A/N : I didn't have internet access when I wrote this, so I wasn't sure of the exact time line of Tom Riddle's Horcrux making. Because of this, I just decided this would be an AU where he hadn't made any Horcruxes yet when Hermione arrived.

House : Slytherin

Position : Year 2

Category : Standard

Prompt : [Character] Tom Riddle
Word Count : 1499

.oOo.

Hermione watched her best friend Harry Potter's body fall onto the stone ground with a thud. Voldemort stood above the body, snatching the Elder Wand from it.

'No!' shouted a voice. A flash of green light silenced it.

'Anyone questioning my regime will meet that fate.' He gestured to his Death Eaters. 'Snatch their wands. I'll deal with the Order.'

Everything went black.

.oOo.

After what was both an eternity and an instant, she opened her eyes. Everything was dazzlingly white. Perplexed, she looked around. Above her was a sparkling glass roof. Everything around her seemed blurry, as if it wasn't quite finished coming into existence. Was this the afterlife? She couldn't be sure.

'Am I dead?' she whispered to herself.

'Not for long,' a voice answered.

'Who's there?' she called.

'It doesn't matter. Now, you must listen carefully. The Fates made a mistake and Voldemort is now an invincible raving lunatic. You have the power to change that.'

'How?'

'Don't worry. You'll find out soon enough. We have but one piece of advice for you : remember, love conquers all. It is the most powerful force of all.'

A bunch of cryptic nonsense. Just what I needed, thought Hermione as her vision clouded. Images of the bloodied, body-strewn battlefield she had left flashed through her mind. At least it can't get worse. She shut her eyes and hoped for the best.

.oOo.

When she opened them again, she was sitting in what she recognised as the Headmaster's Office at Hogwarts. Opposite her sat Armando Dippet.

'As I was saying, it is highly unusual for students to join Hogwarts part way through their education. But in circumstances as extenuating as yours, it won't be a problem.'

Smiling despite her utter befuddlement, Hermione nodded. 'Yes, I understand. Thank you very much.'

'I do believe it would be best for you to integrate into a House. Do you have any objections to being Sorted?'

'Of course not.'

'Excellent. I'll only be a moment.'

As the Headmaster left to get the Sorting Hat, Hermione realised what she had agreed to. Her Occlumency barriers were good, but they would be ineffective against the Hat. It would know her every thought. She could only pray it didn't blow her cover. She didn't even know what it was.

Dippet returned, Sorting Hat in hand. He placed it atop her head with a smile.

Well, well, well, she heard the Hat say. Very interesting. I've never seen anything like this. Oh, you needn't worry about me. Having seen your future, I couldn't condone thwarting your efforts. In fact, I will come to your aid - I overheard your cover backstory earlier: you are the only living Selwyn. As the sole heir of an immense fortune, you go by the name Hermione Granger to protect yourself. Now, I must Sort you. You were a good Gryffindor, but you have lived through a war. You aren't the person you were. No, you'll do best in SLYTHERIN!

The Hat was plucked from her head within an instant. 'Excellent! Well, I couldn't expect anything else from someone of your quality. You'll make a fine Slytherin."

Hermione laughed gently, swallowing the nausea that bubbled in her stomach. 'Thank you, sir.'

'I'll have a Slytherin prefect from your year come and show you around.' He wrote a note, muttered a spell, and the message was gone. Less than a minute later, there was a sharp knock at the door. The door swung open and a well-dressed boy walked in.

'Good evening, sir.' He turned to Hermione. 'And you must be Miss Granger. I'm Tom Riddle.'

She suffocated her nausea once again and smiled. 'I insist you call me Hermione. It's a pleasure to meet you, Tom Riddle.'

'Likewise, Hermione,' he replied with a smile of his own. The way he said her name made her shiver in ways she hadn't thought possible.

'I assume you can give her a tour?' Dippet interjected.

'Of course,' Tom answered. He held out his arm to Hermione. 'Shall we?' She took it, and with that, they were gone.

'So,' he began once they were out of the Headmaster's earshot. 'Why are you here?'

'I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to say.'

His eyes flashed with something dark and impenetrable. 'I'm very good at keeping other people's secrets.'

For blackmail purposes, she thought to herself, but she kept the same complaisant smile plastered on her face. 'And I'm very good at keeping my own, so I'm sure we'll get along.'

He laughed, but no mirth reached those dark eyes of his. 'Touché. I'm certain we will.'

.oOo.

An hour or two later, Hermione was left alone with her thoughts for the first time since her 'death'. She sunk into her dorm's plush bed and thought back to what the mysterious voice had said. Love conquers all. What did that even mean? And then, it dawned on her. She needed to make Tom Riddle fall in love. She couldn't be certain, of course, but it was the only logical explanation. Some greater force had reasoned that only love could steer him from his path of mass destruction.

What was she supposed to do? She needed a plan, and fast.

.oOo.

The first few days, Hermione watched Tom. It wasn't easy to capture his attention, but she felt the best approach was to be mysterious. The less he knew, the more intrigued he was.

Sitting in the Slytherin Common Room, she noticed a heavily made-up blond fawning over him. His boredom couldn't be clearer and Hermione wondered what on earth was going through the girl's mind. It wouldn't hurt to know, she told herself. It only took a Legilimens to reveal every asinine thought in her brain.

Brusquely, Tom stood up, brushing past the girl. He stopped for a moment as he passed Hermione.

'Interesting, Granger. I'll wager you didn't learn that at school,' he whispered in her ear, his hot breath trailing down her neck. It was all Hermione could do to tell herself she was shivering out of fear, and absolutely nothing else.

.oOo.

Tom noticed his lackeys paying Hermione a little too much attention. He wasn't surprised when Dolohov ended up in the Hospital Wing. The lacerations across his chest were from a spell he had never encountered.

'Interesting,' he muttered. 'Very interesting indeed.'

.oOo.

Hermione was hidden away in a corner of the library when Tom came up to her. 'It's time we took a walk.'

Hermione nodded, knowing her voice would betray her nervousness, despite her calm expression.

'Nice work with Dolohov. Intriguing spellwork,' he commented, a smile on his lips and the devil in his eyes.

'Thanks,' she drawled, fear and uncertainty swimming in her brain.

He paused, then stopped abruptly, turning to face her. 'Who are you?' he whispered, reaching out to touch her cheek.

'I can't tell you,' she breathed, and she hated how vulnerable she felt.

'I've been watching you for weeks and I know you watch me. You use spells I've never encountered. Dark magic, too. Dippet was all too easy to coerce - I know your mysterious story - but your cover falls apart at the merest glance. So, who are you?'

'Hermione Granger,' she choked out, a caged animal backed into a corner.

He let out a frustrated sigh. 'I asked for - '

'I can't explain,' she murmured. 'I don't even know who I am anymore.' It's not even because of the false identities or the different universe. It's because of what she feels as she stands in front of Tom Riddle, psychopath extraordinaire. The way every fiber in her body pulses with desire when he stares into her soul with his deep dark eyes.

'Neither do I,' he muttered. 'But I know that you take up every crevice of my mind. You are killing me and all I need to know is why you are here, and if it's to torture or to succour me or both.'

'I'm from the future. A future. You exist there. Rather, a version of you exists there. You have power, but you're deranged and it's all blood and hate and the pure raw magic is gone.'

'There's a reason you're telling me this. You know something.'

'I know you, Tom. I've read the books. I've seen your story unfold. But you could have done better. You should have.'

'And I will. You'll help me.'

'I don't want to.'

'But you can't help it. I fascinate you like you fascinate me. There's nothing you can do but give in.'

Then his lips are up against hers and even though she knows it's wrong, he is right - she must concede defeat and give in.

.oOo.

'You were right,' Clotho said. 'I had my doubts, but you were right.'

'A crazed fool wreaking havoc is no fun. Two intelligent, powerful individuals ruling the world is a different story. All we needed was for her to discard her morals, and who wouldn't do such a simple thing for love?' Lachesis smiled.

A/N: Lachesis and Clotho are two of the three fates, aka the greater power in this story.