Tom's sharp eyes were unnerving as they pierced right into me, his mind racing ahead by miles analytically dismembering my identity. I was a fool having been stupid enough to become nothing less than an object for him to methodically pull to pieces. He was nothing more than a dog with a juicy bone who was eager to finally dig in. Of course, he wanted this all along.

"Relinquish your grip on yourself." Tom had told me with nothing more than a careless wave of his hand. "Leave yourself behind and do something new. Something different."

But sitting alone in bed that night I felt as exposed as a nerve, my emotions, mind, heart- everything was on offer. And the worst part was that I never had consented to the offering, nor did I want to deal with the hefty cost of what Tom was asking of me.

How much of my identity was going to be left after he was done with me? I had to fool him, somehow. I had to play the game better than he was. It was the only way I wouldn't come off second best and lose my identity in the process. I had to deceive him into believing I was different without transitioning into a whole different person which of course was a lot easier said than done.

I realised I had to find some sort of firm ground to stand on. I had to become acquainted with who I was. That was the only way I could actually hold myself together.

So I started sifting through the memories in my mind like it was a Pensieve, only stopping once I was less discombobulated within myself. I didn't want to stop, but found myself yanked roughly out of my thoughts by a sharp knock at my bedroom door.

Knock knock.

Paralysing fear gripped me. I had just pulled myself together enough to splutter the words "Come in!" But the door opened regardless and suddenly Tom Riddle was standing in my doorway. I was speechless, frozen stiff in terror, but he on the other hand almost looked bored. Only his dark eyes shining beneath the dim lighting of my room seemed to tell a different story.

"You're in bed already?" He asked, making a rather unnecessary show pulling a watch out of his cloak pocket.

"It's 11pm." I said heatedly. "We have a little thing called classes tomorrow that I wanted to get some rest for."

"The key word there," Tom said, walking into my room and sitting on the edge of my bed, "Is tomorrow." He seemed lighthearted enough but we both knew he wasn't here for small talk.

"What are you here for?"

"I would've thought it was obvious. I must've been mistaken."

"I thought you wanted me to sleep more." I wasn't going to forget the hard time he gave me my sleeping habits any time soon. Hell no.

"I did." He said. "But that was before. This is now."

An uncomfortable silence followed his words. I was surprised Tom couldn't feel the fear emanating from me in waves. He was here because he wanted something.

The silence was deafening somehow, ringing with the violence of a stadium roar, only finally ended by my own voice torn from me like a plea.

"Just cut to the chase and tell me what you're here for, Tom."

It was as if those were the words Tom was waiting for. He shifted, his lean body facing me.

"I have something to give you." He said after a pause. "A gift."

He put his hand within his cloak drawing out a leather bound book, holding it out to me with a single pale hand.

I hesitated. Tom Riddle giving people gifts was as rare as the Tooth Fairy giving children back their teeth.

"Just think," Tom said, "Of all the much wanted rest you're missing out by sitting there stupidly staring at the book instead of taking it."

I took the book from him, just to make him shut up more than anything else.

"What else are you here for?" I demanded. Tom's face was giving nothing away, much to my frustration.

"Nothing that I won't be getting soon." He said ominously, standing up and making his way over to my door. "Sweet dreams."

As soon as Tom left the room I took a hold of the book, giving it a great deal more attention than I had before. This was the first time Tom had given anything to me that wasn't pain and misery. It was the first time in fact he had actually given a gift to me, and I was eager to find out what the book revealed. At first I thought it was his diary. It looked the same. It even felt the same. Until I opened it.

Pages of his familiar cursive writing filled the book. My eyes roved over every line, afraid to miss one word, reading until one thing became very apparent.

It was a book Tom had written in mainly in regards to the Dark Arts, and in particular how to master curses, making fatal potions and other horrific things I didn't want to think about let alone read.

Disappointed, I placed the book on my nightstand and fell into a deep and unsettling sleep in which Tom was chasing me through the halls of the school repeatedly calling my name.

"Just let me know any day that you'd like to wake up, Hermione." A cold voice said.

I blinked my eyes several times, horrified to see a very real version of Tom Riddle glaring down at me. I yanked my blankets up to my neck reflexively, very conscious of my pyjama top barely covering my chest.

"What happened to knocking?" I yelped.

"What happened to waking up before lunch time?" Tom said in a harsh tone. "Get up. We have a free period, and I have something I want you to see."

I clambered out of bed, holding my entire blanket to my chest like a protective enchantment. Tom watched me pull half my bed covers off my bed with a look of utmost contempt.

"I really don't think that's necessary." He said, and before I could so much as scream bloody murder he had stepped toward me and yanked the blanket from me so hard I almost toppled over.

"What the hell!" I exclaimed, crossing my arms over my chest protectively.

I tried to not look at Tom but it was hard to ignore that devilish glint in his black eyes as he stared at me.

"What are you staring at?" I spluttered.

"You." He said in a rough voice, he turned away from me and walked to my door. "If you're not ready within 5 minutes I will come and get you. Willingly or forcefully... I leave that entirely up to you."

I dressed at the speed of light, finally throwing my cloak over my shoulders and more or less falling out of my doorway just as Tom reappeared.

"Follow me." He started walking down the hall leaving me to hurry along after him. I had no idea where we were going, not that Tom was going to tell me.

We walked until we reached the Great Hall. For one crazy moment I thought Tom was intending me to sit with him and have lunch but he gripped my arm steering me away from the tables of chatting students and out through the front door. I felt my heart sink. Wherever we were going would be away from everyone else.

"It would be a shame to waste such a beautiful day indoors, wouldn't it?" Tom turned to me with a very uncharacteristic smile.

"I guess?" I wasn't going to lie. It was beyond normal for Tom to comment about the weather let alone mention how it was "beautiful."

"Let me show you something." Tom said, leading me down to the Great Lake. He was so tall I had difficulty keeping pace but it didn't take us long to reach the waters edge.

I fell against the soft grass, eager to finally rest. But Tom walked until he reached the Great Lake, ducking down on one knee and speaking to the water. I sat up, looking at him with a frown. What the hell was he doing?

I watched him as he spoke, nearly having a heart attack as the surface of the water broke and a scaly looking creature with long straggly hair emerged.

"Merlin!" I yelped, leaping to my feet. "The hell is that?" I burst, forgetting what exactly lived in the Lake.

Tom held up a hand to me. "Be quiet. You don't want to scare her."

He continued to speak softly, and realization dawned on me. He was speaking Mermish.

The Merperson obviously seemed to be enjoying Tom's attention, showing off many multicoloured fins. I watched, starting to get pissed off. I was actually out here getting jealous because of a Mermaid. Wow.

I rolled my eyes. Tom stood after a moment, turning to me with a half smile.

"When the hell did you learn to speak Mermish?" I demanded.

"I borrowed a book from the library two years ago. I didn't see the point in just observing the species without having some way to communicate with it."

"Right. Fair enough..."

I was mentally kicking myself for not knowing Mermish like he did.

"They're fascinating." He said, his voice

mildly intrigued. "They're technically related to the Sub-species Sirens, Selkies and Merrow. When I'm bored I often come down and speak to them. And oftentimes they bring me gifts from the bottom of the Lake in return."

He stepped closer to me, the sunlight catching his dark eyes momentarily, and held out something small to me. It was something golden hanging off a chain.

A necklace.

I took it from Tom with one hesitant hand. I had to admit the day was progressively getting stranger.

I looked at it. It was a gorgeous necklace , a black serpent curled over a pink pearl.

"This was sitting on the floor of the Lake?" I said in disbelief.

"No, the Merperson went to the Jewelers for me." Tom said sarcastically.

I raised an eyebrow. Rude Tom was back, apparently. I fumbled with the catch on the necklace, Tom reaching for it and taking it from me.

"Here." I moved my braid out of the way as he put the necklace around my neck.

"It suits you." He stepped back and admired it. I watched him, trying not to feel flustered under his intense look.

"What does this mean?" I said. Tom dragged a hand through his hair, looking down at the ground and biting his lip. Unconsciously, I bit mine.

"What does it mean?" He said finally, staring up at me unabashedly. "It means that if you actually read that book I gave you, there would've been things you could've said to the Merperson. But you didn't. In the next few days I'm going to be teaching you about many things. The least you can do Hermione is prepare yourself."

He turned and walked back to the School grounds, leaving me standing there both confused and... disappointed? Sighing, I ran after him.