Venenum

Echis.

Chapter 9. Echis - All This and More

Edited January 2024

Tom felt as if the surroundings were spinning as he moved to face Hermione. He was feeling weak and tired, but he didn't want to give her the pleasure of seeing his true condition. So, he did his best to stand, putting his hands in his front pockets and lifting his chin a little.

"Well, to what do I owe the honor of your presence, Miss. Granger?" He asked, with a tone of disdain in his voice.

His attitude didn't impress Hermione, who was still passive and with an 'air' of superiority. She blinked solemnly.

"What is the counter-spell for the curse you put on me?" She asked calmly.

Tom snorted.

"What makes you think I would tell you?"

"Must be because I have the advantage here." She replied, unshaken by Tom's words.

"I don't think so." Tom grinned mischievously. "It doesn't look like you have the upper hand since you need to ask how to break the curse."

It was Hermione's turn to smirk.

"I always try to ask politely first, in order to have a clear conscience later. The answers I get are not always positive, so I stop and think: Well, no one can judge me, I tried to be kind." She answered thoughtfully. "Which brings me back to you. So, yes, I have the advantage here."

"What makes you think that?" Tom raised an eyebrow. He knows he has to manipulate her.

"You have no wand." She answered quickly.

"Why do you suppose that?" Tom's nostrils flared as his face changed to something dark, the veins showing in his jaw.

"Silly boy." Hermione snorted. "You're obviously without it, otherwise you would have already raised your wand toward me." She calmly observed. "Let's face it, you do that a lot, why be different this time? So, we return to the point where I have the upper hand."

Tom narrowed his eyes, breathing like a bull, focusing on Hermione as the basement seemed to swirl with the discomfort he was feeling. That little witch managed to push his buttons in a way no one else ever could. Her smart remark caught him off guard.

"You don't look very well," she observed. "Something left you cold?" She asked very seriously.

"What are you implying, Granger?" Tom practically growled. He didn't like the insinuation in Hermione's words. It is impossible she was referring to the death of the Riddle family, there was no way she could know. Maybe it was his imagination, obviously, he would be suspicious of anything.

Hermione shrugged, putting a blank mask on her face.

"Where were we? Ah! Yeah. What's the counterspell, Riddle?" Hermione's tone had changed. It was insistent, demanding, almost an order.

"I thought you were smart enough to solve it on your own." Tom licked his lips. She would never find it out, this was true. Because it was a spell that he had created.

"Oh, I could try." She replied and Tom coughed to hide the laugh that threatened to erupt. "But I thought for a while ..." Tom's green eyes returned to Hermione, paying attention to what she was saying. "Why not get the answer from the source of all my problems?" She continued.

Hermione stood up, the conjured armchair disappearing. She used her full height, being 5'5", to intimidate Riddle. That wasn't what made Tom Riddle pause however, it was the wand she raised toward him.