Disclaimer: don't own.
Hermione almost felt as if she had to faint. 'Relax Hermione. He is not yet the dark lord. You are in Hogwarts, he will not do anything. Just act normal.' She tried to hide her obvious fear. She had been – after all – a Gryffindor. A BRAVE Gryffindor. 'Get a grip Hermione. You've faced worse dangers.' she reprimanded herself inwardly.
"Nice to meet you." she stuttered, her voice becoming higher than usual. She hoped that young Voldemort had not noticed.
"Have you been sorted then?" he asked still wearing his charming half-smile.
"Yes, I'm in Ravenclaw and couldn't find the common room. Could you help me find it please?" Hermione asked, trying to keep her voice friendly and FEARLESS. Too bad that her voice was cracking.
"Of course." Riddle answered gallantly. "Just follow me please."
Hermione was about to snort but stopped herself in time. FOLLOWERS.
Silently they made their way to the staircase.
"You don't have a password, you have to solve a riddle or answer a question." Riddle told the waiting Hermione. "Just knock with this golden eagle and Rowena will tell you the puzzle. Good luck, Miss Karkarova."
"Thank you for helping me, Mr. Riddle." Hermione forced a thankful smile on her face, keeping her voice as even and steady as she could, which cost her every ounce of determination. What did Dumbledore think? To send them on a mission like that.
Furthermore? What? Isn't there just a password? Like in the Gryffindor tower?
Shaking her head, she knocked. "What is Golpalotts third law?" a musical voice asked and Hermione smiled. For the first time, she would be in a house that valued learning, intelligence and HER.
Smiling smugly, she recited the law word for word and the door granted her entrance into the wide, blue-bronze Ravenclaw common room which was thankfully empty. Hermione was stunned by the beauty of it. They had a great view onto the fields, the sun was shining into the room, tinting the circular room into a bluish, peaceful atmosphere. A fire was crackling and comfy looking chairs were grouped around it, as well as a huge table. The walls were lined with various book cases and they were FULL with different kinds of books.
Curiously, Hermione looked at the nearest shelf. Books had always held a certain magical aura and she was absolutely delighted. When she reached the first shelf, she found muggle novels which she remembered reading when she was a child.
"Hi!" a friendly voice said and Hermione turned around.
"Oh, hi." Hermione replied. It was a boy approximately her age, with dirty blonde hair and the Ravenclaw-Prefect-sign printed on his chest. A prefect obviously.
"You are new?" he asked still smiling.
"Yes. I am a transfer from Durmstrang. My name is Natalija Karkarova."
"Nice to meet you Natalija. My name is Richard Goldstein." he held out his hand which Hermione shook hesitantly. Clearly that guy was the grandfather of Anthony Goldstein of her time.
"I guess you would like to go to your dorm. You share it with another girl called Sarah Clearwater."
"Just with ONE other girl?" Hermione was surprised. In Gryffindor there were five girls to a dorm.
"Yes. There aren't many girls in Ravenclaw so they always just pair up together." Richard informed her.
"Okay…" Hermione trailed off not really knowing what to say to that.
"Corner!" Richard called upstairs and a dark-haired boy, who looked remarkably like Michael Corner came down the stairs.
"Yes?"
"Jacob, meet our new transfer student. Natalija Karkarova. Another female Ravenclaw." he smiled.
"Nice to meet you. Finally more girls. Yay." Jacob grinned flirtatiously at Hermione who blushed scarlet, but returned his more than warm welcome.
"Thank you, nice to meet you as well, Jacob." she smiled.
"Oh here she is. Sarah, this is Natalija Karkarova from Durmstrang. Natalija this is Sarah Clearwater. You will be sharing a dorm together." Richard suddenly said, looking in the other direction.
A pretty, tall, slender girl smiled slightly at Hermione. "Welcome, from what I heard your name is Natalija. You will be sharing the dorm with me. Shall I show you our dorm?"
"Yes please." Hermione smiled back at her.
"Sure."
"Oh and Natalija? Dinner starts in 15 minutes. We can go down together and show you the Great Hall and introduce you to people." Richard offered and saw the blonde girl smile happily.
"That would be great." Hermione said thankfully, not thinking about her three friends from her era of time.
"That's settled then. Meet you in 10 minutes down here then." Richard waved his hand.
"Richard is our prefect. He wants everyone to feel happy, included and secure. You are lucky that you met him and not somebody else. Some people can be downright nasty to newbies." the spitting image of Penelope, Percy's ex-girlfriend smiled at Hermione when they had reached their dorm.
It was slightly smaller than the Gryffindor's but with 2 beds instead of 5 and two wardrobes and two bedside tables.
"Yes, he is really nice and helpful. Pity that I didn't meet him earlier."
"What do you mean?"
"I got lost from the headmaster's office to here. I didn't find the way." Hermione explained.
Sarah shook her head angrily. "I'm surprised he didn't send anyone with you. How should you KNOW your way? You've never been here… How did you get in then?" she was curious.
"Uhm… someone showed me the way. From Slytherin. His name is Tom Riddle." Hermione replied, not thinking about the fear he had induced. She silently praised herself for her brilliantness. By telling Sarah about that encounter, she could easily find out what other people knew and thought about Riddle. The hat had been right to put her into Ravenclaw. She couldn't help but feel a bit proud. However, she didn't expect Sarah's reaction.
"Oh …. him?" Sarah smiled and giggled girlishly.
Hermione looked completely thrown at these news. Why was she giggling? And WHY was she saying…
"He is a right dish. Tom is soooo handsome. And powerful. And intelligent. And a real gentleman. Pity that he doesn't want to have a girlfriend." she sighed.
Hermione was now even more surprised. "He doesn't want to have a girlfriend?" Who would want him anyway?
"No. He thinks girls are a waste of time. He values power and wants to achieve something that other wizards haven't done before. I don't know what he means by that. But not even his closest followers know. Top-secret meetings are held every week and Tom is the leader. But there aren't any girls." she looked frustrated.
"But clearly this Tom isn't the only hot guy in Hogwarts?" Hermione was already unpacking her clothes. She sincerely wanted to stop talking about Tom.
"Oh no, he is just the best-looking, most charming and beautiful young man. But other than that, there is Goldstein. Yes, the Goldstein you talked to. Then there is Markus Wood from Gryffindor. Joseph Diggory in Hufflepuff and there are quite a few in Slytherin. Abraxas Malfoy for example. Watch out for him. Edward Zabini – THE heartthrob. And Darius Flint who is my boyfriend by the way." Sarah smiled happily.
"Darius is in Ravenclaw as well?" Hermione was surprised.
"Yes, he is. We don't usually date people from other houses. It is not common." the girl shrugged and looked at Hermione.
"Why? Someone special in mind? Maybe the one who showed you the way to the Ravenclaw tower?" Sarah grinned at the blonde haired girl mischievously and Hermione blushed.
"No no no, Tom… he is not really my type. He seems dangerous." she commented, red in the face.
"He IS dangerous, Natalija. Don't pick a fight with him. Never ever. And try to stay away from him. This guy is freakin' hot but dark. VERY dark." Sarah informed her and Hermione nodded. She would take her advice seriously. She would love nothing better than to stay away from him anyway.
"Let's go down Natalija. Richard is waiting."
The two girls – one black haired and one blonde made their way down the stairs, both wearing a black skirt, black high heels, a white blouse, a black cloak with the Ravenclaw symbol and both their hair down their backs, Hermione's slightly longer than Sarah's.
"Miss Clearwater. Miss Karkarova. Let's go!" Richard offered them both his arms which they took giggling.
"So tell me, what is the difference between Durmstrang and Hogwarts?" Richard asked grinning
Hermione had to laugh as well. "But Mr. Goldstein, I surely can't tell you that. There are secrets that aren't told."
"That's too bad, Richard, but she is right. Hogwarts, a history states that all magical schools try to keep their secret. No one really knows where they are for example." Sarah Clearwater chimed in.
Hogwarts, a history. Hermione's favourite book. She smiled at the girl and suddenly knew that they had quite a lot in common. Hermione liked Ravenclaw more and more. The people here were also much more well-mannered than the Gryffindors, they had style, they weren't those loud, rowdy, snappy children but rather quiet and the male students had a gallant style and were obviously taking care of the few ladies that were also in Ravenclaw.
It became pretty obvious at dinner. Richard led Sarah and Hermione to their seats and took a seat himself opposite them. To Hermione's utter surprise, he filled their glasses with water (didn't they have any pumpkin juice in the 40s?) without being asked. Hermione blushed. 'That's so sweet of him. A pity that the Gryffindors and the guys in our time are far from that.' she thought grimly.
"Hey Rich." a boy with twinkling blue eyes and light brown hair sat down next to him. "Don't you want to introduce this lovely lady next to you?" "Hey Charles." Richard smiled and addressed Hermione immediately. "Natalija, this is Charles Boot and that young boy is Matthew Nott." 'Probably related to Theodore Nott. I wonder why his grandfather was placed into Ravenclaw.' Hermione thought vaguely. She smiled at them. "Hi. Nice to meet you. I'm Natalija and a transfer from Durmstrang." she had luckily remembered her story very well.
"Nice to meet you too. It's a pleasure." Matthew took her hand and kissed it and Charles imitated him. To her dismay, Hermione blushed to her roots.
Why weren't the boys in her time that charming? she thought for the thousandth time.
She looked up to get herself more potatoes, when her eyes locked with Draco's. He was at the Slytherin table, glaring at her. Oh shit. She had forgotten them. She had promised them to meet them in front of the great hall.
With her eyes she pleaded for an apology. "After dinner." Draco mouthed, pointing at the entrance of the Great Hall, still looking angrily at her.
Hermione nodded in understanding. To her surprise, she saw that Harry was also looking grumpily at her. Well. Guys, obviously.
"Hey." she greeted out of breath after dinner was finished.
"Well did you get into Ravenclaw tower FINE?" Draco asked seething.
"Yes, Malfoy. A CHARMING young man helped me since NO ONE OF YOU cared for me." Hermione spat back.
At least Ginny had the grace to look ashamed. "Who was it?"
"So did you find any good information?" she asked Draco and Harry.
Harry and Draco looked at each other and harry cast muffliato, as he didn't want to be overheard.
"Harry, can I go first?" Hermione pleaded.
"Sure, Hermione. Something important?" Harry asked her.
"Yes. Actually, it is about HIM." Hermione said in a whisper, forgetting that Muffliato prevented the other people from listening in on their conversation anyway.
"Really?" Ginny's eyes were wide. Also the two boys looked curiously at her.
"Yes. As you know, I was lost and trying to find the Ravenclaw common room. I bumped into him and my bag fell down and split. He repaired it with his wand and we talked a bit. Afterwards he helped me get into the Ravenclaw common room."
Harry and Draco just looked at her with their mouths open. To Hermione's surprise, Ginny's eyes went wide and she was as red as a tomato.
"Wait. What. HOW? Did he hurt you?" Harry asked.
"Do you see all these horrible wounds and curse marks on her face? Just disgusting…" Draco asked cockily.
Ginny and Hermione giggled at that remark. "No, Harry, he did not. We are in Hogwarts. And he is not yet the Dark Lord. But mind you, it was pretty scary."
"He just HELPED you like that?" Ginny was flabbergasted.
"Just like that. He was pretty charming actually." Hermione remarked.
"Charming? The dark lord?" Draco looked at Hermione as if she had three heads. His tan skin became a slight tinge of red and Hermione was surprised for a short moment.
"But now to you. What did you find out?" Hermione asked a bit impatiently.
"Well, he showed us around – was pretty friendly. Draco shares the dorm with Zabini and GUES WHO I SHARE IT WITH?" Harry asked furiously.
"Riddle?" Ginny guessed.
"No, Riddle sleeps in the Heads Dorm. But now watch out, Harry is paired up with my grandfather." Draco explained, wearing half a smirk.
"With Abraxas?" Hermione asked with wide eyes.
Draco looked at her and blushed again. "Yes. How do you know his name?"
"Some people in Ravenclaw were talking about him." Hermione told him the half-truth.
"Hmm, it seems as if the people in Ravenclaw have fine taste then." Draco mused. Ginny and Hermione laughed again.
"What about you, Ginny?" Harry asked.
"Gryffindor is still the same." Ginny explained.
"I envy you." Harry growled.
"But actually, Harry, I got to know somebody interesting." Ginny said smirking as well. "She used to teach at Hogwarts."
Hermione and Harry made a face. Surely not –
"Are you talking about Mc Gonnagal?" Draco grinned.
"The very same. We even share the same dorm." Ginny made a face.
"That will be interesting. We'll see her in classes tomorrow anyway." Harry smiled at the prospect.
"Yeah. What do you guys have first thing?" Hermione pulled out the timetable Richard had given her.
"Advanced potions. With SLUGHORN." Harry grinned.
"Oh joy. At least I am in that class too." Hermione found out to her delight that in the 40s Slytherin and Ravenclaw were usually in one class (except Herbology and Defence Against the Dark Arts). She remembered clearly that in THEIR actual time, as Gryffindors they were always grouped with the Slytherins. Now it was the Ravenclaws.
"Ginny, don't feel left out." Harry said a bit sadly.
"Oh, she has got McGonnagal to become best buddies with her. Don't worry." Draco smirked and Ginny rolled her eyes.
"Ok guys. See you tomorrow." Hermione yawned.
"Yeah see you." Ginny and Harry departed hand in hand, clearly Harry accompagnied her to the Gryffindor portrait hole.
"Uhm, Hermione, I don't want you to get lost, let me take you to the Ravenclaw tower." Draco said in a quiet voice, not looking at Hermione who eyed him in surprise.
"To what do I owe that pleasure?" Hermione asked half-jokingly, half-seriously.
"I don't want HIM to find you again. He is dangerous, Hermione. I don't want you to get hurt. Let me go with you." Draco said even quieter
"Okay then." Hermione was completely thrown. Since when was Draco that interested in her well-being?
He held out his arm in a gentleman-like fashion. "My dear lady." he smirked.
Smiling, Hermione took it and they set off together. 'Why am I actually doing that?' Draco thought to himself.
'Why am I actually doing that?' Hermione thought to herself.
"Oh by the way, wearing the 40s clothes suit you. Especially the skirt and the high-heels. A pity that you didn't wear those clothes in our era." Draco grinned.
"Was that a compliment?" Hermione was now lost for words.
"If you want it to be one, yes." Draco smirked at her the typical Malfoy-smirk.
"Then I would want it to be one." Hermione smirked back.
"Good evening, Miss Karkarova. Mister Krum." a dark voice greeted.
"Riddle." Draco said with a curt nod.
"Good evening, Mister Riddle." Hermione said politely, smiling at Tom, not being fearful in front of him for the first time. Maybe it was because Draco was with her.
"I believe, Miss Karkarova, you are not aware that it is forbidden to wander the corridors at that time. You should be in Ravenclaw tower." Tom said icily and full of authority, but with a hint of concern in his voice.
'Player. Actor. You wouldn't want me to be safe.' Hermione thought angrily but kept her façade.
"I apologize for my behaviour, Mister Riddle. You see, Mister Krum accompagnied me here. He didn't want me to go alone since he thought that I would get lost again like I did this afternoon." Hermione told him in a polite voice she had already used so often today.
Riddle looked suspiciously between Draco and Hermione but thought better.
"Mister Krum, you can proceed to the Slytherin dorms, I will accompany Miss Karkarova to her dorms." Riddle said with an authority that not only resembled a Head Boy but more a Dark Lord.
Draco said nothing. He just furiously looked at Riddle.
"I can take her, it is no problem." he said stubbornly, evidently keeping the fear out of his voice.
"Mister Krum." Riddle laughed a dark, slightly conceited but evil laugh. "You will do as you are told. I am headboy, in case you haven't noticed. Don't disgrace the name of Slytherin house by disobeying me. Now. Go." he said dangerously.