Hermione P.O.V

After the curse broke Tom seemed to want to be alone. I think that what I told him must've deeply affected him or perhaps something else. But there was something playing on my mind. I didn't tell Tom, and I didn't even want to think about it myself.

He kissed me. I don't think he knew that I could remember it, but it was the first thing I realised when I came to my senses before the power of the spell overthrew everything. I could still feel the electric rush coursing through me, of the power of the spell and his proximity. His scent. The feel of his lips on mine. I was grateful that he had decided to give me some space, I needed to process everything that had happened. After all I couldn't even remember for how long I had been cursed for. Like a massive chunk had been taken out of my mind. Tom said it had been a week, but I didn't know what to believe. It was hard to think especially after my mind was restored and I ended up having a massive headache for about 3 days. At least I could go back to my dorm and stop sleeping in his bed.

For some reason this felt like a privilege more than a basic human right. Shalini and Jade were keeping an amicable friendliness to their words, obviously things weren't going to suddenly snap back to normality in a heartbeat. It was going to take time. There had been a lot of unresolved issues between us, especially since the last time I really spoke to Shalini she had been trying to stop me leaving Tom's secret basement room. It would take time for me to forgive her. At least everything else would hopefully be getting better now. Tom had agreed to stop harassing me. I didn't know how much truth lay in his words. After all, he was a psychopath. This could just be another one of his tricks, and I couldn't afford to trust him just yet.

"Hermione." I looked up from my book. Shalini, Jade and I were in our dorm all relaxing on our beds, Shalini was looking at me expectantly.

"What." I didn't have time for that backstabbing bitch. And I definitely didn't want to hear what she had to say, either.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

I stared at her for a moment. Was she serious? After everything, she now decided to apologise?

"Sorry for being a slack friend." She said lamely.

I didn't say anything. I didn't want to anyway. Instead I got to my feet and began to leave the dorm. My head still hurt from the reversal of the curse and it was making a lot of things difficult and this was the last conversation I wanted to be having.

I made my way out of the room, following the staircase down to the Slytherin Common Room. I thought I was alone until someone spoke from behind me.

"I was looking for you." Tom Riddle said. I spun on my heel, my heart suddenly beating sporadically.

"I was just in my dorm." I told him. Tom was hot enough to be dazzling to women. Fuck it, men too. It was hard to remember Ron whenever Tom was staring at me so intensely and it made me feel like shit. What type of girlfriend was I?

"Well?" Tom broke me out of my reverie.

"What?"

"I asked you if you would like to go to the Ball with me tomorrow night." He raised his eyebrows. God, he probably thought I was some idiot.

"I- I didn't realise there was going to be a ball."

"Its a rather common event at this School." Tom smirked. "And I can't just ask any girl. I'm one of the most popular guys at this stupid school, and I thought I might ask you if you wanted to go with me."

He grinned down at me, with that trademark arrogant look. He probably thought I was going to say yes, the bastard.

"I'm sorry," I heard myself saying as if from a distance, "but I can't go with you."

That wiped the smirk off his face. "Why not?" He said. "I figured this would be an opportune time to make things up to you."

"Well as lovely as that is I've already asked someone." I lied to his face. "I'm sorry." I walked away from him, not stopping until I had left the Slytherin Common Room, finally coming to stop at the edge of the hall.

I felt a pang of guilt. Tom liked me. That much was starting to become obvious. I didn't know how someone who didn't have the ability to love could possibly have feelings for me, though. Nothing was making sense once again.

"Hermione!" I looked up to see a familiar face. It was that Ravenclaw girl Isabella Rey. I had barely spoken to her over the past few weeks. I guess I had been held up with other things, like being a mind controlled slave to Tom Riddle.

"I haven't seen you in ages!" She came up to me, beaming. "It's been crazy. I've been studying so much, my social life has basically gone down the drain."

"Same," I lied. Well, it wasn't a complete lie. I didn't have a social life since I came to the past, and for some very mysterious reason I didn't think that was going to change anytime soon.

"Have you got a date to the ball?" She asked. "No wait don't tell me! I bet loads of guys would've asked you."

"I don't have a date yet."

"Neither do I." Isabella said, becoming crestfallen. "I thought I would be going with Daniel but then he had a family emergency and had to go home."

Daniel Dolohov was a Slytherin, possibly one of the nicer Slytherins I had met in the entire House. Sometimes I wondered how someone like him could actually be a Slytherin at all. He seemed more like a Gryffindor.

"I guess that's the both of us going alone, then." She said. "This other guy asked me but he's pretty innocent and I would feel bad if I said yes. Like what if I corrupt him or something."

"Isabella," I said seriously. "Would you like to be my date to the ball?"