Riddle's Riddles
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Chapter 28: Blessed are...
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"Blessed are the friends who believe in your truth or that show you the reality.
Because friend is direction,
Friend is the basis when the ground is gone!"
- Machado de Assis
That was it. He had asked her. The odd feeling in his stomach was still there, even though he had said the words he had thought about so much, and it seemed to grow in the time Hermione took to answer him. Tom couldn't help but feel like an idiot as he waited for her response... How could he fall down to the level of getting nervous because of the answer to a question? It was ridiculous... And, yet, there he was, trying to keep himself from twisting his fingers around, or anything that would give away his nervousness.
The girl gawked at him, looking like she didn't know what to say. However, Tom could already see the witch saying something along the lines of "I'm sorry, Tom, but no." The "I'm sorry" would surely come with the rejection; after all, this was Hermione Granger, the girl who seemed to be unable to break the heart of someone she cared about – at least not willingly – and, in Tom's opinion, she cared about him, even if it was only a tiny little bit.
"Tom, I..." she spoke in a low voice, looking into his eyes and he wondered if there was any chance of her seeing what was going through his head just by doing that. He was, sometimes, able to do so, but now all he wanted was for her not to have the same gift as him. "I would love to, Tom."
It took a moment for the information to sink in, and, when it did, the only response his body could give was a smile, a smile which he was sure looked silly, but he couldn't really contain it. He saw Hermione smiling too... So, she was happy. It was good, very good.
But, then, if she had given the answer he wanted to his question, why didn't the odd sensation in his stomach leave yet? The anxiety didn't seem to vanish as he had expected; instead, it seemed to grow. He was in a relationship – because he had asked for it and Hermione had accepted his request – and now what?
There were so many questions. Should he walk around Hogwarts hand in hand with the Gryffindor? Should he act like a silly teenager when he was with her? Should he kiss her more often? Should they get even deeper on the physical interaction? The mere thought of it all made him almost regret asking Hermione Granger to be his girlfriend... He didn't want to be expected to shower her with poetry, to have a lot of physical contact with her, to act as if she was his whole world. Yes, she meant a great deal to him, Tom knew that, but he wasn't sure yet if she was everything that was worth living for... The boy enjoyed her presence, enjoyed talking to her – especially because she actually had good subjects they could talk about – and, above everything, he enjoyed the way she seemed to care about him. But still... The idea of what could come with a relationship was starting to scare him.
"I... Thank you." The words slipped from his mouth automatically.
"There's no need to thank me." The girl laughed. "So..."
"Soon the match will be over," said Tom, not knowing how to head the conversation.
"Yes... Who do you think will win?"
Oh, well, that was a good start for a relationship, wasn't it? Talking about Quidditch.
"Hufflepuff, I hope."
"Hufflepuff?" she asked, laughing quietly. "I never thought you were a Hufflepuff fan."
"I'm not... I already said I'm not a Quidditch fan. But between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff winning the match, I have to pick the badgers," he said. "If the Ravenclaws win, I'll have to endure a whole week of hearing them brag about how witty they were during the match and how their intelligence led them to victory."
"I also never thought of you as someone who dislikes Ravenclaw."
"I don't dislike the house... But I don't want to hear them bragging about it for as long as I know they would. The Hufflepuffs don't do that."
"I think that if you weren't in Slytherin, you'd be a Ravenclaw," said Hermione, smiling as she saw Tom's eyebrows furrow and his eyes narrow. "You know, the Hat almost put me in Ravenclaw."
"Oh, did it?"
"Yes, but, in the end, it said I'd be better off in Gryffindor."
Riddle kept himself from saying that it was a pity the Sorting Hat didn't put her into Ravenclaw, because, even if the students in the house sometimes got on his nerves, there was no house that he disliked more than Gryffindor.
"You would be a good Ravenclaw," the wizard said, letting a small smile appear on his face. "You're smart, witty, eager to learn... Everything Rowena valued in her students."
"Yes, but I'm also 'close minded', according to some people." She laughed. "Maybe that's why the Hat put me in Gryffindor instead."
"No, I bet it put you in there so there would be someone with some sense to take care of your friends."
"Oh, you're a mean one, Mr. Riddle." The girl shook her head, still laughing. "Harry and Ron could live through a year at Hogwarts without me by their side... They probably would have lower grades in some subjects, but still..."
"Then I'm the mean one," said Tom.
"I'm not saying they're incapable of anything. Harry, for example, is way better than I am in Defense. Their problem is that, sometimes, they forget how important it is for them to take classes seriously."
"Isn't that everyone's problem?"
"Not yours, I guess."
"No, but because I know how lucky I am for being here," said Tom, suddenly becoming serious.
It was true... ever since he first entered Hogwarts, the boy always thought of it as a privilege, something he had to take good care of. Most of his classmates went back to their houses, to their magical families and kept in touch with the wizarding world once classes were over, but he had to practically shut himself away from it. He was lucky to be in Hogwarts and he would make the best out of that experience.
"So are we, remember?" Hermione asked, giving him a sad smile that reminded him of the fact that she and her friends were actually war refugees in here. "But anyway," She took his arm and pulled him closer. "Let's go back inside."
"Hermione?" the Slytherin called.
"Yes?"
"Will you tell your friends about... this?" He looked down at her hand on his arm.
The Gryffindor was silent for a moment. Of course she would tell them, but, until now, she hadn't really thought about how Harry and Ron would react to the fact that she was now dating Tom Riddle.
"Yes..." she said, sounding quite aloof. "I mean, of course!"
Tom narrowed his eyes, but said nothing. From what he knew about Pevensie and Purkiss, they wouldn't like seeing their friend dating him; he was someone they had disliked since they had first met and a Slytherin as well... So he didn't know how the witch would manage to tell them.
"What about you?" she asked. "I don't think your friends would like to hear you're dating a Muggle-born Gryffindor."
"I don't need to give them explanations for my actions," he said, containing a smile when a couple of Slytherins girls, probably second years, walked by and stared at them. "Is there something wrong with us?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Because those girls seem to be unable to look away from us," he said, turning his head and catching a glimpse of one of the girls watching them.
"Come on now, Tom, every Slytherin girl must daydream about you – and not only the Slytherins, I must say – and, well, they just saw their dream boy walking hand in hand with another girl."
"I'm not walking hand in hand with you," whispered Tom, feeling Hermione's fingers squeeze his arm. "More like... hand in arm or something like that."
"Something tells me you're more of a 'hand in arm' person." She smiled.
"I guess..."
"You're the second person in the last few days who asked me about it." The ghost bowed her head, looking down at the boys, her long hair floating around her and hiding her face.
"Well, it is interesting..." said Ron, shrugging as he saw the woman turning around and staring at him.
"Indeed." She narrowed her eyes before looking at the other boy. "Do you know you remind me of a colleague of yours?"
"Oh." Harry furrowed his brows. "Really?"
"Mr. Riddle, I believe you know him..."
"Unfortunately," whispered the red haired boy.
"Well," The ghost looked at Ron seriously, sighing. "I already told you everything I know about my mother's diadem..."
"Thank you, Ms. Ravenclaw," said Harry. The ghost nodded quickly before floating away from them. As soon as she was a few meters away from them, he looked at his friend and smiled. "Done."
"At least this time she wasn't rude." Ron laughed. "Want to go back to the castle? I mean, I bet the match is already over, so there's no use going back to the pitch."
The two boys headed back to the castle, noticing that the game hadn't ended yet as the corridors seemed to be empty. Harry convinced Ron to go looking for Hermione instead of going back to the Quidditch pitch in order to try to watch the end of the match.
"She must be at the library," said the red haired wizard as they walked past the entrance to the Great Hall. "She's always there..."
"I don't think we need to go all the way up to the library." Harry pointed at something at the end of the corridor. "She's there."
"Who's with her? Is it...?" asked Ron, narrowing his eyes to get a better sight. "What's she doing with Riddle?"
"Probably arguing." The shorter wizard laughed.
"But people usually don't argue while walking hand in hand."
This time it was Harry who had to narrow his eyes in order to finally see how Hermione's hand seemed to be grasping the Slytherin's arm. That didn't seem right.
"Harry?" Ron saw his friend walk quickly in the couple's direction. "Mate, oh Merlin! Wait!"
"Hermione?" the Gryffindor called and, as soon as she heard his voice, Hermione turned around, finally letting go of Riddle's arm, looking at him with wide eyes. "What's going on here?"
"Harry..."
"For Merlin's sake, mate, I told you to wait." Ron had just arrived next to his friend, panting from the running.
"You should sit down, Purkiss, otherwise you'll pass out," said Tom, eyeing the boy. "How was the match?"
"We didn't get to watch the end of it..." panted the red haired boy.
"What's going on, Hermione?" Harry asked seriously. "Is he bothering you?"
"What? No, no, he isn't," said the girl, shaking her head and looking at Tom, who nodded curtly before turning around and walking away. "Harry, I need to talk to you and Ron."
She watched as the Slytherin disappeared at the corner before turning to her friends. She should have thought about them before accepting Tom's proposal.
"So?"
"Harry, I..." The girl started speaking, running a hand through her bushy hair as she tried to find a way to explain everything to him. "Let's say that Tom asked something of me... Actually, he made a proposal."
"Oh, come on now, what are you trying to say, that Riddle asked you to marry him?" Ron laughed nervously.
"No, not to marry him..."
"Mione, are you saying that he...?" Harry started talking, his eyes widening when he made the connection. "That isn't right, Mione! He's... He's Voldemort!"
"No, he isn't," she said quietly. "He's Tom Riddle."
"And who is Tom Riddle? Lord Voldemort!"
"Harry, please, don't talk so loudly!"
"Hermione, please pay attention to what I'm saying: Tom Riddle is dangerous. He's a murderer, he hates Muggles, he's cruel... God knows if he isn't a psychopath or something like that!"
"Harry!"
"He is our enemy. He killed my parents. Cedric, Mad-Eye, Sirius... All those people died because of him! For God's sake, he almost killed Ginny! He almost killed you! Remember that? Second year, the basilisk almost killed you, and who was commanding the creature? Riddle!"
"Harry, stop, he's not the same person..."
"No, Hermione!" Harry shouted, making both Hermione and Ron jump. "That man killed my parents! Sirius is dead because of him! Ron's family is on the run because of him! Your parents are lost in the middle of Australia because of him!"
"Harry, mate, stop it, you're way too jumpy," said Ron, looking at his friend with an apprehensive look on his face. "I'm sure we can sort this out without making a scene..."
"Ron is right, Harry," the witch said, feeling her eyes water because of her anxiety.
"So you're telling me that it's alright to snog the man who is trying to kill us?"
"Harry Potter!" This time it was Hermione who shouted, finally making her friend become silent. "Tom Riddle is a teenager. He's an eighteen year old teenager just like you or me! He's not Lord Voldemort, he's not the man who killed your parents, and he's not the responsible for the deaths of Sirius and Cedric... Not yet..."
Harry stared at her for a few minutes, his green eyes locked into her brown ones with an intensity she had never seen before. The girl felt her stomach turn as she noticed how big the fight she was building up against her friends was. Merlin, if only she could make Harry, Ron and Tom get along... They didn't have to be best friends, but her friends could at least stop calling Riddle "Voldemort". It didn't feel right.
Ever since they had arrived in the past, Harry had insisted on thinking that Tom was the exact same person as Voldemort, when it was obvious that wasn't the case... Even if Riddle had done some things that reminded her of the Dark Lord – the fascination with the dark arts, the cold behavior, the persuasive nature... -, she knew he wasn't the same man from the future... Lord Voldemort would never trust anyone as much as he seemed to trust her; he would never talk so openly about his plans like he did with her; he would never be so human like Tom was.
"Do what you want." The words were almost spat in her face as the boy turned on his foot. "But be aware that you're entering enemy territory, Hermione... Also, remember that we'll have to go back. We'll have to go back to Lord Voldemort."
And, with that, he left. Ron stayed behind, staring after his friend for a while before looking at Hermione. He seemed to want to say something, but remained silent instead. The girl sighed and nodded, as if telling him she would leave. Ron understood her signal and watched as she took a deep breath and left, looking as if she was about to cry.
"By Merlin's baggy underwear," the boy cursed, letting his hands mess up his red hair. "What did we get ourselves into?"
"Ron? Ron!" Ron turned his head and saw Minerva McGonagall running up to him, smiling. "Oh, are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm great," he said, smiling. Minerva didn't need to know about the fight between his friends. "So, how was the match?"
"It was great! You had to see it, Ron! Hufflepuff won, but Ravenclaw was playing really well," the Gryffindor explained, before grabbing his hands. "They're going to have a party, you know, to celebrate their victory... How about it?"
"Where? The Hufflepuff common room?"
"What? No, obviously not... They never let anyone from another house enter their common room." She laughed. "It's in a room in the seventh floor, opposite to that crazy tapestry of the dancing trolls. We call it the Come and Go Room."
"Oh..."
"Where's Harry and Hermione? They would love it there... Hufflepuffs always have good parties."
"Er, Hermione must be studying and Harry went back to the tower, he said he wasn't feeling well..."
"Ah, okay then... But, you will come, right?" Minerva smiled again. "Charlus and Septimus will be there."
Ron took a deep breath before smiling to his friend.
"Alright, alright, but I won't stay for too long."
A/N: So, after feeling horrible for taking too long to update and giving you a crappy chapter like the last one, I decided to update faster this time... And with a chapter I believe that is better than the last one. As said Ron: by Merlin's baggy underwear, in what did the trio get themselves into? Now Harry and Ron knows about Tom and Mione relationship and... I don't know if I got their reactions right. After reading Order of the Phoenix and seeing how nervous and moody Potter was in that book, I guess it's okay for me to imagine that his reaction would be something like that "Hermione, what the hell are you think you are doing? are you mad? Are you stupid? No, no, no, don't say anything! I won't hear anything, even if what you're saying makes any sense!"... But I guess he has all the right to be like that, I mean, Voldemort killed his parents, tried to kill him year after year etc etc... And Hermione is his friend, he doesn't want her to be hurt. So, yeah, moody!Harry and rather calm-and-confused!Ron (have I already told you guys that I find it extremely hard to write these two characters?). Anyway, funny thing about when I first posted this chapter in portuguese: most readers went all mad on Harry, like... "How dare you say those things about Tom? How dare you be mad at Hermione? How dare you, Harry Potter?" and I was alll like "Guys, calm down, he was trying to help her, in his point of view he is right, and he has good reasons to think like that!". Poor Harry, received a lot of hate that time...
1-"You're a mean one, Mr. Riddle": reference to that song "You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch"... It's the title of a fanfiction about Tom I wrote on 2010 for his birthday.
2- "They never let anyone from another house enter their common room.": I usually don't take Pottermore information in account, but I really liked all that it said about the Hufflepuff house. (Nope, I don't have a Pottermore account. I gave mine to my sister, who happened to be sorted into Slytherin, and found the information about Hufflepuff on tumblr).
3- "Blessed are the friends who believe in your truth or that show you the reality / Because friend is direction / Friend is the basis when the ground is gone!": Machado de Assis, again...By the end of the fic I'll make at least some people, at the most, go to his page on wikipedia to look at a photo of him XD ... Anyway, this is part of a poem of his that I love. I hope the translation is not to horrible:
"Blessed are those who have friends, those who have them without asking,
Because friend you don't ask, don't buy and don't sell,
Friend we understand.
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Blessed are those who suffer for their friends, those who speak with their eyes,
Because a friend doesn't satay in silence, doesn't question and doesn't surrender,
Friends we understand!
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Blessed are those who keep their friends, those who give them a shoulder to cry on,
Because a friend suffers and cries,
Friends don't have time to comfort!
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Blessed are the friends who believe in your truth or that show you the reality.
Because friend is direction,
Friend is the basis when the ground is gone!
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Blessed are all the deep friends, the true ones,
Because friends are the heirs of the real wit,
To have friends is to have the best complicity!
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There are people who cry for knowing that roses have torns,
There are others who smile for knowing that torns have roses!"
Well, that's it... I hope you enjoyed this chapter and, as always, reviews are always welcome (: Thanks for those who reviewed last chapter and thanks, Shadow6116, for beta reading it.
Ari.
