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Somewhere in Time	By : serpentinred Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Hermione/Voldemort Views: 64474 -:- Recommendations : 6 -:- Currently Reading : 8
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and I don't make any money from these writings.

Chapter List
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Chapter 6

The moment Hermione read the first sentence of the book, she wanted to burst out laughing. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered if the author had actually known Tom Riddle when she wrote the book. Instead of staring at him and causing him to suspect that she knew something she shouldn't, she forced herself to continue reading.

Despite the fact that Salazar Slytherin had always been a big supporter of pure-blood supremacy,there is much speculation supporting the theory that he was, in actuality, a half-blood. There were many hints in his mysterious childhood that had led many of his contemporaries to believe that his mother might have been a Muggle.

Staring at the pages, she had to stifle a snort. It was a good thing she hadn't read this during breakfast, or she might have ended up choking on her pumpkin juice. Rolling her eyes at the absurdity of the article, she flipped to the front of the book and started to look through the table of contents.

Many of the topics were so ridiculous that she would not have been surprised if they had been from The Quibbler. The book discussed everything from the purity of Slytherin's blood to the Chamber of Secrets. She would have to remember to tell Harry about that one. The author had obviously been overindulging when she suggested that Slytherin had had a pet manticore.

Her eyes landed on a section concerning the death of Slytherin.

"Why Slytherin Might Still Be Alive?" Hermione read the title of one of the essays out loud.

Tom chuckled suddenly, causing her to look up from the book. She had almost forgotten that he was standing right next to her. He did not say anything in regards to why he had laughed. Instead, he just placed the book in his hands back onto the shelf and looked for another one.

The witch, however, bit her lower lip in concentration before she resolutely turned to the page of the essay and started to read.

Although the method by which it was accomplished still remains to be discovered, there is much speculation that one of the Four Founders of Hogwarts may still be alive. Throughout the years, there have been many sightings of Salazar Slytherin across the globe by numerous eyewitnesses as is stated in Unexplained by Ernest Night.

As I stated in my other essay, The Truth behind the Fight between the Four Founders of Hogwarts, Salazar Slytherin had always been obsessed with the idea of living forever.

Hermione rolled her eyes. That would explain Voldemort's obsession with being immortal. The answer had been there all along: it was in the genes.

She resisted the urge to laugh out loud and continued to read.

"It would give him the opportunity to forever purge the school of those unworthy to learn magic." (Lewis, 3982).The ceremony of the book destruction (held by the three remaining Founders) which occurred right after Slytherin left the premises of Hogwarts supports this theory.

Hermione's jaw dropped open at the thought of book destruction in Hogwarts. How did it escape her attention? She had read through many of the books in the library but she had never read anything about books being destroyed at Hogwarts.

"You wouldn't expect the book burning conducted by the noble Gryffindor to be written about in every single book, would you?" Tom suddenly asked.

Hermione found that he was looking over her shoulder at the book in her hands.

"I can assure you that if it had been Slytherin who had destroyed the books, every text you came across would've at least mentioned it once."

"If it's not in most books, how do you know about it?" she questioned, narrowing her eyes at him.

"It's in some of the books in the Restricted Section," he replied.

Hermione simply stared at him with her eyebrows raised. She suddenly realized how terribly easy it would have been for him to tell the professors that he was simply doing research in the Restricted Section. For the second time that day, she mentally cursed the professors of the forties for allowing the future to turn out the way it did.

He looked at her with mild curiosity, perhaps perplexed by her expression. When she made no move to explain or comment, he pulled out a book and started to read it, giving her a rather close-up look at his profile.

If she momentarily ignored the fact that he was on his way to becoming the world's most notorious wizard, she could easily understand why people would find him charming and attractive. Hermione secretly believed that Ginny would have been attracted to Tom Riddle if the diary incident had not happened.

And who's to say that she didn't fancy him back then? Or even now?

It was a rather disturbing thought, but she knew that there was a high probability that it was true.

Hermione squinted at the wizard, trying to find some kind of fault in him behind that pretense of innocence. There had to be something there that pointed towards what he would become in the future. It was impossible for someone to put up such a successful and flawless show.

Tom was correct in saying that there were similarities between him and Harry. They both had dark hair and the boyish good looks. The difference between the two of them was that the Heir of Slytherin had a feeling of darkness surrounding him when he was not smiling.

Additionally, Harry lacked the sense of confidence that Tom possessed. It was hard to believe that the latter actually had grown up in an orphanage. The grace with which he moved and spoke made it seem as if he was from the high-class end of society.

It would probably serve Harry well if he learned to have more confidence in himself. I mean, he is quite attractive. Look at all his admirers he had never acknowledged back in the future.

A memory of how girls had nudged each other when Harry, Ron, and she had walked past them popped into her mind. Of course, Harry and Ron were always talking about Quidditch or some other topic, stopping them from fully noticing how attractive Harry was to the girls in school.

And it was certainly not just because of his fame.

Suddenly, Tom looked up from the book and stared straight into her eyes. Hermione froze like a deer caught in the headlamps. She could feel the blood rushing to her feet before rushing all the way back to her cheeks, making her feel slightly dizzy. Before she could say anything, he smiled at her and looked back at the book.

The witch wished that she could dig a hole in the ground and hide inside it until 1998. She could already hear the rumors before they started. She silently told herself that nobody knew her during this time period. She was not the friend of Harry Potter, vanquisher of the darkest wizard in history. She was not the Gryffindor know-it-all. She was not …

Oh, dear Merlin! Of all people, why do I have to have Voldemort think that I fancy him? Hermione moaned inside her brain as she felt her cheeks getting warmer and warmer. Perhaps he will think that I am looking at the bookshelf behind him.

She glanced at him again. Oh no. Oh dear. He was no longer just smiling.

He was smirking while he read the book.

In addition to embarrassment, Hermione was also beginning to feel irritated, and it was further fueled by his next words.

"You don't have to feel too embarrassed about...the staring," he said as if he was trying to placate her.

Her eyes widened as she looked at him. He was still reading the stupid book and the smirk was becoming more and more apparent. Couldn't she just take the book out of his hands and chuck it at his head?

"I was not—" she started to say but was cut off by him.

"At least you don't … giggle as much."

"Tom—"

"It really makes it quite hard to read when there's someone next to you giggling all the time."

"I'm telling you—"

"I don't mind it, really," Tom continued with a shrug, although his eyes never left the book.

"Tom—"

"But I would have to warn you about something. I don't appreciate people touching me when I haven't given them permission to, so please refrain-"

Hermione could almost feel the steam coming out of her ears.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle!" she screamed.

He looked up at her innocently.

"Miss Granger!" Madam Pince scolded. She pointed at the door of the library. "Out! Two weeks!"

Hermione stared at the librarian, her mouth gaping like a fish. She turned her head towards Tom and shot him an angry glare before she stomped out of the library.

As Hermione stormed back to the Gryffindor Tower, she started to mentally curse at the Slytherin in every single language she knew. She was banned from the library for two whole entire weeks!

She certainly had another reason to hate Tom Riddle now.

~-0-~

Tom looked at Hermione's retreating figure, twirling his wand idly and leaning on the doorframe of the library. For a few seconds, he silently marveled at how much the girl looked like a rampaging manticore.

He knew that the witch did not fancy him. It was pretty obvious that she was not looking at him with amorous intentions. There was curiosity in her eyes, yes, but certainly not affection. Tom had simply hoped that making her angry would loosen her tongue. Unfortunately, it seemed that he had gone a bit overboard and made the girl scream at him instead. He smirked at the image of her nearly hexing him right then and there in the library.

Regrettably, he still did not have the information he wanted. They were forcing him to use other options that would be much more entertaining for him but much less agreeable to them. A vile smirk appeared on his face. He was going to enjoy it very much, especially when he finally found out what they were hiding from him. Lord Voldemort always got what he wanted, regardless of what he had to go through. This time would not be any different.

He would have to remind his Knights to leave this little lioness alone, though. His encounters with her up to this point had been far too enjoyable to share with them and he was not a person who liked sharing.

The wizard looked back at the girl who was now stomping up the stairs, nearly sending a first-year tumbling down in her wake.

Definitely enjoyable.

~-0-~

All eyes fell on her when she stormed through the portrait hole, her cheeks flushed from anger. Gareth's mouth fell slightly open in surprise. With a twinge in her heart, she recalled how often that look had appeared on Ron's face. However, that sense of nostalgia was quickly replaced by the anger she felt for a certain Slytherin Head Boy.

"Er … hello, Hermione. How was your day?" Joseph asked nervously. She narrowed her eyes at him which caused him to cough lightly into his hand.

"What happened?" Ginny questioned.

"I've been banned from the library," she replied through gritted teeth, "for two entire weeks!"

"How?" Harry frowned.

"Because … because," Hermione seethed as her gaze went over to Gareth, who quickly averted his eyes, "of Gareth's friend!"

"Er …Tom?" Gareth asked, scratching the back of his head.

"How dare...the nerve of that stupid, idiotic, pompous … thing!" she growled.

Joseph started to laugh, but quickly changed it into a hacking cough when the raging lioness's eyes fell on him.

"What did he do?" Ginny asked delicately.

"The git accused me of fancying him! As if! I am … does he honestly think that he's that charming?" Hermione fumed.

Harry, Ginny, Joseph, and Gareth exchanged a look with one another. None of them were sure if they were supposed to answer the question. They soon found out that an answer was not required from them when she continued to verbally abuse the young Dark Lord.

"Miss Granger," a cold voice floated down to them a few minutes later.

Hermione abruptly stopped her ranting and looked over to the staircase. From the tone of the voice, she almost expected to find a Slytherin there, but instead, she found Augusta Rookwood. The Head Girl's expression was just as cold as her voice.

"You are setting a terrible example for the younger students. If you do not keep your voice down, I might have to consider taking points from my own House. Now, if you would kindly lower your voice so the rest of us can study," she sneered. With that said, she turned around and retreated into her room.

For a while, Hermione continued gawking at the door. She peered at Harry and Ginny and found identical expressions of surprise on their faces.

"Er … that's our Head Girl," Gareth laughed uneasily. "You'll just have to get used to her. She's like that with everyone …"

His voice drifted off as he scratched the back of his head again. Hermione had a feeling that he was lying to her; Ron always did the same thing when he lied to her.

"She doesn't really like me, does she?" she asked with a wry smile on her face.

Joseph and Gareth took a peek at her, but did not answer, thoroughly confirming her suspicions.

Exactly what I need. Someone else to watch out for, she thought as she slumped down into an armchair besides Harry.

"Don't worry about her, Hermione. She just doesn't like the fact that you're smarter than her," Joseph comforted her.

"How would she know, anyway? We haven't attended that many classes yet," Hermione huffed.

"You're taking more classes than she is," Gareth pointed out. "I would bet that you would've been the Head Girl if you had been here since first year."

"She has never really liked us, either, so you're not the only one," Joseph said. In a shriller voice, he continued, "'Oh, look! If it isn't the blood traitors Weasley and Potter!'"

The trio stared at him for a moment, a bit taken aback by his eerily good imitation of Augusta's voice, before they burst out laughing. Joseph grinned, stood up, and bowed at them, causing them to laugh some more.

As Hermione gazed at her friends through her laughter, a warm feeling filled her heart.

It was comforting to know that she was not alone.

"Hey, at least you know that you won't be facing the rumors when we get home," Harry whispered to her.

Hermione sighed out of relief and agreement. Why should she really care about what Tom thought about her? Not that she was saying that she did not find him annoying. In fact, in her opinion he was one of the most annoying people she had had the displeasure of meeting.

At that moment, more than ever, she wished she was back in the future.

~-0-~

If Tom suspected that there was anything off about them, he didn't show it. He still greeted them each day when he saw them in class and attempted to be helpful to the "newcomers." However, every time he approached them with his "pleasant smile," Harry always had the sudden urge to find Dumbledore and encourage him to find a way to send them home as quickly as possible. Tom Riddle's "friendliness" was downright disturbing to Harry.

Their time in the 1940's wasn't all bad, however, since they had met a few people who might have been ancestors of people from their own time. Harry suspected that the "Black" who was in some of his classes must be Alphard, Sirius's uncle. Although they had not yet gotten a chance to talk with one another, they had exchanged a few grins during and in between classes. One girl, Lilian Brown, reminded them strongly of Lavender. She was extremely gossipy and was always one of the first students in Gryffindor to know about rumors in the school.

The more Harry looked at Augusta Rookwood, the more he suspected that she would be Neville's grandmother. However, that also meant that he was becoming more and more confused about the future. He had no idea why Neville's grandmother would treat them nicely in the future if she was so awful to them in the past; he was pretty sure Hermione's name would have come up in conversation between Neville and his grandmother.

Steering his concentration back to the Potions class, he looked at Hermione, who was attempting to finish the potion before a certain Slytherin. He was fairly certain that she was using intellect as a form of secret revenge. Therefore, she was trying to accomplish schoolwork faster than Tom in almost every single class.

Harry cringed as he heard Hermione whisper a string of creative curse words. He suspected that she had learned them from Ron.

"It's not working," she announced as she skimmed through the instructions again.

"What?" he asked.

"The potion's not turning into the silvery purple that it says in the book," she muttered as an answer.

"Oh," he replied.

He looked across the room and found a silvery purple mist being emitted from Tom's cauldron. Harry shrugged his shoulders and continued to cut the dragon nails into perfect squares.

"You should've made his death ten times more painful, Harry," Hermione hissed angrily, making Harry wonder for a moment if she should have been placed in Slytherin instead.

"Uh … I tried?" Harry replied as his eyes flickered over to Professor Slughorn who was looking around the class to see who was perfecting the potion.

"A simple rebounded curse was an easy way out for him. He should've suffered more," she continued, dumping a spoonful of fairy dust into the brew. It seemed that she had found a way to turn the potion into the color it was supposed to be.

He laughed nervously. Hermione Granger could sometimes be as frightening as a crowd of Death Eaters.

"I guess," Harry answered, not wanting to anger Hurricane Granger even more.

He silently counted the seconds as the young woman beside him continued to mutter horrifying methods to torture Tom Riddle. He let out a sigh of relief when the potion was finally finished and Slughorn walked around to check everyone's work.

"And now, let's look over here," Slughorn announced as he walked over to Hermione and Harry's table. "My, my! You two do have potential in Potions. All you need is a bit more practice." The professor looked over at Tom and said, "Be careful, Tom, or these two might even surpass you in cleverness!"

Tom gave the professor a humble smile. He had already finished the potion, explaining why Hermione now had a look of utter repulsion on her face. As he looked at her expression, Harry secretly realized that perhaps this kind of competition might be good for the witch; she had always been the cleverest in their year and had never been challenged enough.

Walking back to the Gryffindor common room, Harry could not help but feel that he was correct.

And it would probably give him and Ron something to tease her about when they returned to the future.

He smiled happily.

"What happened to her?" Gareth asked Harry as Hermione walked past him, a look of annoyance in her eyes.

"She … er … had a bad day," Harry answered. The witch in question had a look of deep thought on her face, leading him to believe that she was contemplating how to best Riddle in class.

"Can we talk to you for a second, Harry?" Joseph asked.

Harry nodded and the two young men pulled him to a corner where Hermione could not hear them.

"What's the matter?" Harry questioned.

"I want you to answer us truthfully," Gareth began.

"On the pain of death," Joseph added.

"What?" Harry asked, becoming more confused.

The two of them looked straight into his eyes.

"Does Hermione fancy Riddle?" Joseph asked.

"What?" Harry yelped.

Everyone in the common room turned around and looked at the three. Joseph and Gareth apologized before pulling Harry up to the boys' dormitory. They looked around to make sure that no one else was in the room before locking it.

"You can tell us, Harry. We promise we won't tell a soul," Joseph said.

"You two are out of your minds," Harry commented, shaking his head.

"Come on, Harry. We were there when she stormed into the common room, ranting about Tom accusing her of liking him," Gareth placed an arm around Harry's shoulder.

"Was she angry because Riddle was overly blunt about the subject?" Joseph questioned.

"Overly blunt?" Harry blinked.

Joseph sighed. "I mean, was she angry because she's shy about her feelings towards Riddle?"

"Or is it because Hermione simply didn't tell you?" Gareth inquired.

"It's possible," Joseph hypothesized. "She is a girl, although quite a weird one—"

"Weird?" Harry frowned.

"Of course," Joseph nodded. "You don't see girls like her around. She's so..."

He frowned as he searched for a word to describe her.

"Aggressive," Gareth finished for Joseph.

The latter nodded in approval.

"Most girls are really, really quiet and they only giggle around Riddle," Joseph continued.

"She's always trying to catch his attention by answering questions in class," Gareth added.

"And trying to finish her work before he does?" Joseph pointed out.

Gareth nodded profusely.

"Joseph, Gareth -"

"Ask Hermione, Harry," Joseph suggested.

And get my head bitten off? Harry thought with a grimace.

"If she does like him, I could try to set up a date for her with Tom," Gareth proposed. "There is a Hogsmeade trip coming up soon."

Harry did not know whether it would be proper for him to laugh out loud at the situation in front of him.

"I think you've gotten it wrong. Hermione wouldn't like him," he declared.

"You might be quite surprised with how things turn out, Harry," Joseph said, shaking his head. "In many situations, the things that happen are precisely the ones that were joked about."

"Hermione is just angry at Riddle about something," Harry explained.

"Are you sure?" Joseph questioned doubtfully.

Harry nodded. "I'm positive that Hermione does not like him."

"If you're sure then," Gareth replied as he stretched. "If she does one day, don't say we didn't tell you."

Harry could not control himself anymore and doubled over in laughter.

Hermione fancying Tom Riddle? That was one of the biggest jokes he had ever heard! He could only imagine Ron's face if he was here to hear this ridiculous suggestion.

~-0-~

"Therefore, there are no possible ways for rubies to be used in potions," Tom was saying in answer to Professor Slughorn's question.

"Very good, Tom! Another ten points to Slytherin!" Slughorn exclaimed gleefully.

That was when Hermione shot her hand up into the air.

Slughorn looked at her questioningly. "Yes, Miss Granger?"

"I beg to differ, Professor," she replied.

The whole class turned around and stared at her.

"In what way?" Slughorn asked slowly. "Tom did answer the question correctly."

The ends of Hermione's lips twitched. Harry was pretty sure that she was having a hard time trying to conceal a smirk and correct Tom at the same time.

"While it is true that in most cases rubies cannot be used in potions, there are some rare cases in which they can," Hermione responded. "It is commonly accepted that rubies lack the magical properties that are required in potion ingredients. However, in truth, it would be more accurate to say that their magical properties are locked up.

"In some cases, when a ruby has been worn by a witch or a wizard for a long period of time, its magical properties have the chance to become unlocked. Of course, each ruby is unique and the magical property of each stone is different, but that certainly does not mean that rubies do not have the potential."

The whole class looked at her in awe while Slughorn clapped his hands together in happiness.

"Excellent, Miss Granger!" he exclaimed. "Fifteen points to Gryffindor!"

Harry looked worriedly at the satisfied expression on Hermione's face. He hoped she knew what she was doing.

~-0-~

"The theory clearly states that mixing the two potions together would cancel out the properties!" Hermione argued in Potions a couple of days later.

"That's why it's a theory and not a fact," Tom disagreed.

Apparently, he had had enough of Hermione correcting everything he had to say.

Harry covered his face with hands. Slughorn, on the other hand, looked at the two as though he was watching a tennis match that he immensely enjoyed.

The other Slytherins, except for Draco (who was still ignoring them), were always looking angrily at the witch while the two of them bickered. Abraxas Malfoy, in particular, seemed to hold a grudge against Hermione.

The other students in the classroom had bored expressions on their faces as they immersed themselves in daydreams. Augusta, on the other hand, managed to ignore Hermione, although there were a couple of times when Harry caught her glancing at her with a calculating look.

To Harry, this was becoming a sort of a routine that he did not enjoy.

"It will not work," Hermione said as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"If you base everything on theory and not try it beforehand, Miss Granger, you can't be sure if it will work or not," Tom commented disapprovingly.

"Oh, I'm sure you've tried every single theory to see if there are ways around them," she huffed.

Harry glanced at Tom before he looked at Hermione with a horrified expression. He could see red lights going off. Or was it because Tom's eyes just momentarily flashed red?

Hermione still had an arrogant expression on her face but a blank look in her eyes. Harry could tell that she was thinking along the same lines as he was—she should not have said that. Although it might have sounded like a regular argument to other people in the classroom, it must have sounded to Tom as if they knew something about him that others did not.

"I was just suggesting that the two potions would've worked perfectly together. By no means do I have disregard for the theories that were created in the past," Tom explained silkily after a moment of silence.

His feelings were locked behind the façade he had put up again.

Hermione was biting her lower lip. Harry doubted that she had heard Tom so he kicked her gently under the table. She looked up at Tom in a way that reminded Harry of a scared bunny rabbit.

"Yes … I … I suppose … I misunderstood you the first time," she stuttered before sitting back down in her chair.

"Well, then! After that enlightening debate between Tom and Hermione, why don't we get started on the potion for today?" Slughorn asked gleefully.

Hermione exchanged an uneasy look with Harry and the two of them prepared the ingredients in silence, each of them immersed in their own thoughts.

~-0-~

A/N: Many thanks to my betas, Lildaani, Noybate, and Hajnalmadar, and all my wonderful reviewers!
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Somewhere in Time