DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER!
The Kid and I
Chapter 3
An hour later, Hermione's group had fetched their books, robes, cauldrons and crystal phials. She had just finished explaining what first years would learn in Potions to the group, letting them mill about the Apothecary shop while she gave her voice-box a rest. She leant against a counter when Tom approached her.
"Hello, Tom. Having fun?"
"Yes, miss."
"How do you like Diagon Alley so far?"
"It's very nice, miss." He shifted from foot to foot for a minute. "About what I told you in the orphanage?"
"Yes?" She leant in to him to hear his quiet voice more clearly.
"You won't tell anyone, right? About the snake thing?"
"Of course I won't." She lied with a smile. She fully intended to tell Dumbledore when the time was right. She straightened up and smiled at him. He sort of smiled back. "Let's see your books." He handed them to her and she smiled sadly when she saw that they were all second hand. She gave them back and he put them in his cauldron. "What animal were you thinking of getting?"
"The school's fund doesn't cover animals." He said. "I read about it in this book." He held up Hogwarts: A History. She smiled grimly; he was already displaying some Voldemort characteristics – always knowledgeable. She only hoped that she could get to him before he completely turned.
!"!
"Okay, now ladies and gentlemen, we're going to head over to Olivander's now, to get your wands." She led the way to the shop and saw that the man looked the same, if having fewer wrinkles in his face.
"Hello, everyone." His rasping voice called through the shop. He walked through from the back and stood behind his counter. "Welcome to Olivander's shop. I'm Mr Olivander and I'll be getting you your wands. Who wants to go first?" None of the children said anything. Hermione laughed. Olivander looked at her slightly pleadingly but she simply shrugged and bit her finger gently to stifle the laughs. "Well someone has to go first."
"I'll go first." Tom said bravely, stepping out of the crowd, putting his parcels down next to the counter.
"Very well, young man. Let me look at you." He came round from his counter and then nodded thoughtfully. "Hmmm." He went back to his stores and came back with a wand box. He opened it and handed it to Tom gently. The boy gripped it firmly, like he'd held one before and then stood there expectantly. "Well, wave it then."
Tom looked around and flicked it at the wall. A bang sounded and everyone jumped as he put a hole in the wall.
"No, not that one." Olivander took the wand back and came back with another one. "Try this then."
Tom flicked it at the wall he'd just dented and with another bang, the hole was bigger.
"No, I don't think so." He took it back and came with another.
Tom repeated the process of flicking the wall but this time, a hum sounded and the wall was repaired with a bright flash.
"Yes, that's more like it. Thirteen and a half inches, made from yew, with a Phoenix tail feather. Very nice." He handed Tom the wand box and looked at the group. "Who's next?"
!"!
Hermione stood on Platform 9 and ¾ while the parents kissed and hugged their children goodbye. Dumbledore was escorting muggleborns through from the other side and Hermione welcomed them and told them what to do before the train left. She was surprised when Tom came through with his trolley, alone.
She smiled warmly. "Hello, Tom."
"Hello, miss."
"No one with you?"
"No, miss."
"What about the orphanage?"
"I said I was going to a boarding school and Mrs Cole said that was fine."
"No one come to see you off?"
"No, miss."
She hated feeling such pity in her gut when she looked at the boy. In only a few short years, he would become the world's most powerful and forceful dictators. But when he stood before her, pushing a heavy trolley by himself, she felt such a horrible queasiness that she wanted to just hug him.
"Well, get onto that train, mister. It's nearly eleven." She said playfully, pointing the way to the luggage carts. "See you at Hogwarts."
"Yes, miss." He walked off, steering the trolley awkwardly.
Dumbledore came through and stood next to her and they watched Tom hand his luggage to one of the train helpers.
"Such an extraordinary child."
"You don't know the half of it." She said glumly.
!"!
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts." Headmaster Dippet called through the Great Hall. Hermione noticed how his voice wasn't as authoritative or Dumbledore's. "We welcome back our students, and we also welcome our new students." Hermione expected him to say more he then started giving out the rules about the Forbidden Forest, and Hogsmeade and curfew and such. Dumbledore then stood up and walked around to the Sorting Stool in front of the teachers' table and the house tables. He picked up the scroll with the names of the new students and then picked up the Sorting Hat.
"When I call your name, you will step forward and sit on the stool. I will then place the Sorting Hat on your head and you will be given your new house."
The Sorting went as usual, Gryffindor gaining fourteen students, twelve to Hufflepuff, eleven to Ravenclaw and Slytherin also had fourteen. When it was Tom's turn, Hermione leant forward to watch how it occurred, waiting in fear.
"Thomas Riddle." Dumbledore called. Tom was the last student to be Sorted, and walked forward confidently. But Hermione sensed he was actually nervous. He sat on the stool and the Sorting Hat was placed on his head.
"Hmmm…Yes…Definitely…Slytherin!"
Hermione was slightly disappointed about how anti-climatic it was and leant back and clapped. "So now it begins."
!"!
"Everyone, please quieten down." Hermione called through the classroom as she walked down the middle of the desk. It was her first lesson and she was nervous, having had to use a Stomach Settler and a Calming Draught to be able to walk into the room. She saw that it was a Gryffindor and Slytherin class of first years. 'Wonderful' she inwardly groaned. There were a few more boys than girls and the class was an odd number. She also noticed how the Gryffindors sat on the left and the Slytherins on the right. She also noticed that Tom sat alone at the front, a large pile of second-hand books on his desk. The students stopped talking immediately and turned to look at their new teacher. The boys' eyes had childish admiration in them while the girls' held jealousy at her curves and figure. She couldn't help but look at Tom and noticed how he didn't seem fazed about her skirt and blouse but his eyes were admiring nonetheless.
"Welcome to your first lesson at Hogwarts." She hopped onto her desk at the front. "It's my first lesson as well and I'm sure we're all quite nervous. But don't worry, I only nibble." The girls giggled and the boys laughed. Except Tom. "This year I'm going to teach you some defence skills and about some Dark Creatures. It doesn't sound like much but I'm sure we can fill the year with it, and have a bit of fun while we're at it." She smiled around the room and cleared her throat. "Now, who knows the incantation for a simple stunning spell?"