A few days had passed since Hermione's book disappeared, but so far there had been no reaction from Tom at all. However, after that day she would sit across him during meal time and they would have their meal together in silence. They also met on a few occasions in the library - reading room - where Hermione had been visiting quite frequently to kill time.

Dinner time on that day was a bit different as Mrs. Cole could be seen standing in the middle of the dining hall carrying a microphone. Hermione noticed that the children look more excited than usual, as if they were anticipating something. Mrs. Cole tested the microphone a few times before speaking.

"Good evening, my children," her voice booming through the hall. "Tomorrow is our annual outing day." The children cheered loudly.
"Last year we went to the beach," for a moment Mrs. Cole's gaze seemed to be directed to Tom. "So this year we're going to a different destination." The children were whispering to each other in anticipation. "This year we're going to the zoo." Loud cheers erupted in the hall. Even Tom looked more excited than usual. That's right, Hermione thought. There will be snakes at the zoo; he can speak with them. Mrs. Cole shush-ed and the hall became quiet once more.

"We will depart after breakfast tomorrow, so do come down here with your bags ready on breakfast time. And wear your best clothes. I will not tolerate lousy attire. Is that understood?" said Mrs. Cole "Yes, Ma'am!" Hermione was looking forward to the trip. After a few days the orphanage became really boring. She missed the outside world. The orphanage rules stated that children below 15 years of age should be accompanied by older children when going out, and Hermione didn't know any of the other children. From her observation during these past few days, she found out that the children in Wool's Orphanage had established groups already and they were quite close-knitted, so it would be difficult for newcomers like Hermione to join in. Not that she felt inclined to, anyway. And so, except for Amy Benson and a few other children she met in passing, in this place Tom Riddle was the closest she had as an acquaintance. She smiled bitterly at the irony.

Hermione had been to the London Zoo a couple of times before with her family, but she wasn't expecting this. The zoo that she knew was a place to learn about animals and their ecosystem but this, this was more like a place of entertainment! What she saw both intrigued and horrified her.

Visitors could ride on the elephants' back and it was one of the more popular attractions. She saw some kids from the orphanage joined the long line to ride the elephants. That was still okay. Apparently, feeding the zoo animals wasn't yet banned in this time, so visitors just casually threw buns ver the low fence and the animals would catch them and eat them happily. Among them, the bears were clearly the most popular as they received more buns than the other animals. Bears are known to have sweet tooth and thus the sweet treats were received with joy. Hermione saw them as they happily caught the gifts in their mouths. But the most bizarre one was the Chimpanzees' Tea Party.

It was just as bad as the name suggested. Visitors would pay for the attraction. A table would then be laid out for a formal tea. Then, the zookeepers would lead the chimpanzees dressed in formal clothes. The chimpanzees would politely perch on their seats, pour out drinks from a teapots, then eat and drink the treats that had been laid out for them. The zookeepers would scold them for any bad manners, but the tea party would inevitable descend into chaos as the chimpanzees threw and spat drinks and food and ran around. People loved it. Hermione was thoroughly appalled by what she saw. It was just wrong on so many levels. She left and went to the reptile house instead.

Hermione wasn't surprised when she found Tom there, standing in front of a glass cage containing some rattlesnakes. She could hear some hissing-like sound coming out from Tom's mouth. Parseltongue.

She looked at him closely. He always wore the same black pants and nicely tucked in white shirt: Wool's Orphanage uniform. The clothes looked a tad too big for his thin frame. Then it hit her. Tom Riddle had been living in that orphanage his whole live, so he didn't have other clothes besides the uniform. Somehow it reminded her of Harry's childhood in his uncle's house. However, Harry grew up to be a kind-hearted boy, while Tom chose to go down the path of darkness.

The children in Wool's Orphanage were allowed to keep personal belongings, but Tom didn't have personal belongings to begin with, except for the ones given by the orphanage. Maybe that is why he stole from the other kids; maybe he was jealous of them, Hermione thought. She felt like she understood the boy a little. It looked like he didn't notice she was there so she decided to make her presence known.

"So you were here," she said.

He turned to look at her, but turned his face to the glass cage again.

"I thought you would be watching the Chimps' Tea Party," she said, attempting conversation.

"It's stupid," he replied.

"I know," she chimed in. "The cage is too small for them isn't it?" she said, looking at the rattlesnakes curling in the corner near the glass. He must have been talking to them.

"Yes."

"I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Hermione, by the way."

"I know."

"Oh," Hermione pretended to look surprised. Of course he would know. Her name was written clearly on her book, which should be in his possession right now.

"And you're Tom," she gave him a small smile as she saw his eyes widened a little. "I know."

"Then you should know better to stay away from me," there was a hint of anger and bitterness in his voice.

"I don't have any reason to do so," she just shrugged nonchalantly. Then she pointed at the building exit and said, "Well, I want to explore other places so I'll see you again soon."

She felt a pair of grey eyes following her as she exited the reptile house.

"Your book. I found it."

The next day Hermione was reading a book at the reading room - she refused to call it a library - when she heard a familiar voice. She looked up to see Tom standing in front of her, her book on his hand. "Oh," she was genuinely surprised that he was actually returning the book to her. "Thank you so much! Where did you-"

"Don't ask," he cut her.

"Well, thank you anyway," she smiled at him. She knew the answer to that question already. From his looks, she could tell that he had finished reading the book.

"That George guy is a fool," he said. "He should've killed that idiot oaf Lennie way sooner."

Hermione pretended to look horrified. "Why? Lennie's his friend!"

"He's useless. He's incredibly stupid, and he has this weird thing for soft stuffs. He can't even do anything without George. I can't believe George lets that kind of guy around."

"Really? I don't think so," she said defiantly. "He needs Lennie as much as Lennie needs him."

"Are you stupid? Because of Lennie he gets into trouble with that farm owner and has to give up his dream! So what if Lennie's his friend? It's better to have no friend than having a useless friend like him," he said bitterly.

Did it remind him of his own experience? When she came to think of it, he had been living here all his life, so it's weird that he had no friend. Harry told her that Tom had hurt some of the children so they feared him, but maybe there was more to that. "Maybe But I think it's because of Lennie that he can make it that far."

Tom gave her a questioning look.

"It's true that George was the one who has the dream, but he can go far because Lennie truly believes in his dream. And his convictions makes Candy, Crooks, and even George himself start to believe that it might actually be possible."

"But he has to ruin it in the end," he snorted.

"It's not his fault. And George knows that, too."

"That's why I said he's a fool."

"No, he's not. George knew that Lennie has his disabilities, but he also needs him. That's why he decided to protect Lennie. It was a mutual relationship."

"Nonsense."

"You see, almost all characters in the story - George, Lennie, Candy, Crooks, and Curley's wife - admit, at one time or another, that they feel lonely and isolated. Curley's wife admits to Candy, Crooks, and Lennie that she is unhappily married, and Crooks tells Lennie that life is no good without a companion to turn to in times of confusion and need. All of them want a friend, a companion, but since some of them can't afford that, they try to make themselves feel less miserable by destroying the weak, like Lennie."

"Of course, the strong prey on the weak."

"But, that kind of power - the power to destroy the weak - is not something that is born out of strength. It is born out of weakness. The people who hurt those who are weaker than them are weak themselves. They just do it to hide their weakness."

It looked like Hermione's word hit Tom where it hurt the most. He gritted his teeth; his aura was swelling around him. Hermione braced herself for an attack. Surprisingly, he did nothing except glaring at her angrily, so she continued.

"But Lennie, with his innocence and strong belief in the vision of George's farm, brings hope to them. And they also start to believe in it. Even Crooks can't help but ask Lennie if he can have a patch of garden to hoe there. Even if they live in dire and cruel conditions, in the end, they want to live with one another's best interests in mind, to protect each other, and to know that there is someone in the world dedicated to protecting them. And Lennie is the one who makes them realize that. That is why, perhaps, in a way, Lennie is actually the strong one."

That seemed to got him thinking. She felt his dangerous aura diminished and lowered her guard.

"Anyway," he handed the book to her. "Here"

She stopped him midway. "No. You can keep it."

His eyes widened. "Isn't this book important to you?"

"It is. But you seem to like this book more than I do, so I think it's better if you have it," she smiled at him.

Her words rendered him speechless. It seemed like the concept of giving was foreign to him. Maybe nobody had ever given him anything, Hermione thought.

Tom didn't move an inch from where he stood. He looked like he was struggling for words.

"Thank you," he mumbled the words as if unsure of himself.

Hermione gave him a genuine, big smile.

Author's note:

This chapter was quite difficult (and I had a minor writer's block) so it took me longer to write. I hope that part about "Of Mice and Men" towards the end doesn't feel too rushed.

Chimpanzees' Tea Party was actually a real attraction at London Zoo from 1930s to 1950s. It was just like what I described in the story, and apparently it was quite popular. And yes, at that time zoo was more like a place of entertainment than a place of education.

Thanks a lot to my reviewers:

classycarnage: Me too. I always want to know what's going on in Tom's mind. I don't think the romance part will develop until much later, but we'll get to it.

jfang465: I also hope there will be more :)

Maiwishes: Nah, it was just a cover story she will have to stick with during her time in the orphanage (and later Hogwarts, too). And she was supposed to be an 11 year old girl who just lost her father, so she just acted the part. Her parents are still living happily in Australia though (in her original time at least). Yes, I agree with you. She's idealistic and ambitious (and I think that's why she created SPEW even though a lot of people found it ridiculous) and I like that part of her too. Later on she will get some harsh reality check though :P She's not perfect after all.
And yeah, I love little Tom too :D