The Letters Have Come

A/N: I'm actually keeping up with regular updates for once! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, it has a bit more length to it than usual because it spans most of the August of Hermione staying at Wool's Orphanage with Tom.

"Tom, why don't you ever talk to me? We share a room, and you haven't spoken to me since I arrived! I'm sick of the silent treatment! What did I ever do to you?!" Hermione cried out in frustration. She had been in the year 1942 for about a week now, and Tom had barely even acknowledged her existence besides looking over at the title of books she was reading every once in a while.

"What would I have to say to you, Smith?"

"Oh, for Merlin's sake Tom, I'm your roommate, at least say hello to me!" she whisper yelled, not wanting to draw any more attention to the room than her previous outburst may have done, she did not want to deal with an angry Mrs Cole.

"What did you just say?" His eyes snapped up to meet hers.

"At least say hello to me?"
"No, before that, you said 'for Merlin's sake'. Who are you, Smith?" Tom stood from his corner of the room and began to walk towards her, his head tilted in curiosity, but his eyes showed a coldness that showed he was not to be messed with.

"Oh."
"Yes. Oh. Who are you and why are you here? Are you a spy for Dumbledore? What are you doing?" His quickfire questions and immediate defensive behaviour caught Hermione off-guard and she took a step back from him, his advances now making her feel akin to prey.

"No, I'm not, I swear, I haven't even met the man!" she pleaded. She isn't telling the whole truth he thought but which part is the lie?

"But you are a witch."

"Yes."
"Well, it seems I may have things to talk to you about after all. I haven't seen you at Hogwarts. Why?" Straight to the point then, eh? Hermione thought to herself.

"I had to flee the continent. Grindlewald, you know..." she trailed off, and forced tears to her eyes in an attempt to play off her ruse. "I had a muggle for a mother, English, and my father was a Pureblood, his family branched off into the continent, I think he was from the Sayre line, but I'm not so sure..."
This caught Tom's attention. A Half-blood like him, one Pure parent and one a muggle, something he had discovered after intense research in his fourth year.

"Oh. I'm sorry" Hermione thought that he didn't look particularly sorry, in fact she would say that his eyes were now bright with excitement, possibly from the idea of someone who could relate to him, perhaps even share a Hogwarts house with him once she had been sorted.

"Yeah, well it doesn't matter now I suppose, I just hope I can attend Hogwarts for the rest of my schooling. My parents didn't send me to school, said it would be too dangerous to me, so everything I know was taught to me by my father." Interesting, Tom mused, someone who can be easily moulded, perhaps. She can't have had many friends then, not much of an attachment to where she's from, just to her parents. I can work with this.

"I'm glad you wound up here then." Was all he decided to say, and with that he stepped away from her and returned to his reading.

One week later

It turned out that Tom was very chatty, something that amused Hermione greatly, because here was a future Dark Lord sat on her bed next to her chatting her ears off about charms theory and transfiguration laws.

"Tom, do you think that I'll get a letter from Hogwarts?" she cut off his rant about how annoying Gamp's laws were. Seeing the worry in her eyes and deciding to play the supportive friend role - something he had never once done because he had no friends - and said, "Mia, I'm sure you will. The Ministry gets alerted to the presence of any underage witches or wizards entering the country, so I'm certain you will receive your letter when I receive mine." He was so matter of fact in his speech that she didn't even feel the need to question him.

"Ok, Tom."

"Have you any money to buy supplies with?"

"No, I don't, you don't suppose that will be a problem, do you?" Her eyes began to flicker with worry once again. Appeasing her concerns, he stated, "No Mia, they have a fund."

Three days later

Dumbledore

Dumbledore stood at the entrance to Wool's Orphanage once again, his last visit had taken place 5 years ago, and he still felt an unease about it, particularly about its extremely Slytherin resident. This time though, Dumbledore was here to deliver two letters, one for Tom along with his new Prefect badge, and one for a Miss Mia Smith, a name he hadn't come across, but was anxious to learn about.

Hermione

Mrs Cole rapped her knuckles against the door of Hermione and Tom's room, "Miss Smith, Mister Riddle, you have a visitor."

The door swung open and an unnervingly young looking Albus Dumbledore stood in the doorway. Hermione was so shocked at his auburn hair and short beard that she just sat on her bed gaping at him, however Tom stood, a cold look storming his eyes in a way Hermione hadn't seen since she 'accidentally' revealed she was a witch.

"Professor." Tom greeted in a chilly tone that took Hermione by surprise, she knew there was tension there, but she didn't expect him to be so open in his dislike of the professor.
"Mister Riddle." Dumbledore returned his chilled greeting and Hermione was even more stunned that Dumbledore was also so open in his contempt. No wonder Tom was driven to becoming Voldemort, she thought, Dumbledore clearly distrusts him to the point of dislike, so his only mentors must have been those of a darker persuasion.

"Sorry, who are you?" Hermione piped up once she had returned from her thoughts.

"Ah, sorry, you must be Miss Smith, correct?" His tone was even and collected, but Hermione saw no twinkle in the professor's eye.

"This is Professor Dumbledore, Mia, he's the deputy headmaster at Hogwarts and teaches transfiguration." Tom told her, not removing his eyes from Dumbledore.

"It appears I have a letter awaiting you, Miss Smith, but I have no recollection of your existence on any records until this past week." Dumbledore eyed her with a suspicion she had never seen directed towards her before, and she did not appreciate it.

"Professor, respectfully, I do not require your suspicion, I had to flee the continent after Grindlewald slaughtered my parents, so forgive me if I have not been present on British records before my arrival." Dumbledore looked taken aback at her blatant dress-down of him and apparent dislike, Tom, however, looked had turned to look at her with bright and amused eyes, perhaps even a hint of pride and something else flashing across them.

"Very well. I shall leave you both with your letters. Congratulations, Mister Riddle, it appears you have charmed your way to a Prefect status." Dumbledore sneered, and with that, he left the room.

Tom turned to Hermione eagerly, "Smith, I am thoroughly impressed at your gall! I don't think I have ever seen anyone speak that way to him, even the other Slytherin's treat him with a weird reverence, despite his complete favouritism of his own house!" Hermione smiled at that. So, she had impressed him, perhaps wormed her way into his conscience a little more, and for this she was grateful, her task was becoming easier and easier. Evidently, she is not a spy for Dumbledore and clearly, she has never met the man, apparently, I was wrong when I assumed she was lying about being a spy, Tom wondered to himself.

Eagerly, Hermione tore open her letter.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmaster: Armando Dippet

Dear Miss Smith,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1 September. Yours sincerely, Albus Dumbledore (Deputy Headmaster)

Enclosed after this was her equipment list, and Hermione was overcome with a wave of excitement, turning to babble to Tom about it. Upon seeing Tom holding a shiny green Prefect badge, she decided not to, instead saying, "I am so proud of you Tom, well done for making Prefect." At this, she saw Tom's eyes water slightly, "Nobody has ever told me they're proud of me..."

Hermione very much felt like crying when she heard that, but instead just launched herself at her unsuspecting roommate and enveloped him in a tight hug. Tom stood there stiffly for a few seconds, before hesitantly returning the hug, appearing unsure of what to do. With the realisation that Tom had likely never been hugged before, a tear slipped from her eye and landed on his shoulder. She pulled away from him after a few seconds and turned away, discreetly wiping her eyes.

"What's wrong, Mia?" He asked, completely confused by her behaviour.

"It's just so sad, Tom" she replied, her voice thick with emotion.

"What is?" He was utterly baffled now, what on Earth did he do to trigger this reaction?

"Nobody has really looked out for you before have they?"
"I am quite content looking out for myself." He snapped rather defensively.

"You shouldn't have to, you're so young, Tom, it just isn't fair." His heart softened a little at the petite witch staring at him with such sincerity and righteous anger. "I'm going to look out for you, too." She decided aloud. It's strange, she thought, I've barely got to know the boy, but after seeing how Dumbledore reacted to him with no real reason, given he hasn't even opened the chamber or done anything untoward, I feel strangely protective of him.

Tom decided in that moment that he really rather liked this girl, a feeling he was unaccustomed to, since his usual reaction to people of any kind was contempt and disapproval. "I shall look out for you as well, Mia, we have nobody else to do so for us." And with that, they had come to a form of pact, they would be there for each other, protect one another's backs when required to do so, and this brought a strange sense of comfort to the girl who had just escaped a world terrorised by the boy's future form.

A/N: Did you like this one? I'm really quite proud of it! Tom is softening to our 'Mione, and they've even become friends! How sweet :)