Hermione woke up to unusual silence. Ever since she and Tom started seeing each other romantically, Tom had taken it upon himself to wake her up. He loved sneaking into her room and scaring her awake. Waking up on her own terms sent the groggy Hermione into high alert. Tom was planning something.
She threw the covers off of her. After quickly changing into a pair of Tom's slacks, they were ridiculously long on her but she didn't feel like fixing them to fit her, and a long sleeve shirt, she opened the door and peeked out. No sign of Tom in the living room. She was on her way to his room when a slip of paper on the coffee table caught her attention.
Say 'Inveniet' while thinking of me.
Hermione was torn between scoffing and smiling. She had never heard of this spell which made her want to smile when she thought that Tom may have come up with it. She also wanted to smirk at his flirty words.
Hermione didn't even question why Tom would have left her the note. She quickly grabbed her wand. Images of the times when Tom would pounce on her sleeping form flashed through her mind, bringing a smile to her lips. She also thought about the comfortable silence that would fall between them when they were studying or just simply walking to class. "Inveniet." A blue orb shot out of the tip of her wand. It wobbled in the air before floating through the portrait. Hermione tucked her wand into the pocket of Tom's slacks and quickly rolled them up around her ankles before darting out into the hall after the ball of blueish-white light.
Even without having Tom, the morning person that he was, wake her up, she still managed to get out of bed well before breakfast would even be served. The hallway was relatively empty. Only the occasional ghost wandered the halls.
The ball of light disappeared around a corner ahead of her. Hermione clutched her hands into fists and picked up the pace. She had to admit that this was pretty exciting. Different scenarios of what Tom might have planned played in her head. Her heart raced with excitement and longing.
Hermione clutched the balled-up pant legs in her fists as she chased the ball of light down staircase after staircase. Soon, the light led her out of the castle. She was planning on it stopping somewhere right outside the castle, but the little ball of light kept on going. It led her down the slopes, past what would someday become Hagrid's hut, and toward the Forbidden forest. The light disappeared into the thickly packed trees. Hermione cast a glance over her shoulder to make sure no one saw her before slipping into the woods.
The light from the spell helped her to see any hidden dangers, mainly roots. She knew she didn't have to worry about any spiders. There were still a few more years before anyone would have to worry about those.
After what seemed like hours, the light finally slowed down. It was still moving but Hermione no longer had to rush to keep up with it. The trees around her became less dense and light from the sun shone through the intricately woven branches of the tree tops. Hermione's brows furrowed together as she began to recognize this part of the forest.
The trees broke apart and Hermione found herself in a clearing. Not just any clearing. It was the same one where she visited the Thestrals.
Tom stood in the center of the clearing wearing a pressed, black suit. Plastered all over his face was a wolfish grin. When she looked into his eyes, she saw them lit with humor as they took in her appearance.
. . . .
Tom fidgeted from foot to foot, half tempted to sit down in the mud. Where was she? Was she unable to perform the spell?
The bluish light of a spell broke through the densely packed trees easing his mind. He would recognize that spell anywhere. It was the same one he used to find Hermione on days she would disappear, though he would never tell her that.
Her mop of untamed curls was the first thing that came into view. The rest of her came into view not even a few nanoseconds later. Hermione's ragged breathing drew his eyes downward. The raising and lowering of her chest combined with the shadows of the baggy shirt that she wore drew his eyes to her hidden breasts. He could already imagine what it would be like to take them into his mouth, to tease her nipples with his tongue. Unfortunately, that would probably never come to pass any time soon. They haven't moved past kissing, though Tom couldn't actually complain. Kissing Hermione was indescribable. Kissing Hermione was both bitter and sweet. Transcendent.
His eyes reluctantly pulled away from her heaving chest to continue taking in her appearance. What he found caused a grin to break out onto his face and a few teasing comments popped into his mind. But most of all, he felt his heart, and other things, scream that she was his. Pulled high up around her waist was a pair of his slacks. The material hung around her legs which made them seem even more appealing then when they were exposed when she wore dresses, which wasn't often. He was pleased to see that instead of magicking his slacks to fit her, she rolled them up so that they balled around her ankles.
The ball of bluish-white light was extinguished. "What kind of spell was that?"
Tom felt himself chuckle. Of course that would be the first thing out of her mouth. "A locating spell. I devised it to work on thoughts and emotions."
The morning sun broke through the trees, reflecting off Hermione's eyes. "So you weren't just being flirty." Tom's ears perked when he heard the slight disappointment in her voice.
He flashed her one of his famous smirks. "Is my little witch disappointed?" He took a small step toward her, still keeping his distance. He would rather have her run into his arms, not the other way around. "There is still time for it if you like. You might be too frazzled for what I have planned, though."
He watched as her face heated up with a beautiful scarlet blush. She visibly gulped, making him want to ditch the plans he had so meticulously laid out for the day.
When she looked up, he was disappointed to see the lust in her eyes being overtaken by curiosity. "What plans have you laid out for today?"
Tom sighed inwardly but did not let his disappointment show. There would still be time for some flirtatious talk and lustful kisses at the end of the night. He was finally starting to see why the other boys were eager to date. He never thought he would feel this way about someone. Oh, he had planned on having an heir with some pureblood witch, but he never expected to gain a partner. And she wasn't even a pureblood.
He stopped moving when he was standing a few steps from her. "Orchideous," whispered Tom. A bouquet of orange and yellow Gingersnaps formed in his open hand. He held out the flowers that so gloriously matched Hermione's personality to her. "Now begins our first, official date."
. . . .
Hermione took the bouquet of flowers from Tom. "What do you mean first date?"
Tom sighed as if he were exasperated. "Potter and Malfoy pointed out that I have yet to take you on a date that did not involve the library."
She laughed at Tom's use of Fleamont' and Abraxas' last names. Abraxas had slowly started acting like his old self these last few months and the three boys have slowly grown closer. Hermione was actually surprised with how close Fleamont and Tom were growing. They acted almost like brothers.
"I like the library," shrugged Hermione.
"As do I," chuckled Tom, "but it would be nice to be out in the public eye."
"Whatever you say." Hermione's words were a little sarcastic. She honestly didn't want to go out where there was a large crowd. It was bad enough to have half the female student population ogling Tom.
Tom's brows creased together. "You don't agree?"
Hermione smelled the flowers that Tom had conjured her before she looped an arm into his. "I like being around you, so I will put up with any date plans you come up with," said Hermione honestly. And she would. She had a feeling that anything Tom planned that didn't involve lying, or torture, would be perfect. "So. . .what exactly do you have planned for today?"
Hermione felt the ground shudder underneath her feet. She could faintly make out galloping in the distance.
Tom flashed her a smile that sent her heart fluttering. "You'll see."
Hermione didn't have to wait long. Before too long, a pair of Thestrals galloped into the clearing. Tom took her hand and lead her over to the smaller of the Thestrals. "Will you need a push up?"
Hermione turned to Tom, wearing a stunned expression. "We're not riding them, are we?"
Tom released a small chuckle before leaning down. "We are." His warm breath brushed over her skin. Without warning, he hoisted her up until she was sitting on the creature's back. He sauntered over to the taller Thestral and hoisted himself up with ease. Without a gesture from Tom, the Thestrals began walking out of the clearing.
She was riding a Thestral! How is it that this befuddled her more than the time she rode the dragon? Or any other time for that matter?
Stop it, Hermione. Think. Maybe some small talk will help?
"So. . .um, when did you invent that spell?"
Tom cast her a curious, and impressed glance. He probably expected her to grill him about 'this so called date' they were currently going on.
"Two years ago," began Tom. "I wanted to put a spin on the locating spell that would make it more effective. Though I couldn't get it to work until last year," chuckled Tom.
Last year? Oh. "Did you use that spell to locate me near the lake? When I invited you to stay the summer with me and grandfather?"
Tom looked surprised. "Yes," Tom hesitantly spoke. Why was he hesitant to speak about this topic? It only made Hermione want to question him more.
"You said the spell mainly works using emotions. I thought you weren't connected to any emotions other than greed and anger during that time?" Hermione's voice was practically accusing.
Tom lowered his head with a sigh. He looked so defeated that Hermione was instantly sorry. She shouldn't have pressed. It was always better to wait for the other person to open up without being coerced into it.
When Tom looked up again, she saw a mix of dread and determination in them. "Yes and no. When I first tried the spell it did not work. When I tried it to find you, it did. I merely believed it was a fluke that it failed the first time, so I tried using it again on another person. It failed and continued failing. I could only get it to work when I was looking for you. I didn't find out the connection until it was pointed out to me by Dippet." Tom grimaced at this last part. "Turns out, I did have emotions back then. I just wasn't connected to them."
"What was the connection?" whispered Hermione.
Tom looked away into the forested horizon. When he looked back, his eyes were filled with an emotion that she wasn't used to seeing in them. "Love."
Hermione's heart thumped once, then twice, before going into overdrive. Little butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Tom had just inadvertently told her that he loved her. Wait! The spell worked for her. Did that mean she was in love with Tom? Tom Riddle? One look at the boy riding beside her told her that 'yes', she did in fact love him.
Guilt suddenly swarmed through her with such force that she let out a small whimper. Tom nudged his Thestral closer to hers'. "Hermione?" She shook her head, unable to look him in the eyes.
"I'm sorry." She forced herself to look at Tom. Hurt flashed through his eyes. "I lied to you," Hermione admitted. She didn't want Tom to think that she didn't want his love. "I'm not who you think I am."
"You are Hermione. A beautiful, strong, powerful, and kind witch. It does not matter if you are Hermione Norris or Hermione Granger. A halfblood or a muggle-born. And it does not matter what you have done in the past to survive. I will always be by your side."
Hermione felt her heart breaking with Tom's confession. How did it come to this? She loved him too much to continue lying to him.
"It is my past," admitted Hermione. She pulled forth all of her will and determination, knowing that it would show in her eyes. She just also hoped that her sorrow and love showed as well. "And your future."
She watched as Tom sat ramrod straight. His forest green eyes lit with understanding. "The time traveler, the crackpot spoke about." Hermione nodded her head in affirmation even though it wasn't a question.
Tom's eyes flashed blue. "That means you came from another time, to stop me. It is the only explanation as to why you would gain my trust, my l. . .I am the only person you have truly grown attached to. And Professor Dumbledore must be in on it," Tom spit Dumbledore's name out with distaste. "You must be here to derail me from my path. I will not let you, spy."
The words stabbed at Hermione like a knife through the chest. "Tom," she began but it was too late. Tom had already urged the Thestral to take off out of the woods, where he flew out of her sight.
She was tempted to cast Tom's spell and follow him but decided against it. It would probably be for the best to wait for him to calm down before she explained everything to him. She urged her Thestral to take her back to the castle. For now, she would wait for Tom's return.