Hermione's Riddle

Joy of the Purest Kind

Tom Apprated them to Riddle Manor. It was a beautiful home, though she did miss Dippet Manor. They were unable to visit when they were Filch and Mrs. Norris in case they drew suspicion to theirselves.

They had been using Riddle Manor as their home since their return and Hermione always felt sadden when she entered to find no signs of the willful Mary.

Hermione's back was pressed up against the wall as Tom assaulted her lips. He bit her lower lip, drawing a moan out of her and driving all other thoughts away. The leafy inlaid ring nestled on her fourth finger.

"Shall we take this upstairs, Mrs. Riddle?"

Hermione was able to break free long enough to answer. "I'm not Mrs. Riddle yet." It hadn't even been an hour ago that Tom had proposed. Tom kissed his way down her throat, his teeth grazing against her skin. "I'm surprised you are keeping your name," she gasped.

"I don't despise it as much as I used to, and I like the sound of it on your lips." Tom answered truthfully. Hermione was amazed at how much he had changed, at how much she had changed him.

His hand traveled down her side and slipped underneath her shirt. Wherever he touched set fire to her skin. "Mmm, what was that?" Hermione gasped.

"I hear nothing," Tom's warm breath fanned across her skin.

Knocking came from the front door, louder this time. Tom growled in annoyance as he released her. Hermione shivered with the sudden loss of contact.

Tom returned, followed by a Ministry worker. "There she is. Now get on with why you are here then leave."

"Tom, behave." To be honest, Hermione was also ready to strangle the poor guy. It was a shame that they were interrupted but there was nothing that could be done. For now, Hermione would hold back her frustration and listen to the trembling Ministry worker.

"I-I'm Irvan Thumbergton. I h-have the will of Armando Herbus Dippet." The poor guy reached a trembling hand into his satchel. The crinkling of paper was heard before seen. The young boy-Hermione had to correct herself that she was physically only twenty though she lived nearly tripled that-man, produced the papers and held them close to his face. "I, Armando Herbus Dippet leave behind Dippet Manor to my great-great granddaughter, Hermione Jean Granger and my vault is to be split between Hermione Jean Granger and Hester Joanna Granger. Please proceed with the distribution of this will at the end of May 1998."

Thimbergton looked up, no longer quivering in his boots. "I am to inform that The Ministry of Magic is sorry for the delay. It has been a nightmare trying to regroup and restore everything after th-the-." Tumbergton's voice cut off in a silent sob. The poor guy must have lost someone in the war. He reached in his satchel again, this time producing a bronze key. "Here is the key to Dippet vault. Good day." With that, Thumbergton left the way he had come in.

Tom sighed in frustration. "I guess this means we won't be continuing."

"Nope." Hermione grinned up at him in excitement. "We can finally return to Dippet Manor. Oh, how I missed the library."

Tom chuckled at her excitement. "Shall we head there now?" He offered an arm to her which Hermione gratefully took.

He stepped to the side and Hermione felt the familiar pull at her bellybutton as the world spun around her. When her vision cleared, they were standing in the foyer of Dippet Manor. To her amazement, the place looked clean and livable, not dusty and worn down like she had imagined. Someone must have been up keeping the place after Dippet passed five years ago.

"Tom? Hermione?"

Tom and Hermione whirled around at the sound of Mary Riddle's voice.

Mary stood at the entrance to the kitchen, a wooden spoon in her hand. She looked just as she had in 1946.

"Grandmother?" Tom looked just as flabbergasted as he sounded.

Mary dropped the spoon she was holding and ran to her grandson. She first wrapped Tom in a warm hug then Hermione.

"They said you would be returning sometime this year," Mary said when she pulled away.

"Who?" Tom and Hermione asked in unison.

"Mr. Dippet and Mr. Dumbledore. That day I visited your game, Mr. Dippet held a private conversation with me and told me how he wished to send me to the future as a wedding gift for Tom. He said it was possible and something about how my death was recorded a year before according to Hermione," Mary explained all in one gushing breath.

"Me?" Hermione thought back to all of her conversations with Dippet. She did remember showing him some books that held information about Voldemort and incidentally Tom Riddle. Now that she thought about it, she did have this unsettling feeling every time she saw Mary but she just brushed it to the side.

"How did he bring you here? Did you use a Time-Turner?"

Mary didn't even bat an eyelash as she answered. "It was Mr. Dumbledore who brought me here last year. If you are referring to that gold time piece that hung on a chain, then yes. Mr. Dumbledore said that he and Mr. Dippet had to reconstruct it."

Hermione grabbed Tom's hand and gave it a squeeze. "We're happy to have you here in this time," Hermione smiled warmly at Tom's only living relative. She was also relieved and thrilled to have Mary with them, it meant that she had finally escaped her abusive husband.

"Yes," agreed Mary. "Though I still don't know much about this time."

"We'll teach you," Tom told her.

Hermione smiled once again as she watched everything unfold before her. It seemed to hold true that great things came after great misery. If she hadn't experienced all the pain and suffering, she would have never developed her fighting spirit which led her back in time. Meeting Tom definitely wasn't the greatest of memories but seeing him change into who he was was the greatest memory she possessed. And knowing that they could share this new future with their loved ones filled her with joy of the purest kind. Soon, the two of them will begin their journey as a married couple and Tom will finally become a professor at Hogwarts thanks to the help of Dumbledore and the current headmaster, Snape. Things were definitely shaping up nicely and far better than she could have imagined.