I have always wanted to write a Tomione FanFiction. I am not ashamed to admit that if Hermione and Tom had met sometime that their attraction would be clear. Two clever minds united. Anyway…. Only time will tell.

I watched, paralyzed with fear, as the immense mass of scales slithered its way towards me. Its eyes, just mere slits, held me captivated by the look of pure loathe they held. It hissed and coiled around itself as it approached me. I grabbed at my coat pocket where I always stow my wand but all I felt was an empty space. The snake hissed in laughter as if enjoying my frenzied panic. I tried to use wandless magic, which I had indeed practiced in theory, but nothing happened. The minutes crawled by in an endless agony. Beads of sweat trickled down my forehead as I watched the snake uncoil and move forward one foot, two feet, three feet… until it was just seconds away from striking. I closed my eyes in anticipation and expected to feel the fangs sink into my flesh but nothing happened. And suddenly, I felt a cold bony finger move across my neck. I opened my eyes and saw red slits staring at me. The eyes of a murderer. My eyes didn't stray from the furious eyes as I felt the wand trailing down the hollow of my neck and resting at my heart.

"Such a pretty face," He whispered, "Gone to waste."

I saw a green flash of light and heard the curse before I could close my eyes.

I woke gasping and panting. My body was drenched in sweat and my eyes were swimming with tears. I fumbled to unwrap myself from my cocoon of sheets and fell on the floor with the process. The clock read 3:30 AM. My mind was racing, my heart pounding in my ears. My hands closed around my wand under my pillow and I pulled it out to make sure it was there.

"Lumos," I whispered and held the shred of light close to me. I grabbed weakly at the glass of water on my night stand and forced it down my parched throat, taking large swigs. Once I felt sufficient enough to stand, I gathered myself up and walked towards the bathroom. As I walked, I passed the two girls still sound asleep in their beds. I opened the door and reached blindly for the light switch. The lights flashed and I squinted to see properly. I stared at my reflection, a girl with mangled, bushy hair and large, tear-streaked eyes. I saw a feral, desperate girl with fear etched on her face.

I tore my eyes away from the mirror and turned on the tap. A stream of cool, clean water spilled into the bowl and I gratefully splashed my face and my neck. As an afterthought, I stripped off my clothes and proceeded to take a quick sponge bath. I wrapped a towel around me and checked my reflection. I was looking better but I noticed something on the right side of my neck. I moved closer to the mirror and rubbed my eyes to make sure. My fingers brushed the spot and I held back a gasp. I felt two gaping holes set about two inches apart, each with a one-inch in diameter. It looked as if someone fired two bullets swiftly into my neck, so gracefully that it left no blood, only two holes that never seemed to end.

It looked as if something or someone had left its mark on me.

My mind flashed back to the fangs dripping with venom, those horrible red eyes. I clutched the towel tighter and walked back into the dark bedroom. I fumbled through the chest of drawers allotted for me and grabbed a new pair of nightclothes. I slipped those on in the dark and threw the old, sweaty pair into the hamper. I changed my sheets too, and lied down to fall back asleep. Something scuttled across the floor. I sat up straight and looked around wildly, but saw nothing.

I'm sleeping far away from the floor tonight.

I awoke for the second time in one night. My mind, apparently exhausted from all of tonight's wanderings, decided to take a break and let me sleep for once. I had drifted off into a deep slumber when I suddenly heard a woman screaming. I woke up with a start, and looked around the room. Parvati and Lavendar were still asleep for it was only 5:00, but other than that, there was no one to be seen. I shuddered and laughed as I remembered a time back in third year.

"Harry, no one was screaming."

I took my word for it and sleepily stood up and stretched. No point in going to sleep now, I would never be calm enough to close my eyes for a single second. The sunlight spilled through the window and onto the floor, lighting the room up. I walked over to the window and wrenched it open, taking big gulps of fresh air. It looked so beautiful outside today, with no students scattering in all different directions to their classes, that I decided to jog for a bit. I grabbed my track shorts and my sweater with the Hogwarts crest on it, and pulled them on carefully and quietly to not wake the others. I picked up a pair of socks on the floor and slipped them on along with some of my battered up, old tennis shoes. I managed to coax my bushy hair into a high ponytail. I stowed my wand in the pocket of my sweater, where it would be easy to draw it within a moment's notice. I checked the clock on the nightstand, and decided that I had to be back by 6:30 if I were to make it in time to shower and dress and head to the Great Hall.

I walked swiftly and quietly out of the room and down the stairs into the common room. The red and gold banners strung across the walls usually comforted me, but now have a foreboding demeanor. I strolled to the exit and walked out, greeting the Fat Lady who didn't seem to like being awoken at 5:30 in the morning. My footsteps echoed through the empty corridors in the darkness, for the pictures complain if I tried to summon light. I neared the courtyard which had an excellent pathway to the shore of the Black Lake, where most joggers head to in the mornings.

I didn't expect to see anyone up this early, but as I walked into the courtyard, I spotted Luna sitting quietly on the marble floor, her eyes closed. She looked fairly normal in just her nightclothes, with no radish earrings or blinding neon colors. She seemed to be in a trance, but as I neared her she looked up at me and smiled.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" she asked in a light, airy voice as she got up and sat down on a bench nearby, "When I can't sleep, I come down to the courtyard and listen to all the sounds that nature makes. It helps calm me down." She looked at me pointedly, as if she knew I was having nightmares.

"Luna," I asked abruptly, "Are you afraid of death?"

She laughed a tinkling laugh and replied, "Death is but a passage to another realm. There is no need to be afraid of something that takes you to a better place." I nodded. She smiled understandingly at me, and got up and floated away, her silvery blonde hair drifting behind her.

It's not that I am afraid of dying, just that I am afraid of dying for nothing. Afraid of dying for a lost cause. It's not that Voldemort kills me in my dreams, it's more of I can't do anything to stop it. And no matter how hard I try to move or summon magic, I am still helpless. I stood shell-shocked at this realization. I am not afraid of Voldemort, just that I am not powerful enough to face him.

I shake out of my own trance and notice my nervousness has evaporated long since. Maybe the courtyard can calm me down.

I loosen up my legs and start jogging at different speeds until I can find my pace. And then my mind wanders off. I remember last night when Ron and I were in the common room waiting for Harry to return from Dumbledore's office. When he finally arrived around midnight, he looked pretty shaken up. He explained to us, in hardly contained whispers, how Voldemort, as a kid, had split his soul. How he placed that piece of his soul inside an object precious to him. How he killed himself to create such a horrific Dark object. How this object was hidden and protected with deadly Dark magic. How this object can be destroyed in only a few number of ways, if it can be destroyed at all. How this object, a horcrux he called them, allowed the maker to live forever within the object.

I stopped at a nearby tree and stooped to catch my breath. A few loose strands of hair escaped from my ponytail and I absently brushed my hair behind my ear, brushing the two holes in the process. I made a mental note to myself to read up on healing spells, which I had never bothered to. My fingers lingered near the spot for a moment more before I continued uphill. I brushed the thoughts and doubts about last night into the far corner of my mind and decided to enjoy my time being outside.

The grass around the path was wet and sparkling with dew under the morning sun. Surrounding the path were many a sprouting oak tree which were slowly regaining their leaves after the brutal winter. Tulips and daffodils spring up from the ground, blooming all different colors. The breeze smells of flowers of all kinds and I take deep breaths to enjoy it. The wind ruffles through my hair as I pick up the pace and in no time I arrive at the Black Lake.

I remember during our fourth year when Harry was made to dive into this lake and rescue Ron for the Triwizard Tournament. I was frozen in the lake too and it wasn't entirely pleasant. I shuddered. I try not to come here that often these days.

I run along the sandy shore for a while, listening to the water crashing and churning near the depths. I eventually get tired and since the sun is rising steadily up the sky, I decide to head back. I pick my way downhill carefully and make it back to the courtyard, where I saw Luna. I see the ghost of Ravenclaw there and I wave, but she just floats away without acknowledging me. I walk along the corridors, now containing a few students mulling their way over to the Great Hall. I walk up to the Fat Lady who swings open to the password. I amble up the stairs; my legs quite not used to walking yet, and enter my dorm. Lavendar is awake and stretching and yawning and making her way to the bathroom, whereas Parvati is still fast asleep. I make my way to my own bed and grab my Hogwarts uniform which is lying on the bed, freshly folded and ironed, and stroll into the bathroom myself, grabbing my robe on the way.

I settle for a quick shower and pull on my uniform, brushing my wet hair into a tight plait. I quickly brush and rinse my teeth and clasp on the necklace that Mum and Dad gave me for Christmas along with the watch I received from the Weasleys. I rush back into the common room and wake Parvati while gathering my books. She rubs her eyes and gives me a once-over.

"Why are you already dressed? It's barely," she checks the clock, "8:00." She watches me rush around the room precariously balance my books on my hip.

"I need to do a quick run to the library before class starts," I reply. Lavendar gives Parvati a pointed look. I shrug and wrench open the door and fly down the stairs, taking two at a time. I walk quickly to the Great Hall and grab a blueberry muffin which I stuff in my bag. Then I make my way to the library, quickly entering and nodding at the librarian who acknowledged me.

I make my way over to the Restricted Section and search through all the titles. Nothing on horcruxes or how to destroy them. Dumbledore must have had all the books removed but not before Voldemort looked at them and got all the information he needed. I sighed, frustrated at what a waste of time this was, and settled down into one of the armchairs around the library. I pulled out a book which I had been reading, Magical Artifacts of All Time, and smuggled bites of my blueberry muffin, as I continued.

As you may have heard, the Pensieve is a device that is used to view one's memories. It is very effective for those who do not practice Legillimens, and Azkaban has housed many criminals because of this device. Bear in mind, though, that sometimes when memories are tampered with, you will not get the entire truth, just what the owner wants you to see. As known, you must operate a Pensieve by pouring the desired memory into the water and watching it by submerging yourself. You exit out of the Pensieve, either when you want to or if the memory is finished. The first and original Pensieve resides in Hogwarts under the caretaking of Professor Albus Dumbledore.

"Excuse me," said a voice in front of me, "Are-are you Hermione Granger?" I looked up to see a trembling first-year.

"Headmaster Dumbledore wishes to see you in his office right away." I nodded and placed my book back into my bag, as I stood up and brushed the crumbs of the front of my skirt. I turned to leave but I turned back to the boy.

"Did he mention anything else?' I asked.

"He-he said to ask you whether you would like some of Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans." He stammered.

I nodded and turned back to the exit throwing away my half-eaten muffin at the trash. I walk past the crowds of students walking to the Great Hall and wave to Luna who smiles at me. I keep walking until I see a stone gargoyle in my way.

"Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans," I say confidently and climb in as the gargoyle rose up, up, into Dumbledore's office. I came to a stop in front of a large oak door which I swiftly knocked on twice until I heard a feeble, "Come in."

I stepped into the room and face a bedraggled, old man with half-moon spectacles and piercing blue eyes which were accentuated through the deep bags underneath his eyes. Professor Dumbledore looked as if though he hadn't had a wink of sleep since he met Harry the previous night. He waved his blackened hand for me to come closer.

"You wished to see me Professor Dumbledore?" I inquired, "Is there something you need me to do?"

"Yes, yes," He said in a slightly, manic voice, "I need you to do something."

"Anything," I replied.

He peered at me through his spectacles and asked, "I assume Harry has told you what I have revealed to him last night? About how Voldemort has been trying to obtain immortality?" I nodded.

"As I have explained to Harry, a horcrux is an object that houses a part of the soul. It allows the maker to remain in the living world even after their physical body has long decayed. Lord Voldemort has created, I believe if I am not doubted, numerous of these objects." I opened my mouth to speak but he continued.

"Mind you," he continued, "I would hate to place children at such harmful risks, but I have no choice. Alas, when Voldemort created his first horcrux, he placed and enchantment that bound all of the horcruxes together. You see, he made sure that if the first one was to be destroyed then it would be harder and harder to obliterate the next ones. The last one would be impossible to kill by this time."

"If what you say is true," I said as realization slowly dawned on me, "you are declaring that Voldemort has achieved immortality? That we are fighting for a lost cause?" He nodded gravely.

"But in that case professor," I continued, "why would you tell Harry that destroying Voldemort's horcruxes would kill him?"

"Because the last horcrux is near impossible to kill by this time. It is said that the last horcrux can be killed in one way and one way only." He leaned forward.

"A shred of good found in the maker's heart."

I exploded, "That is impossible. Voldemort is a vile and despicable snake. There is nothing but evil in such a heart. His heart's amusement is killing helpless muggles."

"I believe otherwise," I started to speak but he held up a finger, "Voldemort is evil, true, but he was not always like this. When he was younger he was an excellent boy, a star pupil. Somewhere along these years something must have occurred for him to change drastically in such a way that this Tom Riddle would have become a Voldemort.

"What are you saying…?"

"I am saying that if someone were to go back to Tom Riddle's childhood and revert his turning to sin then the whole world will be saved from this evil." He raised his eyebrows.

"Are you suggesting that someone turns back time and tries to convert Voldemort to good before he has the opportunity to make any horcruxes?" I asked unsure.

"Not just someone," he said slowly. The dread registered in my face.

"Me."

Dumbledore nodded gravely, "It is of my utmost displeasure to entrust such a task to such a young girl but I have no choice." His eyes brimmed with tears.

"It would be completely understandable if you refuse the offer. I wouldn't expect anyone, no matter how brave, to succeed. But I have faith in you, Ms. Granger."

"Do you believe that Harry and Ron can succeed in destroying Voldemort without me doing this?" I asked.

"Frankly, no. They need you." He confirmed.

I frowned. I thought about my mum and dad and how safe they would be when Voldemort was eliminated. I thought about Harry and how his parents would be alive. I thought about Sirius, Cedric, and all of the others who died at the hands of Voldemort. I thought of myself getting into danger every single year because of Voldemort attempting to murder Harry. And I had my answer.

"No."

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