Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
The trio stood in amazement. "How did you get all the way here so fast?" Tarin smiled. "Hermione's mother was in secret a very powerful witch. She taught me a few of her tricks before she died. She was a master of countermagic. There was no spell she could not stop, even the killing curse." "Amazing." was all the three could reply. "Now Hermione, I had hoped I would never have had to show you this, or rather your mother hadn't. But since your father has found where I hid you, I would be wrong for you to not know the whole story." Tarin took out a small blue crystal. "This is a Memory Crystal, one of your late mother's inventions. It holds an interactive memory of your mother, as well as a few of her memories. But it is designed so only you can activate it." He gave the small crystal to Hermione. "How do I use it?" she asked, secretly excited at the fact she could see her real mother again. "You merely wish to see your mother." Tarin replied.
Hermione held the crystal outward and said "I wish to see my mother." The crystal flew out of her hand and floated in the middle of the room. It began to glow and as the light expanded, it took the form of the woman Hermione saw in her dream. The woman looked at Hermione and smiled, "My dearest daughter, if you have received this crystal, then the unfortunate has happened and I am gone. Do not weep for me, as I most likely died trying to save you, and that is something I will never regret. Ask of me anything and if I know the answer, I will tell you." Hermione teared up at the sight. "Do not cry my child, for I watch over you from above, and I trust my brother watches you as well." "Mother, I have many questions, but one above all troubles me: Why him? Why Voldemort?" "So your father still uses that wretched name. When I met him as a first year, he was a much different man." The room began to glow and contort. "This is my memory of when I first met your father, Tom Riddle."
Hermione saw the Great Hall as it had been over forty years ago. Not much was different back then, except the faces of the people. At the Gryffindor table, she recognized Hagrid and Tarin. At the front with the teachers, she recognized Dumbledore. And at the Sorting Hat, she recognized her mother. "This is me when I was at my sorting. Now your uncle and my old playmate Hagrid thought I would end up in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. But they were in for a surprise." "Hmm... loyalty, now that's Hufflepuff. Your brains would be Ravenclaw, but your courage is greater than all thoses, so I say Gryffindor!" Hermione saw the look on Tarin's face. "Aww.. I'm going to have to put up with Hermione in school too? No fair." Hermione (the daughter, not the mother) giggled at her uncle's response. "He must have not got along with you too well back then." Her mother's spirit smiled. "He just didn't want his little sister getting in the way of his courting." Then a young man walked up to the hat. Harry recognized him immediately. "It's Tom Riddle!" Hermione turned back to the sorting hat. "Slytherin!" The young boy got back up and went to the Slytherin table. The scene flashed to after the ceremony. It showed Tom walking up to Hermione(the mother, not the daughter) and bowing. "Hmm.. the Sorting Hat must not be all it's cracked up to be, for it forgot to mention you amazing beauty." While she turned a reddish color, Tarin got rather angry. "Get away from her, you little snake!" Tom turned to Tarin. "Can't a person complement a lady anymore?" Tarin clearly didn't expect this flank attack on his opinion of manners. "Come on Sis, let's go."
Tom just smiled and whispered, "Until we meet again, sweet girl."
The vision ended. Ron looked as if he was about to vomit, Harry couldn't believe that was Riddle, and Hermione turned to her mother. "But you fell for that?" Her mother smiled a bit. "No. He courted me for 4 years before I gave in to him, but that was mostly because Tarin forbid me from seeing him." "Should have listened to him." Ron commented before Hermione elbowed him. "Mother, when did you find out about Tom's being evil?" Her mother frowned at the question. "It was our 7th year. By that time, I was madly in love with him. But one night I found him in the Forbidden section of the library, reading a book on evil magic and sprits. I hid behind a bookcase and watched him leave. I followed him."
Another memory appeared. This time, it was out in the Forbidden Forest. Tom was in the middle of a clearing, and Hermione's mother was right behind a tree. Tom was invoking an evil spell that filled the forest with a dark and evil light. A monstrous spirit arose from the ground. "Who summons the great and powerful Malron? I, the darkest of all in the spirit realm, demand to know who has called forth me." "It is I, your humble servant, Tom Riddle, who call you from the abyss. I have released the batlisk as you asked, and begun to kill the mudbloods you so loath." "Good my servant. What is it you wish as reward?" Tom looked up, with a gleam in his eye. "I want revenge on all the bastards like my father, who would hunt and hate wizardling kind." The spirit smiled vengefully. "Yes, you will have that reward, as well as the honor of becoming my body on the mortal plane. With you, I shall rule as I did thousands of years ago, before my brother and his accused muggles banished me from this world." The spirit's form became a black steam of light that engulfed Tom. The spirit of Hermione's mother sighed at the sight, as the memory version of her ran into the woods. "I ran in terror that night. I blamed myself for not trying to stop Tom. I loved him dearly, but I would not allow him to harm anyone else. After that horrible night, I began to learn as much as I could about Malron. I also began to devise countercurses against the many horrible spells I knew Tom was now capable of. I did not speak to him again, as afraid as I was of him.
Another memory appeared. It was of Hermione's mother in her room, studing her notes on the countercurses she had devised, and of the few texts on Malron that still existed. Then Tom entered. "Hermione, why have you been avoiding me, sweetheart? What's wrong with you?" "Go away Tom, I have nothing to say to you." Tom's expression turned to one of anger. "What is wrong with you. Are you seeing someone else? If you are, so help me I'll kill him. You are mine and mine alone!" He pushed her onto the bed and began to tear of her robes. "Get off me!" She was able to force him off, but not before he tore a section of her robes. "I do not belong to you Tom! I am my own person, and I am not seeing someone else, I just don't want to see you anymore." Tom then became very violent. Hermione watched as he flung her mother around, beating her. She was horrified. She turned to her mother. "Mother, he did this to you? How could he, the only woman he ever loved." A tear fell from her mother's spirit. "The spirit had changed him. Before, he would have never done something like this. But Malron had made him into a mockery of his former self. I sense this, and was so sadden by it, I put up no defense as he beat me. I thought it was my fault the spirit gained power over him, and I accepted the beatings as just punishment." Harry was horrified at the sight. He had seen Voldemort do horrible things, but to beat and bloody the woman who loved him unconditionally, and try to rape her, that was too much. "How dare he? He had no right to beat you, regardless of the reason!" Hermione's mother just frowned. "I know, but this event served an important purpose. I realized then that in order to get back the man I loved, I would not only have to defeat Malron, but destroy the evil inside Tom's heart." Just then, Tarin rushed in. "Hermione!" He attacked Tom with all his strength. After a long fight, he was finally able to stop Tom. "Are you crazy?! Hermione loves you more than life itself, and you have the nerve to beat her?" At that moment, tears formed in Tom's eyes. "What have I done?" He got up. "Herm, I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me." He kissed her lightly. "It's not your fault, I know it." They held each other for a few minutes, the young Tarin completely confused. "Huh? One minute he beats her, and the next they're holding each other like nothing happened." But then Tom began to glow with a dark light. He shot up, his head in agony. "NO! I won't serve you anymore! You made me hurt the one woman I love more than anything else. Get out of me!" Then an evil voice rang out: "You fool! You are mine now. You are my slave, and with you, I will rule forever!" "NOOOO!" Tom flung himself out the window, in an attempt to destroy himself. "If my body dies, you can't harm Hermione any longer!" Both ran to the window, the young blond haired woman screaming "NO! Tom!" But what they saw next horrified them both. Tom, with eyes of black fire, floated through the air. In a dark voice he said "I will return!".
The memory ended. All three stood in shock. "Oh my god, so my father wasn't evil." Hermione stuttered. "I wouldn't go that far" Tarin said with a disdainful voice, "he just lost his soul to an even more evil creature." The spirit of his sister looked at him with disappointment. "Tarin, I would have sided with you, had I not had a vision that following night." "What vision?" he replied back, now irrated that his sister had hid something from him. "I will show you."
The next memory was of blackness. Hermione's mother stood in front of a golden sprit with many cloth-like feathers (for those of you who have played Diablo 2, think Tyrael.)
"Who are you?" she asked the sprit. "I am Halonious, spirit of knowledge and nature." the spirit replied in a booming voice. "I know you, you are the brother spirit of Malron!"
"Yes, young witch. I have come to tell you the information you seek, as well as aid you in banishing Malron. You see, long ago, when humans were primitive, there existed two forces, nature and mana. Now, my brother and I both thought more could be made of the humans, but we disagreed how. He, being the controlling person he was, thought that this was best done by giving the power to curve mana to a few select humans to rule the rest. I argued that this was unfair, that humans should learn how to use nature and her ways to make a better life for all of themselves, not just a few. We fought for many centuries, before deciding to do both and see who faired better. We both agreed to stand aside and watch humans from afar, but the other spirits reminded me of Malron's nature. So we agreed, on the condition that if one interfered, so could the other. For years, humans learned these new abilities, but something happened that surprised both of us. Instead of working alone, these creatures worked together to fully maximize the world. They lived happily, and I was most pleased with this, seeing as both ideas together benefited the whole human race. But Malron was angered by this, and sought to take control of the world himself though human hosts. He almost succeeded, but I, with the help of wizards born of muggle blood and the muggles themselves, was able to banish him into the plane of Oblivion. There he stayed until he found a suitable host. Many times he has tried to escape, but all were in failure. But now he has found a host that hates the muggles as much as he does. He used that hatred to slowly corrupt this troubled soul. That soul was of your Tom. But to do this fully, he must have an heir to corrupt, and he must also have something to completely pacify Tom's spirit. You my dear, fill both needs." The memory of Hermione's mother was horrified. "No, Tom would never do something like that to me." The spirit smiled. "Yes, I know. Regardless of his hatred of the muggles, his love for you is more powerful. That is why after he beat you he was able to shake his master's control for a moment. But soon, Malron will have complete control of Tom, and his spirit will be gone forever. And, if his evil is not stopped, he will have you under his power as well, for he can use your love for Tom, which is your most powerful emotion, to corrupt you to serve him." "NO! I will not be a puppet for that foul demon!" she screamed as she knelt to cry. "Do not worry, dear child. I will help you. If you have me within you, he cannot harm you, regardless how he tries." "But that means you'll possess me, won't it?"
The spirit smiled. "No dear girl, I will mearly reside in your body. I will have no control over you, but you soul will be filled with a good portion of my power, which will make you a match for Tom." "Will Tom die if I defeat Malron?" "I do not know." "Then do what you must spirit, I would give anything to have my Tom back." A bright flash overcame the girl, and she was filled with the spirit's power.
Then the memory ended. "Bloody! This just got really confusing." Ron said, as he sat down and rubbed his red hair. Hermione just stood in shock, as did Harry. "Oh my, Hermione.." he said, his voice full of worry at how Hermione was taking all this. Even Tarin was surprised. "What?! Sis, why did you never tell me this?" "Would you have believed me if I told you?" Tarin thought a minute. "I guess not." Hermione was filled with thousands of confusing and conflicting emotions. "Mother, this is a bit much for me. I don't know if I can handle it." Her mother just smiled. "My dear child, I understand, but you must know this. You cannot allow Malron to corrupt you like he did your father. My soul couldn't take the thought of that." Hermione was filled with a million questions, but she knew most her mother wouldn't know. But there was one question she knew she would know. "Mother, how was I conceived?"
Everyone turned to Hermione. Her mother frowned as she began to answer this question. "I had hoped you wouldn't ask, but I prepared for it anyway." Another memory began.
"A few years after the encounter with the spirit, I felt that it was time to banish Malron and stop Tom's reign of terror before it began. I found him in an old castle, and challenged him to a duel." The scene was of an old castle somewhere in what looked to be the Scottish Highlands. Hermione's mother, now older, faced Voldemort inside the main hall. "Tom! This ends now. I will not allow you and that damned spirit cause untold death and suffering on the people of this world!" Voldemort turned to face her. "My dear Hermione, my eyes have longed to see your beautiful form once again. Tonight is a special night, for my master has promised me your hand in marriage!" She backed off. "I will not allow that monster to control me, and nor will he control you for much longer."
Voldemort laughed as he flew done to her. "I thought you might say that, so I guess I'll just have to make you more submissive! Impeiro!" The trio and the professor watched as the young woman struggled to fight off the spell. When she finally did, she laughed. "You're going to have to better than that to get me into bed with you, Tom Riddle." Voldemort was not at all pleased that his bride had forced off the Imperalis curse so easily.
"Well then, I'll just have to use force. Crucio!" Hermione's mother fell in pain. "Do you submit?" "Never! Extacio!" A loud crack filled the air and Hermione's mother got up. Voldemort was shocked beyond belief. "How!?" She just smiled as she pointed her wand in the air. "Ever since that night in the woods when you summoned Malron and he took control of you, I have trained and studied so that I could defeat you. Now it's your turn to experience pain. Impurius!" Voldemort's body was wracked with unbearable pain. "What you feel is all the evil in your heart turned it a blazing soul fire. Now, Retrbuto!" Now Voldemort's mind was wild with suffering and fear. "That's all the fear and suffering you caused turn back at you!" Hermione didn't understand. "Mum, this doesn't have anything to do with me being conceived, and you're winning." "Hush, you will understand." Voldemort stood up slowly after she released the curse. "Malron, now will you give me back Tom, or do I do that again?" But then he threw a yellowish powder in her face. Hermione recognized immediately the substance. "That's an aphrodisiac!" Then Voldemort yelled "Seducio!" The memory ended as Hermione's mother succumbed to the spell.
"What a dirty trick! How dare he do that?" Harry yelled in anger. "Mother, what happened?" Her mother sighed. "I ended the memory because the last thing I think you want to see is your parents having sex. He hit me with a spell I wasn't prepared for, and the only thing that kept Malron's evil out of me was his brother Halonious. Otherwise I would have become as evil as your father. When I awoke the next morning, I realized that Tom was gone and I was without any clothes. I then remembered what had happened the previous night and cursed myself for overlooking that possiblity. But then I found a note next to me.
Hermione,
Last night was the most wonderful night of my life, and by the way you screamed and carried on, it was probalay great for you too. I will tell you now that you are pregnant, and in nine months I will return for you and my child. Nothing, not even Halonious, will keep me from you and my child. Regardless wiether you like it or not, I have made you my queen and created within you a princess. Yes, my dear, it is a girl. My master told me so. I will return the night of her birth, and do not keep her from me, or Master might kill you. Please don't make him my love.
Love,
Tom
As Hermione read her father's note, it sickened her the way her refered to her as "princess". She looked up at her mother. "What should I do?" Her mother floated down and touched her face. "You must finish what I started. You must drive Malron back into Oblivion, even if it means you must destroy your father as well. I know that this is a lot to ask, but you must go with Tarin to my old home and learn the magics I knew. It took me years to make and perfect those spells, but it should only take you a few months to learn them. Do this for me. Free your father's tortured soul and send Malron back to Hell forever." "Yes mother." Hermione said with a tear in her eye. "I will." With that, her mother smiled and whipered "Goodbye my sweet child. Always remember that I love you." With that, she vanished. "Mum."
Hermione turned to her uncle. "Take me and train me in my mother's magic. I want revenge for what Malron did to my family." Tarin turned to her with a serious look in his eyes. "That must not be your only reason, or Malron will do to you what he did to your father, do you understand?" Hermione returned the look. "Yes, I have other reasons. I don't want him hurting anymore people, especially Harry and Ron." "Herm.. you don't have to do this, Harry will do it." Ron said as he walked toward her. She turned to face him with the same seriousness as Harry had shown back at Hogwarts. "No. I promised my mother that I would do this, and I will. I will not have Harry be put in the line of fire when I belong there." Ron tried to step closer, but Harry grabbed his shoulder. "No Ron. If she wants to do this, then let her. It's a matter of family. I know how it feels, to have your parents torn away from you at such a young age." He turned to Hermione. "Now I'm going to worry about you Mione, but I know not to stop you. I want to help you, but I already know the answer. Just be careful, my love." Hermione walked over to him and enbraced him. "Thank you for understanding Harry. That one reason you're so prefect, you're so understanding. Now I want you to make me a promise." "What is it?" Hermione held him closer and kissed him. "Remain faithful to me while I am gone, for your love is the only pure thing I have. Without it, I'm doomed to failure. So please, remain faithful to me, as I will to you." Harry smiled. "Of course. I will be incomplete without you, and I will yearn for only you. Just live for me, Hermione." Then they began the last passionate kiss they would share for a long time. She broke the embrace, turned to her uncle, and told him she was ready. They then disappeared.
The trio stood in amazement. "How did you get all the way here so fast?" Tarin smiled. "Hermione's mother was in secret a very powerful witch. She taught me a few of her tricks before she died. She was a master of countermagic. There was no spell she could not stop, even the killing curse." "Amazing." was all the three could reply. "Now Hermione, I had hoped I would never have had to show you this, or rather your mother hadn't. But since your father has found where I hid you, I would be wrong for you to not know the whole story." Tarin took out a small blue crystal. "This is a Memory Crystal, one of your late mother's inventions. It holds an interactive memory of your mother, as well as a few of her memories. But it is designed so only you can activate it." He gave the small crystal to Hermione. "How do I use it?" she asked, secretly excited at the fact she could see her real mother again. "You merely wish to see your mother." Tarin replied.
Hermione held the crystal outward and said "I wish to see my mother." The crystal flew out of her hand and floated in the middle of the room. It began to glow and as the light expanded, it took the form of the woman Hermione saw in her dream. The woman looked at Hermione and smiled, "My dearest daughter, if you have received this crystal, then the unfortunate has happened and I am gone. Do not weep for me, as I most likely died trying to save you, and that is something I will never regret. Ask of me anything and if I know the answer, I will tell you." Hermione teared up at the sight. "Do not cry my child, for I watch over you from above, and I trust my brother watches you as well." "Mother, I have many questions, but one above all troubles me: Why him? Why Voldemort?" "So your father still uses that wretched name. When I met him as a first year, he was a much different man." The room began to glow and contort. "This is my memory of when I first met your father, Tom Riddle."
Hermione saw the Great Hall as it had been over forty years ago. Not much was different back then, except the faces of the people. At the Gryffindor table, she recognized Hagrid and Tarin. At the front with the teachers, she recognized Dumbledore. And at the Sorting Hat, she recognized her mother. "This is me when I was at my sorting. Now your uncle and my old playmate Hagrid thought I would end up in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. But they were in for a surprise." "Hmm... loyalty, now that's Hufflepuff. Your brains would be Ravenclaw, but your courage is greater than all thoses, so I say Gryffindor!" Hermione saw the look on Tarin's face. "Aww.. I'm going to have to put up with Hermione in school too? No fair." Hermione (the daughter, not the mother) giggled at her uncle's response. "He must have not got along with you too well back then." Her mother's spirit smiled. "He just didn't want his little sister getting in the way of his courting." Then a young man walked up to the hat. Harry recognized him immediately. "It's Tom Riddle!" Hermione turned back to the sorting hat. "Slytherin!" The young boy got back up and went to the Slytherin table. The scene flashed to after the ceremony. It showed Tom walking up to Hermione(the mother, not the daughter) and bowing. "Hmm.. the Sorting Hat must not be all it's cracked up to be, for it forgot to mention you amazing beauty." While she turned a reddish color, Tarin got rather angry. "Get away from her, you little snake!" Tom turned to Tarin. "Can't a person complement a lady anymore?" Tarin clearly didn't expect this flank attack on his opinion of manners. "Come on Sis, let's go."
Tom just smiled and whispered, "Until we meet again, sweet girl."
The vision ended. Ron looked as if he was about to vomit, Harry couldn't believe that was Riddle, and Hermione turned to her mother. "But you fell for that?" Her mother smiled a bit. "No. He courted me for 4 years before I gave in to him, but that was mostly because Tarin forbid me from seeing him." "Should have listened to him." Ron commented before Hermione elbowed him. "Mother, when did you find out about Tom's being evil?" Her mother frowned at the question. "It was our 7th year. By that time, I was madly in love with him. But one night I found him in the Forbidden section of the library, reading a book on evil magic and sprits. I hid behind a bookcase and watched him leave. I followed him."
Another memory appeared. This time, it was out in the Forbidden Forest. Tom was in the middle of a clearing, and Hermione's mother was right behind a tree. Tom was invoking an evil spell that filled the forest with a dark and evil light. A monstrous spirit arose from the ground. "Who summons the great and powerful Malron? I, the darkest of all in the spirit realm, demand to know who has called forth me." "It is I, your humble servant, Tom Riddle, who call you from the abyss. I have released the batlisk as you asked, and begun to kill the mudbloods you so loath." "Good my servant. What is it you wish as reward?" Tom looked up, with a gleam in his eye. "I want revenge on all the bastards like my father, who would hunt and hate wizardling kind." The spirit smiled vengefully. "Yes, you will have that reward, as well as the honor of becoming my body on the mortal plane. With you, I shall rule as I did thousands of years ago, before my brother and his accused muggles banished me from this world." The spirit's form became a black steam of light that engulfed Tom. The spirit of Hermione's mother sighed at the sight, as the memory version of her ran into the woods. "I ran in terror that night. I blamed myself for not trying to stop Tom. I loved him dearly, but I would not allow him to harm anyone else. After that horrible night, I began to learn as much as I could about Malron. I also began to devise countercurses against the many horrible spells I knew Tom was now capable of. I did not speak to him again, as afraid as I was of him.
Another memory appeared. It was of Hermione's mother in her room, studing her notes on the countercurses she had devised, and of the few texts on Malron that still existed. Then Tom entered. "Hermione, why have you been avoiding me, sweetheart? What's wrong with you?" "Go away Tom, I have nothing to say to you." Tom's expression turned to one of anger. "What is wrong with you. Are you seeing someone else? If you are, so help me I'll kill him. You are mine and mine alone!" He pushed her onto the bed and began to tear of her robes. "Get off me!" She was able to force him off, but not before he tore a section of her robes. "I do not belong to you Tom! I am my own person, and I am not seeing someone else, I just don't want to see you anymore." Tom then became very violent. Hermione watched as he flung her mother around, beating her. She was horrified. She turned to her mother. "Mother, he did this to you? How could he, the only woman he ever loved." A tear fell from her mother's spirit. "The spirit had changed him. Before, he would have never done something like this. But Malron had made him into a mockery of his former self. I sense this, and was so sadden by it, I put up no defense as he beat me. I thought it was my fault the spirit gained power over him, and I accepted the beatings as just punishment." Harry was horrified at the sight. He had seen Voldemort do horrible things, but to beat and bloody the woman who loved him unconditionally, and try to rape her, that was too much. "How dare he? He had no right to beat you, regardless of the reason!" Hermione's mother just frowned. "I know, but this event served an important purpose. I realized then that in order to get back the man I loved, I would not only have to defeat Malron, but destroy the evil inside Tom's heart." Just then, Tarin rushed in. "Hermione!" He attacked Tom with all his strength. After a long fight, he was finally able to stop Tom. "Are you crazy?! Hermione loves you more than life itself, and you have the nerve to beat her?" At that moment, tears formed in Tom's eyes. "What have I done?" He got up. "Herm, I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me." He kissed her lightly. "It's not your fault, I know it." They held each other for a few minutes, the young Tarin completely confused. "Huh? One minute he beats her, and the next they're holding each other like nothing happened." But then Tom began to glow with a dark light. He shot up, his head in agony. "NO! I won't serve you anymore! You made me hurt the one woman I love more than anything else. Get out of me!" Then an evil voice rang out: "You fool! You are mine now. You are my slave, and with you, I will rule forever!" "NOOOO!" Tom flung himself out the window, in an attempt to destroy himself. "If my body dies, you can't harm Hermione any longer!" Both ran to the window, the young blond haired woman screaming "NO! Tom!" But what they saw next horrified them both. Tom, with eyes of black fire, floated through the air. In a dark voice he said "I will return!".
The memory ended. All three stood in shock. "Oh my god, so my father wasn't evil." Hermione stuttered. "I wouldn't go that far" Tarin said with a disdainful voice, "he just lost his soul to an even more evil creature." The spirit of his sister looked at him with disappointment. "Tarin, I would have sided with you, had I not had a vision that following night." "What vision?" he replied back, now irrated that his sister had hid something from him. "I will show you."
The next memory was of blackness. Hermione's mother stood in front of a golden sprit with many cloth-like feathers (for those of you who have played Diablo 2, think Tyrael.)
"Who are you?" she asked the sprit. "I am Halonious, spirit of knowledge and nature." the spirit replied in a booming voice. "I know you, you are the brother spirit of Malron!"
"Yes, young witch. I have come to tell you the information you seek, as well as aid you in banishing Malron. You see, long ago, when humans were primitive, there existed two forces, nature and mana. Now, my brother and I both thought more could be made of the humans, but we disagreed how. He, being the controlling person he was, thought that this was best done by giving the power to curve mana to a few select humans to rule the rest. I argued that this was unfair, that humans should learn how to use nature and her ways to make a better life for all of themselves, not just a few. We fought for many centuries, before deciding to do both and see who faired better. We both agreed to stand aside and watch humans from afar, but the other spirits reminded me of Malron's nature. So we agreed, on the condition that if one interfered, so could the other. For years, humans learned these new abilities, but something happened that surprised both of us. Instead of working alone, these creatures worked together to fully maximize the world. They lived happily, and I was most pleased with this, seeing as both ideas together benefited the whole human race. But Malron was angered by this, and sought to take control of the world himself though human hosts. He almost succeeded, but I, with the help of wizards born of muggle blood and the muggles themselves, was able to banish him into the plane of Oblivion. There he stayed until he found a suitable host. Many times he has tried to escape, but all were in failure. But now he has found a host that hates the muggles as much as he does. He used that hatred to slowly corrupt this troubled soul. That soul was of your Tom. But to do this fully, he must have an heir to corrupt, and he must also have something to completely pacify Tom's spirit. You my dear, fill both needs." The memory of Hermione's mother was horrified. "No, Tom would never do something like that to me." The spirit smiled. "Yes, I know. Regardless of his hatred of the muggles, his love for you is more powerful. That is why after he beat you he was able to shake his master's control for a moment. But soon, Malron will have complete control of Tom, and his spirit will be gone forever. And, if his evil is not stopped, he will have you under his power as well, for he can use your love for Tom, which is your most powerful emotion, to corrupt you to serve him." "NO! I will not be a puppet for that foul demon!" she screamed as she knelt to cry. "Do not worry, dear child. I will help you. If you have me within you, he cannot harm you, regardless how he tries." "But that means you'll possess me, won't it?"
The spirit smiled. "No dear girl, I will mearly reside in your body. I will have no control over you, but you soul will be filled with a good portion of my power, which will make you a match for Tom." "Will Tom die if I defeat Malron?" "I do not know." "Then do what you must spirit, I would give anything to have my Tom back." A bright flash overcame the girl, and she was filled with the spirit's power.
Then the memory ended. "Bloody! This just got really confusing." Ron said, as he sat down and rubbed his red hair. Hermione just stood in shock, as did Harry. "Oh my, Hermione.." he said, his voice full of worry at how Hermione was taking all this. Even Tarin was surprised. "What?! Sis, why did you never tell me this?" "Would you have believed me if I told you?" Tarin thought a minute. "I guess not." Hermione was filled with thousands of confusing and conflicting emotions. "Mother, this is a bit much for me. I don't know if I can handle it." Her mother just smiled. "My dear child, I understand, but you must know this. You cannot allow Malron to corrupt you like he did your father. My soul couldn't take the thought of that." Hermione was filled with a million questions, but she knew most her mother wouldn't know. But there was one question she knew she would know. "Mother, how was I conceived?"
Everyone turned to Hermione. Her mother frowned as she began to answer this question. "I had hoped you wouldn't ask, but I prepared for it anyway." Another memory began.
"A few years after the encounter with the spirit, I felt that it was time to banish Malron and stop Tom's reign of terror before it began. I found him in an old castle, and challenged him to a duel." The scene was of an old castle somewhere in what looked to be the Scottish Highlands. Hermione's mother, now older, faced Voldemort inside the main hall. "Tom! This ends now. I will not allow you and that damned spirit cause untold death and suffering on the people of this world!" Voldemort turned to face her. "My dear Hermione, my eyes have longed to see your beautiful form once again. Tonight is a special night, for my master has promised me your hand in marriage!" She backed off. "I will not allow that monster to control me, and nor will he control you for much longer."
Voldemort laughed as he flew done to her. "I thought you might say that, so I guess I'll just have to make you more submissive! Impeiro!" The trio and the professor watched as the young woman struggled to fight off the spell. When she finally did, she laughed. "You're going to have to better than that to get me into bed with you, Tom Riddle." Voldemort was not at all pleased that his bride had forced off the Imperalis curse so easily.
"Well then, I'll just have to use force. Crucio!" Hermione's mother fell in pain. "Do you submit?" "Never! Extacio!" A loud crack filled the air and Hermione's mother got up. Voldemort was shocked beyond belief. "How!?" She just smiled as she pointed her wand in the air. "Ever since that night in the woods when you summoned Malron and he took control of you, I have trained and studied so that I could defeat you. Now it's your turn to experience pain. Impurius!" Voldemort's body was wracked with unbearable pain. "What you feel is all the evil in your heart turned it a blazing soul fire. Now, Retrbuto!" Now Voldemort's mind was wild with suffering and fear. "That's all the fear and suffering you caused turn back at you!" Hermione didn't understand. "Mum, this doesn't have anything to do with me being conceived, and you're winning." "Hush, you will understand." Voldemort stood up slowly after she released the curse. "Malron, now will you give me back Tom, or do I do that again?" But then he threw a yellowish powder in her face. Hermione recognized immediately the substance. "That's an aphrodisiac!" Then Voldemort yelled "Seducio!" The memory ended as Hermione's mother succumbed to the spell.
"What a dirty trick! How dare he do that?" Harry yelled in anger. "Mother, what happened?" Her mother sighed. "I ended the memory because the last thing I think you want to see is your parents having sex. He hit me with a spell I wasn't prepared for, and the only thing that kept Malron's evil out of me was his brother Halonious. Otherwise I would have become as evil as your father. When I awoke the next morning, I realized that Tom was gone and I was without any clothes. I then remembered what had happened the previous night and cursed myself for overlooking that possiblity. But then I found a note next to me.
Hermione,
Last night was the most wonderful night of my life, and by the way you screamed and carried on, it was probalay great for you too. I will tell you now that you are pregnant, and in nine months I will return for you and my child. Nothing, not even Halonious, will keep me from you and my child. Regardless wiether you like it or not, I have made you my queen and created within you a princess. Yes, my dear, it is a girl. My master told me so. I will return the night of her birth, and do not keep her from me, or Master might kill you. Please don't make him my love.
Love,
Tom
As Hermione read her father's note, it sickened her the way her refered to her as "princess". She looked up at her mother. "What should I do?" Her mother floated down and touched her face. "You must finish what I started. You must drive Malron back into Oblivion, even if it means you must destroy your father as well. I know that this is a lot to ask, but you must go with Tarin to my old home and learn the magics I knew. It took me years to make and perfect those spells, but it should only take you a few months to learn them. Do this for me. Free your father's tortured soul and send Malron back to Hell forever." "Yes mother." Hermione said with a tear in her eye. "I will." With that, her mother smiled and whipered "Goodbye my sweet child. Always remember that I love you." With that, she vanished. "Mum."
Hermione turned to her uncle. "Take me and train me in my mother's magic. I want revenge for what Malron did to my family." Tarin turned to her with a serious look in his eyes. "That must not be your only reason, or Malron will do to you what he did to your father, do you understand?" Hermione returned the look. "Yes, I have other reasons. I don't want him hurting anymore people, especially Harry and Ron." "Herm.. you don't have to do this, Harry will do it." Ron said as he walked toward her. She turned to face him with the same seriousness as Harry had shown back at Hogwarts. "No. I promised my mother that I would do this, and I will. I will not have Harry be put in the line of fire when I belong there." Ron tried to step closer, but Harry grabbed his shoulder. "No Ron. If she wants to do this, then let her. It's a matter of family. I know how it feels, to have your parents torn away from you at such a young age." He turned to Hermione. "Now I'm going to worry about you Mione, but I know not to stop you. I want to help you, but I already know the answer. Just be careful, my love." Hermione walked over to him and enbraced him. "Thank you for understanding Harry. That one reason you're so prefect, you're so understanding. Now I want you to make me a promise." "What is it?" Hermione held him closer and kissed him. "Remain faithful to me while I am gone, for your love is the only pure thing I have. Without it, I'm doomed to failure. So please, remain faithful to me, as I will to you." Harry smiled. "Of course. I will be incomplete without you, and I will yearn for only you. Just live for me, Hermione." Then they began the last passionate kiss they would share for a long time. She broke the embrace, turned to her uncle, and told him she was ready. They then disappeared.