbed glance, but continued with what he was doing.

Hermione snickered inside of herself. She knew that was never going to work. So she summoned her belongings and sat at a nearby table to finish her Arithmancy homework. That way she had a clear view of Riddle's obvious attempts to break into the Founders' Section of the library. The firmly secured, and highly protected, Founders' Section. Hermione grinned again. This was going to become incredibly funny.

And indeed it was. Fifteen minutes later, there was another blast. Riddle got thrown into a bookcase and crashed to the floor, followed by every volume on the shelves of said bookcase. Hermione snickered behind her book. She could have prevented those books from falling on top of Slytherin's Heir-Boy, but she was just too busy with her homework, of course.

'I don't think that's ever going to work,' Hermione stated certain, when she noticed Riddle was moving back to the door to give it another go.

'You think, Granger?' was the ironic reply.

'That door was bolted by the Founders themselves. You will never get in there,' Hermione said smugly, ignoring the remark.

'Nothing is impenetrable for Lord Voldemort,' Riddle responded lazily.

That got an even louder snort and some very annoying snickering, from behind an Arithmancy textbook, as a reply.

'Care to lay a wager on that statement of yours, Granger?' Riddle said smoothly.

'What?' Hermione said, eyeing him as if he lost his mind.

'You say that I will not get in there. I say I do. Let's make it interesting, shall we?'

Hermione shook her head. She was now certain he had lost his marbles. That door would only open to the Headmaster of Hogwarts, and to no one else.

'You're nuts. It cannot be done,' she stated.

'Well, if you're that certain, then what's the harm in a little bet? Apparently, you think you've already won. So why not go for it, Granger? There must be something you want from me,' he added casually.

'I don't do bets, Riddle,' Hermione said, but her mind was dwelling on the very attractive possibility that Riddle was, suddenly, presenting her with.

'I knew it. You're not certain. That little statement was a load of crap, merely said to annoy me,' Riddle said smiling.

'Just because someone is not interested in making bets on what they have said, does not mean they don't stand behind what they have said,' Hermione replied indignant.

'Really, you want me to believe, that when presented with an opportunity to get yourself home, you did not take it, because your high moral system forbids it,' Tom said mocking. 'Admit it, Granger, you fear you might lose. You think that I might be able to break in there after all,' Riddle said triumphant, and he appeared very pleased with himself.

Too bloody pleased.

'Alright, you're on. But only if we put a one hour time limit on this trying thing of yours, I don't want to wait until I am one-hundred-and-fifty years of age, before I can claim my winnings,' said Hermione. 'So what would you want, if you're so certain you can make it in there?'

It was silent.

'Can't think of anything, Riddle? Or do you just know you're going to lose this one? I suppose not even Lord Voldemort can break into a section of the library within the hour,' Hermione said, chuckling.

'If I win, you will have to accompany me to the Ball Friday,' Riddle said calmly.

'What?' Hermione said weakly. She was certain she misheard that sentence.

'If you win, I will take you back from where and when you came, and if you lose, you will come with me to the Ball Friday as my date,' Riddle said smirking.

Now, she knew he had gone insane. Had he just forgotten what happened only two days ago? However, she could care less about the Ball. And he did not present her with an impossible request. Sure if she lost, which she wouldn't, but if it were to happen, this dance-thing would be inconvenient, but it was not something she could not overcome. And it was not like they were obligated to dance. They could easily refrain from touching each other. There was no doubt in her mind that Tom would not be interested in any repetition of last Friday's events either. He probably just asked her to use her as an excuse to serve to the more clinging girls. So she accepted his bet's term quickly, before he could think of something more substantial to ask from her.

'What ever you want, Riddle,' Hermione said, and she made a dismissive wave with her hand, while picking up her parchment. She noticed she had made an error in the calculations and began scribbling the figures down again.

'So we have a deal then? The bet is on?' Riddle asked eager.

'I thought I already said yes,' Hermione said, annoyed at the interruption.

'Wonderful. It is now almost midnight. I'll start at precisely twelve o'clock, that way, when the clock strikes one, we will know immediately who will have to eat her words,' Riddle said, incredibly happy.

A half hour later an angry growl emanated from underneath yet another stack of books. The protections surrounding the door had launched Tom throughout the library again and he had crashed into another bookcase. Hermione was scribbling on her parchment in sheer pleasure. She knew it was impossible. It had been tried so many times over the due course of history, and no one had succeeded. No one.

Hermione looked up and watched Riddle standing in front of the blackened door. He was rubbing his hands through his jet-black hair, making it quite a mess. If she peered at him between narrowed eyelids and tilted her head slightly, he could almost be Harry, almost. But she had to peer really, really hard in order to achieve that feat. Tom swirled around in anger and a green dash flew from his wand. The Killing Curse rammed the door, and bounced back. Hermione widened her eyes when she saw it hurtle towards her, and she let herself fall sideways out of her chair. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up straight as The Curse tore away a part of her shirt's sleeve, when it passed, before it impacted upon the bookcase behind her, blowing it completely out of the way.

'Are you crazy!' she bellowed, from behind the table. 'Could you, at least, look before you throw one of those around?'

The absolute lack of a response was even more upsetting, and Hermione scrambled back onto her feet feeling quite ferociously. She watched the utterly destroyed bookcase for a moment and strode over to where Riddle was standing. He was examining the stupid door again.

'Riddle,' Hermione hissed.

'Not even a scratch,' he said, puzzled. 'Look,' and he turned to face her, pointing at the door.

That was a mistake. Hermione gave him a hard push with both hands, and he stumbled backwards.

'Not a scratch! Not a scratch!' she repeated furiously as she passed the door, while showing him her torn sleeve. 'And have you even seen what you did to the bookcase over there! You know if you're trying to kill me, at least have the decency to aim.'

'If you insis…'

A piece of parchment glowed, unnoticed. And a soft click, followed by a bright light emanating from behind Hermione, interrupted the argument. Hermione stood frozen to the spot. It couldn't be. It just could not be. But the surprise on the face before her quickly vanished, and it was replaced by a happy and very smug expression that validated her fears. She turned and saw with resentment, which surpassed her astonishment that the Founders' Section had opened on its own accord. Riddle strode past her and entered.

'Perfect. And it's not even a quarter to one,' he said triumphantly.

'This doesn't count,' Hermione said feeble, 'you weren't the one who opened it.'

'Desperately searching for straws, Granger?' said an amused voice from inside the Section. 'You lose; I win, as you knew I would. Now, where is that book I need?'

That sentence shook Hermione right out of her pondering on the unfairness of life in general, and she followed him in. It wasn't a big place. There were only two very short rows of bookshelves. Besides four desks underneath an enchanted window, there wasn't much to look at. It was a bit disappointing to say the least. It just wasn't what you would expect of a place that harvested the title Section of the Founders. Over the past six years of her Hogwarts' education, Hermione had made up many images on what this Section would look like and this wasn't even close.

'What book are you looking for, Riddle?' Hermione asked sharply, seeing him pull a volume from the shelf.

'Oh, just something on the effects of multiple Blood Bonds,' he casually said, while flipping through the leaves of the book he was currently holding.

'There is no point in that,' Hermione rebutted. 'I have not seen any literature on what kind of effects two of those charms could have on people.'

'Three,' Riddle corrected. 'Yours, mine, and Slytherin's. Maybe four if Gryffindor placed one in there as well, but I doubt a goody two-shoes like him would have used…'

'So, three of those charms,' Hermione interrupted him impatiently. 'There simply is no literature on multiple Blood-Binding Charms, because you usually only need one.'

'Actually, there is,' Tom said. 'The book is just … a bit hard to get your hands on. So I am hoping there's a copy here, somewhere.' And Tom placed the book he retrieved from the shelf back and started scanning the books further down the row.

'What book, exactly, are you searching for?' Hermione enquired suspiciously, and she followed him to make sure she would get a clear identification of the next book he would take from the shelf.

'A book that former Headmaster Phineas Nigellus Black has wisely moved here from the British Museum after a bunch of Muggles became too interested in its contents. I just hope none of the fools that inhabited the Head's Office after him have moved the book again.'

Hermione narrowed her eyes. This would by no means be a nice, fluffy romance novel. 'There are no records of Headmaster Black removing any books from the British Museum.'

'I know,' Riddle smirked, 'his painting told me. He's a wonderful source of information that man. Keeps me up-to-date on everything he hears in Dippet's office.'

'This certainly wasn't pleasant news,' Hermione thought, knowing full well that she had a frame in her beaded bag that the former Headmaster could inhabit.

Hermione saw a flash of annoyance fly through Riddle's face. He shook his head. 'Why am I telling you all these things?' he said through gritted teeth. 'I have to find that damn book and get a solution to our predicament.'

'What book?' Hermione asked quickly, hoping that for whatever reason Riddle seemed to be letting things slip, he would add this to the list as well. And sure enough he did.

'The Necronomicom,' he answered.

Hermione practically had a heart attack. 'That book could not possibly be here. They could not keep something like that in a school. Someone had to have moved it,' she thought frantically, but a shout of joy from the other row proved her wrong.

By the time she got there, he was already holding the book in his hands, watching it with idolisation spread in his eyes. It was a large, seemingly heavy, brown book. The leather on the cover was weathered, giving away a minor indication of the book's age. A dark-brown belt, with an iron buckle and three iron nodes, was rapped around the centre of the book, holding it closed. And a blue robe with a large knot, which was obviously designed to be a page marker, bungled from the book nonchalantly.

Riddle tapped on the nodes with his wand and pointed it at the buckle. A chant was spoken. 'Let them curse it that curse the day, who are skilful to rouse the leviathan.'

A dark, black flash, a buckle unlocked, and the book of the dead opened up. Hermione pulled out her wand, while Tom Riddle was watching the leaves turning intensely, until they stopped at a predestined page.

'Put down the book,' Hermione ordered, while raising her wand at Tom.

'Incantations of the Blood,' he muttered, reading out loud and ignoring her threatening posture.

'Accio Necronomicom,' Hermione said, but nothing happened.

Riddle merely pointed to the ceiling with his free hand. 'Anti-Spell-Wards,' he said lazily.

'How come that chant of yours worked under these wards?' she asked, confused.

'The power of the Necronomicom overrides the Founders' Wards,' Riddle answered simply.

Hermione frowned. She bit her lip. What if the answer to their binding problems was in there? She lowered her wand and moved next to him quickly, so they were both reading the page that handled the "do's and don'ts of multiple Blood-Binding-Charms". It was a huge disappointment or a tremendous relief. She wasn't sure on what the best outcome would have been for her. Though the Necronomicom did describe the physiological effects of multiple charms on the individual it was cast upon, it gave no explanation to what happened to them in the Room of Requirement. As a matter of fact, it gave no listing of any mind-altering symptoms at all.

'It must be something else that caused it then,' Tom said thoughtful, while Hermione read the footnote. It referred to the Grimoire as a source of literature. She was hoping Riddle would skip the footnote.

'Oh, great, another easy to obtain volume,' Riddle said sarcastically.

Apparently, he also read footnotes. Riddle slammed the book shut and started walking towards the exit with it.

'You can't take that book with you,' Hermione hissed, 'they'll realise that it's missing.'

'I say let them…,' Tom snarled, but the book suddenly flew out of his hands and landed back on the shelf.

For a while Tom Riddle tried all kinds of things to take the book with him, but somehow, every time he was about to cross the doorway of the Founders' Section, the book flew back to the shelf on its own accord. Hermione got bored with watching it and went back into the library to finish her Arithmancy homework. Eventually, Tom had to consort to his defeat and left the Section without it. The door flew shut the moment he exited, and Hermione had a feeling it wasn't going to open again any time soon. Riddle grabbed his belongings and was about to leave.

'Aren't you forgetting something?' Hermione asked, while pointing towards the destroyed bookcase. 'Unless, of course, you want to leave evidence of your little temper issues.'

Tom paced back, and dumped his bag next to hers on the table. Hermione was gathering her things, while he started reassembling the bookcase and the books. By the time Hermione was done packing, Tom was done fixing. He grabbed his bag, and was, suddenly, giving her a broad smile.

'Well, I guess that little break-in wasn't completely useless. I'll pick you up at eight,' Tom said. 'Oh, and don't worry about a dress, I'll find you one.'

'I can get my own clothes, thank you very much,' Hermione said, irritated.

'Ah, but it's what I want, Hermione. After all, that is what you so kindly offered to me, even though I did not ask for an addition like that on our bet,' Tom said happily.

Hermione was confused. 'What was he blabbering about?' she thought. She had not said anything about him getting her a dress to the Ball.

'What ever you want, Riddle,' Tom repeated Hermione's words precisely, and he even mimicked her dismissive hand waving. 'I believe that is what you said, right before we sealed the bet.'

The enormity of her statement crashed down on Hermione like a ton of bricks. And she was still standing in the library after Riddle had left ages ago.
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Masters of Manipulation