A/N: Hey guys... I feel like my life on Fanfiction centers around my apologizing to you. I really am sorry. I'll always have excuses as most of you might call them. However, to me they are valid reasons. I just need to say: have you ever entered a period in your life where everything is looking up? And then everything gets screwed up by one crappy unfortunate lifechanging event.
Again, I'm sorry for the wait but I really appreciated the virtual hug one of you sent me, I really needed it!
About the story: Alright, well I received some pretty detailed reviews last chapter. I thank you all for sharing your honest opinions with me and I'm glad that you're still enjoying the story. I will try to take into account every point that was brought up. Sooo the main divided opinion was centering around Adelaide. Here, there should be no worries to either opinion. The details about Adelaide's life are over, I just needed one scene to show why she was the way she was but in my rough draft (pre-planning) the only scenes involving her from now on, will be in the present.
And to the Tom fans out there that reviewed or messaged me: I hope you become satisfied with how things unfold with him. And no, while my Tom is still relatively human at the moment, he still can't love. But he can obsess. I look forward to seeing more of him. As I hope you do too.
Insecurity hitting me ten times stronger than the last chapter: I just hope you're not too disappointed with this chapter, it kinda serves to introduce the main events that are to follow during the Fifth year.
Disclaimer: Come on, is there any need? Well actually, there is a little bit of BBC Merlin inspiration here, you know for Merlin and because I love him.
"Was Merlin a good wizard?" Hermione questioned, carving designs into the table with a spell and a wave of her wand.
"Oh, Bon Dieu, she's back on track," Guillaume claimed, rolling his eyes skyward in exasperation.
"In theory! I haven't actually gone looking for him!" She argued, omitting to mention her trip to Merlin's Circle. But was it even worth mentioning? She wondered, she had remained on Hogwarts' grounds after all.
"Mydrin was-"
"Myrddin," Hermione corrected automatically, her gaze fixed on the designs she was creating.
"Yes, I know," Aberforth snapped with a stern glare. "Myrddin was neither good nor bad. He just was. Many claim he was the incarnation of Magic itself."
"That's not possible, is it?" Hermione checked.
Aberforth sighed, placing the glass mug he was cleaning on the counter. "Haven't you researched him? Shouldn't you know all this?"
"I've read it all but I want to hear what you know."
"Very well," Aberforth sighed, moving to sit at the same table as the two Delacour sorcerers. "I suppose you know that he was long gone before Hogwarts was ever founded, but the fact that he would have been sorted into Slytherin is universally acknowledged. He spent his life lying to Arthur, with good intentions perhaps but the fact remains that he lied to everyone around him in order to reach his goal: Wizards and Muggles living in harmony. Unfortunately, Arthur died before this vision of a unified world could come into existence."
"If that was his goal in life, surely he couldn't be considered bad?" Guillaume questioned.
"His intentions weren't bad to be sure, but his methods... Well, if all the legends are to be believed his methods sometimes left to be desired. Merlin had complete and utter faith in destiny and so he did everything it took to protect Arthur and Magic."
"So why did Merlin lie to Arthur if he wanted to reveal Magic to Muggles?" Hermione wanted to know.
"For a long time, Arthur hated the very idea of Magic and rejected anything that had to do with it. Many think it wasn't until he pulled Excalibur from the stone that he began to accept Magic. If Arthur had discovered that his confident, Myrddin, had Magic before that moment, Merlin's plans would have failed."
"They failed anyway," Hermione muttered, stabbing her wand into the table and standing up.
"In part yes. Merlin never succeeded in unifying both worlds, but he managed to get Arthur to accept Magic. Rumors say that Arthur and Merlin went on one last quest before Arthur was killed by Mordred, though no one knows where they went. In Gwenivere's salvaged letters to Lancelot she only mentions how both men disappeared for weeks, only returning at the start of winter, neither willing to divulge anything about where they went."
"Yes, I read fragments of those letters..." She paused, thoughtfully. "You believe that this voyage of theirs is important?"
"I'm quite certain that if you somehow discover where the duo went, you'll find Merlin's resting place."
"What about all the locations he's rumored to be buried? The Paimpont Forest? Malborough Mound?"
"Merlin chose to bury himself with what is considered to be the most important and powerful book in the world. He himself stated he would protect it from the world and lock it up in his tomb. Do you honestly think he would let his burial place be common knowledge?" Aberfoth asked, disbelievingly with a shake of his head. "No. Merlin wouldn't be so idiotic. Those well-known locations, perhaps they have clues that will lead you to his actual tomb, but you won't be finding his remains nor his book in any of those places," Aberforth scoffed.
Hermione grimaced. "I can't go today... Nor next Hogsmeade weekend - I have a date - but perhaps-"
"A date? What's this? You have a date?" Guillaume demanded. "With who? What is his name?"
The brunette witch sighed. "The following Hogsmeade weekend? I'll send you both an owl with the dates. Will you come with me?"
"Of course," both wizards agreed.
"Now you both better ge' out of here. Having a young teenager and a pristine French wizard is shaking up the reputation of my pub."
Hermione giggled as Guillaume led her out, wishing Aberforth a good day. "So, Hermione, tell me more about this date," Guillaume ordered.
Hermione had installed herself on a ledge in one of the many relatively deserted hallways. She had spelled herself and her things so that there was no chance of anything falling over the edge and she enjoyed the soft breeze blowing over her as she worked. Hermione was hunched over her parchment, scribbling down everything she could about Merlin Ambrosius, also known as Myrddin Emrys in Welsh and didn't want any of her friends or classmates seeing what she was doing. Hermione started when someone sat down in front of her and she quickly and smoothly covered her work with a different parchment.
"Delacour."
Smiling, Hermione met the intense gaze of Sirius Black. "Sirius, what are you doing here?" She asked, casually slipping unrelated papers over her Merlin research.
"We need to talk," he stated a heavy and somber look about him.
"Dreaded words," Hermione chuckled. "What can I do for you?"
Sirius refused to smile at her attempt to lighten the atmosphere. "I'm here about my brother."
Hermione continued watching him, her gaze curious. "Yes? What about Regulus?"
"You need to stay away from him," he informed her.
The witch's mouth opened and closed once as the shock of his statement washed over her. "Excuse me?"
"Look, I'm saying this for you, Delacour. He's- he's getting involved in some stuff and it would be best for you to stay away from him."
"He's my friend," she declared. "He's sweet and he doesn't need you being this way with him while trying to deal with other stuff."
"He may be your friend, but he's my brother. I know him better than you and he's not the sort you should be mixing with."
"I can mix with whoever I choose, Sirius Black," she proclaimed, glaring at the boy while gathering all her papers. "You have no right to claim you know him better than me. Maybe once, when you were younger that was true but I can assure you, you know nothing about the man he's turning into."
"Don't you dare say I don't know my brother! I know him better than anyone!"
"That's a lie, Sirius! When was the last time you talked to him? Actually talked to him without having preconceived ideas and notions about him in your head."
"I tried! I listened to your stupid recommendations and tried to talk to him. He just pushed me away," Sirius shook his head in frustration. "He didn't want to talk to me."
"Maybe because everytime you look at him, you see an 'evil' Slytherin, a follower, a miniature copy of your father and he doesn't want to waste his words on someone who won't listen no matter what he says."
Sirius sighed, his glare still firmly in place. "That's what he is! He's everything my parents wanted in a son: dark and prejudiced."
"He hangs out with Lily and me," she argued.
"Sure, but you're a pureblood and he only puts up with Lily during your weird study sessions."
Hermione recoiled and froze, her mouth agape in shock. "Umm... I thought Remus had told you..." She trailed off with a perplexed chuckle. But why would he? She asked herself. He's the only one that knows that I'm an adopted muggleborn.
"Told me what?" Sirius demanded, frowning.
The Delacour witch shook her head. "It's not important. The point is, there are many prejudiced purebloods that would never even consider sharing a table with a muggleborn, yet he does. Doesn't that prove anything about his character?"
"Hermione, I live with him, I know very well that he agrees with my parents' beliefs. I've heard what he says about people like Lily. He's getting into dangerous territory."
Hermione sighed and tilted her head. "You live with Regulus?" She repeated his words in disbelief. "This summer, you went to the Potters after a week. You don't live with him anymore, Sirius. You have no idea what he's going through."
"Oh, and you do?" Sirius exclaimed, his tone full of rage.
"As a matter of fact, I do! He told me!"
Sirius groaned. "And you believed him?! If you knew the reason why I left, you'd understand! Why won't you just listen to me! If you stay friends with him, you'll end up hurt. I'm just trying to protect you!"
"Protect me?! Well, that's ridiculous, you can barely stand me!"
"That doesn't mean I want to see you hurt."
"I appreciate your concern Sirius, but I will not turn my back on Regulus the same way you did!"
Sirius froze, his eyes wide and full of pain. Hermione gasped as she realized what she had just said. "No, Sirius I didn't-"
The black haired boy shook his head as he stood and walked away, his shoulders hunched. Hermione watched him leave, feeling horrified by what she had just done. Hurriedly, she waved her wand over her papers, sending them to her room and scurried down the corridor, hoping to catch up with the tall Gryffindor boy. She finally found him after casting a few point me spells. He was sitting under the 'Marauder tree' by the lake, his arms wrapped tightly around his legs and his chin resting on his knees.
"Here to tell me again about what a shite brother I am?" He snapped, keeping his gaze fixed on the surface of the lake.
"I came to apologize. What I said was out of line and a lie."
"Was it, though?"
"Sirius, you're young. We all are. And we are in a messed up situation that we don't know how to deal with. But the fact is, we don't have a choice: this war is coming and we're all doing our best to survive this life, even if we're doing it in our own ways that others might not approve of. You're dealing by pushing away your family and your brother is trying the opposite technique by making them proud. Maybe your way is braver, maybe his is wiser, either way, you can't judge him for the way he is at home."
"He's the same at Hogwarts though, he doesn't want my help or support. He hates me because I left him."
"Do you know that? Has he told you that?"
"Not in so many words..."
"So you're assuming," Hermione stated, with a half shrug.
"I'm reading between the lines: when someone refuses to talk to you, it usually means they hate you."
"Not necessarily. It could just be that they don't know what to say."
"So you think that this whole problem with my brother is simply because he doesn't know what to say?" Sirius scoffed. "Yeah, sure."
Hermione sighed, shifting into a more comfortable position and turning to face the lake instead of Sirius. A breeze caused her hair to flip over her shoulder and she shivered, pulling her sweater closer to her body. Finally, after a moment of silence, Hermione shook her head and chuckled somewhat in resignation.
"Why is it that almost everytime we talk we end up arguing?" She wondered.
Sirius shrugged. "Guess we just rub each other the wrong way."
"You're not a bad person, Sirius and you're not a bad brother either. Regulus and you, you've made mistakes but you can still be there for each other, as long as you show each other that you still care."
"We'll see about that. I'm still not convinced Regulus likes me. And I still think it'd be best for you to stay away from him."
"Sirius-" Hermione sighed, again.
"I know, I know!" Sirius claimed, raising his arms in surrender and smiling teasingly at Hermione. "I just wanted to be sure you remembered what I said when things turn to shite. That way you won't fight my 'I told you so'."
Hermione released a surprised snort of laughter and flicked the black haired boy. "I believe the day will indeed come that the words 'I told you so' will need to be said. However, I'm quite certain, they will be leaving my lips and not yours."
"Is that a bet, Delacour?"
Hermione hesitated but smiled. "Yes, it is," she nodded, taking his hand in a binding shake.
Remus grumbled as he joined Hermione in the Library. Snapping his book open he then proceeded to glare menacingly at the pages in front of him. Hermione glanced at the boy briefly before continuing on with her work. A loud huff of frustration pulled her attention away from her essay once again. Smiling in resigned amusement, Hermione crossed her arms over her work and observed her friend for a moment in silence.
"What seems to be bothering you today, Remus?"
Remus puffed and shook his head. "James, Sirius and Peter just kicked me out of the dorm room!" Hermione raised her eyebrows in surprise, causing Remus to break out into a fit of angry chuckles. "Yeah, they did! I was reading a book on my bed and they just stormed in and told me that I was forbidden from entering the room until they said so!"
"Did they explain why?" Hermione questioned, softly.
"Just that they were trying to give 'my furry little problem a friend', whatever that is supposed to mean! But they just kicked me out!"
"I'm sure they didn't mean to offend you," Hermione reassured.
Remus scoffed. "If you think I haven't noticed the fact that the three of them have been up to something these past few weeks... Excluding me..." He trailed off, a sad glint taking over his gaze.
"Perhaps they're organizing a surprise birthday celebration," Hermione offered.
"My birthday's in March: how much time do you need to plan a surprise party?" He asked, disbelieving.
"Well, I'm sure they'll tell you eventually."
"But why don't they tell me now?" Remus questioned, rejected.
Hermione grimaced, unsure how to defend the other Marauders without giving them away. "I'm sure everything will work out sooner or later."
Remus flipped a page from his book in order to avoid revealing the fact that he had his doubts. Perhaps it was his childhood insecurities coming back to haunt him but he couldn't help but worry that as his friends grew older and developed a better sense of judgment, they were starting to realize that befriending a werewolf was not in their best interests.
Hermione, picking up on the downward spiral Remus' mind was taking and decided to lighten up the atmosphere by changing the subject. "The other day when I pulled you away from the Gryffindor table, what were Potter and Black talking about?"
"What?"
"You know, James was saying you had said that Sirius was wrong and then I said you were always right and then Sirius said that I didn't know anything so what I said wasn't of any importance?"
"Oh," Remus chuckled as he recalled the conversation. "What about it?"
"Well... What were you all talking about?"
"Um," Remus grimaced. "One of Sirius' weird fetishes."
"Which is?"
Remus shuddered. "You don't want to know. Trust me."
"It can't be that bad! I'm sure you're all overreacting!" Hermione laughed.
"Probably," Remus agreed. "It's still disgusting though."
"Tell me, please?"
Remus hesitated. "I think it's Sirius' secret to tell."
"Secret? He was discussing it quite liberally in the Great Hall," Hermione argued.
"Still not gonna tell you. I'd like to avoid ever talking about it again if at all possible."
Hermione huffed, falling back into her seat. "Fine. I'll jut have to work on getting it out of Sirius."
"Good luck with that," Remus laughed. "Chances are as soon as he finds out you want to know, he's purposefully going to taunt you with it and refuse to tell you, just to get a rise out of you."
"Do you know what Sev just told me?" Lily exclaimed as she joined Hermione by the lake.
"No, what did he say?" Hermione inquired, watching as Pandora attempted to attract Grindylows to the surface of the lake by throwing in pieces of Dirigible Plums. "That's never going to work," Hermione pointed out but Pandora simply waved her away.
"I should have brought a coat, it's already getting cold," Lily commented, shivering in the breeze.
"That's what Severus said? I was expecting something a bit more interesting, what with the way you strode over here in determination."
"What? No! That's not what he just told me!" She declared, rubbing her arms in the hopes of warming herself up.
Taking pity over Lily, Hermione smiled and cast a warming charm over the girl. Lily sighed in satisfaction. "I always forget to use spells for myself," she admitted.
Hermione grinned. "So, Severus said?" She prompted.
"Godric, you won't believe it! He started spouting all these facts about werewolves of all things! But that's not the worst part!"
"What's the worst part?" Hermione asked, patiently, despite already knowing what was coming.
"He started asking me if I had noticed anything odd about Remus," Lily whisper-yelled.
"What did you tell him?" Hermione wondered.
"Nothing!" Lily exclaimed, absolutely aghast. "I would never! It's not my story to tell."
Hermione smiled softly, turning towards the black-haired boy who was strolling in their direction. "I hear you've been asking questions, Severus," Hermione stated, teasingly.
"I have," he agreed, settling himself beside the girls. "Anything you'd like to share, Hermione?"
"Not really, no," Hermione denied, throwing a meaningful look at the redhead who was watching the exchange like a dear caught in headlights. "Well..." Hermione trailed off. "I do feel like I should warn you: you shouldn't dig into this Severus but if you must insist, just promise me you won't take anything Sirius says seriously."
"Take Black seriously?" Severus scoffed, kicking the toes of his boots into the dirt. "You don't have to tell me that."
"Nonetheless, I want to keep the 'I told you so' option available to me."
Severus shook his head, chuckling as if Hermione had just said the most hilarious thing he had ever heard. After he had caught his breath, he glanced at the calm blonde by the edge of the lake. "What's Pandora up to?" He wanted to know.
"She's trying to lure some Grindylows to the surface," Hermione informed him, her tone suggesting the exasperation she felt.
"With Dirigible Plums? Everyone knows they only eat algae, fish, and other sea creatures."
"And the occasional humans," Dora added, peacefully continuing on with littering the surface of the lake with pieces of orange plums.
"You'd have more luck attracting a Grindylow by throwing in one of your fingers then by using plums," Severus claimed, moving over to sit closer to the short blonde girl.
"She's convinced she's onto something," Hermione stage whispered to Lily.
"You, on the other hand, don't sound convinced," Lily commented.
"I daresay this is one of those rare moments where I agree with the facts everyone else has: Gringylows will never eat Dirigible Plums," Hermione admitted. "This one's a lost cause."
"Well, you know it's a bad sign when Hermione Delacour immediately disapproves of one of Pandora's theories or magical creatures," Lily joked, causing Hermione to glare at her.
Tom Riddle was sitting at his desk, crumpled parchments and open books were strewn all over the surface. His visit with his old friend had left him with the same knowledge as the one all those years ago, which meant close to nothing. He had left the useless wizard alive, but his mind forever distorted with painful memories of his past. The Dark Lord couldn't help but smile a little at the thought of what his pet had done to the man, who was now nothing but a shell of himself. Of course, Tom could have performed Dark Magic and ended up with the same results, but why should he waste his magnificent power on those so drastically inferior to him? Especially when he had at his disposition someone with natural-born and specially trained abilities.
The Dark Lord had not expected much from his visit, having already drained the man of all his knowledge years ago but Voldemort hated it when certain intelligence evaded him and on this particular matter, Voldemort was all but clueless, though he would never admit it.
What had that little witch been doing in Merlin's Circle? Had she truly been searching for a way to find Merlin's tomb? And if she had, why? All witches and wizards seeking power had searched for Merlin's resting place, but never at such a young age - except the Dark Lord himself, but few could truly compare to him. All had visited the locations related to Merlin, had meditated on his presumed graves and the like. None had gotten very far and those who had had all perished or disappeared.
Perhaps it was foolish of Tom to be so perplexed over the young witch's actions. Perhaps she was simply one of those arrogant people who believed that with the help of their intelligence and some heavy reading, they'd be able to find Merlin's grave. Riddle scoffed and slammed his wand onto his desk, curling his left hand into a tight fist. Perhaps she simply enjoyed the location and found it relaxing. And yet... And yet Tom couldn't help but think there was more to it than that. He knew why he suspected as much: It was because of the power he had felt the two times he had been in her presence. That mind-numbing, mouth-watering power that was contained in her tiny and breakable body. So breakable.
Resisting the urge to bang his fist against the table, Tom lurched out of his seat and started pacing the length of his office. He hated this. Close to nothing in this world could make him react and feel so frustrated. In fact, only one thing left him feeling frustrated: power - that is, power he had not yet acquired. Only power could invoke such strong feelings of frustration, elation, and desire. Oh, yes. He desired that witch in a way he had almost never desired anything before - only his desire for immortality and control trumped his desire for her power. Her otherworldly and intoxicating power.
Suddenly, Tom paused, his face falling into a steel cold mask. He needed to feel that power again, guarantee to himself that he wasn't obsessing over nothing. That this irresistible power was indeed contained within that little French witch. Without hesitation, Tom grabbed his cloak and disapparated from his office, appearing just on the outskirts of Hogsmeade Village.
Voldemort was pleased to see that it was indeed, a Hogsmeade weekend, not that that would have prevented him from finding the witch today. Closing his eyes in order to concentrate, Tom focused on his Magic and reached out, ignoring all the weak Cores surrounding him until finally, he found the one that interested him. Striding through the village, Tom paid little attention to anyone else until he reached the Three Broomsticks. Deciding it would draw less attention to himself, he chose to wait outside for the witch to exit the bar.
Only a few minutes later did she leave, on the arm of a tall and gawky boy who Tom judged could only be a Hufflepuff. Ridiculous. Riddle sneered as he eyed the boy. Quickly, he moved his gaze to the reason for his trip. So, so deliciously breakable, the Dark Lord thought to himself once again, as he took in the small and delicate frame of the witch.
"Severus!" Hermione yelled, waving over a tall boy.
"Snape," Tom murmured, realizing he would need to talk to Lucius about including the boy in his mission. His connection to the Delacour witch was something Tom would have to be a fool to not use.
He continued to watch the girl's interactions for a moment. Voldemort tilted his head thoughtfully, trying to analyze the power radiating from her. It was everything he had thought it was. But also so much more... Indeed, Tom observed as the witch strolled away from him. While it was strong, complex, and tempting there was something niggling at the back of his mind. It was familiar. Not in the sense that he had felt it from her before because obviously, he had, but more that he had actually felt it coming from somewhere else, before ever actually crossing paths with her. He had come across a power similar to hers somewhere else, however, he could not recall where.
Tom sighed as he considered what this could possibly mean. It would seem that he needed to take a more detailed interest into Hermione Delacour. He no longer simply needed to own her in the future, he also needed to own her past and her present in order to figure out where he had felt her power before. He should have realized this previously, but he had been so distracted by her raw power that he had ignored his other senses. As frustrated with himself as he felt for his oversight, Tom shivered in anticipation. He had always loved a challenge. And he always won.
A/N: Here you go, please tell me what you thought. And I'm terribly sorry again for the slow update but well... Life, ahe?
I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. Question: Why or how do you think Tom has felt Hermione's Magic before? It's actually a fairly easy question, or I think it is but that might only be because I know the answer, but I'm almost certain at least one of the reasons is easy to guess.
PS. I just want to warn you: My next update might also be slow, though I really don't plan/want that to happen, but just know that the next chapter WILL come (I'm already working on it)! You probably won't be happy to read this warning but yeah, what can you do when life gets screwed up, messes with your head and then your writing schedule ends up suffering as well? *Sigh*
