"Who am I to believe that you are good?

Who am I to believe that you, as you claim, are worthy of me?

Who am I to believe that you, Tom Riddle, want me?"

"You and I are similar, you know. Both brilliant, both disadvantaged in our upbringing. Both destined for great things. So why wouldn't I be worthy of you. I do not kid myself, I am not good. But neither are you. We both blur that line, of good and evil, of light and dark. We have both done unspeakable things, we have hurt, we have killed. But the one thing neither of us have done is take over the world. That is, as of now. So let me ask you one question, darling. Do you want to rule the world with me?"

Hermione woke up, her clothes soaked with sweat. Every night she woke up to the same conversation coursing through her mind, the same question lingering.

He had given her a week to decide. A lot had happened since the end of school. After Voldemort was defeated, the trio went back to Hogwarts to finish their education. It had been an uneventful year, something they were all grateful for after 6 years of disaster. But the day after graduation, Hermione was approached by a man who looked all too familiar. He stood at her doorstep, soaking wet, with a smirk to rival Draco Malfoy's. He was polite, charming, with an air of danger just below the surface. The man asked for a place to stay. She said yes. She didn't know why, but something about him made her want to trust him.

He walked in, and at her invitation, sat down. He was quite forward, she noticed, sitting in the chair closest to the one she had claimed as hers, and resting his hand dangerously close to her thigh. His face, one of striking features, was beginning to become more and more recognizable as the face of Tom Marvolo Riddle, before his transformation into Lord Voldemort. Hermione paled, and inhaled deeply before speaking in a pleasant, but firm tone.

"Tom Riddle, what a pleasant surprise, what brings you to my time."

He nodded his head appreciatively, almost as if he was pleased she had worked out his identity.

"I have a proposition for you."