Blinded By The Past, Ignored In The Future
Chapter 16
SIXTEEN: Not Quite Home But There
Response To Reviews:
Emily-Dufleng: Thanks for all compliments but the one I hear most often is that I post often. I do so by not rushing and only writing hen I have a good idea. Then again it could be because I have no life outside of music and Harry Potter.
Emma Ackroyd: How long did it take you to type please the many times? It would have taken me forever. Oh and just so you know I considered taking a week to update but it's just as fun to rite this as it is to read it. You know something else? It's been a while since I heard from you…*sniffs* I feel hated.
Miss Mina Murray: You're sharp, aren't you? You spotted the turning point easily. I fear Sev wishes to know what house of Hogwarts you support. For us it's solemnly Slytherin.
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Previous Chapter: "Go figure," he drawled lazily. Before Hermione had time to blink Tom's eyes widened and thick cords shot out from behind Hermione, tying him up tightly and gagging him too. Hermione tensed and a cold voice from behind said in a deadly whisper, "Now turn around nice and slowly, you filthy mudblood, and give me that wand."
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Tom watched in horror as Lucius removed his Death Eater mask, revealing his face that was twisted into an evil smirk as Hermione turned about to face him. The future Dark Lord struggled against his bonds in hopes of distracting his friend long enough for Hermione to think of something.
Lucius cast him a superior look and said disdainfully, "Maybe you should consider working for the Order. Heaven forbid you act just like the fools."
Hermione noticed that Tom's eyes had locked with the Mr. Malfoy's and they appeared to be having a stare down. She clutched the wand tighter in hopes of something coming to her soon.
In the meantime she listened to Lucius talk to Tom after he un-gagged him, "Unlike the other Death Eaters I will give you a choice. Come with me and I shall spare the mudblood, refuse and I have the new authority to kill you both." Tom stared deep into his gray eyes, past their cold façade and saw that he wasn't lying.
"Kill me," Tom challenged him. "If you have half the heart to."
Lucius's eyes flashed in anger. "Don't mock me, boy!"
"I wouldn't dream of it," Tom said sarcastically.
"Crucio!" hissed Lucius. He watched in sick satisfaction as Tom screamed at the top of his lungs for it to stop, for Lucius to bring it to an end. Lucius didn't remove the curse until Tom didn't have the strength to writher in pain upon the ground which seemed like minutes. He gasped for breath and Lucius watched him, no pity in his frozen eyes.
The Malfoy knelt down by Tom and grabbed a fistful of his no longer sleek black hair before forcing him to look up. "I will ask you again," he whispered dangerously as he jabbed his wand at Riddle's throat. "What do you choose?"
Perhaps he had forgotten that Hermione still stood behind him or maybe he classified her as no threat, but she didn't let Lucius make another move. "Expelliarmus! Stupefy!" she shouted. He was hit by the first spell and Hermione caught his wand, as he was disarmed and thrown backwards. Riddle smirked at her weakly just seconds before Lucius was then hit by the stunning spell.
She ran quickly to untie him and help his unsteadily to his feat. He coughed and almost fell but Hermione caught him. "Here let me help you," she said but he pulled his arm out of her reach only to collapse, his hand catching him before he fell to the ground completely. "Tom, let me help." He blindly fought her off, succeeding in causing his stomach pain.
He looked at Lucius as finally allowed Hermione to help him stumble far away from where the man lay unconscious. She had to half carry him to a nearby tree as rain began to poor from the gray sky. Hermione sat him down under the safety of the old tree and he gasped but whether it was from pain or surprise she couldn't tell. Unsure she asked him, "What's wrong?"
"Diary," he choked out, his voice raspy.
Hermione looked back in the direction in which they had come. She turned back to him and inquired, "Did you have it in your pocket when we were attacked?" He tried to reply but was forced to settle for a nod. Knowing the diary was important to him, she said, "I'll go back for it. Rest here." He nodded again, wrapping both arms around his stomach, and she took off.
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Tom looked at the ground as Hermione disappeared from sight. He tried to fight back the urge to throw up. The Cruciatus wasn't pleasant to have on you for that long and at the moment he couldn't tell which was worse: his pounding head or his sick stomach. He coughed once and willed himself not to do it again in fear of losing whatever was left in his stomach.
His head was lifted and he met Hermione's frightened gaze. She was carrying his diary tightly so it couldn't get wet, but unfortunately she was soaked and shaking from the icy rain. He wanted to help her, to tell her that they were so close to Hogwarts…but his fears came true. He fell to the ground completely unconscious…
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Ho-neaou flew through the storm swiftly having just returned the young Malfoy to the castle. Hermione and Tom hadn't been on their own long so there was high chance that they both were still alive and in one piece. He felt the pouring raindrops slide off of his slick feathers and quickened his speed.
Without much difficulty he spotted a Death eater that was obviously out cold and continued his search, having a guess of who had done that to the full grown man. His heart nearly stopped when he finally saw a figure that was laying too still for his liking and next to him was the girl, Hermione.
He took one last glance at them both, wishing them luck in surviving just a few hours longer, before tasking off toward the castle. It was time he revealed himself to Dumbledore and seek his help in returning the children to Hogwarts safely.
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Hermione pulled Tom up and into a sitting position. She backed up with him so he could sit up against the tree and rest. She could see the fear that had been in his eyes moments before he fainted but she could only wonder what had run through his mind at that point.
She made sure he was in what looked to be a comfortable position before sitting next to him. That's when she noticed that his diary was still in her arms. Human curiosity took over her and she considered looking through it. No! She told herself firmly. This is not the time to invade his privacy. He's helpless for Merlin's sake!
Hermione set the book down beside herself and sighed. The wind blew violently and she heard the sound of a book's pages flutter. She looked down beside her and saw that book was flipped open. Just as she went to shut it she saw a line that stuck out like water in the desert…but she doesn't know that I don't intend to stay there.
Eyebrows furrowed, she picked up the book and read the entire entry. Once she was finished she felt like the puzzle that was Tom's life had just gotten so much more complicated. He could see who he pretended to be but not who he knew he was. With nothing else to do she flipped through the book and was surprised to see that most of its pages were empty. Not to interested in it anymore he went to pt it don but saw that she had found a page in the middle of the book where there was writing at the very top.
Beware the Past, Embrace the Future
She starred at it in amazement, trying to figure out what it could possibly mean. Not knowing why she put her hand on the page and a white light blinded her. Then, seconds after, she felt the ground disappear from underneath her.
The next thing Hermione knew she was standing in the middle of a stone room. She could feel a cold draft due to the fact that there was no fire burning in the only fireplace. Then she realized that this was the place where Tom had retreated to after he tried to leave Hogwarts: Slytherin's Secret Hideout. Upon further inspection she saw that she wasn't alone; three other people were scattered about the room. One she could recognize easily. Tom was sitting on a green rug near the foot of a velvet couch. Next to him a boy lay on his back sleepily.
The boy strongly reminded her of Malfoy. He had a pointed face, pale skin, and the same slivery-blonde hair but there was less bitterness in his gray eyes and even the way he read the open book he held above him was done in a calm manner.
On the couch was a young girl who Hermione guessed was the girl Tom wrote about in his diary, Ruby. She had long, wavy, deep red hair and long eyelashes. Beside her was a pile of thick books. When she looked up to yawn Hermione saw that her eyes were stunningly a ruby color.
"You're studying too hard," Tom said. His eyes were closed in relaxation and he was lying lazily on his side. He appeared comfortable with telling Ruby that she tried to hard and from the way he could tell that she was yawning from tiredness made it obvious that she overworked herself quite often.
"Burger off," she said through another yawn.
"You wanna know the point of a surprise quiz, Star?" the blonde asked Ruby. The red head refused to reply. "So they can see how much their students know before they have to learn it!"
"Point being?" Ruby said in a stuck up manner, trying to tune them out by reading.
"She's a show," Tom muttered to the Malfoy look alike.
"Yeah. Usually me and Rube are the ones who have to stop you from studying," his friend snorted. He was silenced with a single glare from Ruby.
"Leave her alone, Lucius," (Hermione mentally kicked herself for not guessing that was who the blonde was) Tom finally said, catching a hint from Ruby that she wished to read in peace. "Go find your girlfriend."
"Maybe I will then," Lucius grumbled as he got up. He cracked his back in a un-Malfoy way and headed to the stone stairs, leading out of the hideout. As soon as Tom heard the door shut Hermione saw him get up and walk toward Ruby, who clearly was his girlfriend. He sat beside her and took the book from her playfully.
She glared at him and tried to reach for it but he held it high over her head. "Come on, Rid!" she complained. "I just wanna read."
"Well I say you're trying to cram too much into your head," Tom countered. He tossed the book onto the floor and fell on top of Ruby, smirking. "come on. Let's do something." She appeared to know exactly what those words meant.
"That's one thing you're not going to steal from me 'till after Hogwarts," said Ruby. She didn't need to be any more specific for Hermione knew exactly what she was talking about. "But I can sacrifice this for you." She leaned forward and they kissed for a few moments until Tom pushed her over and they fell onto the floor.
The scene around Hermione started to fade and she again felt the ground beneath her feet vanish. She was surprised when her feet found the ground again and she saw that Tom was still beside her, unconscious like before, and the diary lay in front of them, open to a blank page. The only difference in the atmosphere was that it wasn't raining.
"Miss Granger?" a voice she recognized as the Headmaster's called from behind her. She turned and saw Professor Dumbledore, Professor Snape, and Professor McGonagall rushing toward her. For the first time in what seemed like forever she pushed every thought that filled her head away and was truly happy. She was finally going to get to go back to Hogwarts and to her friends…
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GOOD CHARLOTTE LYRICS
"Hey
Dad"
Hey Dad, where you been for so long?
Why won't you look at me?
Is there something wrong?
Do you remember me, the son that you conceived?
Why won't you look at me?
A son that you deceived.
Oh God, what did I do to deserve this?
A man I never knew.
A man I cannot miss.
I gave you many chances, many that you took.
And now I stand before you,
You won't even look.
How can we start all over when we never began?
How can you be a father,
When you're not even a man?
Why do you play these games?
That are in my head
You said you'd love me dearly,
but it looks like he's dead.
Oh God, what did I do to deserve this?
A man I never knew.
A man I cannot miss.
How can we start all over when we never began?
How can you be a father,
When you're not even a man?
Why do you play these games?
That are in my head
You said you'd love me dearly,
but it looks like he's dead. (hey dad, hey dad)
So then came kids of my own.
I was there for them.
I am the man you couldn't be. (I didn't learn from him.)
Where he is, I don't even know at all.
I don't even remember,
The last time he called.
How can we start all over when we never began?
How can you be a father,
When you're not even a man?
Why do you play these games?
That are in my head
You said you'd love me dearly,
but it looks like he's dead.
Oh God, what did I do to deserve this?
A man I never knew.
A man I cannot miss.
How can we start all over?
How can we start all over?
How can we start all over?
How can we start all over?
Hey Dad.
