PART 3
(BEFORE: 1993-1994)
Hermione and Dumbledore continued their discussion from the end of the school year over letters during the summer. They both understood the gravity of the situation at hand, and were equally determined to prevent further harm. Dumbledore promised to take care of the Riddle family – supposedly moving them to Switzerland, but Hermione's fears were not quelled.
"We need to keep him busy," she wrote in messy scrawl. "He had too much free time before and managed to open the Chamber of Secrets." Dumbledore sent back vague and frankly empty letters in return guaranteeing Mr. Riddle would have very limited time due to a certain "project" the school was pursuing.
"I might need you to personally keep an eye on him too, though. Teacher and student interactions are very limited," he had written in cool cursive. "And I trust that you'll be able to impartially observe him."
X*X*X
Tom was still livid over the disappearance of the Riddle family. When he had visited Little Hangleton early in the summer, it had been declared by all the townspeople that the Riddles had not lived there for the past 5 years. Many had even mistaken Tom for his father upon first sighting. The ability to enact revenge had slipped out of his fingers once again.
And another teacher had been funneled through the Hogwarts washing machine. Shame too, because Professor Lupin had been the best DADA teacher Tom had learned under. But, unfortunately, his nightly habits (with his husband Sirius and under the moon) were made public and he was forced to leave.
Tom saw Hermione a bit more frequently; both of them were given time turners for their extra classes, and they often spotted each other in passing. Sometimes she'd wave hello, but more often than not, it was a curt nod while they both darted off to their next destination. He would have been tempted to keep his at the end of the year, but even he had to admit the strain it had put on him, His sleep cycle became abnormal and his behavior erratic. It didn't help that he spent many late nights in the Restricted Section. Hermione was there too, sitting in the opposite side of the library. He had passed her one night and found her to be intensely reading a passage on werewolves. It appeared that Hermione had known about Lupin's lycanthropy long before the rest of the student body.
Lucky for Tom, his extensive research on immortality paid off and he discovered horcruxes. Only downside was that he was too busy to kill people this semester to make them. It'd have to wait.
(BEFORE: 1994-1995)
Tom had been surprised when Dumbledore had allowed him to stay at Hogwarts over the summer. He was sure the old coot wanted him to suffer one last summer at Wool's. However, Tom had no time to venture outside of the Hogwarts grounds because he was busy helping a new professor, Severus Snape, move in. Snape had traveled the world, working as a potion and spell developer. Slughorn had requested that Snape work as his co-teacher; the older man wanted to retire in a few years. Tom couldn't help but feel blessed; not only had the teacher shared private information with him, but he was also going to be Head Boy!
But there were more new teachers and things to come. The new DADA teacher, "Mad-Eye" Moody, was a brilliant wizard with a dark sense of humor Tom appreciated. Additionally, the school was hosting the TriWizard tournament this year, and the ground were teaming with students all of backgrounds.
Unfortunately, all of the festivities distracted the teachers from their duties, especially for the 7th year career goals and NEWT classes. Luckily for him, his career goal was teaching, so he was able to shadow Professor Snape and Slughorn, as well as Mad-Eye.
X*X*X
The Yule Ball was rather dull. It was made up of bad hairband music, teachers trying to relive their youth, and awkward youth trying to dance. Tom was lounging at one of the spare tables; the other Knights were dispersed throughout the room, dancing or drinking from the suspicious smelling punch. He spotted Hermione from across the room during the Yule Ball, and around him, his classmates gossiped about her new look.
"Is that Granger?"
"My god – she looks like a human being for once!" Tom whipped his head around from where he was reclining at a table and stared down the offender. It was that horrible dimwit who thought he owned the school – what's his name again? Ah yes, Malfoy.
"What a slut," commented his date, the pug-like girl, Parkinson, I recall? "First she screwed Harry, now she's with Krum."
"I bet you fifty galleons that next is a house elf. You know what a nutter she is about that spew thing," sneered a gangly teenage girl next to the pug.
"Ugh, just the thought of it makes me want to spew!" This sent both girls into a roaring fit of ugly laughter, and Tom felt the all too familiar twinge of rage in his heart.
"How do you know she slept those young men?" He asks. The laughter stops as the girls gawk at them – he was Slytherin royalty (and Head Boy) and this was their first conversation.
"Wha?" asked the tall one.
"How do you know she's pursued sexual relations with either of those young men? Did you magically become best friends with her and learn all of her secrets?"
"Well, Rita Skeeter was saying…"
"Rita Skeeter is the biggest doorknob I've ever met, and she doesn't know Dumbledore from a house-elf. She's not a valid source."
"Well, even if she didn't sleep with them, she's still a slut," snorted Pansy.
"How does dating men make her a 'slut'?
"Uh…."
"What does it matter if she's dating people? She could date a thousand men and still not be a slut. Why does it matter to you two?" They continued to stare at him in awe. "Ah, that's right. Because you're jealous. She's smarter than you and now she's prettier than you." Actually, she always been prettier.
"Instead of attacking others because you're insecure, why don't you try to find ways to improve yourself? Prove that you are worthy of being in Slytherin. Because right now, I'd much rather be associated with the likes of a grindylow." And with that, Tom strode away from the gasping girls, crossed the room to Hermione where had been sitting with two other Gryffindors, the Weasley girl and the Longbottom boy, and held out his hand. She looked up at him curiously.
"Care to dance?" She glanced over at the ginger before responding.
"Yes," she rose to her feet and took his hand, "thank you." They walked out to the center of the dance floor and a quiet settled over the Great Hall. All eyes seemed to be directed towards them. A slow, Muggle jazz song oozed out of the speakers and they settled into their spots.
"Unforgettable . . . that's what you are," Nat King Cole crooned. Hermione and Tom sway together. As much as he hated to admit it, muggle music, especially classical and jazz, was tolerable. Maybe even likable.
"Unforgettable. . .tho' near or far" He couldn't help but notice her attention was elsewhere and he craned his head to see what she was looking at. Dumbledore sent an approving nod their way, and she quickly snapped her head back, lightly knocking his chin.
"Sorry."
"Don't be." They settled into the dance again, and, somehow, in the midst of the song, their bodies leaned in further towards each other. Her head nested into his shoulder and he rested his head on hers. Time seemed to slip away, and when Nat King Cole's voice faded, they stayed frozen in their place. It wasn't until a loud guitar strum reverberated throughout the room that they snapped out of it. They untangled from each other and Tom separated himself, disappearing back into the crowd as mysteriously as he arrived.
Hermione made her way over to where Harry and Ron were brooding. With a dazed look on her face, she remarked, "It's hot, isn't it?"
Ron snarled, "You would know, wouldn't you?"
"What put you in such a bad mood?"
Gesturing wildly across the hall, Ron exclaimed, "He's from Slytherin; you're fraternizing with the enemy!"
"The enemy? Who was it that wanted to cozy up to him so he could get a prefect position? Besides, the whole point of the competition is to encourage school unity – to make friends with other houses."
"Hmph. Well, it looks like he's got a bit more than friendship on his mind."
"What exactly do you mean by that?"
"He's using you!"
"What?!"
"You know it's true. A guy like that doesn't dance with a girl unless there's something in it for him."
"Well, I can take care of myself, Ronald."
"I doubt it; you were like melted ice-cream in his arms back there. You wouldn't last more than five minutes before taking your clothes off for him. Pretty soon, you'd be his little pet, and he'd have you on a leash calling yourself Mudblood." A bolt of anger flashed in her eyes, and suddenly her wand was drawn and pointed at his neck.
"How dare you! You know nothing about how I think or feel or anything! You have no right to insinuate any of those things." She pressed the wand a little harder into his neck. "If I hear of you making any sort of foul comment like that ever again – regardless of whom it is directed towards – I will skin you, do you understand?" Tom watched from afar, a knowing look on his face. While he was proud of her for standing up to the sexist and frankly horrible bastard, he knew that she would lower her wand eventually and let him go, never really showcasing her power. What a waste, he thought; she could have pummeled him with one blow.
Harry tried to resolve the situation, leaning in and whispering, "Hermione, he doesn't mean it. He's just jealous."
"That doesn't justify his comments!" She lowered her wand but her gaze still scorched holes into Ron's head. "Next time there's a ball he needs to pluck up the courage and ask me before someone else does, and not as a last resort!"
"Well . . . ugh . . . um . . . that's completely off the point," Ron mumbled. "Uh, Harry! Hey Harry, let's go!" Ron linked arms with Harry before bolting out of the ballroom. Hermione collapsed into the chair and clutched her fists. She clenched and released, clenched and released, just like her parents had taught her to do whenever she got mad. This was one of the methods they had tried to encourage in order to prevent episodes of uncontrolled magic when she was younger. But her anger rippled through her and activated the deepest reserves of her magic, causing an electric-like field to pulse around her. Those around her who had noticed the argument gossiped incessantly. Only Victor Krum dared to approach her.
"Hermy-own-ninny? Are you alrivt?"
"No."
"Vould you like some punch?"
"No, I think I'll just get some fresh air."
"Can I go vith you?"
"I need to be alone, but thank you." She squeezed his hand before walking out of the Great Hall and heading to the courtyard.
X*X*X
"Well done Miss Granger, I told you dressing up would work." She turned around and found that Dumbledore was standing behind the bench she was sitting on.
"Are you sure you didn't Imperio him?"
"What do you mean?" He sat down next to her.
"His behavior seemed . . . unnatural. He was so calm – pleasant, even."
"It was most likely a façade. But he does seem to have a soft spot for you. And we must take the upmost advantage of that weakness."
"How so, sir?"
"I'm not quite sure, Hermione. I would frankly like your input on the matter."
"What we need is a way to guarantee surveillance of him after graduation. We only have a few more months until he leaves. What has he been focusing on as his career path for the NEWTs?"
"Teaching," Dumbledore sighed, "which I have advised against. It doesn't seem wise to have him near young, impressionable minds. We have him training under Severus as well for spell creation – seems to have a knack for it."
"Professor, don't you see? Having him become a teacher here secures our ability to watch him. And as his boss, you'd be in charge of him. And I'd be his student, so I could report any ill treatment towards other kids. Plus, you said Snape knows what we're doing, right? So if Snape befriends him and keeps him distracted, that's just another layer of reconnaissance."
"But what if he opens the Chamber again?"
"He'll be too busy grading papers and making students miserable. Sir, please. Let him interview for the job."
"He's just so young."
"But he'll probably be the most qualified applicant you'll have. And he'll be a source of stability. So far there's been a new DADA professor every year. I think everyone would like some consistency for a change." She stood up and brushed the snow off her dress.
"I'll let him apply. But Hermione-" Dumbledore grabbed her hand, "I'm not making any guarantees."
"Thank you professor." Hermione beamed before rushing back inside.
"I just hope you're making the right call," Dumbledore mumbled to himself.
X*X*X
Around June, after the tragedy of the Triwizard Tournament, Tom was called into the Headmaster's office. He found all the teachers standing inside.
"Headmaster, is everything alright?"
"Yes, Tom. Everything is just fine." Tom couldn't help but notice the lack of the customary warmth in the old man's voice. "It is to our knowledge that you are interested in teaching, Tom. Is this true?"
"Yes, sir." What was the old man getting at?
"Where are you planning on teaching?"
"Preferably here. But I'll travel where ever they'll take me." The other teachers smiled at him, Slughorn even nudged McGonagall and mumbled something to her in a cheery tone.
"Do you have a particular subject in mind?"
"Oh, any sir. I just want the opportunity to pass on my knowledge and help others learn." Pince sent him an approving nod, but Dumbledore didn't seem satisfied.
"Now, Tom, where does this desire stem from?"
Tom paused for a moment before responding. "I'm not sure many of you know, but I was raised in an orphanage. And as a treat during the summer, we'd go to the beach. And once, I was almost ten, I had been exploring a cave when a little girl followed me in. The girl became scared and made the rocks shake – I presume she was magical in some way. Well, we were able to get out of the cave in time before it collapsed, but she was still scared. So I gave her my Rubik Cube to play with." The teachers looked at him, confused.
"For those of you who don't know, a Rubik Cube is a puzzle game of sorts. And she was a little girl, so she was struggling to solve it. But I walked her through it and explained one of the trade secrets of the puzzle, and it was like I had an epiphany." He ran his thumb over the chess piece in his pocket; he hoped they were buying the bullshit. The truth was that he still hadn't accessed all of Hogwarts secrets and he also wanted to spread his vision to people, but they didn't need to know that. "I still have the chess piece she gave me, actually." He took the black gaming piece out of his pocket to show them.
"That's very . . . touching, Tom," Dumbledore admitted.
"Oh, Albus, just give him the job!" Slughorn laugh.
Madame Pince agreed, "He's perfect for the job, Albus."
"Hire him!" Hagrid boomed. Tom blushed – he was frankly surprised by the amount of support he was receiving from the faculty.
"Hush, hush!" Dumbledore tried to quiet his staff. "Thomas Riddle. Would you like to be the new professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, seeing as how our last one was actually Grindlewald?"
"Yes sir, more than anything in the world!" The teachers cheered for him.
Dumbledore cautioned, "Now, you do realize that you'll be the youngest wizarding teacher hired ever."
"Age and wisdom do not belong to the same tree, Albus," Severus reminded him.
"But age and experience are."
"No offense, Albus, but your previous hires had plenty of 'experience' but had murderous or dangerous tendencies." Severus quipped.
"Give him a chance, Albus," McGonagall pleaded.
Dumbledore sighed. "Alright."
"Really?"
"Yes. You're hired." The teachers burst into an aggravated round of applause and pride swelled in Tom's chest. For once, everything seemed to be going right.