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Masters of Manipulation	By : Nerys Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Hermione/Voldemort Views: 28506 -:- Recommendations : 4 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Masters of manipulation

Chapter twenty-three

Hermione walked through the underground corridor. It was looking oddly familiar with the Slytherin Banner on the wall and the serpent statues around every other corner. The brackets on the wall had flaming torches in them. Hermione wondered if they would light up automatically due to someone's presence, because she had not lit them. She stepped around another corner when she noticed the brief disturbance on the wall. The silvery tapestry had moved slightly. She pointed her wand at it and approached it with caution. She aimed at the hook that was holding it up.

'Evanesco!'

The hook vanished into non-being and the tapestry plummeted to the ground, revealing a circular doorway that had two carved snakes entwined as a locking mechanism. Hermione was utterly relieved she had found the passageway so quickly, but she jerked up into the air upon hearing the familiar high cold voice speak up behind her.

'I see you found the entrance to the Forbidden Forest passageway,' Lord Voldemort claimed amused. 'I told you that you would be foolish enough to come back down here, Hermione, and here you are.'

Hermione lowered her wand, sighed, and turned around. He was already inside the Chamber of Secrets. She had come too late. Lord Voldemort stood behind her; he was casually leaning against the wall of the corridor. Behind him in the air hovered Nagini; the snake coiled and uncoiled inside a large bubble. It appeared to be some kind of protective, charmed cage and it would, no doubt, prove impossible to pierce with a simple spell. He noticed her staring at the bubble.

'I wouldn't get any ideas if I were you. It is well protected,' he said coldly.

Hermione shrugged. 'I wasn't expecting it to be easy,' she replied calmly.

He smirked at her. Everything about him was so familiar. The way he held himself, the intonation of his sentences, even the expressions in his facial features were the same. She realised how little he really had changed. All that was different were the alterations he somehow made in his looks. She met his gaze without backing down.

'How did you know I was here?' asked Hermione.

He didn't answer her straight away; instead his eyes darted joyously over her body. Hermione looked down at herself. She was incredibly filthy; covered in dirt, slime, blood and Merlin knows what else.

'Oh, never mind,' she said, realising that Basilisk slime was a dead giveaway as to where she had been.

'You should have used a cleansing spell before rejoining my younger version if you didn't want to give away where you had hung out,' said Voldemort.

'Obviously, I haven't,' replied Hermione.

'Obviously,' he repeated.

'You've made alterations in the time-line,' she said casually.

'On a little fishing expedition, Hermione?'

'Not in one of your talkative moods, Tom?'

He snorted at her cheek and answered her question. 'It appears that my changes have proven unsuccessful. It merely delayed what seems to be inevitable and changed the occurrence's location. Time seems to feel very strongly about achieving the event no matter what I do.'

'Good,' said Hermione, slightly relieved.

Quickly, he looked in the other direction. And she frowned when she felt a pang of guilt coming from him of all people, but he spoke before she could address the strange occurrence.

'If you hold left from here on; after the third junction, there is a door that leads to a small chamber, which will get you inside the Room of Requirement. You will only need to stand there and think about where you want to go.'

'If I remember correctly,' said Hermione, 'that door only opens by the use of Parseltongue.'

He glared at her. 'See, I knew I should have knocked you unconscious back then. Hmmm… well … I guess it's too late to change that now. But you needn't worry about the door; I've already opened it for you.'

Hermione stared at him. How long had he been down here already? The question must have been written all over her face, because he answered it before she could speak up.

'Quite some time now,' he said. 'I came here right after shouting at the castle like – what was it again that you called it? – oh yeah, a maniac.'

And he snorted. 'Well, I wouldn't want to disappoint people's expectations, now would I?'

The corners of his mouth twitched upward slightly, and his eyes sparkled as though he was incredibly amused by this.

'You're here alone?' she inquired.

'Still fishing? … Yes, I'm here alone. I have no desire to share this entrance with others nor do I need to. The castle is quite reachable through the front door. It's not like it is well protected,' Voldemort said certain of himself. 'Protego Horribilis, please … I would have expected a bit more creativity from Flitwick,' he added mumbling. 'So, you needn't have bothered yourself with coming down here. I won't be using this entrance during the battle.'

Hermione noticed he wasn't making any remarks about the Cup or the fangs. Apparently, she had been able to keep that small detail from him and his younger self.

'But you've already used it. How can I be sure you won't change your mind once events start to turn on you?' she stated.

He seemed to find that thought highly ridiculous, but he responded smoothly just the same. 'Why, Hermione? Do you want me to make an Unbreakable Vow?'

'Funny, really funny,' she responded sarcastically.

He laughed out loud. It was not a pleasant sound. It was a high, shrieking noise, and Hermione felt her eardrums would thank him sincerely when he was done torturing them.

'I'll give you my word not to use it, if you give me yours not to destroy it,' he finally said.

She nodded.

'Good, that's our word sealed, then,' Voldemort said, pleased.

He pushed himself off the wall.

'So I guess this is goodbye, Hermione. You remember how to get out?'

And he pointed to the left corridor. She nodded and started walking into the direction he had told her to go. But his restraint vanished when her scent brushed his nostrils as she passed him, and he grabbed a hold of her from behind. His right arm flung around her waist, pulling her against him, while the fingers of his left hand wrapped themselves around her curls. She gasped out of the sheer force from the impact of the jolt that accompanied their reconnection, and he took advantage of her opened mouth to capture it with a ferocious kiss. She had no choice but to respond as his emotions flooded hers. His need, his desire, his angst, and his despair for her were overwhelming, while he desperately tried to feel her warmth, her kindness, her compassion, and her love through their connection.

Her eyes fluttered shut and she leaned back against his surprisingly warm body as this whirlpool of emotions roamed through them both, overtaking all sensible thoughts. The soft silk of his robes comforted her cheek as he forced her head to tilt sideways toward him, granting him better access to her mouth. Their kiss deepened and Hermione moaned in his mouth. His fingers removed themselves from her hair when he noticed her surrender and they were now moving over her body effortlessly, eliciting tiny jolts of pleasure upon contact. It was maddening and she turned around to face him. Anticipation spread throughout his features when she raised her hand and stroked his unusual snakelike face caringly before she stretched herself out on tiptoes and he lowered his head to resume their kiss. His hands locked around her hips and he steadied her against him, while Hermione's arms sneaked down - around his waist and moved onward to stroke his back. Their passionate embrace seemed to last forever in that brief moment of tranquillity stolen in time. And Hermione knew she would follow this man to hell and back again when their Bond strengthened itself for the last time. Lord Voldemort broke off the kiss and stared at her silently. His hands captured her head and a deep sadness flooded through Hermione as he looked at her with his crimson eyes.

'Stay out of the Great Hall, Hermione,' he whispered.

He let go and paced towards the passageway. The caged snake followed, hovering in the air behind him. Fear struck Hermione when he said those words, and she swirled around. 'Why? What are you planning to do there?' she asked sharply.

He hissed and spitted without drawing in breath and the door rolled to the side. He sent in Nagini before looking at her one last time.

'Nothing, dearest,' answered Voldemort and he strode into the tunnel ahead of him. 'It probably won't work anyway. I don't know why I keep trying,' she heard him mumble as he disappeared into the darkness of the passageway.

Hermione stood there for a short while, wondering what that was all about. But as she realised she was wasting precious time standing there, she swirled around and started running towards the exit. She took three left turns and saw the door, which stood ajar as promised. A single step up – she remembered that one well, because she had previously tripped over it – and she was in a small room.

'Room of Requirement,' she thought.

A second later, she stood in the same silver-and-green study chamber she had stood in before. She ran out the door into the corridor. She had to find Riddle and Helga's book! However, the moment the door closed behind her; it opened again. A familiar roaring sound reached her ears. She swirled around and saw the shadows on broomsticks fly towards the door chased by Fiendfyre. Ron, who dragged an unconscious Goyle with him, was the first to reach the door. Hermione grabbed the handle and stood ready to close it as Ron dove inside the corridor and dropped Goyle's body unceremoniously.

'Harry! Hurry!' she shouted when she saw him make a hairpin swerve and dive towards something.

'What are you doing! What are you doing! The door's that way!' Draco shouted in Harry's ear, clinging on to Harry's waist panicky.

And he pointed in Hermione's direction as Harry sped towards the maw of a fiery serpent. Draco screamed as the serpent lunged at them and Harry swerved again. Black smoke obscured them from sight.

'Harry!' Hermione yelled in terror.

The fire roared and bellowed. A broomstick flew out the Room of Requirement, and with a loud bang, Harry and Draco collided into the wall of the corridor. Hermione swept the door shut and a string of black smoke highlighted the door's contours before it disappeared into the wall. She turned and saw Malfoy, lying face down on the floor, coughing and retching. Harry staggered to his feet, while the Headless Hunt passed, screaming bloody murder. And now Hermione realised there were screams to be heard in every direction. The battle was very much alive all around them.

'Crabbe,' choked Malfoy, 'Crabbe…'

'He's dead,' said Ron harshly.

Malfoy remained lying on the floor, panting; he'd lost his mother's wand inside the Room.

'Where's Ginny?' Harry said sharply. 'She was here. She was supposed to be going back into the Room of Requirement.'

'Blimey, d'you reckon it'll still work after that fire?' asked Ron. 'Shall we split up and look?'

'No,' said Hermione. 'Harry, what's that on your arm?'

'What? Oh, yeah.'

Harry pulled the diadem from Ravenclaw from his wrist and held it up. A blood-like substance, dark and tarry, seemed to be leaking from the diadem. Suddenly, it vibrated violently and broke apart in Harry's hands. A faint distant scream of pain was heard.

'Fiendfyre,' whimpered Hermione, her eyes on the broken pieces.

'Sorry?' said Harry.

'Fiendfyre, cursed fire, it's one of the substances that destroy Horcruxes. But I would never, ever have dared to use it; it's so dangerous. Who started it?'

'Crabbe,' said Ron.

'How did Crabbe know how to…?' asked Hermione.

'Must've learned from the Carrows,' Harry said grimly.

'Shame he wasn't concentrating when they mentioned how to stop it, really,' said Ron. 'If he hadn't tried to kill us all, I'd be quite sorry he was dead.'

'But don't you realise?' whispered Hermione. 'This means if we can just get the snake.'

Yells and shouts interrupted Hermione, and Percy and Fred backed into view, duelling with a bunch of Death Eaters.

'Hello, Minister!' bellowed Percy, and he cast a fierce jinx at Thicknesse. 'Did I mention I'm resigning?'

'You're joking, Perce!' shouted Fred, while battling three Death Eaters at the time, and he glanced at Percy with glee. 'You actually are joking, Perce … I don't think I've heard you joke since you were…'

A loud explosion flew across the corridor. Hermione got thrown of her feet and was blasted into the wall. She could barely hold on to her wand as she crumpled up on the floor, debris falling on top of her. She heard loud screams as she struggled to get back on her feet.

'No, no, no!' someone was shouting. 'No! Fred! No!'

And as she saw Harry's pale face stare at the scene behind her, she noticed the book between the wreckage at his feet. There, between the delicate fabric of the Invisibility Cloak, lay Love of Mankind glowing brightly in the most yellowish of colours.

'Where did you get that?' Hermione asked, stunned.

Curses flew across the air.

'Get down!' Harry shouted, and he grabbed Hermione and pulled her to the floor.

Hermione screamed when she saw the Acromentula trying to climb through the hole in the wall. Two spells collided and the huge spider got thrown backwards. Someone grabbed her from behind, pulled her to her feet and dragged her into the next corridor. It was Harry. He was holding on to the book and the cloak.

'Take it!' he shouted, trying to get his voice heard above the battle noise.

And he held out the glowing book towards Hermione. She stared at it, puzzled. It was glowing.

'Muffliato,' said Hermione, and it became quiet around them.

'Take it,' Harry repeated.

'It is glowing,' Hermione said and she stared at Harry, while thinking about what it was that Helga had written down in her journal.

'It was the reason why I made sure that, except for one person, no one would ever again read the knowledge in my book.'

'Yeah, it's been glowing ever since I stumbled across it,' Harry said, holding the book out impatiently.

'It came to you,' said Hermione, thoughtfully. 'Love of Mankind came to you.'

'Hermione, we need to help the others. Take it!'

She looked at Harry. 'You're the Chosen One.'

'Yeah, yeah, the one with the power; pffttt… Hermione, we don't have time for this Trelawney shit. Voldemort is attacking Hogwarts, while you're running around with his miniature version.'

But Hermione was thinking about Helga's journal. And the things she had read in there.

' which means you have the power to stop Salazar's heir from achieving his lifelong ambition. … For only the real Master of Manipulation, the one who holds the knowledge and controls the powers of all four volumes, can obtain total control and destroy the books, so the threat they possess will be eliminated for good.'

And she remembered what happened right in front of her very eyes.

'Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe.'

Finally, it all added up for her.

'Of course, Harry, you can master Eternity in Time. Lord Voldemort used your blood for his resurrection. Your blood is connected to the Heir of Slytherin and as such it lingers on the pages; and you're also distantly related … which means you have a connection with Slytherin yourself … And only the one who masters all volumes can destroy them or use them. It's you. You're the Master of Manipulation,' Hermione stated with certainty.

'Hermione, Helga Hufflepuff said you were The One,' said Harry.

'I'm Muggle-born. My blood will never fully be accepted by Eternity in Time. So I can never truly master that one. Helga said that I'm The One with the Power to stop Riddle from getting all four books, but I'm not the Master of Manipulation. You are! It's either you or Him, Harry. I'd rather it was you,' she simply said.

'You'll have to be. After all, love is the power he does not know about; and the book, only one person can read, came to you,' she added mumbling.

Harry had a vague and dazed expression on his face, while Hermione mumbled on. She opened up her beaded bag, started rummaging through it and pulled out Mind over Matter.

'As its owner I give this book to Harry James Potter,' Hermione stated, and she held out Ravenclaw's volume to Harry.

'Take it,' she commanded.

Harry, reluctantly, accepted the book in his hand. A bronze dash flew across the corridor.

'I'm right; I'm right,' Hermione said joyously, and she was practically bouncing on her feet.

'Hermione,' Harry hesitantly started, when he saw her pull out Infinity in Space. 'I've already got Horcruxes and Hallows to worry about.'

'And Voldemort,' Hermione added cheerfully, like it was no biggy.

'Yeah, I hadn't forgotten about him,' Harry said dryly.

'I'm sorry, Harry. I don't mean to add up on your problems, but you are the Chosen One.'

However, when she gave him Gryffindor's book nothing happened. Hermione frowned and Harry looked utterly relieved.

'See,' he said triumphantly, while pushing Infinity in Space back in Hermione's hands, 'it isn't me.'

Hermione looked at the book, puzzled. She knew she had to be right about this, but why...? 'Oh, of course…,' she muttered.

And she secretly pulled out the silvery knife from her beaded bag, while Harry was holding out the two other volumes to her, so she could accept them back.

'Look.' And she anxiously pointed behind Harry.

He swirled around with his wand raised; only to be stabbed with a knife by Hermione.

'Ouch! What you do that for!' Harry bellowed.

'Trust me,' said Hermione as she shook a drop of blood of the knife into Gryffindor's book. 'Now, if I'm not mistaken, you can master this one as well.'

And she held out Infinity in Space to Harry. He took it with a resigning sigh, and Hermione cheered as a dash of gold flew across the corridor.

'You could have just asked,' Harry said, rubbing his wounded arm annoyed. 'I would have given you my blood.'

'You don't want to become fully bonded to me, Harry. You just need to be able to use the book. You can't be subjected to the full effects of the Blood Binding Charm. I had to take it without your permission.'

And she cast the spell to heal his arm. 'Episkey.'

'I don't have much time, so you'll need to listen, Harry. You remember what I told you about the four Founders' books?' Hermione asked.

He nodded and replied: 'Yeah, dreadful danger, need to be destroyed, what else is new.'

'Exactly, I trust you, Harry. I know you can do it. It was never me with the power to destroy them. You're the One, Harry. You'll have to do it.'

'Hermione, I don't know anything about these books,' Harry rebutted.

'You will know; when the time comes, you will know.'

'Hermione?'

'I have to find Riddle,' Hermione continued. 'I'll get you Eternity in Time and tell you the chant to destroy the power of the books. You just focus on the snake with Ron, and I'll be back.'

Hermione hugged Harry right before she left. 'Remember they all need to be placed together in order to be deactivated.'

'Hermione!' Harry shouted as she turned and walked away. 'Where am I going to keep these in the mean time?' And he held the three glowing volumes up in the air. Harry felt it would be rather hard to destroy an aggressive, twelve feet long Horcrux-snake, fight Lord Voldemort and hold on to three large, heavy books at the same time.

Hermione smirked and tossed him her beaded bag. 'Make sure to keep Love of Mankind hidden in the Invisibility Cloak at all times. I think it might be the reason why the Tracker has problems locating it. And if you run into Riddle, make sure he doesn't see the bag and finds out you have the other books. He can master them all as well!' she shouted at him.

'Hermione! He doesn't understand love according to Dumbledore. Surely, he can't operate Helga's,' Harry said, puzzled.

'Trust me, Harry! He can! Through me!' Hermione shouted. 'Keep them hidden and don't worry, I'll find you! I promise!'

And she ran towards the staircase, ducked to avoid a stray curse and ran down the stairs. She grabbed a hold of the railing when the castle trembled due to an unknown force. She had to find Riddle and nick Eternity in Time from him. That was going to be problematic to say the least. She was still holding on to the railing of the staircase, when the earthquake-like shaking ceased. She ran further down. Her best clue was that they had been aiming to go to the fifth floor classroom beneath the Ravenclaw Tower. So, she was running in that direction.

'It's all righ', Fang! It's all righ'!' yelled Hagrid.

And Hermione saw the huge boarhound run towards her, frightened of the battle noises.

'Hagrid!' Hermione shouted.

Fang jumped at her, planting its paws on her shoulders and licking her face with enthusiasm.

'Mione! Hold Fang!'

But the boarhound had no intention of leaving his latest victim. So Hagrid could grab him with ease.

'Hermione, yer here! Yer here!' and he almost crushed her to pieces with his hug. 'Time ter fight, eh?'

Hermione nodded painfully. Her chest was still healing from the attack of Salazar's book. Hagrid's hugging didn't exactly help the healing process. And suddenly, she remembered.

'Hagrid, what did you want to tell me back in 1981 before Professor Dumbledore stopped you?'

Hagrid looked at her sheepish. 'Well, I wasn' suppose' to say. Dumbledore was afraid I'd change things, but it didn't happen anyway, righ'. Yer went to Durmstrang and got out. I don't know why I'd though' you'd die there before.'

The sound of a large explosion roared through the corridor. Fang howled and ran off.

'Fang! Fang! Don't hurt 'em, don't hurt 'em!' yelled Hagrid, and he stormed after the utterly scared dog.

From the corner of her eye, Hermione saw movement. 'Protego!'

A curse struck her silvery shield and she was thrown into the wall. A Death Eater blocked her path and paced towards her; his wand raised. A smirk became visible on his features as Avery pulled of his hood. 'Say goodbye, Mudb…'

A crystal ball hit him straight in the head and knocked him out cold. Sybil Trelawney became visible around the corner and she was serving the Divination Spheres around as a professional tennis player with a wand for a racket. Any Death Eater, who was foolish enough to come in range, was struck down by the furious Divination Professor.

'Here! Here! I've got plenty more from where they came!' she shouted as she ran past Hermione, swirling another ball from her bag through the air.

Hermione scrambled back onto her feet and she was about to continue running towards the Ravenclaw Tower, when she heard Tom Riddle's smooth voice come from the corridor she just passed by.

'Now, why don't you just put that wand down and we can forget this ever happened. That way, I don't have to become nasty and hex such a lovely, little lady, since you obviously have no idea who you're threatening here.'

'Oh, I think I know pretty well who I'm looking at, Tom Riddle.'

'Ginny!' Hermione thought, shocked.

She flew around the corner, and saw Ginny standing in an utterly destroyed corridor. The Forbidden Forest was visible in the distance as the castle's wall had been completely demolished. Her long red hair and robes were blazing in the wind as Ginny stood there, her jaw set in determination and her wand raised at Tom Riddle, who leaned seemingly casually against the corridor's wall.

'Granger, so glad you could join us,' Riddle cheerfully said.

Ginny turned her head, and Hermione saw Riddle move.

'Protego!'

'Stupify!'

'Impedimenta!'

And two gong-like sounds were heard when Hermione's Shield Charm enveloped Ginny, protecting her against Tom's stunner, and Riddle's silvery shield, that he non-verbally cast, got hit by Ginny's Impediment Curse. Riddle smirked at the stalemate. Quickly, Ginny stepped forward, swung her fist around, and with a harsh crack, she broke Lord Voldemort's nose.

'No!' shouted Hermione, when she saw Riddle move and Ginny took another swing…

'Avada Kedavra!'

Hermione heard the caster on her left. The jet of green hurtled towards her, and she dove into the corridor where Ginny and Tom were standing. The Killing Curse struck the wall and blasted the rocks in every direction.

'Hermione!' Ginny yelled.

Ginny's left arm with clenched fist was frozen in the middle of another swing towards Tom Riddle and he was looking alarmed in Hermione's direction. They both turned her way and raised their wands. Hermione was about to scramble back on her feet.

'Stay down!' yelled Riddle.

Hermione saw the movement of his arm and dropped flat on her stomach, covering her head with her arms, as his curse soared over her. The sheer force of it made her hair rise on the back of her head as it passed, and it struck down the Death Eater that stood behind her violently. For a brief second, Hermione realised how much Tom had been holding back during that time he had duelled her in the Room of Requirement.

'Stupify!' shouted Ginny.

And a second hooded figure flew through the air. Hermione rolled over to face the corridor from where she came. Her wand was ready to hex whoever came in sight. Riddle came charging down the corridor, wiping the blood of his face. He grabbed a hold of Hermione, who was still in the process of getting to her feet, and dragged her along.

'Quickly, or we'll be trapped here,' he said, alarmed.

Hermione tried desperately to stagger to her feet, while Tom was hurtling her around by her arm. When she finally succeeded, they ran across the corridor. Ginny was positively baffled but followed them anyway, determined not to lose sight of Riddle. They reached the landing in front of the staircase.

'Look out!' yelled Ginny.

Hermione got pushed down to the floor. Tom swirled around; diverting several curses that now soared past them.

'Avada Kedavra!' shouted Riddle to his left.

'Reducto!' shouted Ginny to their right.

'Duro!' shouted Hermione behind them.

Hermione jumped up. More Death Eaters came running towards them.

'Downstairs!' ordered Riddle.

He pushed Hermione in the direction of the staircase next to them. She barely grabbed a hold of Ginny's robes with the tip of her fingers and flashed her wand. 'Glisseo!' shouted Hermione.

The stairs flattened beneath their feet and the three of them glided down, causing the curses from their attackers to fly by.

'Avada Kedavra!'

Another jet of green left Riddle's wand and struck down one of his followers. The three of them glided across the landing and crashed into the wall opposite to the staircase, and a herd of galloping desks thundered past them. A sprinting Professor McGonagall followed them, waving her wand above her head. 'Charge!' she screamed.

'Wheeeeeeeeee!' Peeves zoomed over them, dropping Snargaluff pods down on the Death Eaters.

The castle's walls and floors started shaking again and a loud thundering noise emanated all around them. 'Oh, damn,' said Riddle, recognising the spell. 'We are so out of here.'

He swirled around, grabbed Hermione and hissed. 'Hermione!' yelled Ginny, frightened.

A dash of silver flew around Tom and Hermione. And the castle's walls shook all around them. Curses flew towards them. 'Protego!' roared Tom.

'It hadn't worked,' Hermione thought relieved. 'For some reason the Time Travel had not worked.'

But then, she noticed Ginny was gone.

'Charge!'

Several suits of armour came thundering past them, followed by Minerva McGonagall, who was waving her wand above her head. A teenage Minerva McGonagall! She halted upon noticing Tom and Hermione.

'Hermione!' she shouted and she threw herself at Hermione, hugging her senseless. The armoured knights clattered to the ground when Minerva stopped waving her wand. 'You're all right; you're all right. We're have you two been? You've been gone for months,' she said accusatory.

A loud explosion shook the floor of the corridor, the wall burst and large rocks started to fly towards them. Tom made a jabbing motion with his wand, which thrust the rocks in the other direction and scattered them to pieces along the way.

'What's going on?' shouted Hermione confused, because she still heard battle sounds coming from every direction.

'Grindelwald,' explained Minerva, 'his forces have entered the castle.'

'NO!' said Hermione.

'He is here too?' Tom asked Minerva eagerly, who nodded affirmatively.

'No,' repeated Hermione and she shook Tom, whose eyes were gleaming vengefully. 'He is not supposed to come here. Dumbledore would have gone over there. We've changed something. We've wrecked Time.'

Riddle looked at her and hoisted his shoulders. 'We can't possibly change that now, Granger. Let's deal with Blondie first, alright.'

A curse impacted on the wall. The three of them started running, because Blondie's Forces came charging down the corridor. A jet of green hurtled straight towards Hermione. A jerk at her collar, and it missed within inches as she fell to the floor.

'Watch it, Granger,' said Tom, towering above her, while he returned the favour to Grindelwald's men. A similar green light left his wand, followed by several other ones in a fast, consecutive motion.

'Expulso!' cast Tom at the wall next to Grindelwald's men.

'Impedimenta!' cast Minerva in general at the attackers coming from the other side.

'Deprimo!' cast Hermione on the floor below them.

And they tumbled down as a hole was formed on the very floor they were standing on, causing the curses of Gellert's goons to miss their alleged targets. With a loud thud, they crashed to the floor on the storey below. And as Hermione staggered to her feet, she saw Minerva and Tom do the same.

'Brilliant, Hermione,' said Minerva, seeing that this corridor was vacant.

They heard footsteps approach the hole on the ceiling and started to run out of firing range. As they ran around the corner, they halted in shock. A group of little children was being held by several fully grown wizards. Hermione and Minerva raised their wands, but Tom pulled them back behind the corner. Hermione was about to protest, but Tom held up his hand and shook his head. He made an unidentifiable motion with his wand and aimed. A purple jet hit the ceiling, and suddenly, the walls started to shake. A roaring, bellowing noise was heard in the distance, picking up force as it came closer and closer. Hermione frowned upon hearing it again, and upon seeing Tom smirk about something around the corner, she also looked. Grindelwald's men were being swallowed up whole by the walls of Hogwarts.

'It seems some of Gryffindor's theories can be useful after all,' shouted Tom above the loud thundering noise.

Minerva ran towards the first years when the walls were finished eating.

'Quickly, this way,' she said and guided them into the vacant corridor. 'We need to get them out of here.'

Tom looked with disgust at the tiny, crying children. 'Be my guest,' he said, and he paced towards the staircase, mumbling something about getting even with Gellert, who would have been wiser if he had stayed at home underneath his hair dryer to add some more volume to those stupid curls of his, instead of coming to his domain.

Hermione looked doubtful. She wanted to help Minerva, but she couldn't lose track of Riddle and Eternity in Time in the process. They needed to undo whatever they did in the future that caused this major change in her history. She looked at Minerva hopelessly.

'Go!' Minerva said understandingly, and she waved towards the staircase that Riddle was descending on. 'We'll take the passageway to Hogsmeade.'

'I'll change this,' shouted Hermione behind her back, as an apology to Minerva for leaving her standing alone with the responsibility over a group of first years. And she ran down the stairs after Riddle. 'Riddle!'

He did not wait. She saw him abandon the stairs and enter the corridor on the floor below her. But when she arrived there, he was nowhere in sight. She ran up the corridor. 'Riddle!'

A curse struck her shield that she had raised just in time upon hearing the casting of the curse behind her. She swirled around, but Professor Merrythought came charging down the corridor from the other direction and took down Hermione's assailant with her.

'Get out of here, Evans!' she panted upon running past Hermione.

'Piertotum Locomotor,' Merrythought cast, and the statues and suits of armour all over Hogwarts came to life. 'Hogwarts is threatened! Defend us all!' Merrythought commanded the objects and they started charging down corridors on every floor in search of the enemy.

'Professor!' Hermione shouted after the retreating figure of Galatea. 'Where is Grindelwald?'

Galatea Merrythought shouted back, while hurtling a fierce jinx to someone Hermione could not see. 'He is duelling with Dumbledore in the Great Hall!'

'Stay out of the Great Hall, Hermione.'

Hermione's head swivelled left and right. Where did Riddle go to? Why had he come here? If Grindelwald was at ground level; then, why had Riddle not run completely down the stairs? What could he possibly be doing here on the second floor? The Second Floor! Shocked, she ran around the corner, opened the door to Myrtle's bathroom and witnessed that the sink surely was down and the pipe was visible.

'You've got to be joking,' said Hermione resentfully. 'No freaking way, Riddle.'

But as she ran towards the opening, she noticed it was beginning to close up again. When she jumped into the pipe for the second time, she scratched her arm on the sink that was moving back into the centre of the pipe to close the entrance. She almost got stuck there and would have been crushed to pulp; but she was able to push herself out of the way, before the sink had completely moved back into position in order to rise again. As she slid down the pipe and crashed to the floor at the end of it, she knew that this time around there was a very alive creature living down there. And she wasn't certain the Blood Bond protection she had running through her veins, that prevented Riddle and Salazar's book from killing her, also counted for that Basilisk of his.

'Lumos.'

She started running down the tunnel, until she reached the door to the inside of the Chamber of Secrets. It stood slightly ajar. 'Riddle!' shouted Hermione, but there was no reply.

Keeping her fingers crossed, Hermione peeked past the doors. She saw the familiar green glow, the damp floor, the serpentine pillars and the humongous, ego-stroking statue; but there was no sign of Tom Riddle or the Basilisk. She ran down the aisle. Where the hell had he gone too? And, more importantly, where had he left his little pet?

Then, she saw the large, open, plumbing pipe on her right. And she knew that was where they went. She ran in and followed the pipe's slow ascension, while her wand illuminated the pathway ahead. Her chest was hurting severely, a sharp pain pinched in her left side, and her breaths were beginning to get erratic. She leaned for a brief moment against the wall of the pipe to catch her breath. She knew she was having trouble due to all this strenuous exercise, which she was unaccustomed too, but eventually Hermione ran on. The pipe, suddenly, descended, and she shrieked as she slipped in a pool of slime and fell down. She swirled through a tapestry and landed very ungracefully on her bottom in the Slytherin Common Room.

'Ouch!'

But the sight before her eyes made her forget about her aching body and painful behind immediately. Three grown men in blood red Durmstrang robes and one Slytherin boy lay on the floor. Their eyes were vacant and their bodies unmoving; all life was drained from it. They had looked straight into the deadly eyes of the Basilisk. And Hermione knew where Riddle was heading. She stormed towards the exit and ran down the dungeons corridors. The dead bodies were a sure testament she was going in the right direction. She ran up the stairs where one of Grindelwald's men lay dormant in a pool of his own blood. It was Vasili. His hands were still covering his eyes. Though, in the end that had not helped him much. He had been bitten to pulp by some very big fangs.

Hermione ran up the stairs, down the corner and she bumped straight into Tom Riddle. They tumbled over the floor and the Killing Curse that was aimed at Tom missed, due to their fall. The Basilisk turned its head towards them. She closed her eyes and covered her head with her arms. And as she was laying face down on the floor, she heard: a hiss, a thud of body falling dead to the ground, a lot of hissing beside her, and then, someone grabbed her and pulled her close.

'Granger, are you crazy?' Tom said furiously.

She grabbed a hold of him as tight as she possibly could and a whirlwind of emotions flooded through her.

'Eh, eh, it's all right … you can open your eyes now. I told it not to look at you … Hermione … you're crushing me,' Tom said, patting her on the back.

She looked up into a pair of dark eyes that were watching her with concern. She grabbed a hold of his shirt and started shaking him. 'You can't do this! You can't control where that Basilisk looks at during a battle. You need to send it away, Tom. You need to. Please. We have to go back and undo what we did in 1998. This isn't supposed to happen this way. It just isn't!'

Tom just stared at her distressed features, and eventually, he hissed something to the Basilisk, causing it to move into the nearest plumbing shaft. A crash; the wall beside them exploded, and the last thing Hermione saw before a brick hit her in the head was Dumbledore and Grindelwald exchanging curses in the Great Hall.

'Hermione, Hermione.'

Someone was shaking her vigorously, and her head was already hurting severely. 'Leave me be,' she muttered.

'Hermione, yer all righ'?' Hagrid asked, concerned.

Hermione opened her eyes and saw Minerva McGonagall and Rubeus Hagrid bent over her, eyeing her meticulously. Her eyes darted the corridor she was in. 'Where is Riddle? What happened?' asked Hermione frantically.

'You got hit by a brick and Riddle told us to take care of you, to keep you safe. So we brought you here. I've taken care of the wounds on your head and arm, as well as cleaned you up a bit, but for some reason the blood on your blouse won't come off,' Minerva answered, puzzled about the latter.

'Thanks,' Hermione said absentmindedly.

She wished her head would stop pounding and she really could care less about her clothes being ruined right now. Hermione saw she was dragged into the adjoining corridor that appeared empty.

'Grindelwald?' she questioned.

'He is winnin',' said Hagrid, clenching his fists.

'No,' said Hermione appalled, as she scrambled back on her feet with a little help from Minerva and Rubeus. 'No, he is not supposed to … he is not…' And she stared at them as her future fell apart before her very eyes. 'Where is Riddle?' she asked anxiously.

'Ran into the Great Hall,' said Hagrid.

'We have to leave this place, Hermione,' said Minerva. 'Grindelwald's people are everywhere. It's not safe anymore. Come.'

'No, no, this can't be happening. It just can't. Why is this happening?' shouted Hermione desperately.

And she remembered.

'We'll look after Harry, Hermione. He'll be all right,' Hagrid said, giving her a concerned look. 'You, on the other hand, Hermione, you need to avoid...'

'Well, I wasn' suppose' to say. Dumbledore was afraid I'd change things, but it didn't happen anyway, righ'. Yer went to Durmstrang and got out. I don't know why I'd though' you'd die there before.'

'I would not worry about that too much, Hermione. Tom is only trying to prevent the inevitable,' said Dumbledore. All I can say is that his efforts will be in vain. Time will correct the error.'

'Stay out of the Great Hall, Hermione,' he whispered.

'It probably won't work anyway. I don't know why I keep trying,' she heard him mumble as he disappeared into the darkness of the passageway.

'It's me,' whispered Hermione. 'He changed Time for me.'

'What?' asked Minerva distracted, and she grabbed Hermione's arm. 'Come on, we've got to go.'

'I'm the error Time is correcting,' said Hermione quietly. And she looked at Minerva in horror. 'Grindelwald is going to win, because I'm here!'

She pulled free from Minerva's grasp and started running towards the door to the Great Hall.

'Hermione! You can't go in there! It's not safe! Hermione!'

Hermione swept through the door and the force of the magic inside the Great Hall nearly made her tumble to the ground immediately. The door behind her flew shut and the thud reached her ear with a definite finality. Tom was battling a skinny wizard to her left on the opposite side of the Hall, while Dumbledore's and Grindelwald's curses soared through the air in the centre. The sheer force of those curses made the hairs on Hermione's arm stand up straight, even though she was yards away from the two battling wizards.

'More kiddies!' crowed Grindelwald upon noticing her. 'You've always sought the strangest ways of support, Albus! Don't you have some mature wizards to battle me? Maybe you can ask that fool of a brother of yours to come over!'

Dumbledore's curse soared directly at him, and Hermione knew she was right when she saw the silver flash of Time as it diverted Dumbledore's curse when it was only inches away from Grindelwald. Time was shifting and it was replacing Lord Voldemort with what it deemed to be the next best thing, Gellert Grindelwald.

Gellert jeered at Dumbledore. 'Lost your touch, my friend? Your aim seems to be a bit off! Let me show you how it's done!'

In the mean time, Tom's curse crushed the skinny wizard he was battling, and as he swirled around to aim at Gellert, he saw Hermione.

'Look out!' shouted Hermione fearfully, when she noticed Tom had, somehow, moved in between the two battling wizards.

'Protego!' Hermione yelled.

Two curses flew through the air and Tom dove to the ground. He cast a Shield Charm as well, and it collided with Hermione's Charm, providing the cover one charm would not have given him from the two collapsing curses above his head. Hermione started running towards him.

'Get out, Granger!' yelled Tom furiously, while he tried crawling out of the way of the sparks above him.

But the force of Dumbledore's and Grindelwald's magic could not be contained centre stage anymore, and two jets flew across the Hall, pulverising the statues and walls they impacted on. For a second, it was quite. Tom scrambled to his feet and started running out of the way towards Hermione. Grindelwald smiled.

'Time to get rid of your precious reinforcements, Albus,' he said mockingly.

He swirled around and pointed his wand at Tom. 'Avada Kedavra!'

The jet of green left Grindelwald's wand and Tom froze up as he saw it hurtle towards him. And Hermione knew no amount of Horcruxes in this world would save Lord Voldemort from the tentacles of Time itself as she deliberately swirled in front of the path of the Killing Curse, causing it to hit her dead on in the chest. Hermione got tossed backwards by the sheer force of Grindelwald's curse and she landed straight into Tom's open arms. A terrifying, chilling scream reverberated through the Great Hall. And Time itself seemed to freeze in that moment, recognising the correction of the error it had come to undo. A brief silvery flash occurred; one, that went unnoticed by any of the participants in the Great Hall. And Time continued again, reset on its original path.

Dumbledore sent out his next spell. 'Expelliarmus!'

Grindelwald roared with laughter at the choice of a measly disarmament spell and did not even raise his wand in defence. He was convinced that his old friend was going to miss again; but, without Time intervening, Dumbledore's spell hit him dead on. The Elder Wand flew through the air straight into the hands of its new master and everything was as it always was supposed to be. Dumbledore stepped forward, when his eyes fell on Tom Riddle. Tom had let go of Hermione Granger, and without her feelings and emotions, his eyes turned a stable colour of crimson.

'Tom,' said Dumbledore sorrowfully.

'You'll pay for this, old man. Some day … I will make you pay.'

And Lord Voldemort left the Great Hall.

'NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!'

From underneath his invisibility cloak, Harry watched Molly Weasley sprint towards Bellatrix Lestrange, who had just fired a Killing Curse at Ginny. He did not know what to do. He wanted to protect Molly, who was now battling Bellatrix furiously, but Voldemort stood a few feet away, duelling McGonagall, Kingsley and Slughorn at once. Harry felt torn between wanting to attack the one and protect the other.

It was when it happened; Harry knew it would, before it did. Bellatrix' laugh filled the Great Hall when Molly's curse soared beneath her outstretched arm, killing her on impact. And Harry could almost feel Voldemort's fury at the fall of his best lieutenant, and it exploded with the force of a bomb. McGonagall, Kingsley and Slughorn were blasted backwards; Voldemort swirled around and raised his wand at Molly. The tip of it flashed green.

'Protego!' roared Harry, and his Shield Charm expanded in the middle of the Hall as Harry pulled of his cloak, revealing his presence. But the sudden rise of the sun outside made Voldemort's features turn into a flaming blur. Harry heard the high voice shriek as he, too, yelled.

'Avada Kedavra!'

'Expelliarmus!'

The green jet met the red one halfway through, and just before Tom Riddle's body hit the floor with a mundane finality, Harry caught the Elder Wand in his hand. And Lord Voldemort was dead, killed once again by his own rebounding curse.

It was silent for a moment in the Great Hall, but then, the tumult broke free. People screamed and cheered and yelled. Ron and Ginny came storming towards him, but Harry was looking around, frantically searching for Hermione. She had said she would be here. She had promised. He needed help with those damn books. Ginny jumped in his arms, hugging him, and Ron slammed him on the back.

'You did it, mate. You got him,' Ron said proudly.

And then, Harry saw her. Professor McGonagall was standing a couple of feet away from him, having scrambled back on her feet after Voldemort's Blasting Charm had tossed her away.

'Where is she?' Harry shouted towards Professor McGonagall. 'Where's Hermione?'

Minerva McGonagall turned as pale as a sheet, and she shook her head. 'I'm sorry, Harry. She is gone,' Minerva said teary-eyed.

And Harry's desperate, terrifying scream filled the Great Hall upon learning that his best friend, Hermione Jean Granger, had died on March 23rd 1945, killed by the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald.

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Masters of Manipulation