New Colors of Life

This is the longest chappy I have written. As you can guess, this is not betaed yet, so blame me for any mistakes you may/will find. This chapter shows some things from Hermione's past, so that Hermione would not be too OOC in this story. And also, please pay attention to some words/ phrases that are written in italics.

P.S Tom Riddle has always been, is,and will be a BASTARD. He will not change and he will definately NOT be a fluffy Light Lord. He IS a monster. A handsome one, but still a heartless monster. It's too late for him to change.

Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 9.

The ancient castle was quiet when the first rays of light touched its magnificent walls. Sunshine was dancing from tower to tower, illuminating dark corridors and spacious halls.

Hogwarts was waking up.

Hermione had woken up ten minutes before the alarm clock went off, taking her time to get up. Yesterday she decided that it was time to start a new life, to get over the pain and disappointment of the past, or future, depending from whose point of view you would look at it. There were many obstacles on her way, but nothing drastic. She could and she would deal with everything, Hermione vowed to herself. No one could force her to return back because no one simply knew that she was from the future.

Playing with time was a dangerous thing to do, Hermione was well aware of that, having some experience in her 3rd year, but her current situation was different. It was not a time-turner that brought her here; to be honest Hermione still had no idea what had happened that day. She would find out eventually .She could deal with her sorrow and pain, she was a strong person, decided Hermione getting up.

A new day has begun and it was time to prove to herself and everybody else what she was worth. She was alone, no one to take care of, and no one to take care of her: no parents , no friends. It was very sad and her heart still hurt thinking about it, but at the same time, she understood one other thing – she was alone, what meant that she had no on to worry about, no one to occupy her time, no one to disturb her from learning, from spending all of her time with the only true friends she ever had- books.

Hermione always had trouble befriending other people.

When she was younger, just before starting Hogwarts, Hermione had no friends at all.

In primary school she was an outcast. Other children would always make fun of her personality, her hair, her teeth; tease her because she simply loved to study. Children were cruel to her by all means. She knew she was no beauty-princess, but she was not a troll either. That’s when Hermione learned her first lesson- do not judge by appearances.

There was one girl though, that was fairly nice to Hermione, she would even sit with her during the lessons. Hermione used to help her with tasks and homework , she thought she had a first real friend. How sadly she was mistaken. Amanda, she remembered the said girl’s name, after getting “Excellent” for her year’s final test (which was written by Hermione), embarrassed her in front of the whole school body. At first, Hermione did not understand what she had done wrong to anger Amanda, but later she understood the whole thing- she was simply used. And then thrown away, betrayed and embarrassed . Even being so young, she learned her second lesson. Trust no one.

Then, when Hermione started her first year at Hogwarts, she did not really believe that she would make any friends. She could clearly remember the arrogant Draco Malfoy looking down at her, she remembered all those pureblood children who thought themselves so perfect that it was disgusting. And then, she remembered how nasty Ron Weasley was to her at first, making her cry. Yes, she loved to learn and loved to be the first in her classes, but most of all, she wanted to prove that she really belonged to that world. That she was worth being a witch.

No one seemed to understand that. For some time she thought that Harry would understand her, since Harry was also muggle-raised, but later Hermione understood another thing- Harry Potter was Harry Potter and she was not. When Harry got praised simply because he was The-Boy-Who-Lived and because he had his mother’s eyes, Hermione had to work hard to achieve something. Towards her last year, Hermione realized that she was the only muggle-born in Hogwarts who gave her best to earn her place. Others were comfortable being common.

Yes, that’s the word Hermione hated- common. Common people, standard, the same- she hated being like everybody else. She was an individual and wanted to be taken as one. Not like a stupid little mudblood. Knowledge was everything , was her lesson number three.

Hermione put on her new school robes, green, she thought again, gathered her books for today’s lessons and picked up the schedule that Riddle had left yesterday.

Thinking about the Head Boy she groaned. A whole year with Riddle nearby. What a joy!

Riddle or no Riddle, Hermione was positive to continue her education.

The only thing that mattered now, thought Hermione bitterly.

Still, she felt uneasy with yesterday’s events. To only think that she had almost slept with this monster made her ill. Sure, no one could deny that Tom Riddle was a very handsome young man, but she knew better than to judge by appearances. He was a sick, perverted, psychopathic manipulator who had no conscious or morals what so ever.

The only option Hermione had, she decided, was to not to get in his way. That’s it. She was not going to fight with him, she was not going to hunt his Horcruxes down and destroy them, nor was she going to go anywhere near him.

One cannot change the future, thought Hermione while trying to comb her hair. He would still become the Dark Lord no matter what; the only way for him to stop would be to kill him. Even though Hermione was not sure anymore that she was completely sane, but she definitely was not stupid. She was no Harry Potter, who would sacrifice his own life for the greater good, nor was she Dumbledore. Let it be Dumbledore’s concern how to destroy Tom Riddle, mused Hermione. The bastard already had at least two horcruxes, so she was not going to interfere.

Yesterday Hermione made up her mind- after graduating Hogwarts, she would move to Germany or maybe the States. Anywhere is good, as long as Riddle’s not there.

She was almost ready when she heard a knock. ‘Weird’ , thought Hermione while opening the door.

“I see that you’re ready, Escada. Good. Come, I’ll show you the way to the Great Hall where breakfast is served.” Calm, steady voice belonged to no other than the Head Boy himself.

“Good morning to you too, Riddle.” She would stick by her decision. There was no need to have a very angry and crazy Dark Lord breathing down your neck.

A perfectly shaped eyebrow was the only sign that Riddle was surprised.

“Yes, good indeed. Shall we?” asked the Hear Boy elegantly half-bowing to her while motioning with his hand towards the way to the Great Hall. Of course, the bastard could not do anything without mocking.

Holding her mouth shut, Hermione stepped out of the room, closed her door and went with the Head Boy to have breakfast.

They walked in silence.

Students were already filling the corridors like ants. Riddle was quiet, he had not said any nasty thing to her yet, but he was up to something. That she was sure of.

And having a plotting crazy sadist was not something Hermione counted on. She thought that maybe Riddle would just harass her, or something, but she should have known better- even though he was a psycho, he was an intelligent one. She hated to admit it, but he was brilliant, after all she had seen his school files, plus she knew the depths of magic Voldemort was into.

All in all, she could have lived with it. However, it seemed that her plan not to annoy him would be as successful as Luna Lovegood becoming normal. He did not do anything to her today, but his mere presence was making her shake with different emotions.

Mind you, that Hermione was not a very emotional person, she was more rational and logical, but that man was driving her nuts. He annoyed her beyond reason; all she wanted to do was to jump on him and tear his hair out, scratch his face…Bastard. He would pay for annoying her.

No one messed with Hermione and got away with no consequences.

“I did not know you work as a concierge as well. I thought that being a bell-boy was your only occupation, Mr.Riddle.” Politely inquired Hermione Escada.

What Hermione did not know was that the Dark Lord Jr. was having the same thoughts. It’s just that he could not decide what to do first- suffocate, hit, curse her. He wanted to rip her rat’s nest with his hands or teeth, he was beyond reason as well. He was going nuts, Tom decided. And it was all her fault.

And then he heard her annoying voice asking him, no, telling him that she thought he was a bloody bell-boy as well a fucking concierge. ‘Bitch’, , he thought.

“Have no worries, Ms. Escada. I am not a threat to your position. No one would do better at this, that you.” Polite, charming, smiling. That meant no good for Hermione and she got the message, but could not stop herself from still asking that question.

“What position are you talking about?” asked Hermione already guessing what kind of shit can fly from Riddle’s mouth.

“Why, Hogwarts’ newest besom, of course. By the way, may I ask if that ”, said Riddle pointing at her hair, “was intentional or an accident”.

‘I will kill you, Riddle’ . The hair issue was one of those things that was not be to touched.

She was about to open her mouth to retort, but somebody pushed her from behind.

For unknown reasons again, Riddle caught her as she was about to fall down.

The embrace lasted a second before both Tom and Hermione jumped apart, staring at each other.

“Oops, sorry,” said the pusher. Hermione turned to have a look and found herself staring at Ron Weasley.

“Ron?” asked shocked to the core Escada.

“E, no sorry. I am not Ron. I am William. William Weasley.” Introduced himself the “Ron” boy.

‘Ron’s relative. Must be his grandfather, because they do look so alike,’ thought Hermione before she heard Riddle’s annoying voice.

“Ten points from Gryffindor, Weasley. Do look where you’re going”. Oh, right, he was the Head Boy. Hermione was about to say that ten points was too much and defend Gryffindor when she remembered she was actually in Slytherin this time. Bugger.

In order not to make a fool of herself, Hermione decided to go inside the Great Hall and then headed towards the Gryffindor table when a firm hand caught her elbow.

“I know that you’re a retard, Escada, but I did not know you were color-blind as well.” With that Tom shoved her towards the Slytherin table.

“Please do take a seat, Ms. Escada,” drawled his annoying voice.

Fuming, Hermione sat down at the bench looking around the hall. Of course , Riddle had to sit straight opposite her, so that she lost her appetite.

Other Slytherins remained quiet, which was odd for Hermione. But, she guessed, this was a different time when every Slytherin was under Riddle’s thumb. Since the Head Boy began to eat without introducing the newcomer, other followed his example.

Hermione decided that Riddle was not worth malnourishment and put some bacon, eggs and toast onto her plate. She could see Walburga Black sitting beside Tom, looking like a lost puppy.

‘Must be Bellatrix’s mother or aunt. It must be a family trait- happily licking Dark Lord’s boots.’

On Tom’s left side was seated a Malfoy, that she was sure of, because a Malfoy and a Weasley are always recognizable.

Hermione tried not to look at Tom, who sometimes would throw her some weird glances, and started thinking about the next class- Charms.

It had to be that same moment for it to return.

“Ohhhhh”

Startled, Hermione looked at Riddle. Did he just moan ?

Hearing nothing else, Hermione resumed her eating. ‘Weird’ .

She did not notice Tom looking at her strangely since her eyes were on her plate. Hermione was trying really hard to act like a normal student.

“Oh, yessssss, it’s time to lick my favorite dessert”.

This time however, everybody near Hermione noticed her completely shocked eyes looking at Riddle.

“What?” snapped the Head Boy. That girl was weird at least. What now?

“Are you completely out of your mind, Riddle? Please refrain from commenting on your eating habits. What do you want to lick anyway? And stop moaning, you disturb me.” Deadpanned Ms.Escada.

Malfoy chocked on his toast and started coughing while the rest of the table looked at Hermione as if she was already dead.

“We’ll talk later, Escada.” Hissed angry Riddle. Slytherins shivered knowing what “talking” meant in Head Boy’s interpretation. Some even felt sorry for the girl.

Somehow Hermione managed to go through the breakfast with any other surprises and now was looking at the Charm’s teacher. Of course, Professor Flitwick.

The lesson was not that interesting, seeing that Hermione already knew the topic. The Professor, however, was so happy that it seemed as if he was going to explode. Now Flitwick had two favorite students and one of those students was not very happy about it.

Riddle became suspicious of Hermione during the Charms. Well, he was suspicious before, but it was different. Before, he knew she was crazy, bitchy and weird. Now he knew she was smart as well.

‘Interesting. Very interesting,’ thought Tom seating himself in a Potion’s class. He was bored, but for some unknown reason he hoped that Escada would not disappoint him. It seemed that she was becoming a very interesting challenge.

His future “challenge” walked calmly into the class. It seemed she was at ease at Hogwarts, what was weird. It felt as if she knew the castle, but that was impossible.

Tom smirked when he saw what troubled Escada. There were no seats left on the Slytherin side and she would not dare sitting with Gryffindors, he was sure of that.

Seeing that the only free place was near Riddle, Hermione sighed and walked towards him.

“May I?” politely asked Hermione while throwing daggers at Tom with her glare.

“Oh, yes, please,” sweetly drawled the Head Boy who was more amused than he could remember.

Hermione took her seat, shifting as far as possible from her neighbor.

Professor Slughorn was already in the class and he was beaming at Hermione

“Oh, hello, my dear. You must be miss Escada, correct?”, Slughorn was as fat and sluggy as she remembered.

“Yes, sir, I am”.

“Wonderful, wonderful. You must be related to Corelius Escada. Wonderful potions master he was!” inquired Slughorn while greeting her,

“Yes sir, I am.” Carefully replied Hermione after hearing that the said potion’s master had apparently passed away.

“My dear, since you are new here, I think it would be a great experience for you to sit with my best student, our Head Boy. I am sure you and Tom will get along wonderfully”, said Slughorn as he beamed at Hermione who was sitting next to Tom Riddle.

‘ Wonderfully indeed’ , thought both Tom and Hermione and sent each other hateful glances.

“Now, since everybody is seated, we will start with today’s lesson. You all are the 7th years and soon will finish your last year. Today, we will be brewing something, that may help you in the future,” said Slughorn and winked at Tom. Hermione, being seated near the Head Boy, almost threw up, when she saw his charming smile directed at Professor.

“Asslicker,” murmured a very annoyed Hermione. She really did not understand why, but Riddle’s every move, every word and even every breath was driving her nuts.

Besides having a sharp brain, magnificent magical powers and a shitty personality, Tom Riddle also had a very good hearing.

And maaaan, he wanted nothing more in the world than to slowly kill the little menace, even if he had to go to Azkaban for life. He just could not stand her. Everything about her pissed him off.

Just about when Tom finally decided to suffocate Escada, hell with Azkaban, Slughorn interrupted.

“Today we will be brewing a potion called “Verus alius geminus” . Could anybody tell me what for can this very difficult potion be used for?

Everybody was already used that the only person who knew everything was Tom Riddle.

That was until Hermione Escada’s hand shot up in the air.

“Ahh, miss Escada, please tell us how this potion could be used?

Riddle was arrogantly smirking at Hermione, thinking that this time there is no way for her to know the answer. It was an Advanced Potions serum and information was hard to find.

Hermione wanted to hit him hard. Really hard. How dare he! He was in for a surprise. Again.

“ Verus alius geminus is Latin for True Other Half or Twin, which is a potion to reveal soulmates.The person who drinks the potion should spill 4 drops of his/her blood on the 3rd day of a new moon and then swallow the potion. After that the drinker is supposed to take a quill and a parchment and the hand of the drinker will write down the name of the soulmate if one exists. If the drinker has no soulmate, then the parchment will burn away.Besides that, only true names will be revealed, meaning that a name given by birth will appear on the parchment.

There are also three colors of ink to appear.If the soulmates are to be good for each other and live in peace and harmony, then the ink will turn red.If the soulmates are to be passionate and tender with each other, the ink will turn green.

However, the rarest thing is for the ink to turn several colors, also known as Colors of Life . This means that those two people are destined to experience passion, hate, anger, lust, possessiveness, jealousy and all kind of different emotions beyond imagination toward each other. However, love is not one of them. Love can be learned and earned, so the potion has no say in it. This kind of bond can be seen once in a thousand years. The paths of those two will always be crossed, for one can not be whole with another.”

When Hermione finished her speech, the class fell silent. Slughorn was looking as if Christmas came earlier and the rest of the class was speechless. Hermione turned to look at Tom Riddle for reasons unknown to her and found him looking weirdly at her. There was some disturbing emotion in those cruel blue eyes that Hermione just could not describe, but it made her shiver.

Riddle was staring at Hermione and thinking :

‘ A challenge indeed’.