Through The Night

Through The Night
by Deirdre Blair

Chapter Three
~Complicated~

Hermione lay her head down as she stared absent-mindedly at her dinner. The smell was delicious and mouth-watering, but Hermione just wasn't hungry. She was too busy trying to figure out what was going on. Did somebody put that book there for a student to find? Why would they do it? Ugh, these questions are boggling my mind. I have such a headache. Hermione stood up, surprising everyone around her, and walked from the room without so much as a "farewell".

When Hermione exited the Great Hall, she immediately headed towards her room. Her room was different from the Gryffindor girls' dormitories as she was Head Girl. This made Hermione smiled - if she had to be someone else, thank goodness that someone had her head on straight. This brightened her day at least.

Hermione entered the Head Boy and Girl Common Room of which she found Tom Riddle to be sitting in. He was hunched over by a lantern, which was providing him with a good amount of light. "Why aren't you out there eating?"

The sudden question startled Tom and made his quill fly across the paper, creating a black line. He glared momentarily at it before whispering a spell to make it disappear. He put the quill back into the ink jar. He got up and spun on his heel, fixing a cold stare on Adira. Surprisingly, she seemed unfazed. "And why aren't you? Usually you aren't back until midnight. Usually you're off snogging some poor Hufflepuff senseless."

This struck a note of fear in Hermione and her voice was caught in her throat. Did she actually...? She couldn't bring herself to finish that question. She shook her head and threw the look of shock away like old garbage. "Not tonight, Riddle. Tonight I'm going to take a luxurious bubble bath and go to sleep early...yes, that sounds like Heaven," Hermione replied, trailing off as she entered her room where her separate bathroom was.

All Tom could do was stare. Adira, already rather eccentric in any case, was acting incredibly odd - more so than usual. Adira takes bubble baths? I never would've known... With that comment on his mind, he mentally slapped himself across the face. He could even feel the sting lingering. "It's none of my business what Adira's hygienic routine is. It's none of my interest, either." With that, he settled back into his book and began writing more.

Hermione sighed as she closed the door behind her. "Am I really like that? I mean...is Adira really like that? But apparently, my name is Adira here therefore I am Adira Storm. Is what Riddle said true? I don't think he's one to lie, especially if it's meant as an insult." She walked into her bathroom, turned the water on, filled the tub, and undressed herself. This was going to be quite a relaxing bath indeed.

~*~

After Hermione finished with her bath, she noticed that she had forgotten all about her homework assignments... which was not Hermione-like in the least bit. She glared spitefully at the books in front of her. But it wasn't directed towards them. It was directed more towards herself. How could she forget about her homework? She of all people and this of all things! Thankfully, there was very little, if any, homework assigned.

It took Hermione a bit over thirty minutes to finish her homework. She then realized it was only eight o'clock. "Wow... usually time flies by. Today, it's as if it's moving slower than a tortoise. Which is fine with me. This gives me some time to research how to get back home." With that, Hermione jetted out the doorway and into the Common Room.

Tom shot her a curious look. But Hermione didn't notice as she was running, practically sprinting, out of the room, a look of eagerness on her face. "What has gotten into her? You'd think she's been replaced!"

Twenty minutes later, Hermione came back with a large stack of books in her arms. She held them with grace, as if she had been doing this for many years. The girl Tom had known since age eleven certainly wasn't acting like herself. Sure, Adira was smart, and sure, she did have some of the highest marks (not surpassing his, of course) the school had ever seen.... but she didn't make a habit of sprinting to the library and coming back with over ten very large books to read. Something very strange was going on.

Tom walked over to Hermione and stood there as she threw her books down on a table. She didn't notice him as she scattered out a few, picked out one, and was instantly engrossed.

"All right, Storm. What is with you today? You're not acting like your usual self!"

Hermione peered up over the book and turned to face him. "What do you mean?"

Tom picked up one book. "Traveling Through Time: Eight Complex Spells. Planning a trip, are we?" He threw the book back down.

Hermione scowled. "No, I'm just researching Time Travel for a paper for History of Magic."

"Then what do you need a spell book for?"

Hermione bit her lip but quickly thought of a reason. "Don't be so daft, Riddle. A spell book is very useful if you have to tell how to perform a Time Travel spell. Of course, they're very difficult...I've never attempted one." She mentally kicked herself for that last sentence. It wasn't as if she were talking to Harry and Ron. Why would she tell that to the boy who was to become the Dark Lord?

Tom scoffed. "Difficult, you say? Not really. You just have to have a clear mind, focused on your objective. Also, you just have to pronounce the words accurately. Of course, if you accidentally let a different word slip...Merlin knows what'll happen to you."

Hermione rose from her seat and crossed her arms. There was a slightly smug look on her face. "Oh, has Mr. Tom Marvolo Riddle attempted Time Travel? I knew you were bold, but I never knew you were that daring. You realise what could happen to you if anyone finds out about this?"

Tom's lips became a tight, thin line and his eyes were glittering maliciously. "You wouldn't dare." Each word was spoken slowly as if careful consideration had been given to its use.

Hermione smirked, at least she had gotten him to admit he had broken a rule. "Oh, I definitely would. How could I resist a chance to ruin the great Tom Riddle? An opportunity such as this doesn't so willingly fall into my grasp very often."

Tom furrowed his brows. Since when did Adira get that mouth of hers? How dare she speak to me in that manner! Tom was furious. No, he was beyond furious. How in the world could he have let that one secret slip? And especially to her - someone whom he had dismissed as lacking certainty, but suddenly seemed to have grown a backbone.

While Tom had been collecting his thoughts, Hermione sat back down, feeling a bit more in control of the situation that she was in. However, she performed a spell that she happened to be reading in her book. Immediately, the tip of her wand gave off an almost invisible yellow glow.

Tom thought about this with a calculated expression. What had she meant by that? He stared at the book she was reading which was opened to a chapter entitled, Recording Conversations Without the Knowledge of the Other. Needless to say, the thought struck him as almost implausible. After all, he knew Adira didn't know that spells having to do with recording conversations on wands even existed. But the Adira standing in front of him was different somehow.

He didn't give it a second thought as he glared menacingly at her. His eyes strayed to her wand, which seemed to be emitting a faint yellow glow from its tip. He bit his tongue and refused to say what he wanted to. How could she have performed that spell so quickly and without him noticing? And just how much had she recorded? He shook his head on the matter and replied in a cold, false pleasantness, "I want you to know that I won't forget this. And you ought to know, after this many years, that I always pay my debts... especially to people like you."

Hermione narrowed her eyes as the light from the wand faded and finally disappeared. He seemed to know that she had performed the spell. She mentally kicked herself for her sloppiness. But at least he didn't know just how much of the conversation she had recorded. He probably thought that she recorded the entire thing. There was a good thing to this, and a bad thing. The good thing was that he would have to watch his step around her or else everything he did would have a chance of being recorded by her wand.

But the bad thing was that it gave him all the more reason to harm her. She knew that Adira had been born a Muggle. She could see that by the various Muggle-related things about her room. She was indeed a "Mudblood". She couldn't help but wonder if Adira died by Tom's hand. She probably does. He seems to possess a very strong loathing for her...I mean, me. She bit her lip. This is no good. If he does murder Adira, then I probably die as well...this is definitely no good.

Tom turned and straightened his robes. "This isn't over." Those were his last words as he stomped out of the Common Room and into his own room.

Hermione slowly went back to researching, once or twice glancing over her shoulder. She now had to watch her back. Either Tom would leave her completely alone, or he'd murder her. She doubted it would be the first one.

She swallowed thickly. "Once again, Hermione, you've gotten yourself into such a large mess," she mumbled.