Warnings: incest, underage sex, mentions of abuse, some degree of selfcest
Author's Note: This exists because I'm a sick bastard. Also, let's pretend that the Gaunt family isn't living in poverty. Please mind the warnings. Mind the grammar too lmao. My English isn't the best.
When the twins are born, they are immediately inseparable. Almost unsettlingly so.
Tom Riddle Jr. comes first, crying and struggling to get away from the healer. He keeps reaching out toward his mother and wouldn't calm down.
Hermione Riddle comes next, her cries eclipsing those of her brother's. Both of them thrashed and flailed about, and only when they are near each other would they quiet down.
When Merope Riddle lays her eyes on them, she could feel her exhaustion disappear. She now has two beautiful twins and promises herself that she will love and protect her children until the day she dies.
And, she thinks hopefully, now that she and Tom Riddle Sr. have children, he won't be able to leave her anymore. Duty dictates that a father should support his children. It's the right thing to do after all. She will stop spiking his drinks with Amortentia starting tomorrow.
Merope sighs happily. Starting a family with the man she loves most is a dream come true. The love potions and the Imperius Curses were worth it in the end.
As soon as Tom Riddle Sr. is lucid, he wastes no time beating the witch who enslaved his mind. He couldn't see anything apart from the red that clouds his eyes. He considers murdering his so-called children but decides against it at the last minute. He can't bear to be in the same room with his rapist any longer.
He punches and kicks her until she's pleading for her life. Once he is sure that the witch wouldn't be able to control him any longer, that she wouldn't even be able to lift her wand with her broken fingers, he leaves.
He leaves with the wish that the witch, whatever her name even is, dies regretting even knowing him.
During the time when Merope was being beaten within an inch of her life, the twins lay beside each other, holding hands and sleeping peacefully.
Alas, Merope did not die. She promised to take care of her children after all. She survived after crawling to a healer and only then did she return to the twins.
She had hoped that Tom would have them live in the Riddle House once he saw their children but clearly, she was gravely mistaken.
With nowhere to go, Merope has no choice but to return to Gaunt Manor, where her abusive father and brother reside.
When she goes back to the manor, however, it is fortunately empty of inhabitants. Whatever happened to her family, Merope doesn't wish to know. All that matters is that her children will grow without the influence of both Marvolo and Morfin Gaunt who were hateful people.
Years pass and Merope becomes more and more competent with magic now that her father and her brother aren't there to traumatize her. She wishes that they never come back.
She is content and happy with her twins, though sometimes she contemplates on whether to imperio Tom again. Whenever she remembers that he left their children though, she banishes the thought.
Likewise, the twins are happy with her too. Or, at least Hermione is. Every time Merope enters a room, Hermione squeals Mother! with excitement and love shining through her eyes. Tom is more subdued, merely nodding to her in greeting. Even annoyed, sometimes, when Hermione shifts her attention from him to their mother.
The twins are always joined at the hip. Merope almost never saw them away from each other. They sleep together, bathe together, read together, and anything that could be done they did together. She never discouraged it. Her brother abused her since she was a child so the twins' relationship is fine with her.
Besides, she doubts it will continue once they're older.
Tom Riddle adores his sister.
She's bright, kind, smart, and his.
She loves books just like he does, she's powerful with her magic just like he is, and she loves him just as he loves her. She's perfect for him.
He once read in a book that a third of the time, twins are of the same sex and that they look the same. After he read that, a resentment for his mother birthed in his heart. It wasn't enough that their mother had to be so pathetic that their father left her, it still wasn't enough that she interrupted his time with Hermione, and now she couldn't even make Tom and Hermione identical twins.
Tom finds Hermione the most beautiful person he has ever seen. Thankfully, the twins didn't acquire their looks from Merope's ugly mug. But Tom still finds himself wistfully imagining Hermione wearing his face, or him wearing his sister's face.
After all, what better told the world that they belong to each other than wearing each other's faces?
And whenever they bathe, whenever he and Hermione are bare to each other, Tom is painfully aware of the difference in their bodies. They have the same lips, the same shape of their eyes, their hair cut just above the shoulder, but Hermione's nose is smaller, and her eye color is different from his, her face is smaller, and her hair is thicker and curlier.
And where there should be something dangling in between her legs, there is a slit instead.
But that part worries him the least. No one but him and his mother have seen the difference between what's on his and Hermione's crotch. He can hide those parts but he can't hide their eye color or their noses or the size of there faces. Hermione is taller too.
And he damns his mother again and again for not birthing identical twins.
Tom and Hermione usually spend their time in the Gaunt library. They read books from cover to cover and practice their magic. They don't have wands though, so they spend hours trying wandless magic with little success. They still manage to do it however, it merely takes at least an hour to get it right.
(It takes them at least an hour to levitate a book but the twins are nothing if not persistent.)
Hermione asked their mother to borrow her wand once but Merope refused them, telling them that they're too young to practice magic and what if they got into an accident.
Hermione's face fell and she clutched her brother's hand tighter as they accept their mother's reprimand.
Tom almost hit their mother for upsetting Hermione. Although, if Hermione continues to be disappointed with Merope from denying her education (and he knows just how obsessed Hermione is with learning), it will distance her from their mother.
And Tom will be there, never denying her from learning, and Hermione will love him even more and love their mother less and less until her heart will only be for Tom.
With Hermione disliking Merope's treatment of their education, Tom makes plans of winning Hermione even more.
He steals Merope's wand, and stupid thing that she is, she never realizes that her son is the one responsible for it. She thinks that she merely misplaced it and spends hours looking for it. Whenever she is to search the library, Tom and Hermione hide the wand, pretending to be obedient Gaunt children reading about Salazar Slytherin.
Merope always manages to find her wand just before dinner.
Tom, her kind son, never fails to help her prepare dinner. He sometimes persuades Hermione to help too and grins every time she pouts.
Her children are nice kids.
That's what she thinks anyway.
But Tom helps with the food not because he's feeling nice. He helps with the food because he plans to kill Merope one day and he will need to know how to feed him and his sister once their mother is dead.
The Gaunt Manor is large. Still, it's one person too many.
Hermione's heart has one person too many and Tom can't have that.
He will kill Merope as soon as he believes that he and Hermione can live without help.
He'll make her death painless. She raised them after all. It's the least he can do.
And so Tom obediently assists his mother to prepare food, all the while waiting for the perfect time to murder his mother and make it look like an accident.
He makes Hermione help too because he won't cook for them every time once they have Gaunt Manor to themselves. Tom may love to spoil Hermione but that doesn't give her a reason to evade household chores once they're finally alone.
Plates are placed on the dining table and dinner is served.
Merope sits on one side and the twins sit across from her.
"Tom? Hermione?" Merope raises an eyebrow in warning. She and the twins have had this conversation a countless number of times yet they still insist on doing it.
Tom glowers at her and Merope fights not to drop her eyes in submission. She is supposed to be their mother, she can't cower from her own son's stare.
"No," is Tom's only answer before shoving food into his mouth with his left hand. Only a bit of sauce splashes on the corner of his lips this time. He's getting better at eating one-handed. He and Hermione are getting better at eating one-handed.
Meanwhile, Hermione's cheeks stain red. She says, "It's okay, mum. We don't make much of a mess anymore." She stabs her beef using the fork she held in her right hand, attempting to cut it and ultimately failing. Giving up on cutting it to pieces, she takes a bite of the uncut beef instead.
And Merope will never understand why the twins won't ever let go of each other, even in situations where they have to use both of their hands.
They sit across from her, their chairs so close to each other there's barely any space between them.
Their legs, thighs, and arms touch. And most importantly, their hands are clasped tight, resting between their thighs with their fingers intertwined.
It's uncomfortable for the both of them to eat with one hand but they have to make do if they don't want to let go of each other.
At first, the food went flying. There was more food scattered around the table than food properly placed on their plates. Tom had trouble (and still has!) by using only his left hand, he is right-handed after all. He constantly dropped his utensil from gripping them too softly.
All the while Merope has to clean up their mess after every meal.
"Tom?"
Tom hears Hermione call his name and says, "What?"
"How about you help me cut my food and I'll help with yours?" All these years of eating one-handed and they never helped each other with their food. There have been instances where they would wipe a bit of sauce here and there on their faces but that was the extent of it. Perhaps if they try it this way they'll have an easier time eating.
Of course, they won't have any trouble at all if they used both hands like normal people. But Tom would rather cut off their arms than let go. Hermione's feelings aren't as strong as Tom's but she doesn't want to let go of her brother either.
Tom nods. "That just might help." He picks up the knife beside his plate and reaches over to Hermione. She steadies the beef with her fork while Tom cuts it in uniform pieces. After he is finished, Hermione does the same to his food.
It's easier and there's little to no mess.
They look at each other in delight and Merope just sighs.
Looks like the twins won't be giving up very soon.
Their Hogwarts letters come and Hermione and Tom couldn't be any happier.
Ever since they've read about Salazar Slytherin and how their ancestor helped build Hogwarts, the twins have been excited to attend classes in the school that rightfully belongs to them.
Hermione imagines structured classes where she and her twin won't have to bumble around the Gaunt library, looking for books that aren't too advanced for them, trying to learn about magic as best as they can, and Tom imagines ruling the school.
Tom has no doubt that he and his sister will top everyone at Hogwarts, the only question is if Tom will beat Hermione of if Hermione will beat him for first place.
Maybe we can have a bet. Tom thinks of all that he can make Hermione do for him but he is left with nothing. They have already done together what can be done together.
Oh well. He'll think of something when the time comes.
"Tom..." Hermione calls to him in a worried tone. "I just remembered."
Tom squeezes her hand in an attempt to reassure her. "What's wrong?" he asks.
She's biting her bottom lip so Tom puts down his Hogwarts letter to smooth his thumb on her lip, releasing it from her teeth. Hermione sometimes bites her lips too hard when she's anxious or in deep thought, so it's up to Tom to make sure she doesn't bruise her lips too much.
Hermione takes his hands so they rest on her cheeks. "Boys and girls have separate dormitories. We can't sleep together anymore. We can't bathe together anymore either." Her eyes are shiny and her lips tremble.
Tom freezes.
He didn't think of that.
"We have Slytherin's blood! They can make an exception for us," he argued. "I won't let them separate you from me."
Hermione seems to calm down a bit from his words and smiles slightly.
But then a stern look goes over her eyes. "Tom! Just because our ancestor helped create Hogwarts doesn't mean we can break the rules easily," she scolds him. "And it's precisely because we have Slytherin's blood that we have to make an example to everyone. We have to be model students."
Tom rolls his eyes. "We can do whatever we want, Hermione. Hogwarts is ours."
Hermione huffs. "Rules are there for a reason, Tom! If there weren't any rules, students will go wild, doing whatever they want which will probably endanger everyone. And worse, what if we get expelled!"
Oh, Hermione, Hermione. His sister is such a stickler for rules.
"We only want to sleep together. It's not like we're going to start cursing anyone who breathes badly toward us. And no one expels a student for sharing a bed with a sibling. That's just stupid." But he can still see that Hermione is going to continue being stubborn so Tom tries a different tactic.
He forces his eyes to shine with tears and furrows his brow. After that, he steps closer to her until their noses are an inch apart, let her have the front seat to his 'sad' expression.
Hermione raises an eyebrow at his act. Why is he doing this? He knows that she can see through him.
"Don't you love me, Hermione?" he whispers.
And Hermione blinks in shock, momentarily forgetting about his mask, and her mouth opens in indignation that he still has to ask that. "Wha-? Of course I-"
"I'll be lonely without you." He brushes his nose against hers. Physical contact has more chances of convincing someone to do what they want. "I don't want a bed without you there, Hermione. It won't have your warmth. I'll be so cold."
He sees her faltering so he continues, "And you like me hugging you while we sleep. You like my scent, you said. No monsters under the bed can harm you if I'm there with you." He pauses for a moment to let her digest his words. "You like my snores," he teases lightly.
Her cheeks redden. "I do not." And when she sighs resignedly, Tom knew he won.
Hermione says, "Fine, Tom. We'll sneak arou-" Tom suddenly pecks her lips and she can't help but laugh because he can't even wait for her to finish. "We'll sneak around," she repeats. Then her gaze turns teasing. "But only because you're such a baby that you cry when I'm not with you."
And Tom won't let her speak anymore because he's tickling her until she can't breathe. How dare she tell him that he's a crybaby when he's not with her! It's not like she's calm when he's not around her either.
Tom doesn't know what Hermione's worried about anyway. It's not like they're going to get caught. Both of them are going to be in Slytherin no doubt, their dormitories will only be a few steps away. It will be a piece of cake to slip into each other's beds.
Tom grins.
As if he's going to let anything separate him from his twin.
Tom stares at the dark strands of hair at his feet in horror.
His head feels strangely light. Where there should be hair tickling the top of his shoulders, its length is reduced to the nape of his neck.
"You look nice, Tom," Merope, that idiot, comments after she ambushed the twins, cast a petrificus totalus on Tom, and proceeded to massacre his hair.
Tom clenches his fists. He refuses to look at himself in the mirror in front of him. Because if he does, he won't see Hermione in his reflection anymore and he can't accept that.
He and Hermione looked similar enough with their hair at the same length but now his mother made it all wrong wrong WRONG.
That stupid bitch.
The spell lifts and he wastes no time shoving himself off from his mother and the blasted chair she forced him onto. He takes deep breaths to control his temper. In. Out. In. Out. He won't look at his mother. If she even makes the mistake of appearing in his vision he might not be able to restrain himself from strangling her.
He and Hermione had the same hairstyle for a reason. They had to resemble each other. They had to let the world know that they're twins with similar faces. They had to let the world know that they belong to each other.
Tom tries to blink away his tears of frustration, and when that doesn't help, he rubs his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt.
And Merope isn't sure how to react. She cut his hair because it's more proper and common for a wizard to have short locks. And proper wizards don't imitate their sister's looks because of their obsession with their sibling.
But most importantly, he looks more like Tom Riddle Sr. this way.
Merope reaches out a shaky hand toward him to comfort him. She begins, "Tom, don't-"
"SHUT UP!"
Accidental magic threw Merope against the wall. Tom hears her head hit the wall but sadly he didn't hear her skull crack from the impact.
He stands there rigidly in the room for who knows how long. He wants to turn around, find Merope, and wrap his hands around her throat. He said he would give her a clean death but she doesn't deserve that anymore.
How dare she?
"Tom?" Hermione's worried voice snaps him out of his violent thoughts.
When Hermione's hand finds Tom's, he releases a shaky breath.
They stay there for a few minutes, waiting for Tom to calm down while Merope lies on the floor knocked out cold. Hermione would have checked if their mother is alright but she knows that Tom needs her more.
Besides, she's a little angry at her mother too.
Once she is positive that her brother won't blow up on her, she says, "You look more handsome like this." She brushes her fingers over the nape of his neck, tugging a few strands of hair. "I think I like you more this way," she adds shyly.
Tom's expression softens. "I look more different from you now though. As twins, we're supposed to have the same face."
And Hermione is conflicted because she, like Tom, wants to be as similar as she can be to her twin. She likes seeing Tom's hair length the same as hers. If they notice even an inch of difference on their hair length, they cut it, righting it immediately.
But the new cut frames Tom's face better. His features are more boyish and Hermione appreciates it in a different way than from when they are alike.
Hermione hums as she inspects her brother's new makeover. "The more I look, the more I like this haircut on you." She flicks at a curl that fell to his forehead. "Maybe it won't be too bad."
Tom frowns. "Even if we resemble each other less?" He feels slightly betrayed. He had always thought that Hermione shared his sentiments on their appearance.
"Yes," she answers. Then she huffs in irritation. "I hate how mother just did this to you without our permission but what's done is done." She runs her eyes over him again. "Still, you're more handsome now and that's never a bad thing."
Tom smirks. Well, if Hermione likes it so much then who is he to refuse her? She admitted to hating their mother for changing his hairstyle so that's enough for now. If ever his hair grows longer again, he and Hermione will decide next time on how to proceed with it.
There's still the issue of their mother, however.
"We should get revenge on mother," Tom says. "She needs to learn that she can't just do whatever she wants with us."
"She's our mother so she has the right to interfere sometimes," Hermione points out. "But yes, she still shouldn't have done that. What are we going to do with her?" She may be nicer to their mother than Tom but Hermione is still as vengeful as her twin, if not more so.
The twins leave Merope's bedroom, discussing the details of their revenge. Tom still hasn't looked at the mirror. He will, once he's ready. But for now, he'll stall.
The next day, Merope wakes up to find herself bald.
It was Hermione's idea and Tom's execution.
"You're not coming with us," are Tom's first words to Merope after three days of ignoring her, of pretending that she didn't exist.
Tom may admit to no one but his sister that his new haircut suits him nicely but he's still livid with his mother for it.
So, no. She won't be accompanying them to Diagon Alley to help the twins with their school supplies. Tom and Hermione are already 11 years old, they're old enough to do their own shopping.
And, in Tom's opinion, they're old enough to take care of themselves without a mother. It's just that he still doesn't have a concrete plan on how to make it seem like an accident. A book in the Gaunt library mentioned a killing curse but as much as Tom wanted to use it, he can't because he hasn't practiced it yet. What if he botches the spell? What if someone finds out that he used the killing curse?
But Tom is a patient boy. He will wait.
"We can take care of ourselves, mom," Hermione says. "It's just Diagon Alley. You've taken us there before so we know the way."
Merlin, their mother is insistent. Can't she tell that she and Tom want to spend time with only each other in Diagon Alley? They rarely go outside, and when they do it's always with Merope. And people can't help but stare at them because- well, Hermione is a little guilty to be thinking of this- their mother isn't really the most attractive or normal looking person.
Her eyes stared in opposite directions and now she's bald.
"You'll need a wand to enter Diagon Alley."
Oh. Right. They forgot.
Hermione sighs. She was looking forward to browsing the stores in Diagon Alley, especially Flourish and Blotts, with only Tom. Merope didn't really appreciate waiting for them for long periods of time every time they went to the bookshop.
Tom doesn't give a shit whether they need a wand or not. "You'll drop us off at Diagon Alley then leave us." His tone is cold and final and Merope wants to cry.
Why does her son have to hate her so? But if doing whatever her son wanted means that he'll hate her less, she'll do it.
She drops them off at Diagon Alley, lingering at the entrance, hoping that the twins will change their mind about her not coming with them.
They don't.
Diagon Alley is bustling with wizards and witches, which makes sense because the school term is near.
Tom holds on to Hermione's hand tighter. He won't allow her to separate from him.
They buy their wands, cauldrons, gloves, potions sets, and other paraphernalia. Their next stop is Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. The twins agreed that they will go to Flourish and Blotts last. They'd rather have finished everything else before browsing for books since they spend at least an hour for that.
They agreed not to buy a familiar, though they did stop by Magical Menagerie to take a look around. Hermione fell for a half-cat half-kneazle that looked absolutely hideous Tom had to question his sister's tastes. While Hermione was cooing over the abomination, Tom saw the most beautiful python he'd ever seen.
He and Hermione conversed with the snake for a few minutes, which earned them curious looks from people who were also taking a look around.
Still, they didn't buy anything from the store.
The twins don't need another companion. They already have each other.
They don't really need another companion, Tom repeats to himself as he glowers from where he's being measured at Hermione's new acquaintance. Hermione has already been fitted so she's just waiting for Tom to be finished.
Neville Longbottom.
Tom sneers at the name. Who wants to be called Longbottom?
Look at the pathetic boy.
He stutters and blushes while he's talking to Tom's sister, looking at her as if she's the reincarnation of Merlin himself. Though, Tom cannot fault the boy. Hermione is perfect. It probably helps that the boy's grandmother is verbally abusing him right in front of them too.
Hermione's just nice because she feels bad for him.
You're not special, Longbottom.
Tom resolves to make sure that Hermione and Longbottom have as little interaction in Hogwarts as possible. Preferably none, but he can't scratch out the possibility that they and Longbottom might get the same classes.
If Longbottom keeps looking at her like that then he may just pluck the boy's eyes out from their sockets.
"All finished!" announces Madam Malkin.
Finally!
Tom barely resists snatching his new robes in his hurry to interrupt Longbottom and his sister.
When Tom approaches, Hermione's attention immediately switches from Longbottom to her brother, even though Longbottom is still in the middle of saying something.
Tom notes smugly that no matter who she's with, Tom will always have her attention first.
Just as the center of Tom's world is Hermione, the center of Hermione's world is Tom.
His hand clasps Hermione's with practiced ease, like pieces of a puzzle perfectly fitting together. He gives Hermione a small smile which she returns.
He turns to Longbottom, his expression cooler. "Hello. I'm Tom Riddle," he greets. "Hermione is my sister."
He doesn't shake the hand extended toward him until Hermione nudges him.
Longbottom flushes at the blatant display of disrespect. "I'm Neville Longbottom. Nice to meet you."
Tom doesn't bother to return the sentiment. He ignores the insect and says to Hermione, "Let's go get our books."
He can tell that Hermione is bothered by his behavior. She's too nice to other people unless they antagonize her or are her definition of bad people. And Tom's not a fan of this aspect of her. What if someone takes advantage of her? Tom knows he takes advantage of it.
Rarely he wishes that Hermione had his distrust of people. But only rarely. He loves Hermione because of who she is and not because she is a perfect reflection of him.
He might be a little contradictory because he wanted them to look the same, but being identical was about their ownership to each other. It was a way of telling the world that they have the same blood, that they belong to each other, that they came into this world together and that nothing can separate them.
But Tom avoids thinking about that. He's still angry with his mother.
"Okay," Hermione says. She says her goodbyes to Longbottom before Tom tugs her hand to leave the store.
It's only when they're in Flourish and Blotts that Tom realized that Longbottom is only the first of many who will want Hermione's friendship. And he can't stop Hermione because she's really nice unless provoked, especially to charity cases like Longbottom. Tom only hopes that Hermione's bossy nature will push away potential friendships.
Tom sighs. It's a good thing they'll both be in Slytherin. That way he'll be able to watch over her like a dragon guarding its eggs.
The twins leave Diagon Alley with a few extra books.
Tom rubs a hand over his face.
Of course Hermione had to help Longbottom find his toad.
Tom is despising Longbottom more and more by the second.
No matter how many books he read, nothing could prepare Tom for the beauty of Hogwarts. Nothing can compare to the awe he felt as they approach the castle using a boat, sailing across the lake toward what will be their new home.
Once they reach inside, they are greeted with an enchanted ceiling that shows the sky. Candles float in midair, illuminating everything in soft light.
Tom is proud to call Hogwarts his.
All the first years fall in line as they wait for them to be called for their sorting. Tom wrinkles his nose at the ratty thing that is supposed to be the Sorting Hat. He has read about Gryffindor's Hat but he didn't think it would look that ancient.
He waits in boredom as one by one, their line lessens bit by bit. He examines the other first years that were sorted into Slytherin. One needs to be acquainted with their future housemates after all: who will be of use and who will not.
One of the first Slytherins are named Crabbe and Goyle, and judging by their vacant eyes, Tom is sure that no one is home inside their heads.
There were two near hatstalls. Tom is surprised to see Longbottom up there with his head buried in the hat in what was almost 5 minutes. The hat probably couldn't decide whether to put the boy in Hufflepuff or in the garbage can outside the hall.
Imagine Tom's shock when the hat exclaimed GRYFFINDOR!
But then again, Gryffindors are known for their stupidity so maybe Tom shouldn't have been surprised.
The other near hatstall was some boy with messy hair and round glasses who went to Gryffindor, Tom couldn't bother to remember his name.
"Riddle, Hermione!" It's Hermione's turn. Finally they can sit at their table now.
Hermione squeezes his hand and gives him a kiss on his cheek. When she lets go, her fingers linger on his fingertips, not liking how she needs to be separated from him even for a few seconds.
She sits on the stool then her eyes are covered from Tom once the hat settles on her head.
A few seconds pass while the hat digs through her brain and Tom can't help tapping his foot in irritation because, clearly, Hermione is a Slytherin. Slytherin's blood goes to Slytherin house, as if that even needs to be considered.
But then a minute passes and another, and it occurs to Tom that Hermione might be a hatstall.
Stupid hat!
Fine. Tom will admit that Hermione doesn't much have the characteristics of a Slytherin. She'd rather confront a problem head-on instead of manipulating the variables surrounding the problem for a perfect solution.
Fine. Hermione is too much a stickler for rules, and when she does decide not to be, she'd rather break them than bend them.
Fine. Hermione is much too bold to be a Slytherin. Instead of charming her way out of something to get what she wants, she'd rather force them to see her way until she becomes a banshee when no one will listen to her.
But Tom thinks of Crabbe and Goyle and he greatly doubts that they're Slytherin material.
Maybe the hat is considering Ravenclaw because Hermione loves books and knowledge and studying. The hat will probably consider Ravenclaw for him too.
But that doesn't matter because they'll end up in their ancestor's house anyway.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Hermione meets his horrified eyes with her own.
The Gryffindors cheer loudly for the new addition to their house but Hermione only manages a weak smile toward them. She takes a seat beside Longbottom and the messy-haired boy.
"Riddle, Tom!"
He is numb.
Professor McGonagall has already placed the hat on his head when he realizes that he should give the Sorting Hat a piece of his mind. Perhaps he could convince it to re-sort his sister or to sort him to where his sister is, even if it meant that he'll be with some rowdy Gryffindors.
How dare it separate him from Hermione?!
If they're from different houses then how will they eat together if they're supposed to be in separate tables? How will they sleep together if they have separate dormitories? How will they bathe together if her bathroom is in a tower and his is in the dungeons? How will they-
But the hat barely gave him 10 seconds. It didn't even consider him for Ravenclaw when the hat announced, "SLYTHERIN!"
Bloody hat!
