The feeling of claustrophobia within the full body binding curse was horrific. But even worse, the undefeatable spirit within me who refused to believe that being sedated by Tom Riddle and having him acting as my personal prison guard was enough to crush me. I wasn't going to give up. Which meant of course that I had to endure all the torment I was going to face for choosing this. I couldn't stop myself, however. It was impossible. After all, I couldn't spend forever in the past constantly about to be killed by Tom. I had to form a plan to win. I had to beat the odds this time, or else I knew this psycological torment was just going to repeat itself over and over again. It was driving me insane. One moment I was winning and the next minute Tom had gotten the upper hand over my life. I had spent enough time alone in the Hospital Wing physically restrained by the drugs and the bed sheets to realise just how wrong I'd been. I needed to escape.

Beneath the hazy drug induced state I couldn't stop drifting in and out of sleep. Several times in the day Tom entered the room only to stare at me and talk words I couldn't hear. Only a few times did I manage to be coherent enough to piece together snippets of his words.

"...until you learn your lesson. Soon you will have no choice but to submit. So now is what we call the waiting game, Hermione."

I was painfully aware of an IV suddenly in my hand. I couldnt move at all but to see that needle jutting out of my hand was enough to make me feel sick. Tom was controlling the drug dosage leaving me weak and defenceless all day and subjected to his powers. When he wasn't looking I would struggle fruitlessly trying to concentrate enough to perhaps use non verbal magic. I had practised enough times I could've possibly summoned my own wand back. But whenever I started to feel the familiar tingle in the back of my mind of a spell starting to work the drugs turned my thoughts sluggish and everything was ruined once again. Several times when Tom wasn't looking or had his back turned I would thrash silently to no avail, even blinking hundreds of times in a frenzied attempt to drag myself out of the horrible hazy state myself. Of course this didn't work and on the times I was caught in the act it had only brought the hilarity to Tom who didnt miss a chance to tell me how fruitless my attempts were. The hours were painful, and dragged on. My leg seemed healed enough for me to not feel pain, and the heavy aching sensation from having fallen victim to the Cruciatus Curse were somewhat diminished by the sheer amount of sedatives in me.

Tom barely left my side. Now that I couldn't move he had started reading from his own written diary he had "gifted" me passages he had written about what the term "allegiance" meant, claiming that he was compelled to do so by the fact I apparently had no idea about its importance. Sometimes he would speak to me about letting me go free. But other times he would just play with me by saying that he was happy I was here and that this lesson was one I should take to heart.

After a while of not being responsible however Tom caught on quickly and lessened the dose of sedatives, obviously hoping I would decide to confess my wrongdoings. I didn't submit. I couldn't. I wouldn't.

I thought he was going to stay watching me for not just the day but the entire night as well but he was a Prefect and had to leave me unattended while he went back to the Slytherin Common Room to wrangle the younger students.

"If you try to escape, I will find out." He promised in a deathly tone. "I have Madam Pomfrey in my control. So of course you can try to leave all you want. But you won't get anywhere." He gave me one last haunting look with his black eyes before walking out of the room.

Finally.

Weak and tired, I closed my eyes and was slowly succumbing to yet another sleep when something started slapping my face. A hand. My eyes flew open.

"Hermione. Hermione!"

It must have been only mere minutes after Tom left when I was awoken by a strange sight.

"Hmmm?" I blinked, struggling to see for a moment. And then I sucked in a gasp. Corbin and Claudia, both wide eyed and looking shocked. Well, Corbin even more so than Claudia.

Don't just stand there! I thought angrily. Help me!

"Holy shit she's drugged." Claudia said. I wanted to slap her.

"Well, obviously." Corbin said brusquely. "But that's not the issue at this point at least. We need to get her out of here. Now. Tom is probably on his way back right this second. We have no time to waste." He stepped back, looking over me and at the IV.

"Ok." He said slowly. "This might feel a bit weird. Brace yourself, Hermione." He reached for my hand and slowly pulled the needle out. I thought the pain was going to be excruciating but then before I knew it the bloody thing was out. I tried to flex my hand, but I couldn't. Damn it!

"Claudia, grab her legs."

Corbin lifted me off the bed, Claudia hanging onto my legs. The IV machine, now standing solitary and dripping fluid onto the floor, began making this loud beeping noise.

"Claudia can you turn that off?" Corbin began to walk to the door. The lights of the room started blurring together. I blinked several times and then laughed.

Nothing made sense anymore. I might as well have been in some highly interactive nightmare.

"Are you sure she's ok?" Claudia looked worried.

"Obviously she is far from ok. Can you please turn that thing off." Corbin snapped.

"What in Merlins name are you doing?" Madam Pomfreys sharp voice sounded.

"I'm so sorry, Madam Pomfrey. But I have to do this."

Corbin moved his arm for a moment and then there was silence. I assumed, in my hazy state of mind, that he must have performed some type of wordless spell because the next thing I knew the three of us were walking down the Hospital Wing without any sort of interference at all.

"Tom is probably going to be here soon." Claudia said. I frowned at her cheerful tone. Shouldn't Tom returning be a bad thing, and not a good thing?

"Hermione, I'm going to put you down." Corbin said, obviously not catching onto Claudia's suspicious behaviour. "Try to lean against me. It will look suspicious if someone sees me carrying you when we are out of here."

"Rather bold of you to assume that you're going to get out of the door." A chilling voice said.

The lights above me were so bright they were stinging my eyes but the cold voice of Tom Riddle was enough to drag me kicking and screaming to reality.

"Get out of my way, Tom." Corbin said bravely.

Silence. Perhaps Tom was momentarily taken aback by this sudden burst of courage, too. But within a split second he seemed to have recovered.

"Put Hermione down. Now." Tom said quietly. There was another pronounced silence. And then...

"Tom, I tried to stop them!" Claudia pushed past us, the movement knocking my head hard enough to make stars burst into my line of vision. "I was just about to stop them."

"You clearly didn't try hard enough." Tom told her. I could tell he was angry by the steel in his tone. My mind was slow, but the horror of the situation was dawning on me quickly. Claudia had betrayed us to Tom.

"Baby, I'm sorry." Claudia said to Tom in a meek, simpering voice which drew rather unwanted parallels to Umbridge. "I tried!"

"I know you did." Tom said with the air of someone whose patience had long expired. "Let's not talk about this now."

"Ok, baby. Whatever you say."

"Traitor." Corbin snarled. "You said you hated Tom and wanted to help us."

Tom became silent. Above my head I could hear a ceiling fan whirring above me.

"Well, obviously." Claudia said in an awful, gloating tone of voice. "I had to. But not only that. You two imbeciles were gullible to believe everything I said. It was easy enough, believe me."

"Corbin, Corbin." Tom mused. "Did you honestly think I would be with a girl who wanted to defy me?" The question hung in the air, cold and sharp like a shard of ice. And then...

"You have in the past." Corbin said fairly. Tom was quiet, but I could feel this horrible sensation like Tom's eyes boring into me even though mine were closed.

"I only let Hermione think she was defying me." Tom said quietly. "Only fools think they can win against me. Perhaps I needed her to think she had the upper hand of the situation."

"That's so fucked up." Corbin laughed the sort of laugh one makes when they're absolutely done with everything. "No wonder she's dying to get away from you."

"Ok, that's it out of you." Claudia snarled.

Suddenly, a flash of light sparked, Corbins arms suddenly weakened losing their grip and the next thing I knew I was falling-

I was going to hit the ground.

I closed my eyes and-

"Got you."

Tom snatched me into his arms as Corbin crumpled to the ground. I stiffened immediately. Hell, this day was turning to shit.

"God, I can't stand him. He's cute and all but damn he's so annoying." Claudia said from behind me. "How do you have the patience to deal with him, Tom?"

"First of all, you might have cast a silencing charm over the patients here but be quiet. And secondly Claudia surely you know what I'm going to say. He's acting foolish and heroic because he's in love." I could hear the bitterness in Tom's voice and felt chills go down my spine.

"Love isn't always foolish." Claudia said heatedly. I could hear the note of longing in her voice and in the second I understood why I instantly felt a savage surge of pleasure. If she really loved Tom she'd be in for a Hellish ride.

"Love can be a good thing, too." Claudia continued a little sadly. I fought the urge to roll my eyes, almost wishing Claudia had jinxed me senseless instead so I didnt have to listen to the pair of them rattle on.

"I doubt that." Tom said bluntly. He started walking back down the Hospital Wing, my unmoving body in his arms yet again.

"Aren't you angry at Hermione?" Claudia demanded. "She tried to get away from you."

Oh shut up you idiot. I thought.

"Hermione is barely conscious." Tom said from above me. "She can't have tried to do anything. Why else do you think I drugged her? Because I was bored?"

I felt myself being lowered back onto the bed, felt the covers being thrown over me unceremoniously and much to my horror the sharp sting of the damned IV back in my hand.

"Now, what?" Claudia said.

"You get out of here. Leave." Tom said ruthlessly. "I want to spend some time with Hermione. Alone."

"Fine, then." Claudia said in a huff. I heard her leave, and then opened a bleary eye to find Tom staring directly back at me from a visitors seat directly opposite. He did not looked pleased at all.

Fuck that. I closed my eyes.

"I can see that you're awake, Hermione. You're only fooling yourself right now. But asides from your childish behaviour I thought I might take this opportunity to talk to you about someone. At least, while I'm here sorting out problems you have caused me yet again. It's about that Gryffindor. Corbin." Tom mused. "What punishment should I give him for defying me? What do you think would suffice for a situation of this magnitude? You know, I don't take it too lightly when people oppose me."

I struggled against the binding curse, blinding anger coursing through me.

"Oh I forgot. I've still binded you. For the sake of your dying leg I'll lift it. How about that. Aren't I so caring?" He withdrew his wand, waving it almost carelessly at me. I felt my muscles relax slightly. "How does that feel, to be slightly more liberated?" He asked sadistically. "Just to think, if you submitted to me I might even grant your freedom back to you. How does that sound?"

You utter lunatic. I thought bitterly. You're a goddamn psychopath who never thinks within reason. What am I supposed to feel? Happy? Ecstatic?

"Hold on a second, that's right." Tom slammed his hands together, an inhumanely deranged look of pleasure on his face. "I almost forgot. You're too weak to even speak let alone move. Well. How about I go over some options with you, then?"

I raised an eyebrow, still quite unable to move the rest of me and forced to show hate and contempt through the only expression of defiance I could muster. Tom simply smirked at me.

"I could organise someone to hurt him. I know that would impact your already fragile mental health rather significantly... But on second thoughts... He seems to have begun to remember you somehow. Perhaps I'll follow up on that. And not only that," He stepped closer to me, tall dark and terrifying. "Perhaps I will end his life. Teach you a life long lesson about what happens when you play with fire for too long."

"Mr Riddle?" Madam Pomfrey poked her head through the door, suddenly breaking what heavy dark atmosphere had fallen over the room. "Professor Dumbledore has requested to see you in his office."

Internally, I leapt for joy. Tom on the other hand looked like Madam Pomfrey had taken up the teaching Muggle Studies.

"What?" He snapped. "Did he mention what for?"

"Yes, Mr Riddle." Madam Pomfrey repeated, an uncharacteristically blank look on her face. "He did. It's regarding what you told him earlier."

What did Tom tell Dumbledore earlier? And was he actually going to leave me here alone after I tried to leave?

Tom of course wasn't going to give anything away. "I'll be there shortly." He told her. The second she left the room he turned to me, his eyes shining.

"If you, or any of your other devious friends try to pull another escape stunt like the one earlier, you will be sorry."

I made my face blank, expressionless at least enough for Tom to think I was crushed enough for it to be safe for him to leave. The second he was out the door however, I ripped the IV out of my hand with a hiss of pain. No one had bothered checking whether there was any sort of sedatives in the IV, Tom had used so much on me that the half full bag was now empty. Using what little strength I had and sheer willpower i hauled my aching body off the small bed, immediately feeling like I was going to be sick.

I needed to find my beaded bag. I had to get the invisibility cloak and get out of here. There was no other way out, not with Madam Pomfrey controlled by the Imperious Curse.

I carefully shimmied off the bed, landing on the hard floor and reached a hand out to the door of the small closet on my left. That wasn't too hard, and within seconds I had snatched up my beaded bag and was plowing through almost every item I owned until I grabbed hold on the gossamer material of the cloak. Without wasting any time at all I threw it over myself, gasping and closing my eyes so as to not be sick. I had a bit of energy, but the drugs had left me feeling dizzy and disoriented. The room itself was spinning, i knew i only had moments to get myself free, knowing that Tom was either still here, or trying to slither his way out of Dumbledore's company just so he could come back to torture me some more. Well, I was over it. Anything was better than being some sort of weak, miserable play thing for Tom to abuse. I should've realised earlier. By being rebellious towards him, I was being stupid. I had to be more selective in what actions I took against him, I had to be more aware that this game we were playing debated whether or not the future would be destroyed. Whether Harry Potter would live, or die.

I crawled out of the room, taking utmost care despite my circumstances that the cloak stayed over me. Luckily, the cloak was big enough that it enshrouded me, as long as I kept my legs tucked in. I crawled out of the door, slowly standing up and taking the time to do so. The Hospital looked eerie, judging by the sky outside the windows it was now dusk. I heaved, taking each step very slow and making slow and steady pace. A million thoughts were racing through my head. Where was Corbin now? I hadn't seen him since he had tried to save my life. And Claudia... She was a traitor. I was surprised I had let her fool me so readily. She had lied. Had she also decieve me about Tom's most recent plan to kill me? I didn't know what the hell to believe. Almost every person here was turning out to be a traitor, well, everyone except Corbin so far. I inched my way closer to the exit, I was still only halfway down the long Hospital hall. The lights were burning holes in my head making waves of nausea crash down over me as relentless as electric shockwaves both powerful and crippling.

In cubicles all around me I could see other sick students, all of whom seemed to be either sick or staring up at the ceiling immobilised by their infirmary and bored.

I could see the exit door more clearly now, and Madam Pomfrey who was busying herself over a tray of medicine in a room to my left where a young girl was bedridden. I crept past, my footsteps were a bit louder than I intended since I was focusing all of my effort just to not topple over. Luckily, she did not hear anything speaking loud enough for any other sound to be inaudible. I put one foot forward, and then another. I was starting to pick up pace, fear and adrenaline sparking in me giving me the extra boost of energy I needed. I reached the door.

And stepped back just in time.

Tom Riddle entered the Hospital like a man on a mission, predatory; his pale face void of emotion and those fathomless black eyes staring straight ahead toward the far end of the room. He was back. And not only that, he was about to find out I had escaped.

Fuck.

With extreme caution, I waited for him to pass and as he strode away determinedly, I ducked out through the door and out into the Hall. I kept moving, now just willing myself not to give up. It would only be mere moments until he realised what I had done but in that moment I was grateful that finally, after all this time, I was away from him and his sadistic schemes. Well, for now. My demented mind was set on two things, one of which I had distracted myself from by my recklessly defiant attitude that I next to no regard for consequences.

1. Find and save Corbin.

2. Conquer Tom Riddle once and for all by a newfound means.