I spun around to see Tom's tall figure standing over me, rage contorting his handsome features into something demonic.

"You tried to run away from me again?" He said, barely controlling his rage. His eyes roved over me, I was a complete mess. He looked at my leg and his eyes widened.

"What the fuck have you done to yourself?" He knelt, snatching up my leg in his ice cold grip and with all the professionalism of a rookie doctor tore my cloak aside.

He whistled through his teeth. "Do you have a death wish?" He snarled. "Your leg looks about ready to fall off."

"That's a bit of an exaggeration, don't you think?" I objected. But looking down at my blotchy leg, now sporting a sickly shade of purple, I realised Tom wasn't far from the truth.

As if realizing it too, Tom stood up, grabbing me unexpectedly by the upper arm. "I guess what you wanted worked." He said coldly, hauling me to the door of the Hospital Wing. "That is, if you nurture some kind of pathetic desire to remain a crippled patient for your remaining years at School."

He knocked sharply at the door, his iron clad grip almost lifting me off the ground.

"What in Merlins name..." Madam Pomfrey opened the door to see Tom first, and then me, half on the ground half in the air.

"Hermione needs urgent medical attention." Tom said to her, releasing his grip so that I came down to my feet painfully. "Her leg wound has reopened, somehow. I think it was self inflicted."

"It was not!" I said in outrage.

Trust Tom to only talk in a torrent of damn lies, right?

"Come in, then." Madam Pomfrey opened the door revealing the dimly lit Hospital . "How long have you been walking on it, Hermione?" Madam Pomfrey said sharply. She conjured a tourniquet out of thin air and bent, fastening it just above my knee.

"For a few hours now." I said quietly.

"A few hours." Tom repeated. "Hermione for fuck sake."

"Language, Mr Riddle!" Madam Pomfrey snapped. "This is not the Slytherin Common Room!"

"No shit." Tom muttered.

"I'm going to get a wheelchair for you, Miss Granger." Madam Pomfrey raised her voice an octave, "We need to get you to a bed without you using your leg and causing further spreading of the poison through your body."

"That's hardly necessary." Tom said. The next thing I knew one of his arms was beneath my knees, the other supporting my back. "I can carry her."

"That... works too." Madam Pomfrey said hesitantly, beginning to walk off.

"Does it, though?" I gritted my teeth.

"Yes." Tom said lowly, kicking open the other door with his foot. "It does."

"This bed down here." Madam Pomfrey called from the far end of the room.

Tom walked me down to the bed, taking care to walk slightly slower as if hoping to increase my discomfort. It worked. Finally, he walked into the small room and laid me on the bed, Madam Pomfrey instantly shooing Tom off like some irksome fly.

"Out the way Mr Riddle! You're so tall you take up the entire room."

I started to laugh and then stopped immediately as a searing pain flashed through my leg. Madam Pomfrey was cleaning the wound with a large bottle of what looked like muggle Methylated Spirits. I sucked in a deep breath, my vision beginning to splinter. It hurt less to just have my leg open and bleeding, this was agonizing.

"You're turning pale." Tom remarked. "Is the pain too much for you?"

"Shut up." I moaned. "I'm going to be sick."

"Tom, out!" Madam Pomfrey barked. "Now!"

At least one person in this School saw Tom for the irritating menace he was. I forced my eyes open to watch him leave, finally closing them after I was certain he was gone.

"How long will she be in for?" I opened my eyes again. Tom hadn't left. Standing by the door like an angel of death, he was talking to Madam Pomfrey who was speaking to him in a tone too low for me to hear.

I closed my eyes again, involuntarily. Now that I was lying down I felt weaker than usual. Maybe Tom was right. I really was just throwing myself into danger like I was trying to kill myself. What the hell was wrong with me? I had no idea.

---------------------------------------

I woke up the next day feeling more agitated than ever. The pain of the Cruciatus Curse had finally died off. I wasn't coughing up blood anymore. That didnt necessarily mean there was nothing wrong with me, I was trying to be as cautious with myself as possible but it was proving highly difficult. I was in the Hospital Wing after falling over that stupid tree root outside and cutting my leg again. Madam Pomfrey wasn't pleased. I was "careless" and "didn't have any respect for the School or its costly medicinal resources."

None of these people seemed to realise the torment of being Tom's obsession. At least Corbin could sympathize with me how much of a lunatic Tom Riddle could be, when he really applied his mind to it. I was dreading this particular visit to the Hospital Wing, especially considering Madam Pomfrey had lifted the ban off Tom after seeing how "helpful" he was to me before.

Now that Tom could visit me I knew I wasn't going to be seeing Corbin anytime soon. I enjoyed the easiness and the general charismatic appeal of Corbin. He never insulted me like Tom did, and he even wanted to be my friend even without knowing me and realizing yet that we had actually met before. I wondered who had actually cast the memory charm on him. I wanted to reverse it. It was weak enough that he remembered a bit about me, how I always came top of the class. And if that wasn't an option the very least I could do was tell a teacher what Tom had done. I considered Slughorn.

Would he believe me? I was deep in my thoughts, twisting and turning with the discomfort of my leg when suddenly someone was at the door. I frowned. I couldn't believe it. It was... Claudia.

She poked her head into the room like she was having second thoughts on what she was doing.

"Hermione." She said.

"Yes...?" I gave her a look. I mean, I couldn't leave this bed let alone this room and she decides to swing by for a visit? Something wasn't adding up. I frowned at her, eying her straightened blonde hair, and pretty doll face.

No wonder Tom liked her I thought bitterly. I had never been ridiculously attractive myself. I firmly believed that every woman was beautiful, but then you had assholes like Tom who would weed out the prettiest to screw and throw away.

"I... Well... What happened to your leg?" She asked, looking behind her and then coming into the room.

"No idea, really. I was barely conscious when it happened. I tripped over." I couldn't say too much because at this point if she was a friend or interest of Tom's there was a strong possibility she was an enemy of mine and just blurting these things could get me in shit. Even if she did try to help me out about the Merpeople in the Great Lake. She could've just been trying to weasel her way into my good books, but I was no fool and wasn't going to let her slip beneath the radar. I guess I had trust issues. And it was Tom's damn fault.

"I wanted to talk to you. About Tom." She sat down on my bed, my leg gave a sort of involuntary spasm.

"Can you not sit there?" I snapped. She stood up as though burned.

"Sorry." She twisted her hands awkwardly.

"What have you come for exactly?" I demanded, none too kindly either. I just wanted to sleep and here was some girl Tom had screwed trying to bond with me.

She stepped out of the room, looking up the hall as if watching out for someone.

I frowned as she came back.

"You're in danger, Hermione." She said in a rush.

"Well, no shit." I said, goaded past endurance.

"No, this is different." She said quickly. "Tom wants to kill you."

"That's really no news to me." I said grimly. "I figured that from the first moment I set foot in this School."

I pulled the sheets off the bed, massaging my leg. It was so damn sore, the poison from the blade of the Merpersons weapon was causing a strange reaction in my blood and it was agonizing.

"You're not listening!" Claudia snapped. "Tom has a plan to kill you. He told me. He said you're messing with Time, and he wants to kill you before you can attempt anything else."

I froze, hands freezing in place on my leg. "When did he tell you this?"

Claudia paused. "This morning." She said quietly. "I have to make this quick. If he catches me here I'm going to die."

"Tom, what did I say about swearing?" Madam Pomfrey said loudly from a distance.

I froze, Claudia paled.

"Hide!" I hissed.

I watched as Claudia tried to hide herself under my bed.

"Aren't people in your House supposed to be smart?" I snapped. "The damn closet!" I pointed to the single person closet on my left, and Claudia threw herself inside just in time.

Within the space of a single heartbeat Tom was standing at the door, a confused look on his face.

"Why did I hear voices?" He walked into the room, his tall figure towering over me in the small single bed.

"I was talking to myself." I said quickly. "We have a Charms exam coming up, and I was reciting the answers to the questions. You know, since there's nothing to do here I figured I might as well."

"Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness." Tom smirked.

"Oh yes, it really is." I agreed enthusiastically.

Tom raised his eyebrow. "Are you drugged?" He demanded.

"No. I mean, yeah. A bit. Hey Tom, would you be able to get something for me?"

Tom stared at me flatly. "What?" He said coldly. "What on Earth do you require that needs me to get it for you? A sense of self? A moral compass? Oh wait," He looked around as if the idea was just hanging in the air. "You want me to get Corbin to come and rescue you."

"No." I said, although the idea of Corbin saving me from Tom certainly held a lot of appeal. "I need you to bring me..."

I thought really quickly. A cloak? No. That was stupid. I already had one stuffed into my beaded bag with the extension charm.

"I need you to bring me that book you wanted me to read. You know, the one you gave me as a gift before."

The one filled with horrific evil shit I felt like adding.

Tom looked at me, his confusion morphing into a look of pleasure.

"I realised I really should read it." I said convincingly. "Since you went to all the trouble to give it to me. I felt bad that I've left it in my room..." I paused, allowing for a moment of believable hesitation as if I was seriously regretting my decision but had fallen hopelessly for Tom hook, line and sinker. "So can you please go and get it for me?"

"I suppose I could." He said, after a moment of intense silence. "What brought about this sudden change of heart?" Tom asked, his eyes narrowing.

"I've had a lot of time to think about what you've been trying to teach me." I said, looking at him directly. "And I came to realise you're right. I need to allow myself to be taught by you."

Tom looked down at his hand, not looking me in the eyes. "I see you've finally come to your senses, Hermione. Even though you're obviously drugged."

"I guess." I gave an awkward shrug as if I'd just made the worst decision in my life and was about to really regret it.

"I will bring it to you now." He walked over to me, reaching out a pale hand and tucking a stray curl behind my ear.

"You have finally pleased me. It's taken a lot, but you have learnt to bite the bullet and submit. It feels good, doesn't it? To give in to me."

"Yes." I lied.

Tom smirked, and with the air of someone who had just won the House Cup, silently left the room. I waited a few moments. Then I waited a few more. You could never be too certain that Tom was gone. I heard the door of the Hospital Wing clanging shut.

"Claudia." I said quietly. "He's gone."

"Good. There is fuck all space in this closet." Claudia pushed the door open, stepping out and adjusting the neck of her robes.

"How am I going to get out of here without running into him?" She fretted. I thought for a moment. I wanted to give her Harry's invisibility cloak but then thought better of it. She could've been lying to me, and I didn't want one of my most valued items I was loaned lost in the past. I had no idea.

"Make up some excuse if you run into him. Just make it believable."

"Yeah." Claudia agreed. "I could always say I came to talk some sense into you to obey Tom and his every command."

"Or that." I said, forcing a laugh. "Now get out of here."