kcstories: Desperate Measure (Hermione/Tom, PG)
Title: Desperate Measure
Author: kcstories
Rating: PG
Prompt Set: 50.1
Prompt: picture
Word Count: 650
Summary: A second diary has been found and with not much left to lose, Hermione resorts to the unthinkable.
Warnings: Angst, vagueness, second person narrative. AU-ish.
Notes: The Potterverse is JKR's, not mine. Also, this is my first time posting to this community, so don't hesitate to poke me if I messed something up. ;)
As far as you know, most pictures of him as a student perished in that fire, and you find it rather hard to believe that the inferno was accidental, some kind of convenient coincidence, because wherever he went, assorted mishaps soon followed.
The photograph you're holding, the one you’re looking at right now, is one of the very few left. He must have been about sixteen - in his sixth, possibly seventh year when it was taken.
You're not quite sure what your plan will accomplish, if anything. And you're well aware that it's probably sheer foolishness to even attempt such a thing.
You've read his diary ten times now, from cover to cover, never skipping a single syllable.
You were surprised to discover that there was another one. It had been concealed remarkably well; hidden behind a wall in some secret passage deep down in the dungeons.
And that's probably the only reason it's still well-preserved now, while most of the once stately manor house has been reduced to nothing but ashes.
You never knew the grim details of his childhood, you never realized…
You wonder if his, and thus everyone’s fate, might have been different if someone had loved him, taught him that there's more to life than lineage and power struggles and...
Would it have made any difference, you can’t help but wonder? Or had he simply been born bad, the wizarding world's equivalent of a Muggle sociopath?
And then you bitterly remind yourself that love conquering all is the sort of thing that only fairy tales are made of. It couldn’t be further removed from reality, real life, and you, of all people, should know that by now. You're far too intelligent, entirely too sensible and not the type to romanticize anything. Not to mention that you’ve seen too much and lost too many.
So why are you even attempting this? Why do you want to bring him back, this shadow from the past?
And if the diary is indeed a horcrux (and you're not sure because you haven't seen Harry or Ron or Remus for months and there's no one else here you trust enough to discuss the matter with), then wouldn't it be better off destroyed?
Perhaps...
Nevertheless, you find yourself compelled to resort to this instead.
Or maybe it's simply he, who compels you; his brilliant mind, the way the young man in the diary thinks about things - really thinks about them, even if his end conclusions are rarely something you can agree with.
Maybe the insufferable know-it-all some said you were at school still lives within you somewhere, and she's just aching to prove him wrong, make him see some sense.
Assuming he'd even listen to the arguments of a Muggleborn, provided he’d as much as tolerate an opinion different from his own.
You have your doubts about that, but really, you can't be sure of anything anymore these days and so maybe it's worth a try anyway.
Besides, the truth of the matter is that you have nothing much left to lose.
So far, the war has taken many and it's bound to cost the lives of even more. And even if Harry wins, despite the incredible odds and after who knows how many more years of this, the world will never again be the way it was. It simply couldn’t. Some things have been damaged beyond repair.
A few people too...
Maybe Riddle can speed things up a little, put an end to all this, for better or for worse.
You convince yourself that it's a calculated risk. That it would be irresponsible not to try, to let this war rage on until both sides run out of soldiers, or Harry Potter is the first to fall.
You take a deep breath, you pick up your quill, and you write,
"Hello Tom Riddle.
My name is Hermione Granger."
Author: kcstories
Rating: PG
Prompt Set: 50.1
Prompt: picture
Word Count: 650
Summary: A second diary has been found and with not much left to lose, Hermione resorts to the unthinkable.
Warnings: Angst, vagueness, second person narrative. AU-ish.
Notes: The Potterverse is JKR's, not mine. Also, this is my first time posting to this community, so don't hesitate to poke me if I messed something up. ;)
As far as you know, most pictures of him as a student perished in that fire, and you find it rather hard to believe that the inferno was accidental, some kind of convenient coincidence, because wherever he went, assorted mishaps soon followed.
The photograph you're holding, the one you’re looking at right now, is one of the very few left. He must have been about sixteen - in his sixth, possibly seventh year when it was taken.
You're not quite sure what your plan will accomplish, if anything. And you're well aware that it's probably sheer foolishness to even attempt such a thing.
You've read his diary ten times now, from cover to cover, never skipping a single syllable.
You were surprised to discover that there was another one. It had been concealed remarkably well; hidden behind a wall in some secret passage deep down in the dungeons.
And that's probably the only reason it's still well-preserved now, while most of the once stately manor house has been reduced to nothing but ashes.
You never knew the grim details of his childhood, you never realized…
You wonder if his, and thus everyone’s fate, might have been different if someone had loved him, taught him that there's more to life than lineage and power struggles and...
Would it have made any difference, you can’t help but wonder? Or had he simply been born bad, the wizarding world's equivalent of a Muggle sociopath?
And then you bitterly remind yourself that love conquering all is the sort of thing that only fairy tales are made of. It couldn’t be further removed from reality, real life, and you, of all people, should know that by now. You're far too intelligent, entirely too sensible and not the type to romanticize anything. Not to mention that you’ve seen too much and lost too many.
So why are you even attempting this? Why do you want to bring him back, this shadow from the past?
And if the diary is indeed a horcrux (and you're not sure because you haven't seen Harry or Ron or Remus for months and there's no one else here you trust enough to discuss the matter with), then wouldn't it be better off destroyed?
Perhaps...
Nevertheless, you find yourself compelled to resort to this instead.
Or maybe it's simply he, who compels you; his brilliant mind, the way the young man in the diary thinks about things - really thinks about them, even if his end conclusions are rarely something you can agree with.
Maybe the insufferable know-it-all some said you were at school still lives within you somewhere, and she's just aching to prove him wrong, make him see some sense.
Assuming he'd even listen to the arguments of a Muggleborn, provided he’d as much as tolerate an opinion different from his own.
You have your doubts about that, but really, you can't be sure of anything anymore these days and so maybe it's worth a try anyway.
Besides, the truth of the matter is that you have nothing much left to lose.
So far, the war has taken many and it's bound to cost the lives of even more. And even if Harry wins, despite the incredible odds and after who knows how many more years of this, the world will never again be the way it was. It simply couldn’t. Some things have been damaged beyond repair.
A few people too...
Maybe Riddle can speed things up a little, put an end to all this, for better or for worse.
You convince yourself that it's a calculated risk. That it would be irresponsible not to try, to let this war rage on until both sides run out of soldiers, or Harry Potter is the first to fall.
You take a deep breath, you pick up your quill, and you write,
"Hello Tom Riddle.
My name is Hermione Granger."