#180 in Fanfiction || #1 in Hermione ||
In the language of literature, there exists a seemingly-concrete, antonymous relationship between good and evil, light and dark, hero and monster. And yet, we often disregard the transition from one to anothe...
Nighttime finds Tom Riddle holed up in the Room of Requirement, this chamber bearing a great resemblance to that of the D.A., but much larger with the entirety of the students and Order lingering and resting. Of course, this would not have been the case if the Great Hall was stable, but due to the ordeal earlier, the professors ordered Hogwarts to reside within the Room. And here Tom sits, brooding over Hermione's earlier actions:
After the momentous time of standing upon the bridge with minds now pointed towards the future, the Golden Trio-plus-one took recognition of all that must happen, all that must be repaired. So, without many words, they began their trek back to the Great Hall, only for Tom to stumble under the weight of his depleting magic. Being against his side, Hermione had seen the amount of exhaustion on his paler-than-usual face, and had demanded the truth of his condition.
When he told her of his task in holding up the largest building in the Castle, Hermione had immediately rushed back to the Castle and demanded that everyone leave the Great Hall. As to be expected--much to Tom's humour--the professors had imposed twenty questions upon her reasoning. And though it was unnecessary, she proceeded to inform them of Tom's eight hour task of holding the walls in place, and how he was now prepared to faint under magical exhaustion. Of course, Tom denied feeling faint, just remarking to have tripped. But given Hermione knew him to be incapable of such gracelessness, she'd then conferred with the professors, deciding to vacate the Great Hall while they fashioned temporary holds for the ceiling and walls. And eventually, with much relief, Tom had let his magic release from its strain, leaving the Great Hall to its own efforts rather than his own.
After that, the masses of righteous warriors had begun to look at Tom with a bit more respect and an even smaller reduction of distrust. And though it might have been worth it, Tom was made bitter at the whole experience when Hermione demanded that Tom rest on the couches in the Room of Requirement, her being fearful he might faint again.
But, again, Tom told her that he tripped. She huffed and left him alone after that, apparently to talk to McGonagall.
So there he sat in the abandoned corner of the room, waiting for the Golden Trio to return to him and entertain his bored mind. Around him, light celebrations are in order for the successful destruction of the Dark Lord, still bogged down by the losses in the War. Some faint music tinkers into the ears of Slytherin's Heir, drinks piled high in the opposite corner of the room. The fire rages in the hearth next to him, depicting the battles of the previous night in Tom's mindless pondering.
But he's drawn from a stupor of magical exhaustion and boredom by the approach of Ginny Weasley, her hair long and loose and shimmering red in the green fire nearby. She looks as worn as he feels, dark circles framing those brown eyes, though they now seem more alive with the end of the War. Stopping in front of him so that he has to look up to her, Ginny seems extraordinarily tough in her stark, stoic look, but still interested in his presence in this era. It could have been predicted if he thought hard about it.
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