Breaking Hermione

The Warning

"Hermione?" A voice chirped. I opened my eyes slowly. Right opposite me, peering down with an expression of worry was Madam Pomfrey with a tray of steaming breakfast.

"Hermione, are you awake dear?" Her ringing voice said.

"I am now." I snapped.

To be quite honest I wasn't in the best of moods. It didn't help that my leg was in agony because of that damn Merperson stabbing me with a spear, not to mention the agony of recovering from the Cruciatus Curse being used on me. Tom Riddle carrying me to the Hospital Wing was horrific, I was barely conscious and couldn't escape even if I tried. I had reached the Hospital only to spend most of the night thrashing around in my bed in pain while Madam Pomfrey ran in circles around me trying to help.

"Well, here you go dear. I'll just pop this beside you too, that's a tonic for the pain. Take it sparingly."

She placed the tray of food and a bottle of some sort of ominous dark medicine on the side table beside me and, with a meaningful look, left the room.

I took my chance while I could.

I grabbed the bottle, tore the top open without a single care in the world and started drinking like it was the last freshwater spring and I was a dehydrated wild animal.

"What the actual fuck," Tom Riddle stepped into the room, "Are you doing?"

I lowered the bottle.

"What does it look like?" I shot.

Tall, dark and as menacing as ever, Tom Riddle entered the small room like a literal shadow of death almost making me squint just to see him, so bold against the whitewashed room. He was surely a sight to behold, head to toe in his long black cloak. His pale skin contrasted it starkly, pronouncing the prominent cheekbones and bringing out the darkness of his eyes. He was the devil incarnate, and he wasn't here for any good reason I could tell just by the look in his eyes.

Danger! Run! My mind screamed. But I couldn't move. I couldn't even walk, let alone run away. I could only watch as Tom walked towards me, and my heart started hammering in my chest.

I placed the medicine on the small table beside me.

"Claudia told me she tried to warn you about the Merpeople." Tom said. "She came up to me after I left the Hospital Wing yesterday, ranting about how moronic you are, and that she was surprised at your level of stupidity."

I thought of Claudia, the first thing springing to mind was the horrific memory of walking in on her making out with Tom in the Slytherin Common Room.

"And you're telling me this because...?"

"Because I can." Tom stared me in the eyes. "And because I know you can't run away from me here. Did you know the poison that coats the weaponry of Merpeople can kill you? If that blade had been in your leg any longer you could have died."

"I wouldn't have minded." I said harshly. "Anything is better than this."

I ripped the sheet off my bed to see my leg, wrapped in gauze with the knee a horrific blotchy blue.

"You brought it upon yourself." Tom said remorselessly, taking a seat in the visitors chair. His eyes honed in on my leg, no trace of emotion on his features.

"If you had read the book I gave you," He said in an irritatingly condescending voice, "Perhaps this wouldn't have happened. But of course, you wouldn't ever heed my advice. I'm evil, and you refuse to trust me."

"Yes, that's right!" I said. "You know me so well! Well done, Tom. 10 points to Slytherin!"

Tom learnt forward, his pale hands positioned before him as if in prayer. He obviously wasn't impressed by my little dig at him.