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

8|| Kingside Castle {King to G8, Rook to F8}

"Do you?" Tom asks back, face now cold at her brazenness and willing to curse her if not for the audience.

Hermione looks to the Dark Lord with her deep eyes, considering his plot to use her. She does not know what he is playing at, questioning her attention to him as if she is his significant other. And thus, she manages a short "....No."

"Alright class," Slughorn addresses the students, saving Hermione from the trickiness of Voldemort as their eyes turn to the professor. "Today we will begin brewing the Polyjuice Potion in preparation of your N.E.W.T.S..  Would anyone like to tell me the properties and effects of this potion?"

It comes as no surprise when two hands raise, and no more shock when Slughorn chooses on the new girl, intending to test her intelligence. "Miss Granger?"

"The Polyjuice Potion allows for a wizard to temporarily adopt the body of another person, though it has been known on occasion, and through accidents, to give humans attributes of non-humanoid species. The potion is made in two separate parts which must individually brew for one month before use. Before the final ingredient is added, the potion is known to appear muddy and thick, though it has a bubbly consistency. After the final ingredient is added, however, the potion develops a color attributed to the person being depicted. The ingredients of the potion include lacewing flies (which are stewed for 21 days), leeches, powdered bicorn horn, knotgrass, full-moon harvested fluxweed, shredded boomslang skin, and a portion of the person intended to be depicted."

Hermione Granger might have been proving herself all day, but this answer ought to be the true inducer of surprise for both professor and students. The girl, determined in all her tasks, will not have a professor doubting her intelligence, especially due to the fact that she is a woman. And, if Hermione knows any potion out there, it is the Polyjuice Potion.

"Twenty points to Slytherin! Brilliant, Miss Granger!" Slughorn shouts, though Hermione does not blush at the praise since she expected as much. Rather, she is surprised as the teacher continues to address her on a personal level. "Now, tell me, have you ever brewed this potion before? You seem well acquainted with it."

"Many times, Professor." ...And not always for the most virtuous of reasons.

"When did you first?" the man continues, so overcome in his appreciation for the brilliant young witch.

"When I was thirteen, Professor Slughorn." Hermione is very proud of this, and it shows in her cordial tone.

"Thirteen! Very impressive, Miss Granger!" the professor, stunned and awed, exclaims as he claps his hands singularly and then takes to the rest of the lesson. Beaming in pride, Hermione cannot help the swell of her heart at the praise, no matter who it comes from. The girl's confidence does derive from her intelligence, after all.

Tom Riddle--for the second time in a few minutes--leans into Hermione, his breath ghosting her neck and sending shivers into her heart. His voice, snakelike and sharp like daggers, slithers forth and makes her reconsider the confidence in intelligence.

"Very impressive, indeed." It's not a compliment, but a threat.

Hermione shivers.

///////////

Time passes slower in this time, Hermione finds as days pass in slow rhythms and patterns. She figures it is due to the 'normal' routine of this new student life, no longer helping Harry plot actions against Voldemort or taking on volleys of Death Eaters. Hermione buries herself in her studies, achieving the highest of scores, though continuing to match Riddle in nearly everything. Of course, they each have their strengths, with Hermione dominating in Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, whereas Riddle seems to always lead in Defense and Potions. And though there is an unspoken competition between them, Hermione never challenges the Dark Lord verbally, holding her facade with respect and doing his bidding without hesitation. They may be equals in the classroom, but they are far from this outside academics. She is his slave, and he is her master.