Chapter 3

November 9, 1993
Hogwarts

To Hariel's disappointment, Professor Lupin had returned. It wasn't that he was a bad teacher, but Hariel preferred the imposing Potion Master to the ragged werewolf. Where Lupin was fun and aided the students that needed help, Professor Snape pretty much made them fear for their lives if they didn't do well. However, Lupin was pleased to see they had followed his lesson plan as 'woeful and inadequate' as it was.

"Well, I am glad that Professor Snape taught you so well," said Lupin, "I think we'll do a quiz." His lips twisted into a wry smirk. With a flick of his wand, the pile of parchment on his desk suddenly began flying towards separate desks. Soon, every student had a short test in front of them.

"You have ten minutes," said Lupin, "begin…now!" Scrolls were opened and quills were inked. Soon, the room held no sound but the scratching of quills.

Not even five minutes later, Hariel placed her quill into the inkpot on her desk, followed shortly by Hermione, Neville and Seamus Finnegan. Remus wasn't surprised to see Hariel or Hermione finish quickly, and Mister Finnegan lived on the Irish countryside, so his experience with the ethereal creature was expected. However, Neville Longbottom was unexpected. Silence echoed in the room, and Remus realised that everyone had finished. He felt a small twinge of envy; Snape had clearly taught them well. With a momentary pause, Remus moved onto the next topic.

"Page one-thirteen everyone. Acromantulas are our new creatures." He grinned internally when he heard Ron Weasley let out a small whimper.

November 11, 1993
Hogwarts

There's something wrong with me, Riddle, Hariel wrote into the diary on the late Thursday night, I threatened a friend of mine, but rather than feel bad about it, I was excited.

I was the same when I was young, replied Riddle, it is a natural reaction for someone like you and I.

What do you mean?

For your whole life, you have had no freedom, no control over it. Then, you suddenly have the power to manipulate others in ways you could only imagine. That power has changed you.

For a sadistic murderer, you'd make a good psychologist.

A what?

You mean you don't know?

Do remember I've been in a diary for fifty years and before that I was in an orphanage or a magical castle that was isolated from the rest of the world.

Of course. A psychologist is someone who studies the mind and how it's affected by things happening to it.

Interesting… There was a long pause, before Hariel resumed writing in the diary.

Good night, Tom.

…Good night, my lady. Hariel read how he addressed her and smiled, feeling the familiar sense of power. She closed the diary and tucked it under her pillow. She still found it hard to sleep, her feelings still conflicted about the Ginny situation. Should she apologise? Or should she leave things the way they were? She was so confused. Her friend, or her secret. What mattered more to her?

She didn't want to give up the diary. But she couldn't just scare and intimidate her friends like that.

Maybe if she explained things to Ginny…

No.

Ginny wouldn't understand. But there was nothing stopping the girl from telling anyone except her own fear. Even the biggest coward rebels eventually. She would have to do something.

Ginny sighed again, even as she tried to read the same passage in her potions text for the fifth time. For the past half-an-hour, she had tried to focus on her schoolwork, but found it impossible, knowing that Hariel was being corrupted by Voldemort.

During her first year, Ginny had such a hard time adjusting, and she couldn't focus in Hariel's presence, so she avoided the older girl when she had tried to make her more comfortable. Then, the diary spoke back.

Hello Ginny Weasley, my name is Tom Riddle. She had been ecstatic. Finally, she had a friend. Tom was funny, kind and understanding. He comforted her when she felt homesick, he told her stories when she was bored, he taught her magic when she struggled. He even taught her more advanced magic. Looking at the spells he taught her now, she realised that some of them were borderline Dark.

And then, he showed her his true self.

And she was horrified.

And now he was back and he was corrupting her saviour. And Ginny would not rest until she stopped him.

When she went down to breakfast the morning after she was released from the Hospital Wing, she almost reached the doors of the Great Hall when she realised that Hariel would be there. After the encounter the day before, Ginny was rightfully scared of the older Gryffindor. The idea that the girl she'd crushed on could sound so vicious, so cruel…it terrified her.

But she was a Gryffindor. She was courageous. She would…

Hariel was right there, smirking at her. And she was alone.

Hariel waited patiently for Ginny to walk down the stairs that led to the Great Hall.

She knew Ginny would have to go down those stairs from the Hospital Wing. She had already shooed Ron and Hermione in, telling them she'd be in shortly.

When Ginny spotted her, Hariel couldn't help but feel a small thrill at the terrified expression on the girl's face. She immediately squashed that feeling down and focused on the situation at hand.

"Good morning, Ginevra," she said politely. The use of Ginevra would put the younger girl off balance, allowing greater manipulation.

She had, last night, used Riddle as a source so she could craft a plan on how to deal with Ginny. His stint as her diary had given him unparalleled knowledge of the girl.

And Ginny hated being called Ginevra.

Ginny stopped in front of her with a scowl on her face. She was angry, at being called Ginevra…and something else. Interesting.

"Hariel," said the girl, "how are you this morning?" Hariel smiled as brightly as she could without looking like a fool.

"I am quite well," she said, "having a good book to read can be very refreshing." There it was: the tightening of her jaw, the clenching of her fist and the hardening of her eyes. Ginny was furious. But the slight quiver, the half-step back and the quick glance around room said that Ginny was afraid.

"You have nothing to fear from me," she continued, "unless you told someone…" She trailed off, looking pointedly at the redhead.

"No," Ginny said, her entirety shifting into submission, "I haven't told anyone." Hariel smiled, drifting to the door of the Great Hall.

"Wonderful," she said, "it was nice speaking to you today, Ginevra."

December 18, 1993
Hogwarts

Hariel relaxed on a small wall, watching as the eligible students for Hogsmeade were escorted by Professor Sinistra this time. Smiling slightly at the antics of Ron and Hermione, Hariel slipped off the wall and started walking away. As she did, a pair of arms grabbed hers.

It took her half a second to notice that there was two people holding her.

It took her one second to realise that these two people were Fred and George Weasley.

Unfortunately, it took Hariel all of an instant to escape from the hold and point her wand at the nearest target, magic illuminating the tip, which was pointed at George's throat (or was it Fred's?). The twins looked at each other with huge grins, before George pushed the wand down and Fred grabbed Hariel's shoulders and sat her down.

"Hariel,"

"Dear,"

"And darling queen,"

"Do you hate us so?"

"I think she does, oh smarter twin,"

"Such a shame, oh handsomer twin."

By this point, Hariel was getting annoyed and the twins noticed.

"Right, so we wanted to give you something," said George, who was soon followed by his brother, who said, "as a thank you for saving Ginny last year,"

"And at the Quidditch match." With that, the duo produced a folded piece of parchment. Hariel took it slowly, not really trusting anything the Weasley Twins gave her.

"What is it?" asked Hariel, "a ratty slip of parchment?" Fred smiled ambiguously, and suddenly, Hariel realised how handsome a devious smile made him. The girl mentally shook her head, a large blush spreading across her cheeks. Fred ignored that and pointed his wand at the parchment.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." At his words, ink began appearing on the page, much like the magic of the Diary. Hariel hissed and dropped the parchment, turning a glare to the twins.

"What was that?" she demanded, "some sort of curse?!" The identical twins stared at her for a moment, before exchanging a look with each other.

"No," said George, "just a map,"

"Though one could say the Map," finished his brother. Hariel looked back to the parchment with interest. She could see the writing that had appeared.

Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs

Are proud to present:

THE MARUDERS MAP

"It's the secret to our success," said Fred, "these Marauders are legends,"

"in the pranking industry," continued George, "we owe them so much." There was a reverent tone to their voices that made Hariel smile. She hoped that one day people would speak about her with such a tone.

They already do, whispered the part of her mind that hated the Diary, and you hate it.

"What does this have to do with me?" asked Hariel. George opened the map. Inside was what looked to be the dungeons of Hogwarts. She could see a pair of footprints with a banner above it. In elegant script, the banner read Severus Snape. Curious, Hariel placed her hand on the map to lean in to get a closer look. At her touch (her hand brushed the banner with Professor Snape's name on it), the banner shifted. Instead of Severus Snape, it read Snivellus.

While Hariel frowned, the twins howled with laughter. Hariel tapped the banner and it changed back to Severus Snape, though a section of the map faded, allowing a blank box to form.

Mister Moony thinks that the map reader has no sense of humour.

Mister Padfoot concurs.

Mister Wormtail queries as to why Snivellus' banner didn't say as much all the time.

Mister Prongs replies that if they lost the Map, then no one would be able to link it to them.

Mister Padfoot thinks that Mister Prongs is an idiot and should have chosen Mister Moony to be in charge of the map.

Hariel frowned, not liking these 'Marauders'. If she guessed correctly, the Map showed everyone in Hogwarts, and these people wasted it on pathetic practical jokes.

"So, this Map shows everyone?" asked Hariel.

"Everyone," said Fred.

"Everywhere," added George.

"Where they are,"

"What their doing,"

"Of every minute,"

"Of every day."

Hariel stared at them incredulously, wondering why they just gave her a tool as useful as this.

"Why me?" she asked. George grinned and Hariel forced back another blush.

"We've already memorised the map," he said.

"And dodging patrols we don't know are coming is much more fun,"

"So we haven't used it for a few years." There was a hint of sadness in George's voice and Hariel clued on very quickly.

"If you had been using it last year…" she trailed off. It was obvious what might've happened.

"We might've clued on to Ginny's situation earlier." Hariel felt guilty again. Here they were, giving her a very useful tool and she had the thing that had nearly killed their sister sitting in her pocket. But it was too late to go back now. If she told them truth, she might not get this delicious map.

"We figured you could use it to keep an eye out for Sirius Black," said George. Hariel smiled at the twins, giving them both a kiss on the cheek, before accepting the Map.

"It's sweet, but you should've waited till Valentines if you wanted to romance me," she said, winking. The twins laughed, before they each took a hand and kissed it. Hariel blushed brightly, before slipping her hands out of the twin's grasps. Without another word, she left.

Deciding that a 'Ron and Hermione free' day was paramount, Hariel made sure to stay away from wherever they went.

Sneaking into Hogsmeade had been easy. But after only a short time there, she concluded that Professor Lupin was correct. There was barely anything of interest in the all-magical village. She ignored Madame Puddifoots, heading straight for the Hogs Head. Hiding under her invisibility cloak, Hariel listened as the people in the inn got steadily more inebriated and their tongues got steadily looser. And then she heard it.

"Good friends we were," said one Professor R. J. Lupin, "and look how it turned out." A quick glance revealed Professor Lupin and Hagrid sitting there, sharing a drink. "Two of us are dead," he continued, "one of us an escaped convict and me, who only re-joined society six months ago."

"Ye can't blame yerself," said Hagrid, "I mean, how could ye have known?" Remus shook his head.

"But that's just it, Hagrid. I should have known." The werewolf hung his head.

"And then there's Hariel." Hariel's ears twitched when she heard her name. "I had the perfect opportunity, but I let it slip away."

"Now Remus, how could ye explain t' her who ye are? It can't be easy."

"It's torture, Hagrid," Lupin said, "to see James when I look and hear Lily when I listen." He took a long look down his firewhiskey glass.

"And I can't even tell her the truth," he said, "I mean, how would you?"

"I don't know," Hagrid said.

"Merlin, I can imagine it now: 'Hariel, Sirius Black is the one who gave Voldemort your parents' location. Oh, and he's your Godfather.' Could you imagine..." He trailed off when the door of the Hogs Head slammed, splintering and causing the entire building to shake.

Hariel couldn't see anything through the haze of rage that encompassed her. The moment she heard what Lupin had said, she left the inn, while her magic started pulsing. By the time she reached the edge of Hogsmeade, it was impossible to keep it contained. So she screamed, letting all her anger, pain and grief explode in a blast of magic. She drew her wand and let loose every deadly spell she could think of – Tom had taught her quite a few – at the trees and everything that moved. All the while, her mind repeated the same thing, over and over.

He was their friend! He betrayed them! I'll kill him! I'll make him wish the dementors found him!

She rushed back to the castle, covered by her Cloak. As soon as she was near the Common Room, she whipped it off and ran faster. She hastily answered Sir Cadogan and ignored his comment, before bolting up to her dorm. Once there, she pulled out the Diary and wrote, Riddle?

Hariel, does something trouble you? Hariel knew that this is what Ginny had fallen for; Tom had a remarkable ability to make you feel important. But right now, she didn't care.

Black was a friend of my parents and betrayed them to Voldemort. I want to kill him.

There was a pause.

Fast, or slow.

Agonisingly slow. I want him to wish he'd never escaped Azkaban.

That's rather challenging you know.

I don't care.

Excellent. Let's begin.