Invictus [Tom Riddle / Tomione]

A Carefree Christmas

(I've added a chapter called Opposition, which should have been posted prior to the Orphanage, so I recommend readers go back and read that before starting this chapter. I normally post this story on ao3, and accidentally left that chapter out in my cross posting. So now you have two new chapters lol)

There were only a few days left until Christmas. Hermione strode through Diagon Alley, drinking in the sight of the twinkling lights and the festive greenery. Witches and wizards lined the streets in their holiday colors, crowding the cobblestone walkways as they shopped for last minute gifts. Hermione hadn't gotten far - she was being stopped every few feet by passersby who recognized her and couldn't resist shaking the hand of the famous Hermione Dumbledore.

"I love your articles!"

"My daughter was so excited to be sorted into Gryffindor, just like you! Oh , well, and your father, of course!"

"Congratulations on the opening of Midas Bank! I've already moved my galleons over - brilliant work!"

She appreciated the kind words and warm smiles, but genuinely needed to run some errands and was now wishing that she'd worn the invisibility cloak or even polyjuiced herself for the day.

After an hour of handshakes and autographs, she'd had enough. She apparated to Vertic Alley, which was slightly less crowded, and dropped into the jewelry shop to pick up a gift she'd commissioned to be custom made for Tom. After catching her breath for a few moments, she apparated to Kettel Court and made a withdrawal at Midas Bank, then browsed the shops there, searching for gifts for her friends, Piksy, Lucky, Eulessia, Septimus, and Cedrella. She even picked up a gift for little Bilius.

Hermione was having a rather difficult time choosing a gift for Albus. She was very particular about her gift shopping. She wanted whatever she chose to be special and thoughtful.

After a day of browsing, she was struck by a bolt of inspiration. She apparated away to Hogsmeade where she stopped into Gladrag's Wizardwear and put in an order for a set of custom-tailored wizarding robes in deep crimson velvet, edged with an ornate gold filigree embroidery. They would be perfect for Albus, and in Gryffindor colors, no less. Then she popped into Dogweed and Deathcap, an herbology shop, where she chose an array of rare herbs which she knew Cedrella Weasley would love for her garden. Then she visited Tomes and Scrolls, Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, and Honeydukes to pick up some remaining items. Lastly, she stopped into The Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer, since it had been some months since she'd had one. From the first sip, she was hit with a wave of nostalgia, as it reminded her of the days of the weekend Hogsmeade visits in which Harry would tag along with Ron and herself under cover of the invisibility cloak. She missed those days, and she missed Ron and Harry terribly. She wondered what they were doing now, and if her being here in 1948 had changed anything in their lives. If so, how? Would they wake up one morning to find their reality permanently altered? Would they even be cognizant of the change? Would they someday wake up and forget that someone named Hermione had ever existed in their world?

The thought plagued Hermione, but she comforted herself with the notion that she could somehow make things better for them. Perhaps, she already had.

Her thoughts drifted to Tom. She couldn't tell if she sensed a change within him, or if she was simply being blinded by her feelings.

He was a master manipulator, after all. Hermione had to keep reminding herself of that.

She lived with a deep-seated fear that she would be somehow fooled by him and she would miss her opportunity to destroy the world's most evil dark wizard. She turned his ring around her finger. She could destroy it... she needed only to kill the basilisk and take one of its fangs.