Chapter 3 - Chaos

Tom had left the room at her acceptance, she needed to gather her thoughts.

Following his confession to the accidental death of Myrtle Warren, Hermione was more than confused about what she thought she knew of the man sitting in front of her. She understood why he had framed Hagrid, and couldn't fault him for thinking the half-giant was dangerous, although she hadn't agreed with Draco Malfoy's temper tantrum back in 3rd year, she could be rational enough to see Hagrid was not a good professor, he did not seem to be able to understand the danger of certain magical creatures simply because they were not dangerous to his own giant blood.

Tom Riddle hadn't made any horcruxes yet, and it seemed he wasn't planning on doing that anytime soon? The memories of being petrified, the account of the diary being destroyed by Harry, the cursed hand Dumbledore had to suffer when he put the ring on. Nothing made sense anymore.

She picked up her list, and continued trying to ascertain what she was sure of:

- Dumbledore has defeated Grindelwald 4 years ago, TRUE

- Dumbledore is still Deputy Headmaster, and Transfiguration Professor, doesn't become Headmaster until 1955, potential ally? TRUE but Dumbledore either lied, was complicit in a lie or wasn't as smart as he believed himself to be? Relationship with Grindelwald true maybe?

- Tom Riddle/Voldemort has already made at least 2 horcruxes from Myrtle's murder and the murders of his father and grand-parents, the diary and the ring? FALSE, no horcruxes made, eyes not red, Myrtle accident not murder, father and grandparents?

- The artefact doesn't allow a time loop, changes are possible, kill Tom? TRUE, but maybe killing Tom isn't a good idea, is Tom even Voldemort? When does he change?

- Potential allies: Dumbledore NO, McGonagall?, Moody? Too young? Charlus Potter NO

- Emigration? France? NO feels like giving up

- Sociopathic tendencies? Can love? Nature vs nurture?

- Relationships to potential Death Eaters? Malfoy, Black, Lestrange, Carrow, Dolohov, etc

"You know, for someone who seems to have been dumped out of her time you seem to be coping quite well, did you plan to come here?" Tom suddenly asked, breaking her concentration.

"I did not, it was an accident, one I can't turn back on, so I have to make do with my situation." Hermione replied, still looking down at her parchment.

"From your notes, I can guess you're at least from after 1955, and you are either very anti social or your allies list indicate you wouldn't know most people currently alive, and as you recognised my name but not my face I'm going to guess you come from a long time away."

Hermione bit her lip, wondering if she should answer, it likely wouldn't change much, she had decided she wouldn't kill him, so turning him into an ally was probably the smartest decision wasn't it? "2008."

Tom whistled lowly, "Right, almost 60 years... You seem quite composed for someone who has had to give up their entire life so suddenly to be stuck in a time where they know no one...

Back to your list though, I saw you write down something about my father?"

Hermione looked up at that, his jaw was set and there was a fire in his eyes, he looked defiant, she wondered what had really happened "I don't know much, the only thing I was told is that you killed your father and his parents, it was said to be because they were Muggles and then you framed Morfin Gaunt for it, your uncle."

"That's a interesting take on what happened, and very vague. I did not kill them because they were Muggles, as you likely have found already we are currently in Riddle Manor, I do not care that it's a Muggle home or that my parentage is half Muggle, that's not why I did it."

"But you did do it? You killed them?"

"Context matters a lot, don't you think? I didn't seek them out in order to kill them. It was the summer before my last year at Hogwarts, 1944, and I was again forced back to the Orphanage, even though I was already 17, I didn't really have anywhere else to go.
When I arrived there, the Orphanage was destroyed, by V1 flying bombs most likely. I don't know if Dippet or Dumbledore knew when they sent me back, ignoring my pleas to stay at Hogwarts.
I had done a heritage test after the Chamber incident and knew my father's name, so I went into the London Metropolitan Archives to try and find him. I knew my mother had died in childbirth, and I just really wanted someone to be family, to care, I don't know... Anyway, I found his address in the Archives, Riddle Manor in Little Hangleton, where we currently are. It did not go as planned, there was no happy family reunion..." he trailed off, looking at the wall, lost in memories, "can I show you what happened? I have a pensieve."

Hermione nodded, and he went to to his study to retrieve the pensieve, came back and placed it on the coffee table. He concentrated on the memory and pulled it, placing it in the pensieve.

"As a warning, it's not pretty nor it is really going to make me look good, but likely not worse than you already seem to think of me. I'll leave you to it."

Hermione looked at the pensieve in apprehension, she was likely to witness the murders of 3 people but she really wanted to understand too, so she took a breath and plunged ahead.

She recognised the Manor, and saw the slightly younger Tom Riddle knocking on the front door. When the door was opened, it was like watching Tom and an older version of himself standing on the other side.

"Hello, my name is Tom Marvolo Riddle, I believe you are my father." Hermione didn't miss the look of disgust that filtered on Senior Tom's face at that statement, nor did Tom Junior miss it.

"You are no son of mine, you're a freak and should have died with your mother!" Tom Senior started closing the door, and the conversation.

Tom Junior stopped the door from closing, "Look, my mother died giving birth to me, I have no other family and the orphanage I'm supposed to be staying at was bombed by the German forces..." Tom Senior interrupted his speech before he could finished "I do not care if you have to sleep under a bridge, you and I are nothing! Am I clear? Your mother was an ugly freak but she was easy, the whore wanted me to marry her when she announced she was pregnant!"

Tom Junior was speechless and starting to feel his temper rise, but continued to listen to the rambles of his supposed father "She was easy, and it was fun while it lasted but I wanted nothing to do with her, I told her to leave and my parents wanted to kill her so consider yourself lucky you piece of shit! You're a freak like her aren't you? No good could come from that troll."

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK LIKE THAT OF MY MOTHER!" Tom Junior roared, finally snapping himself up from his shock, however the loud shout drew the attention of the other inhabitants of the Manor.

When Thomas and Mary Riddle appeared into view, they looked just like the portrait Hermione had found in the library but the sneer they wore could have rivelled Lucius Malfoy.

"Who is this Tom?" Mary asked.

"He claims to be the freak's child, I told him to get lost." Tom Senior replied, and at that statement Thomas Riddle left on a run only to come back with a loaded shotgun. A Winchester Model 1897 if Hermione recognised it right. She knew most classic weapons from her father's fascination with it.

Thomas Riddle started to pump the shotgun and prepared himself to shoot his own grandson.

At this threat, Tom Riddle Junior took out his wand, which only bristled the other Riddles present and as his grandfather tried to shot him he waved his wand and with a blasting curse his father and grandparents were thrown across the room with sickening thuds.

Tom dropped to his knee in the memory, clearly shaken and looking at his wand like he had never seen it before. Which is when Hermione realised he never meant to kill any of them, but his suppressed anger powered his spell into something he lost control of.

The memory ended there, Hermione rose back up and sat back down on the couch, Tom was coming back into the room with a cup of tea for her. He sat back down on the coffee table in front of her and offered her the cup.

"It was self-defence." she murmured.

"Yes. I never meant for it to end that way. I went to them because I had no one else and thought maybe he simply wasn't aware of my existence so I could introduce myself."

"Why frame your uncle for it though?"

He chuckled darkly at that, "I didn't plan for it, the Gaunt shack wasn't far away and I stumbled on it in my stupor, Morfin was there and he let me explain everything and he explained our own relation. He didn't seem very stable but I thought maybe I could have someone then, he seemed okay with what I did.
Before I could ask further questions however, he went on a rant about my mother, the disgrace of loving a Muggle, how he probably didn't use enough punishments in her childhood for her to turn out that way, you can imagine... I went into his mind, to see my mother's childhood and what I saw was horrifying. That's when I decided to frame him, so he could be punished for what he did to her.

What did you think happened?"

Hermione pursed her lips, "I was told Merope Gaunt used a love potion on Tom Riddle, to ensnare him into a relationship with her, and convinced the love was true stopped dosing him, and he fled in horror. Although the horrible childhood matched what I was told. But the love potion thing was used as justification on why you couldn't love and was barely human."

"I see. I don't really understand where that theory comes from, Morfin never said anything like that and from what I understand my mother didn't have the education or skills to brew such a complex potion, or the funds to buy it illegally.

However, that theory partially explains why you seem to hate me so. Do you still do?" Tom asked in a quiet voice.

"I understand what you did, it was purely self-defence and I can't say I wouldn't have reacted in the same way, framing Morfin was a creative way to punish him too. I get it Tom, I'm starting to think the history I was told was very much warped."

"Have you ever killed?" Tom asked suddenly.

Hermione hesitated, but realised as alone as she was in this new time, it appeared she had him in a twisted way, "I have, it was war, I killed witches and wizards trying to kill me."

Tom hummed lowly, assessed her like a predator would a prey and said "Maybe we're not so different you and I."

After viewing the memory and subsequent conversation, they ate dinner in silence and Tom showed her to a guest room she could use then retreated by to his own wing.

Hermione appraised her new room, or prison cell more likely although she didn't feel trapped. The room was grand with a walk-in closet and ensuite bathroom, the walls were a light purple, almost lilac and the bed was big and antique, made out of some sort of metal she didn't recognise. The window on the left wall gave her a view of the countryside. She took out her bag and pulled sleepwear from it, thankful the bag was always ready just in case. She would have to talk to her jailor soon, to buy period appropriate clothes, both Muggle and Wizarding. She'll see then how much of a prisoner she really was, would he let her leave if she promised to come back? She didn't really have anywhere to go, and she wasn't sure she wanted to leave him, he was an anchor to her new reality. Besides, she was intrigued and curious by all she had learned today.

Trying to sleep in the foreign bed, Hermione let her thoughts try to make sense of the day she had. He wasn't a murderer, one accident and self-defence didn't tear the soul. He hasn't made any horcruxes, doesn't seem to be heading that way either. He didn't seem to be cultivating followers.

He wasn't a good man though, she added in the privacy of her mind. He use legilimency like a everyday tool, he threatened to torture her and mentioned having sociopathic tendencies. She often thought Harry and him had similar upbringings and Harry was clearly the better man being able to come through Hell with good morals, but that wasn't a fair comparison was it?

Of course, Harry had suffered at his relatives, treated like a servant, starved and likely beaten. Tom, however, grew up in an Orphanage during the war, and she remembers Harry's account of Dumbledore meeting him for the first time, he had been cold and suspicious immediately and closed down as soon as Tom revealed he was a parselmouth. The cold shoulder probably didn't improve at Hogwarts, especially being sorted in Slytherin. Dumbledore hid his prejudices fairly well but Hermione had seen, especially years later under a new perspective.

She wondered how Tom had fared in Slytherin, no one had discussed it and people seemed to assume he was the Slytherin Prince, adored by his many followers due to being Slytherin's Heir. He never told he was the Heir of Slytherin publicly though, he couldn't or it would have put the limelight back on him after Hagrid was framed.

Hermione thought about an 11 years old Tom being sorted in Slytherin in the late 1930', an orphan with a Muggle last name. Likely to be bullied for it, or much worse. He only found his ancestry years into Hogwarts, did he claim it? Was it too late? Hermione finally fell asleep, wondering why she was trying to empathise with the Devil.

On the other side of the Manor, Tom was not faring better. Hermione remained much of a mystery to him, an intriguing mystery though.

The way she saw him and the things she seemed certain off threw him though, 60 years into the future and his name was known, as a murderer and likely worse as she did try to off him first chance she got.

He knew he wasn't a good man, the psychiatrist at the orphanage was right and he didn't lie when he said he failed the psychological evaluation to become an Unspeakable. He knew he wasn't that stable and prone to violence. Myrtle was truly an accident, he hadn't lied about that, but he didn't feel any grief or remorse over it either, it wasn't his fault the girl has been stupid enough to go down a dark tunnel.

His father and grandparents was truly self-defence, the memory he has shown her wasn't altered. Although he was shocked when it happened and truly hadn't planned it, he also felt nothing about it. Those people were horrid monsters willing to kill him because he was a wizard, and Morfin was a poor excuse for a parent and deserved to be punished.

He was keeping Hermione as a prisoner of sorts, she hadn't even asked for her wand back, he wondered if she would try to flee at some point. He really wanted to learn more about her, everything he could. She seemed smart, well-educated, beautiful in her own way, and more morally grey than she seemed ready to divulge.

She was captivating him, and he had been so very bored.