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Somewhere in Time	By : serpentinred Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Hermione/Voldemort Views: 64471 -:- Recommendations : 6 -:- Currently Reading : 8
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and I don't make any money from these writings.

Chapter List
- 9
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Chapter 10

To Hermione and Harry's relief, Ginny's health seemed to be steadily improving. Madam Pomfrey had assured them that she would not have to be sent to St. Mungo's if conditions continued the way they were.

Tom was still as polite as ever, but strangely enough, it was merely limited to a nod of acknowledgement or a friendly "Hello" in passing. It seemed as though he had lost interest in them—or so Hermione and Harry had hoped until Harry caught him sending a dark look their way one day. They quickly realized that he was probably trying to lure them into a false sense of security, though the reason was a mystery to them. For this reason, they started being much more cautious around Tom, wary of what they might unconsciously reveal to him.

For once in her life, Hermione felt irritated about her intelligence. Because she had more classes, it meant that she had to face Tom more than Harry. All would have been well if she could have ignored him, but it was quite hard to pretend he was not there when he answered more than half of the questions in class.

Potions class unofficially turned into a battleground between the lioness and the serpent. Due to the attack on Ginny, all of Hermione's civility towards Tom had been placed under a Full Body Bind and Banished to some unknown land.

Personally, Harry felt that she was simply trying to release her anger somewhere, since it was unwise for them to hex Riddle. With that in mind, it was hard for him not to worry about what might happen in the future.

Hermione's future.

In contrast, Slughorn was delighted to see the outbursts between Hermione and Tom. He would look at the match between the two of them with glowing eyes and hands rubbing together, almost as if he was watching the Quidditch World Cup.

"Fairy tears should not be used in memory potions! The outcome would cause the drinker to have side effects!" Hermione argued.

"The question is not whether it would have side effects or not. The matter at hand is the fact that fairy tears can make highly efficient potions that can reverse the effects of the strongest Memory-modifying Charms," Tom replied, his eyes narrowed.

"It is a matter of morality. Fairy tears are known to cause permanent loss of certain senses to the body. The Ministry can't just pass a law because itmight help them in obtaining information from prisoners," the witch said.

Her cheeks were slightly flushed and she was sitting near the edge of her chair, her concentration completely on Tom, who was sitting five tables away from her.

"If it could be used to obtain useful information, then I don't see why not," Tom shrugged nonchalantly as he leaned back into the chair he was sitting in.

"That … that's a total disregard for people!" Hermione cried, outraged.

"Wizards and witches who Obliviate themselves are most likely people who want to conceal their secrets," Tom said. His voice was soft, but oddly, everyone in the room could hear his words clearly. "Secrets, that they do not want people to know."

He stared at the two time travelers so pointedly that Harry felt as if he had just been doused by a bucketful of ice cold water. Hermione, on the other hand, seemed to be completely unaffected by that look.

"That's outrageous! They could've been Obliviated by someone else. It could've been an accident. Why should they be force fed harmful potions if there's a possibility that they might be innocent?" she asked. "If the Ministry passes the law, there's bound to be people who would use fairy tears for their own immoral uses."

Tom opened his mouth, presumably to argue back, but was cut off by Slughorn, who clapped his hands together. Tom threw one more glance at them before settling his eyes on Slughorn.

"Wonderful points, Tom, Hermione," Slughorn complimented. "However, class did end ten minutes ago, so shall we finish this debate some other time? Good! Now, don't leave yet, children! For homework tomorrow..."

"You're going to get yourself murdered, Hermione," Harry muttered under his breath.

"It's only a classroom debate. I don't see why he would possibly murder me for something as minuscule as this," she huffed, packing up her stuff.

"Did you actually see how he was looking at us?" Harry hissed.

"Of course, but we knew that he wanted to know what we're hiding from him," she replied, swinging her bag over her shoulders and walking out of the classroom with Harry right behind her. "He's known for killing people who stood in his way towards world domination, not people who debated with him about fairy tears, Harry."

Harry opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again, furrowing his eyebrows in frustration as they walked towards the hospital wing.

Before she opened the door to the Infirmary, she sighed and gave Harry a small smile.

"Don't worry, Harry. We're in this together and we're going to get through this together. We won't let this happen to Ginny or any one of us again. It's notgoing to happen again."

He returned her smile and nodded firmly.

"Right, then," he vowed. "No one else is going to get hurt."

After a short visit to Ginny, they went down to the Great Hall for dinner.

"Hello," Gareth and Joseph greeted them as they sat down at the Gryffindor table.

"Hi," the two of them chorused.

"How's Ginny doing?" Joseph asked as he spooned some mash potatoes into his dish.

"She seems to be improving," Hermione replied with a sigh.

"I really wonder who would do something like that to Ginny," Gareth commented, shaking his head slightly. "I wonder who would do that to anyone."

"I'm not really surprised, Gareth. Remember what happened to Myrtle?" Joseph questioned. "We never knew how she died."

Harry and Hermione's ears perked up at the mention of someone they knew.

"Didn't they say that it was Hagrid already? If it wasn't him, why would they expel him?"

"I told you. I knew him well enough. And it was Riddle's words against his. Who would've believed Hagrid?" Joseph pointed out.

"That's exactly the point!" Gareth exclaimed.

"No, that's not the point, Gareth. Hagrid might be a bit clumsy and have a … er … strange affection for terrifying creatures—"

Harry snorted which earned glances from the two young men

"—but he's not the type of person who would send monsters after students, let alone Muggle-borns. Did you notice how Professor Dumbledore kept an eye on Riddle even more after Myrtle's death? I personally believe," Joseph looked around before he continued in a whisper, "that Riddle was the one who was responsible for her death. I would bet my hat that Hagrid had nothing to do with it. He hardly even knew the girl."

Hermione and Harry shared a look with one another, quite surprised but relieved that there were people who did not buy into Tom's pretense.

"That's … quite true." Gareth nodded slowly, furrowing his eyebrows. "Myrtle did sort of annoy Tom throughout the first few years here."

Hermione cleared her throat, catching their attention before she asked, "What's this about Myrtle? And who's Hagrid?"

They then went into detail about Myrtle's death and how Hagrid had been caught and expelled.

"Hagrid was the one who set the monsters on students?" Harry asked, his eyes flashing angrily.

Perhaps the two young men thought that he was angry about the crime and so did not question it. However, Hermione knew that Harry was merely angry because Hagrid had been blamed for a crime Tom had committed.

"Oh, that's what Riddle said," Joseph answered, waving his hand as if dismissing something ludicrous.

"Myrtle was friends with him?" Hermione inquired.

"I wouldn't say friends," Gareth replied. "Myrtle was quite attracted to Tom actually. Her eyes would glow and her cheeks would flush red. You could even say that she was the extreme version of Tom's admirers."

"I wouldn't say that she was worse than Parkinson though," Joseph contradicted.

"True. She would purposely try to get into every class Tom was in," Gareth continued, "which wasn't too hard for her. She was a Ravenclaw, you see."

"Every other sentence from her would include the word 'Tom'." Joseph grimaced. "That's when I started to appreciate the intelligence of Ravenclaws, because blimey, how could you think and talk about a bloke for the whole day AND get spectacular grades?"

Despite of their currently solemn mood, Hermione and Harry could not help but start laughing at that assessment.

"Which brings it back to why I think Tom could be innocent," Gareth said. "Tom was always kind to Myrtle when she bothered him with schoolwork. I mean, it was pretty obvious that she already knew the answers to the questions she was asking him."

"Well, he might've gotten tired of it by fifth year," Joseph suggested. Suddenly, he grinned and leaned towards the two time travelers. "Did you know that Myrtle's still here?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him and glanced at Harry, who was trying to hold in a laugh.

"No, really?" she replied as she spooned some corn into her dish. "She turned into a ghost?"

Joseph nodded excitedly.

"Precisely," he announced importantly. "And she haunts the girls' toilet. Well, she haunted Olive Hornby first, but the Ministry threw her back here." He wiggled his eyebrow at Hermione. "Are you interested in meeting her?"

Hermione shot him a look of annoyance which caused roars of laughter from both him and Gareth.

"I do miss Hagrid though," Harry said in a low voice, on their way back to the Gryffindor tower.

Hermione sighed. "But you have to understand, Harry. We can't go see him. What if he recognizes us in the future?"

"I'm not saying that we should go befriend him or anything," Harry answered quickly. "I'm just saying ... perhaps we can just look at him and tell him across the field or something, so he won't recognize us in the future, that we believe that it wasn't him who killed Myrtle."

"Excellent idea, Harry. I'm sure Riddle wouldn't hear us if we shouted that across the field," Hermione rolled her eyes.

A pinkish tinge appeared on Harry's cheeks. "Right," he mumbled, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. He then frowned. "But what about your name? Wouldn't professors in the future remember your last name? And Slughorn—he basically invited you to the Slug Club already. He just didn't say it out loud yet, that's all. Why didn't he recognize you in the future? And Augusta Longbottom … Rookwood … er … Neville's grandmother, she's practically ready to whip out her wand and hex you."

"Well, I wouldn't exactly tell a person 'Hey, look. I was ready to pull out my wand and make sure you lie in the Infirmary for the next millenium fifty years ago' if she's helping my grandson," Hermione started slowly. "Perhaps we'll manage to resolve our differences?"

"Wishful thinking, Hermione."

"Yes, but I won't really know until we get a chance to speak to Neville's grandmother now, will I?"

"Right," Harry nodded. "What about Slughorn then?"

A puzzled expression appeared on Hermione's face. "Yes, I suppose it is kind of strange that he didn't remember me in the future." She laughed. "Perhaps Dumbledore Obliviated him?"

Harry chuckled. "It wouldn't be the first time Dumbledore followed the Ministry rules loosely."

"In regards to the other professors … well, the only staff members that are the same are Madam Pomfrey and Madam Pince …" she trailed off. "Now that I think about it, I think Madam Pomfrey mentioned that I reminded her of a patient she once had."

Harry raised an eyebrow, "When did that happen?"

"Remember back in second year? When I took the Polyjuice Potion with cat's hair?" she asked. He nodded. "Madam Pomfrey mentioned a young lady," she snorted, "who had certain disregard for rules like I do." She frowned. "She is a rather discreet person, though. So perhaps Dumbledore actually told her to keep it a secret?"

"Maybe," Harry shrugged. "What about Madam Pince? I'm sure nobody would forget the bookworm of the year too soon."

"Oh shush, Harry. I'm not the only person who likes to read," Hermione chided, though her cheeks turned a rosy pink. She raised her eyebrows. "I actually wouldn't be too surprised if senility was creeping up on our Madam Pince."

Harry laughed. "But she never forgot to look after her books."

"And she never will," Hermione said airily. After a few minutes of silence, she spoke again, "I wonder what happened to Malloy."

"What about him?" Harry asked as he flicked some dust off of his robes.

"He wasn't at dinner," Hermione answered. "Abraxas was missing, too."

Harry shrugged. "I doubt something happened," he remarked. "I mean, they're both Slytherins." In a lower voice, he added, "And Abraxas Malfoy was one of the first ones to follow You-Know-Who. You've told me before that time cannot be changed. Even though we weren't sent back by a Time Turner, I think that still holds true, which means that You-Know-Who's not going to kill him."

"No, he's not," Hermione admitted, "but Malloy's the one who's going to be in danger."

"You're not planning on going to the Slytherin common room, are you?" he questioned.

Hermione looked at him meaningfully.

He shook his head. "Hermione…"

"Harry, the four of us came here together. We have the responsibility to look after one another," she reasoned.

"He told us to bugger off," Harry grumbled.

"We've been at each other's necks since first-year. Of course he's going to say something like that. Be reasonable, Harry," Hermione scolded lightly as she walked towards the stairs. "Which way is it?"

"What?" he asked, looking at her with a confused expression.

"The Slytherin common room, Harry," Hermione explained with a sigh.

Harry sighed as well and shook his head in defeat before he led her to the dungeons.

When they reached the Slytherin common room, they finally remembered another problem – they did not know the password.

"I guess we will have to wait for someone to come out then?" Harry asked with his eyebrow raised.

Hermione frowned as she stared at the wall. "I'm just worried about Malloy. I mean..."

"I know, Hermione," Harry replied. With a bad imitation of her voice, he said, "He's all alone in Slytherin. At least the three of us are together."

Hermione laughed and punched him on the shoulder.

All of a sudden, the pathway to the Slytherin common room opened and a handsome young man with black hair walked out. He stopped and looked at the two of them, curiosity written all over his face. They recognized that he was the "Black" that they suspected to be Alphard.

"You two are the newcomers," he stated. Harry and Hermione nodded. He held out his hand to them. "Black. Alphard Black."

"Nice to meet you!" the two of them greeted him.

Harry's eyes were glowing. He had been correct. The young man was Sirius's uncle.

"What brings the two of you down to this gloomy place?" Alphard asked, gesturing towards the common room.

"Well...we're here to look for Ma—Draco," Hermione corrected herself.

She assumed that she would have to act like a friend of Draco's or else it would be weird for her or Harry to come looking for him.

Alphard frowned, "I haven't seen him today."

Harry and Hermione stared at him.

"Then again, I haven't seen Abraxas either. I mean, they're pretty hard to miss with that white-blond hair, aren't they? Two lanterns in a distance, connected at the shoulders."

The two Gryffindors laughed lightly.

"Good evening, Alphard," they suddenly heard a voice behind them.

Harry and Hermione both felt a sense of unease when they saw Tom walking towards the Slytherin common room with a group of his followers.

"Good evening," Alphard replied impassively.

Hermione and Harry looked back at him and at that moment, they realized that he was not too fond of Tom either.

Tom looked at Harry and Hermione with what seemed like mild interest. However, it did not escape Hermione's attention that there was a hint of a smirk on his lips.

"Good evening. Why are you here, if I may ask?" he asked courteously.

The two of them exchanged a look, not knowing what to say. One wrong word could mean a torturous night for Draco.

"They're looking for me," Alphard suddenly declared, surprising everyone at the scene.

Suspicion appeared on Tom's face as he turned his attention to him. "For you?" he questioned, frowning.

"That wouldn't be a problem, would it, Tom?" Alphard asked with a false smile plastered on his face.

"Of course not," Tom answered, regaining his composure. "If you'll excuse us, we still have some matters to discuss."

He swiftly walked into the common room with his followers, many of whom sneered at the two Gryffindors while they were passing them.

When the wall sealed up behind them, Alphard bowed toward it, as one would to a king, which earned a round of laughter from the two time travelers. He straightened up and beamed at them. He then led them away from the common room.

"You're not too friendly with Riddle," Harry remarked as they climbed up the stairs.

Alphard shrugged.

"He's just not someone I could get close to. A bit too ... fake, shall I say?" he commented.

He opened the door to a classroom, stuck his head inside, and motioned for them to go in with him. He closed the door behind him and waved his wand to lit the candles in the room.

"Fake?" Hermione asked.

Alphard looked at her suspiciously.

"I thought … you're not friends—" his voice a little distant.

"No, no! That's not what I meant," Hermione explained immediately. "I was just curious what made you think that way? We have our reasons but we weren't sure about you."

Alphard shrugged and sat on one of the tables.

Harry looked at Hermione and nodded. He knew they could trust Alphard since he was the one who gave Sirius money when he ran away from Grimmauld Place.

"We suspect that he was the one who harmed our friend, Ginny," Harry quietly said.

Alphard looked at him surprised.

"Aren't you afraid that I might ... tell Riddle?" he questioned, a bit flustered that they would entrust him with the information.

"I think we can trust you," Harry smiled.

Alphard chuckled.

"That means a lot to me. It's not everyday Gryffindors would give their trust to a Slytherin." A face of disgust appeared on his face at the mention of his House.

"I thought Gryffindors and Slytherins were on pretty good terms with one another," Harry frowned.

"We might be civil to one another, but that's because we don't want to get in trouble with the professors. You three are newcomers so the conflict isn't so clear to you. Wait till you're here for another month or so. Then you'll start to understand the true extent of the strain between the two Houses." Alphard laughed as he studied his nails.

The image of the injured Gryffindors and Slytherins came to Hermione's mind. She had completely forgotten to mention that to Harry. She had not heard about any other duels between the members of the two Houses but apparently, they were still secretly battling with one another. She grimaced, wondering if there was already a set schedule between the two Houses in regards to when and where to battle.

"You don't like being in Slytherin?" Harry asked, breaking Hermione's train of thought.

Alphard shrugged. "My family wanted me to be in here. I've never had any contact with other Houses before I came to Hogwarts. When I put on the Sorting Hat, it started babbling about Ravenclaw and Slytherin. I asked it to put me in Slytherin so I wouldn't get in trouble with my parents," he explained nonchalantly. He shook his head as if he was trying to shake away the memory. "Anyway, you were looking for Malloy."

The two Gryffindors nodded.

Alphard frowned slightly. "I'm surprised you're friends with him. He's very chummy with Abraxas."

Hermione and Harry looked at one another.

"Well, we're not exactly close to him," she replied slowly. "It's just that we've came from the same place so we—Harry, Ginny, and I—thought that it would be better for the four of us to stick together."

Alphard nodded while he stood up and straightened out his robes.

"Come on," he said, nodding towards the door. "I'll go ask Cygnus for you two. He's usually quite good chums with Abraxas."

"But wouldn't he tell Riddle?" Hermione asked as they walked towards the dungeons once more.

"I'll make him not tell," he smirked.

When they reached the Slytherin common room, he instructed them to wait outside while he went inside to look for his brother.

"He seems like a nice person," Hermione remarked to Harry as they stood outside in the hallway waiting for Sirius's uncle.

"Well, he was the uncle who gave Sirius money," Harry explained. "I guess he's almost like Sirius."

Hermione smiled sadly. "You're thinking about Sirius, aren't you?" she questioned.

Harry sighed and smiled sadly. "I'm thinking of it this way. At least Sirius isn't born yet."

Hermione gave him a small smile before pulling him into a hug.

A few minutes later, Alphard came out with a frown on his face. "I asked Cygnus, but he wouldn't answer me. One of the other Slytherins said that he'd seen Malloy and Abraxas near the second floor this morning."

"Thanks," Harry answered gratefully. "So ... I guess we'll see you in class tomorrow?"

"Alright then. Good luck in finding Malloy. If he comes back here, I'll tell him you were looking for him."

"Thanks." Hermione smiled.

After bidding one another good-bye, Harry and Hermione made their way toward the stairways.

"Why would he be on the second floor?" Hermione frowned.

"He might be looking for Myrtle," Harry suggested.

When they arrived at Myrtle's lavatory, Hermione gently opened the door and they heard whispers from inside.

"Who's there?" a familiar blond stepped out from the shadows and pointed his wand at Hermione and Harry. A sneer appeared on his face when he saw the two of them. "What are you doing here?"

"The real question would be what are you doing here, Malfoy," Harry retorted. "This is a girl's bathroom."

"The same thing could be said to you, Evans," Abraxas said with his eyes narrowed.

Another face appeared and looked at the two of them.

"Ma—Draco," Hermione greeted him nervously.

Draco looked at her for a minute before he nodded his head in greeting.

Hermione took a deep breath and admitted, "We were worried about you."

He looked at the two of them, momentarily surprised. "Oh ..."

"You weren't in classes and we didn't see you in the Great Hall," Hermione explained.

A look of understanding appeared on his face. "I'm alright," he mumbled before he walked back into the shadows.

"Wait!" Hermione called out.

He stopped in his tracks but did not turn his head.

"Can we talk to you in private?" Hermione asked.

Abraxas looked at the two of them suspiciously as Draco mulled over it.

"Just for a few minutes?" she added.

The young man turned around and looked at the two of them thoughtfully before he finally nodded.

~-0-~

A/N: Many thanks to my beta, Lildaani, Noybate, matterhorn, and Hajnalmadarbathroom.” “The same thing could be said to you, Evans,” Abraxas said with his eyes narrowed. Another face appeared and looked at the two of them. “Ma- Draco,” Hermione greeted him nervously. Draco looked at her for a minute before he nodded his head in greeting. “We were worried about you.” He looked at the two of them, momentarily surprised. “You weren’t in classes and we didn’t see you in the Great Hall.” A look of understanding appeared on his face. “I’m alright,” he mumbled before he walked back into the shadows. “Wait!” Hermione called out. He stopped in his tracks but did not turn his head. “Can we talk to you in private?” Abraxas looked at the two of them suspiciously as Draco mulled over it. “Just for a few minutes?” The young man turned around and looked at the two of them thoughtfully before he finally nodded.
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Somewhere in Time