DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER!
The Kid and I
Chapter 2
The next day, Hermione was walking through the streets of muggle London. It was raining heavily and she was protecting her new expensive robes with a large umbrella. Under her robes though, was a pencil skirt, heels and a blouse. She was amazed to find such things in the 30's and in a magical shop. She walked towards the muggle orphanage with one thing on her mind; killing Tom Riddle. She didn't know what had led her think of such a thing but something in her mind said that there could not be a War if there was no-one to start it. Her wand was in her pocket and she knew the spell. It didn't matter to her if she was fired or even handed over to the Ministry; she just wanted to finish it.
She stepped in front of the large wooden door and used to knocker to bang on the door. Footsteps approached the entrance from the inside and then the door opened. A middle aged woman with a hard face answered the door.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Professor Helen Gray. I'm here to talk to Thomas Riddle Junior. I heard he was here."
"Yes, he is. You're finally here to talk to Tom. Thank God." She said quietly. "Please, come in." She held the door open and Hermione stepped inside, shaking her umbrella off outside.
"I'm Mrs Cole. I run the orphanage." She stuck out her hand for Hermione to shake. Hermione put her hand in the older woman's and hid her grimace when her hand was held firmly and shook madly. "Tom's upstairs." She led the way to a tall staircase. "I must admit to some confusion upon reading your letter. In all the years Tom's lived here, he's never once had a visitor."
"Why not?"
"There's been…Incidents with the other children. Nasty things."
"What kind of incidents?" Hermione asked hesitantly as she removed her robes and folded them over her arm, holding her umbrella.
"Well put it this way; a rabbit doesn't just climb into the rafters and hang itself for fun!"
Hermione's stomach churned at the image her mind produced. "How do you know it was Mr Riddle?"
She seemed to bristle. "Working in my line of work for as long as I have gives you experiences."
"So you don't actually know that it was Riddle? No evidence?"
Mrs Cole ignored her and led the younger woman to a small room and knocked on the door. "Tom? You have a visitor." She opened the door and Hermione's heart was strangely filled with an odd pity when she saw a small boy standing next to the window, watching the rain trickle down the glass. He turned and Hermione looked into the eyes of a small hurt boy, confused at the woman standing in his room. Hermione stepped into the room slowly, trying to offer no threat and Mrs Cole left, closing the door behind her.
"Hello, Tom. I'm Professor Helen Gray." He said nothing. She slowly sat down on his bed, putting her robes and umbrella to the side of her hip. She crossed her legs delicately and tried to look nice. He looked her over, taking in her blouse and skirt.
"You're a doctor, aren't you?"
"No, I'm not." She folded her hands over her crossed knee.
"You look like one. Have they called you? To talk to me? She wants me looked at."
"No, Tom, they didn't. Can I call you Tom?" He nodded reluctantly. "I'm a teacher, Tom. I teach at a school called Hogwarts."
"What kind of school is that?"
Hermione saw a chair next to where Tom was standing, but noted how he didn't sit down. "It's a school for magic." She said gently but bluntly.
"There's no such thing as magic."
"I promise you, there is. I'm a witch. And you're a wizard."
He seemed thoughtful. "Prove it."
Hermione decided that making something dance would not be sufficient in Riddle's case. And he wouldn't find it amusing either. She decided to follow Dumbledore's example and go for the big and flashy. She turned her head to the wardrobe and made it burst into flames. She turned her head back to watch Tom's face. The firelight flickered off his pale complexion and saw how his eyes were filled with awe. The flames died down and the wardrobe remained intact. However, it started to wobble and creak.
"I think something's in here, Tom." He looked guilty. "Fetch it, please." He knew not to argue with the firm tone. He walked over to the wardrobe, opened the door and then pulled out a shoe box. He handed it to her and she opened it. Inside were several items, like toys. "Are these yours?" He shook his head. She knew what had happened. "Theft is not tolerated at Hogwarts, Tom. You'll return these to their owners, with an apology." She put the lid on the box and put it on the bed next to her.
"What happens now? With this school?"
Hermione began to explain about Hogwarts and where it was and what Tom would learn. He seemed to accept and absorb everything she said, sitting down slowly. She handed him his letter and then picked up her robes and umbrella and turned to leave.
"I can speak to snakes." He burst out. She froze with her hand on the doorknob. She slowly turned to him as he continued to speak. "They find me. They talk to me. Is that normal? Does everyone do that?"
She tried to approach with caution. "No, Tom. Not everyone can do that. Only certain people can."
"Does that make me a freak?"
"No. It just means you can do something that not many others can."
"Can you do it?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"I'm not like you." She said simply as she left.
!"!
It took Hermione three days to go round to every muggleborns' house and explain about magic. Most of the families accepted that their children had magical powers. Some didn't. In those cases, Dumbledore had instructed her to use the Obliviate spell. 'If they don't want to accept it, then we can't have them going around and talking about it' he reasoned. She nodded reluctantly and cast the spell with a heavy heart.
However, she was looking forward to the day ahead. It was the day when she and Albus took the muggleborns, and Tom, to Diagon Alley. She and Albus were meeting the new students and their families inside the Leaky Cauldron to take them to the magical street. Dumbledore held the door open for Hermione politely and allowed her to enter first. She stepped into the warm and cosy room and smiled when she saw all the families mingling and talking to each other, the children chatting and laughing. But she felt the strange pity in her gut again when she saw Tom sitting at a table by himself.
"Good afternoon, everyone." Dumbledore called through the pub. The families quietened down when they saw the man and woman who had introduced them to magic. "Thank you all for coming today, we realise it will have been quite a journey for some of you. For those of you who do not recognise us, I am Professor Albus Dumbledore, deputy headmaster and teacher of Transfiguration at Hogwarts, and this is Professor Helen Gray, who will start her first year of teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts come September." Hermione watched as Tom straightened up when he heard her name. He looked over to her and she saw him almost smile at her. "If you'd all like to gather your belongings, would you please follow Professor Gray through to the entrance to Diagon Alley."
"Hello, everyone, if you'd follow me please." She smiled politely, walking through to the back and waiting for everyone to be ready. "Can everyone see me?" When she saw sure everyone could see her, she slowly tapped out the combination to enter the Alley. She stood back so they could all appreciate and gasp in awe when the bricks moved and made way for the wall to open for them all. "Welcome, everybody, to Diagon Alley. Now, this street is usually brimming with life but Professor Dumbledore has managed to convince everyone to let us have the street for ourselves for today." She walked down the street, stopping half way down. "Now, what's first on the list?" She grinned.
"I believe everyone should get their wands first, Helen." Dumbledore called with a smile, walking down to the group.
"Well, Olivander's is just there. So, who would you like to escort?"
"I feel lucky about the left side of our group." He joked.
"Then I'll take the right." If she hadn't known better, she would have sworn that she saw Tom take a step to the right, to be classed as her group. She smiled to herself. "Well, the right side, shall we go fetch our books?"