Night had fallen by the time they reached Hogsmeade Station. Hermione was the first to awaken, rising with the sound of the groundskeepers' call for the first years. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she went to get up, only to stop short as she realized that she couldn't exactly move. Not only was the book they had been reading still laying open on her lap, but there was a sleepy dark-haired boy sleeping with his head on her shoulder.
Craning her neck to glance over at him, she couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips. The fact that he had let himself fall asleep on her could only be seen as a sign of trust. She doubted that the typically paranoid boy would do such a thing with anyone else. It was endearing. He looked so innocent and peaceful. Sometimes she forgot about the man that she knew he would become one day.
Not on my watch, she thought.
And then there was Abraxas. Stretched out on the opposite seat, she was torn between loathing him with a passion and blushing like a lovesick schoolgirl every time he winked at her. She preferred the former.
Why, oh why did she have to get stuck with a Malfoy? And a flirty one at that! What was wrong with him? He was only eleven-years-old for crying out loud! Draco certainly wasn't like that at that age, or at least not that she had ever noticed. Though, she supposed it could have been different because unlike Abraxas, Draco actually knew the truth of her parentage.
As tempted as she was to just tell him the truth, that she was a muggleborn, sending him running for the hills, she knew that wasn't the wisest course of action in this particular situation. Tom was going to be surrounded by Slytherins just like Malfoy who would probably gladly hex her for being a muggleborn. For the sake of her own safety, as well as her mission, she had decided to keep her true parentage a secret, passing herself off as a half-blood instead.
"Calling all first years!" the groundskeeper's voice called out.
The light of the groundskeepers' lantern shone through their window, shining right in their eyes and awakening the sleeping boys.
"Have we arrived?" Abraxas asked with a yawn.
Hermione nodded her head as she got to her feet and began stretching out all her stiff muscles.
Thankfully they had all changed into their robes before they fell asleep otherwise they would have been left scrambling.
"Please leave your luggage on board!"
Climbing out of the compartment one by one, they had to fight their way against the stream through the crowd and over to where a group of first years had gathered around a grimey looking man in a pair of bright orange suspenders, or maybe they were yellow. It was hard to tell in that light. He hardly compared to the jolliness of Hagrid, but he looked friendly enough.
"If that's all of you, then we'll be on our way," said the groundskeeper whose name was Ogg.
It was a long trek up the path to the clearing and most of the students were moaning and yawning through most of it, still half-asleep, but unlike the others, Hermione had never felt more awake, for she knew that Hogwarts was waiting for them at the end.
And there it was…
A chorus and ooh's and ah's filled the night air as the students took in the sight for the first time in their lives.
Set atop of a majestic mountain was Hogwarts Castle itself with its many turrets and towers. The only thing separating them from the castle was the glistening waters of the Black Lake, the boats already waiting for them by the shore to take them across.
Hermione recalled her own first time seeing it. Seeing the castle that she was going to be living in for the next seven years of her life, she couldn't help but feel as though she was living in one of the fairy tale books her parents used to read to her, like a princess who was rescued from her tormentors and brought to the safety of a castle where no one would hurt her.
That was how she had felt at Hogwarts, with Dumbledore still alive and offering them an unspoken sense of protection against all dark forces. The castle had always seemed impregnable. Oh how her eyes were opened when Dumbledore died…
She shook that train of thought from her mind, willing herself to enjoy the evening and not ruin it with thoughts of the future.
Ogg led them to the boats by the shore, holding them firmly in place as the children clambered in, four to each boat.
"Allow me," Abraxas said as he offered her his hand to help her in.
As off putting as it was to have a Malfoy treating her with respect and courtesy, it was also kind of nice. No one had even offered to help her, or any of the other girls for that matter, get into the boats back in 1991. In fact, if she had fallen out of the boat and into the lake, she was pretty sure that most of the boys, Harry and Ron included, would have burst out laughing. Here, there wasn't a girl that went unaided. It was strange, but most certainly in a good way.
No sooner was she settled, then she was joined by another girl, followed by Tom and Abraxas.
With everyone securely in their boats, Ogg climbed into his own at the head of the group. "Forward!" he called out the magic word.
Just like that, the boats started moving on their own, ferrying them across the glassy lake and through a dark tunnel on the side of the cliff under the castle. It wasn't a long journey, spanning a whole fifteen minutes from the lake shore to the underground harbour.
Once again the boys proved to be gentlemen as they got out first to help the girls. This time, it was Tom who extended a hand to help her, beating Abraxas to it. The white-haired boy seemed a bit put out by that, but soon recovered as he went to help the other girl.
Who would have thought that she would have boys fighting over who got to help her out of a boat? It was almost too ridiculous to be funny.
Ogg led them out of the underground cavern and up into the school. The children began to chat happily among themselves as they made their way across the Entrance Hall and up a couple flights of stairs, discussing topics varying from Quidditch to the ride to Hogwarts.
Glancing over at the boys, she found that Abraxas was telling Tom all about how he planned to try out for the Quidditch team next year, hopefully earning the position of seeker. Rolling her eyes in annoyance, she chose to tune them out. One thing that never seemed to change, no matter what time she was in, was boys and their love of Quidditch.
Instead, she turned to the girl standing beside her, the same girl they had shared a boat with. "Hi, I'm Hermione."
"My name is Druella," The girl smiled back at her.
There was a hint of an accent in her voice, but it wasn't overly noticeable, as she spoke excellent english.
"Are you by any chance partially french?"
Druella nodded her head, her golden ringlets bouncing around her face as she did. "Yes, my family originally came from France, but we've lived in England for most of my life," she explained. "My mother and father were debating over whether they should send me to Beauxbatons or even home-school me themselves, but in the end they decided to send me here, and I'm ever so happy that they did.
"What about you?"
Hermione bit her lip nervously. This was the first time she was speaking about the backstory she had made for herself. She hoped that people would believe it. She wasn't known to be the best at lying, though she liked to think that she had improved with everything that had happened. After all, no one had questioned her story so far.
"I've always lived in London. My parents died rather recently in a tragic accident. They never told me about Magic or anything, though I suppose one of them must have been magical. My mother always got angry at me when I made strange things happen. I only found out the truth when Professor Dumbledore came to the orphanage. Everything made sense after that."
Druella gave her a look of genuine sympathy, "So, you're a half-blood then? I'm so sorry you had to go through that."
"Muggles are a danger to the wizarding world," Abraxas cut into the conversation. "My father has always said that our two worlds ought to be completely severed from one another."
While she did understand that view and where it came from, she didn't entirely agree with it. Not all muggles were bad, just like how not all wizards were good. She opened her mouth and was just about to tell them as much, when they came to a halt, gathering at the top of the landing.
"This is where I leave you," Ogg said as he turned and started back down the way he had come.
Standing in front of the tall double doors leading to the Great Hall was none other than Albus Dumbledore, dressed in a flashy red robe. The usual twinkle was once more in his eyes as he gazed upon all the eager children before him.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," Dumbledore greeted them. "The start-of-term banquet will commence soon, but first you must all be sorted into one of our four different houses; Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin."
He launched into the usual speech about how your house was like your family and how your actions would both win and lose points for your house. Hermione wasn't exactly paying attention, as she had heard it all before, and instead took the opportunity to search the group of children around her to see if there was anyone she recognized.
There was a girl with bright red hair who reminded her of Ginny, and then there was a boy who looked somewhat similar to Neville. Aside from that, she didn't recognize too many students. A part of her hoped she wouldn't recognize too many people, as the reminder of her old friends made her sad, but at the same time she knew it couldn't be helped. She was bound to encounter the ancestors of all sorts of people she had known. It was just something she was going to have to get used to.
"Now, if you will all form a line, I shall lead you into the banquet."
With a calming deep breath, Hermione took her place in line with Druella in front of her and Tom and Abraxas behind her.
The Great Hall was just as impressive as it always was during the opening feasts with thousands of candles floating above their heads with the night sky in place of the ceiling.
"I thought for sure there was a ceiling there," Druella remarked.
"It's not real. It's just bewitched to look like the sky outside," she explained. "I read about it in Hogwarts: A History."
She suppressed the urge to giggle as she recalled how she had said the exact same thing the first time around. Perhaps it wouldn't be as hard to act as though she was eleven-years-old as she had initially thought. All she had to do was imitate her real eleven-year-old self. Though, maybe she would try to tone herself down a bit. She didn't want to scare everyone off this time.
Coming to the end of the Great Hall, they gathered in front of the long table in front of them that was reserved for the professors. She had to admit that it was weird to see Dumbledore conducting the sorting ceremony and not seated at the very center of the table. Of course, Dumbledore wasn't the headmaster yet. If she recalled correctly, the current headmaster was a much older wizard by the name of Armando Dippet, a former Ravenclaw.
Many of the teachers were different. The only one she knew, aside from Dumbledore, was Slughorn, who sat at the very end of the table with a goblet of wine, chatting away with a professor who currently had his back turned to her.
A stool was placed in front of them and on top of it was the heavily-patched sorting hat. All the other first years starred in shock and confusion as the hat began to sing to them.
'Oh, you might not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.'
Tom glanced over at her with a look reminiscent of when they had been told to run straight into a wall.
She merely shrugged back at him.
The Hall roared with applause, mixed in with a bit of laughter from a couple of boys who thought it hilarious. The hat smiled widely as it bowed to each of the four tables before turning stiff again.
Plucking the hat from the stool, Dumbledore pulled out a long roll of parchment and began to read out the names.
"Avery, Malcolm!"
A pimply-faced boy with short sandy hair stepped forward and put on the hat.
"SLYTHERIN!" the hat shouted after a couple of minutes.
One by one students went up to try on the hat. Hermione was surprised by how many names she actually knew or had at least heard of. Shortly after Avery came a Cygnus Black. At first she thought he might be Sirius' father, but then she remembered that Walburga was currently in seventh year. No, that couldn't be it. Still, there weren't that many members of the Black Family. This boy had to be related somehow.
"SLYTHERIN!"
A couple of Hufflepuffs came after, followed by an Augusta Fairweather who went into Gryffindor.
It was at that point when panic started to set in. What if the sorting hat decided to put her back in Gryffindor again? Her whole mission would be ruined. Sure, Tom might try to go out of his way to talk to her at first, but it wouldn't take long for the house rivalries to set in, making them enemies in no time at all. Everything she had gone through would be for nothing!
"Granger, Hermione!" Dumbledore called her name.
With a gulp, she stepped up to the stool and sat down. Dumbledore must have noticed that she was nervous because he gave her a small yet reassuring smile as he set the hat down on her head. The Great Hall faded from view as her eyes were covered by the scratchy dark material of the sorting hat.
"Hmm, how interesting," a voice said in her ears. "A time traveller? I haven't encountered one of those in a very long time. And a former Gryffindor as well? I should have known. It takes a great deal of courage to take on such a task as yours… But it seems you don't want to be a Gryffindor anymore. Very difficult… Where to put you?"
She had been struggling to figure that out herself. Hufflepuff was out of the question. Not that it was a bad house, she just didn't think it would suit her. Originally, the sorting had had debated over putting her in Ravenclaw. That was certainly one of her better options. Slytherins and Ravenclaws didn't hate each other or anything, at least not as far as she knew.
"Yes, you certainly have the brains for Ravenclaw, but you have a cunning streak in you as well. I can see it in your head… Already you are attached to the boy, and will do anything to keep him from falling into darkness… Lying… Manipulating… Tsk, tsk, Miss Granger. What would your old friends think if they could see you now?"
A lump formed in her throat. As much as she'd like to think that they would understand, she knew that, had Harry and Ron been able to see her… Well, they probably wouldn't like what they saw. There was no use lying to the sorting hat. The life she had created for herself was based on lies that she used to her own advantage to secure her place in this world and at Tom's side.
As for Tom… The sorting hat was right about him as well. He had become something of a friend to her, and there wasn't much that she wouldn't do for her friends.
"I think it's safe to say that you belong in…"
"SLYTHERIN!"
Cheers erupted across the Hall as the sorting hat was plucked from her head. Her eyes were immediately met with the sight of her new friends smiling back at her, clearly happy with where the hat had put her.
Hopping down from the stool, she made her way over to the Slytherin Table who were, much to her surprise, waiting eagerly to welcome her. Perhaps it was just because she had never been in Slytherin before, but she hadn't expected them to be so… friendly towards her.
She sat and watched as the rest of the sorting ceremony unfolded. A couple of students after her were sorted into Ravenclaw and another into Gryffindor. The red-haired girl she had seen earlier turned out to be Berenice Prewett, who went into Gryffindor along with Cecil Longbottom and Louisa Briggs.
As expected, Abraxas was sorted into Slytherin after a Romulus Lestrange. The very name gave her goosebumps. She had to remind herself that he was only related to Bellatrix through marriage. The terrifying witch wasn't even born yet, and with any luck she would never have the displeasure of seeing her again.
Then came the moment she was waiting for.
"Riddle, Tom!"
Tom strode forward, eyeing the tattered hat with distrust before sitting down. The sorting hat had barely touched his head when it yelled out "SLYTHERIN!"
Hearing that, he practically sprinted over and sat down next to her, a smirk tugging at his lips as he leaned over to whisper in her ear. "I'm glad we're in the same house."
"Me too," she smiled back at him.
Of course, she had known all along that he would be sorted into Slytherin, but she was still happy nonetheless.
The sorting ceremony was finished not long after and Druella joined them in Slytherin, much to her delight. Druella seemed like a nice girl, and she figured it might be good to have a friend who was a girl for a change. Someone to talk to about girly things and complain to whenever Malfoy was being a prat.
With the sorting ceremony out of the way, the feast could finally begin. She hadn't realized just how hungry she was until the food appeared before her eyes. There were piles of boiled potatoes and platters full of all sorts of meat and cheese. After having been forced to get by on orphanage food for the last several months, she was overjoyed to have Hogwarts food.
Tom must have felt the same way, as his mouth was practically watering as he piled his plate with some of everything.
It seemed that all manners were tossed aside when it came to boys and food, as evidenced throughout the entire Hall. She even caught Malfoy stuffing his face. It was amusing to see the typically graceful and aristocratic boy acting in a less than dignified manner.
Her and Druella shared a glance, rolling their eyes at their behaviour.
Once everyone had had their fill and were too full to eat any more, the food vanished from sight just as quickly as it had appeared and the students were dismissed to head to bed.
The first years were instructed to follow the fifth year Slytherin Prefect, Magnus Tolle, down to the dungeons. Hermione made sure to pay close attention to where they were going so that she could find her way to and from her new common room without trouble. This was completely new territory to her, as she had never been to the Slytherin Dungeons before. The last thing she wanted to do was get lost.
Eventually they came to stop in front of a bare stone wall. There was nothing to indicate that there was a secret entrance around, which she supposed would make sense for Slytherin's, but still made it difficult to try and remember which wall was the right one.
"Potentiae Magnitudine."
With those words, the wall opened up to reveal a dark passageway. In a single file, they followed after the Prefect through the passage and into a large green tinted room.
For all intents and purposes, it looked no different from your average common room with couches and chairs scattered, save for the fact that the windows looked directly out into the Black Lake. She wasn't sure if it was just a trick of the light, but she thought she saw a tentacle swim past. The idea of having the Giant Squid spying in on them wasn't the most pleasant thing in the world, nor was the thought that their entire dormitory could be flooded if ever one of the windows broke.
She quickly shook those thoughts from her head. The windows were probably reinforced with magic to make sure that would never happen.
Magnus then went on to explain that the boys dormitories were through the passage to the right while the girls were through the passage to the left. While everyone else headed straight towards their respective quarters, Tom stayed behind, motioning to Hermione for her to stay as well.
He waited until everyone was gone before speaking. "Why did you lie to Abraxas and Druella? You said so yourself that your parents were both muggles."
So, he had noticed that after all. She had wondered if he might.
"Do you remember what it said in that book we read about the founders of Hogwarts?" she answered in a hushed tone.
He seemed to ponder on it for a second before he caught on to what she was referring to. "Salazar Slytherin thought that those of muggle parentage ought not to be taught magic," he quoted.
"Can you imagine what the other Slytherin's might do to me if they knew I was a muggleborn? I hate the thought of lying to them, but what else can I do? I just want them to treat me decently, not as though I'm dirt beneath their feet."
If anyone could understand that feeling, it was Tom. He had spent his entire life treated the exact same way by Mrs. Cole.
"Don't worry, it'll be our secret," Tom promised. "I won't let anyone hurt you."
There was something ominous about the way he said that, but she tried not to think too much and just appreciate the fact that he was willing to keep it a secret. It was a sign that all was not lost. He knew that she was a muggleborn and didn't hate her because of it. There was hope for him, and that made her smile.
"Thank you, Tom. I really appreciate that."
Then she did something that she never thought she would do. Reaching out, she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug. Yes, that's right… She hugged Tom Riddle...
His body stiffened in her arms as though he had suddenly been petrified. That thought made her laugh. As if he would be petrified by his own basilisk. However, the more she thought about it, the realization dawned on her that he had probably never been hugged before. His mother had died within an hour of giving birth to him and it was highly unlikely that Mrs. Cole would have ever hugged him.
With that in mind, she hugged him tighter, as if to make up for all the hugs he had deprived of.
After a few moments, Tom seemed to regain control of his body and his arms slowly wound themselves around her to return the hug. It was a rather awkward hug to be honest, but it was still a hug and she was determined to make sure that he got used to them.
Unfortunately, the hug was short-lived as a sudden cough coming from behind them, alerted them of the fact that Magnus had come back to collect them.
"You do realize that you'll see each other in the morning, right?" he asked. "It's not like you're being sent away to two different parts of the world."
Stepping away from each other, they each had a tint of redness to their cheeks. She made a mental note to hug him somewhere more private next time.
Wanting to escape from the intense glare of the Slytherin Prefect, she muttered a quick goodnight to Tom and scampered off towards the girls dormitory.
