A/N: Hey guys! Oh wow, it's been a really long time that I updated this work, and I would like to apologise to all of you for making you wait for so long. It's been one hell of a ride with this one, really. Also, we aren't facing the very best of time with this disease spreading all over and trying to dampen our spirits. I hope that all of you are safe wherever you are. Just want to say, that each and every one of us, is together in the fight against corona.

Stay safe, my darlings!

Without further ado, here is the next chapter and I hope you guys like it. Happy reading!

I do not own Harry Potter; it solely belongs to J.K. Rowling!

Warnings: None.


The walk towards her room didn't take long, and with a glance to make sure that nobody was watching her, she slammed the door close.

As soon as she flipped the lights on, Harriet let out a surprised shriek when she found that she wasn't alone in the room.

"You scared me," she huffed out, her hand still pressed up against her beating heart, as she glanced at her servant who sat comfortably on the bed with a frown adorning his face.

"And what you did back there has me scared, Mistress," Death replied. "Tell me, what was going on through that brain of yours when you decided to take such a hasty decision without thinking of the consequences?"

Harriet sighed at the reprimanding she could hear in his voice. Honestly, she hadn't been thinking much, because Voldemort's annoying observational habits had caught her off guard when he threatened to hurt Lily.

"I'm sorry, okay," Harriet said exasperatingly. "He isn't the easiest person to talk to if you know what I mean. Plus, he dug up and found no related papers of my birth and existence and no other relations whatsoever. Nothing even about my parents. He said that the Ministry thinks that there is a time-traveller here."

Death nodded in understanding. "I know, Mistress. What I am concerned about now though, is this vow you've made. You're practically tied to help him win this war without letting him know about your true identity and plans. It's a dangerous path to tread on."

Harriet stared at him with confusion glazing her thoughts, "Won't helping him win the war, mean the slaughter of Muggleborns and Muggles around the world?"

She'd thought that in her haste she had screwed things up. Death smiled at her.

"It means that you're in for some surprise then," the words were hushed, and Harriet couldn't make much of it. "Now, what really tempted you to make an Unbreakable Vow to him, knowing who he is?" Death counter-questioned.

Harriet sighed heavily, "I never really uttered a word about the Prophecy or Horcruxes. Does that count as an advantage to us?"

"And you thought that you wouldn't fit in Slytherin."

"What?"

"Time isn't a relative thing, Mistress, and neither is the destiny tied to it. As soon as you agreed to embark on this adventure, the future as we knew had already started to alter. This is the new reality."

"You lost me." She was utterly confused over what he wanted to say.

"It means that there was never a Professor Nicholas teaching at Hogwarts before. It all changed when you came here, which means that this present is different from what it should have been."

"He never came to Hogwarts during my parent's time?"

"No, not in that reality. But he did it this time, which means you somehow influenced him." The answer was blunt.

"Which takes me back to square one, Death. Wouldn't it be a bad thing if he won this mad quest of his?"

"Things aren't bad or good; they just are." The mysterious way in which he spoke made her wonder if he and Dumbledore were distantly related.

"You witnessed as the Light side won the war, there was destruction still. And maybe there will be even more chaos if Voldemort wins this time. But that is a pure assumption of ours for now. What if he actually does something good for the Wizarding society, what if he isn't what you think he is? The future isn't certain for now, but, we may be able to bend it to our favour."

"How do we do that then? Bend it to our advantage, I mean?"

"Talk to him, of course. There's more to him than seems to the eyes. There are truths to be discovered and mysteries yet to be solved, dear one. There are things that you do not know, but have to find on your own.

Harriet stared deep into his eyes.

"There's a reason that Tom Marvolo Riddle holds a special place in both of our hearts, Mistress."

A sudden knock on the door startled her, and her eyes flicked towards it. She frowned, who could be knocking on her dorm room?

As she turned to speak to Death, she found him vanishing into thin air and leaving her alone yet again. At this, she heaved a heavy sigh. Slowly, but surely, she was getting used to Death's weird antics.

The knock was there again, and she turned around to attend her guest. She was rather surprised to see an unfamiliar face, the face of a good-looking young man at that, standing on the opposite side of her door. He was smiling at her.

"Hello," she said politely.

"Miss Christopher," the grin on his face grew wider.

"That'd be me," Harriet replied, not liking the intense way he was staring at her. "How can I help you?"

"Allow me to start by saying that you look even more beautiful this close." He gave her a sly smirk which she didn't understand at all. Instead, her mind immediately went to alert mode, the same way it went whenever Cormac McLaggen was around her and Hermione.

"Umm, thank you. So, what do you want?" He expected a more profound reaction from her perhaps because he looked a bit surprised now.

"Apologies for being rude. I'm Jack Harrington, Cory's brother. I came here to thank you for saving my sister earlier today."

Harriet squinted her eyes in concentration as she tried to remember and shrugged, "It was nothing. I'm sure anyone in my place would have done the same. Besides, they won't hurt her anymore, I assure you of that."

"No, you don't understand. Others wouldn't have done the same. They would have shrugged it away as a mere house-rivalry fight, but not you. In Fact, Professor Nicholas looked into the matter personally and had those four boys punished for their behaviour. So, I had to properly thank you for saving my sister."

Harriet gave him a small smile, no one has ever thanked her for helping others, so it was a nice change.

"You're quite welcome. How is she anyway?"

"A little frightened and a small scratch, but she would be fine very soon. She wouldn't stop gushing about your bravery though."

"That's kind of her."

The silence that followed could only be described as painfully awkward, and for the life of her, Harriet didn't know what to do. "Is there anything else?"

"If you wouldn't mind, would you allow me to escort you to dinner tonight?"

"Huh?"

"Please?" he insisted, his thumbs twiddling in obvious nervousness. Harriet stared at him dumbfounded. Why was he nervous? She had her fair share of dealings with boys, but then again, the Weasley siblings treated her like their annoying little sister.

"Okay." That earned her a wide toothy grin from him.

"Great! I'll meet you in the common room then." Harriet only nodded slightly her shoulders in return.


"Hey! There you are. I thought I would have to wait longer." Jack greeted her as she entered the common room. Beside him stood Lucius and Narcissa wearing matching smiles, while Regulus looked a bit angry.

"And why would that be?" Her brows furrowed at his comment.

"Nothing! You look great by the way." She looked down at herself, not being able to tell if he was serious or joking about her. Because really, she had done nothing remarkable to her appearance.

"Thanks."

"Shall we?" He asked.

"Uhh, sure. Miss Black, wouldn't you all be joining us?" At her question, Narcissa gave Harriet a secretive smile that she couldn't decipher.

"We were waiting for Bellatrix to join us. You two please go on, we'll meet you soon." She didn't show it, but Harriet was a bit disappointed to be left alone with this Jack guy.

The walk to the Great Hall couldn't be any slower, she thought.

"I'm sorry, Miss Christopher." Jack broke the silence.

"For what?" Harriet stared at him confusingly.

"For the way, I talked to you back there. That was very rude of me." Harriet immediately understood the reference to his sudden compliment that had made her uncomfortable.

"I didn't want to make a fool of myself, but I guess I did." His shoulders sagged in defeat as he continued. "Truth is, I was a bit nervous to come and talk to you, and I spoke the first words that came to my mind. For that, I apologise." His hands were fumbling again, she noticed.

"Why would you be afraid to talk to me?"

"Wow, you really have no idea, do you?" He chuckled at her, making her frown.

"I don't understand...what do I don't know?" Harriet looked him straight in the eyes, but the boy just wouldn't pry and kept walking.

"Nothing."

"No, tell me," she demanded.

"Here we are." He smiled at her without looking away, and Harriet turned around to see that they had reached their destination.

"I'll see you in Potions tomorrow, Miss Christopher."

"Wait." Before she could follow him, he'd already made his way towards his friends in the crowd.

"Harriet!" She turned her head to see Sarah making her way towards her.

"Good evening, Miss Fawley."

"Just Sarah is fine, Harriet." They walked towards the Slytherin table together. The air permeated with the delicious smell of roast chicken and treacle tart. "Who were you calling after?"

"Mr Harrington, actually." Harriet's gaze landed at the Ravenclaw table to see the said boy goofing around with his friends. Knowing that she could trust Sarah, she proceeded to tell the girl about him, "He came to my room and then insisted on escorting me to dinner tonight."

"Jack Harrington?"

"Uh-huh."

"Yeah, I don't trust that guy." The look Sarah gave Harriet, told her she was damn serious.

"Why is that?"

"I don't know, he just gives me the creeps." With a huff, she started with her dinner. Harriet too shrugged off, knowing that she couldn't do anything right now. Besides, Jack hasn't given her a chance to make it on her bad side, so why not give him the benefit of doubt. Maybe, he wasn't that bad of a person.

To lighten the mood, she started talking to her only 'friend' as of now, "So, where's Elizabeth? I didn't see you guys today."

At the mention of Elizabeth, Sarah's smile faltered, and Harriet immediately knew that she had asked the wrong question. Sarah cleared her throat, plastering a fake smile.

"She's umm...she's dining with Regulus tonight."

"Regulus?" Harriet's brows creased and she followed Sarah's line of sight to see Elizabeth and Regulus sitting towards the very front of the table in seemingly awkward silence, with Narcissa, Bellatrix, Barty and Lucius accompanying them. They didn't talk, didn't even dare to make small talk with each other, and just ate in silence, responding with small murmurs with what their friends were saying. There wasn't anything right between them and a blind person could see that.

"They are?"

"They got engaged this summer." Harriet was shocked to hear this. She knew it wasn't uncommon in Pureblood families, but still, both of them were in school and not aware of the difficulties of life.

"You know after the whole fiasco this summer, Sirius running away and all." Now, Harriet was confused.

"But...isn't Regulus a year younger than Elizabeth? And how does Sirius come in between all of this?"

"You don't know?" Sarah looked at her as if she'd grown two heads.

"Know what?" What was with people asking her as if she was crazy?

"Sirius and Elizabeth were engaged, a proposition made by their grandfathers as soon as they turned eleven. They got engaged last summer and were to be married this Samhain. It was a pretty big ordeal, Pureblood families from all around attended the party, and even the newspapers were flooded with their engagement photos for almost a week." Harriet nodded. The Wizarding World was sure full of gossip even now.

"But then, Sirius ran away and everything was chaos. To stop the family name going down the drain, Lord Black gave his word to Elizabeth's parents, and Regulus and she were engaged the day after."

"For the same reason, Bellatrix's and Heir Lestrange's marriage has been pushed forward, this Yuletide. Narcissa and Heir Malfoy are to be wed two months after."

"What do Regulus and Elizabeth think about it?" Because Harriet was sure that they were not happy to be in this arrangement at all.

"We don't get a say in what the Heads of families decide for us," Sarah said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world as if others controlling their lives was not an issue at all.

"You do realise how messed up that is, don't you?"

"It is as it is." Sarah shrugged.

Feeling eyes on her, Harriet turned her head towards the head table to see Dumbledore staring at her. Averting from the weird staring contest, her eyes clashed with Marvolo's. He nodded his head whilst raising his wine cup towards her. Harriet was sure she saw a ghost of a smile playing on his lips.


-A/N: Let me know what you guys think about this one! Reads, followers, favorites and reviews are always appreciated! Good day to all! :)