authorsnote: this was a fun chapter, honestly I love an unhinged tom riddle

do enjoy

songrecs: I wanna be yours - arctic monkeys

They landed in Hogwarts with not a sound, shoes cushioned, apparition silent, his hand in hers, and not even the whistle of the wind heralded their arrival.

No sound, but in plain sight, there was no disillusionment this time, it was pointless, they'd be out of hiding soon enough. They weren't sneaking about or planning to creep through the restored Castle, quite the contrary. Still, Hermione felt an urge to make herself invisible, for now Hogwarts was enemy territory.

It was strange and painful seeing the Castle back to how it had been. It didn't bring the happy feeling she'd thought or hoped it would. No, instead it felt like the battle, with death and pain and destruction, had been erased. Like the victors were rewriting history. Something painful had happened here and it should be acknowledged, it should be remembered.

It was still disconcerting to her to see it repaired, the stone mended, the towers uncrumpled, the bodies moved, she hoped they'd been given a proper burial, but she was not so naïve to think they had, she tried not to linger on that, but made a small promise to herself to ensure it done, no matter what she needed to do to ensure it, she would see her friends, her family, buried properly as they deserved.

Later, for now, her hand in Tom Riddles as he nodded and strode forward, for now, there were other tasks at hand.

The fact she didn't drop his hand, too hurt by the erasing at hand here, was lost on her, the comfort she felt deep down was not though, nor was it lost on Tom.

"Come along" Tom said, wand in hand, he looked unconcerned still but the glint in his eye spoke of him being ready for battle, ready and more than willing to fight, "You can write the history books when we win"

She hated herself for the way she warmed at his use of we … she was thrown in with him now, fully and as utterly as though she had drowned.

She hoped at least the fact he was saying we meant he wasn't as egotistical as the monster of Lord Voldemort, he would have never shared in victory.

Perhaps there was hope.

She hoped that when the history books were written they recognized that Riddle was a better alternative, that the monsters who had won the first battle – not the war, could never be allowed to prevail. Hermione could ensure that, that was what she was doing wasn't it?

"You're going to kill them all?" She asked, and she knew she should protest, insist on trials and fairness, wasn't she known for being fair? She thought of SPEW for a minute and wavered, but then she remembered seeing a Death Eater blast away a House Elf that had been fighting for wizards, for the world that had long abused their king, and her expression hardened.

Sometimes you couldn't be fair.

"Did you have an alternative?" Riddle asked, and at Hermiones shake of her head he grinned.

"Good" Was all he offered, and then he was tugging her forward, and she, another step into the water, ready to drown … followed.

Hogwarts had looked healed from the outside. The courtyard had been cleared, the Great Hall restored; magic could do much. And yet as they ventured deeper they found much of the Castle had been left unfixed and untouched since battle, more than had been healed, much more.

Infact, it seemed their time in the courtyard and glimpse of the Great Hall had been anomalies, instead of the norm.

Hermione wondered if this was because fixing something like Hogwarts had to take a tremendous amount of magic, and magical power, or because the Death Eaters hadn't gotten around to it or simply couldn't be bothered. It made her sad to think it was likely the latter. The reason her home was destroyed was apathy and that hurt something in her heart.

It was an odd war, one; wanting the battle to be acknowledged and remembered, two; hurting at her home being destroyed.

As they made their way through the corridors, Hermione asked.

"Do you think anyone is here?" She said in a hushed whisper, they had decided to check the Castle before venturing to the Great Hall, at her suggestion, better to thin the herd, Tom had looked offended but had nodded and followed her.

"I think they'd be foolish not to station someone here at least" Tom whispered back, though he was grinning, finding the whole sneaking foolish no doubt, "Are my future followers foolish?"

Hermione glared at the back of his head for the reminder but spoke quietly, "Most definitely"

"A pity" And yet she could hear some mocking in his voice and managed a smile. It was odd, did Tom not believe in his vaunted pureblood supremacy? It almost sounded like he was mocking them, and that was at least something she could get on board with.

"Blame the inbreeding" She whispered, and she knew he cracked a smile at that, even though she didn't look, and found herself smiling too.

Careful. She scolded herself internally, before they came to a stop and her focus was back on the present, not her own foolishness.

Especially as she heard a creak.

She was fast, but he was faster, as they whipped around to find one of those … not so bright followers (honestly who could get the staff these days?), walking towards them, wand held aloft, confused expression on his face.

"And who are you?" Tom drawled, and she could see the man blanch, Tom seemed to generally just have that effect on people, Hermione supplied the answer even though perhaps it had been a rhetorical question, honestly, she couldn't help herself.

"That's Thorfinn Rowle" Hermione said with a nod at the man who looked like he wasn't quite sure what to do.

"I knew a Damocias Rowle?" Tom supplied and Hermione shrugged, she could presume it was Thorfinns Father but she didn't know, which as always when she didn't know something, annoyed her.

"You're the mudblood Granger!" Rowle said expression changing to a frown, and then turned his wand to her.

She didn't even need to bother trying to defend herself though.

Riddle spoke quickly and harshly "Avada Kadavra" With a quick jab of his wand Thorfinn Rowle fell, the word mudblood dying on his lips, and Hermione couldn't find it in her to mourn.

"I'm perfectly capable of defending myself" She said, to cover the sting of the slur, it didn't sting any less than when she was 11, she was just better at hiding it.

"Are you prepared to kill?" He asked, and at that she had no answer, and he nodded, before speaking quietly, "I thought as much" He almost sounded kind then, and so she just offered a nod back.

"Let me dirty my hands" He said with a shrug as they moved on, clearing the Astronomy Tower, before turning back to head through the corridors, "Nothing can wash off me now"

"I'm not so innocent" Hermione protested but Tom just scoffed and carried them on, a poked head in the library made her wince at the destruction, but it was empty and they moved on.

"Ignore what he said" Riddle said sometime later, "Anyone else who says it I'll kill too"

"Why?" She shot back, not wanting him to play the hero, he was the furthest thing from one after all, "You believe it"

"I hate muggles" He sneered, and Hermione glared, "Most certainly not you"

She opened her mouth to speak back, only to hear not one, but two voices.

And she acted on instinct.

Quick as a flash she had them behind a charmed tapestry, hidden behind the bulky design of the Scottish Highlands that concealed a hidden nook, she raised a lip to her fingers, and Tom just rolled his eyes.

She should have noticed the glint in his eye, she did, just too late.

After all, the nook was quite … cosy, and Hermione found him turning her to conceal them better (or at least that was the excuse he would use), as he pressed her to the wall, and placed his back to the fabric, a grin on his features as he did so, and Hermione could feel her cheeks getting hot, to her shame.

She was thankful for the voices, distracting her, as Tom mockingly raised a finger to his lips, and she hoped her glare burned as much as her cheeks did, especially as one of his hands held his wand, the other leaned against the wall, next to her head, trapping his body against hers.

"We'll start sending out parties to search for the Order, hit up all the old locations" It was a voice she didn't recognize, and she shook her head as Tom looked at her enquiringly.

And then…

"That shouldn't be a problem" She recognized that voice, and flinched, not meaning to, but doing so instinctively.

Dolohov.

Something in her chest burned, the scar that he had placed there, that had near killed her, Madam Pomfrey had let her know how bad the damage had been, and if he hadn't been silenced it would have likely been much, much worse, no it would have been, she would have died if he could have uttered the curse he'd branded her with. She flinched again and raised a hand to her chest, her hands shaking now.

Harry's biggest fear had always been Voldemort, and yes, she had been scared of him, but never like she had been with Dolohov, he had been the face in her nightmares, he had been the person she'd most feared facing, the grown man who'd near killed her when she was just 15.

Tom raised an eyebrow then, before he caught her gaze, and Hermione didn't move quickly enough to stop him. She tried to jerk her head, but his hand came up quickly to hold her in place, for his gaze to meet hers, and without even the whisper of the spell he was in her head, her occlumency was powerless to stop his intrusion.

It all flashed past, Dolohov at the Ministry, the purple slash from his wand, the agonizing pain, the certainty she would die, lying on the floor, just out of it enough to look unconscious, but near screaming in pain before she did dip under into blackness she both feared and craved as a release from the pain.

And then the Hospital Wing, the fear, the crying, the silenced screams. Madam Pomfrey pouring potion after potion down her throat with a worried look. Professor Dumbledore having to step in to perform complex magic to halt the curse, the pain persisting for weeks after, not that she'd ever told Harry that, had never told anyone that sometimes even now it burned.

Toms' eyes widened, and she saw a flash of fury, before he turned away, she went to grab him, but he shrugged her off with ease and stepped out, damn him.

She had no choice but to follow.

"Tom-" She said, before clapping a hand over her mouth, still if that hadn't altered Dolohov, and who she thought might be Selwyn from the wanted posters, his words would.

"Gentlemen" They turned, wands up in a second, Hermione raised hers, and yet her hand trembled, shook as she met Dolohov's gaze, and his expression turned into a cruel smile.

She dropped her wand as he looked at her, and she felt herself sucked back to that time, of near dying, of the pain.

Tom, to his credit of composure didn't even glance back, instead summoned her wand with a flick and placed it in his pocket. She, hating herself, stepped behind him, trembling.

No one else could rob her of her composure like that, no one could make her feel so scared, and she hated it, hated him for it, with a fury that burned like her scar.

"That's Granger" Dolohov sneered and stepped forward, Selwyn raised an eyebrow, Hermione's name was near as famous as Harry's, his little muggleborn friend. "But I don't know her friend"

"You will" Tom promised with a smirk, he didn't look the slightest bit concerned to be facing off against two accomplished wizards, but Hermione, terrified as she was, was a touch worried, terrified really and quickly delved into his pocket and took her wand, hands trembling she managed to take up a stance again, which was better than nothing.

She just hoped, if she needed to, she wouldn't lose her nerve.

Dolohov still sneered, this time she held onto her wand.

"The one on the right?" Tom asked her, and she nodded, so did he, and with a sigh, Tom twirled his wand.

She shouldn't have been surprised, but she was; he'd been holding out on her.

The first slash of his wand sent something dark and black at Selwyn that sent him to the floor with a thud, and Hermione threw up a shield charm just in case, though Tom flicked away Dolohovs response with a chuckle.

Hermione hated the deep satisfaction that burned in her as Dolohov looked worried.

"The curse you used" Tom said, stepping forward, he didn't spare a glance for Selwyn; Hermione did, and could see he was very very dead, black veins webbing across his slack face. "The purple one? An interesting variant"

"Variant?" Hermione whispered and Tom grinned, he didn't glance back at her, but he did nod to show he'd heard her.

"A poor showing" He said with a shrug, "You couldn't even kill with it non-verbally"

Tom shrugged, "Though if you had"

The purple slash that left his wand, was so identical, Hermione stumbled back, and fell to the floor in fear.

"Your death would have been a lot slower" Tom hissed as Dolohov fell to the floor as Hermione had, but in considerably more agony, a horrifying moan leaving his lips, blood spread under him, purple and red, a horrific scream left him then, and Hermione felt that deep satisfaction again, even as she trembled.

"You're lucky it didn't kill her" He continued, "There is far worse agony than this" And at that he turned back, not even bothering to disarm his former man, not that there was a need to, as Dolohov screamed and screamed, as Tom crouched in front of Hermione, and held a wand out to her; he had taken it, Dolohovs wand, and he offered her a smile, a real smile, and that was what somehow calmed her.

Fuck.

"It's okay" He offered, was this kindness? As he offered her, her tormentors wand, as he lay screaming in the background as he cupped Hermiones cheek with a grin, "He won't get to pass out for this"

He smiled.

And Hermione … as she straightened up, took Toms hand and he pulled her to her feet, an arm coming to her waist supporting her, as she let him, as she leaned on him.

She smiled too.

ahah, unhinged tom? unhinged tomione too.

trust, hermione is still hermione, she'll never be evil or a coward, but she just got confronted with her biggest childhood fear, and tom killed him for her, girlie would be crazy not to lean on him amirite?

anywho, hope you enjoyed, do follow this story, much more unhinged tomione to come