Hermione chose to ring in the New Year in Italy. For a bookworm like her, it was a dream come true to visit the home of many of Shakespeare's works. Her first stop was naturally Verona, and as she walked it's streets, she almost felt as though she herself was actually in the novel 'Romeo and Juliet'.

At one point, she passed by what was believed to be the Capulets house, with the famous balcony where Romeo professed his love, as well as the street that supposedly laid the scene for the fight between Tybalt and Mercutio, before finally coming across the tomb of Juliet, where both of the tragic lovers were said to have died.

Even if it was just a story, the product of Shakespeare's imagination, she still felt it was only right to go and pay her respects to the characters.

In addition to the Shakespearian tour of Verona, she visited many art galleries, and took a gondola ride across the waterways of Venice. It was a bit frightening at first, as the gondola didn't look very sturdy, but they managed to get through the ride without it tipping over. Once she got over her apprehension, she was able to enjoy herself, taking in the beauty of the city.

And of course, she couldn't be in Italy without trying an authentic Italian pizza. Sadly, this was one thing Kieran could not experience with her, as he was allergic to garlic. Regardless, it was the best pizza she had ever had.

They stayed in Italy for several months, as they thoroughly enjoyed it there and wanted to stay in Europe so that Hermione could easily make it back to Britain in time for Abraxas and Hera's wedding.

As promised, she had been writing regularly to Tom through the diary he had got her for Christmas. She found that it made her miss him less. It made it feel as if he was experiencing everything with her, and vice versa.

Italy has been amazing so far. I even picked up a new copy of 'The Completed Works of William Shakespeare', Hermione wrote.

I'm pleased to hear you're having fun. I wish I could have come with you. I'd rather be out there with you then stuck in the ministry right now. Do you know who else joined the ministry after graduating from Hogwarts? Tom wrote back.

Hermione answered with a simple 'no'. She honestly had no idea who was all working at the Ministry, aside from Tom.

Minerva McGonagall. She was a couple of years ahead of us and Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. She's still salty at the Slytherins for what happened, and has been trying to sabotage my good reputation with the Minister. I overheard her telling him about the time I ordered a snake to bite Fleamont Potter, and about the time I turned Abraxas into a rat. She's not exactly an angel herself, from what I recall.

She had forgotten all about McGonagall, having not seen or heard from her in years. The last time she could recall actually speaking with her was on the train ride to Hogwarts during hers and Tom's first year, and they hadn't parted ways on good terms, thanks to Abraxas. And then she had that quidditch accident in her final year, which may or may not have had something to do with Abraxas as well. She never did find out exactly what happened that day.

Well, that's not nice, and quite uncalled for, if you ask me. She shouldn't be taking her anger out on you when you've done nothing wrong to her. If anything, it's Abraxas that she should be blaming, not you. And how did she even learn about the snake incident?

That was a good question. How did Miverva know about it? Especially since she had gone to such lengths to alter Fleamont's memories, along with the witnesses. Was it possible that she had missed one? Maybe one of them hadn't been in the hospital wing when she performed the memory charm? Still, the news would have gotten out then, and it hadn't. At least, not amongst the teachers, who always saw Tom as the image of a model student.

I don't know, but if the Minister approaches me about it, I'll tell him what everyone else was told; that it was simply a prank and that the snake was fake. Turning Abraxas into a rat shouldn't be too hard to excuse, seeing as we're viewed as friends. Remind me to thank him for making things difficult when we see him at his wedding. If McGonagall keeps this up, I'm going to have to come up with a back-up plan.

Hermione giggled, imagining Tom transforming him into a rat on his wedding day in front of the bride, as well as all the guests. She didn't think Tom would be quite that mean, or rather she hoped he wouldn't, but it was still funny to think about.

Thankfully Abraxas was still very much human looking on his wedding day, though he did seem a bit on edge around Tom. He must have 'thanked' him earlier in private. The wedding took place in the Manor's gardens, which had been decorated quite beautifully for the occasion. All in all, it was a much more pleasant affair than the last wedding she had been at.

Druella, who was now seven months along in her second pregnancy, remained seated throughout most of the reception, refusing to dance, and instead made Cygnus rub her feet for her. Cygnus seemed embarrassed about it, but didn't complain.

Taking pity on him, Hermione stepped in to distract Druella as well as little Bella, who was getting a bit fussy, freeing him to go and mingle while the girls talked. They talked about her plans for giving birth as well as name ideas. So far, they had picked out the names Andromeda and Cassiopeia for a girl and Arcturus and Pollux if it was a boy.

"I'll admit that I'm personally hoping for a boy," Druella told her. "I mean, obviously I'd be fine if it was another girl, but I'd like for this to be my last pregnancy. I know that I won't be able to truly relax until I've provided the Black's with the heir they so desperately desire."

Hermione nodded her head in understanding. Sadly, she knew that her friend wouldn't get her wish. This was only the second of three girls that the two of them would have. Unless something changed in this timeframe, they would have no sons.

She saved a dance for both Tom and the Groom, in which she wished the latter all the best in his marriage, threatening to have Tom turn him into a rat permanently if he didn't treat Hera with the love and respect that she deserved.

From there, she joined back up with her grandfather and headed off to Greece. They stayed there for a while, touring the Acropolis of Athens, climbing Mt. Olympus. As a child, she had always been fascinated by Greek Mythology and all of it's interesting tales.

Her favorite goddess had always been Athena, the goddess of both wisdom and war, for obvious reasons. She was one of the only goddesses that Hermione had ever been able to resonate with, the others all being obsessed with beauty and seducing men. Aside from Artemis perhaps. Still, she wasn't much of a hunter.

Greece was a beautiful country, with many wonders to see, and Hermione was determined to see them all. She went to the Samaria Gorge, the Epidaurus Theater, took a boat up the Corinth Canal, and even went spelunking at Melissani Cave.

Feeling a bit bad for dragging her grandfather along on all the things she wanted to do, she decided that she would take a full day to do what he wanted to do instead.

"Well, I've heard that Delphi is well known for it's seer's," Kieran noted. "It might be interesting to go and consult one."

Hermione blinked, not saying anything for the first few minutes. Whatever she had expected him to suggest, it certainly wasn't that.

"You actually believe in divination?" she asked incredulously. "I thought you of all people would be able to see what a hoax it is."

He raised a brow. "Says the girl who traveled back in time, and can accurately predict the future herself."

She opened her mouth, ready to argue that it was completely different, but stopped before she could do so, thinking better of it. This was an argument that she had had so many times before with Harry and Ron. And if she was honest, he did have a point. There were those that didn't believe time travel was real either.

Not wanting to go back on her word, she relented and went with him to visit the ruins of Delphi. There weren't many people there at that hour of night. In fact, she wasn't even sure if there would be any seer's either, which honestly, wouldn't have hurt her feelings.

"Why do you distrust divination?" Kieran asked as they explored the ruins.

She let out a sigh. "It started in my original third year. We had a professor who was a bit eccentric. She didn't like me from the very start, and said I had the most hopelessly mundane mind she had ever seen," she explained. "However, it wasn't just that. She was convinced that my friend, Harry, was cursed, that he had the Grim, and that he was going to die. She was wrong… or maybe she was right… I don't know."

"Highly guarded your mind is, but not mundane in the slightest," an unfamiliar voice startled them.

Standing in the distance was an old woman who walked with a cane. She had long grey hair, flowing down her back, and was dressed in a pure white robe. As she got closer, they were able to get a better look at her face. Hermione gasped. There was no iris or pupil in her eyes. They were completely white.

"Who are you?" Hermione asked.

"I am Dorothea. Though most know me simply as the Oracle," she replied. "I must admit, I have never encountered such a truly intriguing pair such as yourselves. A time traveler and a vampire."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at her. Predicting what they were was too easy to be taken as a serious prediction. It wasn't difficult to sense that Kieran was a vampire, if you got close enough to him, which the seer was. And her being a time traveler… Well, she had been talking about her original third year not too long before. She could have been listening in and figured it out.

"I can assure you that I mean you no ill will. I heard your souls crying out for answers and I came."

That was an odd thing to say. She didn't recall crying out for answers. Sure, there were things that she wanted to know, like what had become of the friends she left in the future, but she had made peace with the fact that she would never know, content with the fact that she was working to give them a better future.

"You fear that someone close to you, someone you love dearly will fall back into darkness… that history will yet repeat itself."

Hermione froze. There was no way to explain how she knew that. The seer was not reading her mind. She would have felt it if she was. Though, she had felt her try to access her mind earlier, when she claimed that her mind was highly guarded.

"What of it?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she met Kieran's gaze. He was curious about this as well. To test her, she put in extra effort to guard her brain, strengthening the walls she had built up over the years so as not to let anything slip through. She was a pretty good Occlumens if she said so herself, close to matching Tom in the particular skill.

All of a sudden, the old woman went rigid, her whole body seizing up as her mouth dropped wide open. Paired with her blank white eyes, it made for a disturbing sight.

"Beware the Heir of Slytherin, for though his heart has been tamed by love, darkness still has a hold. It spreads like wildfire as his lust for power grows. Already it has begun. I sense it now. No one is safe if he continues on this path... most of all you. For if he falls… so too will you follow…"

Her body then gave a great big jerk as she came back to. Whatever had just happened, it must have taken a great deal of her strength, as she started to fall. Luckily, Kieran managed to get to her in time, catching her before she could hit the ground.

Hermione began to tremble, an unnatural coldness taking up residence inside of her. Her first instinct was to deny it all. There was no way that was true. The seer had to be mistaken. Tom had seemed perfectly fine last she saw him. Well, not perfectly fine. He was frustrated that things weren't going the way he planned, but he hadn't given her any reason to fear that he was turning dark.

Unless…

She remembered how nervous Abraxas had been around Tom, and even when she threatened to have Tom turn him back into a rat permanently. Looking back at it now, it seemed a bit weird. She had thought nothing of it at the time, as Tom was well known for intimidating people, but what if there was more to it than that… What if Tom had done more than just intimidate him?

"I sense that you are troubled by my words, and for that I am sorry," the old woman apologized, her voice once more returned to normal, as she allowed Kieran to help her regain her footing. "Whatever I said, I would advise you not to ignore it. I have seen people die because they chose not to believe me."

Hermione nodded her head, but didn't say anything. She wanted to, but she couldn't get any words to come out of her mouth.

Once he was sure that the old woman was stable, Kieran released her and rejoined Hermione at her side. He bid her thanks for her time, offering to pay her, but she declined, claiming that they could pay her by heeding her words. With that, they took their leave, returning to their rented house.

"Are you certain that you haven't noticed anything," he asked her as they walked back.

"I thought I was, but now… I'm not so sure."

"Have you asked anyone else if they've noticed anything?"

She shook her head. "Only the Riddles, who probably wouldn't know even if he was up to something. He's gone all day, according to them."

Maybe that was the problem. She had trusted in the hope that Tom would tell her if something was happening. She wanted to be able to trust him, but what if he was hiding something from her… something that he didn't want her to know about…

She was unable to sleep that night, or rather day, as she tossed and turned in her bed, running it over and over in her head. The seers' words haunted her.

For if he falls… so too will you follow...

She would have liked to think that would never happen, that she was stronger than that, but she wasn't sure, and that's what terrified her.

Finally, after hours of contemplation, she decided that she couldn't ignore this. If it turned out that the seer's prediction was a hoax, then everything would be fine, but if there was some truth to it, then she would need to put an end to it. No matter how much it hurt her to do so.

However, she chose not to dwell too much on that for the time being. She needed to investigate further before she jumped to any conclusions. And she knew exactly who to go to first.