Chapter 21
An eerie quiet settled in the corridors of Hogwarts, sending a prickle up Hermione's spine. A dangerous wizard was wandering the castle, and here she was searching for Tom Marvolo Riddle, who could very well be called a dangerous wizard as well. The craziness of the situation was not lost to Hermione as she hurried through the corridors, crouched low and Disillusioned with her wand firmly in her hand.
Where to start?
The castle was enormous; he could be anywhere. To disappear so quickly though, he could not have taken a path that Hermione, Nagini, and the rest had taken back to the Common Room, or they would have run into him, so that ruled out the dungeons, but not much else.
Where did the young Lord Voldemort most likely call home?
Hermione quickly began the long climb to the seventh floor of Hogwarts, trying to keep her breathing quiet as she ran as quickly as she could. Upon reaching the seventh floor, Hermione could hear the sound of muffled voices not too far off. She slowed down her pace, making sure to stay close to the wall in her Disillusioned state and trying to make no noise.
"It appears that the individual has left the Hogwarts premises. We've searched everywhere and cannot find a trace of him or her." Professor Merrythought was saying, her wand still grasped firmly in her hand and shaking her head a little, "It's like he was a ghost, sir." Professor Dippet accompanied her, his face looking tired and worn.
"I have no idea how he could have gotten in and out so quickly, and attacked three very capable students on top of that. Lestrange, Malfoy, and Black are all capable of defending themselves, and yet they are in critical condition at St. Mungo's." He sighed heavily, "These disasters keep on happening under my watch."
"You cannot blame yourself for the actions of lunatics, sir." Merrythought said quickly.
"But Hogwarts' students are my responsibility, and I am unable to keep them safe at the moment. Those attacked students were found out by the lake in critical condition – on Hogwarts grounds. Ground that I am responsible for." Dippet paused, "Perhaps my time as Headmaster is coming to a close. Albus is deputy Headmaster and he would be more than capable of leading the school." Merrythought nodded,
"That is true, and of course you must make the decision soon. But right now, the students need us to be confident and strong." She asserted firmly, placing a kind hand on his shoulder, "Come, let's go and check with the other staff members." Dippet nodded, following the elderly Defense Against the Dark Arts professor to the staircase.
As soon as they left, Hermione exhaled, mulling over what she had just heard. Dippet seemed very unsure of himself, ready to step down even. In her time, she never did learn how and when Dumbledore took over the position of Headmaster, but she didn't think that it was so soon after the Chamber of Secrets incident. In fact, in all of her reading, she had also never come across anything referring to the attack of three Hogwarts students from prominent families, an account that surely should have appeared in some of the books dealing with controversy about Hogwarts.
Something wasn't right here, and it was beginning to make Hermione feel extremely nervous. She took a deep breath, rounding the corner and walking a few paces to stop in front of the Troll tapestry. She paced back and forth, desperately thinking that she needed answers, needed to find Tom Riddle, needed a way back to her own time, needed anything really other than the uneasy feeling that had settled in the pit of her stomach. Sure enough, after the third pace, a simple brown door appeared on the wall. The Room of Requirement. Hermione sighed in relief, stepping forward and grasping the handle of the door, but then she hesitated, a little unsure of what she would find. Her request, after all, had been extremely vague. Grasping her wand so tightly that her knuckled turned white, Hermione wrenched the door open and stepped into the room.
The room was a medium-sized one, with a bed shoved against one wall, a roaring fire in a fireplace, a full bookshelf, and a neat desk. None of this, however, was noticed by Hermione. She was too shocked to move her eyes away from the people directly in front of her.
"Finite Incantatem!" Tom Riddle said smoothly, pointing his wand in the direction of the door. Before she could do anything else, Hermione's Disillusionment charm was removed and she was clearly visible to him, her mouth open in shock, "Ah, Miss Granger. So kind of you to join us. Please, do come in." With a wave of his wand, the door slammed shut behind her, a click indicating that it was locked. Us. The word registered slowly with Hermione in her state of shock as she looked at the boy who stood next to Tom Marvolo Riddle: he was alike in size and stature, clad in Slytherin robes, and possessed the same impossibly dark hair and eyes, and still had the porcelain skin. In fact, she would say that Tom Riddle and this boy were identical, but the boy was slightly younger.
"Who's this?" She finally managed to say, but even then the words stuck in her throat and the feeling of unease settled in the pit of her stomach.
"Oh, this boy?" Tom asked, nonchalantly twirling his yew wand between his fingers and looking at the boy next to him, "You already know him, actually. You just do not realize that you know him." The Tom Riddle look-alike said nothing, continuing to survey Hermione with his dark eyes.
"I already know him?" Hermione asked, impossibly confused. Tom chuckled,
"Well, in a way." He paused, "In fact, I think you know him quite well." Hermione continued to look between the two, still uncomprehending,
"I don't understand." She said, then stopped. Oh no. Oh, no, no, no. It was impossible, it was so utterly impossible that she even refused to admit it herself. Two people, one a boy of maybe seventeen, one a man who was supposed to be seventeen, it was brilliant, but impossible.
"No, Hermione Granger. I believe you do understand." The man Tom Riddle said quietly, taking a step towards her, "An intelligent witch like you, I know that you could figure it out."
"But. . . how?" Hermione said hoarsely, shaking her head, "This is impossible."
"Impossible to the magic you know." The boy Tom Riddle affirmed, his voice slightly higher, but still full of arrogance, "But we know more than you can ever know because we do not listen to the impossible." The Tom Riddle that Hermione knew nodded,
"Indeed. Meet the younger me, Tom Marvolo Riddle at the age of seventeen." The boy bowed mockingly before straightening back up, eyes glinting, "I must apologize for his lack of tact. He does not yet have the manners during private dealings that I have acquired. My name, too, is Tom Marvolo Riddle, ripe at twenty-three years of age. I suppose you must have wondered why I looked so much older than my classmates. Well, now you may wonder no more."
"So, you. . . you're the Tom Riddle whom I've been seeing every day." Hermione said slowly, her brain still fuzzy and confused. The twenty-three year old Tom Riddle nodded. Hermione then looked over at the seventeen year old Tom Riddle, "But you're the one who actually is supposed to be attending Hogwarts at this very moment. And you're both here through some kind of time travel, but neither of you have gone insane. How?"
"Insane is a matter of perspective." The younger Tom Riddle said pointedly before the elder could reply, "My dear older self seems to think that coming back to this time and re-living his life from this point onward will benefit him greatly and has thus kept me locked in this room for almost a year now." He smirked, "Until tonight, of course."
Of course. So, the younger Tom Riddle had somehow escaped the Room of Requirement and attacked Abraxas, Lestrange, and Black.
"Why did you attack them? Abraxas, Lestrange, and Black, I mean?" Hermione asked him, tilting her head.
"Why does one attack anyone?" He questioned, shrugging, "They were in my way." Obviously, vague and unhelpful replied did not change much as Tom Riddle aged. The older Tom Riddle looked with slight annoyance at his younger self,
"You know, Miss Granger, it is difficult to outsmart yourself, especially when yourself happens to be one of the brightest wizards to ever walk these halls." He mused, then shook his head, "Anyway, my dear younger self is currently unable to leave this room, until he figures that out too, which I am sure he will." He paused, "But as to your first question, how, I must confess that I cannot tell you everything. To do so would reveal my secret. But, I will tell you, there is a way to travel through time without the aid of a Time-turner and to do so long term, but not only a way to travel through time, but space as well. So, when I came back to Hogwarts, I actually began six years in the future in Diagon Alley, but ended up six years back in Hogwarts."
Hermione's heart skipped a beat; had she not done precisely the same thing with the futuristic Ministry invention, just years in the future? How did Voldemort, at age twenty-three, discover what the Ministry of Magic did not for decades to come?
"Will you be able to return? To the future, I mean?" Hermione asked breathlessly. Tom Riddle looked at her closely,
"I am not completely sure, since I have not yet tried. As you well know, traveling forward in time is considerably more difficult than traveling backwards. I do believe I will, though. But the future I return to will not be the one that I left." He said slowly, still twirling his wand between his fingers.
"You have changed the timeline?" Hermione asked slowly. So it was possible, and Tom Riddle knew how to return to the future. How could she kill him now? She desperately needed his knowledge, and now there were at least two time travelers messing with the timeline. Who knew what kind of future she would return to?
"I most certainly have. Such was my object in taking the risk in the first place." Tom affirmed, nodding his head, "I needed to correct some blunders of my younger self." The young Tom Riddle scowled, stalking away and sitting on the couch in front of the fire.
"How did you discover the secret to time traveling in this way?" Hermione asked softly the question that had been eating away at her. How was this possible? How come the future Lord Voldemort did not use this valuable skill to evade death?
"I had help." Tom Riddle said simply, his dark eyes boring into her own, "Now, my turn to ask question." He began to pace, hands clasped behind his back, "How did you find this room?"
"I was looking for you, actually, because I was worried about you. This door appeared out of nowhere on the wall across from the Troll tapestry." Hermione replied easily enough.
"You were pacing, I take it? Three times back and forth, yes?" Tom pressed on, unconvinced of the coincidence.
"Might have been three, yes, I suppose." Hermione said carefully, shrugging and doing her best to imitate his most irritating manner of superiority. Yes, she knew that he knew that she came to the Room of Requirement deliberately, but Hermione would never admit it. Tom scowled briefly, but then shook his head and wiped his face clean of expression,
"Fine. You randomly found this room. Now, you were worried about me? So Nagini knows that you've gone to look for me?" Tom Riddle asked. It was not really a question, but Hermione swallowed before answering.
"No."
"No?" Tom asked, raising his eyebrows.
"No." Hermione affirmed shortly. He sighed,
"Well, we have to return then. No use in staying here much longer; she might come looking for us." He glanced back at his younger self who was currently sulking in the corner, "She doesn't know where he is, and she doesn't need to." Hermione followed his gaze, then slowly looked back at the Tom Riddle she knew,
"Nagini does not know that that boy is the Tom Riddle she knows?" Tom looked back at her quickly,
"Incorrect. She knows that I am my future self. It's difficult to hide that sort of thing from Nagini. She does not, however, know the location of my past self, and I do not intend for her to know." He paused, "Nagini has her own agenda sometimes, and I do not intend for her petty plans to get in the way of mine." He straightened his robes, waving his wand at the door and unlocking it with ease, "Now, shall we be off?" Hermione could not help but stare at him,
"So. . . just like that?" She asked, incredulous.
"Just like what?" Tom questioned, looking at her and tilting his head to the side ever so slightly.
"You just let me in on one of your biggest secrets, something you won't even tell Nagini, and you're not taking any precautions to ensure that I will not disclose it to anyone?" Hermione said slowly, shaking her head, "I don't understand." Tom smirked slightly,
"Oh, you won't tell anyone. Why?" He stepped close to her, too close, his scent invading her senses as the taller man looked down at her, brushing a piece of hair behind her ear, "I've already taken the precautions to ensure that you won't tell anyone, but I suppose I'll make it plain: if you tell anyone, I'll tell Grindelwald where you are. Simple." A dark chuckle emitted from his chest as his hand slid under her chin, tilting her head up to look into his eyes. For a moment, Hermione forgot to breathe, "I would rather you not do that, though, because I would much rather have you alive."
"Why is that?" Hermione asked softly, hearing her blood pound in her head. Just like that, his warmth was gone and he was walking towards the door,
"Because, Hermione Granger, you intrigue me. And one can say that I do not become intrigued too often."
* ' * ' *
Hermione lay in bed that night unable to sleep, her mind working a million miles per hour. So Tom Riddle was time traveling just as she was. How delightfully ironic, since she had been hoping to destroy him. But now. . . if she killed one of the Tom Riddles present in this time, would they both die? Had the multiple time travelers disturbed the timeline into an unrecognizable mess?
She sighed; this was becoming rapidly more complicated, and she had the feeling that she was becoming caught up in a web that she did not fully understand. Hermione desperately desired help, answers – anything. Somehow, though, Tom Riddle was right; she would not tell anyone, even Dumbledore. How could she? Both Tom Riddle and his younger, Hogwarts-aged selves were dangerous, and even though Dumbledore was a great wizard, she would not chance him being killed trying to take on both of them. Where would the future be without Dumbledore, especially if Voldemort could rage unchecked?
This meant something else, too: the Tom Riddle she knew was, in fact, Voldemort, even if he was not the Voldemort that she knew in the future. After all, as he had said, the timeline had been changed. What mistake he made that needed fixing, however, Hermione did not know. Tom Riddle must think he had already altered the timeline, since Hermione appeared at Hogwarts and she was not present the last time.
The door to the dormitory opened and closed quickly, a slim figure slipping into the dormitory and over to the bed next to Hermione's. Nagini sat on her bed, slipping off her house slippers before looking over at Hermione's open eyes,
"You're awake." She whispered quietly, glancing at the clock that read 1:30 on her bedside table, "Can't sleep?"
"No, I can't." Hermione admitted in a whisper, sighing, "You couldn't either?" She questioned.
"No. I rarely can, to be honest." Nagini replied, pulling back her sheets and swinging her legs beneath them, "It's hard to sleep when your mind is constantly churning." Hermione sighed; she definitely knew the feeling,
"I'm in the same situation right now." Hermione admitted softly, turning over on her side to face Nagini, "Do you ever wish that you could just. . . un-learn something?" She asked slowly, her heart beating a little nervously. No matter what, she could not accidentally reveal Tom Riddle's secret, but Nagini was extremely perceptive. Nagini looked back at Hermione for a long moment before picking up her wand, casting a quick charm nonverbally that Hermione assumed to be some kind of silencing charm.
"Yes." Nagini said in a normal voice, obviously unconcerned with being heard, "All of the time. Every day, in fact." Since none of the other girls in the dormitory so much as stirred, Hermione knew that Nagini had, indeed, cast a silencing spell, "Is there something on your mind?" Nagini asked carefully.
"Lots of things, actually." Hermione responded just as carefully. Both her and Nagini were attempting to hide what they knew, but something told Hermione that both of their secrets had to do with the same time-traveling future dark lord, "Nothing that I feel like I can tell anyone, though. The things that I'm thinking about. . . they're things that I have to work out on my own, but I just don't know how."
"Sounds like we're in the same boat, then." Nagini said with a humorless chuckle, "But I will tell you, from experience, that it doesn't get better. Once you start getting involved with Tom Riddle, there's no going back."
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked quickly, her breath catching a little; she did not expect such frankness from Nagini.
"Don't expect Tom Riddle to just let you leave, or just let you go. Once you're let into his confidence, you feel special, so special. But he won't let you leave. Somehow, he'll always keep you under his influence, whether you want to be or not." Nagini spat bitterly, running a hand through her curly locks. Hermione, of course, knew Tom Riddle's manipulative tendencies, but was Nagini really ensnared by him? How? Nagini was so strong, such a free spirit. If he could trap her, he could trap anyone.
"Are you. . . trapped by him?" Hermione asked slowly. It seemed like a silly question, but since Nagini was in such a frank mood, she had to ask. Nagini looked over at Hermione, raising her eyebrows,
"Isn't it obvious?" Questioned Hermione's friend, but a laugh followed, "Don't worry about me, Hermione. I know Tom Riddle better than anyone, and I always will. We understand each other, and he knows it. I think that might bother him sometimes, but he needs me like he needs no one else." Nagini said with a nod. "Or, almost no one else." She muttered as an afterthought. Somehow, Hermione knew exactly who he was referring to.
"What about Abraxas and the others?" Hermione pried further, expecting Nagini to seem more concerned about Abraxas than she was. Didn't they have some kind of. . . fling going on?
"I don't know." Nagini said quite honestly, her lips forming into a troubled frown, "I don't understand why they were attacked. Whoever did it must have some kind of personal vendetta against them, although I can't imagine who." Hermione sighed, turning onto her back and staring up at the green curtains above her bed,
"I don't know either." She responded quietly, and it was partly true. Why the young Tom Riddle would want to attack his own followers, she had no idea. Nagini turned onto her back as well, waving her wand and removing the silencing charm,
"Just. . . try and get some sleep. Block it all out and think about it in the morning. That's what I do." She whispered, closing her eyes stubbornly.
"Goodnight, Nagini." Hermione whispered by way of responding, forcing her eyes to close as well.
"Goodnight, Hermione."
* ' * ' *
"Good morning, Blishwick." Avery said softly, forcing a smile that did not match his eyes. Hermione nodded at him, looking around the somber Great Hall as breakfast was being served,
"Morning, Avery." She replied, sitting down beside him. Across from them sat Rosier and Wilkes, who said nothing. Nagini and Tom were no where to be found and with their injured housemates absent, the table seemed quite empty indeed. Hermione picked up a piece of toast and took a bite, chewing mechanically.
"I think Dippet has cancelled our first class due to the attacks that took place yesterday." Wilkes suddenly offered up, the sound of his low voice unexpectedly breaking the awkward silence. Hermione looked up at him, sipping on some water and swallowing slowly,
"So, they were attacks?" She asked cautiously, feigning ignorance. Wilkes nodded,
"Most definitely." He responded laconically.
"How are they? Abraxas, Lestrange, and Alphard, I mean." She asked quickly, still feeling unsettled.
"Stable, I believe." Wilkes answered, "That's all I have heard."
"They're out of immediate danger, at least for the moment." Avery assured her, "Slughorn says that he'll keep us as informed as he can, and even Dumbledore is looking into the attacker. I don't think that they can remain hidden for long." Hermione nodded absent-mindedly and ate the remainder of her toast in silence. Soon, many students began standing up and shuffling off back to their dormitories, since it was cold and bleak outside and the first class was canceled. Hermione stood up as well, joining the crowd to go back to her dormitory and possibly catch another hour of sleep.
"The lake." Rosier whispered quietly in her ear. Hermione jumped at his unexpected closeness.
"What?" She whispered back.
"He wants to see you by the lake." Rosier responded quickly, just as softly as before, and then walked away, taking a staircase going up. Hermione took a deep breath before turning and exiting the main doors of Hogwarts; there weren't many people who Rosier could be referring to, and, sure enough, the elegant figure of Tom Riddle stood next to the lake.
"Ah, Miss Granger." He said upon spotting her arriving, "I'm glad that Rosier delivered the message." He turned his gaze back to the water, a slight frown tugging at the corners of his mouth. Cautiously, Hermione stepped beside him, her eyes following his gaze out over the water but spotting nothing unusual.
"Is something the matter?" She asked, shivering a little as a cold breeze ruffled her and Tom's robes and disturbing the smooth surface of the lake.
"Abraxas, Lestrange, and Alphard Black were found near this lake, unconscious, yesterday." Tom said softly, looking over to her, "And yet, we were outside during the approximate time of the attack, near the lake, and we saw nothing." Hermione frowned; that was odd.
"Well, maybe, the attacker, the. . . other Tom Riddle was hiding and waiting until we left to attack." Tom shook his head,
"I considered the possibility, but Nagini and the others had already heard of the attacks when we arrived inside, remember?" Hermione's frown grew deeper, since she knew that he was right.
"It could have been on the other side of the lake." She pointed out, and Tom seemed to consider this for a moment,
"It could have been, but the lack of certainty makes me uneasy." Uneasiness never seemed to trouble Tom Marvolo Riddle, which sent a prickle up Hermione's spine, reaffirming the sick feeling in her stomach that had haunted her for almost a day now.
"Something isn't right." Hermione said in almost a whisper, not meeting Tom Riddle's eyes, "And I think it has to do with the time travel. There's no way that having two of the same person present at the same time could be. . . good." Tom looked over at her with interest, his eyebrows raised slightly,
"No Hermione, you are entirely correct." He paused, "I do not know if two of the same person can continue to live in the same timeline. At the moment, however, we have more pressing matters to attend to."
"We?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow. Tom chuckled,
"Yes, we. Look out at the lake." He instructed briskly. Hermione did as she was told, but did so confusedly,
"Am I supposed to be looking for something?" She asked, unsure of what he wanted her to see.
"Exactly. Something we both have an interest in. A particular magical artifact, the diadem of Ravenclaw, has been cast into the lake by either Abraxas Malfoy or Clayton Lestrange." Tom explained, stepping behind Hermione and placing both of his hands lightly on her shoulders, "You offered to help me once. Now's your chance to fulfill that offer. I'll let you wear the diadem if you can help me find it in that lake." He muttered quietly, his lips very close to her ear.
"You want me to. . . dive into the lake?" Hermione asked, gulping. She had been in the lake once before for the second task of the Triwizard Tournament, of course, but that had been unpleasant enough and in a controlled situation. This. . . this was madness.
"Yes. You won't be without help though, of course." Tom Riddle assured her. At that moment, a most unusual sound met Hermione's hears; pronounced hissing, very familiar hissing, just like. . .
Then, it hit her: just like Harry used to do. Parseltongue. Tom turned his head, the unusual language coming from his lips in a reply. He then looked over at Hermione and added something else in Parseltongue. Suddenly, Nagini came into view, hissing a brief response before smiling a wan smile at Hermione,
"Hermione, so sorry to talk in that language in front of you. It's rude, I know." She apologized, before stopping in front of Hermione and Tom, sighing, "It's just a habit. Imagine being called a freak your entire life and then meeting someone who can actually understand you." Her eyes flickered over to Tom, "He's the only other Parselmouth I've ever met."
Hermione could definitely understand her frustration; after all, people treated Harry horribly after his gift was revealed their second year. But, suddenly many things made sense. All of those times Tom and Nagini had been whispering, they had been speaking Parseltongue, probably things that they didn't want anyone else to know.
"No, it's fine." Hermione said, attempting to appear convincing. Nagini nodded and looked over at Tom,
"Is she coming too, then?" She asked.
"Yes, and so am I. The three of us should be able to locate the diadem." Tom affirmed, nodding his head and pulling out his wand. Feeling as if she didn't have much of a choice, Hermione drew her wand as well, ready to use a bubble head charm and some other spells to prevent hypothermia.
"So, do we just. . . swim around and look for the diadem?" Hermione asked softly. It seemed like an impossible task in such a large lake.
"Basically. I believe Abraxas had enough sense to put some kind of enlargement spell on it, though, so it should be fairly large and glowing." Tom explained, stripping off his outer robes and his button-up shirt and pants, leaving him in boxers and a tight undershirt. Hermione could not help but stare for a moment, but he caught her eye and smirked.
"We'll find it." Nagini assured him, pulling her wand out of her pocket and placing it beside Tom's clothes and removing her robes as well. Hermione followed suit, shivering in the cold air, but kept ahold of her wand.
"Don't you need your wand, Nagini?" She asked curiously. Nagini shook her head,
"Oh, no." She said without explanation, walking towards the water, "I'll take the right corner, Tom can take the left, and Hermione can take the center." Tom followed suit, standing next to the cold water,
"Agreed. We'll meet back here in an hour."
"What if someone gets into trouble?" Hermione asked, stepping up the water between the two.
"If anyone gets into trouble. . . well, find a way to get out of it." Tom said cheekily, "You'll be fine." The reassurance was, surprisingly reassuring, "Are you using a bubble head charm?" He asked Hermione.
"Yes, are you?" Tom nodded in response, "But what about Nagini?" She asked, still confused as to why Nagini's wand was laying beside Tom's clothes.
"Oh, she prefers to go in her Animagus form." Tom replied, seeming unconcerned, "Ready?"
Hermione did not respond, however, her eyes fixated on the spot where Nagini had been standing but moments before. Instead, a giant snake sat in her place, but with distinctively human eyes, the disturbing trait that she had never noticed in the future snake. Beside her sat the Nagini that she was familiar with, the snake from her nightmares, future horcrux and killer.
Nagini, Lord Voldemort's treasured pet, was an Animagus.
Author's Note: Merry Christmas, everyone! Thank you so much for your patience and taking the time to read! I apologize for the long update time, but I am afraid that a lack of time for fanfiction is becoming the new normal. But, not to worry; I am determined to finish this story!
And, for your enjoyment, another chapter, and this one was a big one, and difficult to write. So, two Tom Riddle's and running around and Nagini is an Animagus. What do you think of the new developments? How do you think that Hermione will respond to these new revelations? I am interested to hear your response to this chapter, so leave a review if you have the time.
Cheers!