The vase smashed against the wall, horrendously loud yet satisfyingly violent. Tom exhaled loudly, the only sound in the room asides my heavy breathing. I felt both elated and defeated amongst a million other different feelings. I looked over at Tom, who was standing over by the far wall watching the entire thing with the air of a parent having to endure a child's temper tantrum.

"Resorting to violence once again I see." Tom clasped his hands together, a wide grin on his face. "Feels good, doesn't it?"

I didn't speak. I was deeply shaken, and couldn't seem to find any words to say that would fit the moment. Tom seemed to realise this, walking over to me he placed a icy hand on my shoulder.

"Hermione. I know this a lot for you to take in." Suddenly he was right in front of me, tall, shadow like. "However we both know you've been through a lot worse. I wouldn't ask these things of you if I knew you were unable to endure it."

I turned away, walking slowly back to the mess. Glass crunched beneath my boots. Why was it always me? Why was I always fucking suffering?

"I don't care about your feelings." I exploded. "I can't just play along and pretend I love you while everyone just thinks you're trying to kill me." I took a step back and gasped, something suddenly dawning on me. Tom's eyes widened a fraction as I thought through the situation, really trying to break it down in my mind.

"Why are you so afraid of the idea that I might actually love you?"

Tom said, breaking the silence. My heart pounded, my chest suddenly felt constricted somehow. I walked over and took a seat on the couch closest to me.

"You already know why. I've told you. The sheer idea that you are able to love is impossible to consider, let alone believe." I snapped. "You couldn't scrape the surface of love even if you tried."

Tom drew his wand from his sleeve with lightning speed, I instinctively drew mine, fearing the worst and ready to duel to the death- and then suddenly Tom had produced a bouquet of luscious red roses. He held them out to me.

"You were saying?" He flashed a disarming smile at my reaction.

I raised an eyebrow.

"Really? A bunch of flowers? That's how you choose to show me you love me? This is exactly what I was talking about." I got up with a sigh, walking away with my back facing him.

"They're not flowers." Tom said. I could hear the impatience edging his tone. "Turn around."

I turned slowly, not knowing what the hell I was about to see.

The flowers were gone from his hands. Now there was something else. A small box. He opened it slowly revealing a gleaming ruby necklace.

"Would it be considered a sign of love if I had bewitched a necklace to protect you from harm?"

"What?" I didn't know whether to be touched or even more confused. I knew Tom was powerful and do this advanced sort of magic with a mere sleight of hand, but could this really mean that he loved me? How was I supposed to know this wasn't a fluke?

"Whoever tries to harm you while you wear this will be harmed sevenfold." Tom looked satisfied, but I wasn't impressed.

"Including you?" I asked skeptically.

"Including me." Tom affirmed, staring me in the eyes. He lifted the necklace from its silk lined box, it dangled from his hand like a glittering metronome.

I watched him slip the box into his cloak, and stood very still as he stepped closer and put the necklace around my neck.

I felt something like a swooping feeling of coldness come over me, and as suddenly as it came it had left. Fearing the worst, I grabbed the necklace and was about to yank it off when Tom stopped me, grabbing my hands and pulling them down.

"Don't take it off. That's the protective Magic." He explained. "Do you want to be protected or not?"

"That didn't feel like good Magic." I said seriously.

"Good Magic?" Tom laughed derisively as if I had just said a stupid joke. "Do you really think that I used that lesser variation of Magic to enchant that necklace? Listen to me very carefully. Any form of enchantment or spell that can punish someone is not going to be so called "good" Magic, Hermione. Even if it is to seek vengeance against someone whose intentions are to harm you."

"Dark Magic often asks someone for something in exchange." I reasoned. "What did you have to do in order to secure the enchantment you placed on this necklace, then?"

Tom paused, and then smiled widely.

"Very clever." He mused. "A question I myself might have asked, had I been given an enchanted gift..."

He walked over the far side of the room and leant against the wall facing me. His eyes found mine, black onyx and with a feverish sort of hunger about them.

"I paid in blood." He said simply. "In other words, my blood has been shed for your protection. Does that make you feel better about any of this? Now can you believe that my feelings for you are not just some twisted lie said only for my amusement?"

I touched the necklace gingerly, my fingers grazing lightly over the rubies.

"Curse me." I said. "I want to see if the enchantment really does work. Because if it's true, if you have really sacrificed your own blood for this, then the odds of you being harmed sevenfold for attempting to harm me would be quite low. The Magic would remember you."

"Clearly you have next to no understanding of Dark Magic." Tom said sharply. "If I were to curse you, I would certainly pay sevenfold. Is that what you want? To harm me? Do you still hate me as much as you had claimed? Is that what this is really about?"

He drew himself up to his full height, suddenly a completely different person to who he was not 3 seconds ago. My heart began to race. Even the temperature of the room seemed to drop.

"Tell me," Tom said coldly, "Why it is so hard for you to believe that I am not seeking to hurt you?"

"Emotional and physical wounds don't just go away overnight." I snapped. "It takes a long time. How much time have you given me to get over what you've done to me? Barely even a week. And I definitely have a problem with that. My trust is earned, not demanded. I will trust you when you prove yourself worthy to be trusted again."