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The Forbidden Ship	By : Nerys Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Hermione/Voldemort Views: 18410 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series nor any of the characters from the books/movies. I don't make money from writing this fanfiction.

Chapter List
- 35
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- 37
Codes: NoSex
A/N: Wizard AU setting. No war. Canon character usage outside their canon timeline and plot.
Written for Pumpkin-dream's Tomione Day
xxx
The Black Tulip
This was the Ministry's worst nightmare. They found the black tulip at the centre of the Wizagemot's floor, standing in the priceless, ancient Hufflepuff vase, which was supposed to be on display at the heavily fortified Museum of Ancient Magic. Frowning at the obviously staged scenery, Tom Riddle walked towards it and examined it carefully.
"Nobody knows why The Black Tulip didn't keep the vase," the Auror behind him babbled inconsequentially. "It's worth a fortune."
"A fortune …" Tom said slowly, pulling the impossibly black tulip from the vase.
The flower was the real masterpiece in his mind, impossibly black, indestructable, and immortal. They didn't die upon lacking water or nutrients; they wouldn't burn; no curse or potion harmed them; every tulip left behind by the Black Tulip remained, living on, forever, as elusive as their creator. It was rumoured that the Department of Mysteries had an entire floor dedicated to these flowers, trying to unravel their secrets. Tom caressed the petals; they even felt the same as a real tulip did. He'd loved to meet its creator and pick her mind.
Oh yes, he was sure the famous thief called the Black Tulip was a woman. He could practically sense it in his bones: the precision, the attention to detail, the meticulous organisation and the elegance of her crimes. She was someone he could admire, and Tom Marvolo Riddle wasn't one to admire anyone besides himself. He tucked the flower on the label of his suit.
"That's evidence," the Auror objected.
Tom merely glanced at him, a mocking expression appearing on his handsome face. "Are you questioning my methods?" he taunted, knowing he - a private specialist - was called in because the Auror Department was deemed grossly incompetent by not having caught this high-profile thief. He bent over, picking up the vase, smirking at the Auror's sputtering that action gained. Tom turned to the representative of the museum, a tiny witch with wild bushy hair named Hermione Granger. "This is the vase you had on display?"
Ms Granger nodded.
"How can you be sure?"
She walked towards him and pointed to the bottom of the vase. "It still has its magical tag, here and here," she explained. "They can't be removed by any means."
"For as far as you know," Tom corrected, looking at the tags.
"Yes, for as far as I know," she replied snidely.
That made him look up. "You seem upset?"
"That vase is priceless, and you're being awfully cavalier with it."
"Am I?" he asked, amused, before tossing the vase towards the Auror, looking directly at Ms Granger, noticing she didn't blink at all as the panicking Auror dove to the floor to catch it.
"Are you insane?" the Auror yelled, furious.
"Am I, Ms Granger?" Tom asked.
"I don't know. You tell me," she replied blankly.
"Suddenly, you don't seem to care much about the fate of your priceless vase anymore."
"We both know it's just as priceless as any vase you can buy in Diagon Alley," Hermione said. "I have to say your reputation isn't overrated, Mr Riddle. You're the first one to notice it's a fake."
"Not the first," Riddle mused. "The Black Tulip was."
"That explains why he left it behind," the Auror interjected. "He got away with the real deal."
"I don't think so. I think the Black Tulip put the vase here on display like this because the museum displayed the fake," Tom stated.
"Poppycock," Yaxley said.
"Is it poppycock, Ms Granger?"
"Those tags are from the museum; they can be replicated, but a replication always leaves a tiny signature in the magical wavelength that's not in the original. These tags don't have that."
"Who had access to this vase since it was lend to the museum by Mrs Hepzibah Smith?"
"Only the conservator and the museum director," Hermione replied.
"Not you?"
"I only saw it on the day it was tagged and immediately put on display. You can verify that easily with the magical recordings."
"I already have," Tom said, turning away. "And I can already narrow it down to the museum director. He was the only one who was alone with the vase at some point. Conservator Malfoy always had company from an intern."
"They could've worked together," Auror Yaxley suggested.
"Unlikely," Tom and Hermione said in unison.
For a moment they shared eye contact and smiled. Yaxley looked at them with confusion.
"The intern is Percy Weasley," Hermione added.
"The feud between these two families is well-known," Tom said. "Of course it could be used as an elaborate ruse, but I've talked to both and am convinced of thier innocence. Director Black on the other hand was hiding something when I spoke with him. Now that I've seen this vase, it's clear what."
"There've been rumours the Black family's fortune has evaporated," Hermione added.
"Skeeter's gossip pages," Auror Yaxley said, his face contorting in a disgusted frown.
"Gossip pages can sometimes be essential in an investigation," Tom noted offhandedly, "whether they be correct or not."
"You're going to use it to get a confession from Black," Hermione said.
Tom gave her an approving smile. "Absolutely."
"Wait," Yaxley said, confused. "I don't understand. Director Black is the Black Tulip?"
"No," Tom and Hermione said in unison.
"Then what confession?" Yaxley turned to Tom. "You were consulted to find the Black Tulip."
"And I will," he said smoothly.
Yaxley hufffed, clearly disbelievingly.
"So the Black Tulip didn't steal; she showed the world the museum director is?" Hermione summarised.
"Yes, she," Tom emphasised, catching Hermione's eyes, "did."
"Interesting," Hermione said, not looking away, "I wonder what that tells us about all her other thefts."
"You can rest assured that I will find out," Tom replied.
Hermione smiled. "Somehow, Mr Riddle, I think you will."
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- 37
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The Forbidden Ship