A/N: This story takes place before the war during the Trio's sixth year at Hogwarts. Many cannon facts and events will be disregarded as I progress through my story. This is a complete work of fiction and I do not own any of the characters or familiar themes. This is posted on Wattpad as well! If you like the story go and vote for me or leave a comment!

Riddle Me This

"I tried so hard and got so far

But in the end, it doesn't even matter

I had to fall to lose it all

But in the end, it doesn't even matter"

-Linkin Park

Chapter one:

Knockturn Alley: if you didn't know that it was there, you'd likely miss it. Long, dark, and, menacing, this dreadfully narrow alley rested between Pottage's Cauldron shop and Bloomsbury's Quill Emporium.

Much like a ravenous lion, it laid in wait; ready to devour the soul of anyone who dared darken its streets. Anyone brave enough, or perhaps simply dumb enough, to venture into this monstrous avenue would be met by many unsavory endeavors. Whether you sought shrunken heads, poisonous candles, or human remains; this was your place.

It was rather odd, to say the least, that on this day of August thirtieth, three unlikely figures made their way down the alleys winding cobblestone path. They didn't appear to be regular clientele, seeing as they were dressed far to brightly and in colors that stood out against the bleak stone walls and torn up wanted posters that hung callously from them. Usually it was strictly thieves and misfits that wandered these streets and believe me, they most certainly wanted to blend in.

"Harry," the middle figure muttered quietly to the first, "What do you see?" They'd come to a stop as the alley split in two directions. Harry, the first figure, slowly poked his head around the corner; careful not to be seen by those he was following.

His eyes roamed across the dark alley until they finally came to a rest on a tall boy and an older woman. Their platinum blond hair stood out against their dark surroundings. He watched quietly as the two of them glanced around the alley suspiciously before entering the nearest building.

. "They're going into Borgin and Burkes…" Harry said, turning around to face his companions.

Ah, Borgin and Burkes: Knockturn Alley's most notorious shop. I myself have only ever been in once. It was on a dare from my friends, you know how Slytherins are. Any who, I'll never forget the things I saw that day. It was full of all sorts of dark Artifacts. Things like A hand mounted on a burgundy pillow, A jar full of eyes that followed you everywhere you went, and a cast iron cabinet that slowly crushes you to death… Trust me, they had it all.

"There!" Harry exclaimed as he pointed to a spot just behind the third figure. It was in this spot that the neighboring shops low hanging roof collided with the winding stairs that led down to the alley. "We should be able to climb up there." A large window was just visible behind the roofs peak. Harry pushed his companions out of the way as he hoisted himself up onto the parapet. Sinking his fingers into the thick fleshy tiles, the boy began his ascent up the slope of the building.

"Ron, would you give me a boost?" The second figure spoke softly as the third figure pressed his body against the ledge. Bending over he cupped his hands in front of him and braced himself for the impact of her weight. Once on the parapet, the second figure reached out for Ron as he tried to pull himself up beside her.

"Bloody hell," Ron muttered to himself as he dragged his knees against the slop; his pant legs catching on the tiles beneath him.

"Shhh!" Harry hissed as he looked down on them from the slopes peak.

Poking her head over the roofs top Hermione Granger, now illuminated in the light, came face to face with a large dusty window. Having not been washed since the dawn of time, all they could see through the murky glass were a few dark shapes bobbing about inside of the store.

"Harry, this is ridiculous!" Hermione hissed as Harry crawled closer to the looming window, his face almost touching the filthy glass. "Someone's going to see us!" Quickly she glanced over her shoulder and down at the alley behind them. Anyone walking by had a clear view of the three of them hanging from the rafters like morons.

"They're up to something, Hermione. I just know it…" Harry rubbed the glass with the back of his hand; but it didn't clear up the view. "What are they looking at?" He could see that the blobs, there were six of them or so, gathered around an indistinct mass in the center of the room.

"I can't see anything." Ron groaned, "What are they saying?"

"Harry!" Hermione hissed once more as she watched him, to her horror, reach out and push on the glass. It didn't budge. "What do you think you're doing?" The boy sighed in frustration and once again pressed his hand against the pane of glass. Hermione gaped at the boy, heart thrashing about in her chest, as the large window began to swing open to reveal a much clearer image.

As stated before, there were six… no seven… people flitting about in the shop. Hermione immediately recognized the Malfoys. With hair as white as the moon and skin as pale as ghost, there was no one else they could have been. Hermione couldn't help but notice something different about the Malfoy heir. He looked older somehow; maybe it was the way he no longer slicked back his platinum hair. Or perhaps it was the way he carried himself so eloquently. Shaking away all thoughts of Malfoy, Hermione turned her attention the woman standing in front of him.

She recognized Bellatrix from the Department of Mysteries. She, like the Malfoy's, was unmistakable. Especially since her unruly black mane rivaled that of which Hermione once sported. Per usual, Bellatrix had a mischievous glint in her eye. Mischievous might have been to mild a word. Anyone who knew this woman knew that she was as deranged as the come. Her favorite spell was the Cruciatus curse; and boy… did she use the bastard.

"That's Borgin…" Harry whispered, pulling Hermione from her thoughts. Harry pointed towards one of the men standing to the Malfoys immediate right. Borgin was an incredibly short wizard with a swayed back and a severely receded hairline. He wrung his hands together nervously as Bellatrix examined an ornate cabinet.

"They're buying furniture…" Ron dropped his head onto his arms in exasperation. They'd come all this way and climbed high into the sky… just for Malfoy to be buying furniture?

"Shhh!" Harry hissed; doubting that this could be nearly as simple as 'Malfoy buying furniture.' Ears straining to here the conversation below, Harry really wished that he'd thought to bring an extendable ear. They were only five galleons a piece at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and would have saved him a lot of trouble.

"Can you hear anything?" Hermione asked as Draco and his aunt switched places. She watched carefully as his long fingers caressed the intricate carvings etched into the wood of the cabinet. Hermione watched as a fascinated loo spread across his face. He slowly turned to face Borgin and spoke in a hushed tone.

"Something about Montague…" Harry mumbled, once again, straining to hear the conversation. "Somethings broken and only Borgin can fix it."

"Fix wh…" Ron's eyes grew big and he was unable to finish his sentence. In an instant, as if on cue, Ronald's sweat fingers decided that they no longer wanted to grasp onto the roof. With an exited yelp, Ronald felt his body begin to slide down the slope at an increasingly fast rate. Desperate to save himself, Ron quickly grabbed ahold of Hermione's arm. This only made things worse.

Shrieking with surprise Hermione let out an embarrassing sound as she too began to slide down the slope. With nothing else to grab onto Hermione closed her eyes and waited for the collision.

"Harry quickly ducked out of sight as Ron and Hermione's yelps of panic drew the attention of some of the alley's occupants. Surely everyone in the shop had heard them. It was only a matter of time before someone came to investigate.

Peering down the alleyway Harry that the 'Whispering man' they passed on their way in had halted his conversation with the wall. His foggy eyes now lingered upon the two children that lay sprawled across the dusty stairwell groaning.

Too afraid to move, Harry watched as more and more people gathered around to see what all the fuss was about. Harry eyed them closely; from that angle he doubted anyone could see him. If he moved now everyone would know what they had been up too.

"Oh," Hermione moaned as Ron sat up and rubbed his now aching shoulder. "Ronald…" Hermione groaned again as she pulled her face off the grimy pavement. She could almost take the various diseases she would be catching.

"M SAWRY." Ron muttered weakly as he pulled himself onto his feet. Looking down at his now torn trousers, Ron began to dust himself off. His mother was going to have an absolute fit when she got a hold of him!

"Oi!" He waved his hands in the air, gazing around the alley in suspicion. "There's nothing to see here! Go on!" He shooed away the whispering man as he loomed over Hermione. Pointing his wand at at the crowd watching, he watched as they slowly began to dissipate.

Now away from prying eyes, Harry let his body slide down the slope without so much as a glance into the shop. "We need to get out of here…" Harry dropped to the ground with a distinct thud. He carefully reached a hand out to Hermione and pulled her to her feet.

"Thanks, Harry…" She muttered as she looked down at her scraped hands. As she dusted herself off, Hermione paused for a moment. Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of a flyer laying on the pavement. It was old, she could tell by how faded and yellow the parchment had become. Eyeing it carefully Hermione bent down to pick it up.

"Aurelia Ferretti…" Hermione mussed as she smoothed out the parchments corners. Harry and Ron Watched her from a distance as she examined the flyer.

"Hermione, we really need to get out of here. Malfoy could be coming this way!" Hermione ignored the boy and continued to examine the flyer. The image situated in the center of the flyer was of a young woman. She couldn't have been much older than Hermione herself. The woman was pretty, despite the fading that much was obvious. The woman had big honey brown eyes that sparkled in the sunlight and she had a wavy mane full of ash brown hair.

There was something about this woman that both intrigued and scared Hermione at the same time. There was something strikingly familiar about the way her nose curved and determined gleam her bright eyes held. She had seen this woman somewhere before… or perhaps a close relative that resembled her.

"Last seen September 4, 1979." Ron's loud voice shattered Hermione's came reverie. He snatched the poster out of her hands and crumpled it up. "We don't have time to look at missing persons flyers." The sound of Draco's voice could be heard down the alley way.

Tossing the flyer to the ground, Ron took Hermione's hand and pulled her up the stairs towards Harry. Hermione threw a quick glance over her shoulder at the balled-up flyer. She couldn't shake that gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach. She'd stumbled upon something important. She just didn't know what… and to be frank she was completely right.