Ginny Weasley was the youngest child in the family.
From a distance, she gazed at Hermione with pure adoration.
Ginny would never forget that scene from four months ago in Diagon Alley. Hermione had entered Gilderoy Lockhart's dueling competition.
Ginny had seen it with her own eyes!
Hermione, wielding her wand with absolute precision, had completely crushed every other wizard and taken first place.
It was so incredibly cool!
It was the very first time Ginny had realized a witch who hadn't even started school yet could be that powerful.
Suddenly, Hermione turned her head.
Ginny panicked and ducked behind a corner. Only after making sure she hadn't been spotted did she pat her chest and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Ginny, come down for dinner!"
"Coming!" Ginny hurriedly yelled back. She rushed downstairs, keeping her head down, completely refusing to look at Hermione sitting by the fireplace.
After scarfing down her food in record time, Ginny sprinted right back upstairs without saying a single word.
"Why is Ginny acting so weird today?" Ron scratched his head, turning to Hermione. "Before you got here, she was incredibly excited. She really wanted to be friends with you, but I have no idea why she's acting like this..."
"Hermione, maybe you could go up and check on her?"
"Sure."
Hermione didn't exactly want to just sit there awkwardly anyway.
It wasn't that she disliked Ron's parents. There was just a massive generational gap. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley only ever asked her how school was going, how her grades were, how she got along with the professors, and if she had any questions about magic...
Hermione felt like if she actually told them the truth, it would put a mountain of pressure on Ron and the others. Best to just avoid it.
Walking upstairs, she found a small sign hanging on the door at the end of the hall. It had a lovely name painted on it.
Ginny.
Hermione raised a hand and knocked. "Ginny? Are you in there?"
A chaotic clattering echoed from inside the room. Ginny frantically scrambled around, bumping her leg hard against the desk. She hissed in pain but still managed to sprint over and pull the door open.
Ginny was tiny—like, genuinely tiny. She was half a head shorter than Hermione.
She was a bit skinny, but that didn't take away from her incredibly pretty face.
Hermione had rarely seen a kid that pretty.
The fiery red hair didn't look out of place on her at all; it was as if the color was made specifically for her.
"I heard a loud bang," Hermione asked gently. "Are you okay?"
"Just bumped my foot. It's nothing," Ginny muttered, looking down. "Hermione, please come in. My room might be a bit messy, so... please don't mind it."
Stepping into the room, Hermione immediately caught a faint, fresh scent.
It was the natural, pleasant scent of Ginny herself.
And the room wasn't messy at all. In fact, it was immaculately tidy.
At the very least, it was miles cleaner than Hermione's own room.
Compared to Hermione's absolute pigsty, Ginny's room was practically perfect.
Seeing this made Hermione feel a little embarrassed. She coughed softly, quickly changing the subject. "Let me see the foot you bumped."
Ginny's feet were very small. When she slipped off her white sock, her toes were visibly red and irritated.
"That looks a bit serious." Hermione muttered a silent incantation, and a soft green light enveloped Ginny's toes.
"Wordless casting? And wandless?!" Ginny gasped in awe. "Oh my god, Hermione, exactly how powerful is your magic?!"
Even her older brothers couldn't pull off something like that.
Plus, Hermione looked so incredibly practiced. You couldn't do that without casting the spell hundreds of times.
"It's not that big of a deal, honestly. I'm nowhere near the best."
There was a much bigger monster out there named Tom Riddle.
That guy's talent was the true definition of terrifying.
Not only did he have an absurd, broken level of natural talent, but he also worked himself to the bone practicing.
"There's someone better than you?" Ginny asked, eyes wide. "Is it Harry Potter?"
Ginny had two ultimate idols in the wizarding world.
One was Hermione, sitting right in front of her. The other was Harry Potter.
Ever since she was a little girl, Ginny had worshipped Harry. He was the Boy Who Lived—the legend who even the Dark Lord, Voldemort, couldn't defeat.
"Harry..." Hermione coughed softly at the mention of the name.
"Is Harry not that strong at school? But in the future, Harry will definitely be the one to defeat the dark wizards, right?"
Hermione just gave a noncommittal "Mhm," neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
"Actually, I've met the Dark Lord. Just like the legends say, he has a terrifying face. The first time I saw him, I felt fear down to my very bones."
Hermione continued speaking as she gently massaged Ginny's foot. "That day, I honestly thought I was going to die. He really is terrifying, and he uses an incredibly lethal curse."
"And then Harry showed up and saved you?!" Ginny asked, practically buzzing with anticipation.
In Ginny's mind, wherever Voldemort appeared, Harry Potter was guaranteed to follow.
He was like a knight in shining armor on a white horse, appearing wherever he was needed. As long as someone was in danger, Harry would arrive!
"No," Hermione said, really not wanting to crush Ginny's dreams. "The person who saved me that day was a bastard named Tom Riddle."
"You probably don't know him now, but once you get to Hogwarts, you will absolutely hear his name."
When it came to sheer fame among the students, Tom was unmatched.
"Tom Riddle?" Ginny muttered the name a few times.
She definitely hadn't heard of him.
"What kind of person is Riddle?" Ginny's curiosity was piqued.
"A bastard. An absolute, utter bastard. If you ever run into Tom, do not speak to him. Not even a single word. The second you see him, turn around and walk the other way."
"He... I don't even know how to describe him, but in my book, he ranks lower than a sewer toad!"
Hermione gritted her teeth, her voice dripping with venom, leaving Ginny entirely unsure of how to respond.
Ginny really wanted to ask her one simple question.
If you hate Riddle so much, then...
Why do you call him by his first name?
Despite her internal monologue, Ginny simply nodded. "Okay. Got it."
"Let me tell you, Tom is completely fake. He acts like he's best friends with every professor, but listen to this! He has a completely different persona for each of them!"
"For example, when he's with Professor Sprout—"
It was as if a switch had been flipped. Hermione started rattling off a high-speed rant.
Ginny just sat there, listening.
Ten minutes passed. Twenty minutes. Half an hour...
An entire hour went by!
Ginny mentally reached a firm conclusion.
It was incredibly obvious: Hermione really liked this guy named Tom.
Otherwise, how could she possibly rant about him for an entire hour without repeating a single point?
"Hermione," Ginny finally couldn't hold back anymore, interrupting the endless Tom monologue. "What's your dream once you become a fully trained witch?"
"My dream? Oh, I have one. I want to become an incredibly powerful witch. And then... I'm going to completely surpass Tom! And beat the crap out of him!"