Hermione P.O.V

I woke up, my head pounding irregularly. My heart was sore inside my chest, like I had been stabbed with an invisible knife. The floor was cold under me. I rolled over on my side, gasping for air.

"It's ok." I knew that voice, but I didn't understand why I felt fear until I realised exactly whose cold voice it was that spoke. Not too far out of my range of vision I could see a tall black shadow somewhat blurred along the edges standing near me.

"You're safe now." Tom Riddle told me. "You're protected by my power. I won't let anyone hurt you."

Painfully I sat up, my vision slowly clearing. "What happened to me?" I asked slowly. My mouth was so dry.

"You killed Daniel Dolohov." Tom said. His voice was anything but displeased. In fact he sounded just shy off thrilled. "You have followed what I asked you. Which you have never seemed to have been able to do..."

I jerked upright, adrenaline spiking in my veins suddenly overtaking my senses. I leapt to my feet, almost falling back to the ground in my haste.

"Hermione-." Tom reached for me, but I stumbled backwards away from him.

"Don't touch me." I snapped, breathing heavily. I looked around the room, memories crashing down on me with brutal force. I had murdered someone. I had killed Daniel. In cold blood.

I walked around the room, detached from my own mind and comprehension. Tom didn't move, but his eyes followed my every tortured step.

"You need to calm yourself down." He told me. His voice was sharp, and if I was stupid enough to believe it almost understanding.

I looked at him, his pale face emotionless but his dark eyes holding voids of unsaid words.

"I can't-"

"Yes, you can." Tom approached me and grabbed my wrists before I could throw a punch at him. "Look at me. You don't need to feel anything about what you did here. All of this is for the greater good. You're going to get nowhere if you believe this action of yours is a set back in your life."

"I... don't think I can live with myself now." I said, finally voicing my deepest fear. Killing Daniel might have been easy enough but I wasn't ready for the torment that was going to follow after that. The sleepless nights. The gloating look on Tom's face knowing he had succeeded in turning me into a monster. And how would I go back to the future with that burden on my shoulders? How could I go back to Ron, or even dare to look my mother and father in the eye?

Tom released me after a moment, leaving me standing there feeling quite alone with nothing but the depths of my troubled mind to keep me company.

"You don't think you can live with yourself because you're not thinking correctly." Tom's words were weighted, full of hidden meaning.

"You need to understand that this present darkness isn't a joke. It isn't a condition, it isn't a curse... It's a reality. It's a world. Which means that there are principles for survival and success that you must adhere to, if you want to live."

"Whatever that darkness was that I felt... Was the complete opposite of life." I automatically put my hand against my chest, as if making sure I still had a heartbeat.

"If you want to get past this, you will have to listen to me." Tom's eyes were sharp, calculating. No doubt he was reading into my expression which I'm sure was as horrified as I felt.

"What was in that Potion?"

"That's for me to know, and you to never find out."

"I'm scared to think. How am I going to exist now?" I asked him as if he was actually going to say something to help me. But to my surprise he actually did.

"I'm with you. And I will help you through this."

I turned away. I could hear Tom approaching me, only stopping once he was standing directly behind me. "Would it make things different if I told you Daniel assaulted that pretty little friend of yours?"

"What?" I spun around only to see Tom's face split into an evil grin.

"He assaulted Isabella?"

"Why do you think she agreed to be your date to the Ball the other night?" Tom questioned me. "She didn't want to be with Daniel. This entire time, I wouldn't be surprised if he was being kind to you just because he was compensating for some particularly evil actions of his."

"That's.... awful." I was dumbfounded. So I had been friends with a rapist, basically. But for some reason in my mind that didn't warrant his death. I felt awful all over again, a wave of nausea sweeping over me. I sat down on the ground heavily, holding my head in my hands.

"One day," Tom told me, "You're going to be strong enough to endure this."

"How far away is that going to be?" I couldn't hide the horror from my voice. I felt like a monster and not even Tom's careful words were going to help change the fact that I had lost my morals completely. I was a disaster, and he knew it.

I stood up. I realised at that point I had to pull myself together, I didn't want Tom to turn this moment into something for his own personal glory. I felt too weak, but I clambered to my feet anyway standing before Tom breathing like I'd just run a mile.

"How about we get some food. You haven't eaten in a very long time."

"I'm not hungry." I said automatically.

"We both know that's a lie." Tom gave me a piercing look. There was no way in hell he was going to believe me.

I let him lead me out of the hidden room. As soon as I got there I ripped my own cloak off from around my shoulders, kicking off my shoes. I lifted my shirt and pulled the entire thing off.

"What on earth are you doing?" Tom turned to me, his eyes narrowing in confusion.

"I need to have a shower." I said robotically. "I don't feel clean."

I didn't care that I was standing in front of Tom in next to nothing on. I didn't even care for the hungry gleam in Tom's eyes as he looked at me.

"Well," He said finally, "You know where the bathroom is. I'll wait for you here."

He leant back against his dresser, not revealing the slightest trace of emotion as he watched me walking out of the room.

"I think you're forgetting something." Tom handed me a fresh black cloak, and a long sleeved black top which I was certain was his. Until I saw that the size was basically identical to mine.

"It was Shalini's." Tom answered me. "Since she's not here, anymore..."

Why the hell did he have her clothes?

I took the items from him with a slightly shaking hand. "Thanks." I said tightly, turning on my heel and walking away. I reached the bathroom and closed the door behind me. I felt like an intruder in my own life. I couldn't bear to even look at myself in the mirror. My face was the last thing Daniel saw before he died. My own merciless face. It was strange how my mind could draw parallels between what I had done and what Tom would eventually do to Harry's family.

It was that very thought that made me start to cry. I twisted the taps of the bath jerkily, crying as hot steaming water exploded out of the many faucets. I honestly felt so stupid crying all the time. If only I could stop. I slipped the rest of my clothes off, sliding into the hot water gratefully. Instantly my wrist and ankle felt better. The water really soothed the pain.

I was happy that no one could hear me cry. The last thing I really needed was for Tom to know how deeply he had shattered my identity. I was a ghost within myself, ironically something like a Horcrux almost entirely broken down.

I slipped beneath the water, feeling my hair belling out around me. It was hard to think when I was entirely submerged. It was like the water stopped me from thinking a thousand miles ahead of myself.

When I finally got out of the bath, I dried myself with a towel, being quite careful with myself since I was still recovering from my broken ankle and wrist. Hang on.... I tried moving my wrist and ankle. I could now freely move them. What an idiot. No wonder I could walk without having Tom help me. He must have healed me after I passed out. I got dressed, drying out my hair and putting it into a very carefully brushed back ponytail. My hair had grown longer. I put the black cloak around myself realising by the sheer size of it that it was Tom's. It smelt like him, faintly like something addictive like cologne but I knew Tom wouldn't be seen dead wearing a Muggle fragrance.

I left the bathroom walking slowly down the hall. Now I was feeling hungry. I hadn't eaten in nearly two days. Not that I had felt slightly hungry until this very moment.

"Let's get out of here." Tom came out of his room, closing the door behind him. His eyes met mine for a brief moment before he began to lead the way down the hall.

"Everyone is under the impression Daniel Dolohov has left the School. For your best interest I suggest you play along."

"Right." I sighed.

We got to the breakfast table. It was reassuring to have the chatter around me to take my mind off things. But I really wished Jade and Shalini were here. I should've felt happy that they weren't being troubled by Tom anymore. But I couldn't help but miss the two closest friends I had in this place. I even missed Shalini and her fiery attitude, which was surprising considering how much she had seriously hurt me in the past.

When we had finished eating I excused myself to go to the bathroom. Tom said he would meet me in the Slytherin Common Room.

Entering the girls bathroom brought back memories of a different time. I walked over to the mirror, turning on the faucet and splashing water on my face.

I was a mess. And I didn't know how to cope with it. I had to do something. I had to....

Go back in time and stop myself from killing Daniel.