Braving the Past

Chapter 5: Knights of Walpurgis

Tom didn't wait for Hermione the next morning, realizing that she already seemed to know the layout of the school fairly well. But how could she possibly know how to navigate such a complicated school if she was supposedly from Beauxbatons?

There were several things about that girl that didn't add up, but that's what his knights were for. He would be having a meeting with them tonight in their usual room near the Slytherin dormitory, and he intended to use the tools he had to find out just who Hermione Granger was.

Tom caught sight of her soon before breakfast ended, and she was immediately called over by a Gryffindor, Angela Brown. It seemed she was already making new friends.

Abraxas Malfoy and his many friends sat across from Tom, but he never really chatted amongst them. Tom mostly sat there to keep up his appearances.

"Malfoy," Tom said as he picked up his bag. The boy looked at him, surprise evident on his face. "Tell the others that we'll be meeting tonight."

Abraxas gave a curt nod before turning back to the other Slytherins as Tom made his way from the Great Hall.

Other than DADA, Potions was so far the only other class Tom had with Hermione, and he strategically placed himself in the back so he could observe her during the lesson.

She was sitting near the front with Angela while Kim, Phillip and Jonathan sat at the table next to them. Hermione didn't talk nearly as much as the other Gryffindors, but stayed focused on the Calming Draught Professor Slughorn had them working on. Hermione didn't seem terribly focused on the project all throughout the class, yet Tom saw with surprise that she had brewed it near perfectly.

"Well done, Miss Granger!"' Slughorn said joyfully upon peering into her cauldron. "Let's see if you've managed to match our star student, shall we?"

Hermione didn't watch as Slughorn made his way back to Tom, smiling as he saw the perfection of Tom's Calming Draught – it was rare for his potions not to be perfect.

"Hmm, not quite, but I must say, this is the closest any of my students have come to beating him!"

The rest of the students rolled their eyes at Slughorn's usual praise of Tom and went to bottle their potions before cleaning up.

"Feel free to take a vial with you, these potions can be quite helpful during exams," Slughorn announced as students slowly brought their various attempts to his desk.

Tom didn't miss that Hermione had taken a vial of her own after only a second's hesitation.

"C'mon, Hermione, I'm starving!" Angela said yanking Hermione's arm before Tom could sneak in to talk to her.

He ground his teeth in annoyance at Angela's perkiness, and flashed a smile at Slughorn before leaving the classroom and following the Gryffindors closely.

"Where did you say you were from, Hermione?" Phillip Davis asked as they walked.

"Beauxbatons," she replied simply.

"So if you were attacked while on holiday, why didn't you go back to Beauxbatons instead of Hogwarts?" Kim Wood questioned.

"I've had a few relations with Dumbledore, and I trust him more than any of the teachers I had before. I knew if I came here, I'd be safest."

Tom had to respect her answer, Dumbledore was definitely an excelled wizard. Yet Tom still felt as if she wasn't quite telling the whole truth. He had a bit of a knack for detecting lies, and her answer had bells ringing in his head.

Tom watched as Hermione broke off from the group before they reached the Great Hall. Taking his chance, he followed her to the library, where she sat at an empty table and set her book bag down with a sigh.