Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros. Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N: This fic was written for the birthday challenge in the Gutter City Tomione forum. I wrote it in Tom's POV. It's first person, which is not really a narrative I like a lot, but I guess sometimes you can't really choose. This fic is only around 3,000 long and already completed :)
In this fic, I skip the part we usually see in Tomiones. You know the drill: Hermione travelled back in time and she met Tom Riddle. They collided and hated each other first. Slowly they got closer and somehow Hermione managed to teach Tom what love is. So yeah, we've already had some lovey dovey couple time between those two before this fic even starts...
I always wondered how a Tom Riddle, who is able to feel love, would be like. I think JK said something like Voldemort is unable to feel love and such like. Well, not in this fic. Here, Tom lurvs his Hermione.
I warn you, there's a bit of fluff in this, but please heed the M rating. It's there for a reason (gore and blood).
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Happy Birthday
Chapter One
"Hermione Granger was wonderful. A pretty young lady, and smart. Oh, so smart. In my eyes, she was perfection. No-one could ever reach her and I knew I needed her. I needed her close. Never had I felt like this.
Had I truly fallen in love with this mysterious witch?
You may wonder why I even tell you. After all, it's not that strange. People fall in love all the time. For me, though, it was strange, even out of character. I have always scrunched up my nose at all those love-drunken fools as they lose sight of what's really important in life. I admit, I even used their short-sightedness at times and exploited their weakness. That was before Hermione came along. Before I joined their ranks. After that, every time I looked at her, I knew it. Yes. Yes, I did love her with all my heart. And the best thing was that she loved me as well.
I have to tell you that I am not a very loveable person. I know that and I don't especially care. I am very good at cleverly hiding my true self behind a charming mask. It's easy to make girls fall in love with that mask. Soon they would do anything just to be in my favour. Only one peek behind my façade of lies, though, and they would run away in terror. Hermione was different. She loved me. I had abandoned the mask around her and she didn't run. Sure, there were a lot of things about me that she didn't approve of. Still, for some reason, she was able to accept me and she loved me.
~.~.~
My eyes sought her out as she sat at the desk in our living room, pouring over yet another book. Everything was so peaceful. She was always happiest when reading, Hermione. A fond smile drifted over my face and I walked over to her. She still hadn't noticed me so I drew her attention to me with placing a soft kiss on the crown of her head. Hermione looked up and instantly a smile blossomed on her features.
'How about we go out for dinner?' I asked her. 'I'm way too lazy to make something.'
Hermione nodded and easily agreed. Still smiling, she abandoned her book and stood up. Her arm snaked around my waist and she gave me a quick hug. My heart skipped a beat and I bent down and pecked her on the lips. I loved how easy it was to live with Hermione. Our relationship had solidified and we were incredibly close. I've never been this close to another human being and I loved Hermione all the more for it.
We left our flat and stepped on Knockturn Alley. Through the corners of my eyes I could see Hermione's mouth tighten into a thin, disapproving line. She didn't say anything, but I knew she hated that we lived in Knockturn. It was a point of many arguments. I, on the other hand, liked our flat. It was cheap and rather close to Borgin and Burkes. Hermione despised Knockturn and all that it stood for. Consecutively, she also didn't like the flat.
'Do you want to go to the Leaky Cauldron?' I asked, trying to take her mind off Knockturn.
I was successful. Hermione beamed up at me and declared that she was really in the mood for some Shepherd's Pie. Her mood lifted, she then jumped into an explanation of the problem she was currently working on at the Department of Mysteries. I was proud of Hermione that she had managed to join the Unspeakables. It was only her first year, but already her boss and colleagues were quite taken with her. Of course they would be. Hermione was great, after all.
We had already entered the Leaky Cauldron and sat at a table as Hermione stopped her monologue. She blushed adorably as she realized that she had not even given me a chance to interrupt her flow of words. I really didn't mind, though. I liked listening to her. Bashfully, she inquired about my day at work.
'Nothing special.' I shrugged. 'Burkes wants me to visit Hepzibah Smith once again. There's a collection of brooches he would love to get his hands on.'
A troubled look crossed Hermione face as I said it. I wasn't quite sure why. I had visited Hepzibah Smith before in order to secure a good deal for Burkes. I didn't know why Hermione disliked Smith so much. Maybe it was my job in general that she didn't like. It was another point of argument. Hermione had told me on multiple occasions that she didn't want me to work at Borgin and Burkes. Of course she was right. I could easily find something better, but working with them had a lot of perks I didn't yet want to abandon. I didn't like, though, how upset Hermione was about my career choice. I reached over the table and grabbed her hand. My thumb soothed over the skin at the back of her hand as I told her softly,
'I love you. You know that, right?'
I was still surprised how that statement wasn't a lie anymore. Hermione smiled at me and pressed my hand in return."
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