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The First Horcrux	By : magentasouth Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Tom Views: 27247 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I neither own nor profit from any part of the Harry Potter universe.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
The night was long again. He still could not quite
manage to sleep, although he found it dangerously easy to slip into the still
meditative state that he had habitually taken in the Diary.

He wondered whether it was performing the same function.
He roused himself again at three in the morning and turned
his attention to the necklace. It was more complex than he grasped.
It would be.. difficult... to
properly examine it without a wand.

Of course.. there was
a wand only two rooms away, he mused.

Hermione had raised a number of wards, however he
anticipated that he would have greater success dispelling those than achieving
significant progress with the necklace this evening.
He rose and paced to the bathroom, moving closer to the
other connecting door warily. The hum of multiple martial wards teased
his senses. It seemed that the girl was quite capable..The wards were formidable.
He lowered himself gracefully to sit crosslegged on the
floor. This would take some time.. and a fine touch.
It took two thoroughly entertaining hours, in fact.

He had expected it to take longer, he realised. It was amazing how well
he could focus. It seemed like the years...decades..
of unrecordable abstract thought had lent him the
ability to hold a multitude of complex ideas in his mind at once.. he could threadle ward strands with hardly more difficulty
than it took to juggle runic permutations in his head.

He unwound the first two interconnected wards at once. The third, which
was apparently keyed to her wand, took longer. In the end he reattached
the warning strands to the wall, building the webbing carefully and refraining
from severing anything before he had firmly anchored it elsewhere.

When he was finished, he was able to stand and unlock the door with a simple
alohamora.
Within, the room was dark and still. Quiet sounds of
regular breathing reassured him that the girl had not woken during his
dismantling of her wards.

He used a charm to improve his night vision. The room sprang into clearer
relief.
She lay on her back, her head tossed to the side, facing
away from him. Her hair was spread over her pillow. The blankets
were disordered, as if she had been tossing and turning.

Confirming this, as he watched she wriggled and turned over, curling into a
foetal position facing him. He saw that she had curled around her wand,
which she held gripped in both hands like some peculiar teddy bear.
Had he unsettled her so greatly?!
He cast a wandless silencing charm on his person and moved
closer cautiously

Once or twice the witch stirred and he paused, remaining still, until she
settled again.
He approached till he could kneel at the side of her bed.. no more than a half metre away
from her. She had her wand clenched tightly, as if she were afraid
that he might take it from her again.

Well..that was reasonable, considering he had every
intention of doing so.

It was already five in the morning. She would be waking soon and he did
not have time to waste.
He whispered a soft somnus charm. Hermione did not so
much as hear him place the charm upon her. She seemed to relax,
however. In all probability when she woke she would be more rested than
she otherwise would have been, he thought to himself as he gently worked the
wand loose from her death grip. After he had claimed it he turned and
seated himself on the floor, leaning against the end of her bed to examine the
necklace.

As he had expected, the wand was of great use. With Mulliards revealing
lattices he could see how painfully intricate the spells on the necklace
were. There were many more than he had expected. Perhaps as many as twenty. He couldn�t imagine what
Dumbledore might have thought to include beyond tracking and binding charms.. There were far too many layers. Perhaps some were
foils.. certainly a great
number were probably traps and warning charms. He groaned at the amount
of work it would be.   This would take ..days..
possibly even weeks if he couldn�t access Hermione�s
wand every day.
He set to work charting the interlinkages, trying to divine
the purposes of some of the layers through them.

it wasn�t for a half hour that he realised that he could
be writing this down now. He summoned a piece of parchment and quill from
Hermione�s bag and quickly began making notes.
When a tempus confirmed that it was almost seven in the
morning he decided that it would be best to return the next evening, rather
than risk a confrontation now.    Carefully he slipped the wand
back into the girl�s clenched fists. She grasped it immediately and
seemed to sigh in soft relief.

He lingered a moment, recognising that it was unwise, but wishing to simply
enjoy her presence a small while longer. Lowering himself cautiously to
his knees at the side of her bed, he tilted his head to look at her.

What it might be like to slip into bed next to her? Exactly how panicked
and upset might she be if she woke to find him there..

Very.. Extremely in fact.
He was certain.

He gently brushed a curl from her cheek and sighed.

In time.   In time he would lie beside her
whenever he pleased.
Her lips tempted him again..

But he wished his first kiss to be with a partner who was not only awake, but
desirous of receiving it. He would not steal a kiss from her now.
He stood again swiftly and retreated back to the
bathroom. It took very little effort to replace the wards he had modified
and only a small amount more to recast those he�d destroyed.   Soon
enough he was back in his room, looking about, wondering what to do with
himself.
Occlumency.

That was the most vital item on his internal agenda. If Dumbledore could
see what he was attempting with the necklace.. or with Hermione too, for that matter, no doubt his life
would become significantly less comfortable in short order.

If the wizard even suspected he was hiding things from him, he would
become quite menacing, Tom suspected.

Therefore it was insufficient to simply occlude..
he needed to create a more intricate and subtle system
of defences against the legilimentic probe.

He had read a number of books on the subject over the years..
he had not really had much opportunity to put
them into practice however. There was a notable
dearth of attacking minds in his empty world and occlumency was only trainable
under conditions of attack.

He walked to his bed thoughtfully and, after a moment�s hesitation, disrobed
himself and climbed between the soft sheets.   It was.. pleasant.. to
feel them against him.

Strange how the smallest things had become pleasure.
Layers.. Levels.. It was important to design them in such a way that
they could not be easily detected.. nor
entered.. At best - those entering should not be
capable of understanding the information found within.

It was also vital that he not reveal any sensitive information through their
design.. such as the
geography of the chamber of secrets. That would be an extraordinarily
poor choice of base environment.
He thought for a while and settled upon the forbidden
forest.

There was so much within it that could be twisted into defense systems.

So many places to order and hide storage depots.. compartments... ladders and.. of
course.. snakes..

He set to organising his mind.
Dumbledore knocked politely upon his door several hours
lately. This time he was able to rouse himself from the meditative state
in which he�d been quietly filing his memories and thoughts around the
constructed forbidden forest in his head. He was not up or dressed and
was about to respond to this effect when the door opened and the wizard poked
his head in impatiently. Tom frowned at him and folded his arms irritably
over his bare chest.

Dumbledore reddened slightly and withdrew again.

�Pardon me, Tom. I thought you might be caught in a trance once
again. I shall wait ..somewhat longer.. in future. If you would be so good as to rise and
dress, we shall continue our conversation of yesterday.�
Inwardly Tom groaned.

Irritating old goat.

he had not imagined for a second that he would escape
a continuation of the polite interrogation he had been subjected to the
previous afternoon.. but it annoyed him nonetheless to
be so summarily pressed to reveal his most private thoughts and memories to a
man he had always loathed.

He had never managed to sustain gratitude for any significant length of
time.
Grudgingly he pulled back the covers and slipped out of
bed. He ignored the clothing he had discarded on the floor by the bed and
moved to the bathroom. If Dumbledore wanted to pick his brain again, he
could wait until after he had washed and dressed.

He enjoyed his shower even more than the one he had had yesterday due to the
warm glow of the knowledge that Dumbledore was likely sitting irritably
downstairs waiting impatiently for him.
When he finally descended the stairs, he was disappointed to
see that the old man was sitting talking quite amiably with Hermione. He
strained to prevent the small disapproving glance from reaching his face.

Hermione seemed much calmer around Dumbledore. She obviously felt safe
with him.

He wondered whether he desired her to feel safe in his own
presence. Perhaps she would be less interesting if her intimidation were
no longer present.

Crossing the room quietly, he lowered himself to the sofa, presently empty as
the other two occupied the chairs.
�Breakfast, Tom?� Dumbledore offered in a voice that was
wretchedly bright and chipper.
�No thank you Sir. I am not hungry� he responded
politely.
Dumbledore looked inexplicably disappointed.
Perhaps he had been hoping to slip him some laced item or other. He
turned to Hermione. �What do you think you might do today, my dear?� he
enquired nosily. Hermione hesitated. Her eyes flicked to Tom
momentarily and he bristled inwardly. It was blatantly obvious that
whatever she was thinking to do today � clearly a Saturday, if the question was
being posed at all � was not anticipated to involve him.
She confirmed this a moment later.
�I thought I might go to Hogsmeade with Harry and Ron and
some of the others..� she said hesitantly.

Dumbledore�s disappointed expression reappeared momentarily and Tom watched
Hermione shift her gaze uneasily.

�However.. I suppose I could always go out with them
another day� she conceded.

Tom rolled his eyes subtly.
�I believe that Harry has another engagement today.�
Dumbledore informed her quietly. �Professor Snape has agreed to spend
some time tutoring him.�

At this Tom�s interest was piqued.   The green eyed boy required a
tutor in Potions?
�Oh.� Hermione said softly, avoiding eye
contact.
�Yes.. I�m sure that Harry would
much prefer to go to Hogsmeade� Dumbledore continued..
�However it would not do to tempt him to that end. He really must
improve, you know.�

There was a moment of hesitation. �Perhaps Ronald might like to spend the
day with you?�
The implication was clear as crystal to Tom. Hermione
would not be going to Hogsmeade, with or without �Harry�. Ronald
could however spend the day here with her.
�Er.. No..
No I think he was set on looking at something to do with quidditch today.� She
answered quickly.

He wondered whether her response was due to the wish to keep �Ronald� from
spending time in the head students� quarters after he had threatened him last
night, whether she did not think that the redhead would choose to spend
time with her.. or whether she did not actually wish
to spend time with him alone.    He found that he didn�t mind
which it might be.
�Ah well then. Would you like
to remain here while Tom and I ..chat? or would you rather take breakfast in the great hall with
your friends�

Another wonderful example of Gryffindor subtlety at its horrendous best.

He may as well have opened the door and drop kicked the girl into the
corridor. She mumbled a quick response and had escaped the room in less
than a minute. He watched the door close behind her with mixed feelings.
�How are you getting along with Hermione, Tom?� the
Headmaster probed disingeniously.
�I believe she may be terrified of me� he responded with
barely a moment�s hesitation.

He did believe she might be afraid.. He also
considered that she might simply be a convincing actor. She was certainly..nervous.. of him.. But that did
not necessarily equate to the same thing. Fear and due caution were
different things. She was..a lure. It was
quite clear. It would be reasonable to consider that she might be
adequately capable of defending herself.
�Yes.. unfortunately
it does rather seem that way� Dumbledore responded sadly. �Have you done anything perhaps to provoke her concern?!�
Tom debated various answers to this question. After a
few seconds he answered �After you left me in the infirmary..
The boy �Harry� surprised me.. She was with him
there. He..attacked me..and
she protected me from him..�

Dumbledore�s pale blue eyes showed no sign of reaction to this. Tom
wondered whether Hermione had already discussed the event with him.

�I..tried to be friendly to her. I tried to sit
with her as she studied. It seemed only to unsettle her. Last night
Harry and ...Ronald.. visited.

...They truly do not seem to like me very much..

Afterward I asked her about..Ronald..
I think my questions bothered her. I..was simply
curious what she could possibly see in such an oafish fellow. You had
told me of her intelligence..

...She seemed to take offense.�
Dumbledore looked thoughtful. His eyes drifted off to
the left.
�Yes... I confess, I have wondered that myself
occasionally. They do not seem to have a large amount in common.. with the exception of their
friendship with Harry, that is.

I suspect that Hermione realises this herself. It is perhaps why she
tends to be somewhat oversensitive to questions of that type.�

The blue eyes sharpened.

�are you certain that you gave her no other
reason to be wary of you?�
Tom wondered, delighted, whether the girl might have already
broken her promise and tried to speak to Dumbledore of the events of last
night. If so then she would soon find exactly how utterly at his mercy
she was.
He took the time to appear to think carefully.
�Perhaps..� he conceded finally.

�I did let her know that I had liked her peach shampoo.   It was not entirely ..appropriate.. to
compliment her in that way. Perhaps I was overly familiar with her and it
made her uncomfortable.

I should not have done it. ...it...slipped out.�

He shifted on the sofa uneasily, simulating a nervous fourteen year old with a
mild crush on an older student.    Technically it was what he
was, in a certain sense..

A very.. restricted..sense. Which also did not take
account of his fifty or so years that he had on Hermione.
Dumbledore looked at him pensively for a while. Tom
wondered if the man felt guilty for placing a sixteen year old girl in a
vulnerable position.
�Ah well.. If that was all it was�
he answered quietly. �I am certain she will forgive you for it.� He
seemed to abandon the topic like a child with a new toy.
�Perhaps we might return to the topic of your plans
regarding future Horcruxes.
Tom groaned deep inside the forest in his mind.
Dumbledore stayed for hours.

They had begun speaking before breakfast... and the white bearded old goat
didn�t leave him alone again till the time was nearing late afternoon.
Tom was exhausted by the time he left.
He had quizzed him on his opinions of all those with whom he
had attended school.   He had asked him about places he had visited .. places he had wanted
to visit at some point.

It could easily have been mistaken for a friendly chat between a Professor and
a student.

Except that Tom was under no illusions that the man was looking for potential
affiliates.. possible
locations in which he might have hidden his future horcruxes.

The Headmaster spent a long time discussing his early years
in the orphanage with him.   Tom couldn�t quite work out to what end
that topic was conceived until the man apologised to him for his
negligence in leaving him within the unsuitable environment over the entire
duration of his school years.

Dumbledore had, it seemed, come to the conclusion, over the last half century,
that he might have been better served by removing Tom
from the cold, abusive prison of an institution. It seemed that the man
felt some measure of...responsibility for Tom�s fate.
He wondered again just what that fate contained.
It seemed pointless to ask however, It
was clear that Dumbledore would not now, and probably would not in the future,
reveal to him anything which might provoke him to be more circumspect in the
information he provided.
After he had left, Tom dropped down onto the sofa
wearily.

He felt stretched. Thin.
A large orange cat strutted, stiff backed, across the
hearth. He watched it blankly. It turned a squash-faced disdainful
stare upon him.
�If you wish me to stroke you, you will have to come here�
he informed it quietly.
Surprisingly it swished its tail for a moment and then
stalked over to him, moving within his reach.

An extraordinarily intelligent cat then, he thought to himself, filing the
information away.   He should best treat the animal as a potential
spy.. a vulnerability to be
kept in mind.

He stroked its spine gently with a cupped hand. It arched against him,
turning in small circles and rubbing up against his hand.

After a while the cat leapt up onto the couch and curled into an orange ring of
fur next to him. He hesitated and then shifted himself to his side, to
make more room for it.   He curled an arm around the creature lightly
and closed his eyes.   Yawning he tried again to sleep.
�Crookshanks??!!� the alarmed voice disturbed him. He
startled and looked up to find that Hermione was standing at the foot of the
sofa, looking at him as if she had caught him in the process of skinning the
animal with a quarter inch root-grater. The orange cat twitched an ear
and didn�t bother to stir.   Its manner seemed to scream �what do you
want?! I�m comfortable�
�I�m ..sorry, Tom. He was
supposed to be locked in my room. I have no idea how he managed to get
out! I�ll put him away right now.�
Tom rolled his eyes and lifted his arm, offering her access
to the contentedly curled animal. She rushed forward and scooped it up
quickly, retreating up the stairs at once.

She didn�t return for a long time.

He was considering going up to his room and working on
organising his forest compartmentalisation for a while when the sound of her
hesitant footfalls on the stair made him pause.

It was unmistakeable in the way she scowled slightly when she saw he still lay
upon the sofa that she had hoped he would be gone.

He looked up at her blankly and then turned his gaze back to the fire.
She looked at the door to the quarters longingly.. and then looked back to
him.

Apparently she wished to go out, but felt some duty to remain with him, since
he was downstairs.

He could solve that dilemma for her quite easily, he reasoned, standing tiredly
and scuffing to his stairs, climbing them wearily and letting himself into his
bedroom.   He closed the door after himself quietly and dragged
himself to his bed, tossing himself down upon it with mild irritation.
The girl was either an extremely good
actor and strategist or she truly was intimidated by him and would
really have preferred not to have this task thrust upon her.
There was a timid knock on his door.
�Come in� he muttered, just loudly enough for her to catch
it.
He heard the door open but didn�t bother to remove his arm
from over his eyes. He lay sideways on the large bed. The last rays
of sundown cast the entire room into orange glowing flame at this hour and the
light was hurting his eyes.
�..Are you alright?� she asked uneasily.
�Fine� he answered curtly. �Consider your duty
done. You can go and spend the evening with your friends.. and boyfriend.. with a clear conscience now.�
He heard her shuffle her feet slightly. Then the soft
steps approached.

He raised his arm slightly and scowled at her.
�I�m.. sorry..
for leaving you alone so long.. I..didn�t-..�

She didn�t finish the sentence. He wondered what she had intended to
say. Whatever it had been � it was obviously not true.
He lifted his arm from over his eyes.

�Did you tell Dumbledore then?� he asked neutrally.
�No.� she said quietly, after a moment.
His eyes drifted to her thoughtfully. Had she
realised?
�You can sit with me.. � he
offered, managing to sound reluctant. �I�m sure that you are supposed to
speak with me about any number of things that the Headmaster wishes to
know. Come and sit down and I will discuss whatever you wish.�
She lingered for a moment longer at the foot of the bed
indecisively before she walked around to the other side and positioned herself
on the remotest end of the bed from him.   He rolled his eyes.

�I had not actually intended to leap upon you, you know� he muttered.
She snorted. �I�d like to see you try it! I�ll hex you
into next week! I won�t lose my wand to you again, Tom!� she threatened,
sounding more sure of herself.

He smirked. Could that be interpreted as a challenge?

It certainly could, he thought to himself.
�So... tell me about yourself� he
demanded quietly. �I know nothing whatsoever about you beyond your first
name and the subjects you are taking� he lied.

She made an irritated little sound that he decided was quite pleasing. He
determined to oblige her to make it much more often.
�You invited me to sit so that you could tell me about yourself
Tom, not interrogate me..�
He turned his head up toward her, smiling wryly, �You
already know a great deal about me. If I am to come to speak with you in
a friendly manner.. if you
wish me to reveal all my dastardly little secrets.. You are going to have to at
least attempt to build a rapport.

Perhaps Dumbledore should have placed the head boy with me in these quarters �
I take it from the combination of colours and symbols downstairs that he was a
Slytherin. I have no doubt he would already be exchanging precious little
childhood anecdotes with me, if he were here.�
He heard her scoff.

�I doubt it� she snapped under her breath.

�What do you want to know?!� she demanded a shade louder.
�What is your last name, for a start?� he asked
thoughtfully.
There was a long pause.

The reluctance on the girl�s part to reveal her family name was in and of
itself thought provoking.

She was either very well positioned.. or dirty blooded.

The atmosphere subtly suggested to him that it was more likely the
latter.
�Granger� she said quietly after a minute. Her tone
seemed to dare him to remark on her oh so muggle name.
He took that dare also.
�Are you a half-blood?� he asked softly.
�No.� she responded with icicles hanging from the syllable.
His eyes slid over to her again and looked her up and
down.

A mudblood.

A true mudblood. On his
bed. He thought about how close he had come to kissing
her this morning.   Last night he had touched her...

Repulsive.

He looked away again.
�Who is the current head boy and why exactly do you detest
him?� he changed the subject. It would do no good to dwell further on her
filthy blood.
�Are you sure you want to continue speaking with a mudblood?!�
she spat.

Had his expression been that transparent, he wondered.

Apparently so.
�Not entirely� he responded lightly. �I am still
deciding. The head boy?...�
She shifted slightly. He had the impression that she
was considering marching out of his room in indignation.

She was rather..strident.. for
a mudblood, he mused.

In his own time, all the mudbloods � and there had been few � had been
rather insipid cowed creatures.

Of course that may have stemmed from the near universal hate they faced within
every house. Even the Hufflepuffs had been unwilling to entirely
embrace them.
Still... she was, at least according to Dumbledore, the top
student in the school... The best mind of many decades..

Of course, it would probably amuse his former Professor to no end to see him
befriend a mudblood. He had always shown great favouritism toward the sad
little wretches.

Far more would it please the man if he were to actually become involved
with one intimately, he imagined.

Perhaps she was not the top student that Dumbledore had asserted.
�Draco Malfoy� Hermione said coldly, derailing his train of
thought slightly.

Abraxas flew to his mind. The current head boy was his descendant
obviously.

If he could somehow meet with this Draco boy, then he could perhaps get a
message to his old friend. Could perhaps reconnect with someone
who might provide support should things go bad in Dumbledore�s captivity.
�As for my reasons for ..detesting
him.. He sees the world in much the same way that you seem to. His
first word to me began with Mud.

He is an absolute cockroach. A slimy little spoiled brat, whose father buys his
way through life and who spends his entire existence insulting and cursing my
friends and myself.

He was granted the Head boy position purely because Professor Dumbledore hoped
to demonstrate to the school that Gryffindors and Slytherins..
and more importantly that ...muggleborns and
despicable pureblood supremists can coexist peacefully.

I think he hoped that we would suddenly find some basis for understanding and
appreciating one another and the world would erupt into spontaneous peace and
tea and biscuits would rain from the sky.

Professor Dumbledore�s thought processes are sometimes a bit
..questionable...

Of course � what could be more unlikely than a friendship with Draco?!
Oh.. let me think.. Perhaps a friendship with bloody Tom Riddle?!
The man is insane. I have no idea what I am doing here!   You
are far, ..far slipperier than Draco
Malfoy. Don�t think that anyone is buying this �poor little fourth
year� act either! EVERYONE knows that you are a scheming, psychopathic
snake and you only proved that last night�
He processed this rant quietly.
He was finding himself tempted to actually converse with
the girl. She did have a certain.. fire..   Admittedly that crazed bluster was the
reason that Gryffindors were so utterly repugnant � nevertheless she somehow
managed to render it attractive.
It bothered him.
Perhaps she was not truly a muggleborn.
Perhaps..
He sighed. It was foolish wishful
thinking. She was quite attractive. If she were a halfblood.. it would be tolerable... but a muggleborn?!
The idea was obscene.
�So we have discovered that we will not soon be bosom
companions..� he responded wearily. �Did you
truly wish to be? It has seemed that you have preferred to avoid me
almost from the first moment.�
She didn�t reply.
�What exactly does your friend have against me then?! Is he..muggleborn.. also?�
�No.� she responded quietly. �Harry is ... I don�t
actually know. His father was a pureblood and his mother a muggleborn.�
�Halfblood� Tom informed her softly. �His mother
explains why he is so willing to befriend one of your status,
I suppose�
At that the girl did leap to her feet. �You
horrible little.. oooh..�
He heard her fuming and struggling to restrain the furious insults boiling up
within. He smiled inside. So easily provoked..


�I am leaving now, Tom.� She snarled furiously. �I made an effort
to speak to you.. It clearly does not agree with
either of us. I will see what I can do about having someone else stay
with you here.�
A tiny twinge of irritation pricked him.

He was not certain he wanted someone else to stay with him.

It certainly made more sense to his long term goals if she remained. He
had already placed her under a wand oath, defeated her wands and gained access
to her wand � which was compatible enough to obey him.

Also... her hair smelled of peaches again today.
It took a barely-there wandless confundus and he was already
rolling backward on the bed and pinning her down against the
mattress.   He had plucked her wand from her hand and used it to fix
her in place before she blinked and began to rage and struggle.
�YOU ABSOLUTE LITTLE CREEP! LET ME GO!!�
He smirked down from his position, straddling her and
twirled her wand between his fingers.
�I believe you dared me to try to leap upon
you. Oh... and.. it
seems you did lose your wand to me just as easily as last night. More
easily perhaps.. since,
having drawn it, you really ought to have been able to defend yourself
adequately this time.�
Her face darkened to a near apoplectic red.
�Get. Off.� She growled threateningly.
He smiled and leaned down, parting his legs wider and
allowing himself to subside down onto her languidly, folding his arms over her
breasts and resting his chin on them. He tapped her wand against his arm.

�No.. I believe I am quite comfortable at
present. Thank you� he responded quietly. She bared gritted teeth
at him.
�I don�t think I wish you to �see what you can do about
having someone else stay with me�.. in fact � I am
at present actually leaning toward forgiving your unfortunate blood
status, purely in light of your rather amusing mannerisms and the enticing
scent of your...quite unusual.. hair.� He unfolded
one arm and delved his fingers into the soft mad curls erupting all around her
head.   She flinched and looked suddenly quite frightened again.
�...Please, get off me, Tom?� she tried,
hopefully.   He smirked.
�That is a far more pleasant tone� he informed
her. �So much nicer than the ranting and screaming..
Perhaps you should use that voice from now on..
�
She nodded mutedly, her eyes kept flicking between his face
and her wand.
�Now.. Tell me.. Why does your halfblood friend loathe me so?� He asked
curiously. �I can imagine various reasons why your beau might dislike you
living in close quarters with another boy.. however your-�
She interrupted him. �Ron isn�t upset that I�m living
with a boy, Tom. You�re fourteen!..
Ron is upset that I�m living with a raving psychopath. And
as it turns out � he�s right! I should have listened to him and told
Professor Dumbledore to go jump.�
He prickled at the second reference to his age. She
had called him a little creep before. Now it seemed she was
suggesting that he could not possibly constitute a legitimate competitor for
her dullard of a boyfriend.

She thought of him as a child. She was not at all
interested.

The thought bothered him far more than he knew it should � particularly in
light of the fact that, due to her revelation about her blood status, he would
sooner mate with the giant squid than spill his seed within her unworthy vessel.. It should not have bothered him at all.
�I am not..fourteen.. Hermione.� He countered icily. �If anything.. I am far too old for you. Sixty
six, in fact. But let us not argue about sex when it is so
obviously a repulsive prospect for both of us � Your friend Harry.
You were about to tell me about him..�
Her mouth snapped shut from the wide eyed gape she had been
offering him.

�Everyone loathes you, Tom. Not just Harry. You are universally loathed.
Your older.. that is other
self is a murderer, a fugitive, an evil creature. The entire
wizarding world wishes him dead.�
He blinked.

Well.. It seemed that he hadn�t succeeded quite
as he�d hoped, after all.
�Oh..� he managed, trying to
dismiss the disturbance that he felt on his own features.
�Yes. It�s that simple. What else do you want to
know� the girl demanded impatiently. He felt a flare of anger at her
flippancy.
He raised himself up slightly and narrowed his eyes at
her.

�Manners, Mudblood... or my.. -excuse me- YOUR
wand might slip..�
She grit her teeth and looked
away.
�Name as many Slytherin students as you can� he
demanded.
She huffed and remained silent. He turned her face
back toward him with the tip of her wand.

�Hermione.. Our current position is entirely your
own doing, you realise. I gave you ample opportunity to leave
earlier.   When you followed me, I offered you the chance again.
Upon your insistence, I invited you to sit with me and speak.. It was you who could not control her temper..after threatening me when I sought only to reassure
you.. You have escalated tension between us to the point that I had to restrain
you to prevent you from rushing off to the old goat and demanding to escape my
taxing companionship.�
Her expression conveyed unmistakeably that she had a
somewhat different take on events.
�You have.. deliberately
sought to insult and provoke me.. and you are, at
present, behaving appallingly. And yet I am still showing you
patience..�
He watched her take a deep breath. He was almost
certain she was counting to ten. He stroked the wand point over her
eyebrow.
�Slytherin students... We shall be going through all
the houses � I would like to know who exactly has reproduced and where their
offspring might currently reside. I am certain you cannot begrudge me my
curiosity.�
After a moment she said quietly �I�m
not going to tell you anything about the other students, Tom. You are
dangerous enough without directing your attention toward anyone else
here.   Incidentally you won�t get out of these quarters.. and certainly not with my
wand. Don�t you think that Dumbledore would have considered that?!
He paused thoughtfully..
�I am not sure.. Yes.. I would have imagined that he would place some
form of block preventing me from using a wand at all. I can think of at
least three spells that would achieve that result..
As it appears � he has not � and I have to conclude that he is also not monitoring
my wand use � or, surely, he would have arrived to tear me off you by
now.

Unless.. he is amenable
to my forcing you down on my bed at wandpoint...

Who can be sure?!.. From what he said earlier, I
gather that he is quite dismissive of your affections for the redhead.
  Perhaps he truly believes it would be more convenient if-�
�FOURTEEN!!� she snapped.

�YOU ARE FOURTEEN. A CHILD! I would be ARRESTED.. if I were at all interested in
you. You are underage, Tom.

AND you are a bloody raving PSYCHOPATH!!!
He smirked.

�I spoke of the Headmaster�s erratic thought processes, not my own
desires, Hermione.   I suspect that the senile old romantic believes
that allowing a mudblood into my bed might show me the error of my ways. I
neither want to dirty myself on you, nor wish to perceive �The error of my
ways� as conceptualised by Albus Dumbledore.   Perhaps
you should-...�
There was a knocking.

It was not his bedroom door. He recognised the amplified knocking of the
main door downstairs.
He cursed under his breath.
The witch beneath him looked sublimely relieved.
Clearly she was certain that whoever it might be � he�d have to release
her.
Well... he�d see about that.
The knock at the door sounded again, somewhat louder and
more insistent. Whoever it was, was not going to
go away.
�You can�t open the door to the chambers� she informed him
smugly. �If you try, you�ll only get a nasty shock and set off half a dozen
alarms around the school. Let me go, Tom. Now!�
He glared down at her, tapping her wand on his thigh as he
tried to think of a solution quickly � preferably one that didn�t allow the
prospect of the thrice damned girl rushing off and escaping..
possibly telling tales or simply insisting upon being
removed from the quarters.
He smiled darkly..
�Obedecer� He intoned with satisfaction.
- 6
- 7
- 8
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The First Horcrux