Chapter 2- Meet the Family

I was surrounded by my new family, while sitting at the most unnecessarily huge dinner table, which was made of, what I assumed to be, the most expensive wood, metal and glass. Nobody talked or even looked at each other, rather choosing to concentrate on their own 'thing'. It was painfully awkward. And it has been that way ever since I woke up as a Nott two weeks ago.

To say that my new parents or my brand new twin brother were overjoyed with the news of my miraculous recovery would be a massive overstatement. They were more like, oh I don't know, pleasantly surprised. The whole situation felt like I was suddenly thrown into a nineteenth century novel about England's most stuck up and proper family of nobility.

First there was my 'mother', Helen Nott (née Selwyn). She was an only child and also the last child to be born with a Selwyn name. Her whole family fortune was now tied in the Nott family, which she tended to throw in her husband's face every time they had a disagreement.

She also cared about her looks more than about pretty much anything else. For the last two weeks I didn't see one strand of her long black hair out of place and even the memories I had from the previous Hermione failed to provide an image of Helen Nott looking less than perfect. She was gorgeous and she wanted everyone to know it. Actually, because of her name, I suspected that my own name in this timeline was inspired not by Shakespeare, but rather by Greek mythology and, probably, so my mother would be associated with the title 'the most beautiful woman on earth', not because it sounded nice for a child. Then again, Hermione in the story was described as beautiful too, so perhaps that had something to do with it after all.

It sounded like I was making my new mother seem shallow, but, really, the woman truly was. The only time she showed actual human emotions, was when her precious Theodore was involved. Parents weren't really supposed to have a favourite, but Helen obviously didn't get the memo. Theodore was her perfect little angel heir, while I was my father's responsibility, apparently. I wondered if that was just how it was supposed to be in this time or whether she just viewed me as future competition for her beauty crown. It sounded beyond ridiculous, but I wouldn't put it past her.

Theodore loved our mother's attention, of course. Almost as much as he loved the attention he got from everyone else. He was as spoiled as any heir to a powerful pureblooded family; a mirror image of a young Draco Malfoy.

Just as Malfoy, he would join Riddle. I was sure of that not only because it happened in my timeline, but also because he was a natural follower. Theodore always listened to our father. More than that, he believed every single thing and viewed it as law. He also was easily manipulated by me; or rather by the previous version of me. A few well-chosen words that didn't contradict his father were all it took. If I chose not to get involved, Riddle would have his first follower after all of ten minutes.

It was such a pity. I always wanted a brother I could have amazing conversations with. Moreover, with that slightly wavy brown hair and blue eyes, Theodore looked almost like the one I imagined in my childhood. He was also my twin, which meant we were supposed to have a special connection. Unfortunately, if the two weeks and my new memories proved anything, it was that we were connected only by name.

I wondered if I could change that. Maybe if I showed interest, he would gradually become more of a brother figure. Maybe he already cared. After all, the previous Hermione didn't express her feelings, but she still cared about her family in her own messed up way. Furthermore, maybe if we had a stronger relationship, I could help him become an individual as opposed to someone who would die fighting someone else's fight.

My eyes settled on Cantankerus Nott. My 'father'. He was a well-build man and, just as his two children, had light brown hair, which probably meant that it was somewhat of a family trait. However, differently from his wife and children who all had the same shaded blue eyes, his eyes were brown; almost black, in fact. I wasn't sure I ever saw that combination on a man. It looked weird to be perfectly honest; it didn't fit his complexion at all. It also made him look more mysterious and ruthless, which I was sure he was happy about.

While Theodore was a follower, my father was a born-to-be leader; an ultimate pureblood. Truly. He actually believed in the blood purity and considered it to be the most relevant sign of class. I couldn't understand how the 'Pure-Blood Registry' was only rumored to be written by him, given that he didn't stop bringing it up to anyone who would listen for the whole time I was in this timeline.

In addition to his writing hobby, he was also a businessman. Well, actually more of an investor; and not the silent kind. He expected everyone to agree with his ideas and never stray from a path he drew for them. The funny thing about that was that everyone did what they were told to do. Not because they thought he was right, but because nobody wanted to go against a Nott. The connections my father had were rivaled by absolutely nobody.

It really made me question what went wrong. In my timeline Notts were powerful, but they weren't at the top by any means.

Perhaps Theodore wasn't able to keep up. He probably wasted more than enough time and the family fortune helping Voldemort and being his errand boy to not be able to establish his own personal power.

Maybe I could help with that.

But then again, how much impact did I want my presence here to actually have?

And speaking of me, oh that was a whole another level of madness. The memories that I now had of the last eleven years in this timeline were quite disturbing. If that girl wasn't destined to die, she could have easily taken Voldemort's part in history. Even he was at least a half-blood and had to create his power from scratch; to convince his followers they wanted to submit to someone who wasn't really one of them. My previous version, on the other hand, had everything she needed to rule already. She also knew so much about magic. My new family's library probably had the biggest collection of dark arts literature there ever was. It was actually fascinating how truly unfair the magic world was to me and all the muggleborns in that regard. Not about the dark arts education, but the information in general.

I knew all those spells by heart now, though. Because she memorized them. Because she was getting ready to rule.

The weirdest part of the whole experience was how her memories made me feel. I always believed that memories made a human being who he or she was. And I thought I was proving myself correctly right now. Over the past two weeks, I noticed that some of my thoughts did not completely sound like me; they were influenced by the previous Hermione's memories. A lot. And they were changing who I was at the same time. What came out of it was a new Hermione- not as wicked and scheming as the little girl before her, thankfully, but not as forgiving and righteous as the previously known Hermione Granger either.

I wasn't sure I was alright with that, but I didn't think I could stop it even if I tried.

However, was that change actually bad? Could I not benefit by being more Slytherin-like? Would it honestly be that horrible to use my new inside knowledge and position for the greater good? Merlin, I hated that phrase.

I had everything needed to rule this world. Plus, I was told to do whatever I wanted. Of course, I could never use Voldemort's methods to reach the top, but I could use the influence that my family had to reach positions that I, as Hermione Granger, might not have ever even dreamed of. Using connections, I could probably become the minister of magic and if Riddle wasn't a threat anymore at that point, I could make some serious changes.

Riddle. A problem that the wizarding world didn't know it had yet.

I was weighting my options regarding the little boy.

On one hand, I could kill him. At this point, it probably wouldn't even be that hard to do. He was currently mortal and completely new to magic; it was the perfect timing. On the other hand, he was an eleven year old orphan who was rejected by pretty much everyone he met up until Hogwarts. Even then, he didn't really get close to anyone, did he? He was only followed, feared, admired by some and avoided by others; he didn't have a single meaningful relationship for all I knew. And he was going to grow up in a muggle world that was going through an actual war. Was it really a surprise that he turned out as he did?

Was I naïve to think that my presence in this timeline could make him less psychotic?

Whether or not he was evil, nobody could deny that Riddle grew up to be extremely powerful, charismatic and intelligent. He was also destined to command, despite the fact that he had some serious daddy issues. If I chose to seek power and he was on my side, he would be a very valuable asset.

Or a huge liability, if he wasn't.

In any case, I also had to consider the fact that killing him now would create a lot of uncertainty in the future. Who knew what would happen if there was no Tom Riddle at Hogwarts? What if someone new, who was even more deranged, took power instead? What if the world became worse? Riddle was someone I knew and actually done research on. Who could tell if a known evil was worse than a threat of a new one?

I decided to set myself a deadline for finding that out. If everything happened as before, Riddle was going to try to kill Myrtle in five years, followed by killing his father that same summer. After that he would create horcruxes and so on and so forth. Therefore, I could give myself up to five years to try and get him to my side. If I succeeded, all was good and well; and if I didn't- well, I would just have to become stronger than him, kill him and hope for the best.

It was alarming how casually I was thinking about murder. Granted, I was planning the assassination of the Dark Lord himself, but when I was in my own timeline, killing him was a non-avoidable act, one that I didn't technically even had to perform, not a simple thing I didn't mind doing if it was useful. And the fact that, in my mind, I still used the 'for the greater good' defense sent chills down my spine.

I couldn't think about that right now, however; I had things to do.

Everyone got their Hogwarts letters today, which meant Riddle had his talk with Dumbledore. And if I was right about him, he wouldn't waste any time getting to Diagon Alley tomorrow. It was a long shot, but I was curious. I wanted to meet him. Maybe it would help to decide what I wanted to do.

"Father," I turned to the head of the table. "Would it be possible for me to go to Diagon Alley tomorrow? I would like to get my Hogwarts supplies."

The fact that I almost had to shout so that he would hear me from the other side of that ridiculous table made me almost roll my eyes.

"Have you got your letters then?" He asked.

"Yes. Today, actually," I confirmed.

"I don't see why not then. I'm sure your mother will be happy to take you and your brother," he looked at his wife.

"Of course," Helen Nott agreed. "We can go tomorrow at noon."

"Thank you, mother," I said.

The whole formality of the conversation made me cringe. I really missed my parents.

"Is Miss ready to get dressed for Diagon Alley?" My reading was interrupted by my personal house elf.

I was far from happy having an elf, obviously, but at least the Nott family didn't really mistreat them, because they were, apparently, above that. The elves were still unpaid and not free, which rubbed me the wrong way, but they seemed to be happy to serve the ancient house of Nott. Silver linings.

However, I still couldn't help but think that it might have been nothing more than a move on my father's part to make them more trustworthy and loyal. I wasn't sure, but it really seemed like something Cantankerus Nott would do. Then again, maybe I was giving his intelligence too much credit.

Either way, a decent treatment of the house elves helped me to stay in character and keep up appearances. I wasn't sure if I could pretend to be the perfect little Nott, if I had to witness someone punishing a being that loved nothing more than to help any way it could.

"Yes, Binksy," I finally answered. "Do you know if mother and Theodore are getting ready as well?"

"Yes, miss. They should be ready in a few minutes."

"Thank you, Binksy," I smiled at her. "Please pull out my green dress and some black flats."

When I first met Binksy, I told her I could take care of myself. That was a big mistake. The elf got so disappointed, I thought she would do something drastic. Like bang her head against the wall repeatedly drastic.

For now, it was probably better for both of our sakes if she did the easy chores I assigned to her.

Furthermore, having the memories of the previous Hermione made me see that house elves wanted to serve and thrived on serving their families. I understood it now. However, that did not mean the elves couldn't do it while they were free and paid for their hard work; not to mention while they were treated fairly by all families they served. Malfoys in particular. Sooner or later I was going to make that happen, especially since I found out I could spin it to be an example of pureblood etiquette.

"There you go, miss," the elf said putting the dress on the bed.

"Thank you. That'll be all," I said and Binksy left.

I was rather quick dressing up and was first to reach the fireplace, which gave me a little bit more time to think about what I was about to do. Going to Diagon Alley should never be this stressful.

What if I was right and Riddle was actually there?

I still wasn't completely sure what was the right way to approach him.

I couldn't pretend to be a girl with a sudden crush. Not only because I wouldn't be able to pull it off, but also because I didn't think he would care or be interested. He would probably just roll his eyes and leave.

I also couldn't be too friendly. I didn't think he would go for that either; he was too mistrusting. Moreover, he probably wouldn't consider me to be his equal then; at best, a possible follower.

That left either trying to act as a moderately interested pureblood, a superior pureblood, or just a plain rude pureblood.

All of those options could make Riddle notice me, which I was sort trying to go for. However, being rude could put me on his bad side and that might not be that beneficial to my plans; or my future health.

Ah, decisions, decisions.

"Hermione, you can go first,"my mother said entering the room with Theodore in tow.

"Of course," I answered and picked up some floo powder. I didn't have time to come up with a proper plan, which meant I would have to wing it, if I actually saw Riddle. "Diagon Alley," I shouted, stepping into the flames.

A/N: Second chapter! Can I get a woop woop? Haha Anyway, what did you guys think? I want Hermione to be more manipulative and powerful in this story, which is why I included the idea that the new memories were forcing her to change her ways. I feel like otherwise it would be randomly OOC for her. I am not planning to make her change completely, however; I still love Hermione Granger the way she was written.

Anyway, thank you all so much for reading this story! I am so happy you gave it a go and I'll try not to disappoint you in the future. In terms of updates, I don't want to set up a schedule, but I'll try to update this fic every 2-3 weeks.

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