Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction using characters and elements from the world of Harry Potter, created and trademarked by JK Rowling. I do not claim ownership over any Harry Potter characters or the Harry Potter world. This story is for entertainment purposes only, and is not claiming to be any part of the Harry Potter canon. Thank you to JK Rowling for letting me play with the characters and not suing me for writing them into a new situation.

Light of the Moon

Chapter 9

The sound of glass being shattered echoed throughout the room. Hermione saw a flash in King Riddle's eyes that could have been anger or could have been excitement. Considering she'd just destroyed what was an extremely expensive piece of art, she thought it much more likely he was at least a little irritated with her.

Using a net spell, she caught the pieces of glass, and drew them down to the floor where she deposited them in a pile. The various colors that had been used to show the landscape of Ophidia created a rainbow of light on the floor.

Carefully, she arranged the pieces of glass into as flat a surface as she could. Then she used a heat spell to smooth it, making the reflective surface easier to control. With a word, she turned off her light balls, plunging the edges of the room back into darkness so she could more easily see the effect of her experiment.

Though quite heavy, she managed to levitate the glass into the air, directly into the path of the moonlight that was now streaming brightly through the center of the domed ceiling.

After making a few adjustments to make the surface more mirror like, she aimed the silvery light directly at the fire and the box within.

Though she didn't expect it to be the final solution, she felt triumph streak hotly through her veins when she noticed the blue flames flicker and shiver under the assault of light. They moved and danced and shrank and squeezed into thin ribbons, as if trying to escape the brightness.

But still they continued to burn.

With a grunt of effort, Hermione let down the large piece of glass. Her breathing was hard and heavy, but she could feel the adrenaline kicking in. She was very close.

She had to figure out what to do with Poseidon's bounty—with the large pool of water that sat conspicuously in the center of the room.

Forcing herself to breathe deeply and evenly after her exertions, she returned to contemplate the riddle.

Seven from one. What else divided into sevens?

Seven was an important number in Arithmancy and Numerology. It was the most powerful magical number. It represented a measure of completeness. It also represented the idea of hidden truths; the search for wisdom. All in all, a very appropriate number for a very tricky riddle.

Seven was the largest single-digit prime number.

There were seven letters of the musical alphabet.

There were seven players in a Quidditch Team.

Hermione was quickly extracting from her memory all the facts regarding the number seven, then discarding them almost as quickly.

She hurriedly did some Arithmancy calculations in her head that showed that King Riddle's Destiny number was nine—irrelevant at the moment, so she set that information aside to consider later. Her own was a seven, but that couldn't possibly have anything to do with the problem at hand.

Perhaps she needed to try a new tack.

What started out whole, and then split into seven?

Or what grew seven pieces out of a single one?

While Hermione was absorbed in thought, the moonlight continued to grow brighter. She noticed that even though it was quite bright, it still didn't reach to the edges of the room that remained black.

She stared at the glass at her feet, at the swirls of color that had mixed when she heat-fused the glass together, and she was suddenly struck with the answer.

Her heart jumped in her chest as her head swiveled to look at the big pool of water, then the box, and finally the now-open oculus.

She tried to keep her excitement from overrunning her, but there was a ringing in her ears that told her she'd just solved the riddle. Now she just had to see if she had the magical ability to perform the task. Riddle had wanted magical strength, and it looked very much like this was going to test her limits.

She flexed her wand arm, an action that corresponded with her mentally testing her strength reserves. She was glad she hadn't expended too much energy with her other experiments.

She ran through the list of all of the things she would need and had to make a few decisions.

What was the easiest shape to hold? The least amount of surface area? The most stable shape?

It would have to be a sphere, she decided. No matter the shape, it was going to be heavy. . . very heavy. And the reflection would be poor, more like diffusing—but hopefully that would be enough. If not, she'd have to use the big glass piece as well.

Using her measurement spell, she recorded the diameter of the opening of the oculus before she began.

She didn't dare look back at Riddle, though she could tell he was watching her very keenly. This was very possibly her last chance, because she wasn't sure she'd have the energy or strength left to try something else if this failed.

With a deep breath, she cast a very small wind spell above the pool of water. It went over the surface of the water, circling faster and faster, until it had gathered water into a funnel.

Slowly, the funnel grew as Hermione carefully fed it with every last drop of the water in the pool. By the time she was done, hundreds of gallons of water were hanging in the air. With care, she let go of the wind spell, holding all the water aloft with a levitation spell instead. She watched as the water continued to swirl, using more air spells on the outside to shape it into the sphere she wanted.

Using smooth motions, she lifted the water higher and higher. It sloshed within her air spells, and wobbled in her grasp, but she held it tight.

By the time she'd gotten it high enough, her raised wand arm was starting to feel fatigued. She was gripping the vinewood very tightly, trying to hold all the spells together, so she had to force herself to relax her grip. She'd need to hold it reasonably steady, and she wasn't sure how long she'd need to keep it up.

As the water came close to the oculus, it was clear that she'd measured it perfectly, because the sphere of water was inserting perfectly into the now open oculus. It was like a water bubble on the mouth of a jug.

The room began to light up as the moonlight was diffused through the giant drop of water.

But rather than the cool blue glow of the moon that she'd been expecting, the room began to light up very faintly with several colors. As the moonlight was refracted through the water bubble prism, it was split into a rainbow.

Hermione spared a glance at the box sitting on its pedestal.

The blue flames around it were definitely reacting! The water continued to slosh in Hermione's magical grasp, and as the water moved, the flames rose and fell.

For a few moments, Hermione simply kept the water as still as she could, since that made the light the brightest. But the colors lighting up the room only touched the box one at a time. She didn't have the strength to keep everything aloft for too long, and if she set the water down now, she wasn't sure she'd be able to grab it all again.

Extending both of her hands out, much like the headless woman in the now-empty water fountain, she set the water spinning again. Light began to shoot out like a giant disco ball. The mental image of a disco in the Throne Room, along with the exhilaration of her plan actually working, made Hermione laugh out loud.

She was the smartest witch, she was the strongest witch, she was going to win!

The flames were much smaller now, and Hermione was sure that if she simply held her spells that the rainbow moonlight would put the fire out. But she had that extra piece of glass, after all, so she might as well use it!

She lifted the glass right up to the water, using a little heat to bend it until it curved around the bubble, reflecting the rainbow lights in a higher concentration onto the box.

Tearing her eyes away from her handiwork, she looked over to see the blue flames shrinking rapidly. The crystal box glowed brighter and brighter with colorful light until a sudden brilliant, blinding flash spiraled outward.

With her concentration broken, she dropped all the spells that had carefully been holding up all that water and glass.

In the moment before it crashed down, she felt time slow. She saw the King on his feet, his wand aimed directly at her, light shooting out of the tip. She saw the light from her own newest spell—a shield charm—filtering down around her.

And she saw the pedestal, just beyond the King, still holding the crystal box—a box that was free of flames.

The sound of hundreds of gallons of water smashing into the stone water fountain mingled with the tinkling of shards of glass skittering across a marble floor.

When the debris settled, she found she was smiling so widely her cheeks were hurting. And there were two shield charms around her.

"You tried to save me," she said, her voice strong with the excitement of having overcome the challenge, and laced with wonder at the King's protective actions.

The King slowly lowered his wand. The lights of his shield charms—the one around him as well as the one around her—winked out abruptly. "You didn't need it."

She was still grinning at him. Her charm had been underneath his, proof that it had gone up first. "No, I didn't." Wordlessly, she cancelled it and felt the water start soaking into the hem of her white robes.

For several moments, neither of them spoke. She was still breathing hard from her magical exertions, the adrenaline rush of pushing her limitations only just beginning to fade.

Riddle's eyes were very dark in his serious face, staring at her, but she could gain no indication of his feelings from his expression. She wasn't even sure if she should speak. But she had just decided she would break the silence, when he clapped his hands together once, very loudly.

"Aidos," he called, causing the house-elf to appear immediately before him.

"Aidos answers the call of the King," she said very formally, with a perfectly elegant curtsy.

Hermione noticed that where Steward Aidos had been very formally dressed before with a starched uniform, the dress she was now wearing was embroidered from neck to toe with intricate silver designs. The Mark of Ophidia was large across her back, and the crest of the House of Marvolo was above her breast.

"Steward," the King addressed the little elf, "does the castle stand ready in all things?"

"Your Majesty has only to state his wish, and Aidos will see it fulfilled."

"Aidos, Steward of Castle Marvolo, Miss Granger will require her things to be moved to the Queen's Suite. See that it is done in all haste, as she will sleep there this night. Consider her wishes of utmost importance, and her orders as having the authority of the King."

At his words, Aidos' ears quivered in what Hermione thought might have been excitement. Before she could explain that she did not have any orders to give, Aidos had dropped into another curtsy, this time in front of Hermione.

"Ophidia rejoices this night! Castle Marvolo is honored! Aidos is overjoyed to be the first to wish good health and happiness to the future Queen!" The little elf's voice squeaked with suppressed enthusiasm. Aidos was a very paragon of self-control.

Hermione tried to match her formality, thanking her for her words, but it was the first time she'd ever felt that she was not as eloquent as a house-elf.

When Aidos Apparated away, presumably to oversee the transfer of Hermione's belongings, Hermione smiled at the King.

"I won," she said, softly, thrilled to have been successful where so many others had failed.

Riddle inclined his head respectfully to her, but he still didn't move from where he was standing. "Come claim your prize."

She blinked at that, taking an involuntary step backward, her eyes opening wide. Was she supposed to marry him immediately? Surely, they weren't supposed to consummate their marriage on a floor covered in water and broken glass?

His mouth twitched as he tried not to smile at the thoughts that must have been obvious on her face. He gestured to the box, which, now that she looked at it, had cracked open.

With red cheeks, she ascended the dais with her head held very stiffly up high. She may not know how to curtsy, but she could go up some stairs with at least a modicum of grace.

Approaching the marble pedestal, she paused, uncertain of what she would see inside the small box. She glanced back at the King who raised one eyebrow as if to question her hesitation.

The cover of the box easily opened further when she pushed the edges aside, but without the glow of the flames, and with the edges of the room once again in darkness, she couldn't see what was inside. She muttered the spell to turn on the light balls she'd set out earlier, pleased when they responded instantly.

She reached in and pulled out. . . well, it was. . . it looked like. . . a snow globe?

The object in her hand was also made out of crystal, and it was shaped like a hollow flame. Water filled the inside, along with a palmful of tiny little rocks. Unable to help herself, she tipped it over and back, like one would with a snow globe. The rocks floated around the tiny little air bubbles, glittering, before settling back onto the bottom.

She had no idea what to say. It was beautiful, but confusing.

The King watched her, but offered her no explanation for the meaning of the token.

When Aidos returned swiftly to Hermione's side, Hermione decided to take a cue from the elf and she formally thanked the King for his competition, for the challenge of the riddle, and for the heavy object in her hand that was supposed to represent her 'heart's desire.'

As the Steward gaily escorted her to her new quarters, Hermione couldn't help but look back to see that the King's eyes, still watching her, were heavy with a meaning as mysterious as her prize.

A/N: So were you right? And what do you think of Riddle now?

S&R: Constructive Reviews Welcome (CRW)