authorsnote: new chapterrrrr

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songrecs: lovely - billie eilish, khalid

'Lost time is never found again'

- Benjamin Franklin

-x-

She hadn't passed out, no but it had been a close run thing.

Instead, Professor Dumbledore had sent her off to dinner, with a wave of his wand and her uniform was green and silver instead of blue and gold and he was still smiling at her, though the twinkle in his eye was gone.

He'd nodded, said something about sorting out her vault and supplies this weekend, mused that he didn't need to remind her not to talk of her past - future, and then had sent her on her way with a smile and the Slytherin password 'Pure' (how awfully fitting) on her mind.

She wasn't smiling.

No, she was making her way to the Slytherin dorms, a little lost without a pile of books in her hands and a heavy satchel at her side. She kept her head down and thankfully the corridors were mostly empty. She felt completely out of sorts.

She had, had just hours to process what had happened to her, to process the fact she had been flung into the past, and not just any past, but this past. She was sure if she had been flung back to the Marauders time, or god literally any other time, she would have been handling it easier, but not here, not in this timeline.

Riddle's timeline.

What was she supposed to do? Part of her wanted to make a grand plan, and she thoroughly intended to, with stationary, a whiteboard, hell perhaps even post it notes, but for now? For now, she wanted to lie down, she wanted to be walking to Gryffindor Tower, not in the opposite direction to the Slytherin dungeon.

But no, her feet took her in the direction of the snake's lair, the home of those she hated … her home now.

She felt a little sick.

But she trudged along, knowing, knowing she'd have to play along, pretend to be a pureblood, pretend to fit in, something she'd always been bad at. She'd never been one to fit the mould, not she, nor Harry, nor Ron, it was what had drawn them together, a gang of misfits, fitting together.

God, she missed them. She felt a pang in her heart as she thought of them, her boys, her best friends, and here she was alone, without them. Everything would have been infinitely easier if she'd had them by her side if they'd been here with her. It wouldn't feel like a list of impossible tasks, an uphill battle that felt too steep, not if Harry and Ron were by her side.

She wouldn't, no couldn't cry. She was going into the snake pit, she had to show no weakness, no sign of vulnerability. This was eat or be eaten, she knew the Slytherins of her day would pale in comparison to her new dorm mates.

Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, Zabini, all horrible, all snobs with upturned noses, ugly attitudes and qualified as the closest thing to racists the Wizarding World had, but they had been schoolboys, easy to rattle with a well placed jinx, a scornful comment and tricking them into detention had been enough to take the wind out of their sails.

Even in the later years, when horrid schoolboy nastiness had turned to real malice, she still hadn't been really scared of them, not even Malfoy, so twisted up at the end. No, she'd pitied them if anything, even as they'd thrown curses across the courtyard.

She knew this round of Slytherin students would be different.

They weren't just students, they were Death Eaters, and not scared boys who'd been forced into the mark because of daddy's decisions, they were full blown, believers. They had chosen this life, to follow Tom Riddle, to accept and espouse his agenda of genocide against people like her. They were far more dangerous likely far more skilled than her, and she was a newcomer.

She knew she'd need to keep a low profile, pretend to be a standoffish, snobby pureblood, like Daphne Greengrass perhaps. She'd ran with Pansy Parkinson's gang but had never uttered the word 'Mublood', just glared and looked down her nose at her, and that had been enough.

That would be her, she'd use her natural introvert qualities to just be aloof, it would be the best way to go ignored, and that was what she needed to be, ignored, invisible.

She was a pureblood here, not part of the shunned class, she was one of them, which left a bad taste in her mouth but fitted her purposes of fitting in, and that was what she needed to do, her fake heritage would help that.

It would mean playing down her abilities, it would mean not rising to bait, it would mean fitting in. A challenge for her to be sure.

But then, when had she not risen to a challenge?

5 minutes later and she was at the door of the Slytherin common room, tie green, and perhaps her face matched. She felt a little sick, to be walking into the enemy's common room, it felt wrong.

And yet the Sorting Hat's words echoed in her head.

'Miss Granger, back again! Mind ever sharp and brimming with knowledge, such a talent I knew. A 2nd sorting, a chance to start anew! Still no Hufflepuff I think, no, no, Ravenclaw could suit but once more not a perfect fit. Gryffindor could work too, still so brave, fierce, and loyal, but as a pureblood, or pretending to be one, and that vindictive streak has only grown! And such ambition, a hunger to be the best, to rise to the top. Hmm… how did I not see it before? Yes, Miss Granger, got to be Slytherin!"

Vindictive streak had grown, such ambition, a hunger to be the best, to rise to the top.

As she played the words in her head, she knew them to be true.

Wasn't she always seeking to be the best? Didn't she need to come top in every class, always thrusting her hand in the air, spending that extra hour on revision, writing twice as fast to cram in every fact? Didn't she want to be at the top of each class, smiling each year as she beat everyone at exams, as she set records and shone?

And she had a vindictive streak, even she had to admit that to herself. She was reminded of Umbridge, Marietta Edgecome, Rita Skeeter … one carried off by centaurs, another permanently disfigured and the third kept in a jar for months and blackmailed.

Yes, she couldn't deny a vindictive streak, especially when it came to protecting those she loved.

But then wasn't that the point?! All of those qualities the hat had listed, came alongside her Gryffindor qualities, her bravery, loyalty, her fire? Why did it discount those now? What had it said? Gryffindor could work too, still so brave, fierce, and loyal, but …

Yes, the but, the but that had seen her sorted into he wrong house. Anything would be better than this! Except perhaps Hufflepuff, the hat was right when it had said she would eat them alive.

And yet, she knew she had no choice, she had to fit in here, this was where she had been sorted, no one got a re-do … though she supposed she technically had the once, and that in itself was the problem.

She didn't belong here, she knew that, but deeper down? The words had made a touch of sense, as much as she hated to admit, she couldn't, not yet, maybe not ever. In her heart she was a Gryffindor, she refused to acknowledge anything else.

"Pure" She forced herself to say the password before she could chicken out. Gryffindor bravery. Perhaps she wasn't a Gryffindor here, but she would always be a Gryffindor at heart, that she would make sure of.

Bravery, loyalty, chivalry, she would embody those values, as Harry and Ron would want her to, regardless of house. She felt a pang then, as she thought of her best friends, she was a member of the trio missing, but she knew she'd need to do them proud here, act as though they were still here with her, as she so wished they were.

The door swung open then, jolting her from her thoughts, and she stepped inside. She tried not to tremble, she had to be brave, she had to be confident, she had to show no weakness, any weakness here would see her made a target, the exact opposite thing she wanted to be.

And so, she stepped into the snake's den.

… To find it empty.

She realised with a huge sigh of relief that it was mealtime, and so the common room was emptied out, allowing her a few precious minutes to assess her surroundings.

Analytical, that was what teachers had called her, and now she knew she needed to use that. Observe the enemy to gain an advantage, this was her time to do that as she needed every advantadge she could get.

She knew eventually she'd need to make a plan to deal with Riddle, to bring the fight to him before he could become Voldemort, before he could ruin her life, Harry's life, Ron's life. She'd need to put a stop to him, it could even be the one good thing about being forced back in time, cut the man off at the knees before he could grow.

But she couldn't think about that, not now, it was too much to deal with. Tomorrow or the day after she'd confront some kind of grand plan, but not now, not today. And so, she turned back to her surroundings.

Assessment time.

The common room was dim, lacking the warmth of the cosy chairs, stuffing popping out, roaring fire and cosy rugs of the Gryffindor common room, but it had its charms.

The bookcases on the walls had book after book that looked well used, brimming with knowledge that she knew she'd need to use, knowledge gained after all. The fire was hearty, and the air was warm. The couches, though less lopsided and threadbare looked comfortable, green and silver yes, but plush and stylish. The walls again were green and silver, but it was clean, very clean, which was a plus to her.

And it had one standout feature that she found herself running over to.

The large window looked out not onto the grounds as the windows of Gryffindor Tower did, so high up one felt like a bird, but looked directly into the Black Lake, the water was remarkably clean, and blue with a tinge of green, but that wasn't the best bit, no, that was the wildlife.

Fishes swam past, schools of them, green, blue, and yellow. And then some pretty silver fish that moved impossibly fast before drifting by as though showing off. Two types of jellyfish floated past, though she was sure normal jellyfish didn't throw sparks from their tentacles. She grimaced at the Grindylow that bared its teeth, but grinned when she saw a flick of the Giant Squid's tentacle, though she saw no more of him, she hoped to one day.

She was tempted, to curl up on the window seat, watch the aquatic life as it drifted past, but then she heard voices outside, the awful password spoken, and she knew her respite was over.

She wanted to flee for her room, for the 6th floor that would house her and only her (apparently she was the only Slytherin 6th year girl, girls didn't end up in Slytherin a lot apparently, most pureblood girls were educated at home, a fact she'd rolled her eyes at, to Dumbledore's mirth), but she knew she wouldn't make it in time, and if there was one way to look weak, it was to make a mad dash for the stairs.

And so she stayed firm, turning to the bookcase, trying to look absorbed in the material, even though she wasn't even reading the spines of the books, for once unable to read, unable to do anything but feel a prickle at the back of her neck, the hair stand up.

She knew before he spoke, she knew this wasn't firsties running back to their rooms, or snobby 4th years studying for OWL's, she knew it was him.

Him being Tom Riddle, megalomanic, sociopathic evil Tom Riddle, i.e. Lord Voldemort.

"Miss Granger?" His voice was far too smooth, like melted chocolate poured over silk, and it sent a horrid shiver up her spine, one of fear, and something else, something she didn't recognise.

She wanted to ignore him, but she could hardly be hostile, she didn't know him, not according to him. Well, in a way she didn't know him, just of him, of what he'd become, what evil he would preach and do, would, not yet.

Still, he wasn't redeemable, not even now, that she was sure of, regardless of how little she knew of him, past or present. This wouldn't be a redemption story.

A deep breath and she turned around though, he was a stranger to her in most ways, and here she had to act like it completely, and so she forced a smile onto her face, not quite sincere but not outwardly hostile, and turned around.

He was handsome, she remembered that, but it hit her again like a punch as she turned. Harry had told her of the memories, how charming he had been, how handsome and seemingly amiable, and she could see it now. She could see how he started out using honey rather than vinegar, but she wouldn't be fooled by it, she could see the evil underneath.

"Hello" She said, her voice already posh enough for a pureblood, thanks to her middle class upbringing, muggle or not. She clasped her hands in front of her and sent a silent thank you to her Mother for always reminding her of good posture, it served her well now. "Tom right?"

She saw just a hint of annoyance at that, if you didn't look for it you wouldn't see it, but she could. She imagined no one but the teachers called him Tom, he was already Riddle or Lord Voldemort. She had to resist the urge to smirk before reminding herself not to bait a mass murdering psychopath, no matter how it satisfied her.

"Yes" He was smooth again, backed up by his cronies now, none she recognised, though the one with platinum hair had to be a Malfoy, and one looked a bit like Bellatrix, though in male form. The ancestors of the Death Eaters she'd known, how far back they were. "Hermione isn't it?"

She had to stop herself from flinching as her name slid from his lips like butter. "Yes"

"So, you're new?" He asked, hands clasped like hers, and she got the sense there was some kind of battle going on between them, though he couldn't figure out what it was for. There was a tension, so thick you could cut it.

"Yes, I came here after Mama and Papa died, though the will was only finalised recently" She trotted off, her backstory flowing from her like it was the truth, Mama and Papa sounded phony from her lips, but she knew she couldn't use muggle terms here, that would catch her in trouble, especially in pureblood circles.

"How quaint, we'll have to make you feel welcome" Riddle said with a smirk, not a smile, he was probably incapable of it, "I'm to show you around tomorrow, shall we meet here, 9:00am?" He asked, slightly condescendingly, she itched to say something that would slap it away, "I believe we both have a free period"

"Stalking Riddle?" One of his friends joked, and to Hermione's surprise (which she hastily tried to cover on her face), Riddle laughed a touch, though it didn't quite reach his eyes, before turning back to her, eyebrow raised, awaiting an answer.

She got a real sense then that Tom Riddle didn't really wait for anyone, nor expect the word 'No'. She was almost tempted to do both, make him wait and say no, just to see how he took it. Instead, she nodded.

"See you then" That was when she turned on her heel in a whirl of her hair and skirt and made her way to the stairs, her hands shaking, it had been a simple conversation, no matter how thick with tension, and yet she felt as though she'd just left a duel.

This was Tom Riddle, Voldemort, and she was here talking to him, and she got the real sense he'd been having a different conversation, which she couldn't figure out.

She hated that, hated not knowing things, and her expression went stony as her trembling gave way to annoyance. Well, until Tom spoke again.

"Make sure you go right for the 6th year dorms" Riddle called to her, "Wouldn't want you getting lost" She paused, and turned back, to see him smirking still, so very unsettling, "See you then" He repeated back to her before turning away.

That sounded like a threat, her trembling resumed as soon as she turned away, and she hurried up the stairs, wanting to put as much distance between herself and Riddle as possible. Show no weakness, well she couldn't show it if she was gone.

A simple conversation it had and hadn't been, but regardless, when she reached her dorm, empty, only one bed, trunk, a third of the size of the large room she'd shared with Pavarti and Lavendar, she barely paid attention to it, and as soon as she shut the door, she turned, sank to the floor, knees to chest, and just sat still.

Sat still until the shaking stopped.

sooo thoughts?

dum dum dum.

so, little setup but next chapter it kicks off! the tour, lessons, how will hermione handle it and how will tom act? who knows? I do! and soon you will too, I've already written a third of the next chapter!

I do hope you enjoyed reading, and do let me know if you did! fav/follow for updates.

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