Take you like a drug

Taste you on my tongue

You ask me what I'm thinking about

I tell you that I'm thinking about

Whatever you're thinking about

Tell me something that I'll forget

And you might have to tell me again

It's crazy what you do for a friend

DADDY ISSUES / THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

^ok this gif is virtually how i see these two in my head lmao

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this chappie is dedicated to all the readers out there... yes YOU. thank you so much you're AMAZING

it means so much to me you all bother to comment and vote like i notice all of this, and it makes me happier than Hagrid with a dragon egg (and we all know how happy Hagrid is with any sort of fire breathing/dangerous beast) :P

Enjoy!

SnowDiamante

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HERMIONE'S P.O.V

I gripped Dumbledore's arm very hard as everything turned black, the suffocating sensation of apparition threatening my lungs almost past the point of endurance. Suddenly, everything stopped.

"We are here." Dumbledore said quietly.

Where were we? I gasped. We were in the very same room where Harry and Ron and I came to escape the Death Eaters. A familiar portrait was hanging to our right, a picture of pretty blond haired girl walking down a winding path.

Ariana Dumbledore

I noticed that I wasn't the only one whose eyes gravitated instantly towards the picture, Dumbledore too looked at it and didn't tear his eyes away until a voice broke our reverie.

"Albus,"

A tall skinny man with a long auburn beard emerged from the shadows, the closer he came towards us the more pronounced the look of annoyance on his face became, especially when he saw us fixated on the portrait of Ariana.

"What do you think you're doing Albus, apparating into the Hogs Head with a student? And at this time of the afternoon..." He looked extremely annoyed for such a minor inconvenience.

Dumbledore turned and looked at his brother wearily but said nothing.

"Tom Riddle appeared to be trying to kill me." I snapped. "Your brother helped save my life. I glared at Aberforth, at every frown line etched in his aged face. How could one man be so embittered?

"Riddle?" Aberforth said dismissively. "Nonsense. That boy is harmless. Wouldn't harm a fly."

"Harmless? Wouldn't harm a fly?" My voice raised an octave. I knew Aberforth was a difficult person but this was going too far.

"Riddle appears to most in that way," Dumbledore stepped in, "But there are a select few that have witnessed his real identity."

"Which is what ?" Aberforth shot his brother a sharp look. "A monster? A power hungry egotistical fool who hangs out with the other rebel kids to make himself feel better than the rest?"

There was a painful silence, Aberforth took a long, pointed look at the portrait of Ariana and made to stalk back off into the shadows, neither Dumbledore nor I made any effort to stop him. A door slammed, leaving Dumbledore and I alone.

"I appreciate you rising to my defence, Miss Granger," Said Dumbledore heavily, making his way over to the portrait. "However you must be careful of what you say. Tom Riddle has established influence over many people, and sadly my brother is one of them. Mark my words. It wouldn't do you good, particularly as a Slytherin, to appear to resist Riddle. If I were you, I would want to gather as much information on my enemy before I attempt to thwart him."

"Sure, Professor," I said, fear creeping back into the pit of my stomach. "But what's going to happen when we get back to the school? What should I do?"

"Have faith in yourself, Hermione." Dumbledore put a hand on my shoulder. "If you made a conscious choice to come back to the past to defeat him, you cannot let him intimidate you. He is aware he cannot kill anyone inside the school grounds. He is just toying with you."

"Right," I swallowed. Tom was unpredictable, what if he suddenly switched up on me?

And Myrtle. He killed Moaning Myrtle didn't he? Well, kind of.

I gave a fake smile.

"That's the spirit," Dumbledore encouraged. "Don't get me wrong. He is dangerous. But at the same time, his magical abilities are woefully limited, and a hateful heart never made a great wizard."

"But he is a great wizard," I said, my voice rising again. "I haven't been here for long and he's... unlike anything or anyone I've ever experienced."

"The concept of greatness is a tricky one," Dumbledore mused. "Whatever Riddle is achieving, or will achieve, I am afraid will always fall short of greatness. Don't mistake the word with power."

I looked at Dumbledore, suddenly feeling a lot better.

"Professor, why did you bring me to the Hogs Head?" But even as I asked I realised it myself.

"Why? Because students are not permitted to be outside of school grounds at this time, and what I am discussing with you is for your ears alone. Now we should head back to the school. I have a class in about 15 minutes."

I followed Dumbledore down the creaking steps and outside, and despite his words, i felt the fear clench around my heart again.

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Tom's P.O.V

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Potions with Hufflepuff... Are you serious?

I tucked the time table away setting off towards the classroom. I was early, but I didn't exactly have anything better to do.

"Tom," Someone was calling me, I turned to see Zero Zabini, a fellow Slytherin. "Are you going to Potions? Me and a couple of others were going to skip classes and get stoned in the Shrieking Shack."

I stared at him distastefully. "I think I would rather go to class." I stalked off and around a corner. Shalini, Jade, and all the others would most likely be there, another reason to not go. Beside, I wasn't like the other losers. I actually had an image to maintain at this school.

I took several winding staircases quickly, going over the best strategy to evade getting in trouble with that know it all Hermione. I supposed I could just deny ever having cursed the door to that unsettling room. She didn't see me, so how the hell could I get expelled?

I smirked to myself, faintly aware that the action had caused a whole group of girls to burst into hysterical laughter in the corridor ahead of me.

"Gracie, look it's Tom Riddle! He actually looked at me! Did you see that? He's so hot..."

Scowling, I turned left, taking the long way up to class. I guess I should be used to this sort of attention, after all a lot of girls in this school were "head over heels in lust" with me, according to what Shalini had said when we were together. Well, not all of them... She seemed to be the only girl other than Jade in the entire school not melting at the sight of me. If anything, the sight of me horrified her.

I made it to the designated corridor with 10 mins to spare. With no one to bother me I fugured I might as well cram study in before class. Not that I was behind, but to stay well ahead of the rest.

I pulled out my copy of Advanced Potion Making. Now that I had money at Gringotts I didn't have to use tattered hand me down books and supplies anymore. The book before me I purchased myself from Flourish and Blotts along with brand new copies of all of my other school books.

Alike all of my other books it was completely marked with black ink, my writing all through. This one however I had to alter more than the rest, it was just a rather poorly written book. Whoever the hell the author Libiatus Borage was, he was obviously a goddamn imbecile. I had practically graffittied the entire book with my own corrections according to alternate methods of potion making procedure. I had quite a bit of time to experiment with my discoveries, not only had I trialed on myself but others at the Orphanage when I had the chance, modifying memories so there would be no chance of the Ministry of Magic catching me out.

It was stupid to study, I realised. I basically knew the entire circiculum anyway. As much as Hogwarts was my home, if it kept giving me such stupid reading material I would have to drop my final schooling years, and seek academic advancement elsewhere.

I shoved the my book in my bag and started to walk down the corridor, it was only Potions with the stupid Hufflepuffs. I could hide away in the Library. I was one of the only few Madam Pince didn't mind, besides if I could create a fairly powerful disillusionment charm if I wanted to get into the Restricted Section....

"Tom." I looked up. Who the hell was it now?

"I thought I'd find you here."

It was Hermione Granger, she was standing at the other end of the empty castle corridor, small but upright and appearing fierce from even this far away.

"Thought you'd come find me, did you?" I asked, watching her as I stepped closer. "So then. Did you do it?"

"Do what, Tom?" She snapped.

"Run and tell all the teachers that I tried to hex down the door to the stupid room." I said, my lack of patience getting the better of me.

She walked toward me. She wasn't actually nearly as ugly as Shalini had been saying. I mean her bushy hair was pretty out of control but I guess it suited her. She came closer, until I could see the flecks of gold in her chocolate coloured eyes.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." She said expressionlessly. "I was with Dumbledore the entire break."

"Don't play stupid." I growled. Her eyes widened fearfully. I could be intimidating when I wanted to be.

"I think that whatever you and Dumbledore are up to needs to stop." I took a single stray curl and tucked it behind her ear, "before something bad happens to that pretty face of yours."

I reached out to touch her face but was interrupted by a booming voice.

"Riddle!" Professor Slughorn waddled out of the classroom, approaching the two of us. What the hell? Had classes began already?

Hermione pushed past me and ran off into the classroom.

"Tom, my boy, as pretty as your latest love interest is, I am sure you do not want to miss this lesson."

"Sorry, Professor." My eyebrow shot up. "What are we learning about today?" I said with a convincing attempt at academic curiousity.

"We are making love potions!" He slammed me on the back as we walked inside. "Something for you to think about." I went inside and took a seat right out the back, it was only when I sat down I saw Hermione was directly beside me. Damn it.

I shot her a look out of the corner of my eye, deliberately ignoring the way the rest of the class was staring at us. She didn't look the slightest bit pleased I was sitting beside her, but every other seat in the class was full either taken by a Slytherin or a Hufflepuff. How the hell could there be no empty seats at all? Weren't most of my Slytherins out in the Shrieking Shack?

Slughorn started prattling on about the class but I was barely listening. It was strange however. Hermione genuinely seemed interested, observing the instructions Slughorn had written on the black board, muttering to herself feverishly about a certain half blood prince which I had absolutely no idea about. I began following the instructions out of my book. I had only made a love potion once out of sheer curiousity for how it even worked. Silently, I worked alongside her, managing to finish exactly the same time as her, 5 minutes before the time was up.

Slughorn saw the pair of us out the back of the classroom appearing exhausted by our labours at our cauldrons, and came over. It was fairly simple, the procedure of the potion, I had no trouble whatsoever creating it. I was more shocked Hermione was the same, by the looks of things she had mastered it just as I had.

"Oho, would you look at this! The two lovebirds Riddle and Granger have managed to concuct 2 perfect draughts of Amortentia! Outstanding work, the pair of you. 20 points to Slytherin House!"

The Slytherins clapped, some over friendly Hufflepuffs chimed in too with several murmurs of congratulations. Slughorn was so pleased he was basically jumping from foot to foot. And then it all changed almost as suddenly as it came.

"Get out of my way." Someone pushed Slughorn out of the way, causing him to overbalance and crash into the desk. Someone with pale skin and very long black hair.

"Hermione, you whore!" Shalini yelled. She shoved her way toward the back, glaring Hermione down. I stood, the last thing I really needed right now was for my ex girlfriend to go all wild again.

"H-huh?" Hermione said, evidentally caught by surprise. "What did I do?"

"You stole my boyfriend. You ruined everything." She sobbed.

"Shalini calm down," I said quietly. This entire time I didn't even notice she was in the class eavesdropping on me and Hermione. "I get that you're upset. But quit making a scene."

"No!" She yelled. "This whore basically stole you from me, it's about time she gets what she deserves!" She pointed her wand at the Amortentia in front of Hermione, and before anyone could do anything it exploded into her face.

"What- what in Merlin's name is going on?" Slughorn thundered, bursting out from around a row of desks. Hermione had fallen to the ground in the chaos, lying on the ground like a fallen angel, the gold looking love potion dripping through her hair and down her face. Her eyes were closed.

"Professor, send for some help, she's unconscious." I ordered.

Bewildered, Slughorn trotted out the door.

"Hermione." I got down on my knees, shaking her. "Hermione, can you hear me?"

I siphoned off most of the love potion from her face with my wand, and helped her to her feet.

"Tom..." She said slowly. "You're Tom.... Riddle?"

I frowned. "Obviously. How hard did you hit your head?"

I looked at her closely. The chocolate coloured eyes were dancing with feverish energy, her cheeks were burning red.

"We're going to get married one day, I know it." She declared. She stood, and fell against me, actually wrapping her arms around my neck adoringly.

"Really? How about Madam Pomfrey first." I said lowly, unwinding her arms from around me. The whole class seemed to be finding this highly amusing, giggling and gossiping amongst themselves, I suddenly felt angry.

I took Hermione by the hand. "Where are you taking me?" She giggled.

"We're going on a little walk." I said vaguely. "I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

"A walk?" Hermione asked, her lips parting a little. "Like a romantic stroll?"

I started dragging her down the castle corridor, trying not to think about how fast the entire school was going to hear about this.

"Yes, like a romantic stroll." I snapped.