Author Note of happiness- I've decided to edit this finally. The spelling and grammar is terrible, plus I can correct stuff that I got wrong such as Hogwarts's location. Since people are still reading this, I think it would be fair to make it easier to read.

Disclaimer: Of course I own HP. Can't you see I'm obviously the brilliant Ms. J.K. Rowlings. (is hit over head with physics book) Ok, fine, I don't own it. It belongs to much more brilliant people than myself. Geez, have to take the fun out of everything don't you.

"Must you go Hermione?"

"Yes, it's time for me to go back Tom, I'm sorry. I won't forget you. I couldn't if I tried," she laughed sadly. She leaned up, pressed her lips to his one last time, and would have stayed like that if Professor Dumbledore had not interrupted.

"It's time Miss Granger. I'll see you in forty years," the future headmaster said, fixing her with those blue eyes.

"Alright, see you then Professor. Good bye," she said and walked toward the portal.

"I love you Hermione," Tom called one last time.

"I love you too, Tom Riddle," and with that she jumped through the tapestry into her own time. Time travel always left the person feeling dizzy and tired, and with the emotional fixes of the past month, it was even worse on Hermione. When the world finally stopped spinning, she made out the faces of her best friends and an older Dumbledore.

"Hermione, is that you?" Ron asked uncertainly. She smiled at his dim question.

"Of course Ronald, who else could it be? Really, it's not like people fall out of tapestries all the time," she replied and engulfed him with a hug. Harry and Ginny hugged her too and for a moment, they just stayed like that.

"It's great to have you back, Hermione," Harry greeted her.

"Yeah, without you it's just one big battle of male ego," Ginny joked, earning a laugh and two glares.

"It's good to be back guys," she answered, feeling slightly guilty as she partly longed to be back in Tom's time.

"So what happened? Where did you go and who'd you see? Come on, details, details," Ron interrogated. Hermione just laughed at his eagerness and looked up at the Headmaster.

"Perhaps Mr. Weasley, it would be best to wait until the morning. I'm sure Miss Granger is exhausted from all the excitement," Dumbledore told Ron, coming to her defense. Ron looked at his feet, knowing there was no point in arguing. "Miss Granger, I think it would be best if you stayed in the Hospital Wing tonight as I'm sure you'd rather not be mobbed by curious students," he suggested.

"Yes, I suppose that would be best," she agreed.

"We'll accompany you there," Harry offered. She accepted and walked out of the office. They walked in thoughtful silence, minds reeling with thoughts and questions. They reached the Infirmary where Madame Pomfrey pulled Hermione into a bear hug. Hermione managed to explain the circumstances once she could breathe again. The nurse led her over to a bed and rushed her friends out. Hermione changed and climbed into bed thinking about her latest adventure.

XXXXXXXX

It was midnight, well past curfew, but she did not care. She was determined to find it. There was rumor that on this night a secret room was to appear behind the fairy tapestry of the fourth floor. She crept silently towards it, careful not to draw attention from the prefects. She found her destination and was filled with awe. Soft light spewed from the hanging and voices floated from it. It was better than she could have imagined. She approached and made to move it aside when suddenly it pulled her in.

She hit the stone floor, finding herself on the sixth floor outside the Ravenclaw tower. She stood up and rubbed her sore palms ignorant to the watching figure.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" a dark, cold voice demanded. Hermione froze and looked at the lone person. He was tall and slender with wavy black hair and dark blue eyes. He was older than she was, perhaps a seventh year, possibly sixth. He wore the Slytherin crest on his robes with the prefect badge next to the emblem. His familiar wand trained on her as he waited for an answer. She had never met him, but it was a person she knew oh too well.

"I said who are you? What are you doing here?" Tom Riddle repeated slower and more forcefully. Hermione glared at him as she spoke.

"That's no concern of yours Vol- Riddle," she told him, resisting to use his future name, "If you will take me to the Headmaster's please, I would be grateful." He glared back, considering her words before turning and stalking down the hall.

"This way," he said simply and she ran after him. She was confused. Not only was she fifty plus years in the past but walking along side the most hated wizard of her time and the enemy of her best friend, not weird at all. She felt her stomach clench at the thought of who he was and resisted the urge not to hex him into oblivion. She hoped he could not feel the utter hatred she radiated.

Meanwhile, Tom was deep in his own thoughts. He was curious about her. She had just fallen out of the ceiling and clearly had no idea who he was if she could talk to him like that. He sensed that she did not like him, but why? In addition, was he just imagining things or had she almost used his nickname? He turned to examine the girl walking beside him. She was very pretty he had to admit. She had long, curly brown hair and big, green, knowledgeable eyes. Her air reminded her of him. She gave off the sense of someone powerful, intelligent, but possessed a softness he could never have, even if he wanted it.

"Can I please at least know your name?" he asked finally. He saw her tense up before speaking.

"Hermione Granger," she muttered simply. He nodded and kept walking.

"What, you're not going to tell me yours?" she asked.

"As you seem to already know it then I assume there's not need to. But if you insist, Tom Riddle," he answered. They reached the gargoyle and halted.

"Godric Slytherin," he declared and the statue jumped aside to allow them through. They climbed the spiral staircase to the oak door and Riddle knocked solidly. A moment later, an old man answered. He had short grey hair and a deeply lined face. He wore square spectacles and a faded blue dressing robe and nightcap.

"I'm sorry to bother you Headmaster, but I found this girl and have no idea where she came from. Not to sound foolish, but she fell from the ceiling," he informed the older man professionally. Hermione hated to admit it but Tom had a very nice voice and would have made a great public speaker.

"Uh, right, good work Tom. If you would please wait outside, I will talk to the young lady. Miss, if you will," he directed and stepped aside to allow Hermione in. She stepped inside the familiar office, noting how much larger it looked without the usual tables, and watched the man seat himself behind the desk and motion for her to follow. She sat down in the spare chair and waited for him to speak. "Miss…?"

"Granger, Hermione Granger," she filled in.

"Right, Miss Granger, I do not know how you got into this school and do not know why. For the welfare of my students I must know what happened," Headmaster Dippet explained.

"Of course Sir, though I must ask that you do your best to believe me because I am going to tell you the truth," she pleaded. He nodded and she continued. "I am student at this school fifty-four years in the future. I was looking for a secret room and thought I found the entrance, however, it transported me here. I do not know how this happened but I assure you it is the truth." The old man looked at her for a moment, thinking it over.

"Very well, I believe you. There is rumor of portals around the school. Professor Dumbledore has been hunting for them for years, he may know what you are talking about," he told her, "Do you know the Professor?"

"Yes, he is the Headmaster in my time," she explained. Dippet nodded with a smile.

"Very good, he is the most likely candidate for the job. Now, do tell me more about your time. What is it like?" he asked curiously.

"There isn't much to tell sir. We're at war right now but other than that it's not a huge difference," she shrugged, not knowing what to say. The man just outside the door was to be the killer of thousands of innocents; the darkest wizard ever? That would not go over well. Dippet gave her a look of disappointment and then spoke again.

"As you most likely are to be with us for awhile you are to integrate into our routine which I'm sure you are familiar with. Tell me, what house are you in?" he questioned.

"Gryffindor, sixth year," she answered.

"Very good, then you will stay there and attend whatever classes you are enrolled in. Might I get a list to alert the teachers?" he inquired politely, handing her parchment and a quill. She scribbled them down and handed it back.

"You're free to go now Miss Granger. The password is 'Lemon'. Tom will lead you to the tower. Good night," he finalized and stood up to walk her back to the door.

Tom stood there looking slightly impatient. Obviously, he did not want to be here. Professor Dippet gave him his instructions and he and Hermione made their way to Gryffindor tower.

When they arrived, Tom bade Hermione a good night and said he hoped to see her tomorrow. She returned his partings, not meaning the last bit, and climbed through the portrait. The common room was empty and she made her way up the girls' staircase quietly. The headmaster had said that the farthest 6th year room had available space so she turned into that room. Sure enough, the third bed was unoccupied. She quietly made her way through the room hoping to avoid loose things, but her luck was not so. Her foot collided with a cauldron, banging it into the wall. The other four people woke up in a start and stared at her.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" the girl nearest her demanded.

"Hermione Granger, I'm kind of staying here for now," she answered weakly.

"Why? We've never seen you here before," another asked.

"You wouldn't of. I just… transferred here from… Ireland. My parents decided to move and send me here instead," she lied, hoping that they didn't know there wasn't a magical school in Ireland.

"Fair enough, well, welcome Hermione. I'm Gretta," the voice closest to her greeted. "That one over there is Lindsey, to her left is Ashland, and the great lump is Sydney," she continued, being hit with a well-aimed pillow from Sydney.

"It's nice to meet you all. I'm sorry for waking you all at this hour. I'll see in the morning I guess," Hermione apologized and climbed into bed.

XXXXXXXX

"Hermione, you need to get up, classes start in an hour," a voice called to her. The bushy haired girl buried her head in her pillow, not wanting to get up. She did comply however and pushed the covers off. She stretched a bit and then looked at her companions.

Gretta stood at the foot of her bed, apparently being her wake up call. She was about five foot four and had a healthy figure. She was not skinny but in no ways fat. She had warm grey eyes that were partially hidden by her red hair. She reminded her of Ginny in a way.

To Hermione's far right was Lindsey. She had mossy green eyes hidden behind glasses. Her long brown hair was pulled up in a ponytail with soft ringlets falling down her back. She was quite tall, maybe five eight and very thin. If she had to guess, Lindsey was probably popular though this would not be a problem as she seemed quite nice, almost shy as she gave Hermione a soft, inviting smile when she noticed her looking.

To the left of her bed, was Ashland. She immediately liked her. She had sandy blond hair and over six feet. She had light brown eyes and a paler complexion than the other girls. A pile of book adorned the bedside table. She reminded her of Professor Lupin in a way and of herself with the obvious love of reading.

Then there was Sydney. She was shorter than the rest, only five foot , give or a take an inch. She was a bit on the hefty side, but was very pretty. She had short black hair that framed her face, accenting her bright blue eyes. She gave Hermione a small smile and a wave and went back to getting ready for the day.

"Hermione, do you have a uniform or anything yet?" Lindsey asked. She shook her head in reply. Lindsey dug through her trunk and pulled out an extra uniform. "I fear it might be a bit big but not noticeably so," she explained nervously. Hermione thanked her and headed into the bathroom to shower and change. She caught sight of herself and realized how silly she must look in 1944. She had a pair of Garfield pajama bottoms and a black tank top on, perfectly fine in 1996 but very wrong here.

A short while later, she arrived back, dressed for the day. The girls were deep in conversation but broke it off when they heard the door open.

"Shall we go down to breakfast now?" Ashland asked, heading for the corridor exit. The others agreed and followed. On their way down, the four talked Hermione's ear off explaining the school and how things worked and all that stuff. She knew most of it already, though the teacher information was a bit interesting, McGonagall was the coolest teacher in school. They arrived in the Great Hall and took their place at Gryffindor table and Hermione was introduced to various members of the house and given a thorough explanation of whom they were.

"That's John Drake. He is the captain of the Quidditch team and house player, if you know what I mean," Sydney explained slyly, "and over there at Ravenclaw is Patricia Connelly the, Oh my gosh, he's here!" she squealed in excitement causing the other four to look at the entrance. Tom Riddle entered the Hall, followed by a group of "friends." Harry had told her about his private lessons so she knew that these had to be the first Death Eaters.

"That hunk of man there is Tom Riddle. He may be a Slytherin but he is charm defined," Gretta whispered in her ear.

"What I wouldn't give to be on his arm," Lindsey agreed. The other two just nodded. Hermione struggled to contain her laughter. Sure, he was handsome; a cloud of mystery about him, but the Dark Lord being discussed in such a manner was too funny.

"He's coming this way!" Ashland gasped, turning around so that he would not see her watching him. Hermione and the others followed suit and waited eagerly to see what would happen.

"Miss Granger," Tom began. Hermione turned around regretfully and faced him. "I do not believe I said this last night, but I'm very glad you are joining us. I hope your stay is pleasant. I will see you in Potions," he said, and kissing her hand, he went back to his table.

"Lucky girl!" Sydney cried, "you are my new hero." Hermione did not hear her or the other questions coming her way. Only one thought entered her mind.

'Lord Voldemort just favored me.'