A Little Trip Through a Diary / TOMIONE (COMPLETE)

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Exit to Peace

"If you loved Lily Evans, if you truly loved her, then your way forward is clear."
Snape seemed to peer through a haze of pain, and Dumbledore's words appeared to take a long time to reach him.
"What – what do you mean?"
"You know how and why she died. Make sure it was not in vain."
_Deathly Hallows_

Something Hermione can entirely ignored in her time in 1943 was the observation of public holidays. The pancakes on Shrove Tuesday had come and gone unnoticed and Hallowe'en was a distant memory. However, it was extremely hard to ignore Christmas, especially when she had no-one to spend it with. The castle was empty with the exception of Tom, Abraxas, herself and three or four other students. 1943 was a harsh year. A girl had died. Grindelwald was growing in power. Nobody wanted to celebrate Christmas alone.

It was with a heavy heart that Hermione lay in bed on Christmas morning, and the day passed in a blur. Despite her wish for company, the longing never made her move any further than the abandoned common room.

More days passed and Hermione spent it in a depressed haze. Without Tom and Abraxas who she could never particularly have called friends, she was a girl lost in time. And she had no intention of joining Tom. Events had proved that. Perhaps she had thought, in a muddle, that she could change him, inspire in him a craving for benevolence and goodwill. But it wasn't to be. Tom Riddle was born without love. Love was certainly not the thing that would save him now.

These musings led Hermione to slip into the restricted areas of the school and ascend the Astronomy Tower. Beyond classes which she no longer attended, the area was out of bounds without the approval or presence of a teacher. However, the thrill of breaking a rule, albeit a minor one, re-energised her mind. Hermione thought hard for the first time in a while and assessed her situation. Dumbledore's enthusiasm and hope must have been instilled in her for she had never considered making friends in the past. Her only friend_ ally was dead and had been reinstated as a gloomy, downcast, whining ghost.

*

Hours later, well beyond curfew, she heard quiet footsteps climb the stairwell. Cautious, she took out her wand and Disillusioned herself. Chances were it was a suspicious professor. But, miracle of all miracles, it was Tom.
"There's no point hiding," he spoke, enunciating clearly over the slight howl of the wind. "I can see past concealment charms."
"Of course you can."

Hermione ditched the charm and stood opposite the Slytherin with her arms folded. She noted the Head Boy badge and grimaced. Even Dumbledore couldn't get his own way against a boy this charismatic. Not that he'd ever really tried the charisma on her. She guessed she was a special case, too clever for her own good.

"How's your status going?" She asked pleasantly, nodding at the badge. "Getting to your head a bit?"
He regarded her calmly.
"I haven't mentioned it once this year to you," remarked Tom. "That shows a great deal of restraint on my part."
"Well, no," Hermione replied. "You're used to hiding things, especially emotions."

Tom rolled his eyes.
"Not another reprimand. I've had this talk with Abraxas. He called me socially inept."
"He's not wrong," she pointed out fairly.
"Anyway," Tom cleared his throat, "Why are you here? This is usually my spot."

Hermione smiled but it didn't reach her eyes.
"I just had to see whether it lived up to expectations," she murmured, trailing a hand along the edge.
"You've been up here before," he accused. "It's not like you didn't go to school here before."
"It's different," defended Hermione. "It's not the same."

"That is the general definition of different, yes," Tom teased, but his tone was gentler somehow.
"Get back to Abraxas," she said annoyed. "It's New Year's Eve. Celebrate. I have unfinished business here."
"With a railing?" He smirked but it dropped as soon as it appeared.
Hermione was unnervingly close to the parapet.

"Hermione..." He said with a warning in his voice.
"I know," was her matter-of-fact response. "I think this has been a long time coming."
"You're not alone," Tom stated and the concern sounded extremely unusual coming from him.
"But I am!" Hermione exclaimed, her voice raw with emotion.

"Then leave!" He replied, changing tack. "There will be something for you out there."
Hermione turned back to face Tom.
"I left all my friends behind. My family. For a whole seventeen years of my life I had everything. Then I fell through a blasted diary. I didn't know the life change was permanent. I didn't know I would meet you and hate myself for getting involved in something I couldn't change.

"I know the rules of time travel. Don't speak to anyone. Don't try to change anything. But I thought about it, changing everything, and that makes me a horrible person all of a sudden."
"It really doesn't," Tom reassured her. "It's common to crave power, especially over someone else."

"A mutual human desire," Hermione agreed.
"So stay," Tom implored. "We can be together."
Hermione laughed bitterly.
"Together?"

She stood, clutching the railings with white-knuckled hands and cried out desperately.
"You've made an obvious choice, Tom. Abraxas and the Death Eaters over me. I have nothing left in this time worth living for. I don't want to rule with fear or tyranny. It was dominance and I or subjugation and him, Tom. And you proved that you need him. Perhaps even love him."

Tom was left speechless. He thought he was incapable of love.
"Hermione..." He began, but she stopped him.

"Tell him how you feel. He might even need the assurance more than I do. Tell him before it is too late for another of us. Farewell, Tom."

And, with that, Hermione threw herself from the railings and never felt herself touch the floor.

*****

A.N. So... this isn't the last chapter, whatever it may look like. Hermione makes a brave choice and the repercussions will follow in due course. 

For now, thank you so much for reading - and some of you for being here from the beginning (you know who you are :) ) and please comment like you lovely people normally do!