Hermione's Riddle

December 26, 1945

"Wake up."

Hermione rolled over. Morning sunlight bled in through the curtains.

"Wake up."

That was strange, she thought she heard Tom's voice. A chuckle sounded from near her doorway. Hermione bolted upright in bed to find Tom standing near her door, an amused smirk plastered on his face.

She wanted to snark at him but couldn't bring herself to. This familiar sight had become unfamiliar to her these past two weeks. Her heart raced in anticipation as to what Tom standing in her room meant for their future. She really hoped it went to where she wanted it to. Hermione hadn't realized just how much she had missed Tom until this moment.

"Stop your gawking and get ready. Breakfast is waiting," with that, Tom left her room.

Hermione threw the covers off of her and quickly got dressed. She stopped in front of the mirror. Her mass of brown hair was in tangles and covered her face to the point where it was difficult to see. Using the spell that Tom had taught her for hair, she uttered the words underneath her breath. She watched in amazement as her hair untangled itself and the curls smooth out until they were beautiful ringlets. Satisfied, she went to meet Tom in the small common room.

Tom was sitting in the wingback chair that he favored. Laid out in front of him on the coffee table was a platter of eggs, bacon, a plate of toast and a bowl of fruit. Two mugs filled with orange juice sat beside empty plates. "You convinced the elves to let us have breakfast here?"

"Don't sound so shocked. You should have known I would have figured out how you entered the kitchens," smirked Tom.

His mood swings were starting to give Hermione whiplash but she was starting to believe that she liked him that way. Reading his moods had become easier and it was exhilarating to know that she could get such an array of emotions out of him. She licked her bottom lip in anticipation, eager to witness what other emotions she could rise out of him. His eyes flicked to her lips at the sudden motion. He crossed his legs before clearing his throat. "I heard some of your story. Now I'm ready to hear the rest-or at the very least, your first year of Hogwarts. I want you to leave nothing out."

Hermione shoveled a bite of eggs into her mouth as she thought over his words. "Wouldn't it be better if you used legilimency on me. I'm not thrilled at the idea of having someone poking around in my mind but it would make storytelling much easier. You also wouldn't have to worry about me lying to you."

Tom smiled at her words. "I had hoped you would suggest that but I want to hear you tell me about your first year."

Hermione wasn't going to try to argue with him so she began telling him her story-well, hers, Ron's, and Harry's. "I had first met Ron and Harry on the train to Hogwarts while I was helping Neville look for his pet toad, Trevor. During the sorting, I was placed into Gryffindor-don't roll your eyes. There is nothing wrong with being in Gryffindor. Anyways, I was mainly focused on my schoolwork and didn't really make a lot of friends. It also didn't help to have a rat like Malfoy around, always trying to stir up trouble."

Tom sat up straight in his seat. "Malfoy? Abraxas' son?"

Hermione shook her head. "Grandson. I'm not sure what happened but Abraxas's son and grandson turned out to be horrid people. They're rats who despise muggles and mudbloods alike. They believe in pureblood supremacy. So, with Malfoy always stirring up trouble, it led to getting Harry onto the Gryffindor quidditch team as the seeker. Later in the school year, a troll was released. It had trapped me in the girl's restroom and I was lucky that Harry and Ron had come to save me. That was when we began to suspect professor Snape. Turns out, it was a professor but we had suspected the wrong one. When it came for Harry's first game, his broom began to act out. It was under a spell. I thought it was professor Snape and set his robes on fire. Oh, how I was wrong but it still saved Harry and even got us the golden snitch." Hermione laughed as the memory of Harry spitting out the snitch played in her mind.