Time Has No Boundaries

Hermione, not referring to the books, but rather, to the Chamber, said, "That's only if you know for certain they don't know, and nothing is for certain."

Tom's eyes narrowed as he pondered what she meant by that odd statement. It wasn't the statement itself really, it was the way she said it, her eyes, her whole demeanor. But not even for a second did it occur to him that she knew everything of what he was going to do, for in fact, he didn't even know himself. The Chamber was only a fascination, a place full of power and glory that he kept hidden deep within his subconscious mind... for now.

Their eyes locked on one another's, and neither of them spoke for what seemed like hours to both of them. Tom didn't want to stop looking at her. She wasn't the prettiest girl he had seen, but she had a subtle, natural beauty about her. But it wasn't her appearance that made Tom feel so attracted to her. It was the intrigue, the mystery of her, and most importantly, the power he sensed when he was around her.

Why he had such an affect on this girl who had mysteriously arrived during his fifth year, Tom had no clue. Ever since he had first introduced himself, he had noticed how her whole being changed when he was near her. It was like he carried some hell bound aura that only she could sense, but she was trying her best to stand up to it and fight it. He had pretended to feel perturbed by it, but secretly it had created a new high for him, a high that he desperately needed to feel, over and over again.

Tom had considered it before, but now he was positive... she would be the one.

"Tom? Oh, Hermione, there you are." It was Renee. Hermione felt relieved when she could finally break Tom's hypnotic stare.

She continued, saying, "I was just making sure that you had found the library okay. How did you know where it was?"

"Well, erm-" Hermione tried to think up something fast, but nothing was coming to her brain. At that moment, Tom glanced at his watch.

Tom touched her shoulder with the most gentle touch as he said, "I have to go meet the other blokes to discuss our Quidditch strategy for this year."

"I didn't know you played Quidditch," she said, scanning her brain for everything that she knew about Voldemort's history.

"Well yes, quite grandly, as a matter of fact."

Renee punched him in the shoulder as she teasingly said, "You're so full of yourself!"

"I think I have the right to be, seeing that I'm the damn best Seeker Slytherin has ever seen!" he said a little too loudly for a library.

Renee rolled her eyes.

"I better go before I'm late. Bye, Renee." He leaned over Hermione and brushed the hair away from her face.

"Bye, Hermione. Don't forget about our plans," he whispered in hear ear before he left, once again causing her to shiver compulsively.

***

Hermione stayed at the library with Renee for a bit to help her catch up on her homework.

"Why did you wait so long before you decided to do it?" Hermione asked.

Ron wasn't even this bad!

"I don't know. I just loathe homework so much, especially Charms. You sure are quite the good student, aren't you?" she said as Hermione was proofreading her essay.

"Well, I wouldn't say that..." she replied, trying to sound modest, even if it was true.

"Don't lie. Tom sure is going to have some competition, that Mr. Perfect."

"He's not perfect," Hermione quickly said.

He's about as far away as you could get from perfect, besides the good looks.

Renee suddenly shut her book and threw down her quill in frustration.

"That's it. I'm giving up. I'm going to go outside and find Pearl. Want to come?"

"No thanks. I'm a bit worn out. I think I'll head up to the dorm and relax."

Hermione said goodbye to Renee as she walked out of the library. She arrived at the statue of the centaurs and reached inside the pocket of her robes where her wand was located. As she pulled her wand out, ready to recite the spell to open the door to the common room, she realized that she was missing something. Her eyes widened as a horrible panic came over her.

No! I couldn't have possibly lost it! No, God, please no!

She frantically searched her robes for her book, but it was nowhere to be found. Tears started to form at her eyes. She was about to run back to the library to see if anyone had found it, but before she could turn around, she felt a sharp blow to the back of her head which was so forceful that it made her drop to her knees.

Hermione screamed in pain, touching the back of her head. That only made the wound hurt worse, and she removed her hand, seeing it covered in blood. She was then struck a second time. She tried desperately to get a glimpse of the attacker behind her, but she was rapidly getting dizzy and weak. Suddenly, everything went black.