Gracielie- I know it was forever ago, but back in during the trial, when Grindelwald attacked and froze everyone in place he gave Susanna a potion that he said would maintain her sanity among dementors for three months. The specific type of potion was never mentioned. And yup, Myrtle is now ghostly Myrtle. The reason she didn't have much info is cuz I didn't want her knowing too much more than she did in the actual Harry Potter books. And yes, the visit to Azkaban is here

Tom and Sirius walked out of Slughorn's office, trying to avoid laughing until they were far enough away that the professor wouldn't be able to hear them. Finally, they looked at each other, and both started cracking up. "That man is a total nut! He clearly wants to hang out with all the kids he thinks will be successful someday so that their fame will rub off onto him or something."

Tom snorted. "I know. I'm just glad that Avery wasn't there, or it would've been disastrous when those two muggle borns walked in."

Mentioning Avery immediately sobered up both boys, as they couldn't laugh much with a murderer on their minds. Sirius cleared his throat. "So you and Susanna's brother are going after lunch to visit Susanna, right? Good luck with that."

"Thanks. I just hope that she's managed to stay even a little bit sane even though it's already been so long. She's pretty stubborn and strong-willed, so that shouldn't really be too much to ask for, should it?"

Sirius shook his head. "No, of course not. I'm sure she'll be fine. You'll get there and she'll just be drinking tea and bragging to those dementors about how she could beat them in a game of quidditch."

Since the brunch had been so late, Tom wasn't hungry when lunch time rolled around. But he figured that Dumbledore wouldn't have mentioned wanting them to have full bellies unless it was important, so he went down to the Great Hall anyways, to eat at least a few bites.

A girl from the Ravenclaw house got up in the middle of lunch, and wandered over to where Tom and Sirius were sitting at the Slytherin table, away from the other Slytherins that they used to hang out with. She had long silvery hair and pale skin, which made her dark brown eyes stand out. She had an absent-minded look on her face as she casually stopped right behind Tom.

He turned to look at her, and she smiled. She spoke in a soft voice. "Are you Tom Riddle?" She kept going before he even had a chance to answer. "I'm Miyara Lovegood. I thought that you might be able to use this." She held out two chocolate bars. "I'm sure they'll work to warm you up when you get too cold."

Tom cautiously accepted the chocolate, though he was curious about who this strange girl was. She seemed to be about the same age as him, but it was hard to tell for sure because her carefree expression made her look so young. "Um, thanks? But why would I need chocolate? And even if I do need chocolate, how would you know about it?"

Miyara smiled. "It was the grunklers. They can see a person's future, you know. And they saw you freezing like you were about to die. For you to suddenly get so cold in this weather, considering you were with the girl who was arrested for murder, it is logical to assume that you will visit her, and the dementors will chill you to your bones. The chocolate will help, I promise."

Sirius arched one eyebrow. "You're a bit of an odd one, aren't you?"

She turned to look at Sirius, still smiling pleasantly. "I have heard that before. If being happy means being odd, then I'm alright with that."

Sirius held back some laughter, and managed to keep a pretty straight face. "Are you even allowed to dress like that?"

Tom looked closer, and realized that beneath her robes, she was not wearing the typical school uniform, but was instead wearing a worn out looking blue tee shirt, and a pair of off-white shorts. Tom wasn't even sure of what was in the dress code exactly, but he knew that this probably went against it. Even if it was the weekend and people were wearing their casual clothes, this seemed a little too casual. She just continued smiling. "I'm not a big fan of the school uniform. Haven't worn one since the first day of my first year."

Sirius shrugged. "Well alright then. Seems like you've got everything all figured out, haven't you?"

"Well of course not. The only ones who've got everything all figured out are the grunklers." She looked back at Tom. "Don't forget to bring the chocolate with you. You'll need it for sure." She tilted her head. "Oh, right," she pulled a third bar out of her pocket. "You'll need one to give Susanna."

She started to walk away, but Tom wasn't finished talking to the Ravenclaw girl yet. "Hey! Do you know Susanna!"

Miyara glanced back. "Of course not. The grunklers warned me years ago to stay away from someone who would eventually go on to cause so much trouble. But she is my housemate, and I wish her no ill will. And her brother is such a nice person, so I know she can't be too bad. If she'll accept the chocolate, make sure to tell her to save it for after your visit. Have a fun trip." She gave a little wave before going back to sit down at the Ravenclaw table again.

Tom looked down at the three chocolate bars they were holding. They were a brand he'd never heard of before, but he didn't think that that air headed girl would be trying to poison him. He looked at Sirius. "Have you ever heard of grunklers before?"

Sirius shook his head. "Nope. She's obviously a few ingredients short of a sanity potion. Not that there's anything wrong with that. If you're going to go and be crazy anywhere, you may as well be crazy here in Hogwarts. It's practically the school motto at this point."

They finished eating in silence, and then as soon as lunch was over, they headed to Dumbledore's office. He still hadn't officially moved into the headmaster's office yet, but Tom knew that that would happen soon enough. Once they got there, they saw Henry already standing and waiting.

Sirius gave Tom a quick hug. "Be safe, okay? I don't want to find out that you've let anything happen to you just because you decided to do something stupid or heroic or both. And tell Susanna I said hi, okay?"

Tom returned the hug for a moment, then took a step back. "Alright, man. I'll see you later. I'm not sure how long we'll be gone for, but I'll definitely be seeing you."

Once Sirius was gone, Henry looked at Tom with narrowed eyes. "I can't believe you have the audacity to want to visit her in prison after you're one of the people who testified against her."

Tom sighed. "Let's be honest here. No matter what any of us said, no matter how many people tried to fight in her favor, her own confession would've overpowered all of that. She sounded pretty damn convincing when she testified against herself. You were there; you already know that. I don't know what she's planning exactly, but I do know that Susanna is exactly where she wants to be right now. So for just today can we please put aside our differences and be nothing but a couple of friendly faces for her? She's probably already insane enough as it is without having to listen to us argue the entire visit."

Henry's shoulders slumped down, and he quickly looked around to make sure there was no one else nearby before leaning forward and speaking in a soft whisper. "Susanna should be fine. During the trial… she got something to help her stay sane. I don't know what it was, but if that guy is really such a powerful wizard, I'm sure he knew what he was doing." He paused, then his voice went back to its normal volume. "Looks like Dumbledore is coming right now." He stuck one hand out, obviously wanting Tom to shake it. "I can agree to get along with you for a couple of hours if that's what'll make Susanna happy."

Tom handed over one of the chocolate bars while returning the handshake. "Don't eat this now. I was told that if we get too cold from being around the dementors, this chocolate will help." Henry slipped the candy bar into his pocket.

When Dumbledore was closer, he nodded at the two boys. "Mr Riddle. Mr Matheus. We will be taking a portkey to the dock where a ministry official and a boat will be waiting to take us to Azkaban. Are you both prepared?" They both glanced at each other, then back at the headmaster as they nodded. "Ah, good then. Let's go."

,,,

The entire boat trip, the ministry official kept staring at Tom and Henry with icy eyes. "If you two hadn't been so insistent on wanting to do this, then I wouldn't have to be here right now. Or perhaps if you were stronger wizards then you'd be able to go by yourselves the way that other visitor does."

Tom frowned. "What other visitor? Another student from the school?"

The official shook his head. "Of course not. To be honest, I was surprised to find out that the minister is allowing so many people to visit before the first fourteen days are over. But I've never known her to do anything with a logical reason, so I'll have to trust that there's some greater purpose to this." He looked at the two students. "Though I do find it very hard to believe," he muttered.

When they reached the prison, Tom couldn't help shivering. The whole place screamed dark energy and unhappiness and something very uninviting, and he was almost afraid to go inside. But he knew that he had to, for Susanna's sake. She had to live here for fifty years, the very least that Tom could do was visit her.

Before they even opened the doors to the prison, the official and Dumbledore both cast the same spell. A glowing silver phoenix appeared in front of the headmaster, while a glowing silver frog appeared in front of the official. Tom looked mesmerized. "Whoa, what is that?"

"It is the patronus charm," Dumbledore explained. "It's a sort of protection spell. It'll make sure that none of the dementors inside get too close. You'll learn it eventually, I'm sure. For now, these two will be sufficient in keeping the four of us safe."

They walked inside, and Tom and Henry both began shivering a little more. Even with the phoenix and the frog vigilantly guarding them and keeping away the dementors, the boys couldn't help feeling some fear.

When they finally stopped outside a cell, the official motioned towards the figure curled up on the tiny cot, wearing a black and white striped dress. The official frowned. "In case no one's told you yet, it is likely that she will already be losing her senses. Don't expect too much."

Henry barely listened to the official as he rushed forward, and grabbed at the cold metal bars. "Susanna!"

The figure on the cot stirred, then slowly sat up. Susanna blinked at her brother sleepily, and then when she realized who it was, she rushed over to the bars as well. They hugged as best they could through the thick bars. "Henry!" She smiled brightly. "I can't believe you're here. I thought you'd still be mad at me for never telling you about our grandfather."

Henry shook his head. "None of that matters right now. You're family, Susanna. It's my job to forgive you even when you do stupid things. And I'm not the only one who'd been itching to see you."

Tom awkwardly stepped forward. "Hey."

Susanna's eyes started to tear up. "Tom, I wasn't sure if you'd actually show up." He pulled her into a hug, then pressed the second chocolate bar into her hands as he pulled away. "Save this. It'll help against the dementors once we're gone."

She nodded, and immediately slid the bar up her sleeve. Then she looked past the boys, and frowned at the sight of the adults. "You couldn't come on your own?"

Tom shook his head. "No. Sorry. But we have fifty years. Plenty of time to learn the patronus charm for ourselves. Oh you'll never guess who was asking about you. Myrtle. She's a ghost at the school."

The tears in Susanna's eyes began to overflow, and they slid down her cheeks, clearing a line through some of the grime that was there. "You mean I can see her again? For real?"

"Yes. For real. And since she's a ghost, she'll still be there waiting for you once you get out of here."

Then Henry cleared his throat. "So who was your other visitor? Anyone we know?"

Susanna frowned. "Ah, no one of importance. Tell me what's been going on around the school? Has anyone else been hurt? Is everything running smoothly?"

Henry seemed a bit curious about the fact she'd brushed aside her other visitor so easily, but he wasn't going to push it. "The school seems to be alright. There was a big funeral for Dippet, and now Professor Dumbledore is the new headmaster. That's why he's here with us right now. And there hasn't been too much talk of you in the newspapers or anything, so that should be good. It's not the same without you though." He reached through the bars to grab one of Susanna's hands. "I can't stand the thought of you still being stuck in this horrible place."

Susanna smiled, and squeezed Henry's hand comfortingly. "It's okay. I know what I'm doing. I need to be here right now. Hang on," she went over to her very uncomfortable looking cot, and reached under her pillow to pull out a scrap of paper. She walked back over, and handed the paper to Tom. "Here. This is important." Then she looked back to Henry. "How are Mom and Dad?"

He winced. "They were definitely disturbed by your confession. I'll be honest, even I was disturbed by it. It sounded so real, Susanna. You nearly convinced even me that it was all true."

She shrugged nonchalantly. "It was all real. I killed them, Henry. That's why I'm here.

Henry shook his head adamantly. "I don't believe you. Whatever the truth is, whatever's got you so worked up that you thought hiding the fact that our grandfather is a dark wizard and getting yourself thrown in prison would be a good idea, whatever it is, you can tell me. You can trust me, Susanna."

She pressed her lips together in a flat line before shaking her head. "But I can't, Henry. You don't have what it takes to get the job done. Believe me, I know what I'm doing. And I know it sounds insane to ask you to believe in me and trust me when I just said that I can't trust you, but I'm not trying to be awful. I have a plan. I have things that I need to do. And this is the only way."

The official cleared his throat. "Alright, that's enough time spent in this godforsaken place. Come on, let's go."

Both Henry and Tom gave Susanna another hug, and then they were ushered away. When they left the building, they realized that they felt sick and cold and gross, and eating the chocolate really did help warm them up inside pretty quickly.

Later, when they were back in Hogwarts, Tom finally dared to pull out the scrap of paper that Susanna had given him. All it said was 'the darkness that fills the room scares me just as much as you'. He had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but he knew Susanna wouldn't have given it to him if it wasn't important. There was something going on, something big, and Tom was determined to find out what. He was going to figure everything out and save Susanna even if it killed him.