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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.

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Masters of manipulation

Chapter three

Their previous argument forgotten, Tom Riddle and Hermione Granger were standing in the corridor staring at the books on the floor, like it was an alien concept to the both of them. Like neither of them had ever seen or heard of the concept of a book before. Hermione's mind was racing, and she was certain Riddle was thinking the same thing she was. Her hand went to her pocket to retrieve her wand. She turned to face him to see Riddle was way ahead of her and had already drawn and raised his wand. Not having her wand ready, Hermione waited for the inevitable impact of the curse that never came. Riddle's face had, suddenly, got an alarmed expression and his wand was gone again, disappeared.

'Ah, Tom! There you are!'

The jubilant voice of Horace Slughorn made its way to the corridor. The sudden appearance of the professor behind her had undoubtedly saved Hermione from a rather nasty curse. However, her problems weren't even close to being over. She remembered the warning Dumbledore had given her in regards to the illegality of Salazar's work, and she had no desire to go to Azkaban. Riddle seemed to realise the predicament they were in also, because his eyes were darting from the professor to the books on the floor. Neither of them dared to move, afraid to draw attention to the jail-sending-volumes on the ground.

A large shadow fell through the corridor and she turned slightly to see the professor approaching them. He was walking behind a hovering tower of cauldrons, books, candy bags, mortars, bottles and various indefinable objects, waving his wand to keep the tower moving. His prominent eyes were beaming towards them and she noticed his moustache was still a gingery-blond colour. Suddenly, a brush of air flew past her. Slughorn shrieked when his wand began slipping out of his hand… From the corner of her eye Hermione saw Riddle begin to move, but he froze up when Slughorn managed to keep a hold of his wand with the tip of his fingers.

Unfortunately, without the distinctive wand-movements, the tower stopped hovering and started to come down. Slughorn swung his arms around it, resembling a hug, to prevent the tower from collapsing on the floor. His fingers were barely holding on to his wand. It was a strange sight, two little arms trying hard to keep an enormous tower of stuff upright. A tower that was, at least, twice the size of the short stature professor carrying it. Hermione heard Slughorn huff and puff under its weight. He was wobbling on his feet, following the movements of the tower. It started to move forward and Slughorn moved his tiny feet after it. When he reached Hermione, he pressed his big belly forward, stopping the gigantic mass from its pursuit of the corridor. Thinking he gained control of the tower, he eyed Tom and Hermione with a look of triumph upon his reddened face. His feet were right beside the two forbidden novels. Another step was taken … right on top of Infinity in Space … And Slughorn shrieked as he slipped and lost his footing. His wand clattered onto the floor. The tower broke apart…

Hermione flung out of the stupor she was in and pulled out her wand. 'Wingardium Leviosa!' she shouted.

And all the things Slughorn had been carrying remained motionless, scattered throughout the air, filling up the pathway. Anxiously, Hermione stepped out from underneath a very heavy, solid looking, floating cauldron and saw Slughorn lift up his head from the floor eyeing her thankfully, when, suddenly, everything crashed down on top of him and he let out a scream in pain. Confused, Hermione looked at the rubble before her. She had not lifted the Levitation Charm.

'Professor! Are you all right?' Riddle shouted, while he fell down on his knees and began ruffling, with his hands, through the heap.

Hermione stared in surprise at the scene before her. Lord Voldemort was using a Muggle way to dig out the professor? She watched with wide eyes as he shifted through the contents vigorously, when she realised he wasn't helping the professor; he was searching for The Books! Hermione immediately dove into the pile as well, tossing aside cauldrons, sacks of candy, mortars…, while occasionally glaring in Riddle's direction to check on his progress. A flicker of gold and red was visible beneath her beaded bag and two copies of Advanced Potion Making. She grabbed Godric's work and pushed it inside her bag, when she noticed something green and silver made its way into Riddle's schoolbag. The two Slytherins stared at each other in a tense silence, when suddenly, a cauldron move upright between them. It was Slughorn. He was unsuccessfully trying to push the cauldron of his head. His futile attempts reminded Hermione of a very similar scene she witnessed just this morning.

'Here, let me help you, Professor,' Riddle said, drawing his wand to free the professor from his suffocating environment.

Hermione let out a snort at this sudden act of assistance, as if he wasn't the cause for the situation anyway. Riddle eyed her warningly, before casting a Banishing Spell at the cauldron.

'Thank you, Tom,' Slughorn said panting, still out of breath from the experience. 'And thank you, young lady. You made a nice attempt to help me. Don't be ashamed it failed. Not many people can levitate multiple items at the same time, especially when they're scattered all over the place. It's highly advanced magic,' and he patted her on the head, making Hermione's face flush a deep shade of crimson.

Riddle threw her an understanding, apologetic look after Slughorn's behaviour, which raised her temper even more. She was sure he had caused her Levitating Charm to disengage, making her look like a complete idiot in front of a professor. Hermione felt her knuckles tighten around her wand. Somehow it had made its way back into her hand. Tom raised his eyebrows in amusement at her flustered state and she glared back furiously. The smirk that crossed his face was the last straw.

'Have you seen my wand?' asked Slughorn, puzzled.

Once again, Professor Slughorn, who was crawling around the floor, had intervened a potential violent encounter. His eyes darted from Tom to his left and Hermione to his right, and he appeared somewhat confused. Hermione shook her head at the professor, but Tom bent down and started moving stuff around again. Hermione found it very suspicious that within seconds he had located and handed Slughorn his wand. 'Wonderful, wonderful, my dear boy,' said Slughorn beaming at Riddle, who was standing up again.

Tom made his way to Hermione and held out his hand. Unable to refuse it in front of Slughorn, Hermione let Riddle help her up. He jerked her hand a bit too roughly and she crashed right into him. Softly, he whispered in her ear: 'Keep it together, Evans. I don't want to end up in detention because of you.'

He squeezed her hand tightly before letting go and moving backwards, while his eyes sought hers, making sure she got the message.

Slughorn was still on the floor, his sizeable figure making it difficult for him to rise. He accepted Tom's outstretched hand and made it to his feet at last. Taking in the state of the corridor and all his belongings, he said in an upbeat manner: 'I guess it isn't that bad, no casualties after all.'

He waved his wand around. All the things flew back into the air, regrouped, and formed a new hovering tower of supplies. 'There, much better.' Slughorn stated, now eyeing Hermione with great interest. 'You must be the new student from Durmstrang, Hermione Evans,' he stated approvingly, and he stretched out his hand to shake hers. 'I'm Professor Horace Slughorn, Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House. It is a pleasure to meet such a fine student. Top of your class, I hear.' A greedy look appeared on his face and his eyes darted with a flicker of hope from Tom to Hermione.

'She just got sorted into Slytherin,' Tom said lazily, confirming Slughorn's wish to be true.

'Welcome, welcome,' Slughorn said positively delighted. 'I'm sure you'll fit right in. Slytherin always has room for another bright student. Though, you might see that Durmstrang's courses are slightly less advanced than Hogwarts'. So if you have any problems with your classes, I am certain Tom here will be more than willing to help you out.'

Tom politely replied in an ever so charming and accommodating manner that he would be more than happy to assist Hermione. It took all her willpower not to growl at him. She did not need nor want his assistance.

'See?' Slughorn said jovially. 'So, don't you worry about your grades dropping, Tom here is the best and the brightest we've got.'

Hermione noticed with disgust that Riddle managed to make his cheeks flush, faking embarrassment at Slughorn's last remark.

'Now, I was actually on my way to the Great Hall with this.' And he waved with his wand-free hand to the pile in the air. 'Apparently, we can't get any supplies out of the dormitories as long as the door is shut. Some kind of safety ward prevents it, or so Dumbledore says. I suppose you've heard about our little disaster, Miss Evans?'

Oh, Hermione had heard.

'And without access to their own items, I thought I might bring some along for them to use in classes. So, why don't you two come along? That way we can properly introduce you to your new Housemates.'

Slughorn's presence in the Great Hall turned out to be a blessing in disguise, since it kept the other Slytherins reasonably civil. Although, Hermione did notice the glances that were shared between Riddle and his cronies at Slughorn's introduction of her. Lucretia Black, who was previously deemed alright for a Slytherin by Minerva, started chatting with her. She appeared to be a female version of Sirius Black; looks and character. And Hermione felt somewhat relieved that she at least had one likeable person in her new home.

Walburga Black came by to question Hermione about her background, and after Hermione had indeed reassured her that she was a Muggle-born, Walburga left, pulling up her nose at Hermione. Lucretia wanted to apologise for her cousin's behaviour, but Hermione held up her hand to stop her before she could finish. 'I went to Durmstrang. I'm no stranger to bigotry anymore,' Hermione said, remembering Durmstrang's reputation, especially in this day and age with Grindelwald on the loose.

Lucretia smiled at her and told her she could take the bunk next to hers. Fortunately, Lucretia's bed was located at the far end of the Great Hall, and nowhere near the corner Tom Riddle had picked for himself. Hermione was very pleased about that.

A house-elf named Janckly brought her a trunk filled with new uniforms and all the necessary school supplies, courtesy of Dumbledore. So it appeared Hermione would be the only Slytherin tomorrow who would have all her materials for classes ready. After a while, Lucretia and Hermione got ready for bed. Lucretia planned to go to sleep. Hermione planned to stay very awake. And after she noticed Avery and Lestrange were staying up, because they sat at a table playing some kind of card game, she was definitely certain she would stay awake. So she went to bed with her wand in hand.

At first it was easy to stay awake, because those two were making a lot of noise, but after Walburga shouted at them, telling them to shut up and go to sleep like normal people do at this hour, they remained quiet. The grand clock in the Great Hall struck one. Hermione sighed and rolled to her side, bumping into her beaded bag. She held the bag close, because she was worried it and its contents would get stolen. And she figured that since she couldn't sleep anyway, she might as well check out the book from Godric Gryffindor. She took it out of the bag and opened it underneath her covers.

'Lumos,' she whispered, and the tip of her wand lit the very blank pages of Godric's novel.

Hermione snorted. 'Couldn't get it to work, Riddle?' she thought with sheer pleasure.

However, this meant she had to wait 'till tomorrow before she could try to 'unlock the secrets' of the book. Hermione closed it, but she didn't put it back in her bag. Somehow, having something familiar, something red-and-gold in her vicinity, made her feel at home. So instead, she held the book close to her chest, and lay on her side, waiting for the night to be over.

The clock struck two. Hermione tossed and turned around in her bed. She yawned and checked the Hall again. The two boys were still occupying the table, and Hermione noticed them glare in her direction from time to time. She was definitely not going to sleep now. Riddle, on the other hand, lay perfectly still in his bed. 'Merlin forbid the great heir from missing out on his beauty sleep,' Hermione thought with great irritation.

Subconsciously, she pressed Infinity in Space hard into her body, clinging to it for her very life. The book gave her a warm feeling inside. It lifted her courage and made her feel safe as it had, unknown to Hermione, started to emit a golden glow underneath her blankets. And within minutes, the warm, comfortable feeling made her fall fast asleep.

'BANG!'

A jolt of electricity flew through her as she jumped out of her bed with her wand raised. She was shocked at herself that she, actually, had fallen asleep. The scene she saw before her made her press her eyelids together, before she opened them again, to see if she wasn't dreaming. Lestrange and Avery lay in a crumpled heap on the floor in front of her bed. She looked around. It was strange. Nobody else had awoken from that large noise. She kicked Rodolphus, but he did not move.

'This is weird,' she decided.

She had set up a ward around her bed, but it was meant to warn her if someone approached. Not attack and knock out her enemies. Not that she entirely minded that, but she liked to know why things happened. So why had the ward taken down those two? Why had the space around her changed? Hermione stepped back and sat down on her bed. Her hand fell on Godric's book. She had let go of it when she jumped out of bed, but now, she picked it up again and laid it on her lap. Her eyes darted between the book and the unconscious future Death Eaters. 'Infinity in Space,' she murmured.

'Could the book be responsible?' she wondered as she opened it, but the pages were still blank. With a sigh, she closed it again, letting her hands rest on top of it. The book wasn't giving her any answers, only more questions. 'That's not what books are supposed to do,' she thought, scornfully.

And the more she thought about it, the more of those annoying, unanswerable questions popped up in her head. While pondering about everything that had happened and getting back in touch with her logical, analytic mind, she realised this was the first time since her arrival in the past that she felt like she was completely herself again. It shocked her to consider it, but she knew she had been acting very 'un-Hermione-ish'. A word she had rather cleverly come up with. It was like someone else was pulling the strings, influencing her acts, thoughts and feelings.

And what if that was the case? She knew it was not unheard of. She had witnessed how Ron had done the unthinkable and left. Ronald Weasley, who was Harry's best and most loyal friend, had left them to fend off Voldemort without him. It was something he would have never done on his own accord. It was due to Riddle's Horcrux. And she had worn the locket as well. She had felt the power it contained, but she had fought it, been able to resist it, but only just. Could the locket still, somehow, be influencing her? Now that she was so far away from it in Time and Space? And then she knew: she had left Harry too! He was all alone now, with a broken wand.

This, all this, had to be Voldemort's doing. He sent her Slytherin's book as Salazar told her, but he probably knew exactly what he was doing. It was never Salazar who pulled Voldemort's strings. It was probably the other way around, or they planned this together. Was it even Salazar Slytherin, who had talked to her, when she was underneath the Sorting Hat? She remembered she had first deemed the voice to be Riddle's. It had sounded the same, but they were related after all. And Voldemort had been there in the Headmaster's office during her sorting. How could she be sure?

This Tom Riddle did not know her, so why would he have taken such a big risk in front of Armando Dippet? She groaned. Dippet. The risk probably wasn't that great. But it wasn't just the Hat incident. There was the rest. Everything out of the ordinary she had done yesterday had involved Tom Marvolo Riddle. But it hadn't always started when he was around. She narrowed her eyes and pressed her lips together. She had, however, constantly done things that would draw young Voldemort's attention to her: hex his so-called friends, throw Twin fireworks at him, lock the Slytherin common room, and get sorted into his House. She never did reckless and foolish things like this, but she had been reckless all day. Ever since she arrived in 1944, she had done things without thinking them through, without weighing all the pros and cons. She had not been her sensible self.

'Hell, I locked Lord Voldemort out of his Common Room without considering that might piss him off and make him want to retaliate at the guilty party.'

And now, she was beginning to wonder why. Why had she been so stupid? Why did she not realise in advance that all those things would come back to bite her in the arse? And why…why…why had she been so stupid to let Voldemort or Salazar Slytherin talk her into going to his House?

'Because he appealed to your sense of duty to others,' said a little voice in the back of her head. 'Because he pretended to care about the Muggle-borns…'

'The Chamber of Secrets! He built it! He built it!' Hermione shouted internally, interrupting the little voice inside of her. Her hand smashed into her mouth upon the realisation of her stupidity. 'Oh Merlin, what have I done?'

And she bit her lip. A tremendous feeling of dread washed over her. How could she have forgotten? She had seen those big yellow eyes herself. She never forgot things. Never. Now she was sure Voldemort had been involved, somehow. It had to have been that blasted book, and she turned pale when she suddenly remembered Harry's words. 'I'm holding the Horcrux, so why are you acting like you're about to attack me?'

But she had been holding Salazar's book at the time, and she had felt really aggravated when Harry entered. 'Hermione,' Harry had said. 'You do remember, don't you?'

He was, of course, referring to the journal Horcrux. And that thing had made Ginny do things she would have never done on her own. And Voldemort had a tendency to put his soul into objects that once belonged to the founders. Salazar's book had to be a Horcrux. That was the only explanation, wasn't it? She needed to know what this meant for her situation. Dumbledore had said she needed Eternity in Time in order to make it back home, but if it was a Horcrux, then she needed to destroy it. Only, destroying the Horcrux might mean she had to destroy the book's time travel abilities as well, and then she would be stuck here.

She needed to do some research. She needed to go to the library. No, she needed a library that would contain the answers to her predicament. She needed a space where she was safe and alone. Where she could work uninterrupted in finding a way back to 1997, and possibly get rid of yet another piece of Lord Voldemort's soul. The thoughts had not left her mind completely, when another jolt of electricity flew through her. Infinity in Space opened on its own accord, while a golden glow expanded from its pages, surrounding her and the bed she was sitting on. Another flash and a beam shot into the air, opening the ceiling above her. She saw the moon and let out a scream when the bed, suddenly, thrust upwards like an elevator. She quickly crawled more to the centre of the bed. She was afraid of heights and if this bed planned to leave the building…?

And it did. It hovered outside Hogwarts in the night sky for a second. The beam from the book changed its path, and the bed made a sharp right turn and seemed to be following the direction the golden glow steered it in. She noticed the beam hit the Gryffindor Tower. And the bed stopped right in front of said tower. If she would have dared to stand up, she possibly could have looked right into her old dormitory.

The book's leaves started turning, until the predestined page was reached. Another flash of gold, and suddenly, walls formed all around her. A floor and a ceiling were added. A door and windows appeared in the walls. Furniture formed itself, and just as abruptly as it had started, it stopped. The book flew shut, the golden glow disappeared with it, and Hermione Granger sat stunned on her bed. Her green-silver bed-covers clashing severely with the red-gold interior of the room she found herself in.

Seeing the bookcases lifted her out of the stupor she was in. There were so many of them. Carefully, she touched the floor with her foot, testing it. But it appeared solid enough, so she hopped out of bed and checked the nearest shelf. Excitedly, she noticed the books all seemed to contain information she needed. There were volumes on the Founders, mainly Gryffindor and Slytherin; books on Time-Travel, Space-Alterations, Object-Manifestations and the Nature of Humans; and there was a disgusting section concerning the Dark Arts. She recognised the textbook she had baptised How to Create Multiple Horcruxes and Become a Rotten, Evil Villain straight away.

The door in the room was the second thing that drew her attention. Where would it lead too? Hermione opened it and saw the Fat Lady snore in her painting across the landing. She placed a dustbin in the door opening, and checked out the corridors. But when she turned to re-enter the room, the dustbin was still standing there, only the door had vanished. All that remained visible was a blank wall. However, Hermione had some experience with hidden rooms and doors, and she walked past the door three times thinking: 'I need to get back into my room.'

And there it was again. The door returned in plain view. She opened it and was relieved to see the place she just vacated. She wondered if Godric Gryffindor had been the one to create the Room of Requirement, since its doorway worked quite similar to this one.

She walked back to the bookcase and pulled several books from the shelves, before returning to bed to start reading. Her previous sleepiness had totally left her upon seeing so much knowledge. She painfully hit her toe on the trunk that was placed under the bed. Apparently, all her belongings had joined her here as well. Hermione settled herself on the bed, with a pillow against her back, and she opened the first book that was titled: Times and Travels throughout the Ages. It was written by the infamous Salazar Slytherin, and she hoped it would give her an explanation as to how Eternity in Time had brought her to 1944. She was so engrossed in the book that she lost track of time. And when she put it down, she was startled to see the sun shining brightly into her room. She checked her watch and was horrified to see it was already nine a.m.

'I'm late for class!' she yelled, panicking.

Hermione quickly got dressed, grabbed her school supplies, opened the door, and ran down the corridor and multiple staircases to reach the Charm's classroom.

'Sorry, I got lost on my way over here,' Hermione said to the Charm's Professor, while panting heavily.

The old woman eyed her up and down with a stern look on her face. 'Miss Hermione Evans, I presume?'

Hermione nodded her head in affirmation.

'I am Professor Carefoch, and since you are new here I won't deduct any House points this time. Just don't let it happen again. Now, take a seat so we can continue this lesson about the Fidelius Charm.'

Hermione looked throughout the room and saw Riddle push his bag to the side to make room for her.

'Definitely not,' she thought. And she marched straight past his table to the end of the row, to sit down at the last table in the very back of the classroom. It was the only other one that was still vacant.

'Now, who of you can tell me what the function is of the Fidelius Charm?'

Three hands made it up into the air. Professor Carefoch overlooked the two top students in front of the class and chose the girl seated in the far end of the classroom.

Hermione rattled off: 'The Fidelius Charm is an immensely complex spell involving the magical concealment of a secret inside a single, living soul. The information is hidden inside the chosen person, or Secret Keeper, and is henceforth impossible to find, unless the Secret Keeper chooses to divulge it.'

'Very good, Miss Evans. Ten points for Slytherin,' Professor Carefoch said approvingly. 'And what are the weak spots of this spell? Anyone?'

Hermione definitely knew that one. She remembered very clearly how she unintentionally had given the location of 12 Grimmauld Place to the Death Eater Yaxley. Her hand flew back in the air again together with McGonagall's and Riddle's. But Professor Carefoch seemed to enjoy the change in her classroom and chose Hermione again. 'Yes, Miss Evans.'

'Once the Secret Keeper dies, everyone who knows about the secret will become a Secret Keeper themselves, diluting the power of the charm. Furthermore, you have to assign a trustworthy person as your Secret Keeper; otherwise your secret will become public knowledge anyway.'

'Excellent, take another ten points, dear,' Professor Carefoch said, now eyeing Hermione with sincere interest.

'Now, today we're going to make a start with the incantations of the spell and the movements of the wand that are required to accompany the words. Do not be discouraged if it won't work on first try. This is one of the most complicated charms in existence. You can read the incantations from Goshawk's Standard or…' Here, she eyed the Slytherins who obviously had not brought a book along. '…Or you can read it from the blackboard.' And she waved her wand at the board, causing the incantations to appear. 'Once you think you have mastered the incantations, let me know by raising your hand and I will show you the movements if I believe you are correct in your assumption. Mister Mulciber, if you already know how this charm is performed, then perhaps you can give us all a little demonstration?'

Mulciber, who was reading something under his desk, did not hear the professor's words and kept on reading. His neighbour nodded him in the side with his elbow, pointing his head towards the professor. 'Uh… I am sorry professor. I didn't quite get your question. It won't happen again,' Mulciber said timidly, and he closed his magazine.

'Make sure it doesn't,' Carefoch said, holding out her hand to confiscate the material.

Mulciber handed it to her with a red face. Carefoch merely glanced at the magazine in disgust and walked back to the front of the class. Hermione noticed that Mulciber was now in a heated but whispered argument with his neighbour. 'Perhaps the magazine wasn't his,' Hermione thought, amused.

'All right, any questions?' Carefoch's eyes darted the group before her. 'No questions, then you may begin.'

Carefoch went to sit behind her desk, indicating that she was done talking. So Hermione opened her book at page 306 and started to practise the wording of the Fidelius Charm. It was indeed a very complex charm. The incantations were hard to pronounce and there were so many of them.

'What is it, Mister Riddle? Do you have a question?'

Hermione looked up when she heard the professor's remark. Riddle's smooth answer came quickly. 'No, Professor. I believe I can give you the correct pronunciation of the charm, and you did say that we were supposed to raise our hand once we were finished.'

Hermione scowled at Riddle's response. She eyed the book in disbelieve. 'No way,' she thought. 'He can only have read this once. No one can master this in one try.'

But she did notice that she was the only student in class that seemed to think this was strange and impossible. Besides, Carefoch did not oppose Riddle's assumption nor did she tell him to keep practising. She simply got up from behind her desk and made her way over to Tom Riddle. Hermione totally forgot that she was supposed to practise the spell herself and watched the scene in front of the classroom in utter amazement, because Carefoch started showing Riddle the wand movements of the Fidelius Charm, which meant he got the incantations right. And what was even worse, he copied the movements immediately.

Professor Carefoch was nodding approvingly at him and Hermione heard her say: 'The entire charm please, just aim at the wall.'

And Hermione's jaw dropped several inches, when she watched a purplish circle emanating from Riddle's wand, encircling him first and hitting the wall next.

'Perfect! Take your well earned thirty points, Tom,' the professor said enthusiastically.

Riddle turned and his eyes locked with Hermione, who was still staring in astonishment. She saw the smug expression fly over his face, just before she averted her eyes and ducked behind her book. Her face became quite red from being caught staring at him. 'Prick,' she thought, but Professor Carefoch next words were a genuine reason to get distraught.

'Tom, I am afraid I've got nothing else left for you to do this lesson. So would you be so kind to help your classmates in mastering this charm?' Hermione thought she was going to be sick.

'I would be honoured to assist you, Professor.' Now, she was sure she was going to throw up.

'And another ten points for your helpfulness.' Yes, she definitely needed a bucket, right now.

And what she feared happened. Professor Carefoch turned her attention to the Gryffindors on her right, while Tom started to move up the Slytherin line.

'Tom, what does it say here?'

Walburga's question stopped him from proceeding. Hermione glanced up from behind Standard Book of Spells: Grade 7 and hoped Walburga Black was as lousy in Charms as she was arrogant. That way Riddle would be stuck there indefinitely. Alas, Hermione wasn't that lucky. Apparently Sirius's considerable skills were hereditary after all. And a few minutes later, the towering figure of Tom Riddle stood next to her, but Hermione was just reading a very, very important line and pretended not to notice him.

'Need any help, Evans?'

'No,' Hermione said, not looking up from behind her book.

'Are you certain? You're the only one who's still reading the text, you know.'

Hermione heard the utter amusement in his voice, but she did not respond.

'Well, I do realise greatness can be distracting.'

The comment forced a snort to escape her mouth, but she still kept her eyes firmly on her book. Though, only a fool would still think she was reading.

'You were the only one staring at me, Evans,' Tom said calmly, and he seated himself on the corner of her table.

Hermione looked up, annoyed that he positioned himself neatly on her table, not noticing the action obscured her completely from the professor's sight. 'I'm trying to read here, Riddle. And you're distracting me.'

She turned her attention back to her book again. Hoping he would eventually take the hint and leave.

'Pffft… It's like you said Evans, this is an utterly useless charm to learn anyway.'

Hermione frowned. 'I said no such thing.'

'Sure you did, when you pointed out its obvious weaknesses. I mean, telling someone a secret you're trying to keep is a foolish act to begin with. Everybody talks, eventually. And even if you do find someone trustworthy, someone that won't talk, they can still get killed. And the person who wants to obtain the secret can move on to the next Secret Keeper. It will only be a matter of time before that person will find someone who divulges your secret to him.'

Hermione shook her head. 'You've got a bleak view on friendship, you know. Sometimes people need to share a secret with another human being. It gives one a sense of belonging, of not having to face the world on their own. And another person's perspective can be helpful in checking the truthfulness of your ideas and thoughts. Let you see where your own blind spots in viewing the world are located. And by using the Fidelius Charm you can still share your secret, and hide it at the same time. It's a useful tool. I am certain of it.'

'You mean useful for the utter fools, who are too weak to think for themselves and need others to reassure them. If you're able enough to see all the perspectives yourself, you do not need others to tell you what to do. But do tell, Evans, amaze me with your fabulous view,' Tom mocked. 'What is the Fidelius Charm useful in?'

'It has been well known for it's excellence in hiding individuals from others.'

Riddle snorted. 'Bad example Evans, you've just proven my point. This charm has way too many weaknesses to hide someone indefinitely.'

'Oh, so I guess you know a better way, Riddle? Don't hold back; feel free to amaze me with your brilliance,' Hermione replied in the same mocking tone of voice.

'The best way to hide a secret is not share it with anyone.' Tom said calmly. 'If you need to remain hidden from another, if you're on the run, you need to stay on your own and not indulge yourself in silly acts like friendship. People talk.'

'You are…' Hermione started sorrowful.

'…right!' Riddle finished triumphantly.

'…pathetic,' Hermione said simultaneously, looking down at her book in thought.

It was eerily quiet for a moment after Hermione's last statement, but Riddle spoke up again, steering the topic of conversation in a different direction.

'You know, Rodolphus takes this class also, but he was unable to make it today.'

The words were spoken in a nonchalant manner, but Hermione did not miss the sudden shift in his tone of voice. He was angry.

Tom continued softly: 'He's in the infirmary, unconscious. They don't know what could have caused it, Evans. Care to shed some light on the matter?'

'Why? Do you actually care?' Hermione asked sarcastically.

The book lay forgotten on the table. She was now looking straight back at him. A flash of red dashed through his eyes.

'Of course I care if certain individuals keep hexing my friends,' Tom said menacingly.

'Perhaps certain friends should be using the night to sleep instead of harassing innocent witches.'

'I doubt you qualify for the term innocent, Evans,' said Tom, the irony dripped from his voice.

'You would know, wouldn't you? Since you obviously are such an expert on matters of innocence and guilt,' Hermione sneered, remembering how he had framed Hagrid.

'Perhaps certain witches should remember who they are addressing,' Riddle said, squeezing his eyes tight in anger.

'I think I've got a pretty good idea who I am addressing, thank you very much, Tom Marvolo Riddle.'

'I do not recall telling you my middle name, Hermione Evans.'

'People talk,' Hermione retorted, throwing his own words right back at his feet.

'What did you do to Lestrange, Avery and Nott?'

'Who?' Hermione asked, dumbfounded, since she did not remember a third party being present.

'Nott,' repeated Tom, and upon seeing Hermione's oblivious expression, he added: 'The Slytherin who is occupying the tent outside and who is covered in some kind of unknown sticky substance, which no one seems to be able to remove.'

Hermione's mouth fell open, but her expression shifted from surprise to delight. She bit her lip to stop the upcoming feelings of laughter. She bit her lip harder. Hermione started to snicker. He was still out there, the fellow that would grow up to attack George. She should get a picture of him for the twins. Her hand went to cover her mouth; her body started shaking; she tried hard to suppress her laughter, but it was a losing battle. Still muffling the sound of her laughter with her hands, she failed to notice Tom performed a quick glance in the professor's direction before he bent over, grabbed both her arms and pulled her roughly towards him. Shocked by this sudden act of violence Hermione stared straight in his eyes. They were blood red. Her laughter died out immediately and her breath stayed stuck in her throat.

'Now that I have your attention, Evans,' Tom hissed softly, his face only inches away from hers, 'let me explain a few rules to you. I do not appreciate anyone hexing my … friends, or thinking she can laugh in my face. Now, you become a good girl and answer my bloody question, or I will make you answer me. Do I make myself clear?'

Hermione did not respond and so, the two remained locked in a silent battle of wills. They were staring at each other angrily, and in Hermione's case, with a slight dash of fear in her eyes. Footsteps approached them and Riddle let go of Hermione's arms, but not before the threat left his lips. 'I will get to the bottom of this, Evans. Mark my words. When the time comes, you will tell me everything.'

Professor Carefoch nodded towards them as she passed Tom and Hermione. 'Homework!' Carefoch shouted through the classroom, and Tom returned to his seat in the front. 'I want a carefully written essay concerning the Fidelius Charm, and… AND!' she added a bit louder, after half the class started moaning at the near mention of the word essay. 'And I will be expecting all of you to be able to say the incantations of the charm the next time we reconvene. That's all.'

Hermione saw Riddle glaring in her direction, while he packed his bag, so she left the Charms' classroom in a hurry, thinking she didn't need a Horcrux in attendance in order to act dim-witted in front of Tom Marvolo Riddle.

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Masters of Manipulation