Tom's obsession had finally come to an end. Now that he had met his remaining family, as well as heard the truth of his own origins, he had no desire to learn more. There were no more trips to the Malfoy's Library, or at least not for that purpose, and there was no more talk of Grindelwald's offer.

Hermione should have been pleased by this, relieved that particular load had been lifted from her shoulders… but she wasn't…

Tom was not himself. He had never been overly talkative, especially around those he wasn't used to, but he had this spark in him that seemed to ignite whenever he was anxious to learn new things. She knew, because she was the same way. However, he seemed to have lost that spark since he found out the truth.

She tried distracting him with books and little tidbits of information she discovered about Nimue or Merlin. These were things that would have ordinarily grabbed his attention, but now failed to produce so much as a flicker.

It was as if he had lost all meaning in life, and it made her sad to see him that way. To an extent, she understood why he was feeling so down. She probably would have felt the same way had she found out that she came from a long line of incestuous, blood-supremacists, and that her father had been basically kidnapped and raped under the effects of a love potion, resulting in her conception.

At one point, she had thought to try talking to him about it, but when she even so much as mentioned his mother or father, he would glare at her and leave. It was a sensitive subject to be sure, one that he obviously wasn't ready for.

It was difficult to understand exactly how he was feeling, as she hadn't experienced such trauma herself, but she imagined that he felt at least somewhat disgusted at his family's behavior. She wished more than anything that he would open up to her about it, for she wanted to know how he felt.

Did he hate his father? Tom Riddle Sr. hadn't exactly been the nicest to him. He shouldn't have yelled at Tom as he did. After all, it wasn't Tom's fault.

Did he hate his mother perhaps? Merope was the one who had initiated these crimes against Tom's father. Not to mention, she had been awfully weak. Tom hated weakness. Before he knew the truth of his family, he had often debated which of his parents had been magical. He never believed that it was his mother, arguing that she would have surely saved herself from death if she had been. The fact that she had been a witch, and yet still chose to resign herself to death was sure to fuel such hatred.

She tried to give him as much space as he needed, while still maintaining a close proximity in case he should need her help.

And so, she waited… and waited…

Day passed, gradually turning into weeks, and still Tom remained the same.

By this point, she was starting to grow increasingly worried, as he seemed to grow more and more bitter. She needed to do something, and quickly at that. Otherwise, she feared that his anger and bitterness would fuel his dark side to take over.

But how?

The answer came soon after as she received a letter from Mary Riddle in Lancashire. It came as quite a surprise to her when Lolly, a house elf that she had quickly grown to adore, handed her the letter, for she had forgotten that she had given her their address in the first place.

'Dear Hermione,

I hope this letter finds you well. I am sorry it has taken me this long to write, for I have been busy trying to convince my husband and son to open their hearts to young Tom. Thus far, I have had no such success, but I have not given up. I still believe that, with time and patience, they will come around. One thing I've learned over the years is that Riddle men are terribly stubborn. Is my grandson like this as well?

Nonetheless, I would very much like to come and visit you, providing Thomas will let me. If it would be alright with your guardians, as well as with Tom, I was thinking of driving out to Wiltshire sometime soon. I hear it is a beautiful region, one that I have unfortunately not had the chance to tour as of yet.

If this is agreeable, I would very much appreciate it if you would write back with an appropriate date and time.

Yours truly,

Mary Riddle'

Mary's letter was a delight to read, and had her laughing when she mentioned how the Riddle men were well known for their stubbornness. Tom was very much the same. When he set his mind to something, it was difficult to change his mind or make him do anything he didn't want to do, which was exactly the problem.

And so she began to hatch a plan behind Tom's back, running it by Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, just to make sure they were all right with it. They weren't too keen on the idea of a muggle coming to their house, but eventually agreed solely for the purpose of cheering Tom up. Having gained their permission, she eagerly wrote back and a time was set for Mary to come and visit.

Hermione tugged at the sleeve of her blouse, nibbling on her bottom lip nervously, as she sat in the music room with Tom, watching and listening as he played the piano, a talent that he had discovered since they had come to live with the Malfoy's. Every so often, she would glance over at the clock nervously to check the time.

Any minute now…

"Are you alright, Hermione?" Tom asked, startling her, as she had been so lost in her own thoughts that she hadn't even noticed him stop playing. "Is something wrong? You seem to be spacing out rather a lot today."

She forced a smile onto her face as she nodded her head. "Oh yes, why would you think that?"

Unfortunately, Tom knew her well enough by that point to be able to see right through her charade. "Don't lie to me. I can tell that something is going on. You're up to something. Now, what is it?," he said, fixing her with a hard gaze.

Hermione began to sweat. She knew that he would find out one way or another, but she wasn't sure how he would react. A part of her feared that if she told him too much ahead of time, he might somehow find a way to get out of it. Yet, at the same time, it would be better if she gave him a bit of a heads up.

Averting her gaze from him, she let it wander over towards the window, where she spotted a black Rolls-Royce pulling through the front gates. There was only one person it could be…

It was Mrs. Riddle.

Taking a deep breath, she turned back to Tom, secretly crossing her fingers in hopes that this wouldn't end up a complete disaster.

"Your grandmother is coming to visit today," she told him. "She's pulling into the driveway as we speak."

Tom's face went white as a sheet. "My grandmother is what?!"

Leaping up from his seat in front of the grand piano, he dashed across the room to the window where he saw the car for himself. It didn't take long for him to turn back to her, his expression now filled with rising anger as he advanced towards her.

"What is she doing here? Did he come with her? Why didn't you tell me sooner? Why did you even invite them in the first place?!"

To most, Tom could seem a right fright when he was angry, but Hermione was not afraid. Rising to her full height, she stood her ground against him, looking him straight in the eye. She had realized that he actually liked being feared, as it made him feel stronger. The only way to get anywhere with him was to face him head on and not back down.

"Calm down. It's just her. Your father and grandfather didn't come with her," she explained. "I gave her our address before I left because she asked for it and because I believe that she genuinely wants to be in your life."

He scoffed at that. "I doubt that. She's probably just using that as an excuse to get back at my mother through me for what she did to her son."

And finally it came out. So, he was ashamed of what his mother had done after all. She couldn't entirely blame him there, but still, it wasn't right for him to think the worst of everyone because of it.

"Tom, listen to me. I know that your past is… troublesome, to say the least, but Mrs. Riddle doesn't seem to care about that. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but I think you should give her a chance."

"But… she's a muggle."

"That doesn't matter. Even the Malfoy's are willing to overlook that fact for the moment. It's high time you all realized that not all muggles are bad."

Tom opened his mouth to protest again, but faltered before he could get the words out, deciding against whatever it was he was going to say. He remained silent for several moments, until the sound of the front door opening downstairs reached their ears. With the door open, they could hear the faint echo of Lolly's adorably squeaky voice greeting Mrs. Riddle, offering to take her coat for her.

"Please, just give her a chance. I know you've been hurt, but not everyone has bad intentions. She's just an elderly woman who wants to know her only grandchild."

Just then, Lolly popped into the room.

"Mrs. Riddle is waiting in the downstairs drawing room for you, Young Master," she squeaked. "Should Lolly tell her that you'll be right down?"

Tom glanced back and forth between Hermione and Lolly a few times before finally stopping on Lolly, nodding his head in resignation.

Lolly gave him a big cheerful smile before popping away again.

Reaching out for each other's hand, they started out of the room and down the hall, stopping at the top of the stairs to listen for a moment. From the sound of it, Mrs. Malfoy was already in the drawing room with Mrs. Riddle, the two women chatting quite easily.

She heard Tom take a deep breath, and Hermione gave his hand a gentle yet reassuring squeeze before starting down the stairs. As they got closer and closer to the drawing room, the sound of chatter was replaced by laughter. This could only be a good sign.

When they entered the room, they found the two older women, seated across from one another, each sipping a cup of tea that Lolly had doubtlessly made for them. The two women were so wrapped up in their own conversation that they didn't even notice them at first. It wasn't until Tom cleared his throat that they turned their heads in their direction.

"Oh, there you two are!" exclaimed Mrs. Malfoy. "Come and join us. Mary was just telling me about her garden back in Lancashire."

Letting go of Hermione's hand to go and sit in one of the overstuffed arm chairs on either side of the sofas, while she went and sat down next to Mrs. Malfoy. The armchairs were usually where the men of the house usually sat, either Abraxas or Mr. Malfoy himself. Hermione could only imagine that it made him feel a bit more confident and in control of the situation.

"So, Tom… Where do you go to school?" Mary began.

Tom glanced at Mrs. Malfoy, silently seeking her approval to tell her, to which Mrs. Malfoy nodded, motioning for him to answer the question.

"Hermione and I both attend a private school in Scotland, specifically for wizards and witches," he replied a bit stiffly.

"And do you like school?"

"Very much so," he nodded his head. "I like to think that knowledge is merely another form of power."

The topic remained on their education for the first while, as both seemed to be quite passionate about it. Hermione was pleased to see Tom return to his usual self. She asked him about what subjects he took and which he excelled at most, and gradually Tom became more and more at ease with her around.

It was pleasing for Hermione to see wizards and muggles having a civil conversation for once. Unlike their last meeting, there was no screaming, no arguing, and much less hostility in the air.

"If I had to choose just one, I'd have to say that my favorite subject is Defense Against the Dark Arts," Tom claimed. "Hermione's… grandfather teaches it."

She had been writing back and forth with Professor Renshaw throughout the summer, in an effort to get to know her own remaining family. Unsure of what else to call him, she had taken to referring to him as her grandfather, even going so far as to teasingly address him as such in her letters. He admitted that he wasn't entirely sure how to feel about that.

"Oh, really?" Mrs. Riddle asked, glancing from Tom to Hermione. "Forgive me, I've been wondering about this since the two of you both barged in on us that evening, but is Miss Granger your girlfriend?"

Hermione nearly choked on her own saliva when she heard that, and Tom seemed to have a similar reaction. With wide eyes, they turned to look at one another, cheeks flushed bright red, before quickly glancing away.

This seemed to amuse both of the older women.

"Um, no... Hermione and I are simply friends," Tom explained, running a hand through his hair as he did when he was feeling considerably less than confident.

"That's right. We were each other's only friend at the orphanage, what with us both being special and all," Hermione added.

"Whatever you say, dearies."

Neither Mrs. Riddle nor Mrs. Malfoy seemed to believe them.

They went on talking, thankfully dropping the subject and moving on to a different one, but it got Hermione thinking, refusing to leave her mind as quickly as she would have liked.

She had never really thought about it, but she supposed that at some point she would begin dating, or rather more seriously than she had, and eventually perhaps even get married. Of course, she didn't have to get married if she didn't want to. She could be just as happy as an independent woman, working to make a change in the world, but still.

Hermione was a logical person by nature, and she liked to think things through before making any decision. It wasn't the first time she had thought about her future. Back in her own time, before she had come back in time, she had considered it quite thoroughly, considering all of the boys in her life.

At one time, she had considered a future with someone like Viktor Krum, but she quickly shot that down. She didn't think herself suited to be with a famous Quidditch Player. Viktor was nice, but he wasn't the one for her.

Then, she had of course considered her two best friends. Ron had always had a bit of a thing for her, but she hadn't seen a future for the two of them, or at least not one that lasted. Harry, on the other hand, had been one of her best prospects. Unlike Ron, Harry actually understood where she came from, having been raised in the muggle world himself, and actually had a brain that didn't just think about food.

However, all those options were now gone, and she found herself having to consider new options.

Abraxas had previously taken an interest in her, but Tom had put an end to that. She believed that the two of them were better off just being friends. Cygnus was not an option for her. Though he seemed nice enough, he was still a member of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. Even if his family would accept her, she wasn't sure she wanted to join their family.

She could think of no one suited to share her life with… save for Tom…

Glancing over at him out of the corner of her eye, she regarded him for a moment. He was the only other person she had ever felt truly equal with, and seeing as she was meant to stay by his side, it made sense that they would end up together in the end.

She shook those thoughts from her head. Now was not the time to be thinking about such things. There would be plenty of time for her to plan out her future after she graduated from Hogwarts.

Besides, Tom had said so himself that she was just a friend. He clearly wasn't interested in her like that. That was perfectly fine.

Then why does it hurt to hear him say that, she thought.

They finished their tea, wrapping up their discussion as they did so, and soon it was time for Mary to leave. Mrs. Malfoy told her that she could come and visit whenever she liked, clearly having grown to like the muggle woman more than she initially expected.

Without even needing to be asked, Tom went and fetched her coat for her, helping her into it, which made Mrs. Riddle smile as she reached out and patted his cheek affectionately.

"You have grown into a fine young man, one that I am proud to call my grandson," Mary said. "I'm just sorry that I wasn't here for you sooner."

Tom said nothing. He just stood there, staring at her as if he couldn't believe she was real and actually touching him. It always made Hermione sad when she realized just how unaccustomed he was to displays of affection, even despite her own efforts to change that.

"It was nice meeting you, Tom. I do hope we can see each other again sometime."

After a few moments, he pulled out of his trance, and bowed his head respectively. "You as well... grandmother."

It seemed to please her that he had addressed her as such, and Hermione had to agree. They were making progress, and that was really all that she could hope for at this point. The Riddle Family as a whole had a long way to go before they would reach semi-decent terms with one another, but Hermione found that, much like Mary, she too had hope for them.