CH4 : MISTAKE
A stroll across the grounds, re-re-reviwing the details and a dinner later, it was finally 9 pm.
"Lemonquills."
"Good evening, Ms Evergarden. Care for some strawberry sherbets?" Professor Dumbledore greeted her with his classic wackiness and twinkling eyes. The office, still a clutter of strange uncommon trinkets.
She politely declined.
"I heard your class went really well and also that you have been mentioning a potions project..?" he asked looking at me like I was the most interesting insect.
"Yes, it was necessary. Not everyone will be convinced that an assistant has joined the staff, I wanted to keep prying eyes out so I gave a good enough story to satisfy them. It also works that will help someone in our immediate vicinity, namely Remus Lupin."
His eyes widened like she was just about to present a treasure. I suppose I was, she thought. "What is it?"
"A potion that will allow the werewolf to keep his mental faculties even after transformation."
"Merlin," he breathed out.
"Though of course, there were many downsides to it as well. The ingredients used are rare, expensive and difficult to brew so given the work status of werewolves, very few got access to it. It can also be misused to keep monitor of them as well."
They sat in contemplative silence.
"Have you thought of any solutions, Ms Evergarden?"
She had an inkling that he already knew that she met with Snape today. "I know a student here who is particularly gifted in potions. I'm hoping that we can come up with readily available substitutes for the ingredients used in the potion."
Dumbledore replied, "yes that's a good start. Otherwise once the potion goes public, it will be difficult to keep the Ministry's hands off it. And you will be needing a test subject until then, I presume?"
Reluctantly, she nodded. The experimental part of it could be dangerous to him. She shivered at the thought of causing him harm.
"Alright. But before that, I think it would be best to map out our actions now."
She had only divulged information of what had happened post the war. She took a deep breath, time to open Pandora's box.
"According to the current time, I believe Voldemort has five horcruxes at the moment. He went on to make seven."
His eyes narrowed and she felt a chill of fear. She knew he wanted to dive into my mind. She had to do something.
She stood up and summoned the pensieve. She took out the memory, took a moment to contemplate and pulled out a few more memories.
"Let's dive." She said, staring at the whirl in the pensieve.
As they walked in, a familiar setting of the charms class appeared. She stayed back as Dumbledore moved forward to hear their conversation.
"Muffiato," a 16 year old Hermione cast around them, "tell us what happened already, Harry!"
"The felix potion worked, Hermione! Slughorn was also there when I went to meet Hagrid for the burial. He had his wine and I don't know but the potion was just making me say all the right things and he gave me his memory of his conversation with Tom Riddle."
"Bloody hell, Harry. Maybe we should brew more of that potion. Merlin knows I could-" Ron said.
"Oh shut up Ron. Getting dependent on such a potion can be toxic, never mind the long time it takes to brew one. Continue, Harry."
"So just as I was coming back, I found out that Dumbledore was back so I immediately went to meet him. Guys, Tom Riddle actually wanted to split his soul seven ways, well six, the last will be the one that's left in his own body. It's called Horcruxes."
"I haven't read that anywhere though." Hermione frowned, frustrated that Harry again knew something that she didn't.
"Well duh Hermione. Imagine anyone going to the library thinking he'll do some stupid assignment and finding out a way to split his soul."
Hermione scowled.
"Anyway, so then Dumbledore showed me this memory of Riddle stealing Hufflepuff's Cup and the Slythrin's locket from this lady, Hepzibah Smith. And you remember the diary that possessed Ginny? That was a Horcrux too!-"
The conversation gets cut.
-0-0-0-
The memory transformed into the Room of Requirement.
"I found it, Ron! Hermione!" Harry yelled, holding up Ravenclaw's diadem.
-0-0-0-
Then they were back. Dumbledore immediately started pacing the room, breathing heavily.
"Why? I had an inkling but no proof, all this time!" Then suddenly he opened a drawer and started ruffling through a stack of Daily Prophets like a maniac.
"Found it!" He looked like he was reading an article. She stared at him, itching to peer into the paper.
"Look at this! I knew a House Elf couldn't have possibly done it! Good thing i kept this paper!"
She snatched the Prophet from the table. The headlines read in bold, 'HOUSE ELF, HOKEY MURDERS HEPZIBAH SMITH!'
And to her horror the date was 30th August 1976. It was after she had arrived, when she was still in her coma like sleep.
"I enquired yesterday about Riddle's whereabouts and it seems he has vanished. He was not seen again at Borgin and Burkes."
They had missed their chance due to her sheer incapability and foresight. And she was once again reminded of the fact that she was no Harry Potter.
Nothing had worked for her ever since he had died. All she had managed to do was draw out everybody's lives by a little more time. She was not as powerful as him, nor as lucky, nor as intuitive! It suffocated her. The probability of her success scared her.
"I-I am- I have no excuse for this blunder, Headmaster." she said trying and failing to regain composure.
"Ms Evergarden. Ms Hermione! Look at me. Dear, I don't blame you. Just the fact that we have all this information is very big. I would have stayed decades behind had it been on my own. We can still do this. You were not in any state to be of help at that time anyway. It's okay. "
She didn't believe him but she masked her emotions.
"So now he has the cup and the locket which he will turn into a horcrux soon. And of the six horcruxes, the conversation only mentioned four.."
"Sir, I believe that currently two horcruxes already exist - The diary and the diadem. The other two are the ones he will make much ahead in the future after I am born." Or Harry is.
"There is much to know about the diary itself. I will leave you with some memories to go through. It may help us in destroying the horcruxes. Fiendfyre and basilisk venom were the two methods we had found and I would really appreciate it if you had any more information on this."
"I will look into it though lucky for us, I can wield Fiendfyre without a problem." Yes, we will need that to acquire the locket, she thought darkly.
"Professor, I am not sure how wise it will be to move the diadem right now. You said in the future that Voldemort did not figure out that his horcruxes were being destroyed because he had already torn his soul so many times and that there had already been such a long time since he created them. I am afraid that he will find out if we destroy them right now."
She could feel a migraine building up in her head, something which had only started happening after her arrival in this time.
"Yes, a very valid point, Ms Evergarden."
"I am afraid I'll have to excuse myself for the night, Sir, I'm not feeling too well."
He nodded and after depositing some of her memories about the chamber of secrets and the diary, she made her way to leave.
"Just a second, Ms Evergarden. Can you answer one last question of mine? Why was I employing the help of young students, such as your friend Harry?"
She froze and replied after a pause, "I apologize I'm not ready to answer that yet, Sir. Oh and I will talk to Remus tomorrow. Goodnight."
Feeling drained and exhausted, she trudged towards her room. Shame and desperation welling up in her again over the blunder she had made.
We could have followed Riddle, we would know his location. We could have done something to prevent the murder of Hepzibah Smith, the framing of her house elf! Does life have a set time on them? Does that mean, the deaths will anyway happen and she would be powerless after all? She thought to herself angrily.
She felt alone and out of her depth, with too much information in her head.
She dropped on her bed and stared at the dreamless dream potion. Deciding not to risk it, she drank the dose and slept.