In total, I spent 10 days in the Hospital Wing. Tom, who had been incessantly bothering Madam Pomfrey for her lack of nursing expertise, had been smartly kicked out of the Hospital Wing until "further notice", as Dumbledore had somberly told me.

"Why is he suddenly so concerned about me?" It was a cold Tuesday morning, and upon hearing the news Tom was demanding Hospital entry yet again, I felt the need to say something. I couldn't hold it in any longer.

"You're a bright, attractive young woman, Miss Granger." Madam Pomfrey had said, staring at me with a stern, almost motherly look. "You know what men become like when they see a damsel in distress. One moment, they're as cold and as distant as a stone, and the next they're as crazed about you as a Niffler trapped in a Gringotts vault, surrounded by mountains of treasures."

I frowned.

"I'm not a damsel, and I'm not in distress!" I said angrily. "Well, I am in a bit of distress. But that's because of him!" I kicked my bed sheets off myself, feeling suddenly trapped beneath the weight of my emotions and Tom's potential deceit.

"Do you really think a man like Tom Riddle believes that you're independent?" Madam Pomfrey sat down on the corner of my bed, placing her hand on mine. "I was under the impression he thought himself with powers superior to everyone. You already know how muggle men can treat women. But wizarding men?" She laughed bitterly to herself. "They think a woman's heart is a Snitch in a goddamn game of Quidditch."

"Not all men." I said, thinking of Ron.

"You're correct. But we are talking about Tom Riddle. And to be quite honest with you here, I think it best if you stay away from him, he strikes me as the type of man who likes to feel like... Well, like he's conquered someone."

"But that's the thing," I said, feeling worse by the minute. "How am I supposed to stay away from him if he won't leave me alone?"

"You're at Hogwarts. There are many hidden places, but only revealed to the most desperate."

"What, there are places asides the Room of Requirement?" I asked in confusion.

Madam Pomfrey paled.

"I've said too much. I actually came in here to tell you that you're free to go. You have actually overstayed two nights, I was reluctant to let you go, I must admit. It doesn't ease my mind in the slightest knowing who you're going out there to."

I froze. I had spent such a long time in the Hospital Wing, relishing in the safety of being out of Tom's sight, that I wasn't really paying attention to what would happen when I had to face him again.

How was I supposed to react to this new Tom? I was so used to treating him as my arch enemy, that it was almost unbearable to think of having him around me, acting like some sort of lovestruck admirer.

Especially considering the fact he is unable to love. My mind chimed in.

I waited until Madam Pomfrey left before I swung myself out of bed. It wasn't easy. I didn't want to move, I sat quietly on the bed contemplating everything, my shoes sitting neatly directly below my feet.

Should I participate in Tom's latest game, and play the lover?

Only if you want to lie to yourself.

But would it be lying if I knew I was uncovering the truth of his actions? I needed to decipher what he was trying to steer me towards.

Why did everything suddenly seem so fucking hard?

I dragged my hair up in a messy bun, and finally collected myself enough to put my shoes on. I wasn't going to be weak, I was going to be strong. It was a choice, after all.

I made my bed, carefully tucking the sheets in knowing full well they were probably just going to be ripped off and washed - I had a habit of doing unnecessary small tasks when I wanted to put something off my mind.

But no matter what I did, the fear gripped me, the heavy nauseating feeling clinging to me like an animal with its talons lodged in my back.

I took a tentative step out of my room. I hadn't left this damn place for almost a week, and when my eyes found the Hospital door I could only stop dead in my tracks.

Standing directly outside the doors with his back towards me was a tall someone dressed in black.

My heart started pounding. I could tell Tom Riddle apart from anyone else, no matter if there was a crowd or not.

As if he sensed me, he turned around. His pale face was all I could really distinguish, and those cutting dark eyes.

He reached out with a pale arm and pushed the door open.

His eyes were fathomless as he stared at me, there was no way in hell of understanding what he was thinking about.

"I've been told by Professor Slughorn to keep an eye on you." Tom told me, and I couldn't help but notice his eyes glinted black.

"That really isn't necessary." I said, an edge to my voice. "I can handle myself, Tom."

"Don't use that tone with me." Tom turned on his heel, and within a split second his hand was gripping my chin. No one stopped him, although Madam Pomfrey was in her office there were patients in the Wing witnessing and doing nothing about it. We were barely out of the damn Hospital Wing for goodness sake.

"You know as well as I do that you can't take care of yourself. But I can. I am more than capable. I know you better than you'd think."

I stepped back, taking deep breaths. His perfect lover demeanor was slipping off his face right before my eyes. Tom started walking as if nothing happened, turning back to my frozen form with a tilt of his head.

"You're not following me." He realised out loud, stepping towards me. A coldness shone behind his eyes, making him appear for a moment, inhuman in appearance.

"Are you scared of me?" He asked. He was standing in the shadows of the hallway, looking about as inviting as the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.

"No." I said boldly. "I've never been scared of a fool like you." But inside, I was feeling sick. He was definitely lying about loving me. There was a hidden side to him that he was showing, and it was the side I hated the most. The emotionless monster who, when revealed, would destroy everything in its path. Me, who was always so carefully directly in his way would be one of the first obliterated, and that I was well aware of.

"You're a brave woman, Hermione. That's one of the things I love about you. Not many people can lie to my face."

I frowned. "I'm not lying. I'm not scared of you."

"Then why," Tom asked in a cold voice, "Are you trembling?"

He grabbed my arm. Sure enough, tremors quaked up and down my body. I fought to keep my breathing steady. My own body was traitor. And he knew it.

"I'm cold." I told him.

"You're cold." Tom repeatedly flatly. "Well, then." He reached around his own neck and pulled his cloak off.

"Does this help?" He draped it around me. It was his size so of course it made me feel tiny as fuck, and it smelt just like him. If he wasn't my arch enemy, it could've looked like a romantic gesture. But to me it felt like being binded in dark energy. I wanted more than anything to tear it off and set it aflame.

"Thank you. I feel better." I attempted a small smile, which Tom didn't return. He was staring at me with a fevered, almost hungry look. "You lie so easily now. You've come so far, I'm almost impressed. To think you were once this demure, impressionable bookworm."

"Bookworm?" I snapped. "That's rich, coming from you."

Tom raised an eyebrow, that cold, inhuman look marring his expression.

"I maintain a social life, and still ensure I'm ahead on my studies. You simply live in the library and cut yourself off from everyone around you." He told me. "So I guess instead of a bookworm, you're a socially reclusive loser."

"Who you like." I snapped. "Or even love, if you were capable of such a feeling... Somehow I highly doubt it."

"Love is an overrated word." Tom said quietly. "I would, within the space of a heartbeat should you accept- bend the world if it meant I could have you as mine."

"You suggest you want to win me, like some sort of wager," I snapped. "And then claim you know me... After calling me a loser?"

"I'm not the only one throwing insults, here. Would you prefer a few poorly constructed sentences gifted to you over the period of weeks intended to flatter you? I could play the lovestruck, stupid schoolboy if you like... Or would you rather someone who could single handedly protect and care for you, and give you the upper hand of darkness in the world? The men who are after you, could offer you no such things. As a matter of fact, they amuse me. I know you, and I know about that black flame you call a heart. And I've got what it takes to unlock you. I could be the key to the real you."

He stepped closer. The door to the Hospital Wing, which was still ajar, he pulled closed behind me. His arms were above me, caging me against him.

"You think I haven't witnessed the darkness in your eyes when you challenge me? You enjoy the thrill of our games, and you slake your thirst for violence for avenging yourself against the many tiny things which you claim I have done which have corrupted you."

"Why are you doing this? Playing the lover?" I whispered.

"Who suggested I was playing?" Tom said lowly, his lips near my ear.

"Honesty isn't always easily discernable. Perhaps your guard is still up. In which case, it's only a matter of destroying it."

He drew back, his black eyes shining like a wicked night.

"Trust me." He said. "You know my intentions. I have just told you. I want you. And you alone. If this is really a game, then I will be certain to win. How many times have you seen me lose?"