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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
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Chapter 12

Hermione and Harry ran all the way to the Infirmary, ignoring the protests or complaints of the portraits along the way.

They opened the door as fast as they could, their concern for Ginny overcoming the fatigue they felt from running across the castle. Both Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore whirled around when they heard the door to the hospital wing thrown open. The panic-stricken look on the Mediwitch's face only added to their worries.

"Thank Merlin, the two of you are finally here!" Madam Pomfrey hurried over to Ginny's bedside and started to wave her wand above the redhead. "Miss Weatherby has to go to St. Mungo's immediately."

"But … but why?" Harry stammered, his face suddenly paler than normal.

"Her condition just worsened," Madam Pomfrey answered, continuing to cast mist on Ginny.

"I thought she was getting better," Hermione said frantically.

"I had thought so, too, but this isn't the time to discuss this right now. She needs to go to St. Mungo's and I need one of you to accompany her," Madam Pomfrey explained.

"I'll go with her," Harry immediately volunteered.

"But Harry—" Hermione started to say.

"She's my fiancée. I have to take care of her," he said firmly.

Hermione frowned, but she knew when Harry had his mind set on something.

Dumbledore solemnly watched as Madam Pomfrey strapped Ginny to Harry.

"Very well, then," Dumbledore said, taking a stone out of his pocket. "Portus."

He handed the Portkey to Harry and seconds later, both Harry and Ginny disappeared from the room. Hermione stared at the empty space where Harry had previously been standing for a few minutes, a sort of resolution forming inside her.

As calmly as she could, she said to Dumbledore, "Professor, I need to talk with you."

He scrutinized her for a while before he answered, "We shall speak in my office."

~-0-~

Dumbledore sat in the armchair behind the table and made a steeple with his hands, looking at Hermione with his signature piercing blue eyes. His face was not as jovial as usual, due to Ginny's condition, she presumed.

"How may I help you, Miss Granger?" he asked.

She bit her lower lip, not knowing how to word her sentences to make her sound less rude. Taking a deep breath, she decided to get straight to the point.

"Professor, I wanted to know if you have any new information pertaining to how we were sent here and when we might be able to return home," she answered.

For a fleeting moment, she thought she saw a frown on the his face, but before she could be sure, it had disappeared.

"I'm afraid, Miss Granger, that I have no new information," he replied. "I've searched through many books, some from my own personal library. Yet, there is no information concerning the way you were sent back in time."

Hermione closed her eyes. That meant that they still could not go back.

"I'm currently trying to contact one of my friends, Mr. Konrad Feierabend, although I expect that he's in one of his many cellars, trying to invent a workable time machine," Dumbledore continued, slightly turning his head to look out the window. "I might have to go look for him myself."

"Mr. Konrad Feierabend?"

Dumbledore nodded.

"He has been working on time traveling theories for nearly all his life. No one knows more about time travel than he … at least in our time period," he said with a slight, distracted smile. He remained quiet for a few minutes before he glanced at Hermione. "I've heard about your interactions with Mr. Riddle, Miss Granger."

"Professor, I—"

He held up his hand, stopping Hermione from explaining.

"I do not mean to lecture or reprimand you on what you do. However, if I make the trip to Germany to find Mr. Feierabend, it could take up to a month or more before I return to Hogwarts. I must ask you to take care in your actions. Mr. Riddle might be merely curious about you right now, but it is a fine line between interest and obsession. Please do not give him any incentive to change that 'curiosity' into 'suspicion'," he warned.

She stared at him, speechless.

A month? He was going to leave for a month?

On top of that, he also reminded her that she was all alone by herself with Harry and Ginny at St. Mungo's. Tom Riddle could murder her, chop her up into pieces, and make her into a mince pie before one of them returned.

"When do you plan to leave?" Hermione asked.

She hoped that she did not look as desperate as she felt at the moment.

"As soon as I get permission from the Headmaster. I am, as you know, the Transfiguration professor, so he will need to find a replacement for me while I am not here. That means that I might leave Hogwarts as early as two days from now," Dumbledore explained.

Oh dear, Hermione thought. She had not foreseen how dangerous her situation could become.

"Is there anything else you need to ask?" he questioned.

She shook her head slowly. It was not as if she could ask him to stay. Dumbledore's trip could make all the difference in their situation. If he found Konrad Feierabend, they might have a chance to return to the future.

Or maybe just Harry, Ginny, and Malfoy, she thought gravely.

"Then, I must excuse myself, Miss Granger. I must see the Headmaster to make the arrangements," Dumbledore said, standing up from his chair.

Hermione nodded numbly and walked out of the office.

As she walked back to Gryffindor tower, an uneasy feeling suddenly crept up on her. The shadows of the statues flickered with the candlelight. Her footsteps echoed through the hallways, making them seem even emptier than it really was.

She half expected to run into a certain Slytherin around every corner.

Get a grip, Hermione, she scolded herself.

She was a Gryffindor. She was supposed to be brave.

But you're talking about the Dark Lord here. Who killed thousands. Whom everyone was afraid of, the little voice in the back of her head reminded her.

And who was killed by Harry, Hermione retorted angrily.

Who won by sheer luck, the little voice replied smugly.

"You're not helping," she muttered to herself.

"Who's not helping?" a voice suddenly asked, causing her to jump.

She whirled around and found herself face to face with the very person she was afraid of seeing at the moment. And she had no idea how long he had been there.

"Nothing," she managed to squeak before she turned around and attempted to walk away.

"Miss Granger," he called out.

She stopped in her tracks and closed her eyes. Hearing his footsteps slowly coming towards her made her want to flee even more. She wanted to pretend that she had not heard him and to continue walking back to the dorms, but she knew that it would only anger him more.

Her heart almost stopped the moment his footsteps halted in front of her. She opened her eyes and found him smiling down at her, strongly reminding her of Death himself.

"Why, may I ask, are you in the hallways after hours?" he questioned.

"I was … seeing Professor Dumbledore," she answered, thanking Merlin once again that he did not know Legilimency.

"I see," he circled her. "You're lying."

"We could go over to Professor Dumbledore's office right now," Hermione replied quickly, her heart beating painfully against her ribs.

He chuckled softly.

"Everyone in the school knows how Professor Dumbledore favors his students over others," he commented silkily, standing right next to her. "Obviously, he would lie for you, just so you could get out of detention."

"But I was seeing him," she argued, turning around to face him.

"Where's the note?" he demanded, raising an eyebrow.

Hermione gaped at him. She had forgotten to get a signed note from Dumbledore. Then again, the professor had also forgotten to give her one, but that was beside the point.

At her failure to give him the proper documents, he spoke again, "I'm waiting."

"I don't have a note," she admitted dejectedly, wishing that she could take her wand out and hex him.

"I see. You don't have a note," he said, a pleasant smile on his face but a predatory glint in his eyes.

She momentarily wondered where her previous courage had gone; she could barely bring herself to move, let alone pull out her wand. Why should the scrutiny of a seventeen-year-old boy affect her to this extent? He hadn't even done anything yet.

No wonder people feared him.

"You're very accustomed to hiding the truth, aren't you, Miss Granger?" he commented, his eyes raking over her face.

"I have nothing to hide," she replied cautiously, rolling her hands into fists to stop herself from doing something rash and willing her heart to slow down.

It was then that she realized that her palms were sweaty and she hoped that her anxiety wasn't showing through her expressions.

"Do not lie to me, Miss Granger," he said quietly. "We both know that you and your friends have been hiding some sort of secret since the first day you came here."

Her Gryffindor courage overcame her fear, making her stare straight into his eyes instead of turning away and cowering in fear.

"I'm afraid you're mistaken—"

A flash of annoyance went through his eyes, causing her to panic and regret her previous decision to speak up. What if he suddenly decided to hex her or throw her into the Chamber of Secrets?

"Tom, what are you doing here?" they suddenly heard a voice behind him.

Hermione let out a sigh of relief. She swore she would be forever thankful to the person who interrupted their conversation.

"Good evening, Professor," Tom greeted Slughorn, who was walking up to them.

A look of disgust appeared on Hermione's face at his pretentious act and she was more than glad that his attention was not directed towards her. Of course, this lack of attention also allowed Hermione a chance to further scrutinize him.

I mean, honestly, he probably even wakes up early in the morning to polish his shoes and iron his clothes to look absolutely perfect in front of the professors. Immaculate, innocent, charming Tom Riddle. How could someone like him do something evil?

If she wasn't in the situation she was in, she would've rushed to the nearest toilet and vomited.

"Good evening," Slughorn replied, walking up to the two of them. "Ah! Miss Granger! What a pleasant surprise!"

"Good evening, Professor," Hermione smiled.

"Good evening, good evening," Slughorn answered. "What are you two doing here?" His eyes slid from Tom to Hermione and then back to Tom again. A look of realization dawned on his face. "Oh, I see."

See … what? Hermione mentally asked, a bad feeling bubbling at the pit of her stomach at the thought that had just appeared in her mind. She desperately hoped that Slughorn was not thinking what shethought he was thinking.

"I was doing the rounds, Professor," Tom replied.

"Of course, of course. What better time to meet than when you're patrolling?" Slughorn remarked, winking at Hermione.

For the millionth time since she arrived in the past, Hermione wished someone would hex her on the spot.

"We're not—" she started to say.

"Don't mind me, the two of you," Slughorn said, pushing the two of them towards one another. "I'll just pretend I haven't seen anything."

"Professor," Hermione struggled, trying to explain and stay away from Tom at the same time.

"I was doing the rounds, Professor, when I caught her in the hallways after hours," Tom clarified while he, too, tried to avoid touching Hermione.

Slughorn tilted his head to one side.

"Tom, it's alright. You know that you're one of my favorite students! I don't mind that you're meeting someone when you're supposed to be patrolling! I remember how it was when I was your age …" He sighed and for a second, seemingly immersed in memories. "There's no need to punish the girl, Tom. That's very unfair to her."

"But it's true, Professor, what Riddle said—well, sort of true. I went to see Dumbledore, but Riddle insisted that I was strolling around," Hermione corroborated his words, glancing at Tom, who was looking at her with his signature expressionless face.

Slughorn looked at the two of them with pity on his face.

"Come on now, you two. I promise that I won't tell anyone," he continued.

Hermione sighed in defeat. She would rather get weeks of detention than be in the situation she was in right now.

"I'll take the detention. Take me to Dippet," she addressed Tom.

Tom raised his eyebrow at her, but, nonetheless, turned around to lead the way.

"Tom, Hermione, there's no need for that," Slughorn followed closely behind them. "Oh, I see."

Hermione closed her eyes. She did not want to know what he was seeing.

"You're trying to protect her, aren't you, m'boy? You know that the other girls would start attacking her if they knew the two of you …" he trailed off.

Hermione nearly snorted.

Lord Voldemort trying to protect her? That had to be the biggest joke she had ever heard in her life.

"There's nothing between the two of us, Professor," Tom explained quietly.

Hermione glanced at him, noticing that he was furious about the situation.

Well, it's his fault for trying to get me in trouble, she thought.

"Yes, yes, of course," Slughorn bubbled, waving his hand at the two of them. "There's absolutely nothing between the two of you."

He then winked at Hermione again, which disgusted her to no end.

The night was definitely not going her way.

~-0-~

"Good evening, Horace," Dippet greeted Slughorn when the three of them entered the Headmaster's office. He noticed Tom and his eyes lit up. "Oh, good evening, Tom. What have you here?" He looked at Hermione.

She wondered for the thousandth time why Armando Dippet was made Headmaster of Hogwarts in the first place. A bloody murderer was standing right in front of him and instead of being cautious of him, Dippet was absolutely dotty about Tom Riddle.

"She was strolling in the hallways after hours, Headmaster," Tom replied.

"I was seeing Professor Dumbledore," Hermione corrected angrily. She turned around and addressed the Headmaster, "He can testify for me."

"My dear," Dippet replied with a frown, "Professor Dumbledore just left for Germany."

"He left? Already?" Hermione squeaked.

Dippet seemed to be slightly taken aback by her outburst but composed himself quite quickly.

"Yes. He left about ten minutes ago," he answered.

"Which means that no one can prove your supposed innocence, Miss Granger," Tom commented.

Hermione resisted the urge to hex him and focused her attention on Dippet instead.

"Yes, yes. I'm afraid that you will have to serve detention then," Dippet said as she had expected.

"Headmaster, I have a suggestion," Slughorn suddenly spoke up, which caused the three of them to look at him.

"Yes, Horace?" Dippet asked expectantly.

"Tom is helping me reorganize the Potions classroom on days when he's not patrolling. I'm wondering if Miss Granger could serve her detention as Tom's assistant," Slughorn answered.

Hermione stared at him, horrified. This could not be happening. Did he actually think he was doing her a favor?

She glanced back at Headmaster, hoping that he would say no.

"That's a wonderful idea!" Dippet exclaimed to her dismay. "Now, how long did you say it might take for your classroom to be reorganized?"

"Well, it should take around a month for everything to be reorganized."

"Very well. Miss Granger can help you for a—"

"Professor," Hermione said loudly, successfully stopping their conversation. "I was only out after hours."

Dippet frowned at her, but nodded slowly, turning his attention back to Slughorn.

"She does have a point. A month of detention seems a bit too much of a punishment for that and she has only been here for a little more than a month. I suppose, she could've merely been unaware of the curfew. One week of detention as Tom's assistant, then! That should be sufficient."

She bit her lower lip and nodded.

As they left the Headmaster's office, Slughorn looped one arm around Tom's arm and the other arm around Hermione's.

"There's no need to thank me. It is absolutely my pleasure to help out such wonderful students as yourselves," he assured, winking at Hermione again. He looked at Tom. "There's a party on the fifteenth of December and I do expect you to bring Miss Granger to it. I will be quite displeased if I do not see such a lovely couple attend it. If any of the girls ask, just tell them that I've requested that you take Hermione, since it's her first time attending one of my parties." He then released both of their arms. "Good night then, Tom, Hermione. Don't stay up too late."

He smiled at Hermione in a meaningful way before walking away, making her mouth drop open. She couldn't believe that he had just handed her an official invitation to the Slug Club under these conditions and virtually demanded that she go to the party with Tom Riddle of all people.

"Of course I won't be thanking him," she muttered through gritted teeth when Slughorn disappeared from sight.

The two of them stood in silence for a while, each attempting to find a way out of the situation they were in.

"I'll explain to Slughorn. I doubt that I can convince him otherwise, but perhaps you—we can avoid going to his party as a couple," Tom broke the silence, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

Hermione stiffly nodded, hoping that he could succeed in persuading Slughorn.

I mean, he is Lord Voldemort. He should be persuasive enough to get the stupid professor to yield, right?

She remained standing there and gazing at him, waiting to see if he had anything else to say. Without his threatening looks and words, she found her eyes drinking in his handsome features and her mind forming thoughts she hoped Harry would never find out about.

She knew it was wrong, but simply staring at and mentally admiring the future Dark Lord couldn't really cause any harm.

Could it?

"Then, I bid you a good night. We will finish our previous conversation … some other time," he said, his eyes indecipherable. With a small nod of his head, he turned around and walked towards the Slytherin common room, leaving her in his wake.

~-0-~

A/N: Many thanks to my betas: Lildaani, Noybate, Hajnalmadar, and matterhorn!
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Somewhere in Time