Tw / murder, death, horcruxes, violence, blood, sex
Tom Riddle senior is not a nice man
When they first knock at his door he stares at Tom as if he'd seen a ghost.
She can't really blame him
The resemblance is unmistakable.
But he doesn't want to meet them.
Doesn't want to talk to them
"You're not welcome here." He says
As first words to the son he meets only now.
She stares at the man
A man who lives in a grand home
Must have no shortage of money
But who never made any effort to even provide for a boy who shares his blood.
Made no effort to find out anything about him and is now telling them to get away as fast as they can.
Tom beside her stares at his father with silent resentment.
The man slams the door to their face.
And she sees red
No one treats Tom like he's nothing!
He should look at their offspring and see what he has accomplished.
Tom had started from nothing and now…
He's brilliant and powerful and determined
There was nothing in the world Tom wouldn't get if he wanted to.
His father should be proud!
Should be fucking sorry he got to know his son only now.
She knocks at the door again.
"We'll come back another time." Tom says low.
"No! He has no right to treat you like this!"
She's not going to let him get away with it.
With a snap of her fingers the door flies open.
He's going to fucking pay!
She marches in.
If Tom tries to stop her she doesn't hear it.
Mr. Riddle is going to fucking stare the truth in the face and admit his son is one of the greatest wizards of their time. Even if he's only seventeen.
He's going to regret he never bothered to look for Tom because Tom would have made him impressed.
In the hall Riddle Sr. Comes back to her view.
But he's holding a gun pointed straight at them.
"You better leave. And never bother me again." He almost snarls.
"Let me." With one swift movement Tom moves to stand before her. Shielding her with his body.
"I didn't want you." The older man says, "She tricked me. She was a freak and so are you. You're no son of mine. Just a product of her vicious ploys."
"It's not his fault." She spits out.
The pipe of the gun sways a little. "I should have gotten rid of her when I had the chance."
"Like you did of me?" Tom asks calmly.
"I should have ended this years ago." Riddle Sr. Grins like he's not totally sane.
It all happens in a split second.
Riddle aims.
Tom opens his mouth to speak.
The trigger clicks
Dark magic needs intent to work
It drives on your life force
There's all the intent in the world as she slashes her wand.
The words leave her lips without her really trying. And the green explosion is stronger than any magic she's ever done.
She could have shielded him
Could have made the bullet change direction
Could have stunned Riddle
Could have made him drop the gun
But as a body drops to the ground she feels the dark magic in her pulse.
Tom Riddle Sr. Falls like his gun.
Cold and useless
And dead.
Her wand drops from her hand.
Tom turns to her as her hands fly to cover her mouth.
"Hermione…"
"I...He was going to shoot you! He would have shot you. I couldn't…" She looks up at him, "I can't lose you Tom! You're all I have… you're…"
He lifts his finger to her lips.
She exhales.
"I know."
She tries to calm her racing mind.
"You know what we must do?" He asks
And she nods.
Because she does.
She's not going to live without Tom.
Tom is not going to live without her.
He takes her hand and puts a ring on it.
One look at it and she knows what it is.
The Gaunt ring...
She has no idea where he's gotten it.
Doesn't really want to know.
Tom nods at her.
She nods back.
In the drawing room of a house that now belongs to Tom
Because Tom is the only heir
They do what they swore never to do again.
Only now it's her in the middle of the circle
And him drawing the runes
Her soul
And his verification
Her life-force leaking to tie into the ring.
Like he said, doing it feels worse than agony.
It's like dying a painful death
Like literally being ripped in two
And then being born again
As someone same and different at the same time.
She blinks in the dim light of the candles they used.
The lights seem sharper edged and the magic inside of her feels different.
Darker but also stronger than before.
More explosive than before…
She goes to Tom.
Takes his hand and puts the ring - a part of her soul - on his palm.
Closes his fingers around it.
"It's yours."
She puts both of her hands around his fist that now has a hold on her.
"It has always been yours."
.
.
Covering up a murder shouldn't be as easy as it is.
They should be more scared to get caught
She should be horrified this even happened.
But the remorse is gone with the part of her soul.
And they can do magic without wands
So no one can trace anything back to them.
No one can find out they were even at the Riddle house.
A motel they log into is far away from Little Hangleton.
Across the country.
Much further anyone their age could apparate without taking breaks.
The door closes behind them.
She turns to Tom
Her wand clatters as she throws it to the ground.
Never breaking eye contact, he does the same.
And she jumps him.
Wraps her legs around him and he grabs the back of her thighs.
Backs her through the room to the bed and goes down with her.
Their lips and tongues dance together
And it's so much more than just kiss and touch.
The magic is still there.
Pulsing in the air around them.
Illuminating from where skin meets skin.
If it's dark magic it doesn't feel dark.
It feels like holding all the power
Or being totally out of control
Like a push and a pull
Like more alive than ever
And on the brink of death at the same time.
With hasty movements and snapping fingers they get rid of the clothes withholding connection.
Tom flips her around to sit on his lap
And lowers her down on his hard erection.
Grips her hips to sink into her.
And she fists her hands to his hair.
The runes, still on her hands, spill ink around his skin and the sheets.
Draw lines as it gets to their fingers
Maps around their skin
She doesn't know where he ends and she begins.
As if they're one being
Matching each move with the beat of their shared heart.
It's almost like religion
Like something out of this world.
He looks into her eyes and she knows exactly what he's thinking
Every single small detail without him saying a word
Without uttering a single whimper.
They're immortal
Eternal
Invincible
Nothing can stop them
No rules apply to them
The world at their feet
Her and Tom
Alone
Together
Blood hums in her ears
And lights flash behind her eyelids.
He pulls her harder against him.
She comes twice
In the middle of her high he turns them again
Pins her hands above her head and thrusts into her with breaking force.
She arches her back and screams
Or maybe he screams
He bites down her shoulder so hard she knows it's going to bleed.
She frees her hands and claws them on his back
There's blood on his lips
And blood drawing lines next to the ink
Blood on her fingers as she puts her hands on both sides of his face.
"Look at me." She tells him.
There's rawness in his gaze as he obeys her.
It's usually him who tells her.
As their eyes meet he comes
With one final sharp thrust.
And just the look in his eyes is enough to send her over with him.
Alone
Together
.
.
The last year of Hogwarts begins with two shining badges delivered with their letters.
Headboy
Headgirl
His smile mirrors hers as they open the envelopes.
The badge shimmers as he turns it in his fingers.
Willingly or not the teachers are giving them all the keys to control.
"They're not going to let us share the head dorms." She says almost to herself
It's not written anywhere
But given how much effort is put on keeping her and Tom apart, she's just stating the facts.
He nods, "I know."
Their eyes meet
And she smiles at him wickedly
"Let them try."
He laughs out loud.
They return as leaders
Well behaved and hard working with their schoolwork.
Seemingly pleased with the private dorms in their respective towers.
Not a night goes by that they don't sleep together.
In the same dorm.
Their peers, even if they know, won't dare to sell them out.
It's not just out of fear
No one wants to
No one feels like they need to.
They're off age
And it doesn't bother anyone if they share a dorm
A bed…
She thinks most of the teachers know.
But don't care enough to interfere
As long as they do what is expected of them.
Dumbledore cares it seems.
Because just before Christmas he asks her in his office.
She doesn't want to go
But has no reason to decline
He might need her for Headgirl business
He doesn't
He warns her about Tom
About Tom's origins and ability to manipulate minds
About Tom's fascination to the Dark arts
As if she was any better.
She wants to laugh at his face
Wants to tell him he knows none of it
Wants to ask if he knows what the ring in Tom's finger really is.
Wants to clarify that no matter how he tried he will never have power over them.
Wants to say she knows what he's after
And to swear she'll do anything in her power to stop him from having it.
Dumbledore, however brilliant, does not need more power.
Will never do well with power.
Her and Tom did their homework about him
They know his past with Grindelwald
Dumbledore is not as pure as he wants everyone to think he is
Not as nice
Or unruled by emotions.
Besides only his intent to keep her and Tom apart tells enough of how much he resents someone else in power
How he fears the darkness in them.
She gives him a sharp nod and an innocent smile.
"Professor Dumbledore, Tom and I grew up together in an Orphanage. We had no one else in the world but each other." She leans to put her palms on his desk, "He's mine and I'm his. No matter what you say or do won't take that away."
"Miss Granger, you must understand we have a strong reason to believe Mr. Riddle does not know how to love"
The laughter escapes her without her being able to stop it, "I'm an orphaned girl with a muggle name, who never knew anyone in my family. What makes you think I know how to love any better?" She closes her fists to stop her hands from shaking, "who said anything about love anyway? I said he's mine and I'm his."
What of devotion?
What of loyalty?
What of family?
"Miss Granger." His eyes are still twinkling, "You disappoint me."
She's had enough, "Yet my marks in your class have always been nothing but top." She stands up straight, "You're my teacher Professor, the only thing about me that should concern you is how I learn the subject you teach."
She walks out without looking back.
.
.
The spring semester brings her an awful headache
Nothing seems to help
She wakes up every morning to the bounding in her head and goes to sleep at night with the pain throbbing behind her eyelids.
Tom doesn't like it.
Three times he drags her to the Hospital wing.
But nothing seems to be wrong.
So he goes to Slughorn to demand stronger pain potions for her.
And as if the headache isn't enough, her dreams keep her from getting barely any sleep at all.
She dreams of memories in bottles
Of dark corridors and ominous footsteps on her heels.
Of running in burned buildings without knowing where to get out.
Of carrying something that should not be dropped
And falling and dropping it before knowing what it was.
Tom gives her dreamless sleep-potion
It doesn't help
But she pretends it does
To protect Tom from mental breakdown.
The final exams are coming and her brain is shutting down.
She hates every moment of it.
Hates that reading takes so much effort she can do barely half of what she used to.
Tom tells her to rest
That she knows everything they can ask already.
Sometimes he takes the book from her tired hands and reads it aloud to her
Just to get her to close her eyes for a moment.
"They're not normal dreams." She tells Tom, "I don't know...I'm just sure they try to tell me something."
Tom doesn't tell her she's silly
Just hums approvingly and pulls her head to his lap.
Then one night the dream just unexpectedly changes.
She's in the Headmaster's office.
But it's different than it has been when she visited Headmaster Dippet.
Dippets painting hangs on the wall
And next to it Dumbledore
Looking older than time.
There are 26 vials ahead of her.
And a pensive with silver rippling in it.
She looks at her hands and they're covered in blood.
With a jolt she wakes up.
Shoots to sit up on the bed
Waking Tom as she does.
"What is it?" He asks immediately, jumping up himself too.
It's almost like a smoke has lifted
The bounding in her head is gone
Her mind is sharp and clear
All the thoughts back in order.
And she knows what she must do.
"Come on."
Tom follows her.
She has no idea what she's after or where she's going but her feet carry her on.
To the seventh floor corridor.
Tom doesn't even ask what she's doing.
Doesn't suspect she's lost her mind.
She walks back and forth
Three times
And suddenly there's a door.
"Interesting…" Tom mutters as they go in.
The room is burned.
Just like in her dreams
Everything is just black cole and Ash.
Burned corridors framed with rubble.
She walks into it.
Further and further until her feet stop.
She kneels
Moves away a charred chair.
And pulls out a school bag.
Unlike everything else it's unburned
Somehow familiar
She opens it
And there are 26 vials of silver memories.
Her hands tremble as she takes a bottle out and inspects it.
"This is what I was protecting." She whispers, "these are what I was looking for."
"We'd need a pensive." Tom states and she jerks to the volume of his voice.
"I think it's here somewhere…" She turns around.
And there it is
A small stone bowl with runes on it.
And on the chair next to it, two time turner hourglasses.
Delicate and gleaming.
Tom inspects them closer without touching them, "I think we need to see the memories first."
She nods.
The vials are numbered
With a script that looks strangely like hers.
She pours memory number one into the bowl.
Turns out once they started they couldn't stop watching.
She pours in memory after memory
Darker and darker and more horrifying
More than once she wants to just close her eyes.
To turn away and never come back to see the rest of it
The first sixteen are memories of a dark haired boy called Harry, of an angry looking man with greasy hair and crooked nose and of Professor Dumbledore - or Headmaster Dumbledore as the memory self is referred.
They're memories of Tom
Or some other version of Tom
Some twisted dark reality version of Tom
The further they go
The less Tom next to her talks
Just nods at her to pour another.
Voldemort, he calls himself in these memories
He's got seven horcruxes
And not much humanity left
He has power
And people fear him.
He's Invincible in the battlefield
His voice is cold and high pitched
And in the last memories he looks nothing like Tom
Acts nothing like Tom!
She's not in these memories
The first memories
But when they get to the bottle seventeen she's looking at herself in the face.
Herself
And no.
In her memories there are two boys, same Harry boy as earlier and a redhead with freckles called Ron.
She gives everything up for them.
She does things that now seem rash and driven by emotions.
She fights in a war that is lost before it even begins
As a child soldier designed by Dumbledore.
She hates every minute of it.
But her heart aches for her friends
For parents she never before knew she had
For people close to her who die in that useless war against Tom and his followers.
Everyone dies
Everyone falls
In the memories she's run out of tears.
And then there's only one vial left.
There are tears in her eyes as she looks at Tom across the pensive.
"There has to be a way to stop that…" Tom whispers, "I will, Hermione. I'll do anything. That's not me. I won't become that."
"How do we know? What if it's not in your hands?"
"Let's just watch that last one."
She pours it in.
And immediately knows this memory is the source of her nightmares.
Harry and Ron fall
A sweet boy called Neville gets eaten by a giant snake.
She has to briefly close her eyes.
In the memory she hides behind a corner.
Biting at her fist to stop her scream from escaping.
And suddenly there's a hand yanking her around.
Tom
Tom as he is now beside her
In the exact same clothes he's wearing.
She turns to look at him
But he's gone…
Tom is not there
And in the memory…
Her head spins.
Tom took the time turners
And went back in time
And the memory she's watching is actually happening as she looks.
In another time
Decades from now
Tom takes her hand and spins her around with a violet tug.
There's panic in her features
That version of her doesn't know Tom
She's never seen Tom before
She has only heard stories from Harry and Ginny
So there's no way she'd recognise him.
She only sees this handsome boy
About her age
Who looks like he's suddenly appeared from another decade.
Tom doesn't waste time.
He takes her hand and puts a time turner on her palm.
"Listen very carefully." There's authority in his voice he has never before used with her.
Command that must make others hard to fight against him.
In the memory the 1998 version of her stiffens.
"Look at me!" Tom orders and she obeys within a heartbeat.
"There's still a chance to change this." Tom starts, "You can still save them all. But you must do exactly as I say."
She looks doubtful but Tom goes on.
"There are 26 memory vials in the Headmaster's office. Memories of Harry Potter, Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore. The last ten vials are empty or useless. You need to fill them! Everything you think could be useful for yourself if you didn't remember anything. Ten memories that will help you stop this. Then hide the memories somewhere they'll be absolutely safe. And plant the memory of the place in your head. Then smash the time turner."
"What?" She whispers
"Smash it. It will take you where you need to be."
"Who are you? Why should I believe…"
Tom lifts a hand to stop her, "I never lie to you."
The hand lands on her shoulder, "I don't lie to people who matter to me."
"I don't even…"
"Hermione."
Even through the memory she can see how him speaking her name rumbles through her.
"In any reality, any timeline, one change can turn the whole course of events. One change and the future might be entirely different. In this reality, the change is you." He pauses, "you can save them all. You can stop the war - both of them - from happening. You can prevent all of this. By coming to me.``
She stares at this boy in front of her.
He closes her fingers around the time Turner just like she did to him with the Gaunt ring.
Then he leans forward
And she can see how her breath hitches.
"I love you." Tom whispers and her, watching the memory, inhales sharply, "More than anything… more than world domination, more than the idea of power, more than money and wealth and fame, more than immortality."
She stops breathing altogether.
"When you're with me I don't have to chase after infinity because with you I'm already infinite."
She's crying
And it looks like the version of her Tom is talking to is too.
"So please Hermione." He pulls the girl to him and kisses her forehead. "Come to me. Find me. Because if you don't I'll find you again and come to you again and convince you again because there's no life I want to live without you. I need you…"
The memory fades
And Tom is standing ahead of her again.
A little ruffled from the journey in time
But calm and collected.
"You love me?" Her voice is wobbling a little.
She never expected Tom to voice something like that.
She knew they had devotion
Deeper than anything in the world.
She knew he was hers
In every way possible.
But love
Somehow it felt different to be loved by him than just being his.
"More than power? More than immortality?" She whispers.
He tugs a curl behind her ear, "More than anything."
She starts to cry again.
Because the world she had lived in didn't feel as real anymore.
Because she had just watched everyone she had loved die.
And then Tom had gone and told that other version of her what she should do.
And through time and space
Through timelines and decades
Through realities, she had still believed him
She had done exactly as he told her to
She had come to him
Because he asked her to
Because he pleaded with her to.
Tom's lips land on hers.
And she takes a hold of him
Somehow it feels different now
After seeing what he became without her.
One change
He had said.
That change was her.
Or maybe the change was Tom.
Either way, if it was up to her Lord Voldemort would never exist in any reality again!
