Breaking Hermione

Wrong Choices

When a man is penalized for honesty he learns to lie.

-Criss Jami, Salomé: In Every Inch In Every Mile

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Hermione P.O.V

I ran up the path back to the School as fast as I could, I could feel a stitch cramping in my side but I couldn't stop. I had to keep running. I sped ahead, my hair coming out of its braid entirely by the time I reached the Great Hall. I bolted through the door and almost collided with someone.

"Hey!"

"Sorry." I didn't even pause to look back at who it was.

"Hermione, stop!" I turned back, Shalini was standing there alone in the Great Hall staring at me like I was a mad person. I froze, momentarily forgetting what I was doing. I hadn't spoken to her in days since i had a go at her the other night.

"What are you doing? Trying to spy on me?" I accused. She ignored me entirely.

"Where the hell are you going?" She demanded. Her dark eyes narrowed.

"What's it to you?" I snapped. I didn't exactly have time to resolve a broken friendship right now, I was in grave danger. This conversation could wait.

"Are you running from Tom? Because that's really not-"

"What?" I said venomously. "That's not really what? You want to go and tell him what I'm doing? Go on, I don't really care anymore. Do whatever you fucking like."

I turned and ran away from her. I raced up staircases until they all seemed to blur. Soon Shalini wasn't the only one staring at me like I was a mad person, the students in the school were staring at me weirdly. What the hell was I doing? Classes were on and I was just out here running around like I was being hounded right now. I was being stupid. It would take Tom no time at all to see that i wasn't with him, but he wasn't running after me right now was he? Fear started to cloud my senses, I had to get away from everyone. I had to go somewhere where I knew I could be safe. I walked past a random hall and saw a Professor Dumbledore through the window teaching.

He isn't able to help you right now, idiot. My mind was buzzing. It was like all of my thoughts were crashing like unrelenting waves in my head, the type of waves that belong in rough seas. I decided that I had to immediately get to a place where I could be alone and calm down and think. The Slytherin common room was a no go. People that were naturally rude and angry made me subconsciously panic.

When would Tom realise that I was gone? How much time did I have left before I'd have to face up to him? He'd be beyond pissed that I'd run off. To Tom, defiance was one of the greatest forms of disrespect. I was an idiot for chancing my own life and running away like I had. What was I thinking? Tom was a maniac. He didn't exactly have a great understanding of right and wrong, either.

I realised then that I couldn't hide from him. It was stupid. I'd have to go to the Slytherin Common Room eventually, I couldn't run away from my reality forever. The Time Turner was beating against my chest, unlike my own heart beat it was steady and reassuring. It was my only connection to the past. I took a deep breath and started walking back down to the Great Hall.

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Tom Riddle P.O.V

I knew what Hermione was going to do before she did it. I knew she was going to defy me, and run away back to the school. It wouldn't have made sense after everything I'd done to trouble her, that she'd want to be in my presence for even a single moment. I wanted to test her, to see what she'd decide. Unfortunately for her she'd decided to run. She'd made the wrong choice.