Hermione stepped out of the changing room and fiddled with the hem of her shirt.
"Quit being so nervous. You'll be fantastic." Tom was leaning against the side of the changing room with his arms folded over his chest.
Hermione frowned. "This is my first time playing quidditch. I've only ever played during practice and friendlies and I have never played in front of a large crowd."
Tom chuckled and sauntered over to her. Now that she noticed, it seemed as if he always sauntered, at least when she was in his presence. He brushed a light kiss to the top of her forehead. "You'll be fine."
It was still strange for her to see this side of Tom Riddle. She really hoped she wasn't making a mistake by following her heart. An arm wrapped around Hermione's shoulders, pulling her away from Tom's embrace. "Stop distracting my chaser. I need her full concentration for this match."
"She could use half of her concentration and still be better than you, Potter," laughed Tom. That was another thing that both intrigued and scared her; Tom and Fleamont were becoming friends, sort of.
"We better be on our way," said Sylvia, one of the other chasers. Sylvia Llewelyn had long blonde hair and bright emerald green eyes. She was a pureblood and it showed in the way she carried herself. Hermione wondered how a person like Sylvia wound up in Gryffindor.
Archer, the last of the chasers nudged Sylvia in the side. "Remember to balance." Hermione liked Archer's laid back demeanor when they were on the field. Not so much when they were off it.
Tom rolled his eyes at Fleamont, barely taking notice of the fact that Fleamont had an arm wrapped around her. "I'll be sitting next to your grandfather, cheering you on." He looked as if he wanted to press another kiss to her forehead but decided against it. With a slight wave of his hand he ambled away from them heading toward the stands.
"That is the most centered he has ever been," commented Archer in that slow, breathy voice that he possessed. Other members of their team nodded in agreement with him.
Hermione felt Fleamont's body shake and his arm moved with quiet laughter. She elbowed him in the side which only caused his inner laughter to turn outward. He removed the hand that was around her while he tried to calm down. After a few seconds, he smiled at his team. "Now that the Slytherin has given us the opposite effect than normal, I say we go out there and win this." He thrusted a fist out in front of him and the others followed suit. They broke contact with shouts of 'Gryffindor'. They made their way out onto the pitch, Hermione staying close to the other chasers. The stadium roared to life with cheers of enthusiasm as the two opposing teams entered the pitch.
The players from each team mounted their brooms. Madam Hooch walked out to the middle of the pitch. That had been another shock added to Hermione's rapidly growing list. Madam hooch had just finished her training and had begun her first year teaching. Her yellow gaze peered to each member before releasing the quaffle, bludgers, and snitch. Fleamont took off like a bolt, soaring high in the sky to get a better vantage point of the field.
A Hufflepuff chaser was the first to grab the quaffle. A stray bludger bulldozed past Hermione, barely missing her ear, heading straight for the Hufflepuff. The Hufflepuff saw it coming and doved down. The bludger followed, smacking into the tail end of the broom. The Hufflepuff's broom spun out of control.
Archer took this time to sweep in and steal the quaffle. He passed it to Sylvia who was positioned near the goal. She caught the quaffle and threw it into one of the goals.
The next to score a winning goal were the Hufflepuffs.
Hermione saw her chance and swooped in to steal the quaffle. She saw Sylvia wide open and threw it to her.
After a while of each team scoring, the Gryffindors found themselves on the losing end. Sylvia and Archer flew up to her. "It's time," was all Sylvia said. Hermione and Archer understood what she was implying and nodded.
Hermione tilted her broom left and nudged it forward until she was stationed on the left side of Diggory, the Hufflepuff chaser with the quaffle. Archer flew to Diggory's right, the two Gryffindors effectively trapping him. Sylvia came up from below Diggory to steal the quaffle. The three Gryffindor chasers flew in a tight formation to the goal. None of them were taking the chance of the quaffle being stolen. Sylvia released the quaffle and it soared into the middle goal.
The whistle blew, signaling the end of the match. Hermione looked around the field to find Fleamont on the other side proudly holding the snitch up in the air. Perfect timing.
"Amazing. Gryffindor has won. Two-hundred to fifty!" The stands erupted into applause and yells of victory.
When Hermione touched the ground, she rushed over with the rest of her teammates to surround Fleamont. "Party in Gryffindor common room!" shouted Lisle, one of the beaters.
Hermione felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to find Dippet and Tom with grins on their faces. "We did it!" shouted Hermione in excitement.
"That you did," said Tom with a smile.
"I'm so proud of you," said Dippet as he wrapped her in a hug. She was glad to see that Dippet hadn't changed around her ever since finding out the truth.
Fleamont tugged on her hand. "Let's go. It's party time!"
Hermione was turning to join the rest of the Gryffindors when Tom stopped her. He tugged on her other hand, making her stumble into his chest. "Ditch them. I have a surprise for you back in the common room," he whispered into her ear. Her stomach flopped and the butterflies stirred.
"I think I need to rest. Too much excitement," she told Fleamont.
"Go get your rest." He winked before he left with the crowd of rowdy Gryffindors.
Hermione waved bye to Dippet as she let Tom tug her back to their shared common room. On the long walk back, her mind began to wonder what surprise Tom had instored for her. She really hoped it wasn't what she thought it was. Their relationship was too young and fragile to be taken further.
Tom flashed his badge to the portrait and it swung open. On the other side stood a table filled with a feast. "I asked Dippet for permission to the kitchen," explained Tom.
Hermione smiled up at him. "Thank you." She was both relieved and disappointed. Her feuding emotions were giving her a headache.
"You don't like it," frowned Tom.
Hermione leaned up on her tiptoes and pressed a soft kiss to the side of his mouth. "I do, really." Hermione pushed her feuding emotions to the side. This is what she wanted; a nice, slow relationship.
"Good. I do have one more surprise." Tom disappeared into his room and came back with a small jewelry box. Hermione's heart raced and her stomach dropped. Dear god, was he proposing? "This is for the new star of the Gryffindor team."
"I wouldn't go that far," stuttered Hermione. "I didn't actually do much of anything." She was becoming flustered. The combination of his praise and the hidden mystery inside that small box was becoming too much for her.
"That was just your first match. You'll get the hang of it." Tom's assurance only added fuel to Hermione's flustered state. It was taking all of her willpower to not let her panic state show.
Tom opened the box. "I hope you like it." Nestled inside the box was a small golden chain. A simple golden charm of a book rested on the chain.
"Oh Tom, I love it," all of the breath left her. He wasn't proposing. She was being silly for even thinking up such a notion.
Tom took the necklace out of the box. Hermione grabbed her hair and pulled it out of the way as he slid the chain around her neck. His cool fingers brushed against her slightly sweaty breastplate. The effect he had on her was astounding. His hands moved to her shoulders when he finished clasping the necklace around her neck. She released her hair and leaned against him. She felt Tom move behind her and before she could protest or turn around to stop him, he pressed a kiss to her earlobe. Her stomach flip-flopped with the unsuspected touch. One of his hands on her shoulders moved up to grasp one side of her neck while he trailed kisses down the other. She found herself leaning back further. This boy was bad for her health.
"Not what I had planned but you are irresistible." His hot breath fanned across her throat. She may have wanted to take things slow but she could get behind this plan, especially when he kept touching her like that.
She turned around in his embrace and brought her hands to his chest. With a chuckle, Tom leaned down and captured her lips with his. The soft kiss soon turned fevered. Before too long, much too soon for Hermione's taste, Tom broke the kiss. He brought a finger to her lips to quiet her protests. "Hush, my little witch. Another time."
How was it that he was able to change her thoughts with just a touch. Just a few minutes ago, she was afraid that his celebrations included something more sexually involved. And now, with just a touch, she was ready to rip his clothes off. No other guy ever had that effect on her.
"You are bad for my health," her words came out in a hoarse whisper.
Tom chuckled and leaned down to press a chaste kiss to her forehead, eliciting a whimper out of her. "I believe just the opposite," he admitted. He pulled away from her and grabbed her hand, pulling her to the table. "We should eat. Best not to waste the feast Dippet has so graciously provided."
Hermione's stomach rumbled with his words. Her growing hunger was for more than just food.