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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
- 57
- 58
- 59
Chapter 58

Lord Voldemort was waiting.

A cruel smirk graced his features as he overlooked the wizarding town beneath him from the highest floor of Nurmengard. Though he could not clearly see the people's faces, he could see how they would tilt their heads up to peek at the highest point of the prison before quickly lowering them again. Several times, children would glance curiously at his Knights, but their parents would quickly turn their heads away, as if they were worried that by simply looking, their children would get cursed. The unease and fear oozed from the commoners and flooded the atmosphere, and he relished it.

"He's not going to come," a voice spoke up behind him, disrupting the faux peace hanging in the room.

Tom turned around, the smirk not so much as wavering, and glanced at the man shackled to the wall. His gaze turned into one of admiration as he took in what he and his followers had done to the previous German Dark Lord. A dark red stained the rags that were once part of an extravagantly regal cloak, clinging to his body. More blood clumped his hair together and coagulated on his face around areas where he had been wounded. Some of it was still dripping from his forehead, causing him to close one of his eyes to block it out. The smell of excretion and urine hung heavily in the stale air, though Tom didn't bother to block out the smell: It was proof that he had subdued one of the most powerful dark wizards in history.

"Is that what you think?" he asked slowly, running a finger down his yew wand.

"You think you understand people well enough," Grindelwald said with a cough. "But the truth is you'll never understand them as well as you think. It's all in your head. You think you can manipulate people to do what you want, but you don't realize that no two persons are the same. Dumbledore would've seen through your plan. He would know that you were aiming at him with that message."

While he spoke, Tom's smirk continued to grow, until the end, when he just started to laugh, a high, cold laugh that didn't go with his features at all. That stopped Grindelwald from talking; instead, he stared at Tom, a small flame of disbelief and anger building at the back of his usually jovial blue eyes.

"Haven't you realized, Gellert Grindelwald? I knew exactly what would go through his mind when I sent out that message. I knew he would know that I was baiting him. However, apparently, you don't know him as well as you think you do," he said, a victorious glint in his eyes.

On that note, he swept over to the window and looked outside, resting his arm on the windowsill. In another hour, reporters from all over the country would gather here. After all, if he had lied, Grindelwald was not going to sit back and allow people to think that he'd gotten captured. Either way, the curiosity in humans would not allow them to skip this gathering.

Tom's real target, however, was Dumbledore. He was positive that Dumbledore would eventually show up. Even if he didn't appear today, he would once he saw what would happen to Grindelwald, and Tom would personally make sure that what was going to happen to Grindelwald would appear on the front page of every newspaper there was.

However, Tom knew he was thinking too much. Dumbledore would show up today.

"You've never understood Dumbledore as much as you think you do," Tom said, almost to himself as he watched two people Apparate into the village below. "You've always assumed that just because he argued with you, that just because he hadn't joined you in your revolution, it meant that he didn't care about you. The curious thing was you know he loved you and you yourself exploited it. How can you possibly think that he wouldn't come to your rescue when you are in danger?" He paused. "Then again, that might be your way to dissuade me."

He turned his head slightly, so that he was looking at Grindelwald from the corner of his eye.

"Nothing's going to save you now, Gellert. Even if Dumbledore appears today, I'm not going to let you go," he said.

"Then kill me," Grindelwald said, his eyes solemn and hard.

An ugly sneer marred Tom's face, and he narrowed his eyes at his prisoner. "Did you think that I'll let you die so easily? Killing you would've allowed you an easy way out. Lord Voldemort can be merciful, but only to those who had earned that privilege. What your precious Dumbledore did used up all of the remaining patience I've had with him and anyone remotely associated with him. No, I will teach him the true meaning of feeling sorry, and I won't stop until he's broken. By the time I'm through with you, he will understand what happens when he decides to cross Lord Voldemort's path. Just because I haven't bothered to deal with him in the past, doesn't mean I do not have the ability to do so. After today, I will make sure that he has that information ingrained in his head."

Instead of fear, Grindelwald chuckled. "You are naïve, lad. Naïve and ignorant. Did you truly believe that you can break Dumbledore down like this? Ignoring the fact that he's intelligent enough to know that this is a trap, did you really think that you can defeat Dumbledore in a duel? If you do, then you are far more senseless than I'd thought you were."

Tom's grip tightened around his wand, and for a moment, he considered Cruciating Grindelwald right then and there. But he quickly suppressed that urge.

"A bit more patience, Gellert," he said quietly. "It's not time for your debut yet. We wouldn't want you start … performing before it's time for the show to begin now, do we? However, I gladly accept your generosity in granting me another thing for me to discipline you in. The art of holding one's tongue is difficult, but I daresay that by the end of the day, you'll learn that silence is gold."

~-0-~

Lord Voldemort did not like to be disappointed.

Of course, nobody liked disappointment. However, to him, it represented something much more—it represented failure, and that word should not exist in Lord Voldemort's world.

Especially when said disappointment was caused by none other than that crazy, old bat who called himself a Transfiguration professor.

And now, that equally insane German, self-proclaimed Dark Lord was smirking there as if he were correct.

A soft knock on the prison door interrupted Tom's train of thought on how to punish Grindelwald, and seconds later, Abraxas entered the room and knelt down in front of him.

"My Lord, the representatives of most of the major media companies have arrived," he reported after paying due respects to his master. Casting a quick glance at Tom, he then added, "No signs of Dumbledore yet."

A soft chuckle from Grindelwald caused a crack in Tom's patience.

"Did I ask for that information?" he snapped.

Somehow, Abraxas managed to bow even further down than before and stuttered, "N-no, my-my Lord—I—I simply th-thought that—you w-would want th-that info-formation."

"Enough," Tom spat out.

He swirled around and flicked his wand at the wall to which Grindelwald's shackles were attached to. A sound similar to that of a giant hammer pounding a boulder sounded throughout the room, causing Abraxas to jerk back in fright. With another swish of Tom's wand, the wall started to move forward—or rather, the section to which the shackles were nailed into started to move forward, until it was approximately five feet away from where it previously was.

"Levitate Herr Gellert Grindelwald to the empty grounds in front of the prison outside," Tom instructed, with a hint of mockery when he spoke the German Dark Lord's name. "Do not release him from his bindings. If he escapes, I will hold you fully responsible."

Ignoring Abraxas's incoherent, panicky promises, Tom went back to the window. His pale, long fingers slowly curled inwards until the nails dug into the flesh of his palm as he narrowed his eyes at the gathering crowd below.

The villagers were obviously wary about this gathering. Regardless of whether or not they supported Grindelwald's views, Lord Voldemort was a foreigner, and they had no idea what the plans of this foreigner were. Therefore, there were hardly any children in the crowd. Many parents had left them at home, worried that the youngsters would become a liability if things turned for the worse.

A flicker of movement caught his eyes, and he turned his attention there, only to be disappointed. He had hoped that it would've been someone who could be connected to Dumbledore if it weren't the Headmaster himself. However, it was just three random villagers.

For a moment, he wondered if Potter and his friends would show up. After all, after what had happened, he doubted they would continue siding with Dumbledore. From the top of the prison, it was impossible to see clearly who was standing in the crowd. However, there was something about these three random villagers that caught his attention. Perhaps it was the way they held themselves. Regardless, he would have to remember to keep an eye on them.

His attention went back to Antonin Dolohov, who was patrolling and managing the crowd rather well. Tom's lips curved upwards as he watched Dolohov directed one villager to move further away from the stage they had set up for the upcoming show. It was unfortunate that amongst his followers, the smart and intelligent were far and few in between. Thankfully, Dolohov was one of the smarter ones, so Tom didn't have to worry too much about giving him some tasks. However …

His eyes momentarily hardened when he thought of his Mudblood, but he quickly pushed those feelings away. He didn't want the anger to overtake him again, since he wanted to take his time with Gellert Grindelwald. He was going to establish his status as the superior being with this showcase and let every person know what it meant to cross Lord Voldemort's path. So, he concentrated on viewing the crowd below again.

Indeed, there was still no sign of the old coot.

No matter. His lover would pay for his sins then.

The vicious smile reappeared on his handsome features at that thought—the show was about to begin.

~-0-~

The sounds ceased the moment his Knights parted way to let Lord Voldemort pass. The wall holding down Grindelwald was situated right in the middle of the stage the Knights had set up in front of Nurmengard. Several of the Knights had their wands out and at the ready, presumably to stop Grindelwald from escaping.

Tom's eyes momentarily landed on Abraxas, who also had his wand out and pointed towards the German Dark Lord. Tom wondered what Abraxas had told the other Knights. Judging by how slippery a person Abraxas was, Tom guessed it had to be something along the lines of how infuriated the Dark Lord would be at all of them if Grindelwald disappeared on them.

Rather than annoyance, amusement flickered across Tom's eyes. After all, he didn't really care what steps Abraxas took as long as the job was done.

Slowly but confidently, Lord Voldemort glided up to the center of the stage where Grindelwald was situated. Meanwhile, his eyes found out the three random villagers he had secretly vowed to watch out for, and that almost made him lose his composure.

Really, if Potter and his friends thought that they could trick people like that, Tom wondered how in the world did the Lord Voldemort of the future get defeated by someone like him. Of course, after the few times he'd dueled with Potter and the "adventures" they'd previously had led Tom to deduce that Potter was magically competent, but when it came to tactics and planning …

The absurdity of Potter defeating the future him nearly made Tom throw a fit right then and there. Nonetheless, he managed to push his anger down. For the moment.

But really, a few Coloring Charms on their hairs and eyes? Granted, it did make them look slightly different, and Tom supposed that they've attempted to use some kind of Distortion Spell on their features, but it was utterly easy for Tom to see through their façade.

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes again, he looked away from them, lest it became too obvious that he had found out their "secret"; Tom was curious as to what they would and could do if Dumbledore did show up today.

Towering over the incapacitated German Dark Lord, Tom could no longer suppress a smirk from appearing on his face as he stared at the withered face of Gellert Grindelwald. The sky-blue eyes that stared back at him hardened, and much to Tom's delight, there was a hint of sadness.

"He's not going to show up," Grindelwald said firmly.

Instead of making Tom's fury increase, it only caused his smirk to widen. Without giving Grindelwald an answer, he swiveled his head around to face the audience, his face wiped clean of emotions.

"This is your Lord and Master," Tom said in German, "Gellert Grindelwald."

He paused, allowing the information to sink into the minds of the people standing there. His dark eyes roved over the crowd, taking in each and every person's expression as representatives from the different forms of media took tentative pictures of the chained wizard.

"I, Lord Voldemort, have defeated him and have taken him as my prisoner," Tom continued, purposely ignoring those whom he had recognized as Grindelwald's followers. "His reign has fallen, and his followers are now in hiding."

Eyes widened, and the hushed silence seemed to be even more pronounced as a gentle breeze blew across the grounds, sweeping some snow onto people and ruffling others' hair. It was far too easy for Tom to deduce why surprise was the dominant feeling in the crowd. After all, he was young, and Grindelwald was someone like a legend to these people—undefeatable and all-powerful. Not to mention the fact that many of Grindelwald's followers were excellent duelers and strategists as well. In comparison, Tom's Knights appeared just as young and inexperienced as their leader, which worked perfectly well for Tom. After all, it was much easier to defeat an opponent once they underestimated you.

"I am not aiming to dictate a world of chaos and destruction," Tom said. "It is unnecessarily harder to pick up the pieces and create a new world from them. Therefore, I do not want to and will not go on a pointless rampage unless I am provoked. With that being said, I do not expect each and every one of you to follow me and give me your loyalty, but take note that I will not allow those who defy me to go unpunished."

He turned towards Grindelwald and circled slowly around him like a predator closing in on its prey. Nonetheless, his face remained calmly nonchalant, as if he were doing something as simple as strolling down a street, until he was standing directly behind him. A corner of his lips curved upwards as he stared down at his prisoner.

"In any other circumstances, I would've allowed you a quick and maybe painless death. However, the chances of that happening had been nullified by your 'best friend,'" Tom taunted Grindelwald quietly.

A humph left Grindelwald's lips, and without turning his head, he said, "I've never expected anything less. Do your worst, lad. It's not anything I haven't seen before."

The mocking undertone in his voice was infuriating at first, but then, a smile found its place on Tom's face.

"Isn't that what they all say? We'll just have to see how much of that courage remains after I'm through with you. I'll have you begging for death on the grounds, Gellert Grindelwald."

With a flick of his wand, a curse hit Grindelwald straight in the chest, causing him to writhe on the floor. Despite the pain, a bark-like laugh left Grindelwald's lips.

"The … the Cruciatus … did you … did you think that … that would be enough … enough to break me down?" he asked.

Though pain was apparent on his face, he still managed to emit sounds similar to laughs.

Tom laughed coldly. "That's just the appetizer, Gellert, to get you ready for the main course."

And true to his words, he spent the next couple of hours going through different "demonstrations" of curses to the German crowd. At some point, the few children that were allowed to come were dragged into their mothers' embraces and had their eyes covered. Yet, no one dared to protest against what happened on the stage. It did not matter if it were because they feared Lord Voldemort or because they hated Grindelwald; at the end of the day, every single person would remember what would happen if they stood in Lord Voldemort's way.

As Tom stood over Grindelwald's mangled body, a satisfied smile finally replaced the sneer on his face.

"Any last words, oh dear Gellert, before I send you to your death?" he asked mockingly, as if he were simply asking if the other party wanted tea.

Despite how his face was all scrunched up from agony and how labored his breath was, Grindelwald still managed to crack open his eyes and gave Tom a jeering smile.

"You need not worry, Gellert Grindelwald. I shall send your lover down to hell to reunite with you soon," Tom said softly before he whipped his wand through the air.

Right before he could end Grindelwald's life, a loud crack resounded through the air. Gasps erupted through the air as someone materialized out of thin air right on the platform, five feet away from Grindelwald.

It was Albus Dumbledore.

A sneer distorted Tom's features as with a slight quirk of his wand, he changed the direction of his curse, and the flash of green light rushed towards Dumbledore instead.

Waving the wand above his head, Dumbledore Disapparated from where he was standing, only to reappear closer to Grindelwald. He reached out for his friend, but another brown-colored light rushed towards where his arm was extending, and he was forced to move aside to avoid injuring his arm.

Anger flashed through Dumbledore's eyes, and with a swish of his arm, he brought his wand above his head again. Before he could cast, however, three different voices echoed through the air, and three different shades of light dashed towards him.

"Protego!" Dumbledore cast, seconds before the three different curses collided with his shield.

His blue eyes roved over the crowd and it merely took seconds, if not less, for realization to dawn over his face.

Potter and his friends.

The look on Dumbledore's face quickly switched over to calculation, and Tom knew it was because Potter must be wielding the Elder Wand. With a flick of his wand, he threw another hex towards Dumbledore. After all, distraction worked best when trying to prevent someone to think.

The flash of cyan blue got Dumbledore's attention, and he immediately moved to the side to avoid the spell and placed his concentration back on Tom. Dumbledore now had both hands on his wand and slashed it through the air until it was pointing towards the sky. The tip of his wand glowed a sinister red color before a streak of light zapped upwards into the sky. Seconds later, a flash of lightning crashed down on Tom, who Disapparated on the spot before reappearing much closer to where Potter and his friends were standing.

Just in case the old fool wanted it to use it as a ploy to get the Elder Wand.

Villagers screamed and vacated the area when they realized that the area had become a battleground. A condescending sneer marred Tom's face as he stared at where Dumbledore should be standing. Debris and ashes whirled and whizzed around, obscuring the view. And then, Tom realized the glitch—Grindelwald was perfectly hidden behind all the darkness, too.

Tom slashed his wand through the air, and a strong gust of wind blew towards the platform, successfully clearing the view. Before Dumbledore could reach out to Grindelwald, Tom flicked three hexes, one right after the other, towards his former Transfiguration professor. The streams of light were immediately deflected by swishes of Dumbledore's wand. However, that moment of distraction allowed Tom to cast more spells towards Dumbledore.

All the while, Potter and his friends threw spells towards Dumbledore, too. Tom wanted to stop Potter from doing so, since it would undoubtedly give Dumbledore a chance at getting the wand; there were so many times when Potter could've lost the wand, and Dumbledore seemed to notice this, too, judging from the expressions on his face.

Tom's predictions were proven true when Dumbledore started to concentrate his attacks towards Potter instead.

Now that wouldn't do. The Elder Wand belonged to Lord Voldemort.

Suddenly, a shout to the side caught Tom's attention. A group of wizards, led by Meinhardt and his son, was attacking his Knights. An exasperated sigh left Tom's lips; he knew he should've killed that arrogant, old fool instead of letting him hang at the brink of death. But he couldn't dwell on that right now; he had to concentrate on Dumbledore and Grindelwald.

He turned his attention back to Dumbledore, only to find that the latter was near Grindelwald's side now. Far too close. With a snarl, he flung a curse towards the duo, only to be answered by a victorious smile from Dumbledore before Disapparating with Grindelwald.

The snarl turned into an infuriated scream.

"Dumbledore's escaped," he heard Potter yell over the noise.

If anything, that only made Tom's ire rose; Lord Voldemort did not need that him to inform him that. He could see just fine.

Swirling around, he aimed his wand at the unfortunate scapegoat on site: Paulos Meinhardt. It did not matter that the other followers of Grindelwald flocked in, trying to protect their momentary leader. Before long, they would understand what it meant to earn the wrath of Lord Voldemort.

~-0-~

Blood splattered everywhere. It wasn't really the first time Ginny had experienced bloodshed—she'd seen enough of it in the wacky future—but this was beyond anything she had ever seen, including the battle between the Knights and Grindelwald's followers just weeks ago and the final battle at Hogwarts in the original timeline. Judging from the pale look on Draco's face, it was probably the same for him, too.

All the while, Paulos Meinhardt and his son were incapacitated by the Knights, and they were forced to watch as each and every one of their friends were tortured and killed before them.

At some point in time, Ginny had to close her eyes to avoid watching the expressions of pain on Grindelwald's followers' faces. It did not matter that they did play a part in Hermione's death; at the end of the day, they weren't the main culprit.

"Back to the cabin," Riddle ordered coldly after the last surviving follower was slaughtered.

Strangely enough, he didn't seem to acknowledge the time travelers' presence; he did not so much as glance towards them. However, Ginny would bet her wand that Riddle noticed each and every one of their moves.

"Riddle," Harry suddenly called out, and Ginny picked up her head and stared at him.

Briefly, he glanced towards her, and gritting her teeth together, she nodded towards him, giving him her approval, since somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew what he was about to do. Not that he needed her approval. No, that wasn't how Harry worked. Her support was just that—support. It was something to help him along the long, difficult road they were about to embark on and let him know that she felt that he was making the right decision, too.

Gratitude and relief appeared on Harry's face, and he shifted his attention back to Riddle.

"Potter," Riddle replied, turning around on the spot to look at the three time travelers.

"We need to speak with you," Harry said.

Smug satisfaction flashed through Riddle's eyes, and Ginny pushed away all thoughts of turning back. She had her heart set on getting this done, and so did Harry. Draco turned even paler than before when he finally realized what Harry was going to do. However, he didn't make any moves to stop them.

"Take Herr Meinhardt and his son back to the cabin and guard them," Riddle instructed Dolohov.

"Yes, my Lord," Dolohov answered with a nod before he Disapparated with the rest of the Knights.

Then, the four of them were the only ones left. It wasn't particularly comfortable to Ginny, standing amidst piles of dead bodies—or rather, body parts. Nonetheless, she determinedly stared at Riddle and waited for the negotiation between Harry and Riddle to begin.

Heaving a sigh, Harry finally spoke, "I don't want to beat around the bushes—all four of us want Dumbledore dead for—"

He swallowed, as if it was particularly hard to continue what he was saying.

"—we all want him dead for the same reason, and … I've thought about it in the last couple of days. The best way to go about it is to join forces with one another."

Riddle gazed at Harry for a couple of seconds before saying, "What makes you believe that I might need your help in defeating Albus Dumbledore, Potter?"

"I would rather the mind games be kept to a minimum, Riddle. You know that we're from the future, and we know more about what will happen with each move you take more than you do," Harry said.

"Then you should also realize that you're changing the future as we speak," said Riddle.

Harry nodded. "It is, but not everything will change. The three of us have memories from both the original and the … wacky timeline."

Riddle's lips quirked upwards upon hearing the word "wacky." Other than that, his expression remained unchanged.

Momentarily, a frown appeared on Ginny's face. There was something … off about Riddle's demeanor, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Therefore, we have the best chance at guessing what will happen with each step you make. You wouldn't want to make the same errors in this timeline as you did in the two other timelines," Harry pointed out.

Riddle's eyes narrowed for a brief moment. "Your proposal seems reasonable, but … I fail to see what I could benefit from obliging you. You, on the other hand, have nothing to lose and everything to gain from this plan."

"You know how powerful our spells could be if we work together. I'm not saying that it will be simple to defeat Dumbledore, but it will make things easier. He's saved Grindelwald, so he must've returned to Hogwarts. You know how strong the wards are there, and if Dumbledore manages to heal Grindelwald, you'll be facing two opponents instead of one," Harry pointed out.

"That makes things much more difficult for you as well," Riddle mused, a thoughtful look on his face.

"That's why I suggested to—"

Riddle held up his hand as impassivity slid over his features once more. "As tempting as your plan might be, I have no guarantee in regards to where your true loyalties lie. You may very well be—"

"You cannot seriously be suggesting that we—Hermione's our friend, the last thing we will do is remain loyal to the person who killed her," Ginny snapped.

For a short moment, her fear for him returned full force as those bottomless, dark eyes gazed at her, as if they were searching deep within her soul—much like the diary Horcrux had done to her. However, she shook it aside and glared determinedly back at him.

"My apologies, I did not mean to imply that you will do something that might dishonor her memory," Riddle said.

"We're not taking the Mark, if that's what you're getting at," said Harry, attracting Riddle's attention back to him.

The two of them stared at one another for what seemed like an eternity, neither of them willing to back down. Harry's proposal was alluring to Riddle, to say the least. After all, if Harry decided to join him, he would've gained a powerful accomplice when it came down to defeating Dumbledore and taking over Hogwarts. Once Dumbledore was defeated and Hogwarts had fallen, it would only be a matter of time before the wizarding world fell to Riddle's feet. However, they all knew how obsessive Riddle was with marking what he considered his. If the three of them—well, two of them, since Draco already had the Mark—if the two of them didn't take the Mark, he would feel insecure about his hold on them.

"A simple mark cannot possibly guarantee where our loyalties lie. Some of your Death Eaters—what you call your Knights in the future—had the Dark Mark, but they still betrayed you in the end. We take what we say seriously, and when we say that we will do anything to help you conquer Dumbledore, we mean it," Harry said, breaking the silence.

"You seem to think that the Mark simply serves as a way for my followers to show their loyalties. It's merely an … easier way for them to know when I require their services," Riddle said, his expression indecipherable.

Not to mention excruciatingly painful and irritating when said "follower" did not show up.

"We can do it some other way, just like—" Harry took in a deep breath. "—just like the way Hermione used, with the Protean Charm on a Galleon."

Or like the way she placed the charm on our necklaces.

However, the time travelers had no idea how much they wanted Riddle to know about the necklaces. Ginny assumed that was why Harry kept quiet about it.

"A Protean Charm on a Galleon?" Riddle asked, raising an eyebrow before a faint smile appeared on his face. "Only she would think of something like that."

She hadn't been imagining it; there was something definitely wrong with how Riddle was reacting. As if seeking for confirmation, Ginny glanced towards Draco, who also happened to be looking at her. Apparently, he was finding something about Riddle strange, too.

"I suppose I can be lenient enough to grant you your wish of not receiving the Mark immediately," Riddle said, and it didn't escape their notice that he slipped in a time limit in his words. "However, we also have another issue."

As if on cue, Ginny and Draco's eyes fell on the wand firmly within Harry's grasp.

"You want the Elder Wand," Harry said straightforwardly.

Riddle gazed at him before giving a short nod. "That is obvious."

Harry paused for a short moment, presumably thinking over the consequences and weighing the pros and cons. In the end, he closed his eyes and heaved a deep sigh.

"Hermione wanted us to keep the Elder Wand safe—"

"And you think that the wand will be safer in your hands than mine?" interrupted Riddle, raising an eyebrow and mockery laced throughout his words.

Harry opened his eyes and stared at Riddle. Slowly, he said, "I can't tell you if it would be safer or not, but …"

The world would be a much safer place.

Those words remained unspoken, but each of the time travelers knew that was what was going through Harry's mind. It was the one thing that was troubling him—Lord Voldemort's reign of terror. What if they inadvertently helped him in creating another hell on Earth?

Suddenly, Ginny wished that they had talked about this beforehand. At least they would've worked out something like a plan for this.

A short, cold laugh left Riddle's lips. "Potter, you were the one who requested a discussion with me, one which I kindly granted, and you were the one who proposed to defeat Dumbledore alongside of me. Yet, here you are now, denying any and all requests that I have. This is not a negotiation."

"I can give you the Elder Wand under one condition," Harry said.

"And that is?" asked Riddle.

"We make an Unbreakable Vow."

Amusement flickered across Riddle's eyes, and he tilted his head to one side. "The conditions?"

Harry swallowed and said, "We all know what your intentions for the wand are, but we don't want the people we care about to be harmed—"

"Potter, that is just ridiculous. Do you know the full extent of your condition? For Merlin's sake, Granger even supported house-elves' rights. Who knows what other kind of riffraff you lot care about?" Riddle said with a roll of his eyes.

Harry paused before nodding. "We're not going to completely limit you in … your casting or ambitions. However, we would like a chance to at least try and talk them into not opposing us."

"You do know that most people are stubborn when it comes down to their beliefs and so-called morals," Riddle said.

"It doesn't hurt to try. There are some who would listen if the person talking to them is a familiar face, someone they'd known—"

"Potter, you've said it yourself: The future is changing. Pray tell, how would most of my opponents know you in this new timeline that we will be creating?"

Surprisingly, Harry smiled. "That's the point. We know things from the two different timelines. If I'm not wrong, most people might change drastically under certain conditions, but there are still certain traits that remain. If we can use those things to our advantages, you will have even more willing followers and lesser enemies."

Riddle eyed him quietly, as if he were digesting what Harry had told him.

"If it's obvious that talking to them is not possible … we won't stand in your way," Harry added with a sense of resoluteness to his words.

"You do know that this will make things unnecessarily more difficult for me," Riddle said slowly.

"Your main goal is to gain power and control over the wizarding world. If you manage to do so in a seemingly benevolent manner, less people will find reason to rise up against you. The death rate will be kept to a minimum, and you'll find yourself with less trouble," replied Harry. "Reasoning with the first wave of resistance might be more tedious, but in a long run, there will be more advantages than disadvantages."

Riddle fell silent again, and after what seemed like an eternity, he asked, "What are your other conditions?"

"The safety of the three of us," Harry said. "We hope that you can promise that you'll never turn your wand on us."

Draco looked as if Christmas had come early when he heard Harry's words.

~-0-~

"I could bloody kiss you, Potter, for slipping in that condition about our safety," Draco said as he tried to find a more comfortable spot on the floor after they've placed wards and Muffliato on the room they were staying in.

They were once again brought to Slytherin's cabin. Perhaps it had something to do with the Vow, or perhaps Riddle was just in a better mood, but he offered to let them stay in one of the guestrooms in the cabin. However, since each of the time travelers were still wary about any kindness coming from Riddle, with or without the Vow, they decided to stay in the same room they had stayed in the last time they were there, much to Draco's displeasure and to Riddle's amusement.

He had also "kindly" consented to their presence at Meinhardt's trial—which translates to "torture session for Meinhardt and his son" in the time travelers' minds. However, they politely declined.

"But are you sure it's wise to promise him his conditions?" Ginny asked Harry, concerned. "Giving him the Elder Wand is one thing, since I doubt he would've wanted to talk if we told him no, and he might've just attacked us right then. But unwavering loyalty, not allowing harm to be done to him when it's within our power to stop it …"

"I've thought about it while we were heading to Nurmengard," Harry answered. "Allegiance was the first thing I thought Riddle would be asking—"

"You were right about that," Draco muttered, rubbing his left forearm subconsciously.

"—and it's obvious that the whole plan would've fallen through if we couldn't give him our loyalties. Besides, he'd given us a leeway when he promised not to harm the ones we cared about," Harry said.

"Yes, but that's all it is—a limitation. He's never said how long he'll give us before he kills them," Ginny pointed out.

"There are three of us. As long as one of us hasn't gotten a chance to talk to the prisoner, the prisoner remains safe," Harry said.

"Oh," Draco said, blinking twice as he stared at Harry. "That's … quite a brilliant loophole there, Potter."

"But doesn't that contradict with the whole idea of loyalty?" asked Ginny.

"No, it doesn't," Harry said, shaking his head. "After all, we're still trying to help him with his goal, and if killing the prisoner isn't crucial to his safety or his goal, then we won't break the Vow."

"But what about the whole … thing about not allowing harm to be done to him? What if he does something completely insane, something that completely goes against your morals?" Draco asked.

"I think is his main aim is to gain power. We saw how he was like in the two different timelines, each with different ways of achieving the same goal. So if we can keep the death rates to a minimum, perhaps things wouldn't turn out too bad. Besides, if … if Hermione were here, she wouldn't want to see Riddle killed," Harry said with some difficulty.

"Very optimistic there, Potter," Draco muttered.

"But didn't you find it weird?" Ginny asked with a frown.

"What?" asked Harry.

"Your whole … conversation with him," Ginny said. "His whole attitude, his whole … everything. It just doesn't seem right. We could probably say with certainty that he doesn't have affections and he's, without doubt, excellent at hiding his emotions, but he didn't seem the least bit bothered by Hermione's … Hermione's death."

A look of deep thinking appeared on Harry's face as he contemplated Ginny's words.

"Yeah, I found it strange that he was talking about her so casually," Draco agreed. "He was talking about her as if she were still around … though that could be attributed to his mental state."

Ginny shook her head. "No … there seems to be something more to the whole thing."

"Do you mean she might still be alive?" Harry asked. "I mean, we haven't seen her body, and we immediately Apparated out of the forest when Riddle appeared."

"I think … I think we can be sure that Hermione's …" Ginny trailed off in her words. Closing her eyes, she shook her head before continuing, "But I'm wondering …"

"What?" Draco asked impatiently.

Ginny shook her head again. "I don't remember your whole conversation with Hermione exactly, but I remember that day while Slytherin was keeping us imprisoned, the two of you were saying something about the Coin of Charon—"

Harry sat up straight, his eyes wide. "You mean, Riddle's going to try to bring Hermione back to life?"

"Wait, but isn't everything about the Coin of Charon just a legend? Nobody knows it for sure," Draco said. "That's what Hermione said."

"Yeah, but a lot of things that were supposed to be legend turned out true, too. I mean, who would've thought that a one-year-old toddler really did manage to vanquish You-Know-Who," Ginny said, a smile lingering at the corner of her lips.

"But Dumbledore said that there is no magic in the world that can bring the dead back to life. He told me that back in first year," Harry said.

Draco shrugged. "I'm not too certain about this Coin of Charon business either, Potter, because I've only heard about it from Hermione. Before then, I only knew the name. But I've said this once and I'll say it again: Dumbledore can't possibly know everything about the world. He didn't know everything that can happen with time travel either."

"Well, we didn't actually ask him about time travel back in our original timeline. And besides, he's always cryptic about everything he says, so we don't know for sure how much he knows about time travel and changing timelines," Harry pointed out. "But he said for certain that the dead can't come back to life."

"To be honest, I doubt he knew too much about changing timelines because with a personality like his, I can't imagine him sitting back and doing nothing at all if he knew that timelines can be changed. And about 'no magic can bring the dead back to life,' that could be his own bias, just because he couldn't bring his sister back to from the dead," Draco pointed out. Then, an imaginary light bulb lit up above his head. "And have you thought about it? Maybe he just wanted to spread that rumor around so that nobody would search for the Coin of Charon and he would have a higher chance at finding it, so that he could bring his sister back to life."

Harry frowned, a doubtful expression on his face before it changed to one of confusion. "I don't know. I mean … I want to think that I can trust Dumbledore, but after … after …"

Ginny sighed. "I don't think it's a matter of trust here, Harry. He did adore you back in the original timeline—"

"I'd have to disagree with that, Weaselette. He pitted a teenager against the Dark Lord with subtle hints that are hardly any help if you think about it. If Potter didn't have Granger beside him, he would've died, twenty times over. I think that Dumbledore's just selfish at the end of the day, and he just 'cares' about who's useful to him. Not much better than the Dark Lord, if you ask me," Draco pointed out.

"We don't know that for sure," Ginny argued, though there was doubt in her eyes, too.

Draco shrugged again. "Well, that's beside the point, and it won't help us any nearer to solving the question about the Coin of Charon. I don't know about you two, but you can be sure that I'm hoping that that legend about the Coin of Charon is true."

~-0-~

A/N: Many thanks to those of you who've read and rated! Huge, huge thanks to the following:

Betas: Marauder's Wolf and Nerys

Reviewers: Al_Riddle, LadyMiya, Ujala, SarahLuvsZombehs, Tori, m0nt, somebody french, foreverlostdreamer, Gabby0515, and brightneeBee!

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Somewhere in Time