#180 in Fanfiction || #1 in Hermione ||
In the language of literature, there exists a seemingly-concrete, antonymous relationship between good and evil, light and dark, hero and monster. And yet, we often disregard the transition from one to anothe...
Hermione Granger is surprised by a paradox in itself: that few people have recognized Tom Riddle, yet so many have. Of course, she could see Ollivander's remembrance of the boy, the wandmaker being especially sharp with names and faces, but Griphook acted as more of a surprise. And now, Aberforth has recognized the existence of Tom Riddle within this era. She cannot remember an instance where this Dumbledore would have seen the human-looking Dark Lord, but Hermione does not know Aberforth's life story.
And yet, this is not the moment to make another spectacle of Tom's duplicated existence in the 1990s, having a horcrux to find and school to enter. And thus, she finds her voice within the warm confines of the Hog's Head, stating "This is not about Tom. This is about stopping You-Know-Who."
Which is, of course, the stark truth of the matter, if details are dwindled down to mundane fact. But Harry's never been one for factual material, so stuffed with emotional baggage left to him by his dead family. He looks completely conflicted by Aberforth's verbal attack against himself and Dumbledore, if not Tom Riddle. But the first and last are of little matter, for this is not a war of the living, but the dead. They seek vengeance as much as they seek righteousness, for in some ways, the revenge is right.
Albus Dumbledore--even without Harry knowing all that he does now--was an enigma of convoluted secrets through the bespectacled eyes of the Boy Who Lived. Nonetheless, he trusted the man completely and fully, to save them all and do what was right. And though much has changed through reading--as knowledge often prompts--Harry cannot forgo that relationship still strung along by responsibility and legacy.
"I trusted him because I need to," Harry uneasily responds, his green eyes gleaming solidly against the darker Dumbledore. "Because if I don't, I don't know who I am anymore. I've lost too many people to lie down now. I'm not interested in what happened between you and your brother, I don't even care that you've given up. I trust the man I knew. I'm going to see this through...I need to get into the Castle tonight."
If nothing else, Tom Riddle appreciates Harry Potter for his convictions, almost like himself. Sure, the boy is swamped with Gryffindor characteristics of brazen idiocracy and stubborn pride, but so is Hermione to some extent. Likeness only extends so far, but Harry is not one to fit within the lines of 'likes.' He is fighting for what is right for the Wizarding World, not for himself because surely then he'd have given up. And as little as that touches Tom's heart--to be so righteous--the conviction and warrior within Harry Potter is admirable.
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Almost waiting for a firestorm, Hermione, Ron, and Tom exchange a worried glance towards Aberforth, his stormy blue eyes in an upheaval of betrayal and darkness. Many would cower under the look he sends Harry, and yet, Tom is certain in the Boy Who Lived's strength.
Those blue eyes that give the Golden Trio mourning pains and set Tom's stomach quivering shift from the green eyes of the boy savior, to his little sister who is truly that little. Softly and with a kindness he lacks with the remainder of them, Aberforth grants Harry's request: "You know what to do..."
