A/N: Yeah I don't know how to respond to reviews (I'm a technical queen...or not) but I'd like to thank you for taking your time and writing your opinion! Okay... this chapter is dedicated to Zandra for all those hours we've spent singing and all the laughters we've shared, you're the queen of music! (And happy birthday to you Frida!) As always, I love you for reading and I'd love you even more if you'd leave a review, feedback yesssss :D
Disclaimer: I don't like this either but I don't own anything, if you missed it :)
Chapter one. For one life goes another
Okay. No panic, Hermione. As far as you know this could be his personal look-alike. His VERY look-alike. With the same name.
Don't judge, don't judge.
Yeah my arse not to judge! How can I not judge the one person who destroyed so much? Well okay, Mr.-Know-it-all-bloody-Dumbledore, let's see how this goes, shall we? I bet a galleon he'll blow us in the air before I get the chance to say "why hello Mr. Dark lord, how are you?"
Harry breathed a little faster than he probably realized but yet he could come with a "hello Tom".
Ron was just standing like a moron, gaping at the sight of the young Tom Riddle. Well, Hermione couldn't exactly blame him. She felt pretty much the same. Yet she controlled it a little bit better than Ron.
Hold on 'Mione… Did Dumbledore just say? Oh yes he did.
"AH PROFESSOR YOU MADE ME HEAD GIRL!" she exclaimed happy and forgot about the rest.
"Yes miss Granger, I believe that's the least this school can do for your intelligence" Dumbledore smiled.
She blushed and looked on her feet. Head girl. It felt great, indeed. No doubts about it. She was Head girl. TheHead girl.
"Oh I'm glad you can see it from the light side" said Ron ironically. "Really bloody happy for you 'Mione!"
Tom looked at Hermione with a slight of interest in his hazel eyes.
"Hermione… I brought you here especially so that I could introduce the two of you since you'll be spending a lot of time together… Tom, this is Hermione Granger, from Gryffindor. She is very, very intelligent (thank you Dumbledore for that extra "very"! Hermione thought) and I think you'll be fond of her.
Hermione, this is Tom Riddle (yeah, like I didn't know that already) and he's in Slytherin but I'm sure you'll find that you are very alike (in the killing or the "no emotions"-part?)"
"Pleasure" said Tom politely, cold and mechanically (okay he's not that bad right now, but oh it kills me that it's so fake!) while stretching out his hand.
"Indeed" said Hermione thoughtfully and looked at his hand for a moment.
OH WAIT A MINUTE. No Dumbledore… don't tell me that you… You betrayer! You made him Head boy? With ME? I'm not that fond of you anymore, professor.
"You know… I like formalities at times miss Granger" said Tom with a cold voice (it reminds me of Draco Malfoy… Urgh!) while not taking down his hand.
"Yeah but what if I don't?" she asked.
"How can you not do formalities? Being polite?"
Don't you dare insult me Voldie!
"Now then Hermione… take his hand" said Dumbledore politely.
But Hermione ignored him at the anger she felt.
"You're telling me I'm not polite?" she said angrily at Tom's still-no-emotions-face.
"I can not say that exact since I do not know you, but from what I've seen so far it would seem that way, yes" Tom responded.
Hermione looked at him with a glimpse of hate in her eyes before she shook his hand. His cold hand. His mechanically moving cold damn hand that held the wand that killed Harry's parents and so many else.
She felt disgusted.
"Tom, this is Harry and Ron who will show you the students, the teachers and give you a catch-up with what's been happening here the last years. Does that seem fair to you?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes, sir. I'm very thankful" said Tom.
Oh you flirtatious little bastard…
"And Harry will also… be the one you'll talk to. About any problems, any… faults that we'll need to fix. And he also share some of your most talented gifts. You will take classes alongside with him" continued Dumbledore.
"Excuse me sir…" said Harry, confused. "What gifts?"
"Parseltongue, Harry" said Dumbledore as if this would've been obvious.
"Oh"
Tom immediately gazed at Harry with… was it fear or was it interest? Hermione couldn't decide. All she knew was that she suddenly had met the most dangerous dark wizard of all times. Marvellous. Really wonderful.
"Now Tom… I'd like you to follow professor Snape who will take you to where you will sleep, just for tonight" Dumbledore finished.
"Yes sir." Said Tom and walked out of the room where Snape waited.
The door closed and Hermione heard them walk down the stairs. As soon as everyone breathed out she couldn't help herself.
"Professor, what in Merlin's name is the darkest lord of all times doing at Hogwarts? As a student? And as a Head boy for that matter!" she exclaimed.
"Exactly what I was thinking!" agreed Ron. "It's very dangerous, even I can see that! What if he kills all of us? Or Harry at all? Or what if…"
"This is indeed, a very loony plan, but I think it might help us save the world" said Dumbledore thoughtfully. "And if we're lucky… we won't have to kill him either"
"Forgive me sir, but how's that lucky?" asked Harry to everybody's surprise. "I thought it wouldn't feel like this but I really want to kill him. Like… now"
"I appreciate your honesty mr Potter" Dumbledore told him. "But what the three of you needs to realize is that by killing him, you kill the human inside him. And yes, there is still a very big part of him that's left human. At least in the version of Tom Riddle I succeeded getting into our time.
If you have not already figured out the greatness behind this plan – and forgive me for saying this but it seems like you haven't – I guess I'll tell it more clearly."
Hermione – who felt like she was given very little credit at the moment for her intelligence – thought she had a slight idea of what Dumbledore's so called "masterplan" was.
"Like I said-" began Dumbledore. "There is still a very big part of him that's human inside the Tom Riddle we just saw. This Tom Riddle is not Voldemort – which is most important to point out. This is a boy - like I said before we walked in here – that's not pure evil. There is hope for this young boy.
I've told you before Harry, that Lord Voldemort is not capable of loving. Do you remember that? (Harry nodded at this statement) I also believe that I once told you that no one's born evil? (Harry looked confused before answering "no, I don't think so, sir") I haven't?
Well I don't believe that Voldemort had to be that way. His childhood, the fact that nobody cared for him or loved him tore his soul apart and the same with his heart – yes mr Weasley, even Lord Voldemort has got a heart. (Ron still looked very sceptical)
But… what if we can show him love? Learn him to love? What if we can make Tom Riddle feel like he's needed for who he is, and not for Voldemort? Wouldn't that make a difference?"
No one spoke after Dumbledore finished that last sentence. Wouldn't that make a difference?
Hermione thought about it. No. It wouldn't make a difference considering all the things he has already done. But… if they changed the young Riddle before he turned into the dark lord, wouldn't that mean that the things he did in the future (or the present) became undone?
Her head was spinning.
Tom Riddle – Dark lord – Voldemort
"So what you're saying-" began Hermione. "Is that if we can make him love, and make him feel loved, he may not have to become Lord Voldemort?"
Dumbledore nodded, smiling that somebody finally understood his masterplan. And surely they understood his idea, but they sure didn't agree.
"Why can't we just kill him?" suggested Harry. "We've got him here… just kill him and the God damned problem's solved!"
Ron nodded liking at the idea.
"…because we can save everybody without having to torture ourselves with the thought of have killed an – so far – innocent boy" answered Hermione silent.
Was she really doing this? Agreeing to Dumbledore's wicked plan? Dumbledore looked at her as if she had read his mind. Ron on the other hand, looked at her as if she had lost her mind.
"In Merlin's beard Hermione… are you saying we'll be Lord Voldemort's teachers in loving someone?" asked Ron with big eyes. "Is that what you are saying?"
"Yes… I think so" said Hermione, but now she didn't feel so confused.
If they changed Tom Riddle before he became Voldemort, well then it's obvious he won't be evil. And that means he won't kill all these people or start a war! It's genius.
But I haven't forgiven you yet for making him the Head boy with me, Hermione thought to herself.
"I guess… I guess that makes sense" said Harry after a while. "Sort of, anyway"
Ron looked surprised. So did Hermione. But certainly not Dumbledore. He looked at Harry as if it had been obvious that he'd agree to the plan.
"So… We'll save the world… by befriending the person who destroys it?" asked Ron sceptical. "We're actually doing it then?"
Hermione nodded slightly. Harry spoke a silent "yes" at the same time Dumbledore burst into a huge smile.
"Admit it though… it's a good plan?" smiled Dumbledore.
But all he received was three student's most sceptical looks.
Oh my God, what has this man gotten me into?
