TOM

I arrived in the Headmaster's office, exactly as I had hoped. I didn't know who the current Headmaster was, but hopefully they would be here soon.

A few moments later, a severe-looking woman strode through the door. Presumably she was the Headmistress, but I'd never heard of Hogwarts having a Headmistress before.

"And who in Merlin's name are you?"

I had to think quickly. Trying to remember my cover story, I replied, "My name is Tom, uh, Aurum, professor. I just transferred here from Durmstrang."

She frowned. "I wasn't informed that any 'Tom Aurum' would be coming."

"Well, uh, I guess the papers must have been misplaced on the way here."

The Headmistress nodded, though she didn't look completely at ease. "I guess. Well, you had better be Sorted. Oh, by the way, my name is Headmistress McGonagall, the Headmistress of Hogwarts."

I nodded politely, and then the familiar Sorting Hat was placed onto my head. It immediately began musing as it poked around inside my head.

"Ah, oh yes, I've been in here before. But things have changed, I see... I suspect that Hufflepuff would not suit you well at all.

'Your intelligence suggests Ravenclaw, yet I sense your personality doesn't quite fit there either. Oh, I remember...I Sorted you into Slytherin last time, but you are not here to be great anymore... No, you are here for love. Therefore, I think the best place for you is – GRYFFINDOR!"

I sat in the chair stunned into silence for a moment.

I was a Gryffindor?

This made no sense...I didn't understand. All my life, I had acted purely out of Slytherin instinct. And yet, something the Sorting Hat had said made sense – I had come here for love.

More specifically, I had come for Hermione Argentum, and she would surely be in Slytherin here too, as she had been in my Hogwarts.

How was I to get to her now?

After I'd changed into some Gryffindor robes that McGonagall had produced for me, she led me up a staircase until we stood outside a portrait that I recognised as the Fat Lady. The Headmistress said clearly, "Doubter of gold," and the portrait swung forward to reveal a room which was very obviously the Gryffindor Common Room.

Scarlet and gold banners lined the walls, as well as a noticeboard with "QUIDDITCH NEWS" written on it. A clock on the wall announced the time to be 9:30 pm, and I saw a calendar on the wall which stated the date to be the first of September – school had only begun today, as I had suspected.

McGonagall coughed loudly, and a couple of older boys looked up. "I'd like to introduce you all to Tom Aurum. He's just transferred to Hogwarts from Durmstrang. Tom, since you'll obviously need someone to answer your questions, you can talk to our Gryffindor Head Girl and Girl Head of Prefects. I think our Head Girl has gone to her dormitory already –" a brown-haired girl nodded "– but our Girl Head of Prefects isn't."

"Head of Prefects?" I asked in confusion. This wasn't a position when I'd been Head Boy back home.

Professor McGonagall explained, "They take care of the students from years 5 to 7, and especially the Prefects. We instated the position this year, for the students who repeated their seventh years. You know, after Voldemort was defeated and all."

I frowned. "Of course."

Voldemort.

That was what I called myself – I had planned to erase all Muggle-born wizards and witches from the face of the earth.

It looked like I'd nearly succeeded.

"So," McGonagall continued, "the Girl Head of Prefects is Hermione Granger – Hermione, come over here."

Hermione...?

A bushy-haired girl on the other side of the room had her face buried in a book, but now she looked up and my heart stopped beating for a second.

Hermione Argentum was here, in Gryffindor House, she was here in Hogwarts, she was here.

With me.

Hermione nodded at me, though her eyes were wide with shock. "Nice to meet, you, Tom."

When McGonagall had left, everyone returned to their usual activities. Hermione glared at me. "Tom, what do you think you're doing here?"

I held her gaze calmly. "I came here to find you. What are you doing in Gryffindor, anyway?"

"I could ask you the same question," she retorted sharply. Then her face softened. "I was Sorted into Gryffindor when I was a first-year. When I went to your –" she glanced around and lowered her voice "– your Hogwarts, and got Sorted into Slytherin, it was as much of a surprise for me as you being Sorted into Gryffindor presumably was for you."

I nodded, frowning. "Strange, the way fate seems to bring us together."

Hermione's expression became pained. "Look, Tom, we can't just date again like we did before. I've got a boyfriend. And besides, how would it look if the new guy started going out with the smartest girl in school who happened to be Head of Prefect and a member of the Golden Trio? I'll answer that for you – it wouldn't look good."

Only one sentence registered in my tired mind. "You've got a boyfriend? Where? Who?" I turned around, frantically scanning the room.

Hermione shook her head and rolled her eyes simultaneously. "Ron's not here. He works at the Ministry of Magic, you can't go kill him."

"You're seeing an adult?" I asked in confusion. Whoever this Ron was, I wanted to meet him.

She looked at me like I was stupid. (Stupid is not usually a word one would associate with Tom Riddle.) "I'm going to be nineteen on the 17th, Tom."

How was this possible? I was a seventh-year, and I was only 17. I figured that what McGonagall had mentioned about students repeating their seventh years applied to Hermione.

Things here were very different to how I had expected.