Hermione hopped off the stool and headed toward the Slytherin table. Not long after Hermione had been Sorted, the blond boy that Tom had been talking to had been placed in Slytherin before the Hat even touched his head. He swaggered over to the Slytherin table and sat directly in front of Hermione.
"Hello, Draco Malfoy." He said as he introduced himself.
"Hermione Granger. Were you hoping for Slytherin?" asked Hermione shaking his hand.
"Of course I was! All great Malfoys have been in Slytherin. What about your family?" asked Draco.
"Nobody. I'm the first to be in Slytherin." said Hermione. She had decided that what the boy didn't know didn't hurt him. Nobody needed to know she was muggleborn. The two boys Tom and Draco were talking to earlier came and sat near Draco and Hermione now known as Vince and Greg, introduced some other first years Theodore Nott, a tall, quiet boy, Blaise Zabini, a handsome black boy, Daphne Greengrass, a pretty, raven haired girl, and Pansy Parkinson, a black haired girl who Hermione thought was a bit brash, but a good person all the same. There was a strange silence when Tom was Sorted. Dumbledore was staring intently at him, even more so when that Potter boy had been Sorted. The Hat sat on his head for a decidedly long time before it shouted "SLYTHERIN!" and Tom stalked off to the Slytherin table amidst clapping from the Slytherin table and boos from the Gryffindor table.
"What was it split between?" asked Hermione.
"Hufflepuff and Gryffindor." said Tom smirking and taking the seat next to Draco.
After the welcoming feast the prefects handed out the first years time tables and enchanted maps that showed you how to get to your classes and the quickest route to them. They were then assigned to their respective rooms and sent to bed. Hermione was happy to see that she was rooming with Daphne and Pansy, even if they were a little boy crazy.
Hermione fell asleep looking at the emerald green and silver hangings of her home for the next seven years.
"Albus! What in Merlin's name were you thinking bringing that boy here!?" yelled Professor McGonagall. Dumbledore sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, this wasn't going to bode well for him.
"I thought, that if the boy were placed in my brother's care it would alter his House. Apparently not, I'll send an owl to Aberforth to see how he has been treating Tom. If that isn't good enough or he lies, I'll ask someone here who also lives at the orphanage."
"Albus, I swear to Merlin if something goes wrong and that boy gives me any sign that he is dark, I will end him myself." said McGonagall stalking angrily out of the room.
"You know there is a theory in time that if you alter the past in some way or another that the time stream will eventually correct itself to what it was, just at a different time." said Phineas Nigellus from his portrait.
"Perhaps, I shouldn't of meddled in the past." said Dumbledore.
The next morning Tom, Draco, and Theo were waiting for Hermione and Pansy. Astoria and Blaise had already gone down saying that they had wanted to meet some other first years. Finally, Hermione and Pansy arrived downstairs school bags in tow.
"Who did you get roomed with?" asked Hermione upon seeing Tom.
"Those two." said Tom inclining his head toward Draco and Theo who were having a very animated conversation with Daphne about Quidditch.
"Are you looking forward to any classes?" asked Hermione.
"Just Defense and maybe Transfiguration." said Tom.
Hogwarts, Tom decided was a rather interesting place. Full of magic, not in the metaphorical or literal sense, he meant in an actual sense. He could feel the magic that was pulsing and constantly shifting around the castle. He could also feel and see the magic from other people, like Dumbledore's for instance. His was a milky blue and in the center were streaks of black that moved with him and warred with each other. Dumbledore had meddled with dark magic in his past and it had stained his soul. The one person who's magic puzzled him the most however, was Hermione's. It was golden in color, and had black among the gold that was equal to it. No matter how long he looked, nothing shifted or moved within her magic, the black and gold were always equal, always at rest. Tom often wondered what she had done to get those black marks in her magic, he also wondered why she was at peace with it.
Tom stopped pondering as they arrived in the Great Hall.
"What subject do we have first?" asked Daphne spooning eggs onto her plate.
"Potions, with the Gryffindors." said Theo.
"I swear, whoever made the schedule was a complete idiot. They know we hate each other and yet they make us share classes and their table is less than ten feet from ours." said Pansy.
"I bet it was Dumbledore." said Draco.
"Are you looking forward to any classes Blaise?" asked Hermione.
"Not really. I'm looking forward to messing with Potter and his merry band of followers than anything else." said Blaise grinning wickedly. There was a lull in the conversation until a large eagle owl dropped a package right in front of Draco.
"It's from my mother." said Draco opening the card that was tied neatly on top of the package.
"She says congratulations on getting into Slytherin and that you are invited to the manor for the hols if you'd like to come." said Draco.
"Oh! She sent sweets!" said Draco plucking a large pink cake out of the box and biting into it excitedly.
"Your mum seems nice." said Pansy, swiping one of the cakes from the box.
"She is." said Draco.
"Come on, we have to go to Potions." said Hermione pulling her bag on her shoulder and standing up. The others followed suit and walked to the dungeons.