Veal & Venison {Tomione || 1940s/1990s}

6|| Bishop to B4

6|| Bishop to B4

The next day, Hermione decides to give herself a break and avidly avoid Tom Riddle.  It may seem more of a task than just accepting his company, but with her small and single room, Hermione is pleased to hole herself up with her pajamas and The Tales of Beedle the Bard, refusing to think on the presence of Tom Riddle and the future that is currently paused.  Rather, Hermione loses herself to reading and searching, logic overcoming emotion and present overwhelming future prospects.

And she will not be practicing Wizard's Chess.  Perhaps it's to spite the Dark Lord--to show that he cannot dominate her--or the simple reason that she has more important things to do.  Hermione knows she ought not to spite Tom Riddle for her own sake and safety, but right now, she has little motivation.  She'll never win either way.

    Eventually, and after much of the day has passed, Hermione cannot stand the hunger any longer.  She recognizes the date to be that of the students' return from the winter holiday, grateful at least for the cover they will provide her in avoiding Tom Riddle.  She slips into her robes, caring little for her appearance as she pulls her hair into a ponytail, slipping an elastic easily around the curls.  After ensuring that her Time-Turner is hidden under her collar, Hermione slips from the room and into the chaos of the Slytherin Common Room.

    It is loud--uncomfortable for the girl who's so used to silence--and yet, she is grateful for the crowd as she moves away from a notable man near the fire, never catching onto her figure.  The crowds are lesser in the Entrance Hall to the Castle, people grouped together in reunion as Hermione takes a seat by herself in a dark corner of the Hall.  She watches the mannerisms of the men and women, girls adorning 1940s hairstyles while the boys seem to resemble males of all ages.  The way they laugh and joke--especially two boys and a girl nearby--remind Hermione of the friends she left behind.  Her heart hurts as she sits there, waiting for dinner.

    Tom Riddle, Head Boy, makes his entrance as dinnertime moves closer.  Hermione catches his gaze on her, feelings masked behind the cold facade, as he moves into the crowds.  Behind him, girls swoon and boys glare, though they all seem less than willing to actually talk to him.  His friends crawl behind him slowly, moving outward to the snow, pure and untouched and everything they are not.

    Sighing and standing, as if his arrival and departure is her call, Hermione moves into the Great Hall where very few sit and even less stare.  She plots herself down near the end of the table, not caring much for company and not prejudicing herself against anyone...Well, maybe one.

    She feels warm breath on her ear before she even hears and sees it.  It startles Hermione, though she knows better than to move, as Tom Riddle arises in her peripheral vision, leaned gracefully over her shoulder.  He speaks in a hushed tone, unrushed as her heart races and eyes close.  "You'll sit by him."

He does not seem angry with her divergence from him earlier, but Hermione knows better than to think he is complacent.  Rather than furthering her punishment that is bound to come, Hermione nods subtly at his words and he pulls away.  Immediately, and without a look back, Tom Riddle takes to his position in the middle of his 'friends' near the center of the table.

Sighing, Hermione's eye twitches with the trouble of her task, watching avidly as the remaining students filter into the room, many avoiding her presence.  Hermione cares little, especially as she comes to view the notorious white-hair of the Malfoy bloodline, the boy adorning his Slytherin robes and with a surprising smile on his face.   She watches with shock and slight humor as the boy smiles charmingly at both men and women of all the Houses, waving at many with a sense of genuine happiness.