Hi everyone!

Wishing you all a happy new year :)

Enjoy this new chapter!

Perhentian

oOoOoOo

Chapter 43 - September 1997

"It feels weird to take the Hogwarts Express for our seventh year," Harry said as he sat down on one of the seats of their compartment.

"Because it's our last year?" Neville asked.

He was still desperately trying to get his trunk into the luggage racks and Hermione rolled her eyes and cast a lightening spell on it.

"Oh, thank you Hermione," Neville said with obvious relief.

"No," Harry answered. "It's because it's the first time Hermione, Ron and I are doing a normal seventh year. We couldn't do it the last time because Voldemort controlled the Ministry of Magic."

"Oh yeah, that's right," Neville remembered.

Neville now knew almost everything about their old life. Even after offering to help them, he had had at first a hard time to digest the idea that they were time travellers, or perhaps it was their alliance with Voldemort that did not sit well with him. But afterwards, he had come back to them with questions, and other questions, and other questions about what they had been through. He had gradually come to trust them completely, even accepting that their alliance with Voldemort was probably the best thing to do.

Luna, on her side, had not really wanted to know the details. She had said that talking about a future that would not happen anyway did not mean much, and that she preferred to live day by day rather than spend her life potentially waiting for great things to finally never happen.

"You will lend me your lessons, eh?" Ginny said looking at Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"Of course," Hermione confirmed.

They had agreed during the summer that even if Ginny would follow the sixth years classes, they would help her prepare her NEWTs at the end of the year with them, Ginny not wanting to remain the only one of quartet in Hogwarts the following year.

"Can you thank your boyfriend, Hermione?" Luna then said. "He lent me the second Empedocles treaty, you know, and it's really interesting."

"There's a second treaty?" Hermione asked, surprised.

She had never heard of it. Then she narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"How is Voldemort aware of your magical sensibility anyway?" she asked. "I was sure I had managed to never told him about that."

"Sorry, that's on me," Luna said with a slight grimace. "He realized that I had recognized him when he arrived in Grimmauld Place, and with a few questions he quickly understood… Would you like to read the second treaty? I've finished it already."

"I'd like to, sure," Hermione said. "And I can give it back to him afterwards."

Hermione was still more or less angry with Voldemort. His stupid I'm-her-boyfriend stunt during Harry's birthday had raised a lot of questions about Tom Evans in the days that had followed, and Hermione would have been quite better without them. Besides, Voldemort had continued to be in an insufferable good mood throughout the month of August. Thought, none of that had stopped her from seeing him regularly.

"Wait. Wait," Neville said. "Hermione's boyfriend? Tom Evans? Tom Evans is Voldemort? And Voldemort is Hermione's boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend," Hermione muttered.

"While thinking of Voldemort as a boyfriend is a ridiculous notion, you cannot deny that you're more or less together," Ginny pointed out.

Hermione glared at her.

"I did warn you Neville that Tom Evans was infested with Oniroles," Luna said.

"And I was supposed to understand it meant that Tom Evans was Voldemort? Because he was infested with Oniroles?" Neville answered heatedly.

Luna simply shrugged and continued reading the latest edition of the Quibbler, as Neville still seemed to be fuming.

"Has Tom Evans hurt you, Neville?" Ron asked.

This seemed to make Neville even more angry, before he threw his arms up to the sky in a very theatrical gesture of surrender.

"He hasn't done anything, don't worry," Neville said. "It's just that I can't believe it was him. We've talked together for a few minutes and I've found him very pleasant…"

He looked slightly in shock and Ginny gently patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry Neville," she said. "It is absolutely impossible not to find Voldemort charming if he has decided to make you believe he is. You just have to remember that it is just a facade and he is actually very far from charming. Except perhaps with Hermione?"

"Half of our conversations end with a nasty spell when one of us can't stand anymore the other's insufferableness," Hermione said. "The upcoming negotiations with him are going to be as exhausting as the ones we had two years ago..."

Neville seemed to remember then that Hermione did not really deny that she was seeing Voldemort and visibly whitened.

"Don't worry Neville," Luna said. "Their magical signatures match each other very well, and things like that are proof of great outcomes."

Her comment earned her five dubious looks, before Ron burst out laughing.

"No, no, no," he said between bursts of laughter. "I refuse to believe that."

"At least I tried," Luna shrugged with a slight smile. "Poor Neville, he's going to have to get used to the idea without even having a plausible excuse to believe in..."

"Plausible," Hermione deadpanned.

"Neville, if the idea of Hermione and Voldemort together makes you want to throw up, at least try to get out of the front compartment first," Ginny commented.

Neville rolled his eyes, and decided to ignore the subject altogether by delving into a herbology book.

oOoOoOo

"We're going to need a research team."

Hermione lifted her head and looked questioningly at Voldemort. It was the evening of the first Monday of the school year, and Hermione was already back at Voldemort's place. But that was mainly because she knew that starting the next weekend they were going to begin negotiations, and she would then have a lot less time alone with Voldemort. And if a few years ago that thought would have horrified her, now she had long accepted the fact that her relationship with Voldemort existed. It would last as long as it would, but in the meantime she would savour it.

"A research team?" she asked.

"We will start the negotiations next weekend, and I can assure you that it will take us a long time to come to a suitable agreement. It will be just as much time not spent solving the magical source problem. Neither on your side nor on mine. Unless you stop these stupid defence classes altogether and use that time to continue researching."

Hermione sighed before placing her quill on the table in front of her, finally turning completely to Voldemort, trying to fathom his expression. His red eyes were serious and Hermione suddenly felt very tired. It was going to take them months to come up with a satisfactory deal. Because Voldemort would fight as much as them not to do too many concessions.

"We're not stopping the defence classes," Hermione said.

"So we need a research team."

"But who?" she asked. "I would have nominated Ginny, but she will be just as taken by the negotiations as us."

"Barty," Voldemort said.

He had already thought about it, that was obvious. Barty would indeed be perfect for the runic part.

"I would not have thought you would agree to share your work with anyone," Hermione pointed out.

"It's not as if anyone would be able to perform this ritual without our help," Voldemort said.

Hermione looked at him with still a hint of disbelief.

"And Barty will of course be under a vow not to reveal anything," Voldemort added.

"Of course," Hermione repeated. "So he will be the first of your Death Eaters to know a little more about what is going on..."

"Not really. The Malfoys already know."

"Pardon me?"

She would have rather imagined Voldemort not revealing anything to his Death Eaters, keeping them in the dark the same way Dumbledore was keeping the Order in the dark. She had pointed out the parallel to Voldemort several times, which was a quite certain way to put him in a very bad mood.

"Not about the sources. About the political part. And the fact that we are going to try to find an agreement. Lucius had to be made aware of this at some point in time anyway, and I ended up taking your advice not to think of mini-Lucius as a useless nuisance anymore. They are also under vow of course."

This made Hermione frown. She could not imagine Voldemort designing a vow without harsh consequences for the Malfoys if they tried to bypass it. But that kind of vow should have triggered the protections she had put on Draco's signet ring a long time ago.

"Interesting spell craft by the way," Voldemort said. "Well concealed. But not very complex to remove once young Malfoy brought it to my attention."

"Draco? He was not aware about it though."

"Of course not. He just could not help but yelp in pain when your spell tried to evade my vow."

Hermione winced slightly. That spell had therefore been totally useless. But that at least explained why Draco Malfoy had royally ignored all four of them earlier that day when he had spent his entire sixth year desperately trying to approach them.

"But Barty won't be enough, far from it," Voldemort said. "We may have defined the main lines of the ritual, but there are still hundreds of hours of work to finalize everything. I can find someone for the Arithmancy part, but we also need someone who can coordinate everyone, as well as some expertise in plants and magical creatures since this absurd solution with the Horned Snorkack seems to work. And a potions master will probably be useful too."

"I really don't know who…"

Voldemort looked at her with exasperation.

"Then find out," he snapped. "Otherwise we're going to waste way too much time."

"I'll think about it," Hermione agreed with a sigh.

"This needs to be sorted out by the end of the week," Voldemort said. "I want the names by Friday so we can kick start all this on Saturday morning before the beginning of the negotiations."

Hermione nodded, without having any satisfactory idea about who to suggest. She noted, however, that Voldemort obviously trusted her enough to find more than half of the research team.

oOoOoOo

"Albus, do you have a moment?" Sirius asked in a firm voice.

"It may be slightly rushed Sirius…" Remus whispered.

But his friend - his best friend - did not listen to him, and resolutely walked over to Dumbledore as the Headmaster was about to leave after a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix in which, as usual, not much had happened. In the past few months Albus Dumbledore had not even really given them any tasks to do...

"I should be able to find a few minutes, Sirius," Albus Dumbledore answered. "What is on your mind?"

Sirius led them into one of the living-rooms of Grimmauld Place to avoid the potential eavesdropping of the Order members that had not yet left.

"Remus told me that Hermione's boyfriend was a Death Eater," Sirius attacked.

"That's not exactly what I said," Remus reminded sternly.

He was not sure if he regretted telling Sirius about his suspicions or not. His conversation with Harry's young friend had been bothering him all summer, and he had ended up sharing his worries with Sirius. Who had decided to go straight to Dumbledore to confront him.

"You said that she had not answered when you've asked her if her boyfriend was a Death Eater," Sirius said before turning back to Albus, "and that she said that Albus was perfectly aware of who this Tom Evans was."

"Ah," Albus said simply with what looked slightly like a grimace.

His answer seemed to unsettle Sirius.

"We have to do something!" Sirius exclaimed. "We cannot let our kids be in danger! Do you really know what's going on? Have you researched this young man Albus? Evans was Lily's last name, I remember that very well."

"I did some research," Remus cut in calmly.

Sirius gazed shifted sharply to him. Remus wanted to roll his eyes. If Sirius would have let him finish explaining everything he knew before rushing to Dumbledore… so very typical of Sirius. Act first and think after.

"There is no Tom Evans in the ministry records," Remus said.

"How do you know that?" Sirius asked.

"I asked Tonks for help. I didn't want to talk to you until I had at least confirmed that there was indeed something strange about this young man. And Tonks, unlike you, isn't nosy enough not to help me without having the whole story."

Sirius' facial expression grew even more determined and he turned to Dumbledore again.

"Albus? What do you know?" he asked.

"I don't really think it's wise for me to share this with you," Albus answered paternalistically.

Remus almost wanted to close his eyes. It was not a good idea to answer something like that to an already angry Sirius. Really not a good idea.

"Pardon me Albus?" Sirius shouted. "Not wise? Why? Are we not part of your precious Order of the Phoenix? Doesn't this concern the safety of our children? Or perhaps you don't trust us enough? But then, what is your Order of the Phoenix for? It's nothing more than an opportunity to drink tea right now, while Voldemort is still on the loose! If you don't do something Albus, I'll take it upon myself to find that Death Eater. And I'm sure Remus will be happy to help me!"

"I will indeed," Remus confirmed.

He did not have the verve of Sirius, but he had promised himself after hearing about the release of Sirius several years ago, - and after Sirius had welcomed him back to Grimmauld Place without even a single question about why Remus had not tried to help him –, that he would not let his friend throw himself headfirst into trouble alone again.

"You should tell us what you know Albus," Remus added. "Because we are not kidding. If you don't say anything, we'll protect the children on our own."

After all they had not been the Marauders for nothing. They should be able to track down a Death Eater without too many problems.

"Please, Sirius, Remus, do not go after Tom Evans, that would be way too dangerous for you," Dumbledore answered.

Now even Remus was annoyed

"You are getting insulting Albus," Remus said coldly. "I will have expected a little more trust from you, if not in me, then at least in Sirius."

"It's not that I don't trust you," Albus started. "But…"

"So put us in the know!" Sirius demanded.

"It's too dangerous," Albus said.

"Are we not already in danger?" Sirius pointed out.

Albus Dumbledore looked like he was about to say something, before sighing heavily.

"Let us help, Albus," Remus said more gently. "We only want to help. You seem carry the world on your shoulders since the beginning of the year, without being able to lean on anyone."

"Unfortunately you cannot help me, Remus... No, no, let me continue," Dumbledore stopped Sirius from interrupting him. "I'll tell you what I know, but I will need a vow from you not to disclose what we're going to discuss."

"What kind of vow?" Sirius immediately asked.

"An unbreakable vow."

It froze both Sirius and Remus. Dumbledore asking them that was another blow. Remus was willing to swallow his pride, but obviously not Sirius.

"You can't be serious!" Sirius exclaimed with indignation. "You..."

Dumbledore interrupted him with a gesture.

"It's the only way," Dumbledore said. "I am myself under vow not to reveal anything without an equivalent vow."

"Under vow?" Remus repeated in a surprised tone. "But from whom?"

Dumbledore turned his piercing gaze to him.

"You can imagine that I cannot reveal who put me under vow," he said. "Will you agree to a vow, my friends? I assure you I'll then tell you all I can."

Sirius exchanged a look with Remus, before nodding sharply. Then it took them a few minutes to swear the vow, Sirius' displeased look not leaving Albus even for a second.

"Alright Albus, now give us one good reason not to jump right in on Tom Evans' trail," Remus said.

"Because Tom Evans is Voldemort," Albus Dumbledore answered.

Remus's mind refused to understand for a moment. Refused to put the words together so that they made sense. Because it made no sense. No sense at all. Tom Evans could not be Voldemort. Tom Evans could not...

"What!?" Sirius roared. "Are you insane? Why the hell haven't you told us that before? I registered him in Grimmauld Place's wards! He could have come back at any time! At a time when Harry and his friends were alone here! And what did he do to Hermione? Why didn't you intervene?"

"Sirius, calm down," Remus said. "And Albus, with all due respect, that's not possible. Tom Evans cannot be Voldemort. Voldemort would have tried to kill Harry if he had had such a golden opportunity as during Harry's birthday."

And Hermione Granger had spoken of Tom Evans with a detachment she surely would not have had if she was talking about Voldemort. But he could not rule out the possibility that the young girl was somehow under Voldemort's influence if what Albus was saying was true…

"Remus is right," Sirius said, completely changing his approach. "Don't laugh at us Albus. I spoke with this young man for a few minutes and he struck me as very charming. A Death Eater wanabee, why not, but Voldemort, no way. And on top of that, Grimmauld Place would not have allowed any glamours."

"He did not use a glamour Sirius, even though I do believe him capable of coming up with a glamour even Grimmauld Place would not detect," Albus answered. "Young Tom Marvolo Riddle looked exactly like this when he had just left Hogwarts. Look."

With a gesture Dumbledore brought up an old class photo of Hogwarts. School year 1944 - 1945 could be read under the photo, and immediately after Remus identified in the photo Tom Evans, in a crisp Hogwarts uniform, Head Boy's badge on his chest, and a charming look on his face. Above his head a small Tom Marvolo Riddle badge popped up as Albus tapped his wand on the young man.

"But… how is that possible?" Sirius asked. "How could Voldemort come here without triggering the protections around the manor? And how… no, no. No time for questions. What must be done to protect Hermione and Harry from him Albus?"

Remus still could not wrap his head around the fact that Tom Evans, Hermione's alleged boyfriend, was Voldemort.

"I don't really know if I'm the right person to answer that question…" Dumbledore started. "Remus, has Miss Granger really directed you to me?"

"She said, I quote, 'Professor Dumbledore knows very well who Tom is, and what he was doing here on Harry's birthday. He simply refuses to speak to the Order about it.'"

He had thought about these sentences enough times to know them by heart. This seemed to make Albus pause, and Remus felt Sirius lose his patience next to him.

"Albus, you've already had us swear a vow, by Merlin!" Sirius said. "What the hell is stopping you now?"

"I don't know how far I can go without putting you on Voldemort's radar." Albus answered calmly.

"For the umpteenth time, Albus, we are already on Voldemort's radar anyway!"

"No Sirius, you are not currently on Voldemort's radar," Dumbledore said more firmly. "The Order is not currently on Voldemort's radar."

"But the attacks…" Sirius started.

But Remus waved him off, suddenly having a suspicion that something was very, very, wrong here.

"It wasn't luck or any kind of skills that allowed us not to lose anyone to the Death Eaters in the past years, was it Albus?" he asked. "There is a real explanation for the fact that there has never been anything more than minor injuries for months. An explanation that you know Albus, and that you haven't seen fit to share with the Order."

Despite his desire to remain calm his tone had become somewhat accusing at the end. He could understand that Dumbledore was keeping secrets. He could even understand that he himself, the meek werewolf, was hardly at the centre of the most important discussions, but why hide the fact that they were for some incomprehensible reason safe? Why not allay the fears of everyone if that was actually the case?

"I only have an idea about what is going on since this winter," Albus answered. "And I am under a vow preventing me from speaking freely about it except for a select few people, that include you."

"But you haven't told us about it!" Sirius jumped in immediately. "And you haven't protected Hermione! Nor Harry!"

Albus looked at Sirius, before opening his mouth, and then closing it. Remus could decently say that he had never seen the Headmaster of Hogwarts so uncertain. Then he saw Albus look at the late time on the living room clock, before raising his arm. The next second Fawkes materialized in the room, chirping happily.

"Fawkes, my friend, would you mind getting Harry and his friends? They should be in the castle tonight."

"Come on Albus, you're not serious!" Sirius said as Fawkes disappeared. "They have class tomorrow and must be already sleeping. And besides, won't it put them in ever more danger to be part of this conversation? To think that you lectured me when I told Harry about Voldemort's return three years ago! And then…"

His tirade was interrupted by the return of Fawkes, accompanied by Harry - who crashed to the ground inelegantly - Ginny, Hermione and Ron.

"By Merlin, why do I have to miss even the easiest landings!" Harry complained, still on the floor.

His friends ignored Harry, their gaze falling on Albus, Sirius and him. Harry scrambled to his feet and turned towards the Headmaster.

"What's going on Headmaster?" he asked.

"They want to know," Dumbledore answered. "And despite your shenanigans Miss Granger, I don't see why it should be up to me to tell them."

Remus saw Hermione Granger distinctly roll her eyes with a level of disrespect he had never seen the girl display.

"This is your Order," Ron Weasley said, "and we have been clear, Voldemort is responsible for his Death Eaters, you are responsible for your Order and we only step in if there is a concern."

"I did not call you because I did not want to explain, Mr. Weasley," Albus started.

Ginny Weasley crossed her arms and was looking at Albus Dumbledore with a contempt even more disrespectful than Hermione Granger's previous disdain.

"But rather because I wanted to make sure I did not reveal anything that might cause Voldemort to attack Sirius and Remus," Albus continued.

"He won't attack," Hermione Granger said with a calculating look that made Remus uncomfortable. "He has himself started to speak about this whole mess to a few people. It is more than time that some people from the Order are also aware, just in case. And now that I think about it, I do feel Remus would be perfect to coordinate the research team."

"Yeah, could someone just share with us what you are talking about?" Sirius cut in.

"Unbreakable vow?" Harry asked, turning towards Ron.

"Unbreakable vow," Ron confirmed.

"We're already under an unbreakable vow!" Sirius said indignantly. "He just made us do one!"

He was pointing an accusing finger at Dumbledore, who nodded in confirmation.

"It also covers everything you will tell them on the subject," Dumbledore added.

It could only mean one thing, Remus realized. That the teenagers in front of him were the ones who had originally subjected Albus Dumbledore to an unbreakable vow.

"Very well," Harry said. "What have you already told them, Headmaster?"

"The identity of Tom Evans. And the fact that I'm hardly the orchestrator of what's going on right now."

"Ah," Harry said with a grimace. "You really haven't told a lot…"

Then he scratched his head absent-mindedly, and Remus could feel Sirius was about to explode.

"We're time travellers," Ron Weasley dropped the bomb. "We are adult wizards in teenage bodies, seeking to stop by whatever means at our disposal a coming catastrophe of which you are not even aware. We have always avoided revealing our past on purpose, and that is why we have left everyone in the dark."

"But…" Sirius said started.

"We work both with Dumbledore and with Voldemort," Ron Weasley easily interrupted him, "and that's why there is a truce right now. And that's also why Voldemort came to Harry's birthday party, to talk with us."

There was a long silence.

"Tell me it's a joke," Sirius finally said. "Please tell me it's a joke, a vengeance for all the times I've bullied Snivellus, some kind of Karmic punishment."

But he seemed to notice the serious faces of Dumbledore, Harry and his friends, and the next moment Sirius Black fainted to surprise of all the others.

oOoOoOo

"No," Voldemort said. "No way."

Hermione refrained from casting an unpleasant spell towards him.

"It's the best team we can put together," she argued, "and you know that very well."

Barty for the runes, but that had been clear from the start. And Augustus Rookwood that Voldemort had added for the Arithmancy part was not much of a surprise to Hermione either, the Death Eater had been a former Unspeakable after all. But Voldemort was mostly unhappy with the part of the team she had come up with.

"This the worst team that ever existed," Voldemort said stubbornly. "There is only one among them who has done some serious research in the past, and it's the one none of us trust."

"Though across all of them they have all the skills needed to progress." Hermione pointed out.

"They won't be able to work efficiently together."

"I stand by the name I have proposed. But if you have anything better, go ahead, I'm all ears."

Voldemort stayed silent.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Hermione said.

oOoOoOo

AN: Next chapter in two weeks.