The Choices That Make History

A/N: Thank you to all those that added to favourites, followed and thanks to 'Guest' for leaving a review.

Here's the second chapter, hope you enjoy it and please read the Authors note at the bottom.

If you spot any spelling/grammar mistakes please let me know so I can fix them. This story does not have a beta so I am basically acting as my own one.

Disclaimer: Nope- since my last disclaimer I have not managed to secure ownership of Harry Potter. In case anyone was wondering.

0~*~0

Everyone started out a little insane
But we learn pretty quick how to fake it for the game
But some of you never learned to drop the act
So under that skin of yours: a heart attack

~Icon For Hire- Make A Move

Chapter 2:

For the first time in years, Tom Riddle wasn't able to focus on any of his lessons. His mind instead whirring with thoughts of the girl that had tried to kill him.

It seemed he wasn't the only one either.

Gossip quickly spread around the school about a strange girl wandering the corridors of Hogwarts covered in blood and dirt in the early hours of the morning. Very few could actually say that they had seen her, but it was enough.

Soon enough- the word got round to the professors, and then the Headmaster and a search went out for the mysterious Hogwarts student. Not that Tom was worried they would actually find her.

He debated what to do with the topic everyone was talking about. Though he knew the easy- and perhaps most logical- thing to do was to simply kill her and yet... If he could somehow harness her power- make her loyal to only him. She would be a great addition to his ranks. It was a risk but in all honesty- he was bored. There was only so much fun he could have with his current followers who all seemed so desperate to impress him. He smirked. They were so easy. He wanted a challenge.

He also wanted answers.

After he had gotten his answers he could break her and then- if she proved to be a useless case or was useless herself- he would dispose of her.

With all these thoughts in his head Tom made his way to the Room of Requirement once curfew had passed and all the students were in their dorms. One of the many perks of being Head Boy, a position he'd worked so hard to gain.

Entering the room the door disappeared behind him and he looked up- only to have his eyes widen in shock and have to duck when something came flying towards him, smashing into the now blank wall behind him right where his head had been previously.

0~*~0

Sitting on the armchair hours after being left there, Hermione turned the table leg over and over in her hands and suddenly, her plan seemed stupid. Weapon? What good would a pathetic piece of wood do against one of the most powerful wizards in existence? Nothing. That was what. Especially when said wizard had magic at his disposal. Even if she managed to somehow hit him with it she doubted it would do much damage. A bit of short-lived pain maybe but that was it.

Why was her life so messed up? Why did they lose? Why did they all die?

The answers evaded her. Maybe she should just kill herself? At least then she would be able to join everyone she loved in death. The more she thought about it, the more tempting it sounded. But then her mind drifted back to the horror she had come from. Could she really just leave everyone to suffer? There was no doubt that in his quest for power, Voldemort had gone insane and destroyed the very world he wanted to rule.

Determination filled her- she had to kill him. She had to. If she succeeded Harry would never have lost his parents. Heck- millions of people would live that had previously died or had been in some way affected by the wars. If she succeeded, another version of her could live, make friends and attend Hogwarts without the constant threat of death hanging over her. Without having to worry about anything except things that seemed so trivial now. Whether she wanted it or not, the fate of the world now lay in Hermione hands and she'd be damned if she failed.

But how was she supposed to kill him? The bastard had stolen her wand and she felt empty without it. The thing was practically her life line. She'd been forced to consider using a bloody table leg as a weapon.

Glaring a said object she chucked it in a general direction- not having noticed the exact boy of her problems enter- and she watched with slight surprise and satisfaction when the object came inches from hitting him in his annoyingly handsome face.

Handsome?

If anything Hermione's glare intensified. She was not allowed to think of snake face as handsome. The description brought forward an image of his future self and she immediately relaxed- the word leaving her brain in a rush before getting burnt to ashes in hell.

She watched as anger flooded into his eyes and his midnight orbs met her muddy brown ones. A part of her screamed to look away from the intensity of his gaze but the Gryffindor in her refused to back down.

After a tense moment where neither uttered a word- simply stared at the other- Hermione finally spoke, her voice coming out hard. "Give. Me. My. Wand." She said bluntly, glaring at him when he only raised an eyebrow, an infuriating smirk curling at his lips.

"So you can try to kill me again?" He replied, his voice coming out soft and dangerous. Triggering every response in Hermione to take the 'flight' action. She stood her ground though, she was a Gryffindor, she was going to fight.

"Scared?" She spat.

Riddle rolled his eyes, "Of someone who couldn't even cast a proper killing curse? Of course not."

Tom knew she had the power to cast the spell. It was the intent she lacked.

Hermione blinked in surprise. She had felt pretty certain she'd got it right but then- she had never cast it or anything like it before. And while a part of her was utterly annoyed that she had failed a spell, another part felt thoroughly relieved that she, technically, hadn't cast an unforgivable.

Riddle read these emotions on her face with curiosity. "Why?"

Hermione paused. Why had she tried to kill him? She realised she was standing on the edge of a very fine line at the moment and that one wrong move and she'd be dead before she could even blink. But she was completely stumped at how to answer that question. She couldn't very well tell the truth... She couldn't imagine 'well you see, I came back from the future to kill you so that you don't rise to become an evil Dark Lord and destroy everything I love' would go down too well.

Hermione prided herself to be quick on her feet but at this current moment in time- her usually active mind was refusing to come up with an appropriate answer. She tried frantically to think. To come up with a story that would sound believable... but what would be a good excuse as to why she'd tried to kill a supposedly random person?

Riddle was getting impatient at her lack of answer and she held a hand up to pause him in whatever he was about to say. "Hang on." She said to him- her voice betraying the desperation she felt, her brows creasing in thought.

He stared at her in slight disbelief and if the circumstances hadn't been so dire, Hermione might have laughed. As it was she glared sullenly at the ground when her mind continued to come up blank.

Suddenly she felt a harsh grip on her chin and her face was forcefully dragged up so she was looking at his eyes. How had he managed to move across half the room without her noticing? With such a short distance between them Hermione noticed just how dark and cold his eyes were. The lack of distance between them was all too obvious, Hermione could feel his warm breath as it brushed gently across her face and she tried to pull away- part of her disgusted that he was even touching her but his grip was hard and unrelenting and Hermione found herself staring unwillingly into his deep eyes, despite knowing what he was planning on doing.

After her best friends and almost everyone she knew died in the Battle of Hogwarts Hermione had taken to learning a bit about occlumency, but by no means did that mean she was good at it. But it did mean she was good enough to notice when someone was doing it and she tried frantically to remember all she had learnt. Riddle's attack wasn't very strong- likely he didn't expect her to even know such things as the mind arts existed.

Hermione managed to create a rather feeble wall blocking him from her mind, though she was perfectly aware that just one more push and he would be able to crack through her pathetic defence.

His attack hit her wall softly and she watched as Riddle's eyes widened ever so slightly- betraying his surprise. Before he could attack again but stronger, with a great amount of will Hermione managed to tear her eyes from his- instead gazing past his face and staring stubbornly at the wall behind him.

His hand let go of her chin and Hermione instantly relaxed slightly- having the future Dark Lord touch her in any way was not something on her 'things to do' list.

As soon as she was able to Hermione immediately took a step back, trying to put as much distance as she could between them. This action did not go unnoticed by the boy opposite her but his eyes betrayed nothing.

Suddenly he smirked. "Make yourself comfortable..." His eyes drifted to the broken table and a perfect eyebrow was raised, "I'll be back and maybe then you'll be willing to tell me. If not..." His eyes glinted dangerously and Hermione couldn't stop the shiver at the unspoken sentence. 'Or else.'

Then he left and she was once again left alone in what Hermione was now calling the most boring room in existence. Watching as his figure disappeared Hermione grinned slightly, and as the door to her prison faded out of existence, Hermione reached into her pocket and withdrew her wand- twirling it between her fingers. Still not quite believing that she had technically just pick pocketed the Dark Lord, Hermione approached the wall, placing her hand on the solid stone so that her palm was pressed against the cold surface.

Whether or not this would work Hermione had no clue but she had to try. Pointing her wand at herself Hermione swore to be more aware of her most precious object before whispering a spell, "Expers Corporis."

She felt the feeling of cool liquid rush through her entire body and suddenly- the wall in which her palm was resting against no longer felt so solid. With a forceful push Hermione grinned when her hand disappeared- going through the wall before she withdrew it. Thinking to herself that it was just like the platform 9 and 3/4 Hermione steeled her nerves and simply walked forwards- disappearing into the wall itself.

For a moment there was only darkness and Hermione felt a small sliver of panic working its way through her stomach but she continued to push forwards, determination swirling through her. After what felt like minutes but was, in actual fact, only seconds- Hermione emerged on the other side of the wall.

Staring up and down the empty hallway Hermione laughed to herself. She had, technically, just outsmarted the young Dark Lord.

Now what? She thought to herself, a small frown creasing her features. Sure she could simply find Riddle again and attempt to kill him but Hermione learnt from her mistakes. She then thought about his horcruxes. It would probably be easier for her if she killed Voldemort first and then worried about his soul pieces.

But how was she supposed to kill him in the first place?

Hermione sighed when she realised she had probably messed that plan up. Because Voldemort was never going to trust her after her failed attempt at murdering him and Hermione figured the easiest way to complete her mission would be to get close to him.

Why was everything so complicated? She was only 19 for Merlin's sake. Her biggest worry at the moment was supposed to be finding a bloody job. Not how she should kill someone.

But then- Hermione had never had a normal or easy life. Even before Hogwarts- when she was oblivious to the magical world and all the problems within it. No, before Hogwarts she was different to everyone else. Only her parents seemed to accept who she was and they were dead. Most importantly they were dead because of what she was.

It was unfair but it was life. And Hermione was just going to have to live with it.

Whilst she was standing there thinking to herself, someone had walked down the very same corridor and was now looking at her through twinkling eyes.

"I believe the whole school has been searching for you miss...?"

Hermione jumped- jolting out of her thoughts and turning to stare at the man before her. Her eyes widened of their own accord and all she could do was stare. Because standing in front of her- alive and very much not dead- was Professor Dumbledore.

Then his words caught up with her and she frowned, "What do you mean?"

Dumbledore chuckled and Hermione was struck with a pang of loss and homesickness. Remembering all too well the Dumbledore of her time but more importantly, everyone else that went with that memory.

"You made quite the impression this morning," His blue eyes flickered over her torn and bloodied clothing behind half moon spectacles. "May I ask what you are doing in Hogwarts when you are clearly not a student?"

Hermione winced, turning her gaze to the floor as she thought. Making a quick decision Hermione snapped her head back up and looked him straight in the eye. "Of course professor. But would you mind if we took this somewhere more private?"

0~*~0

"Forgive me miss.. Granger but you'll have to excuse me when I say that this sounds quite unbelievable."

Hermione fiddled with the hem of her sleeve, hoping that the wise old man would believe her even if it was asking a lot which she knew it was. She had told him that she was from the future- a future she refused to talk about as Hermione was well aware of the dangers of meddling with time- and even if she managed to kill Riddle and that world ceased to exist, Hermione adamantly refused to take any chances.

She'd told him that she'd been sent here to do something though what that something was she also left out. Somehow Hermione had trouble believing that this Dumbledore would be okay with her killing someone even if that someone was the most evil, insane and powerful Dark Lord to ever exist.

"I can't tell you much of what happens in the future professor," Hermione admitted, her eyes following her own fingers as they played with the fraying edges of her robes, "But I can tell you that it's not pleasant- neither will it get any better unless I do something about it. If there was another way then I'd take it but there's not so I have to do this." Conviction burned in her eyes as she said this- fuelled by her fury at the Dark Lord and everything he'd taken from her.

"Be that as it may miss Granger but what exactly are you expecting me to do about it?" The words weren't cruel- they were simply curious- suspicious.

Finally Hermione lifted her gaze and stared solemnly at him, "I'm not expecting you to help me professor. But I've arrived here with nothing and what I am to do next I don't know." Hermione smiled sadly, "So no, I'm not expecting you to do anything, sir, to help me but I admit I need help."

Hermione winced slightly at this. She hated asking for help- preferring to figure things out on her own but logically Hermione knew that, without inside help, she might as well just give up now.

Dumbledore studied her- his perceptive eyes piercing hers as if looking for any signs of lies or deception. Seeing nothing but grief and a pure determination however he finally- slowly- nodded his head.

"Very well miss Granger. What is it you would like doing?"

Hermione let out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding and for the first time since she'd arrived here, she smiled properly at the younger version of Dumbledore- the expression feeling slightly strange on her face having not done it in so long.

"I'd like to enrol in Hogwarts."

0~*~0

It felt weird being back in the Headmaster's office. It also felt wrong. Hermione had gotten used to Dumbledore's office in her time- the bright colours, all the odd little trinkets placed in an organised mess about the place and the beautiful phoenix that always succeeded in lifting her mood.

Now, Armando Dippet's office in comparison was so... dull.

Despite this Hermione kept a polite- if fake- smile on her face as she met with the current Headmaster and explained the back story she and Dumbledore had come up with.

Hermione had kept her name- refusing to change her identity which also meant she would still be known as a muggle born. This had caused an argument between her and Dumbledore who insisted it would be wiser and easier for her if she went with a story of a half or pureblood who was home-schooled.

Stubborn as she was though Hermione had refused to back down and Dumbledore had to admire her for it. 'I'm proud of who I am.' She had told him, 'I don't need to hide behind false securities.'

So now, Hermione Granger was a muggle born orphan who had been adopted by a wizard and then home-schooled. Dumbledore had said it would be too risky saying she had attended another school- it would be too easy for someone to check and unravel the lie.

Therefore she was now the adopted child of an unknown wizard who had recently died in the war against Grindewald- leaving her on her own. Some dark wizards had attacked and though they had fought back- they had succeeded in killing him but before Hermione could suffer the same fate, she had activated a port key given to her by her 'father' and been taken to Hogwarts- hence why she had been seen wandering the halls .

The story might be filled with holes but given the circumstances it was the best they could come up with and as long as no one looked too deeply- she would be fine.

Of course the one person Hermione knew was most likely to figure her out was already extremely suspicious of her and she couldn't help but curse herself for her rash actions.

She'd worry about that later as for now, Dippet was asking her questions about her schooling. "And do you have your O.W.L results miss Granger?"

It was a harmless question, yet at the same time it was a dangerous one.

Hermione had no copies of her results and she said as much, watching as the Headmaster frowned slightly. "And why is that?"

"My foster-father taught me everything I know sir but one thing he didn't do is have me perform O.W.L.s. It wasn't the most important thing on our minds."

Dippet slowly nodded his head, his eyes flickering to the figure in the corner, "In that case I shall require proof of your magical abilities to be able to sort you into the correct classes."

Hermione nodded her head- relieved that she was apparently still allowed to attend.

"What electives would you like to take?"

"Ancient Runes and Arithmancy." Hermione said without hesitation and the Headmaster nodded- scribbling something down on a scroll of parchment.

"Professor Dumbledore will perform tests for those as well as all your core classes. Once that is determined you will be sorted into a house."

Now that it was really happening Hermione thought about what house she wanted to be placed in. Gryffindor was her first choice, of course it was but was it really the one she needed to be in?

Slytherin would be hard- her being a muggle born and besides, she'd be too close to Voldemort which would give him more opportunities to fulfil his promise of 'or else'. But again, it might give her more opportunities to kill him. However there was also the issue of if the hat would even place her in Slytherin.

Ravenclaw seemed like a good compromise it had been between that and Gryffindor in her first year and Hermione admitted it would be nice to be surrounded by intelligent people for once. Not that she was implying Gryffindor's were unintelligent but the truth was, the majority cared more about Quidditch, pulling pranks, insulting Slytherins and playing games than actually studying and doing work.

Hufflepuff... Well she supposed if she wanted to be underestimated then that house would be the best one.

"Thank you sir." Hermione said, glancing at the bearded wizard who had stood silently in the corner throughout the entire exchange.

Once she was dismissed Dumbledore led her to his office. "We shall be quick," He told her once they had arrived, "That way you can be sorted into your house and can rest in your new dorm."

Hermione nodded her head- it was past midnight now. She had gotten used to having little to no sleep however and this was barely affecting her. She wasn't missing her sleep. Sleep meant nightmares that often left her screaming in the dead of night or twisting and turning violently in the early hours of the morning, leaving her glistening in sweat when she woke.

Each test went fairly quickly- the longest being potions in which she produced a seventh year elixir. Hermione saw no reason to hide her skills. Being Hermione she performed to her best and had fun doing so. Once everything was done the time had passed 2 in the morning and Dumbledore smiled at her.

"Impressive miss Granger. There should be no problem in you getting the classes you want."

The witch grinned, the air around her crackling slightly with magic and Dumbledore studied her curiously and- was there suspicion in his eyes? Hermione wouldn't blame him if there was.

"Perhaps we should work on finding a way to get you home."

Hermione froze at hearing those words as they left the professor's mouth and she tried not to show her alarm. "How do you mean sir?"

"Once you've finished your mission it's prudent that you don't remain in this time." The wizard said solemnly, "Bad things happen to those that meddle in time. You don't want to change the future too drastically or the consequences might be extremely dire."

Such as wiping a whole world out of existence?

Hermione internally winced but nonetheless she nodded her head. She couldn't tell the future Headmaster what the consequences of her actions were to be. He'd never allow her to do it. Instead he'd probably say something dubious along the lines of, 'Maybe that is what's supposed to happen miss Granger. After all, the future happens for a reason. Let it be.'

Hermione sighed as she left the Transfiguration classroom and followed behind Dumbledore back to Dippet's office. As much as she hated lying to her old Headmaster- Hermione realised that she could not tell him the truth. He probably thought she was sent to find something. Such as an object or information that would have no effect on the world she left but would instead help her in the future.

Unfortunately it was not as simple as that. There was nothing she could find here that would help her back in her time and even if there was... Would it really be worth it? When there was so little left of her own world. No, Hermione realised. Even if there was something like that she knew she'd still follow her original plan. Because here, even if she was ending a world- she was creating a new, better one... a new start. Whether or not Dumbledore would share her thoughts she didn't know.

And she didn't intend to find out either.

0~*~0

"Hermione is more than qualified for the seventh year classes." Dumbledore said to Dippet once they had arrived in his office. The Headmaster nodded his head and stood up, walking over to the shelf in which the talking hat lived upon.

Two wrinkled hands reached out and lifted up the worn piece of fabric before bringing it over the Hermione.

Said witch barely had time to think more on what house she wanted to be in before the hat was placed on top of her bushy brown hair and suddenly a familiar 'voice' was heard inside her head.

'Miss Granger... so we meet again apparently? Well this is certainly interesting...'

0~*~0

Dumbledore sat behind his desk thoughtfully, his hands absently unwrapping a sherbet lemon and popping the delightful sweet into his mouth. Then his thoughts went to the young witch- miss Granger. Dumbledore wasn't entirely sure what to make of her. He had no doubt that she had come from the future- he'd checked every sort of record he could and there wasn't even the faintest whisper of the witch throughout history. One thing he could tell however, was that she was powerful, and the great wizard resolved to keep a watchful eye on her.

Time travellers were rare after all and they were dangerous. He didn't believe miss Granger had bad intentions but that didn't mean he would agree with whatever they were.

He would make sure to watch her- watch who she interacted with and how she did so, watch her performance in and out of class and maybe even use legilimency on her if he was concerned enough, however he dearly hoped he wouldn't have to.

There was something off about her as well- something darker in her bright, intelligent eyes but what it was Dumbledore didn't know. He resolved to find out.

A/N: Thanks for reading- hopefully the chapter wasn't too bad. I know some were wondering about the hat and no- it doesn't 'remember' sorting Hermione previously. It can just see in her head and knows that she has been sorted before. It might be a magic hat but it's not that amazing.

Now I'm not sure what house to have Hermione placed in- I'm fine with any of them but if anyone has any preferences please let me know. Thank you xox