Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

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
- 58
- 59
- 60
Chapter 59

The time travelers doubted that Riddle would tell them the truth anyway, so they didn't bother asking him about the Coin of Charon. However, regardless of whether or not the legend of the Coin of Charon was true, they knew that they had to help him defeat Dumbledore.

"I can't let him hurt anyone around me anymore," Harry had said. "It's one thing if he kills me—"

"Don't say that, Harry!" Ginny had hissed on the side.

"—but it's a whole different story if he gets the Elder Wand and finds out that it's not working properly for him either. If we don't help Riddle get rid of Dumbledore, Dumbledore'll find out sooner or later who the true master of the Elder Wand is. I can't let him anyone important to me anymore. I can't. Not after—not after—"

Therefore, their relationship with Riddle could be considered, up to this point, surprisingly civil. However, Riddle hadn't discussed with them about how to go about cornering and defeating Dumbledore either. The days continue to slip by, and the time travelers started to worry, anxious that time would allow Dumbledore to fully heal Grindelwald.

"But doesn't Potter have the invisibility cloak? And doesn't he know all those little routes that can take him from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts? Wouldn't all of those be advantages to us?" Draco asked one day in their warded "bedroom."

"Dumbledore must be back at Hogwarts, so I doubt he's going to leave the secret passages unguarded," Harry answered, shaking his head.

"Does the old coot know all the secret passages that you know though? Or does he only know some of them?" Draco asked.

Harry frowned. "I don't know. The Marauder's Map hasn't been made yet, and I don't think all the passageways have been discovered yet. But I can't be sure because Dumbledore never told me if he knew about all the passageways or not."

"And it's not only about getting attacked. There's a high possibility that they might put some kind trap at each secret passageway to harm us before we can get in," Ginny reminded them.

"Well, can't we just suggest for Riddle to go in first? He has Horcruxes, doesn't he? So he can't die if he were to fall into some trap," Draco said.

"I'm sure Riddle will find your concern for his safety heart-warming," Ginny said dryly.

"And I'm not too sure about handing over the invisibility cloak to Riddle. He already had the Elder Wand, and I have no idea where he's hiding the Resurrection Stone—I saw him wear it back at Hogwarts but not anymore. I reckon he'd hidden it, since he's afraid that it might get destroyed or something when he's dueling with someone. If he has my invisibility cloak, he'll have the chance of becoming the Master of Death, and I don't really fancy that happening," Harry said.

"But what else can we do? I mean … for all we know, Dumbledore might just sit behind those Hogwarts's wards and refuse to come out, waiting for Grindelwald to fully recover before attacking all of us," Draco said, throwing his hands up in the air. Suddenly, an idea came to him. "I should've thought of it at the first moment—why don't we just use the Vanishing Cabinet again?"

"Good idea, Malfoy, but the thing is, there's no one inside of Hogwarts to help us fix it this time around," Ginny pointed out.

"Oh … right," Draco said with a frown.

Harry's face, on the other hand, brightened. "No! Draco's right!"

In his excitement, he didn't notice that he had used Draco's first name instead of his surname. However, neither Draco nor Ginny were concerned about that at the moment; they were more curious about why he found the plan possible.

"You see, the Vanishing Cabinet was broken during our first year—" Harry pointed at Draco and himself. "—because Nearly-Headless Nick convinced Peeves to drop it over Filch's office. Before then, the link between the two cabinets should still be working."

Ginny's eyes brightened and she sat up straighter. "So you're saying that if there's still a Vanishing Cabinet at Hogwarts and one at Borgin and Burkes—"

"—we can get into Hogwarts easier that we thought it was possible," Draco finished, a strange combination of fear and eagerness on his face.

"So we'll have to ask Riddle if there are Vanishing Cabinets in Hogwarts and Borgin and Burkes. He worked at Borgin and Burkes in the original timeline … let's hope he still did after leaving Hogwarts, and I think he should know if there still is … was … a Vanishing Cabinet at Hogwarts," Harry said.

"But what if he doesn't know? I mean, he didn't know about most of the secret passageways at Hogwarts, did he?" Ginny asked.

"Well, the Vanishing Cabinet can't be considered a secret of Hogwarts. The professors never really hid it anyway. So if it's out in the open, Riddle should know about it," Harry deducted.

Ginny nodded in agreement. "That makes sense. So should we tell him now?"

Harry nodded. "The sooner we tell him, the earlier we get … everything done."

Draco rolled his eyes. "As long as you don't start telling Dumbledore 'Show some regret, Albus' and then give him a second chance."

~-0-~

The talk with Riddle went by smoother than the time travelers had thought it would be. The time travelers were correct in guessing that there were Vanishing Cabinets at both Borgin and Burkes and at Hogwarts. However, the one at Hogwarts was constantly moved around, so Riddle didn't know the exact place where it would be at the moment.

Disregarding that bit of unknown information, Riddle had surprisingly agreed that their plan seemed "feasible." Therefore, before they knew it, they had Apparated back to England with the rest of the Death Eaters.

"Nice peacocks, Malfoy," Ginny snorted when they arrived at Malfoy Manor and she took note of the white birds strutting around the garden.

"Jealous, Weaselette?" Draco drawled good-naturedly.

"Yeah, I'm sooooo very jealous and envious of your grandpa, Draco," Ginny answered, rolling her eyes.

Apparently, Abraxas's parents must be out, since they saw no signs of them when they entered the manor. They gathered in the drawing room, with Riddle sitting at the head of the table. Draco sat down next to Abraxas while Harry and Ginny opted to stand at the back of the room. Though they had sworn to follow Riddle, the two Gryffindors felt uncomfortable sitting down with the rest of them, as if they were Death Eaters themselves.

When everyone in the room quieted down, Riddle stood up, and his dark eyes landed on each and every person before he spoke.

"Many of you perhaps guessed the reason why we've returned to England. Indeed, a plan had been devised in regards to how to break into Hogwarts. It is understandable to be frightened about what we are planning to do. We'd lived at Hogwarts for seven years, received our education there, and know quite well how strong the wards there are."

He paused here as the Knights eyed each other, some out of fear and other out of slight confusion.

"That is precisely why we must take over Hogwarts," Riddle continued, his soft voice carrying over to every corner of the room. "Capturing Hogwarts will show those who'd doubted our strength otherwise. Forcing those guarding Hogwarts to surrender will show all of them that we are not just mere rowdy youngsters wanting to make a name for ourselves—we will show them that we are the ones who will be controlling how the future will be shaped. Regardless of how strong the wards of Hogwarts are, it will crumble in the wake of our power. Regardless of who are guarding Hogwarts right now, they will fall beneath our feet—"

It didn't matter how many times Draco heard Riddle spoke; each time, it was as horrifying as it was fascinating. Despite the fact that each and every one of the Knights were frightened of Albus Dumbledore, there was something about the way Riddle spoke and held himself that managed to make all of their hearts soar, to the point that they believed that they were courageous and strong enough to overcome whatever obstacles lied in their way. Subtly, Draco turned his head towards Harry and Ginny, and the two of them also happened to look his way. Judging from their expressions, they found listening to Riddle's speech a surprising experience, too.

"—From now on, we will no longer be called the Knights of Walpurgis. We will be changing our names to 'Death Eaters' because we rise above the concept of 'death.' We will be the ones determining the life and death of others because we, we are the ones who will control death itself—"

Though Riddle never mentioned it, Draco was pretty sure that the name "Death Eater" also reflected the Dark Lord's wish to conquer death, but after spending so much unnecessary time with the Dark Lord, Draco was positive that this wasn't something Riddle would want the others to know.

And apparently, none of the newly-named "Death Eaters" had no idea what was going through their leader's mind, since they all cheered after listening to Riddle's speech to them.

"I have to admit that Riddle does have a way with handling the crowd," Ginny murmured to them as they filed out of the drawing room.

Since Abraxas's parents were not home, there were no ways for them to deactivate the anti-Apparition wards. Therefore, they had to travel outside the manor to a point where they could Apparate to their destination—Knockturn Alley.

"To be honest," Draco replied to Ginny in a whisper after making sure that no one else was listening in onto their conversation, "I sometimes get the feeling that Riddle could be speaking gibberish and he'll still manage to get this kind of reaction out of his followers."

"He's extremely talented at manipulating people; I'll give you that," Harry confirmed in a low voice, keeping his eyes on Riddle who was, thankfully, quite a distance away.

After they've Apparated to Knockturn Alley, Riddle led the way to Borgin and Burkes. With a flick of his wand, the door opened, and before the wards placed there by the owners to prevent thieves could crash down on them, Riddle had already waved his wand and deactivated them.

Once they were standing in front of the Vanishing Cabinet, Riddle spoke, "Antonin."

The wizard in question came up to him, his head bowed demurely. "Yes, my Lord."

"Go through the Vanishing Cabinet. Check and see where the Vanishing Cabinet in Hogwarts is right now," Riddle ordered.

A vicious smirk appeared on Dolohov's face, and he disappeared through the door while the rest of them waited for him to return.

"Do you reckon it'll be somewhere dangerous?" Draco asked in a low voice to Abraxas.

Abraxas shrugged. "That's why the Dark Lord sent Antonin. He's excellent when it comes down to stealth attacks, and he's well … not exactly shy when it comes down to using some of the darker spells."

Harry and Ginny shared a look with one another, and Draco wondered if it had something to do with when they had encountered the Death Eaters at the Ministry of Magic back in fifth year.

Moments later, Dolohov reappeared from the cabinet and reported his findings to Riddle. Apparently, the Vanishing Cabinet was stowed away in one of the deserted classrooms, and there didn't appear to be any professors patrolling the area.

Thankfully, Dumbledore hadn't thought about using Legilimency on Draco when they'd first arrived in the past—or rather, he hadn't used the highest level of Legilimency on them, so he had, at most, only gleaned information from the surfaces of their minds. Additionally, the cabinet hadn't been at the front of Draco's mind at the time. If Dumbledore had known about what happened in sixth year, this plan to infiltrate the school wouldn't have worked.

"Though Antonin had not caught sight of any of the professors, it doesn't mean that they are not on high alert. The less commotion we cause, the more successful our surprise attack will be. Incapacitate any and all professors you can find in the best way suitable," Riddle said.

Harry looked as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself at the last moment.

"He didn't exactly say to kill them," Draco muttered, uncertainty written all over his face.

"I know," Harry answered, swallowing hard.

"And there's more of a chance of defeating Dumbledore if nobody alerts him ahead of time," Ginny reminded them, though she looked slightly lightheaded, too.

"Go in groups if you must, but remember to keep the noise levels to a minimum. Any signs of Dumbledore or Grindelwald, you are to alert me immediately," Riddle instructed.

As the rest of the Death Eaters filed into the Vanishing Cabinet, he turned towards the time travelers.

"Potter."

Harry nodded and turned towards Ginny. Without saying a word, he kissed her on her forehead and then let her go.

As if they had discussed things beforehand, Riddle entered the Vanishing Cabinet and Harry followed right after him.

"So … do we stay back here?" Draco asked Ginny, who was still looking at where Harry had disappeared.

She turned towards him and smirked. "Wouldn't that make you happy?" She shook her head. "We better follow after them. Most of the Death Eaters must be hunting down the professors or looking for Dumbledore and Grindelwald. We best go to the infirmary and gather any and all healing potions, just in case we'll need them."

That made sense, and if one of the professors got hurt, at least they wouldn't have to worry about them getting healed in time to stop the Death Eaters again.

"Weaselette," Draco called out before the redhead stepped into the Vanishing Cabinet.

Ginny glanced at him, her hand on the door of the cabinet.

"Are you sure you can go through it? Letting the professors … possibly die from a curse?" Draco asked, his grey eyes filled with both uncertainty and fear.

Ginny lowered her eyes and clenched her hands together into fists, as if she was struggling internally with herself. Then, she looked at him again.

"We have no choice. Worse comes to worst, I'll Stun them before healing them. I'm not going to let any one of them hurt Harry … or any one of my friends." With that, she gave him a smile.

Friends … she considered him as a friend now. Although they had admitted they were comrades, it was the first time they had attached the term "friends" to one another. And for a split second, Ginny reminded Draco so much of Hermione.

He stared at her before a faint smile appeared on his face, too. "Shouldn't we Disillusion ourselves first then? So if Madam Pomfrey is there, we wouldn't have to hurt her if not necessary?"

~-0-~

The hallways of Hogwarts were quiet. Harry couldn't remember if they were always this quiet. However, an eerie, tingling feeling crept up his back as Riddle and he stalked through the shadows, searching for one particular professor.

The Death Eaters that had come before them were nowhere in sight, and Harry could only imagine that they were sneaking through the school, searching for different targets, too.

The heads of the knight armors followed them as they went through the hallways in silence, and Harry wondered if they would turn their spears on them. Nonetheless, they merely stood there without moving, their unseeing gazes tracking Harry and Riddle's steps.

Out of the blue, Harry wondered if the inhabitants of the portraits would alert Dumbledore, but then he realized that most of them were asleep at this hour of the night—at least, he hoped they would be.

A maniacal cackle sounded through the air, and after exchanging looks with one another, Riddle and Harry both slid around the corner and waited. When nothing happened, they snuck out of dark shadows and continued down the hallway.

Riddle glanced at him from the corner of his eye. "This way."

He led Harry around the corner, and Harry recognized that this was the path towards the Dumbledore's office. Moments later, they were standing in front of the locked door.

"So much for a surprise attack if we have to break down his office door before we get in," Harry muttered, causing a wry smile to appear on Riddle's face.

Suddenly, the expression on Riddle's face changed.

"Did one of your followers alert you?" Harry immediately asked, recognizing the malicious, victorious smirk on his face.

"Seventh floor," Riddle answered.

As they made their way up seven flights of stairs, Harry could not help but feel a sense of déjà vu—the difference being that he was now on the opposite side of the battle.

Along the way, they heard sounds of shouting and dueling, and once they reached the sixth floor, Riddle stopped and slashed his wand in front of him, causing a blond who was attacking one of the Death Eaters to soar through the air.

"Thank you, my Lord," Makedon Crabbe said.

Several more duels were taking place all over the hallway; in fact, there seemed to be some duels taking place in some of the rooms as well, judging from the flashes of light coming from them—it appeared that some of Grindelwald's followers had followed their leader back to Hogwarts as well.

"Where is Dumbledore?" Riddle asked authoritatively as he flicked his wand and sent another blond flying into the nearest wall.

"The Astronomy Tower, my Lord. The last time I've seen him, he was with Grindelwald, dueling with Dolohov, Lestrange, Carrow, Yaxley, and Hartgrove," Crabbe answered.

Without saying another word, Riddle did not so much as glance at the battles going on around him and swept towards the staircase leading to the Astronomy Tower with Harry in tow.

Even before they reached the top of the stairs, Harry could already hear the sounds of dueling. A young man was slumped against the wall, a deep gash running down his leg, while another Death Eater that Harry did not recognize supported him. Dolohov, Yaxley, and Lestrange were all dueling with Dumbledore and Grindelwald, and it was obvious that they were having a hard time holding up against the two older wizards.

A frown appeared on Harry's face as his eyes flickered between the three Death Eaters that were still dueling, Grindelwald, and Dumbledore. Then, he realized that Dumbledore and Grindelwald must be holding back; it was nearly impossible that the five Death Eaters could still be up and moving about if the two of them were set on killing them.

With a slash of his wand, Riddle deflected the spells Grindelwald was sending towards Dolohov. Grindelwald immediately stepped to the side, allowing the spells to hit the wall behind him and blast a hole into it.

Calmly, Riddle waved his hand, signaling Dolohov, Yaxley, and Lestrange to move away. Still keeping their eyes on Dumbledore and Grindelwald, the three Death Eaters moved slowly towards the sidelines until they were standing with whom Harry assumed to be Carrow and Hartgrove.

Both Dumbledore and Grindelwald looked towards Riddle and Harry, and when Dumbledore's eyes landed on Harry, his eyes hardened ever so slightly before flickering down to the wand that was in Harry's hand. A mixture of surprise and alarm flashed through Dumbledore's eyes when he saw the holly wand instead of the Elder Wand, and those piercing blue eyes immediately went over to Riddle.

It was probably the most inappropriate time, but Harry couldn't help but smile upon seeing the confusion in Dumbledore's eyes when he saw Riddle yielding the yew wand instead of the Elder Wand. It was something he hadn't been prepared for; after all, he shouldn't have any idea about the twin cores, and Harry hoped that that would be an advantage working for him and Riddle.

"Riddle," Dumbledore said as a way of greeting.

Riddle tilted his head to one side, a blank façade masking his true emotions. "Dumbledore."

"Such a pleasant evening, and to think that I will peacefully go to bed tonight," Dumbledore said casually.

Riddle's lips curved upwards into a sarcastic smile. "That can still be arranged." From the corner of his eyes, he glanced towards Harry. "Wouldn't you agree that it's very touching, Harry, for our dear old Transfiguration professor to set up a trap like this to lure us to the Astronomy Tower, just so that students wouldn't get caught in between the crossfire?"

Dumbledore and Grindelwald didn't answer. A short moment of pause followed, during which Riddle and Dumbledore stared at one another, before Dumbledore spoke again.

"It is foolish of you to come here today, Tom," he said.

"Quite the contrary, Albus. I believe that I'm in the right place at the right time," Riddle said as he slid his fingers down his yew wand. "And after tonight, I promise that you'll be blessed with an … eternally peaceful slumber."

"Silly claims from a naïve lad, how appropriate," Grindelwald sneered, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning slightly forward. "Did you actually think that you can defeat both of us at the same time?"

"It wouldn't be the second time for you then, would it?" Riddle asked.

Surprisingly, that jovial look that was almost always on Grindelwald's face was gone this time—Harry supposed that the German dark wizard was very irritated about being captured and tortured by someone so much younger than he was. Upon hearing Riddle's words, Grindelwald's face contorted into something similar to that of a demon's: raging, vicious, and bloodthirsty.

It would be the understatement of the year to say that Grindelwald wanted revenge. It was obvious that he wanted so much more, and it went without saying that none of the Death Eaters would be permitted to continue living if Grindelwald killed Riddle today.

"Leave, Tom, and take your followers with you," Dumbledore said.

"Am I supposed to thank you for your kind, obviously caring statement? I fear that it's not having its desired effect … unfortunately," Riddle said.

"You're wasting your breath with the child, Albus," Grindelwald said.

As fast as lightning, Grindelwald pulled out his wand and shot a hex towards Tom. Before the yellow stream of light could hit Tom, it was rocketed off Tom's shield and sped towards Dumbledore—it must be a variant of the Shield Charm, since that charm wasn't known to deflect spells. Less than a second later, three different hexes were sent towards Grindelwald, and Riddle even managed to slip in two curses towards Dumbledore.

Dumbledore immediately flicked his wand, sending a mauve-colored spell towards one of the curses while conjuring what seemed like a Shield Charm in front of him and Grindelwald. He slashed his wand through the air, sending the fallen pieces of stone on the floor towards Riddle. Just when they were about to collide into Riddle's body, they stopped, as if they were blocked by an invisible wall. Then, with a flash of Riddle's wand, the stones became lit with fire before rushing back towards Grindelwald and Dumbledore. With a wave of Grindelwald's wand, the fire-stones melted into a puddle onto the floor.

"Was that actually how you planned on helping me, Potter? By standing there?" Riddle called out in between his casting.

Gritting down on his teeth, Harry rushed forward and started dueling against Dumbledore and Grindelwald alongside Riddle. It was like some type of intricate dance, and Harry was beyond surprised about how synchronized Riddle and he were. Harry had no idea if it were because of the wacky future or was it because he'd had Riddle's soul piece inside of him before, but if anything, he was thankful about it.

A flicker of surprise flashed through both Grindelwald and Dumbledore's faces the first time Harry and Riddle cast the Shield Charm together—Grindelwald and Dumbledore literally stumbled backwards when the force of the spell swept towards them. However, that was when they realized it was a bad idea to let Harry and Riddle duel together, and slowly but surely, the duel between four people started to separate into two individual duels as Dumbledore and Grindelwald started to lead Harry and Riddle farther and farther away from one another.

Though Harry knew that Grindelwald and Dumbledore were doing this on purpose—and he was sure Riddle knew it, too—every time Harry and Riddle tried to maneuver closer to one another, Grindelwald or Dumbledore would aim their spells in such a way that forced them to move even farther away.

Silver sparks were met with red streams of light; yellow streaks bounced off quickly conjured Shield Charms; green lights were evaded and allowed to hit the stone walls behind each dueler—the night sky was illuminated with different colors of the spells, as if fireworks were being set off, as the two different sets of duels continued, with Grindelwald dueling Riddle and Dumbledore dueling Harry. Both sides suffered from injuries, and more wounds were still added to all four participants' bodies, but none of them thought about stopping. In fact, as if pain were a form of stimulant, the speed and strength behind each spell thrown continued to accelerate and increase.

Griselda Marchbanks hadn't been lying when she mentioned that Dumbledore could do magic like none she'd ever seen before. Though it was not the first time Harry had seen him cast, it was completely different when he was at the receiving end of Dumbledore's wand. Even though Harry was attacking as quickly as he could, Dumbledore was casting and blocking the spells at much more ease. Harry hardly had time to check on the duel between Riddle and Grindelwald.

Cold sweat formed on Harry's forehead as he wondered how in the world he could possibly defeat Dumbledore like this. When he dueled with Voldemort, he'd had the advantage of the twin cores, but this was not the case with Dumbledore.

All of a sudden, a loud oomph rent the air, and Dumbledore's eyes flickered over to the side where Grindelwald and Riddle were dueling. Shock and anger flooded Dumbledore's face, and Harry didn't bother to check to see what Dumbledore had seen; he took this as his chance and swished and flicked his wand.

"Expelliarmus!"

The force of the spell threw Dumbledore off his feet and sent him flying into the wall behind him.

Slightly dazed that he had managed to hurt Dumbledore and still panting, Harry calmly and cautiously walked up to where Dumbledore had landed. For a moment, disbelief clouded his mind, and only when he was towering over Dumbledore's crumpled body did Harry dare to believe that it was true.

The revived sounds of dueling on the side suggested that Riddle probably hadn't managed to harm Grindelwald enough to stop the duel, but Harry was beyond caring.

Still pointing the holly wand at Dumbledore, Harry couldn't help but stare at the wizard who'd formerly been his mentor, Headmaster—the person whom he had looked up to.

Kill him, a soft voice said at the back of Harry mind.

Strengthening his hold on his wand, Harry's eyes hardened as he remembered how Hermione had been killed.

It had hurt, much more than Ginny or Draco could've imagined. Hermione had been one of his most important friends, and Dumbledore … Harry had always seen Dumbledore as some kind of role model. Even after learning that there were flaws to Dumbledore's personality, Harry had managed to forget those parts—Dumbledore was a human after all, and humans were prone to err. That was why it almost unbearable when Harry had to see and accept that Albus Dumbledore had killed Hermione, and in some ways, it made an unprecedented anger rise in Harry.

And right now, it would be easy. So, so easy. It was only two words. Two words and he would have avenged his best friend's death.

Yet, as those piercing blue eyes stared back at him, he faltered. There were no reasons for him to, but the incantation of the Killing Curse got stuck in his throat.

"You shouldn't have killed her," Harry said quietly instead.

A solemn look appeared on Dumbledore's face—was it regret? Harry wasn't sure.

"I didn't realize until after her death that I'd made a grave mistake."

"That's not a reason," Harry said, shaking his head as his wandarm trembled from the excess of emotions rushing through his body. "It's unfair. It was your fight against Riddle and Grindelwald. I know you've wanted the Elder Wand, but you still shouldn't have hurt her. She'd never—she would've never betrayed the light side, even if she did loved Riddle. That was between her and Riddle, and she would never let her personal issues get in the way of determining what was right or wrong. You, out of all people—" He nodded his head towards Grindelwald. "—should've realized that."

"My apologies, Mr. Evans—"

"I don't need your apologies, Dumbledore. It's not me that you need to apologize to. The person who you should apologize to is dead. You killed her," Harry spat out.

Dumbledore remained quiet, and Harry drew in a deep breath.

However, that moment of stalling on Harry's part proved to be detrimental.

Harry hadn't even seen Dumbledore move his wand or mutter a spell. The next thing he knew, he sailed through the air and crashed into the wall behind him, causing a grunt to escape his lips.

A livid cry echoed through the air—

"NOT MY MAN, YOU BITCH!" he heard someone scream as he blinked rapidly, his head spinning.

Shaking his head to clear out the wooziness, Harry then extended his hand, patting anxiously around the floor trying to find his glasses.

"Knew you're going to kick the bucket one day because of your freaky, saint-like tendencies. You haven't learned from the first time around with You-Know-Who, have you, Harry?" Harry heard Draco say as his glasses were pushed into his hand.

As quickly as he could, Harry pushed his glasses back on and his mouth nearly dropped open when he saw the view in front of him.

"Remind me to never piss off Weaselette too much, will you?" Draco drawled as Ginny fought Dumbledore.

"That's for Hermione, you miserable old bat!" Ginny growled as she sent a particularly nasty hex towards Dumbledore.

The wizard in question, on the other hand, seemed too shocked to retaliate and merely ducked to the side or cast Shield Charms to stop the vicious spells Ginny sent his way.

Fear gripped Harry's heart, and he hurried to push himself upright. However, when he finally got up, he felt the world swirling around him, and he fell to the floor again.

"How dare you kill the only person who was there for me!? 'All you need is some chocolate'—I'll show you some chocolate! Always letting other people do the fighting, even when they're not even of age yet, never going anywhere yourself—the only purpose you served was to make all the students under your care miserable throughout their school years," growled Ginny, not stopping in her spell-casting at all. "Letting Umbridge of all people teach at Hogwarts—did you do anything about it? Nooo, let's not do anything about it because the whole Ministry might try to restrict us even more. How dare you let her make Harry write those lines without consequences? If Hermione hadn't led her to the centaurs, you probably would've allowed that toad-face to continue teaching us, wouldn't you? I can't believe the parents trusted their children in your care—"

Gritting his teeth together, Harry tried to push himself up from the ground again, but it still did not work; the moment he stood upright, his head spun, and he fell to the floor again. Momentarily, Harry looked at Riddle, worried that the latter might hear what Ginny was talking about. Riddle was, thankfully, still preoccupied with Grindelwald. However, Harry knew that that didn't mean he wasn't listening on to what Ginny was saying. Although the time travelers had sworn loyalty to Riddle, and that virtually meant that they were going to help him shape the future, there were some things that Harry didn't think should be revealed to Riddle—like the prophecy.

Nonetheless, it appeared that Ginny wasn't the slightest bit fazed by the fact that Riddle was dueling someone nearly right next to her, even though the duel going on between Riddle and Grindelwald was much more vicious. She kept on sending different curses and hexes towards Dumbledore, as if she wanted to vent out all the frustration towards their old Headmaster through her casting. Dumbledore seemed every bit as confused as he was surprised. That bit of shock seemed to slowly subside, and every now and then, he would send a spell back towards Ginny, which frightened Harry—what if Ginny got hurt? However, for some reason, the spells that Dumbledore cast didn't seem particularly harmful, almost as if he didn't want to hurt Ginny.

"—How many times have you put Harry and Hermione in danger? THEY WERE CHILDREN! Not your pawns, you old git. Suuure, just turn your Time-Turner a couple of times back and save the day, children. In no ways will it be dangerous. That's why I'm not going to do it myself. Good thing You-Know-Who burned that stupid Sorting Hat or else I'll rip it to shreds for putting you and Pettigrew into Gryffindor, YOU COWARD!"

Dumbledore didn't answer, and Harry momentarily wondered if it were because he felt guilty about killing Hermione. Occasionally, Dumbledore would send spells—much more powerful spells than the one he cast towards Ginny—towards Riddle. However, that hardly made Harry relax. What if Dumbledore suddenly decided to use more harmful spells towards Ginny? So Harry tried to get up again, and a growl of frustration left his mouth when he slumped towards the wall.

"You KNEW who opened the goddamned Chamber of Secrets, but did you do anything about it? Did you tell or warn anyone? Nooo, let's get half of the school petrified. And now that I think about it, you've nearly killed her twice. No, let me allow a bunch of twelve-year-olds solve it all by themself—WE COULD'VE DIED DOWN THERE, YOU OLD FOOL! AND YOU DARE TO ATTEMPT TO KILL HIM AGAIN! THEY TRUSTED YOU! ALL THROUGH THEIR SIX YEARS AT HOGWARTS AND ONE YEAR OF MISERABLE CAMPING TRIPS, EVEN THOUGH THEY NEARLY GOT KILLED EVERY SINGLE TIME, THEY TRUSTED YOU AND YOUR SNEAKY, MANIPULATIVE HIDE!" Ginny screamed as she threw hex after hex at Dumbledore, who merely deflected them.

And then, green light flooded the Astronomy Tower, and a permanent expression of shock imprinted itself onto Dumbledore's face, surprised with Ginny's choice of spell. Then, two loud, simultaneous thuds rang through the air.

A moment of silence followed, only broken by Ginny's panting. She stared at the body belonging to the person she had been attacking just seconds before, dumbfounded, and a look of loss on her face.

And then, the Death Eaters who had been standing on the sidelines cheered. One of them immediately cast the Dark Mark, which hovered over Hogwarts and illuminated the night sky, marking Lord Voldemort and his followers' victory.

Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald had been defeated.

~-0-~

With a sigh, Draco exited the Great Hall and headed down towards the lake.

The Dark Lord had granted the Death Eaters permission to throw a celebration in the Great Hall with food from the kitchen and liquor from one of the professors' cabinet—Draco hadn't been particularly concentrating on what they were saying.

It was strange, to say the least. Instead of feeling the satisfaction he'd thought he would feel from watching Dumbledore die, he felt … empty. It wasn't that Draco didn't think that Dumbledore should die, quite the contrary. That old coot had it coming when he killed Hermione out of all people.

Nonetheless … everything still felt incomplete, and as Draco sat down by the glistening lake under the moonlight, he realized that it was because it wouldn't bring Hermione back. It didn't matter that Dumbledore had gotten what he deserved. It didn't matter that Grindelwald had been killed by the Dark Lord and that meant that the time travelers wouldn't have people hounding after them now.

Hermione wasn't there with them and that somehow placed a downer on the celebrations.

Though Ginny had speculated about the possibility of the Coin of Charon, Riddle hadn't said anything about it at all. What if he was just giddier than usual because of some other reason? The Dark Lord was known to have mental problems and to be mentally unstable, so that might've been the reason as to why he was so calm and collected about Hermione's death. With that said, perhaps this was a perfect time for them to leave. But then again, it was known that once you've signed up to join the Dark Lord, you couldn't exactly back out again. Revision: Once you've signed up to join the Dark Lord, it was a lifetime contract. Draco remembered quite well what happened to Igor Karkaroff and had no desire to follow down that path. So … suggesting to Harry and Ginny to leave probably wouldn't be a good idea.

"Draco."

He turned around and found Harry and Ginny standing behind him.

"Not joining in on the celebrations?" Harry asked as he sat down next to him.

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Don't see you drinking a lifetime's worth inside with them."

Harry grinned and didn't answer, but Draco saw the emptiness he felt mirrored in the green eyes behind those glasses. Momentarily, Draco glanced at Ginny, knowing how shocked and shaken she was for killing Dumbledore. However, she seemed to be coping, though that haunted look still hadn't left her eyes.

Just then, they heard their names being called out, and when they turned around, they found Abraxas running up to them.

"What is it?" Ginny asked when he was close enough to talk with them.

"I—I was looking all—over for you. The—the Dark Lord wants to—see the three of you," Abraxas panted.

~-0-~

They weren't very surprised to learn from Abraxas that Riddle was waiting for them inside the Head's Office. Riddle hadn't expressed a single bit of joy when Dumbledore was killed, but the time travelers were certain that he must be overwhelmed with glee that his long-time nemesis was now gone—even though Dumbledore had died by Ginny's hands instead.

"Potter," Riddle greeted from the chair behind the desk of the Head's Office.

"Riddle," Harry replied with a nod of his own. After a short pause, he continued, "You asked to see us."

"I simply wanted to check the well-being of every one of my followers. Once I've heard from Antonin that the three of you were absent from the celebrations, I just wanted to make sure that everything was okay," Riddle said, a wry smile in place on his face.

The three of them remained silent. Ginny stood to the side, eying Riddle with caution. Draco, on the other hand, shifted his weight from feet to feet.

The silence hung uncomfortably in the air, and Riddle tilted his head to one side.

"Or am I incorrect in assuming that you are pleased with the outcome? Surely my decision to keep the captured professors in the dungeons at Malfoy Manor wouldn't be too appalling to you. After all, you did personally instruct Abraxas to provide them with comfortable settings and everyday necessities until you get the chance to speak with them," Riddle said offhandedly.

Heaving a deep sigh, Harry finally spoke, "We want to know the situation with Hermione."

Riddle raised an eyebrow. "What about Hermione?"

Harry didn't immediately speak; however, when he did, it was with difficulty. "Is she … truly gone?"

A corner of Riddle's lips curved upwards. "Are you suggesting, Potter, that there's some kind of magic that could bring a person back to life?"

"I don't know," Harry answered. "But your reactions aren't adding up to what I thought they would be after seeing Hermione die right in front of you."

In an instant, a blank front covered any and all expressions on Riddle's face, and he leaned forward. "Perhaps I just didn't care as much about Hermione as you thought I did."

Instead of getting angry, Harry stared back at Riddle expressionlessly. "I'm not here to discuss with you about your emotional or psychological state. I just to know, is she truly gone?"

Riddle eyed him for a short moment before speaking again. "To what length are you willing to travel in order to save her, Potter?"

His words renewed the sparks of hope in Harry's heart. However, it also ignited a flame of caution.

"So that means you do have a way of bringing her back," Harry concluded.

A smile tugged on the corner of Riddle's lips again and he leaned back into the chair he was sitting in again. "I never said that. I simply inquired your determination in bringing Hermione back to life. That's all."

Harry stared at him—he didn't feel it was necessary to answer Riddle.

A soft chuckle left Riddle's lips, and with a flick of his wand, an object appeared out of thin air and landed on the table in front of him. Uncontrollably, all of the time travelers' eyes landed on the intricately designed box, though they were too far away from the desk to see it in detail. However, it was obvious that it was something old.

"I've gotten this from Dietfried Kaufmann's house," Riddle spoke up after they stared at the box for a while.

"He couldn't have bought it," Harry blurted out, remembering quite well the decorations, or lack thereof, in Dietfried's house.

"Indeed," Riddle agreed, amused. "He didn't buy it. He'd gotten it on an expedition with Dumbledore."

Harry kept silent, waiting for Riddle to continue, since he had no idea what this had to do with bringing Hermione back to life.

"Apparently, Dietfried never figured out the secret inside this box," Riddle continued, waving a hand towards the box. "He'd thought that the box was important because it held a ring that enforced the power of nonverbal, wandless magic. He never found the hidden compartment underneath the ring."

"And you've found it," Harry said.

Riddle gazed at him for a short moment, and with a swish of his wand, something gold appeared and landed on the table next to the box. Upon looking at it a bit closely, it was a scarab, around the shape of a Galleon.

"This is the key that opens the compartment," Riddle said.

Harry looked at both objects on the table for a few seconds and asked, "What does all of this have to do with bringing Hermione back to life?"

"There's an item inside the secret compartment," Riddle said, his dark eyes fathomless. "And legend has it that this item could bring a person back to life."

That spark of hope in Harry's heart roared to a bonfire. "Dumbledore once said that there's no magic that can bring a person back to life."

"As I've said, 'legend has it.' I never commented on whether or not the item will work," Riddle answered.

"I've never heard of any legends talking about a secret compartment inside a box bringing a person back to life," Harry said.

Riddle raised an eyebrow. "Were you listening, Potter? I said the item inside it. The box itself will not bring a person back to life, but the Coin of Charon was rumored to have that ability.

The Coin of Charon … it really was the Coin of Charon in that secret compartment.

Ginny grasped onto his hand, her own hand shaking from the emotions that were coursing through her. Harry had no idea if Riddle were lying or not. There were millions of reason why he would lie to them, but Harry didn't want to think about those possibilities right now. He didn't care that it was possible that Riddle had somehow managed to overcome their wards while they were sleeping in Slytherin's cabin and had overheard their conversation about the Coin of Charon. Presented in front of them was a chance to bring Hermione back to life, and Harry didn't want to let that slip away.

"So why didn't you open it?" Harry asked, trying hard not to let his emotions show.

"There are certain requirements that must be met before this box could be opened," Riddle replied.

Taking a piece of parchment from the table, Riddle tapped it with his wand. With a wave of his wand, the parchment flew towards Harry, who grabbed it.

Made out of neither stone nor metal, the box of compartments can only be opened by the metal touched by the lips of the sun and by one who has the capacity to give mercy to even those who had wronged him.

Without warning, Draco snorted. "Was Nefertiti a friend of yours, Harry?"

Harry didn't answer; he merely stared at the parchment in his hands before gazing back at the objects on the table.

"I never would've guessed that you would fit the qualifications, until I saw you failing to kill Dumbledore when you've gotten the chance to," Riddle said, twirling his wand around effortlessly.

"How do we know if it isn't some kind of trap?" Ginny spoke up, suspicion etched on every one of her features.

"Weasley, I do not have a reason to harm Potter. Besides, I've made the Unbreakable Vow with the three of you already. I'm not about to risk my life just to kill him," Riddle said.

Swallowing hard, Harry walked up to the table, never taking his eyes off the box and the scarab.

"Can I …?" he asked, gesturing towards the box and the scarab and glancing at Riddle.

Riddle gave him a nod.

Harry took the box and placed it in the palm of one hand. With the other, he opened the box carefully and found a scarab-shaped indent in the middle of the wooden panel inside. He picked up the scarab and, after inhaling deeply, clicked it into place in the box.

~-0-~

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

Betas: Nerys and Marauder's Wolf

Reviewers: LadyMiya, Bluelagoon, SRaven_Underhill, brightneeBee, Laura, and Gabby0515

Review replies can be found here: http://tomioneconvention.forumotion.com/t124p15-somewhere-in-time-affnet-version-review-replies#21879
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Somewhere in Time