Taming The Serpent [Tom Riddle/Tomione]

O4. Secrets

Hermione sat, the next morning, at breakfast with Penelope Clearwater and Cepheus Crux – he was a sixth year and Ravenclaw as well; he was rather tall and had dark brown and spiked hair. His skin was slightly tanned and he had bright green eyes, which to Hermione was painful to look at, since it reminded her of Harry's so much. He addressed her after charms lessons yesterday, complimenting her skills, to which she slightly blushed and nodded her head.

He hasn't left her side since.

"I think they should have hired a taller teacher, don't you agree?", he asked, as he hungrily gawked at his croissant. "The tiny man can't even stand and stare at the entire class at once. It'll be easy to cheat at the NEWTs." 

Penelope snorted silently. Hermione watched as Professor Slughorn rose from his seat at the Professor's table and began to hand some students what looked like letters. He walked closer to where she was seating and his eyes gleamed eagerly when he spotted her among the sea of blue pupils. 

"Ah! Miss Lockhart," he handed her the remaining paper in his hand. It read: ' The SlugClub's founder is pleased to inform Miss Hermione Lockhart that you have been invited to join the group of best students to a private and very formal dinner this Friday.' She looked up at him and forced a smile. "I will be there, sir." Slughorn clapped his hands and nodded. "Very well. " He retreated back to the huge table, his hands patting his big belly pleasingly.

"Oi Myrtle, nice glasses", A blonde girl shouted. 

Hermione looked up and a small gasp escaped her unknowingly. It was Moaning Myrtle – or just Myrtle now. A few Ravenclaws snickered loudly as Myrtle began to sob uncontrollably. She rushed out of the Great Hall, every head turning to watch her amusingly. Hermione turned to face Penelope, who was munching on her cereal. "Who is that girl?" she asked, pointing at the blonde bully. Penelope followed the direction she was pointing at and rolled her eyes. 

"Olive Hornby. She's not very...polite." Hermione gave Olive a disapproving glare and went back to her reading.

"You seem very fazed by that book." Cepheus said, eyeing her curiously. "What's it about? "

Hermione stared at the book in her hands. It had a purple cover and was too small for her liking. The title neatly said 'Jinxes for the Jinxed' and small description at the back read: Learn some jinxes to add to your arsenal with this handy volume. She had found this book in the library when looking for a good Arithmancy one. 

"It's a book of Defensive Spells. " she said. Cepheus snorted "Why do you want to learn more defensive spells?" 

As if on cue, Tom Riddle entered the Great Hall, followed by two other boys. The Carrows siblings following close behind. One of them had shoulder length, platinum blonde hair – a Malfoy for sure, she thought – the one on Tom's right was slightly taller than him, but lacked Riddle's demanding aura; he had short, brown hair and dark eyes. Riddle's cold glare met her soft eyes, and immediately his face hardened.

"You never know when you ought to use them." She mumbled.

♡

It was nearing eight o'clock in the afternoon when Hermione, dressed in a knee length blue dress – which she borrowed from Penelope – entered Slughorn's office. The dinner was about to begin, everyone was already sitting, including the teacher.

"I'm sorry I'm late, Professor. " She apologized, her face a slight colour of crimson. Slughorn chuckled "Nonsense my dear, you're just in time."

Everyone here seemed to have been invited because they were connected to somebody well-known or influential. She scanned the long table for an available seat and discovered it was right across from Riddle and next to the brown haired boy she had seen with him multiple times this last few days. Taking a sharp intake of breath, she made her way to last chair on the row and sat down slowly.