A/N: Yay! Happy 4th of July everyone!
Kind of ironic that I'm posting Chapter 4 on the 4th of July? No? Well, whatever! ;)
Ok, just a few changes here. In J. K Rowling, Lucretia is actually older than Orion, but I didn't know a lot of Hogwarts students who were in Riddle's time, so I decided that Orion and Lucretia are twins. Also, Abraxas is way younger than Tom. Ashley and Cynthia are made-up characters.
Speaking of which . . . Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the characters in any time. Sigh.
luvami: Glad you liked it!
SapphineDreamer26: Haha, I know right?! Thanks!
Friday: YOUR face ;)
Love2Read: Aaah! I know! Thank you! XD
Chapter 4:
Hermione read the eight words again, making sure it was right. It read: Hermione Granger- Hermione Lucretia Black- Head Girl- Slytherin
Ron stared at Hermione. "You're my grandmother!"
Ginny scowled at Ron. "Ron, this is Hermione as Lucretia. She isn't actually Lucretia."
Draco glanced at Hermione. "Well . . . Black isn't that bad . . ."
"Yes it is!" Hermione shrieked. "I can't be Lucretia!"
"Well, Dumbledore just made Lucretia your middle name." Lavender pointed out, unhelpfully.
Harry turned to Ron and Ginny. "Lucretia is your grandmother?"
"Yes. She married into the Prewett family. She's my mom's mom." Ginny answered, as Ron kept looking at Hermione weirdly. "Fortunately, the Prewetts didn't attend this school."
"Oh no." Hermione groaned again.
Harry was getting impatient. "Hermione, it's just a character!"
Hermione shook her head. "It's not that- I just realized I'm the Head Girl."
Ron raised his eyebrow. "Aren't you glad about that?"
"Not anymore," She glumly answered, and everyone stared at her in surprise, "because Tom Riddle is the Head Boy."
It took a few seconds for the news to sink in.
Ron was the first to explode, Lavender holding him down and trying to calm him. Draco and Harry just stared at Hermione, and Ginny looked outraged.
"How can Dumbledore just let Hermione be with the most dangerous man? In one room!" Ginny yelled.
Draco couldn't help but snigger. "Or one bed." Hermione whacked him on his head, but Draco kept laughing.
Harry broke them apart. "Look, Dumbledore wouldn't do this unless there was an actual reason."
Draco nodded, trying hard not to grin. Hermione glared at him, "Shut up, Draco."
Draco suddenly stopped smiling, and looked seriously at Hermione. "I just remembered."
"What? That you're a bloody arse?" Ron asked.
Draco ignored Ron's comment. "That Lucretia has a twin brother."
"What?!" Hermione, Harry, and Ginny exclaimed at the same time.
Ron rolled his eyes, "Here we go. Just what we needed." Lavender clicked her tongue, and shook her head.
"His name is Orion Black, and I'm pretty sure he's friends with Tom Riddle." Draco continued. "He's also Sirius's father."
Hermione groaned. "I don't want a twin brother."
Ron snickered, and Harry lit the paper in flames.
Lavender broke the tense silence. "We're wasting time! We should go."
Harry nodded, and walked towards the exit, the others beside him. Just before he opened the door, he turned around. "Remember, Riddle is a dangerous man. We can't talk to each other in public."
"How about we meet here every night?" Lavender suggested. "Well, it may be harder for Hermione, because she'll be with Riddle . . ."
"No, I won't." Hermione growled. "I won't even touch him."
Draco winked at her, as Harry opened the door and stepped out. They all looked around at the empty corridor.
"Hogwarts hasn't changed much, has it?" Draco sighed, putting his hands in his pockets.
"Ok, we should separate while no one is here." Harry said, looking at Lavender, Ginny, and Ron. They nodded, and disappeared at the corner.
Harry sighed. "Ok Draco, lead us to the Slytherin house." The three of them started to make their way to the dungeons.
Draco stopped at the entrance and hissed. "I don't know the password!"
Just then, a voice from far behind them yelled. "Hey sis!"
Hermione felt her back straighten. "Don't tell me it's Orion."
Harry gulped. "I won't."
Hermione slowly turned around, and when she saw him, she felt happy for some reason. "Orion!" She called back, cheerfully. She caught Harry and Draco looking at her strangely, so she stopped grinning.
Orion didn't look too much like Hermione. He had darker brown hair, and darker eyes. He was slightly taller than her, and looked muscled. There were two other boys with him. One was tall, with blond hair and pale skin. Draco stared at him, open mouthed. The other boy was no other than Tom Riddle. Hermione gulped. He looked exactly in her dream. Orion laughed and patted Harry on the back, who was smiling weakly.
"Hey Harry! Forgot the password again, eh?" Orion laughed.
The blond boy winked at Hermione, who looked away. He nodded at Draco. "Having a midnight stroll Draco?"
Draco slowly nodded. "Yes, grandfa- I mean, Abraxas."
Hermione blinked at the blond boy. He was Abraxas Malfoy? Draco's grandfather?
Orion turned to her, "And what's the Head Girl doing here?"
Hermione stammered. "Uh, well . . ."
Abraxas laughed and said teasingly, "She probably couldn't bear another night without seeing me!"
Hermione smirked as the boys laughed. Boys.
Tom cleared his throat. "It's better we go back. The Professors are near." His voice was dangerously soft and silky.
Abraxas nodded, "Yes, yes." He bumped Hermione. "Don't have too much fun with him, eh?" He winked, as Orion said the password. The Slytherin door opened, and they made their way inside. Hermione shot Harry and Draco a helpless look, then trailed after Tom.
Tom stared straight ahead, walking in long strides. Hermione stared at him- the Future Dark Lord. Harry had told her the Tom was famous for his looks, because he looked like his father. Hermione scowled, vowing to herself that she would never swoon over Tom's looks.
"Why are you staring at me, as if you have never seen me before?" Tom asked suddenly, without even glancing at her.
Hermione blinked and glared at the back of his head. Did he magically put eyes on behind his head? Well, he is the Dark Lord; wouldn't be a surprise if he managed to.
Hermione shrugged, looking away. "I don't know, you look . . . different." Hermione mentally slapped herself. That sounded stupid.
"Different." Tom echoed, making if sound even worse than it was. Hermione wanted to kick him. They didn't speak at all, as they made their way to the Head Rooms. "Chocolate Frogs."
Hermione stared at him. Why was he talking about chocolate frogs? Now, Hermione wanted to kick herself. That was the password! The door opened, and they stepped in. Hermione had received the Head Girl badge in her 7th Year, but she was hiding, and couldn't attend. She was glad she was the Head Girl now, but with Tom Riddle as Head Boy? She'd rather be nothing.
There was a warm fireplace running, with armchairs and a table in front. Another table was behind, and two staircases leading to a door on each side. Tom picked up a black book from the table, and walked to the right door. He glanced at Hermione, and she felt herself stiffen. This was the first time she was staring straight Tom.
He nodded at her and said curtly, "Goodnight." Then he went inside his room.
Hermione exhaled and plopped down on an armchair. She couldn't believe she had looked, talked, and was with the man who killed her parents, and wanted to take over the magic world. She rubbed her head, closing her eyes. She was getting a headache. Hermione quickly made her way up the staircase and opened the door to her room. She immediately wanted to vomit.
The walls were pasted with Slytherin logos, banners, and Quiditch things. A window had green curtains, and the bed had green and silver pillows. Hermione closed the door, and switched on a green lamp beside her bed.
'So this is Lucretia's room.' Hermione said to herself. 'Not mine. Lucretia.' Hermione fell on top of the bed, too tired to change, and braced herself for the nightmare to come.
It never did.
Hermione woke up, staring at a fuzzy green picture. She blinked, and looked around. She was lying under a thick green blanket. She eyed the Slytherin badge on her school dress. Then, Hermione smiled to herself. 'This must be my nightmare.' She thought. She turned around, and frowned. On her dresser was a picture of . . . her. Hermione was grinning, holding a wand and a broom. The name, Hermione Lucretia Black, was imprinted on the frame.
Then everything came to Hermione; Dumbledore, the Time Turner, and Tom Riddle. Hermione groaned. She pulled out the Time Turner under the dress, and peered at it. The hourglass was cracked, which meant it was useless. She dropped it into a drawer, and glanced at the clock. Her eyes widened, cursed herself, and rushed into the bathroom.
A few minutes later, she climbed down the staircase. When she saw that Tom Riddle wasn't there, she quickly ran out until she had reached the Dining Hall and plopped between Harry and Draco.
Draco raised an eyebrow, taking a bite of toast. "How was the night, Hermione?"
"Fine, thank you." Hermione glared at Draco, grabbing the first thing across from her. Fruit.
"Did you learn anything?" Harry asked, before Draco could say anything.
Draco muttered under his breath. "Lots about-"
Hermione whacked Draco and answered, "Harry, I barley even saw him."
Harry frowned. "He isn't here."
Hermione looked around the Slytherin table. Tom Riddle wasn't anywhere. She glanced at the other tables and saw Lavender, Ron, and Ginny glancing there way, while talking to others. "Well, he wasn't in the Head Rooms."
Just then, Orion and Abraxas sat across from them. Orion grinned at Hermione, "Guess what guys? Tom is putting more meetings."
"Meetings?" Draco and Harry asked at the same time.
Abraxas sighed. "It's been so boring without those meetings. Good thing Hermione saw the Professors, or we'd be caught for sure."
"I did?" Hermione asked, and then quickly nodded her head. "Yes, yes I did."
"We wouldn't just be caught." Orion continued. "We'd be expelled! We were using dark magic!"
Abraxas laughed. "It's fun flying around in black robes."
Orion laughed with him. "Even more hilarious when Tom chases you."
Hermione, Draco, and Harry glanced at the each other and nodded. They knew what these meetings were: Death Eaters.
Harry sat forward. "When are these meetings?"
Orion grinned. "Every night until the Christmas holidays."
"So, there's one this night?" Draco asked.
Orion nodded. "You heard me."
"Where is Tom now?" Hermione asked.
Orion and Abraxas looked at each other and rolled their eyes. "Library."
"Who else will be there?" Harry asked.
"Well, for tonight, Tom doesn't want every single one, for some reason. So, they'll be Orion, me, you three, Ashley Greengrass, and Cynthia Parkinson." Abraxas replied. Just then, a younger boy asked Orion something.
Hermione took that moment to whisper to Harry, "Are we going?"
"Yes. This is our chance." Harry answered. "Ron, Ginny, and Lavender will have to meet without us. I'll tell them somehow."
Abraxas looked up, "Hey Tom!"
Hermione glanced at Tom, who was making his way to them. He had the same black book under his arm, and he sat across from them. She felt Harry and Draco stiffen, as they greeted each other.
But Tom didn't come to eat breakfast. He simply said, "10:00 sharp. Forbidden Forest." Then he stood up and left.
Abraxas rolled his eyes. "You heard the man." They all stood up, and left for classes. Hermione smiled. 'Well at least this is normal.' She thought to herself. 'More classes.'
Hermione walked silently in the corridors. The last class was still going on, but the Professor had dismissed her after she had done all the spells correctly. With nowhere to go, Hermione decided to head towards the library. Hermione thought about the memory Dumbledore had showed them. Obviously, it was Slughorn's memory, and Hermione wasn't sure if Tom already talked to him about Horcruxes. But, Tom did say he read it in the restricted section; maybe the book was still there. But, then again, Tom could have been lying.
'I'll take my chances.' Hermione thought to herself. 'It's just a book anyway.'
Fortunately, no one was there, even the librarian. Hermione glanced at the restricted section, which was on the far corner, blocked by a door. Without giving it a second thought, Hermione quickly slipped inside.
'Hermione Jean Granger,' Hermione smiled to herself, 'breaks a huge rule.' Hermione frowned, 'But, I'm not Granger- I'm Black. Hermione Lucretia Black. And she always breaks the rules.' Hermione didn't know how she knew wither Lucretia broke the rules or not.
This section of the library was pitch black and cold. Hermione pulled her robes tighter to herself and whispered, "Lumos."
Her wand tip gave a soft, blue glow, and she slowly made her way across. Hermione picked a random book, and frowned. It was dusty, the pages yellow, but that was not what had caught her eye. It was the handwriting. The book wasn't printed like the others; it was handwritten, with loopy cursive. She quickly skimmed the book and put it away, when there was no mention of Horcruxes, but only a potion.
'This is going to take a long time.' Hermione thought. She decided to go to the H section. She knew it wasn't going to be that easy, but, worth a try. The H section was huge, and Hermione looked for HOR. Her wand stopped at one book, the only book with HOR. She pulled it out, blew the dust away and read the title: HORROR Spells and Charms.
She slowly flipped the pages, quickly skimming through the paragraphs, looking for 'Horcrux'.
Suddenly, an angry voice echoed bouncing around the shelves and skittering through the aisles. "What are you doing here?"
A/N: Ta da! There it is, Chapter 4! Now, just for fun, I want to see how many of you guys can get this question right: Who do YOU think the angry voice belongs to?
And, let's see, the reward? Hmm . . . probably a faster update, of course. ;)