Persephone Rising

FPS


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Hermione awoke to the sound of rustling papers and flapping material. Her window was opened wide to the cold night and a breeze was wreaking havoc with her carefully sorted columns of paper. Still half awake she reached across to pull the window shut, she'd deal with the mess in the morning. Just as she touched the frame her wrist was caught in a vice like grip. She would have screamed but for the hand that clamped down tightly over her face just as she drew breath.

“Don't scream Hermione, it won't help and anyway I don't intend to harm you.”

The softness of the voice sent shivers down her spine, she relaxed slightly and the hand removed itself from her mouth. The hold on her arm was not released forcing her to remain sitting up. Jerked so suddenly into a waking state her mind now composed it's first rational thought.

“Who are you and what are you doing here.”

The statement came out in a rather shaky whisper. By way of response the intruder reached into the depths of his cloak and pulled out a long thin wand. At least it looked like a wand, was this a wizard. The reason a strange wizard would break into her home in these dark times was not something Hermione wished to contemplate.

“Lumos.”

The tip of the stranger's wand now shone with a pale white light. For the first time she could see his face. Dark eyes set within a pale drawn face with high delicate cheekbones framed with a head of black hair. He was smiling slightly and his coal black eyes were staring intently into her own.

“So for the first time I set eyes on you Hermione. I have heard so much about you, I've wanted to meet you in person for quite some time.”

“Are you a Death Eater?”

His lips curved upwards in an amused smile. “No. I am not. I would think that if you had been with Harry Potter when he slew the Basilisk you might have recognised me.”

“I wasn't.” She snapped cagily.

“Your friend Harry knew me as Tom Riddle. It is with the aid of magic I have once more resumed my younger appearance.”

The Dark Lord , the young handsome man in front of her was the most feared dark wizard for half a century . She drew in a sharp breath and involuntarily jerked away from him. The first thing that sprang to mind was fear. He was going to kill her. What use had she been. Harry and Ron would get over it. Her parents never saw her. Cursing the day she ever got that letter she blinked back tears.

“Oh no, none of that,” murmured her captor using his free hand to delicately wipe the one stray tear off her cheek. “I don't want to hurt you at all.”

“Then what, what do you want.” She quavered.

“Have you ever felt alone Hermione, like no one could understand anything the way you can? Have you ever endured the scorn of others for getting the top grades over and over again effortlessly? Have you ever been so frustrated with the slowness and stupidity of your so called friends that you could scream with anger? Have you ever been curious just how far you could push yourself with no limits?”

His voice had become more icy and bitter with each passing sentence.He continued staring at her it was highly disconcerting. She tried very hard to look away but those eyes were strangely hypnotic and she fell into them. He became the only thing in the universe dark ebony eyes and harsh questioning words.

“Well?”

Trying hard to be the best Gryffindor she could she steadied her voice.

“No, never.”

“You're lying Hermione. Not only to me but to yourself. Just try and be yourself, completely yourself this year and see how well your classmates accept you.”

The next thing she knew she was lying in the early morning sunlight and listening to the dawn chorus. It had to be a dream , she sometimes had strange dreams when the weather was warm. She was all ready to dismiss it as a nightmare and try to have a normal day when she noticed a small roll of parchment lying on her bedside table. Scribbled on there in elegant cursive was short note.

Dear Hermione,

Hope you enjoyed our meeting as much as I did. Remember what I said. Be yourself. Tell no one of this or some of your closer friends and relatives may suddenly become indisposed. I have eyes everywhere Hermione. I hope to see you soon.

Yours,

Tom.

The friendly tone in which the threat was delivered filled her with creeping horror. She knew what Voldemort and his followers had done. She'd read about the atrocities they'd committed. It slowly began to dawn on her that the orchestrator of that entire blood soaked era had been sat in her bedroom only a few hours ago. What was more he was leaving chatty little death threats as morning mail. After some thought, she decided it was best to keep silent about this until she reached Hogwarts and Professor Dumbledore. Both for her own sake and the safety of her family.