Disclaimer: Hmmm… not mine, but I'm planning of getting it for Christmas.

Voldemort's Mistake- Scene One, Take Three

By Nosgoroth

"Well, well, well..." Voldemort was almost hissing in delight while eyeing viciously the figure that was tied to a wooden chair, the only piece of furniture in the whole room. "It seems that I will finally have my prize, eh, girl?"

Being at such a short distance of finally getting his revenge on Potter, he had ensured himself some privacy with his prisoner, so that he could savour this moment of victory by psychologically torturing her. He paced back and forth, his eyes never leaving the girl, his sneer always in place.

She glared at him, her hatred finally overwhelming her fear. "You'll get no ransom for me, if that's what you're talking about." Hermione Granger had never actually seen Lord Voldemort before, and, the moment he had entered through the door, she had been paralyzed with horror. Now, however, her mind was swimming in hatred towards the... man... that had caused so much grief to her best friend, Harry Potter.

Voldemort laughed. It was a cold, piercing laugh that resembled a serpent's hiss. "Oh, no, my dear Granger. It's not a ransom what I'm after." He continued pacing the room, obviously enjoying his little victory. "You know as well as I do that your... boyfriend," he spat the word "will uselessly attempt a rescue."

Hermione blanched. Is he after Ron now? Why? She wondered. The thought of Ron falling into Voldemort's hands was enough to make Hermione's resolve and boldness evaporate.

Voldemort had kept talking. "Potter will not have a chance when he walks through this door, invisibility cloak or not." He smirked at her.

The door creaked open, revealing someone that Hermione had never thought she would ever see this way. Voldemort, however, looked as if someone had used the Confundus on him.

"What? You? But...?"

Hermione Granger stood on the doorway, looking as if nothing had happened at all. She walked to the tied Hermione and peered at her. "What am I doing tied to a chair?"

Voldemort blinked.

...

...

...

"I beg your pardon?"

The girl turned and looked at him with the best puppy dog eyes she could muster. "Why did you do this?"

Voldemort faltered. "I-I mean... I was j-just..."

The Hermione that was tied to the chair gaped at the other. "How are you here?"

"I turned back time so I could save you."

"Save me? From what?"

"A terrible fate I wish had never happened."

Voldemort brought a hand to the bridge of his nose, as if trying to prevent a headache from coming. "Now, see here, Granger. You're making no sense whatsoever. Here you are, breaking the Treaty of Restriction of Time Travel to save yourself from something that has already happened to you?"

"Correct."

"But..." Voldemort was at a loss. "Surely you must know that if you save yourself from it, your past self will not have a reason to go back and warn yourself against what has already happened to you, which is what you're saving yourself from."

The tied Hermione sighed. "Now you're the one making no sense."

Voldemort frowned heavily. "If you save yourself from something that will happen but that has already happened to you, you won't suffer that something so you won't save yourself from it in the next cycle."

"No, no, that's not the point," answered the standing Hermione. "I mean, Buckbeak was a Hippogriff, wasn't he?"

"Well, yes, but..."

"Then what's the problem?"

Voldemort blinked stupidly. "What does that have to do with ANYTHING?"

"Well," brightly observed future-Hermione. "I read about it in 'Hogwarts, A History'."

The bewildered Dark Lord shook his head sarcastically. "Oh, then I suppose it's FINE, since now we KNOW where you got that from! NOW IT MAKES SENSE!"

The tied Hermione turned around as much as she could. "What does 'Hogwarts, A History' have to do with Buckbeak?"

Voldemort shook his head. "That's what I'm asking. You know, Granger, you were a lot more coherent before turning back time."

"But I haven't turned back time!" Hermione protested.

"That's true," confirmed the other Hermione.

"Not necessarily," responded the Dark Lord. "You did turn back time at the end of your third year, didn't you?"

The standing Hermione nodded thoughtfully. "In that case your last sentence has a new meaning."

The chair-bound Hermione growled, exasperated. "Shouldn't we just start this all over again?"

The other Hermione nodded. "You're right."

"How did you arrive here?"

"I turned back time so I could save you."

"Save me? From what?"

"A terrible fate I wish had never happened."

"What was it?"

"I wish I could speak my mind freely," said the other Hermione. "I can only tell you that it happened out there." She pointed towards the door.

"Really? And when will it happen?"

"Any time now."

Voldemort, out of curiosity, rushed to the door, opened it, and peered around.

CLUNK.

The Dark Lord fell to the floor unconscious. Neville's head popped from outside, a monster grin covering his face. "I knocked out You-Know-Who!" He stepped into the room and Hermione saw that he was holding a large wooden hammer.

At roughly the same time, the supposedly future-Hermione suffered an incredible transformation. Her bushy brown hair became messy red, she grew half a foot and, ultimately, Hermione Granger became Ron Weasley.

"W-What?"

Ron grinned while untying Hermione. "Polyjuice. How good was the impersonation? Do I rate?"

"You fooled me all right." Hermione grinned back, relieved. "Thanks for coming, Ron. I don't think I would have been able to put up with him any longer. The idiot is an H/Hr shipper."

"No wonder he turned out this way... Rotten to the core."

"Where's Harry, by the way?"

"We knew it was too dangerous for him, so we had to keep him in the castle. What did you do in the end, Neville? The Full-Body Bind or the Dreamless Sleep Potion?"

Neville looked amused for some reason. "Neither. I told Ginny to keep him busy."

Ron flinched. "Ah. Well. In that case we'd better avoid Gryffindor Tower altogether. I don't fancy running into them..." He grimaced, "...while they're making out or something." He produced a piece of parchment from his pocket. "Portkey's ready."

The three of them got hold of the object and, just as they began to vanish, Hermione turned to Ron. "And what was that about Buckbeak?"

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A/N: Sorry about the long wait, but my exams were killing me. Next VM is already written and sent to beta, and I'll be leaving Voldie and Hermione… for now. Expect it in a few days. (Monday?)

Geor-sama – I know. I just can't resist. Yes, yes, it's OK to feel sorry for Voldie (as long as it's not canon)

Prism – Here it is. More coming!

The Mad Fangirl – I'm on it!

Mssr.Moony – She did as Ron usually does: yell like mad and get out of the situation with it.

Chocolate Mousse – Sure.

Temporary Insanity – I think you'll like the next one more.

Alquamor – Sorry about the wait.

ZeonReborn – Hmm… deja-vu.

Fntsyangel – I know, I just can't resist.

Kitty – Aye aye, sir.

Ravenclaw – I'll be resuming a normal rythm now, I think.

Brooke Kenobi – A few more (planning on around ten for now, not all based on kidnapped!Hermione, of course)