Adult Content Warning
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Summary
"You’ve seen something," he said, very softly. "Something you should not have." Hermione didn’t away. Her pulse thudded in her throat, but she held her own.
"Or maybe you’ve spent so long hiding the truth that the idea someone else might see it terrifies you. I see you, Tom Riddle." Her voice cut clean through the air—cool, deliberate, unshakably calm. "You play the part well. Top of your class. Impeccable manners. Not a single blemish on that spotless record of yours. The perfect Slytherin. The perfect student. The perfect lie." Her eyes didn’t waver.
"But I know better. Lemon juice makes excellent invisible ink. All it takes is a little heat, and the truth bleeds through. You can smile, charm, and pretend all you like, but I see through it. I see you."
Tom’s expression didn’t shift, but his eyes sharpened—dark and calculating, like something ancient had stirred behind them.
"And I see you, Hermione," he said, his voice like velvet stretched over something venomous. The sweetness in his smile was practiced, polished, and utterly false. Tom leaned in slightly, just enough to make his words private. "Whatever you think you know about me," he murmured, "means absolutely nothing."