Tom was careful to refrain from telling me anything. He had walked out of the main entrance of the School and into the darkness of the night without so much as a backward glance. I put two and two together and came to the bitter conclusion that the initiation ceremony had to have been happening from the depths of the Forbidden Forest.

Just the thought was enough to send chills down my spine.

I'd never considered the Forbidden Forest as an ideal ground for secret ceremonies, but the more I thought of it the more obvious it became. Typically teeming with many forms of dangerous beasts, access was strictly prohibited to students not accompanied by a teacher. Tom knew that of course, but that wasn't going to stop him, clearly.

It wasn't hard to guess who was getting initiated, either.

Me.

Maybe I was overthinking it, but there was no way this was good. I thought about the look in his eyes as he turned and asked me to follow him.

Dark. Fevered.

Excited?

He thought I didn't know what was happening, but I was one step ahead this time. Standing there alone in the Great Hall with nothing but my hammering heart to keep me company, I thought about Xavier Malfoy and his warning, and realised two things.

If Xavier Malfoy was here, why didn't Professor Pickerell count him in with all the rest of the students? There were ten of us, Tom and I being the only ones in Slytherin, so why was Xavier hiding from the staff and avoiding head count?

Secondly, Tom was breaking Hogwarts School regulations by being out in the Forbidden Forest at night. He was so confident I was going to come after him, that he thought his bases were covered - that there would be no one to report him to a member of staff.

I immediately began walking to the Headmasters office. I had absolutely no intention of speaking to Professor Pickerell at all about this, for all I knew she could damn well be in the Forest with Tom. The odds were high.

No one around me could be trusted... So who could I turn to?

I left the Great Hall quickly, not wanting to stay where Tom could come back and find me. I could already hear his accusatory tone in my head.

Why would you disobey me?

I was so tired of being panicked about Tom. When I got anxious about him, I would feel really insecure then defeated, and anxiety would eat me alive for the rest of the day until the following morning, where the horrific process would begin again. It was torment in its finest form.

"What the hell are you doing out here still? Are you insane?"

Xavier Malfoy rounded the corner of the corridor, almost running into me if I hadn't stepped back.

I blinked, coming to my senses quickly. He practically glowed beneath the dull candlelight illuminating the castle, and I thought for a split second of the tall and pale Draco Malfoy. Head to toe in a long, black travelling cloak, he looked like he was about to take a nightly stroll.

"So, you're part of the initiation too I take it?" I demanded.

"What?" Xavier's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't bullshit me." I was getting really stressed out, and I didn't want to be standing here wasting time either. "You're going out there to join them, aren't you? Why the hell would you even want to?"

"It's not about wanting to." He snarled. "Besides, I'm not the one you should be worried about right now." He told me seriously. "You're the one in danger. Not me."

An image briefly flashed to mind, a memory of the cold, brooding figure that was Tom Riddle, and I felt like screaming. All of those sweet spoken words were lies. How stupid could I have been. The same part of me that would always endure whatever he threw at me was now rationalised - I did like him, and I let him do this to me because of the fact.

It was like being in love with the process of dying, and I felt like being sick.

"Why are you helping me?" I turned, giving Xavier a rather exasperated look. "How am I supposed to know Tom hasn't just asked you to?"

My voice was loud in the quiet hall. We weren't even supposed to be standing here, we could get in trouble at any second but none of us seemed to be able to move.

"I'm not Tom Riddle's bitch." Xavier said after a pause. "I would never let him control me."

I was about to rise to the insinuation that perhaps I was meant to be the one who was Tom's bitch but forced my mouth shut at the steel grey coldness in Xavier's eyes. He had seen shit, I could tell just by the haunted look in his expression.

He wasn't right about me, but I didn't have time to prove that.

"Hermione, as much as you might think you know about what happens here, you don't. You have no idea. Tom is more unspeakably evil than all of your worst nightmares. Do yourself a favour, run away and never look back. Shalini Black did. So did her sister Jade. You might have known them?"

I froze for a second, the familiar faces of the twins I had befriended flashing before my eyes. I thought of Jade mostly, of her kindness toward me.

"I can't just run away." I said, twisting my hands together and becoming more upset. "You have no idea. I have to stay."

"You always seem to be the only one around here playing the hero. That shit will get you killed, I'm telling you."

"This isn't about some damn hero complex, okay?" I yelled. "I don't want to be here, let alone fucking deal with Tom. Do you think I just chose to-"

"So why do you?" Xavier pressed. I wanted to punch him for even suggesting I might be out here challenging Tom for a damn rush.

"Look, I'm not going to stand here and explain the entire story, okay? Sooner or later he's going to come in here and... I'm not even going to finish that sentence. I have to stop him, that's all you need to know. I'm going to Headmaster Dippet and I'm going to tell him that-"

"Headmaster Dippet?" Xavier laughed derisively. "Are you serious? He isn't here. He left the School two days ago."

"What?" I said, startled. "What on earth for?"

"Do I look like I keep a record of the habits of that idiot?" Xavier snapped. "I have no fucking idea. It's just us."

"Since when does Hogwarts leave an entire School without a Headmaster during the holidays?" But even as I spoke I remembered when Dumbledore left the entire School virtually unattended by proper staff on his search for Tom's Horcruxes.

Dumbledore.

"Is Dumbledore here?"

"No."

"Oh, come on." It was my luck that even former day Albus Dumbledore wasn't here when my life was in mortal jeopardy.

I dragged my hands through my hair, in my stress my braid came undone.

"Who is the next highest authority here?"

"Professor Pickerell. But she's not here, she's-"

"In the fucking Forest with Tom?" I exhaled heavily. Now I was seriously pissed off. How did this bloody teacher still have a job here? She wasn't hired to be Tom's personal minion, she was a teacher for Merlin's sake. She was supposed to protect us against this shit.

"Why the hell is she in the Forest?" I demanded. "Wow. This is beyond fucked up. I'm going to find some real help."

"There's no one here that can help you."

"Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it." I recited. Xavier looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Where did you get that from, the back of Hogwarts, A History?"

"Just get out of here." I snapped.

"Fine." Xavier said. "But seriously. If you're smart, you'll leave the School grounds, it's the only way to be completely shot of Tom and his associates. It's a trap, all of it, he wants you to follow him, because he needs you to be there. Even if you hide inside the School he will find you. He has the power, Hermione. He won't rest until he has you because he needs your presence and your blood for the initiation to work."

I was rendered speechless for a second, fear rearing within me again.

"Okay- right. Well, be careful out there Xavier because-"

I didn't even get to finish my sentence, Xavier side stepped me, disappearing off in the general direction of the Great Hall.

Great. Now Xavier was going into the heart of the lions den, and I was all alone. I needed to get somewhere safer, standing here in this open hall was not only stupid and terrifying, but it was dangerous, particularly when I didn't know where exactly Tom was, and understanding that the only thing stopping the initiation was me not being out there with them all messed horrendously with my central nervous system.

It was me. I was the missing piece they needed. If I fell down this rabbit hole, there was no way back out. I might as well just have failed my mission to defeat Tom Riddle completely.

Making sure I was standing in a secluded spot, I plunged my hand into my beaded bag, pulling the gossamer Invisibility Cloak out and throwing it over myself fast enough to pull a muscle. I needed to go somewhere no one could hear me. I needed to relay a message to Headmaster Dippet immediately. How the hell was I going to do that?

Apparate.

I could apparate, but I would have to leave the School grounds and there was no way in Hell I was walking out of the main entrance.

Tom won't see you if you're wearing the cloak.

I pondered for a second, weighing my chances. There was always a great risk doing anything behind Tom's back. But this would be different, he would be in closer proximity to me. If I was stupid, if the cloak somehow slipped, he might see me and what then?

You'd be as good as dead.

Panic was clouding my head, making it a lot harder to process my thoughts. The situation was drawing a parallel to the battle of Hogwarts, with most of the Death Eaters on the outside of the School with Tom Riddle patiently waiting for Harry to come out to meet his fate.

I bet Tom was just waiting out there, confident that curiosity was going to get the better of me and that I'd follow him

There wasn't only one way out of the School grounds. There were many secret passages outside of the School grounds, seven to be exact.

I could use one of them to leave the School grounds, and then apparate from there. It wasn't the safest or smartest plan, but it wasn't like I had anything better.

I had to act quickly.

It didn't take me long at all to find the statue of Gregory the Smarmy, but to my immense disappointment there was no secret passage behind it. Was it possible that it hadn't been invented yet? I reached out, running my hand along the length of the stone and feeling the familiar helpless feeling creeping up on me again.

I had to find another way out. Fast. Tom could already be walking back up to the School for all I bloody knew.

There was no point running around the School trying to find the other escape routes. I could hide, but I couldn't be certain Tom wouldn't find me.

Escaping out the front entrance was my surest way to safety.

And to danger.

I walked fast, and as I reached the Great Hall I immediately noticed something odd.

My heart skipped a beat. Tom Riddle was standing in the Great Hall with his back toward me, head bowed slightly as if deep in thought with his hands locked behind his back. I thought ridiculously of a demon waiting to escort me to Hell, and came to realise rather quickly that it wasn't too far from the truth.

He was sight that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Fear trickled through me, and my heart began to pound.

Get out of here. Sneak past him, and get to the door.

He knew where to meet me. So he was bound to know I was going to try and leave through the main entrance.

Hidden beneath the invisibility cloak, I clenched my fists and took the first step into the Hall.

Harry's invisibility cloak was perfect, unimpenetratable as always and I found myself strangely confident as I walked forward.

As brilliant as the cloak was, I had to be careful to not let him hear me. I walked toward him, concentrating all my efforts into being dead silent, I looked up to get a closer look at the scene. Tom looked contemplative, the dark shadows of the castle casting half of his face into the darkness.

Did he know I was there?

He couldn't know. You're wearing one of the rare Hallows. Not even he could see through it.

I was now standing at least a metre away from him. If he couldn't hear my footsteps I was almost certain he could hear my heart positively pounding in my chest. I was terrified.

Tom twirled his wand in his hands almost absentmindedly, every now and then red sparks hissed into the air, illuminating the dimly lit Hall. Not exactly the behaviour of someone aware I was there.

I walked around Tom, there was no possible way I could open the door while he was standing right there, and there was no doubt that he'd have locked it.

I needed a distraction.

I put my hand into my small beaded bag, my hand buried almost up to the elbow scrounging around for quickly and as quietly as possible for the secret weapon. Well, an ideal distraction, one last Decoy Detonator from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes.

I walked past into the far corner of the Hall, setting the detonator on the ground and rushing back to my position beside the main door as it began its journey to a spot not too far from Tom.

Any second now.

BANG

Tom hissed an expletive, spinning on his heel and disappeared into a large cloud of black smoke.

Now was my chance.

I rushed to the great door, directed my wand at it and gave the non verbal incantation.

Alohomora.

The door creaked open at once, and as I slipped outside I saw Tom's pale face from the depths of the smoke, livid with fury.

"Get her!"

From out of the darkness of the night I could hear the muffled sound of shoes on grass, and before I could so much as raise my wand in self defense I threw myself out of the way as a group of people hurtled past me.

"She's probably cast a disillusionment charm." Xavier Malfoy was saying, his light blue eyes piercing the air as if he could see me. Near him were two people I knew by face, more unnamed Slytherins who had evaded the staff head count.

"She hasn't cast a disillusionment charm." Tom said quietly. "She might be stupid but she's smart enough to know I can see through the weak Magic she does."

Tom stepped out of the castle, and I watched from my spot a short distance away as he held up the sooty remains of the Decoy Detonator to a very bemused audience.

"You may have convinced her that she needs to leave the School grounds," Tom addressed Xavier, "However, you have failed to tell me about this. What is this? Did she mention to you that she was going to use it?"

"I have no idea what that is, My Lord."

My Lord?

I smirked to myself. Hearing Xavier pretending to have undying allegiance to Tom Riddle was more than I could handle. For one split second I felt like laughing.

"It's some sort of distraction," Tom said, looking at it sharply. "I've never seen it before. If I wasn't about to harm her, I would commend her. Brilliant, really."

I thought momentarily of the Weasley family, in particular George who would be disgusted to know that Voldemort had taken a liking to his product.

"I told her Dumbledore wasn't here, like you asked." Xavier was saying.

"Good. The last thing we need is for her to talk to him, even if he was here." Tom laughed to himself as if he had just told a personal joke that only he understood. Whatever the hell was happening, I didn't like it one bit.

"Hermione is out here right now, probably listening to every word we're saying." He continued. "We don't have the time to spare to be running after her. Xavier, go over and guard the Gate. If Hermione wants to leave the School to apparate, that's where she'll go. I've blocked all other secret passages, which leaves her with no other escape."

Xavier headed off to the main gate, me following along closely in his wake.

So Tom made sure all of the seven secret passages were blocked off?

I could've laughed at how petty these damn games were becoming, but I felt closer to the verge of a complete mental breakdown.

What did you expect? My mind snapped. You came to the past to deal with Tom Riddle, not to FALL for him.

It hurt me to think of all the days I spent with Tom, and how he lied so easily. He said he would change, and I was stupid enough to believe it on a subconscious level. I suppose I was just hoping the whole time that something would change but I was right all along. He didn't know anything about love, and the worst part wasn't just that he pretended - he actively corrupted my idea of love. I was supposed to be in a relationship with Ron Weasley, wasn't I? What the hell was it about Tom Riddle that was actually appealing, anyway?

Xavier reached the Gate, and I was almost about to make my presence known when Tom suddenly appeared. I had no idea he had followed the pair of us.

"Did Hermione mention anything else about me at all?" He wondered out loud.

I frowned, wondering what the hell he could possibly be interested in such a trivial matter at a time like this.

"I need to know every tiny detail." Tom said.

The wind whistled around us, the night was getting colder.

"Fine." Xavier addressed him, "She seems to still believe she has to defeat you. Although she didn't mention why."

"She's still attempting to play the hero?" Tom looked like the news amused him.

"That's good. And you made it seem to her like you were on her side?"

Xavier smirked.

"Yes. It wasn't without difficulty though, you already know that I can't stand her. Why are you keeping her alive for so long? She's useless. She doesn't ever seem to know what she's doing and seemed to have a very unrealistic scope of the scale of the situation she is in."

I froze, a hideous comprehension slowly dawning on me.

"She is useless, but she has a great use to me." Tom said sharply. "I do realise this is becoming increasingly frustrating for you, but you will reap your reward in due time. You all will."

"That's if she even comes out here." Xavier argued. "She is probably in the castle right this second, trying all of the secret passages."

I listened, my mind racing at a hundred miles a second caught between disbelief and disgust.

"I highly doubt it. If she is anything like what I think she is, she will be out here, most likely frozen in shock and listening to us right this second. "And," He continued, his dark eyes flashing, "She should now be aware that you've betrayed her trust, and hopefully will now understand that none of us had any good intentions with her to begin with."