Warnings for murder, mentions of violating someone's mind with legilimency and driving them insane and possibly suicidal, mentions of rape, and mentions of child abuse and child abandonment.

What would you do for those you love?

By the time Pansy and Millicent got back to the Slytherin dorms with the captive rat-possibly animagus, Hermione, Astoria and Daphne had returned the invisibility cloak to Harry at Gryffindor Tower, as Sir Cadogan had let them in again. The three girls left without being seen, thankfully, and went down to the Slytherin common room.

The three of them joined Pansy and Millicent at the common room, checked to make sure no one was nearby, and brought Scabbers over to one of the tables and Pansy placed the clearly very old animal down onto it.

"Hold him," Hermione instructed Pansy, to which the other girl nodded, keeping the rat against the table, lifting it up, not wanting to touch any other part of the rodent.

Hermione looked at Daphne and Astoria, they nodded and Hermione pulled out her wand and aimed it at the rat.

Hermione was about to say the spell, when there was a harsh meow sound, catching all five girls' attention.

Crookshanks suddenly came bounding out of the girls' dorm room, racing fast at them, murder in his eyes as he bared his fangs at Scabbers, who was losing it, desperately trying to get away now.

"What the-?" Hermione protested, eyes wide, "Crookshanks, no!"

Crookshanks didn't listen to Hermione and leapt at Scabbers. Only to be grabbed by Daphne, pulling the half kneazle back, her right arm around the animal's middle, her left hand grabbing at the scruff of Crookshanks's neck, restraining him.

"Stop, Crookshanks," Daphne said softly, "Stop. No more."

Crookshanks still didn't listen, hissing and snarling at the panicking Scabbers.

Hermione stared at her loyal and usually well-behaved pet.

What was all that about?

Normally, Crookshanks didn't get so worked up about rodents.

A thought occurred to Hermione as she looked back to Scabbers. Unless, that was, this wasn't a rodent.

Hermione aimed her wand at the rat again, and said the words, for the spell, the words that she had learned in the class that Snape had taught about animaguses.

There was a burst of light, a cracking sound, and suddenly, the shape of Scabbers stretched, became bigger.

Pansy gasped, unable to do anything, except let go. The girls backed away, shock covering their faces as they watched the form of Scabbers warp and in seconds, become a person. A man. In an ill fitted, dark suit that was threadbare.

The man was somewhat overweight, with scraggly, gray-brown hair and was balding. He made some almost rodent like gestures, his nostrils flaring like he was trying to smell something and was trying to make some noise, but the silencing charm had still been used on him, so he was silent.

Beyond shocked, the five Slytherin girls stared at the man. So, apparently? Scabbers in fact, was the man, Peter Pettigrew.

Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and James Potter's long missing and supposedly dead friend.

In all the scenarios that Hermione had come up with? The possibility that Scabbers might actually be, in fact, Peter Pettigrew, had been so far from what she had believed, that it wasn't even funny. She honestly had thought that she was jumping and utterly mad possibilities, by thinking that maybe the Weasley pet was Pettigrew.

And yet…

Hermione fount the name coming out of her mouth, despite her shock, "Peter Pettigrew?"

The balding, admittedly, rodent looking man, turned scared eyes to her and the others, bringing gasps from Daphne and Astoria and a hiss from Crookshanks.

"Peter Pettigrew?" Hermione repeated, "May I see your hands?"

She half wondered for a moment, if Pettigrew might not understand her, but a second later, he stuck his shaky hands out for her to see them. Hermione looked down at his hands. And yes. There it was.

This man was Peter Pettigrew.

For on his right hand, this man was missing an index finger.

Hermione sighed, staring at this man, and she asked, "Do you understand me?"

This man had been a rat for twelve years. It was very possible that he had lost his human speech since then.

After a few seconds, the rat man nodded.

Hermione looked to the others and nodded to them. "Take the silencing charm off of him," she said, before looking back to Pettigrew, "Now, listen, Peter, we don't want you to cry out for help, okay? Don't call for help or anything. We won't hurt you. We just want to know if you know anything about Sirius Black."

At the name, Pettigrew shrank back, looking terrified, eyes wide.

"It's alright," Hermione said softly, "He's not here. Not right now, at least. He's not here. You're safe. We just want to know what you know about him. And Remus Lupin."

At the mention of Remus, Pettigrew sagged against the table, looking more calm now.

Pansy pulled out her wand and used the charm to take off the silencing spell.

As soon as she did, Pettigrew gasped, startled, his voice sounding nasally and strained, "Oh, thank you, dear girls." His voice and appearance all screamed, "pathetic."

He said weakly, "Sirius Black, the man that sold out my dear friends James and Lily Potter and their dear boy to the dark lord. He tore off one of my fingers. But I escaped." He looked away, appearing aggrieved. "I should have fought him. To bring justice for the Potters."

Hermione watched him, feeling great sympathy for this man. One thing stuck out in the back of her mind. "The dark lord," was what Voldemort's followers called him. Anyone who wasn't a follower of Voldemort, referred to him as "you know who," or "he shall not be named," or if one wasn't afraid, then just Voldemort.

Still, Hermione dismissed this thought and tried to focus on getting information from the rat man.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Pettigrew," she said to him, "I really am. But you might be able to bring justice for them now. If you can tell us what you know about Sirius Black."

Pettigrew nodded as he said, "Black, he's an animagus. Like me. All of us were."

"All of you?" Hermione repeated, not understanding at first, till she asked, "You mean all five you, James, Sirius, Remus and Lily?"

"Not Lily, no," Pettigrew said, shaking his head, "Only the four of us. The Marauders." Pettigrew said the title as if it was a joke, and he sniffled with a small sound of laughter, "We created that map that you were using the other night, by the way, dear girl," he said, looking at Hermione, "The four of us. We made it."

Hermione's eyes widened. Oh.

That, she hadn't seen coming.

"You all were animaguses?" Astoria asked, sounding shocked and curious, "All four of you? What animal form were the others?"

Pettigrew chuckled again, and Hermione felt true pity for how haggard the slightly rotund man was.

Pettigrew continued, "James's form was a stag. That's why we called him, "Prongs." Sirius was a dog, that's why we called him, "Padfoot."

Hermione nodded. That made sense. "And you're Wormtail," Hermione said.

Pettigrew laughed again, real humor there this time. "Yes," he said, "I was Wormtail. And Remus? Well…," he shifted, looking nervous, like he was about to tell someone a piece of information he shouldn't tell anyone.

"Remus was just in his usual werewolf form, right?" Hermione asked, already suspecting this.

Pettigrew looked at her, startled.

"You know?" He asked, his slightly sniffly and shrill voice, sounding stunned.

"I suspected," Hermione said, "I didn't have proof. But I suspected."

Pettigrew nodded, chuckling, "You're very clever," he informed her.

"So I've been told," Hermione answered, smirking, "Now, Sirius? Why did he betray James and Lily Potter. Do you know?"

Pettigrew shook his head. "Betrayal would mean that Sirius was ever on James or Lily's side," Pettigrew said, "And Sirius was never on anyone's side, except his master's."

Hermione grimaced. Okay, that made sense.

Hermione then softened in her expression as asked, "Do you need anything? Water? Food? Maybe new clothes?" She suggested, unable to help the slight smile.

There was also the matter of a possible haircut and manicure, but she wasn't going to mention that just yet. He was already scraggly enough. He didn't need to feel that bad about his appearance.

Pettigrew nodded nervously, "Um, new clothes, please."

Hermione nodded. She looked at the others, "Think we could get some extra robes from the bigger students?"

Pansy nodded, and got up, going to the older students' dorms searching for some larger clothes.

Hermione asked Pettigrew, "Snape doesn't seem to like Remus. Do you know why that is?"

Hermione had read up on all the Death Eaters. To essentially, "know her enemy."

Snape, she knew, had been in Hogwarts around the exact same time as James and Lily Potter and as Remus, Peter and Sirius."

Pettigrew snorted then, snickering. "Oh, that slimy haired git?" He remarked, "He always hated us. Ever since Lily chose James over him. You know he used to fancy her? And when she got sorted into Gryffindor, he treated her bad. He joined the Death Eaters, because of that, I think."

Hermione stared, disturbed. Snape had joined the Death Eaters, because a girl had rejected him.

That was really troubling.

She had known that Snape was trash because he was a former Death Eater. But to do it because the girl he thought he was entitled to, wasn't with him?

Hermione then remembered how Snape treated Harry. Oh. This suddenly explained everything.

Because in Harry, Snape would have the chance to mistreat the child of his rival. And apparently, would completely disregard that that child was also the son of the woman he was in love with.

Clearly, Snape's hatred overrode his "love" for Lily.

But then, if Snape sided with Death Eaters just because Lily didn't choose him, people who hunted muggle-borns, which Lily absolutely had been, then quite clearly, Snape had never loved Lily in the first place.

And they most likely hadn't been soulmates. If Lily had been Snape's soulmate, even if she had chosen someone else over Snape, he never would have joined people that would hunt down and murder people like Lily.

And no, Lily not choosing Snape, didn't excuse him joining the Death Eaters. No person was entitled to another person. If Snape hadn't wanted to be seen as a monster, then maybe he shouldn't have joined a literal hate group that targeted muggle-borns like Lily.

Hermione had no sympathy for Snape.

None.

"Anything else? What about Sirius Black?" Hermione asked.

Pettigrew said, "Sirius tried to play a prank on Snape. Just to scare him. He got him worked up and brought him to where the four of us would stay during the full moon. At the Shrieking Shack. You know why it's called the Shrieking Shack, right? Because of all the sounds that people heard Remus make, when he would turn into a werewolf. And Remus almost killed Snape. James saved his life. Snape owed James his life."

Hermione snorted in disbelief. Sirius Black sounded like a shitty person even before he had joined the Death Eaters. But James had saved Snape's life? And still Snape had joined the Death Eaters?

Hermione had already hated Snape.

But she hated him far, far more now.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said, "For what happened to you and your friends, the Potters. I'm sorry."

Pettigrew smiled. "Thank you," he said, "It hurt, knowing that they died. Sirius tried to kill me as well. That's why I turned into my rat form and ran. Stayed with the Weasley family." Pettigrew added, smiling grimly, "Sirius couldn't kill all the rats to find me. That would take him too long."

Hermione nodded. Grim as the story was, it all made sense.

"You've heard that Sirius broke out of Azkaban, right?" Millicent said.

"Yes," Pettigrew shuddered, "I have."

It was then, that something clicked in Hermione's mind.

Something wasn't right here.

Sirius had been locked away in Azkaban for twelve years. During that entire time, Pettigrew had been a rat?

Why?

If Sirius Black had been locked up for twelve years, why had Pettigrew secreted himself away for so long?

Why not come out of seclusion after Sirius Black and the rest of the Death Eaters were either locked away or forced to give up being a Death Eater?

It was then that some uneasy feeling spread through Hermione. Something wasn't right here.

"Pettigrew," Hermione said gently, "Why don't you just get settled here? My friends and I, we want to talk for a bit. Decide what to do next. If that's alright."

Peter said, smiling, "Of course, dear girl. And I don't really feel like moving for a while."

Hermione tried not to chuckle. She doubted he'd want to move after everything. He'd only had his tail pulled for the past several minutes, almost killed by a part cat, part kneazle, and turned back into a human against his will and interrogated.

Pettigrew hadn't had a fun day. Then again, he probably hadn't had a fun decade and two years.

Still, Hermione lifted herself up and gestured for her friends to follow.

Carrying Crookshanks, Daphne, with Astoria and Millicent, walked to the opposite side of the room after Hermione, and the four friends faced each other.

Keeping her voice very soft and quiet, Hermione said to her friends, "Okay, I'm sorry to say this, but something doesn't feel right. Pettigrew was a rat, all that time? After Sirius Black got caught twelve years ago? Why stay a rat that whole time? Almost all of the Death Eaters were either by that point caught or went back to normal life."

Listening to this and realizing that Hermione had a point, Daphne glanced Pettigrew's way. She frowned, troubled, before looking back to Hermione.

"You know," she said, "I hadn't thought of that. That's a really good point. Why stay a rat that whole time?"

Astoria's eyebrows furrowed. She whispered, "Maybe he was scared of 'you know who?' Or maybe he was grieving for his friends?"

"Maybe," Hermione said, furrowing her eyebrows, "But if he was still alive after Sirius tried to kill him, why not run to the authorities and warn them that his friends were going to be killed by Sirius and Voldemort?"

Astoria and Millicent flinched and Hermione added, "I know that Sirius was the secret keeper. But even if Pettigrew didn't know, surely," he would have gone to Dumbledore or someone and warned them. Something just doesn't feel right." Hermione glanced at Pettigrew, making sure he wasn't getting closer so that he couldn't listen in. Pettigrew stayed where he was, staring at his hands and his far too long nails.

Hermione added, turning back to her friends, "And when Pettigrew talked about Voldemort, he referred to the guy as 'the dark lord.'"

Daphne nodded, her lips pressing together in a hard line, as if she had just decided on something. "I noticed that too," she confessed, "That's what his followers called him."

"Wait, hold on," Astoria said, looking to Pettigrew, then back to her friends, "Are you saying that you think Pettigrew is a Death Eater?"

"Maybe not exactly a Death Eater," Hermione said, "But I think he might be connected to Voldemort. In some way. I don't know how. But I'm starting to think he is. And maybe, he and Sirius are working together."

Both Daphne and Millicent shivered and Astoria's eyes widened.

"Alright," Hermione said, "We also discussed the possibility that Remus might be working with Sirius. If that's the case? I want to ask Pettigrew if he wants to see Remus. At some point. Not right now. But eventually. Just to see how Pettigrew reacts to possibly seeing Remus again."

Daphne, Millicent and Astoria nodded.

Hermione added, "One last thing. Don't tell Pettigrew about the diary. Don't tell him about Tom, okay?"

Daphne and Millicent nodded and Astoria said, "Okay."

Hermione looked at the three of them with all seriousness, "Promise me."

All three girls promised Hermione.

Even if Hermione wasn't starting to have the feeling that Pettigrew might be working with Voldemort, she knew she would have made them promise.

Because Pettigrew had been a rat for twelve years, for Merlin's sake. His mind probably wasn't the most stable.

Which meant that should he ever find out about Tom being attached to a diary, he might just tell someone he wasn't supposed to, even if Hermione got him to swear to secrecy.

Hermione and her friends turned back to Pettigrew and Hermione sat down in front of him again as she said, speaking softly, showing no hint of what it was that she had just discussed with her friends, "Listen, according to the entirety of the witch and wizarding world? You're dead, okay? And as far as anyone knows, Sirius killed you. Which I'm sure was your intention if you stayed a rat so long. And if anyone finds out that you're still alive, or if Sirius finds out that you've turned back into a human, he'll know it'll be much easier to find you. So, you have to stay a secret, okay? Or else Sirius might find you."

Pettigrew nodded, looking frightened still.

"Now, do you have an idea of where we should keep you safe, till Sirius is caught?" Hermione asked, "I don't think the Shrieking Shack is a good idea. Sirius knows about that place."

Pettigrew nodded. "Most places I know around the castle," he said, "Sirius would know about."

Nodding, Hermione said, "Alright. How about this? We keep you here in the dorms. There are some places where other students won't go near the dorms. And we'll figure out what to do then, okay?"

Pettigrew nodded.

Pansy arrived with some large clothes for Pettigrew to wear. It was somewhat ridiculous, dressing Pettigrew up in overgrown robes, when he so clearly wasn't a student. But they were limited in the clothes they had access to that would fit Pettigrew.

After Pansy gave Pettigrew the clothes and they shuttered him off to a small room for him to change into those clothes, Hermione pulled Pansy aside and explained the situation, explained why she wanted Pansy not to say a word about Tom to Pettigrew, and what her suspicions about Pettigrew were.

Pansy paled a great deal at what Hermione implied, looking at the door where Pettigrew was changing his clothes, now nervous.

Hermione said, "I know this isn't right, but we should knock him out every now and then. We can't watch him every second."

"Right," Pansy said, "And where will we stick him until we come back for him, all these times we knock him out magically?"

Hermione frowned, unsure. Good question.

"I don't know," she confessed, "Give me some time to figure it out."

Hermione added, "It's getting late and I hate doing this to him, but I think we might want to get him some food and water and as soon as he's done eating? Knock him out and stick him in a closet for the night and for the morning classes."

Pansy and Millicent chuckled at the ridiculousness of it. Because after everything, after spending twelve years as a rat and finally being turned back into a human? He would now be a prisoner and locked up.

It was funny in a horrible way.

Astoria went off to get food from the Great Hall and grabbed some, bringing it back.

Hermione and the others showed Pettigrew the food Astoria had brought. Yorkshire pudding, chicken, slices of pumpkin pie and an apple.

Pettigrew ate everything with great zest, most likely having eaten only cheese and pieces of bread for years.

He downed everything in seconds, till he hiccupped, then burped.

He gulped down the water. And as soon as Hermione was sure that he was content, she pulled out her wand and used a sleeping spell on him.

A second later, Pettigrew fell unconscious against the floor with a "thump."

Hermione quietly apologized to him and she, Pansy, Millicent, Astoria and Daphne, carried him off to one of the many abandoned broom closets.

They closed the door and Hermione used a particularly strong level locking charm on the door, effectively locking it, and they ran off to get food. No one, thankfully, had come through the common room during all that time. And Crookshanks had been stuffed away in the dorm, making sure he couldn't try to jump at Pettigrew again.

The girls grabbed food, and Hermione, trying not to feel bad about occasionally hearing Ron as he and Harry passed by, moaning about not finding Scabbers, gobbled up her food quickly, and she and the others ran back to their dorm.

That night, Pansy, Millicent, Astoria and Daphne went off to sleep, granted, it took them a while. But Hermione decided she needed to talk to Tom.

She reached between her mattress and the frame of the bed and pulled out the diary from where she had stuck it.

She carried it to the empty common room, opened it up and said, "Tom, can we talk?"

Tom emerged from the diary, floating in midair. He smiled at Hermione, pleased to see her.

"Hello, Hermione," he said, "Glad to see you."

"Likewise," Hermione said, sitting down on a sofa chair, facing the fireplace, "Listen, something's happened. Remember, we told you about Remus? And Sirius?"

Tom nodded, his smile not leaving his face. "Yes, I remember," he said, "Why?"

Hermione hesitated before she answered, "Well, this is going to sound mad, but as it turns out, Peter Pettigrew, the man that everyone thought Sirius Black murdered, is still alive. He took the form of a rat for twelve years, staying as the Weasley household pet all that time. We managed to get the rat away from his owner. And we turned him back into a human. But the thing is? I don't know if we can trust Pettigrew."

Hermione looked to Tom, waiting for Tom's verdict.

Tom frowned and tilted his head and his eyes shifted.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at that. Tom's eyes had shifted. You know, she had never noticed that. But whenever she felt like Tom was less than truthful with her? His eyes tended to shift.

It was one of those "tell" things that people talked about.

Why would Tom be trying to lie about this, though?

Tom then said, "Why's that?"

Hermione hesitated, then said, "He says things like, 'the dark lord,' which is what Voldemort is called by his followers."

Tom winced and looked at Hermione as she continued, "And Sirius Black has been locked up for twelve years. Why stay as a rat all that time? And the rest of the Death Eaters, either were locked up or stopped being Death Eaters by that point. Why stay a rat?"

Tom nodded. "Those are all very good observations," he said, "And that is why you don't think you can trust him?"

Hermione nodded. "That's right," she said.

Tom asked, "Where is he now?"

Hermione, cautious, said, "He's locked away in a closet. We knocked him out for the time being. We wanted him unconscious. In case it turned out that he's working with Voldemort."

Tom nodded, tense as he said, "Alright. I have an idea. How much do you trust me, Hermione?"

Hermione hesitated. This was starting to sound unnerving. But she answered truthfully. "A lot," she said, meaning it, "I trust you a lot."

She might not have trusted him with everything. But she meant it when she said that she trusted Tom with a lot.

Tom smiled and said, "Alright. Tell me, what do you know about your gift?"

"My gift?" Hermione asked, frowning.

"Being a parseltongue, of course," Tom said.

"Oh," Hermione said, eyes widening, "Not much. And I'd hardly see it as a gift."

Tom chuckled, "You shouldn't see it in such a terrible light, Hermione. An ability itself is not evil. It's how you use it. And I ask, because there's a place that I discovered when I was here. I don't want you to jump to the wrong conclusions, but I was studying the parseltongue language. Or parselmouth language. And I used the language every now and then, just offhandedly. At some point, I went by the girls' bathroom, and just happened to use it. And I heard something shift around inside the bathroom after I used it. It sounded like something large was being cracked open. I know I shouldn't have, but I stepped into the bathroom, curious, and saw that the sink was coming apart and elevating away from the floor. Revealing a large hole in the floor."

"A hole?" Hermione repeated, now confused. Tom knew the parselmouth language? And somehow that had opened up a hole in the girls' bathroom?

"Yes," Tom said, "And I went to the hole, curious. I decided, since this was after my darling Ella died?" Hermione winced at the name, watching the pain cover Tom's face as he spoke of his dead soulmate, "I figured I had nothing more to lose. So, out of curiosity, I jumped down the hole. As it turns out, it was much like a slide going down. It went on for a long time, but it was perfectly safe. I dropped down into a dirty cave-like area. And I found a large, round, metal door. It was clearly meant for a parseltongue. There were snakes all over it. So, I spoke some parseltongue and the door opened up for me."

Hermione stared at Tom, stunned. "What was it?" She asked, "What was behind that door?"

Tom said, "I saw the hall. With multiple snake heads sticking up along the hall. And the massive face of Salazar Slytherin up ahead. It took me a while to realize what I was looking at. This was the Chamber of Secrets."

"The what?" Hermione asked, frowning.

Tom chuckled, shaking his head. "Merlin," he said disapprovingly, "The teachers here really have told all of you students nothing. The Chamber of Secrets, Hermione is where many teachers believe the creature that was attacking students, came from. I thought it was Hagrid's pet, Aragog. But it may very well have been whatever came out of that chamber."

Hermione stared at Tom, stunned. Okay, this was beyond comprehension.

"But," Tom said, "I don't know about any monster that might be there. But there are secluded areas in that chamber, where you can stick Peter Pettigrew, knocking him out and keep him there. Until you figure out what to do with him."

Hermione contemplated this, then said, "So, let's see if I understand this. You think I should risk being killed by some great monster, and keep Pettigrew there that way?"

Tom chuckled again, "I see what you mean. Bad idea. Very well. The other option I came up with is legilimency."

Hermione might have been shocked by that suggestion, had Tom not just trounced any shock she might have over that, at hearing Tom suggest she go into some monster's lair.

And that he knew some parseltongue.

"Let's go with that instead," Hermione said, eyeing Tom in aggravation, her voice dry.

Tom laughed, not chuckled, but gave a full bellied laugh. "Alright," he said, "I understand."

Hermione then added, "Tom, why didn't you tell me about this 'Chamber of Secrets' before?"

Tom offered a sad smile. He said, "We had just met. You still weren't sure if you trusted me. If I'd told you then about the Chamber of Secrets, would you have trusted me? Or would you have thought that I was the one controlling the monster in the Chamber of Secrets?"

Hermione's eyes widened. Oh, that…made sense.

Yeah. If she had heard about this 'Chamber of Secrets' after first meeting Tom? She most likely would have jumped to the wrong conclusion about him.

Because now? Now, she was positive that Tom was to be trusted. Because it was Tom. He did nothing but help them.

But had she known about the 'Chamber of Secrets' before knowing him? She most likely wouldn't have given him the time of day.

"I see," Hermione said, nodding, "Okay. You know that legilimency is illegal to students who are underage, right?"

"I know," Tom said, "But this is a serious situation, isn't it? You may very well be dealing with someone who betrayed his friends to the darkest wizard who's ever lived. You might not want to do this. And it might be illegal to do this. But you might have to."

Hermione sighed, slumping back against the sofa chair. She mentally cursed. He was right.

As much as the thought of invading a person's mind without their permission disturbed her? They had to know if Pettigrew was working with Voldemort.

They had to know.

It most likely would make the difference between life and death.

Hermione added, "But there's still a question about where to stick Pettigrew until I figure out how to read his mind." She paused and looked at Tom again. "You said that there was a cave area outside of the door of the Chamber of Secrets?" She asked him.

Tom nodded. "That's right," he said.

"Okay," Hermione said, "Maybe we can keep Pettigrew there. Until we find out the truth."

"I think that would be doable," Tom said, "So, then what to do first?"

Hermione sighed, "Well, we won't be moving Pettigrew anywhere tonight. But I'll run it by the other girls tomorrow. But I just don't feel like I can go to sleep right now." She looked at Tom wryly, "I presume you know what books students aren't supposed to read, in order to find out how to do proper legilimency?"

Tom grinned. "You presume correctly," he said, nodding in the direction of the entrance to the common room, "Follow my lead."

Hermione got up from the chair and followed Tom as he floated towards the entrance to the room. He went literally through the entrance's door and Hermione opened up the portrait, leaving the common room.

Hermione followed after Tom, and they went through the castle, to the library. They needed to dodge Filch a few times, which made Hermione wish she had kept Harry's invisibility cloak, but followed after Tom.

They reached the library, and Tom brought Hermione to one very large, hefty book, in a shelf, deep in the restricted section.

"Here," he said, gesturing to the book, "Is where I learned most about legilimency."

Hermione reached out and grabbed the large book off of the shelf.

She carried it over to the table and opened it up.

She said, "Lumos ignit8

She used the spell and the end of her wand lit up, allowing her to read the words on the pages.

Tom said, as she kept the diary in her cloak and used her wand to read the words, "It's important to know who your enemy is. And legilimency? It's one of those ways you can do it."

Hermione nodded, but swallowed a dry lump in her throat as she read the words. She said, "It still doesn't feel right to go into someone else's head like that."

"I know," Tom said, "But it's necessary. You told me one time, that you had an encounter with…with Voldemort."

Pausing in her reading, Hermione slowly turned and looked up at Tom.

Tom said, nodding to her, "From what I've heard, Voldemort is experienced and talented in legilimency. When you encountered him in your first year, did he try to read your mind?"

Hermione bit her lower lip. She had told Tom after a few months of knowing him, about how she had run into Voldemort in her first year, and how he'd been attached to the back of Quirrell's head, of all things.

But she hadn't told Tom whether or not Voldemort had tried to invade her mind. She suspected that Voldemort hadn't been able to fully invade her mind, since he hadn't appeared to know much about her. Just suspect that in his words, she was a "survivor."

But apart from that? The only thing that he had seemed to take from her mind, was that she was holding the Sorcerer's Stone in her pocket.

She nodded. "He tried to," she said, "he wasn't able to entirely. I don't think."

"I see," Tom said, "Well, it's important to be able to give back the same weapons that are thrown at you."

Hermione sighed, looking up at him, "What about occlumency? Shouldn't I just try to keep myself closed off from anyone trying to read my mind?"

Tom nodded. "Being able to do that would help," he confessed, "But people would be less likely to try to use legilimency against you, if they knew that you could do the same to them. Do you know what Voldemort had a tendency of doing to the victims, whose minds he invaded?"

At Hermione's confused look, Tom grimaced and answered, "He would invade a person's mind and show them disturbing images. Drive his victims mad by showing them the worst possible things they could imagine."

Hermione shuddered. She had heard that. But she had figured that those were stories people came up with.

Embellishment after the fact.

She had hoped that that was the case. But if Tom thought it was true, then she was more inclined to believe that it was true.

"What you're saying is," Hermione said, "If I want to avoid getting my mind violated, I need to violate someone else's mind?"

Tom said wryly, "I would prefer it if we didn't phrase it like that. But sometimes to stop someone from doing something horrible to you, you have to do something horrible to them."

Hermione grimaced, looking away from the book. She didn't want to think like that.

She heard Tom sigh and ask, "Hermione, can I ask you something?"

Hermione turned back to him, curious.

Tom looked like he rather would ask her anything else, apart from what he was about to ask her, but still, his next question came out, "I'm not going to presume anything, but you've been through a lot, haven't you? I don't just mean running into Quirrell and Voldemort in your first year. I mean before them. You went through something bad, didn't you?"

Hermione clenched her lower jaw. She wasn't going to talk about that.

Tom saw the pain in Hermione's eyes and held up his hands gently, "I'm not going to assume anything. And I won't ask. But I can't help but ask if you have gone through a lot. When I talked about Ella and her parents? And when we talked before about who was the bigger threat, muggles or witches and wizards, I could see it all over your face. You know what horrors muggles are capable of."

Hermione tensed. He was right, naturally.

But she still didn't want to talk about it.

Tom went on, "Let me ask you this, Hermione. The people that hurt you, the muggles that hurt you, whoever they were, if you had the chance to hurt them horribly, to drive them made with images inside their heads, would you take it?"

Hermione froze, eyes widening at the question.

Her heart skipped a beat. Oh, she hadn't even thought of that as a possibility.

Hermione raised her head and stared at Tom. And Tom was smiling at her sadly, but also appeared knowingly.

He said, "Don't forget, I've been through some things too. I was raised in a muggle orphanage after my mother died and my father abandoned me. Do you think the people that raised me there or my peers were good to me? There, people took advantage of each other regularly. Stealing, hurting one another. And then later after Ella?" Tom shook his head. "I just wanted someone else to hurt," he said, grimacing, "I know that sounds wrong, but after everything you've gone through, Hermione, don't you want someone else to hurt?"

Hermione swallowed. She didn't even want to imagine what Tom had been through, and while she knew she should have been disgusted by his words, she wasn't.

Some part of her knew that she agreed with him. She wanted to hurt Cromwell and his lackeys. The guards. The other scientists at the labs.

She wanted them to suffer for what they had done to her. To the other kids at the labs. To her adoptive mother, Jean Granger.

She wanted them to pay.

But she couldn't, could she? Violating someone's mind like that…

Seeing Hermione's conflict, Tom pressed, "Alright, let me ask this instead, who would you be willing to commit such an act for?"

Hermione looked at Tom, startled.

Tom elaborated, "Your mother, your friends? Voldemort is going to try to come back eventually, and his Death Eaters most likely will join him, won't you have to protect your mother and friends? Not to mention whoever your soulmate is?"

Hermione stiffened. That was right. whether she liked it or not? Voldemort was still out there somewhere. Maybe leeching off other life forms to survive, but he was still out there, nonetheless.

Which meant he was still likely trying to come back into power.

And should that happen, with his Death Eaters behind him?

Everyone she knew and loved, would be in danger.

Her mother. Her friends. The teachers. The other students here. And her soulmate. Whoever that might be.

Hermione shuddered.

"Are you saying," she said quietly, hating that she could feel herself begin to agree with Tom's logic, "That I might need to destroy another person's mind in order to protect the people I love from that person?"

Tom shook his head. "I don't want you to have to do it," he said sadly, "But you know what the Death Eaters are capable of, don't you? You've done your research?"

Hermione nodded. Yes she had. She had told Tom that a few months ago. That she had researched every single Death Eater, so, as to identify and know everything about her enemies.

Tom went on at Hermione's hesitant nod, "So, then, you know what Death Eaters are capable of. When they rose up and began their reign of terror, I tried to stay out of their way, but when it came down to it? I at times had to use underhanded tactics to stop them from hurting me or the few friends I had at the time. One of those ways? Was legilimency. Death Eaters, as I'm sure you've read, are capable of anything. Invading peoples' homes, murder, rape, arson, torture. And destroying peoples' minds. Tell me, have you ever heard of the Death Eater named Bellatrix Lestrange?"

Hermione stiffened and looked up at Tom, horror etched across her face.

Had she heard of Bellatrix Lestrange?

One of the most infamous followers of Voldemort that had ever lived?

She said, voice heavy with restrained horror, "I can safely say, yes. I have. Why?"

She would try to happily forget that name having been mentioned to her by Tom after this. She just wanted to see why Tom was bringing that awful woman up.

Tom nodded. He said, "She, as I'm sure you've heard, destroyed the Longbottoms. She used her cruciatus on both Alice and Frank Longbottom, driving them insane, eventually. What do you think Alice and Frank might have been able to do, had they been experienced in legilimency?"

Hermione shifted in her seat. She didn't like thinking like that. But she suddenly saw his point.

Regardless of whether or not a person could use occlumency, the pain that Bellatrix Lestrange had unleashed upon Neville Longbottom's parents, had eventually numbed up everything. And even if they hadn't given up any information? At the end, they both had become shells of their former selves.

Which had left Neville almost alone in the world for years, before coming to Hogwarts, save for his grandmother.

If someone threatened a person she loved in that way, would she be able to use legilimency to stop them, by invading that attacker's mind and drive them to the point of trying to kill themselves?

Would she be able to do it?

Hermione thought back to Cromwell's labs. To the guards who had hit the other kids that she knew. To that night of the breakout, when guns had been drawn and bullets fired and kids shot and killed.

And many of those guns, had been aimed at her mother. It had only been because of Hermione's magic that they had been sent flying backwards before they could pull the trigger, that her adoptive mother was still alive.

Later? There would be no such reassurance. Voldemort was still out there and he was trying to get some physical form back, not to mention his power back. And if he came back? There would be swarms of Death Eaters like the Malfoy family, Snape and others ready to answer his beck and call.

And what they'd do, was hunt down muggle-borns, half-bloods, muggles and blood traitors.

And since Hermione most likely was very much on Voldemort's radar after her first year in Hogwarts, whose house would they go after?

And what would happen to her mother?

Hermione cringed. The very thought of any Death Eater aiming a wand at her mother or so much as laying a finger on her mother, made her blood run cold.

The question simply was, what would Hermione be willing to do for someone she loved?

And that was when she made up her mind.

She looked up at Tom, determined and even in the limited, pale white-blue light coming from her wand, she was positive that Tom could see what decision she was making. She said, staring at Tom, "Teach me legilimency, please."

And Hermione was positive that the smile on Tom's face was one of pride.

Author's note

Now, why would Tom have told Hermione about the Chamber of Secrets and trying to teach Hermione legilimency, do you suppose?

And yes, I went into all those details about what Bellatrix did to the Longbottoms, because well, it's going to hit Hermione so much harder when she finds out who Bellatrix is to her.

And for anyone wondering about Peter Pettigrew-we'll get to that later.