"Watch this, Hermione!"
Hermione picked up her head, glancing up from the book in her lap at Abraxas' calling. With her eyes now on him, he proceeded to do all sorts of fancy tricks on his broom, from loop de loops to handstands. As much as she didn't like flying herself, she had to admit that his tricks were rather impressive.
That is… until he accidentally crashed into Tom and both went pummeling back down to the ground. Luckily for them, one of the garden topiaries cushioned their fall.
Forgetting about her book for the moment, Hermione got to her feet and rushed over to them.
"Are you alright?!" she reached out to help them up.
"I'd be better if Abraxas would stop showing off and keep his eyes on the sky!" Tom exclaimed, glaring at his friend as he picked leaves out of his hair.
Abraxas' face had turned as red as a tomato, clashing violently with his hair. "Sorry," he mumbled.
After a thorough check over, she determined that neither of them had been hurt badly, just a couple of minor scratches here and there. Note to self; don't attend the Quidditch tryouts, she thought. He would have a better chance of making it without her there for support. It was plain to see that Abraxas was prone to throwing caution to the wind when she was around.
She shook her head… stupid reckless boys...
It was now nearing the end of August and Hermione and Tom had spent almost a whole month staying at Malfoy Manor with Abraxas and his parents. To say that it was a change was an understatement and had taken quite a bit of time for them to adjust. The Malfoy's lived a lifestyle that was totally opposite of their own. They ate three meals a day, slept in king sized beds that made you feel like you were sleeping on a cloud, and then there were their bathrooms, although they were more like miniature spas. Hermione had made good use of the gold clawfoot bathtub on many occasions, along with all the wonderful smelling bath soaps and body scrubs that they had on store.
Her favorite room in the house was by far the library. The Malfoy's had an endless collection of tomes and novels from all eras of history. She spent the first week inside glued to one of the comfy armchairs with a stack of books surrounding her. Tom had joined her several times as well and together they enjoyed learning things about the wizarding war that neither of them knew.
Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy were all too generous with them, gifting them with nice clothes to keep and giving them lessons in proper etiquette as well as ballroom dancing.
While Tom seemed to thrive under their instruction, allowing himself to be molded into the perfect image of a pureblooded aristocrat, Hermione couldn't help but find it a bit odd. Why were they being so nice to them? Surely they didn't take such an interest in every orphaned witch and wizard they came across. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but there was something off about the look in their eyes, as if there was an alternate purpose behind it all. She didn't know quite what to think.
And then there was the issue with the house elves… From what she had observed of the family, they didn't appear to be mistreating their house elves, but they certainly owned a lot of them. There was one that worked in the kitchens named Dinky, one who worked in the library named Kippy, one who worked as a general housekeeper named Lolly, and finally there was Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy's personal house elf, Dobby.
She had nearly choked on her own saliva when Dobby suddenly appeared before her at Mr. Malfoy's call, not so much because she was all that surprised to see him, for she knew that house elves could live up to two-hundred-years, but because he actually looked healthy. His skin was a vibrant shade of pink and he was actually wearing a clean pillowcase. Not only that but he actually seemed to be happy to serve his master.
That fact alone spoke volumes to her, and after that she allowed herself to relax around the Malfoy's more. When it came to forming opinions on people, she tended to keep in mind something that she had heard Sirius tell Harry.
"If you want to know what a man's like, look not at how he treats his equals but at how he treats his inferiors."
It was a good motto to live by.
Tom and Abraxas were just about to kick back up into the air when Mrs. Malfoy came scurrying towards them, an uneasy look spread across her face. Abraxas must have noticed this also, as he quickly dismounted and went to meet her half-way. Her and Tom followed after.
"Is something wrong, mother?" asked Abraxas.
Mrs. Malfoy said nothing at first as she struggled to catch her breath for a few minutes. In her defence, the garden was rather large and they were quite a ways away from the house. It was a long way for someone to run.
"You must all come back to the manor immediately," she gasped. "An important guest has just arrived and he wishes to meet you."
Hermione swore that she was looking at her and Tom when she said that.
Noting the urgency in her voice, they followed without delay, though at a bit of a slower pace. As they got closer to the house, Mrs. Malfoy started fussing over them, smoothing out their hair and healing any and all scratches, muttering something about them looking presentable.
Who was this guest? It had to be someone truly important if he had Mrs. Malfoy in such a panic. The only people she could think of that might be cause for such a reaction were the Minister of Magic and maybe the Headmaster. However, she didn't understand why either of them would come all the way out here just to see them.
Mrs. Malfoy led them back inside, through the entrance hall, up the stairs and down the corridor. She finally came to a stop in front of the door leading to the green drawing room, her hand freezing on the door handle as she turned back to face them.
"The man you are about to meet is to be treated with the utmost respect. You must not speak unless you are spoken to, and you must do everything he asks of you," she warned.
A bad feeling washed over Hermione, making her shiver involuntarily.
Exchanging nervous glances among one another, the three children nodded in understanding.
Mrs. Malfoy's expression softened with relief at that, and after double checking everyone, including herself, to make sure everything was in place, she turned the doorknob and pulled open the door.
Inside, they found Mr. Malfoy seated on the velvet sofa with another man in front of the fireplace, a brandy and pipe in each hand. Their backs were turned to them, so they couldn't see who the other man was, but they were chatting away with one another about the latest news within the wizarding world.
Not wanting to disturb their conversation, Mrs. Malfoy waited until a break to discreetly clear her throat.
"I have brought the children as you requested."
Banishing their indulgences, the two men rose and turned to face them, allowing them a view of the other man's face.
Upon first glance, Hermione saw nothing recognizable about him, but as he began to step towards them, she got a better look at him. She let out a small gasp as it registered in her brain who the man standing before her was.
He was a rather eccentric looking man, with short spiked light blonde hair, a thin moustache and mismatched eyes; one bright blue and the other almost black. She had never seen him with her own two eyes before, only read about him in books, but there was no denying it… The eyes were a dead giveaway...
"I'm so pleased to finally meet you all, especially you Miss Granger and Mr. Riddle," the man said as he came to stand in front of them. "Forgive me, you must be wondering who I am. My name is Gellert Grindelwald."
He reached out a hand towards them. Tom was the first to take it, bowing his head respectfully as he had been taught to do to his elders. Hermione, on the other hand, was reluctant to say the least. Moments passed as he kept his hand out waiting patiently for her to take it. Both Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy were glaring at her from behind him.
"Don't worry, Miss Granger, you need not be afraid of me," he assured. "I'm not going to hurt you."
She couldn't exactly trust that statement, but with Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy glaring at her from behind him, she had no choice but to reach out and shake his hand.
One thing was for certain… She now understood why Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy had been so nice to them...
"I've heard reports of your power and intellect, far advanced to what any first year should be capable of," Grindelwald started to pace back and forth, stopping every now and then to glance over at them. "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like for you to demonstrate your gifts for me. Mr. Riddle, I've heard that you are a Parselmouth? Is that true?"
Tom nodded his head.
Taking out his wand, which Hermione recognized immediately as the fabled Elder Wand, he gave it a wave and a snake shot out of it, slithering down to the floor in between them.
A smirk spread across Tom's face at the sight, making Hermione feel even more uneasy. She didn't like the way things were going at all, but there was no way for her to stop it. She could only play her part for now and hope that the damage wasn't irreversible.
"Sssie asssssss silssssss essss vsssss," Tom began to speak in Parseltongue.
The snake before him began to do a snap viciously at their feet. Mrs. Malfoy screamed and jumped into Mr. Malfoy's arms for protection. Then, at Tom's instruction, the snake stopped and proceeded to do a bit of a dance reminiscent of the Egyptian, and then, once it was done dancing, Tom called it to him, slithering up his body to finally curl up on his shoulder.
"Well done, Mr. Riddle," Grindelwald clapped at the display, a pleased grin on his face. "I'll admit, I haven't met a lot of Parselmouths in my time. As far as I know, there is only one other family in all of Britain. I don't suppose you've heard of the Gaunts?"
Tom shook his head, but you could clearly see that Grindelwald had succeeded in capturing his attention.
"The Gaunts are a family of pureblooded wizards descended from Salazar Slytherin, whom they inherited their ability to speak to snakes," Grindelwald explained. "I was just wondering if you were, by any chance, related to them."
"I wouldn't know, sir. My mother died giving birth to me, and my father… I don't really know anything about either of them."
"Ah yes, that's right, Darius did tell me that you were both orphans," Grindelwald nodded his head, as if only then remembering the fact. "Nevertheless, you are indeed powerful, just as the reports said."
With another wave of his wand, the snake vanished from Tom's shoulder into thin air. Grindelwald then turned to face Hermione.
"And you, Miss Granger… I hear you are particularly powerful as well. You master spells on the first try and know the answers to every question on a test. Would you care to show me what you can do?"
The plan was to perform a simple spell, that while being a bit more advanced that what she should know, was still rather unimpressive. She didn't want Grindelwald taking an interest in her, or in Tom for that matter. Trying to prevent him from becoming a dark wizard would be hard enough without Grindelwald's influence.
"Come on, Hermione, show him your blur fire trick," Tom whispered to her.
"Blue fire?" Grindelwald must have heard them. "Yes, please do show me this trick of yours."
She cast a quick glare in Tom's direction, but relented in the end. Grindelwald clearly wasn't going to leave her alone until she showed him. Perhaps it would be best to show him just how powerful she was… give him a taste of what he could expect from her if he ever tried to cross her.
Stepping back to put some distance between her and everyone else, she held out her hands and silently muttered the incantation in her head, focusing all her energy on how much she hated Grindelwald for trying to persuade her and Tom to the dark side, as she was sure was his true intention.
Blue flames encircled her feet, rising higher and higher as her anger soared until it had almost completely engulfed her. She could only vaguely see the others through the flame, but she was sure that they were left astounded. Mr. Malfoy tried to cast Aguamenti, but it did nothing to extinguish the flames.
Once it had sunk in that there was nothing anyone else could do to extinguish the flames, she finally allowed herself to calm, causing the flames to dwindle until they were gone from sight. The only proof that they had ever been there was a ring of scorch marks on the rug surrounding her. Thankfully Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy didn't seem to notice as they were too busy gawking at her.
No one spoke for at least five minutes after the flames were gone. Grindelwald was the one to break the silence as he stepped towards her.
"Where did you learn how to do that?" he asked.
She shrugged. "I didn't exactly learn it from a specific person or book. I've been able to conjure fire for as long as I can remember. I had taught myself to control it before I even got to Hogwarts."
"Do you know which magical family you come from?"
She shook her head.
Long had she suspected that muggleborns were descendants of squibs that had been cast out of magical families, but she had never done any research into who she was descended from. Perhaps that was something she would have to look into this time around. Who knows, she might even find some long lost wizarding relations that she never knew about.
"I think it is safe to say that the reports were all true. You both are remarkably talented, and are sure to have bright futures in store," he praised. "In fact, if you ever decide in the future that you wish to make a difference in the world, I would be honored to have you join my ranks. You as well, Young Mr. Malfoy. Powers such as yours deserve to be used for only the most worthy of causes."
And there it was… Just as she thought, he was hoping to recruit them in the future.
"We'll take it into consideration," she said, though she didn't mean it in the slightest.
Nodding his head, Grindelwald turned back to Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy. "Thank you for welcoming me into your home, but I must be going now," he said, shaking their hands before retreating back to the fireplace. "I trust that you will not let word of this get out."
"Of course, Grindelwald," Mr. Malfoy assured him. "It is always an honor to have you."
Then, without further delay, he scooped up a handful of floo powder and left in a roar of bright green flames.
Once he was gone, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy turned to face them with big smiles, ushering them out of the room and urging them to go get ready for supper. They went without question, heading off back down the hall to their respective bedrooms.
Hermione had just opened the door to her own room when Tom reached out to stop her. "Did you hear what that man, Grindelwald, said? He's offering us a place within his ranks!"
"I heard him, but I'm not entirely convinced that I would want to join him."
"Why not?"
"I read some articles about him in the Daily Prophet. They say he's targeting muggles as well as muggleborns. I couldn't bring myself to help him kill my own kind," she replied in a hushed tone. "Besides, I get the feeling he just wants to use us for our powers."
He didn't say anything in reply, but he seemed to be pondering what she had said, much to her relief. At least she knew he listened to her. There was still hope for him yet. She only hoped that Grindelwald wouldn't bother them again anytime soon and that Tom might forget all about him.
