Invictus [Tom Riddle / Tomione]

Guilt is a Rope

Guilt is a rope that wears thin - Ayn Rand

Hermione was back in her own time. She walked into a muggle coffee shop and there, in the corner, sat Harry and Ron. Hermione looked down at herself. She was wearing jeans and a green striped sweater, and converses.

She walked up to Harry and Ron. She simply stared at them.

Ron looked up at her. "Uh... Hermione... you okay?"

She couldn't even speak for a moment. Then she cleared her throat.

"Um- I'm- I'm fine. What are you two doing here?"

They looked at one another like she'd gone mental.

"You said to meet you here. Said you had good news. We figured it was about your auror test," said Harry. "Did you pass?"

Her mouth fell open. She looked around her. Everything looked so... so... normal.

No one wore trousers or skirts or dresses. They wore jeans and tee shirts and sneakers. Through the glass window, she saw modern cars driving by, not antique ones.

She looked back at Harry and Ron. "I... haven't got my results yet." She swallowed. How did she get back here?

"Well," Ron gestured her forward. "Come and have a seat, then. What's the good news? Bought you a coffee by the way. Hope you like lavender." He handed her a cup.

She reached to take it. "Oh... Thank you. Lavender's... my favorite." Her heart beat rapidly.

She wanted to jump up and hug them both. She wanted to cry. To ask them how they'd been and if they missed her. She wanted to tell them she missed them terribly. She felt that everything she'd been through the past few months had been merely a terrible dream.

But they acted as if they hadn't known she was gone.

So maybe she hadn't been...

"The good news... is..." She didn't know what to say.

Suddenly the door to the coffee shop opened. Hermione turned absentmindedly to see who it was.

Riddle. Tom Marvolo Riddle stood in the doorway, just inside the shop.

He wore black jeans, a Nirvana tee shirt, and black lace-up boots.

Hermione stared at him.

Riddle was wearing... muggle clothes.

He smiled when he caught her eye.

No... he was walking toward her.

"Hermione," Ron said in an alarmed voice. "Is that... who I think it is?"

"It is," said Harry, drawing his wand.

"How did he get here?" asked Ron.

"I don't know, but he's not staying," Harry said viciously.

"Wait," Hermione breathed. "Umm... I can explain..." Her heart rate sped up. Had she brought him here?

"Explain what, Hermione?" shouted Ron. "That's Tom Riddle!"

Tom walked up to them calmly. Ron and Harry stared as he approached Hermione and slid his arm around her waist.

"Did you tell them the good news?" he murmured in her ear.