DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter, its characters, plot and other trademarks are owned by J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers and affiliated companies; not me. This is just a work of fanfiction.
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Vitamin Sea! Finally! I've been meaning to get out of town and travel to clear my mind of things and pent-up stress. The resthouse my friends and I stayed at in Real, Quezon was just in front of the beach. When we woke up the next morning, we had a roadside breakfast (between the mountains and the sea) and then had a morning stroll along the beach.
We cooked a seafood galore-themed lunch (grilled squid, grilled blue marlin steak, raw fish salad with cucumber, garlic and ginger strips, grilled stuffed tuna, and of course, rice) and ate those by the Balagbag Falls.
The scenery, food, and company, along with the red wine, made the long yet exhausting trip (it takes 3-4 hours to get there) worthwhile.
We have beaches north and south, east and west here. If you're planning to visit the Philippines, do hit me a PM or even a review (#HowShamelessCanIGet) so I can give you suggestions.
I'm sorry uploading the updated chapters is taking awhile (for both old and new readers). I didn't know that this move and taking on a homebased job while at it could be so taxing. I just didn't want to give exact dates anymore as I'm not so sure when it'll be completely done so I could write and publish chapter 6 onwards.
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ABOUT THE TIMELINE: My dear beta KABGO1 (thank you for sitting through the horror called 'my writing'; I owe you)commented that she was slightly confused about the timeline they were in and figured out they were in Tom's time. I wrote (re-written as of January 1, 2018) this with them being in Harry's timeline in mind with some deets (characters, situations, etc.) that were taken from Tom's timeline. But I like to think it's fluid enough to be, well, vice versa. Whichever floats your boat and your imagination, I support it. You're the reader and you get to enjoy what you read however you can and want to.
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CHAPTER 2: TELLTALE
Hermione paced back and forth across her dorm room and ignored her cat Crookshank's meows and chewed on her lower lip, thinking back to the encounter with the dark Slytherin two days ago.
If she wasn't so sure before, she was positive now. Tom Riddle was synonymous to evil. Sure, Draco Malfoy wouldn't hesitate to hex her behind their teachers' backs but it'd just be for laughs.
But Tom?
She felt something different about his aura. Even his magic seemed full of malice. It crackled and revolved around him, like fire and wind intertwined.
Thank Merlin for Madame Pince.
She ceased her pacing and dropped her bum onto her bed. She was in deep. And she knew it.
You daft girl! You were almost close!
Hermione hadn't meant to cross the Slytherin. She was in a foul mood over Ron and Lavender's PDA. And as if it wasn't constant enough, they even had to snog here, there, and everywhere.
And she was also annoyed with Harry. She had told him to throw away that stupid Half-Blood Prince's Potions book. The book's very existence plus how Harry and Ron willingly used it to their advantage grated on her nerves.
Hermione Jean Granger always worked hard to get anything she wants. She hated how brewing Potions came easily to Harry now. It was unfair. She studied hard, took lots of notes and wrote detailed essays that go past the required length and word count. But all her Quidditch Seeker friend needed to do was flip open to the page Professor Slughorn told them to and voila! He'd get an Outstanding.
Nothing about cheating was outstanding. The only kick Hermione got out of the situation was that Tom seemed incensed about Harry's newfound abilities in Potions, too.
And then she had continued antagonizing the evil boy.
Tom did the fastest and most convincing 180 degree she'd ever seen. He turned bashful and shy about being 'jumpy' flawlessly that Madame Pince fussed about insects in the library eating the parchments and books instead. She had half of a mind to tell the librarian that not all insects eat paper and most of the books were magically protected from such travesty.
Huh. What an actor.
Tom Riddle had always been polite—was polite, at least, to her. The professors and other students were bonkers over the boy.
Look how perfect he is!
Tom, m'boy! Outstanding, as always!
He pretended to be this shy yet nice boy that even she was fooled a bit during their first year. Just a teeny tiny bit. Most of the girls were mad for how handsome and intelligent he was and some of the boys respected, envied and wanted to be him.
She was glad Ginny and Luna didn't seem to be affected by the Tom virus. The youngest Weasley used to comment on his 'cuteness'—oh please, she wanted to vomit—but she never heard anything from Luna.
Hermione had her own suspicions about who the girl might be interested in but had no evidence. After all, hadn't she been interested in the same guy a year ago? She'd watch Luna, though, just to make sure.
As for Harry and Ron, being the Gryffindors they were, naturally distrusted any member of the snake house.
The pretentious bugger seamlessly played along to the tune she orchestrated. And he even blushed! Blushed! How had the git managed to do just that? Did he take an acting class? Ate a plate of chili?
Perhaps the guy simply hated being bested. It was always a competition for him. Even in lying. She was sure that that was the only way he hated her ever since they laid eyes on each other. He'd been rude to her at the Hogwarts Express when she politely asked if he saw Trevor, Neville's missing toad, and tried to make small talk.
She had slammed his carriage door on him.
But...when did it exactly start? Second year? Yes; when Draco Malfoy made fun of Ron, she let it slip that someone's father probably just paid to get him into the Slytherin Quidditch team.
"Filthy little mudblood..." The words had flowed easily from Malfoy's mouth. He was surrounded by his Quidditch teammates in a sea of green, silver and positively awful; the whole lot of them, really. They all guffawed as if those three words were the funniest thing in the world.
It wasn't. For Little Hermione, the girl with the buck teeth and frizzy hair, that was the game changer.
From the corner of her eyes, she saw other students glued to the scene playing out in front of them. Including the quiet and shy black-haired Slytherin sitting by one of the stone arches.
Something in her chest throbbed painfully and her hands grew clammy.
There was a smirk on his face. It grew wider when their gazes met.
It was the first time she ever saw him do that and it brought chills to her body. He usually avoided glances or nodded timidly.
Quiet and shy, Hermione scoffed. Tom certainly wasn't the quiet, shy one of their second year anymore. Sixth year Tom Riddle strutted about as if he owned Hogwarts, as if he was king of the centuries old castle.
He said all the right things, smiled at the right times and looked bashful when needed. The slimy snake had everyone wrapped around his finger. Or scaly tail. Not Hermione Granger, though.
Her head ached and she rubbed the top of her head. Another stress-induced migraine.
But was why she worried about the turd? It wasn't as if he was Grindelwald. She should watch her mouth often, that's what she ought to do. And her temper. She's slowly becoming Harry in that respect.
It was useless to lose sleep and appetite over a bully. He may have magic but Tom Riddle wasn't so different from the bullies in the muggle world.
That's all he is, Hermione; a bully. Nothing more. Besides, you've done your fair share of bullying. You goaded him; that doesn't make you any better...Hermione's thoughts followed her into the loo.
And over what? Ron and Lavender snogging their faces off? She rolled her eyes. The jealousy was so last year. But the PDA continued on to the current one.
Shower was wonderful. The water coming from the overhead spout was just the right amount of warmth leaning towards the heated side. She scratched her nape with the pads of her fingers to remove the remaining bubbles of shampoo. As the creamy, sweet coconut-scented lather rushed down her body along with what remained of the bubbles from the soap she used, she felt something sticky gliding down her leg.
Soap, shampoo and blood pooled on the tiles and emptied into the drainage.
Great. Just great. That would explain the increased irritation over the past few days. Particularly last night.
She had slammed the door to the loo on her roommates after they joked about how compatible she and Draco Malfoy—of all the boys in their school, they picked the spoiled brat?!
"What a shame. You two could've been perfect."
She spluttered at Lavender. "Excuse me?"
"What?" Lavender asked. She exchanged knowing grins with Ginny and Parvati. "It's the perfect romance novel, wouldn't you think? Enemies turned lovers. Oh, that is so romantic!" The girl fake fainted, complete with an arm on her eyes.
"Oh, shut up!" Hermione sprung from the bed as if prodded on the back with a pointed stick.
"Listen to me, Hermit," the girl continued. Hermione winced at the nickname. "He may be an arse 99% of the time but he can be quite intelligent when he wants to. Have you noticed how adept he is at potions? Plus, he's handsome and you're..." Lavender looked down and up at her.
"I'm what?" She tapped her foot impatiently. Maybe a cursing is in order.
"You're naturally pretty but you could be prettier if only you, you know, dress up and put on makeup. Fix that hair. Remember the Yule Ball?"
Parvati and Ginny nodded.
"If I were a boy I'd have wrestled Viktor Krum for your hand," Lavender said with a demonstration of her closed fists.
Hermione blushed. Well, it wasn't that bad. She did enjoy acting like a girl once in a while. "I suppose I could do that now and then -"
"Aha!" Parvati pointed at her. She jumped because she thought the girl would stun her. "So, you're okay with dressing up now and then for Draco Malfoy." Her friend made air quotes and wagged her eyebrows.
"Yeah. And I know he won't mind. In fact, you've rendered him speechless that night." Lavender sighed dreamily. "I think most of Hogwarts was."
Hermione couldn't help but preen over the compliment. She was used to being made fun of her hair and teeth, not this. Pretty was not a word commonly used to refer to her.
But still, it was Malfoy they were talking about.
"I'll have you know that if I indeed dress up and put on makeup that it'll be for me, not for some boy. Especially that evil, evil -" The Gryffindor prefect finished the rest of her sentence with a scream.
The three fell into laughter.
"Oh, right. Come on, you. Laugh. This is so funny, isn't it?"
"It is!" Ginny held her stomach. "You should've seen your face, 'Mione!"
"Yeah," Parvati chimed in. She had tears in her eyes. "We were just messing with you, girl. But your face!" More giggles. "We should've borrowed Colin's camera!"
The mixed emotions practically drained her energy.
And patience.
After rinsing herself completely, Hermione wiped herself dry and put on a sanitary pad. Some of the people she knew preferred tampons but it felt weird when she tried it on.
She went to bed and ignored the pile of books, mostly novels, on the bedside table. She dried her hair and patted her bed; her cat immediately leapt onto it and burrowed under the blankets.
"Don't dare sleep on my stomach or I'll curse you; you're not as light as you were when you were small," Hermione told the feline, before slipping inside the sheets as well.
She fell asleep as soon as her eyes closed, her arm tucked around her half-Kneazle pet.
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The door opened half an hour later and in came Ginny giggling with Parvati and Lavender. Their laughter ceased when they saw their dormmate.
"Shh, the dragon's sleeping," Parvati whispered.
Lavender grinned. "Be careful, Parvati. She might wake up and eat you."
"Oi, you two!" Ginny scowled. She then pointed at each girl and then put her hands on her hips. "Honestly, Parvati, Lavender, leave the dragon alone," she said, in perfect imitation of her sleeping friend.
The three looked at each other, a beat, and then the redhead's stern face cracked. They fell against each other, laughing.
"Hermione would so kill us if she knew we called her a dragon," Ginny gasped, still doubled over on her stomach.
"I know!" Lavender slapped her arm. Her eyes teared up with mirth. "But I wonder what has gotten her so grouchy. Was being teased about Malfoy...that bad?"
Parvati crossed her arms as Ginny sat down on the floor, cross-legged. "Judging by that look on your face, you've just answered your question. Congratulations, Lavender."
The brunette snorted. "Too bad he's a bully. He'd be a perfect gentleman. That face, those smirking lips—"
"P.M.S.," Ginny blurted out.
"Huh?" Parvati and Lavender chorused.
"P-M-S. I forgot what each initial meant but it's how muggles refer to the symptoms—wait, I think the S meant symptom—women get before their monthly period."
"I think it meant syndrome," Parvati mused. "Hermione also told me all about it."
"Whatever." Ginny cracked her knuckles. "I'm just worried about her. She seems so intense during days like these. And she's been quiet."
"I don't know. Most girls become pretty irritable when it's their turn. Hormones, you know."
Parvati smirked at Lavender. "Reminds me, Miss Obvious, of your temper tantrum last month when Ron forgot your monthsarry."
A pillow smacked onto her face.
The fight began. The girls danced around the room as they tried to hit each other while avoiding getting hit in return; laughter, not-so-ladylike insults and feathers floated in the air.
Then Hermione tossed and turned in her sleep, mumbling, and they stopped. The three girls stuffed the feathers back into their pillows.
Ginny went to bed with a grin but it soon faded when she remembered the night she stumbled on Tom Riddle and Hermione Granger in the library.
The boy had raised his wand at her friend. He'd been talking as the two faced each other; Hermione said something, too, but she didn't hear her either.
If she hadn't grown up in the Wizarding World and without Bill Weasley the Cursebreaker for a brother, she wouldn't have known how to tell if there was a ward in the area.
He had warded the space where he and Hermione were. That, aside from the dark look on his face, chilled Ginny's blood. And to think she slightly fancied him before...she shook her head.
She considered telling Luna as the Ravenclaw often offered smashing advice and seemed to know exactly what to do, but she, Ginevra Weasley, needed something to take her mind off Harry and would tell her but not now.
She remembered the look he shared with Cho Chang at Fortescue's. It was short and faint but loaded. Sweet and full of longing.
Merlin, she had fancied him for years but had never looked at her like that; lucky Cho Chang. Ginny squeezed her eyes shut.
Tom Riddle, then. One of these days, she'd gather enough evidence against him. She'd been at the unfortunate end of his wand once, back in her first year. She wouldn't let him get to any of her friends.
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