Previously: Hermione drops Dumbledore off at St. Mungo's, nearly being caught by Auror Hastings. Colin reveals his secret job. Riddle quits his. Hermione retrieves a mysterious bag from Gringotts' vault. Dumbledore receives several visitors, not all with good intentions.
Chapter 3: Vial Situations
A cold chill seemed to sweep the room, as Riddle smirked with a twisted satisfaction. His visage was reminiscent of an assassin doling out death. Frightening and merciless.
Hermione's fear intensified as she watched the vial inch closer and closer to Dumbledore.
Feeling a tug on the sleeve of her robes, she turned to Colin, whose large eyes fixated on hers inquiringly. No words needed to be spoken; the question was obvious and apt. What now?
What now, indeed? Should they make their presence known? From their position Riddle was most likely to hex first and hide their bodies later. She looked at Colin, who was currently miming several plans of attack, one of which looked like challenging Riddle to a game of golf. Or perhaps it was hockey or croquet?
In any case, Hermione surmised that Colin meant to bash Tom over the head with a blunt object, at least she hoped that was the point of his miming. Shaking her head, she stifled a groan and flicked her eyes to the pair not a few meters away. Riddle, who had been observing the Headmaster in silence, now placed a hand on Dumbledore's head and began turning it to the side.
Confusion colored Hermione's face, as most potions were meant to be ingested to take effect. Various thoughts ran through her head, perhaps he planned on using a more untraceable method. Gustatory? Auditory? The possibilities were put to rest, as Riddle firmly took hold of Dumbledore's ear. Realizing Riddle's intent, she pursed her lips determinedly and drew her wand; signaling for Colin to do the same.
They were prevented from any further actions when the door to the room burst open to reveal an angry Captain Hastings. His attention was drawn from the occupant, however, as he shouted for someone. Receiving no reply and grumbling about incompetent underlings, he turned his attention back into the room. However, his momentary distraction allowed Riddle to slip the vial back into his pocket and take a step away from the bed.
The Auror gazed at the unknown visitor with suspicion. "Who are you? Show your authorization." The normally offensive man held a defensive stance as he identified the potential danger radiating from the individual. He had seen his share of dark wizards yet none had ever emanated a tenth of this individuals power. He was Mephistopheles personified, with a pretty shell hiding his dark core.
Tom's lips curled up in a smile, as he turned toward the Auror and said in an innocent voice, "Are no visitors or well wishers allowed? I was informed visiting hours are not yet over."
Hastings eyes narrowed, danger or not, he was not a naive man. He easily sensed the lie pooling from the wizard's lips. "Don't play me a fool, boy. The issue of his condition has become an Auror matter, and therefore, authorization is needed to approach the patient in question. Do you have authorization?" The Captain's hand hovered over his wand holster.
Riddle deftly maneuvered around the question. "The staff assured that my visitation was not a problem."
"Did they now? I'll have to speak to them then. And Merlin tell, what were your intentions here?" Hastings questioned as he eyed possible strategic strongholds around the room. After the harsh several years the Hastings had, he learned that one can never let their guard down.
Riddle watched the man carefully, taking stock of his situation before replying, "I came here to gather information on the state of the Headmaster, to personally deliver to Deputy Headmaster Rugen at Hogwarts."
"A little old to be playing errand boy." Hastings taunted, attempted to provoke the man into slipping, as they circled each other regardingly.
Riddle's eyes flashed, before he centered himself and spoke evasively, "As part of Hogwart's staff, it was not merely obligation that brought me here, to Hogwart's ever beloved Headmaster."
To say Hastings was suprised would be an understatement. "A professor -eh?" He questioned, taking a step toward Riddle. "I should have suspected one of you would show up. But I also thought you to understand the importance of following protocol." He paused, positive he was close to trapping the man in his lies, "Which is why I hope you don't mind that I'm going to require proof."
"Not at all, which is why I'll owl the school at once, if you'll excuse me," and with those final parting words Tom Riddle disappeared through the nearby door, his robes billowing down the hall.
When Hasting recovered from his momentary shock at the abrupt departure, he tried following the man. He skidded around the corner after him only to find that he had vanished. His anger reaching a boiling point, he bellowed, "Dawes!!"
From behind him, the auror appeared looking worse for wear. Captain Hastings noticed none of this, "Where have you been you putrescent pustule?!"
Gasping for air Dawes replied, "Pixies, sir - creating havoc -"
Cutting off the poor man Hastings replied, "It was a rhetorical question you imbecile, didn't I say that you were NOT to abandon your post?"
"But-"
"No! No, buts. I don't want to hear excuses, next time you leave your post, I'll have you demoted to investigating pet plant disappearances, understood!"
Not waiting for a reply Hastings frustratedly pushed past several patients, and kicked another auror who had been kneeling down to tie his boots, sending him sprawling, while yelling, "Remember Moody, constant vigilance."
"Yes, sir," sighed Dawes resignedly watching his bosses' cloak flap away, before settling onto a seat just outside Dumbledore's room.
Meanwhile, inside the room, Hermione and Colin tumbled out of the closet the moment Hastings left the room.
"We've got to hurry." said Hermione as she waved her wand silencing the room, then pointing it toward Dumbledore's bed as she began to weave some wards of protection.
"What do you want me to do?" asked Colin over his shoulder as he peered outside the room checking to see if the coast was clear.
Pausing, Hermione thought, "The wards may take awhile, and we can't let Riddle get away. I want you to follow and track him."
"Who me?" Colin looked nervous.
"No, the invisible house elf next to you. Who else? Don't underestimate yourself, you're a successful transporter, which you couldn't be if you weren't sneaky. Besides it's not like I'm asking you to duel him, or anything, just keep your distance and find out where he's going, Hogwarts or home."
"You don't really think he's a professor do you?"
"Oh Merlin, I hope not, but we have to be sure." Hermione bit her lip imagining DADA with Riddle, as that would be the only class she knew he would want to teach, and contemplated the anarchy it would involve.
Nudging Colin toward the window, she continued, "Things will work out, now go. Riddle has to exit the building before he can apparate, so we still have a minute, I've run around St. Mungo's enough to know. We just need to create a small platform outside the window, which would place you outside the non-apparating zone, and allow you to apparate to the bottom."
She then grabbed something from her pocket and handed it to Colin, "Anything happens hold it and think of a message to me." Gazing at Colin, she impulsively hugged him, before whispering, "Good luck."
.oOo.
"Good luck?" Colin thought sarcastically, "She might as well said good riddance."
Currently Colin was being suspended upside-down in mid-air, with a large hulking figure grinning down on him. His wand currently an arms-length away, he clutched the coin Hermione had given him, mentally trying to summon a cavalry, to chop down the ogre like man in front of him. Why did he get roped into these situations?
It had started so simply too. He had managed to trail Riddle to a wizarding bar, where some exchange appeared to occur. The barkeep handed something to Riddle in a bag, for which Riddle gave him several coins before leaving the building with the item.
Things had taken a turn for the worst when Riddle stopped again, this time in front of two stocky, large armed men, Alric and Alton. Colin had become quite suspicious when Riddle said the oddest thing. "Madam Meade looks quite parched reading the Daily Prophet, I do hope you can entertain."
Riddle had then handed them the bag and disappeared in the crowd. Unfortunately Alric and Alton prevented him from making a similiar departure after Riddle, which was how he ended up strung upside down, praying for something large to fall from the sky and squash the meaty gorillas. He cursed his poor trailing abilities.
A wand was thrust into his face. "Curiousity killed the kneazle." Colin coughed as he inhaled the rancid odor emanating from Alric's mouth.
"I believe it's cat." murmured Colin. The man began to toss Colin like a rag doll with his wand. "Er- though kneazles are cat-like." Colin yelped trying to make amends for his statement.
"Look, the little mouse is still chattering, Alton, perhaps we need to get more creative." Alric wisecracked over his shoulder.
"No, no that's quite all right, I think I've had all the creativity I can handle for the day." Colin said, attempting to get respite from the tumultuous tossing.
"Ah, look the stupid thing's tired. Well it's up to Alton." Turning to Alton he began, "What do you think Alton, should we let him go?" He voice trailed off at the end, when he noticed Alton was nowhere in sight. "Hey, Alton, where'd you go?"
"Alton left," a familiar voice replied.
Dumbly Alric replied, "Where?"
"Over there, he was jabbering away, about impressing some witch named Alice." Colin nearly choked from laughter and elation, to hearing his friend come to his rescue.
"Why that, two-timing-" Alric's rage being cut off by Hermione.
She stated, "Yes, quite, you better hurry and teach him a lesson."
Forgetting Colin, Alric ran off toward Alton's supposed location, leaving Colin to nearly plummet to the ground head first, before Hermione caught him with a levitating spell.
Righting himself, Colin asked, "Where is Alton? And who's Alice?"
"Not going anywhere soon, and that's the name that was written on some gift the other ape was holding before I stunned him. Now come on, let's get out of here."
oOo
"Home sweet, fake home." Colin announced gratefully on reaching a bottom of their current abode, underneath the alley's stone floors. They had determined it was critical to regroup as their situation had escalated.
As Colin reworked the wards with Hermione, a multitude of questions dropped from his lips, "What are we going to do? No-wait- first- what was Riddle doing to Dumbledore? Cause from where I was standing, it looked like he was going to irrigate his ear."
Hermione snorted, "Hardly. You know the saying in one ear and out the other?"
"Yeah, of course," Colin said slightly puzzled as to where all of this could be leading.
"I'm pretty sure about it, but not exactly..." Hermione frowned as she paused, finishing up her part of the warding.
"Is it some kind of poison?" the young man questioned frantically.
"Well, no. Not really. I'm almost positive that Riddle was planning to 'leak out' most, if not all, of Dumbledore's knowledge," Hermione grimaced.
"What!?" cried Colin, frantically as he abandoned his ward work. "That's not possible!"
"You're right, generally it isn't as magical people have barriers that normally prevent this. Unconscious wizards on the other hand, not so much. So if I'm right, and if Riddle got the opportunity to pour the liquid into Dumbledore's ear, it would have engulfed his memories, thoughts, and everything else before exiting the other side, leaving his mind practically blank."
Colin sat stunned for a moment, before asking, "So what are we going to do? He'll probably try it again, most likely right in front of the guards. We can't stay there 24/7, and we still have to get the materials for the time machine, and if Riddle's teaching at Hogwarts.…. I hereby, declare us one-hundred percent screwed."
"What a positive attitude." Hermione teased. "Actually, it may not be as futile as you make it sound. I have something that might help us. It's -" Before she could continue, however, Colin interrupted.
"Hey, your phone's ringing!"
"Don't be thick Colin, we're in 1956, I highly doubt my cell phone is picking up any incoming calls."
"Are you sure? It's coming from your purse." Indeed, as Hermione grabbed her purse she heard a soft buzzing sound being emitted. Dreading what may be causing the sound, she placed it on the ground and poked the bag with her foot. The buzzing sound changed into a tiny growl and the purse gave a hop.
"It's alive!" Colin jumped before composing himself and turning to Hermione. "Come on, Hermione open it." He gave her a slight push in the direction of the purse. Moving two steps back himself he added, "Where's your Gryffindor courage?"
"I might ask you the same thing." She decided staring at the bag was getting them nowhere and pointed her wand at the purse, unzipping it magically.
Suddenly a little head popped out.
"Hey, it's one of those Mogwai, fuzzy-gremlin things. I didn't know they were real." Colin reached out his hand to pet it. When Hermione's hand closed over his wrist, stopping him from coming closer to the creature.
"Stop right there, they're not Mogwai."
"No? Wait - what, why? Is it dangerous, poisonous, crazy, evil?"
"Not quite, but it is mischievous and a stowaway." At her last words she turned to pointedly look at the small, fuzzy, large-eyed creature, who gave a look of innocence. She scowled before saying, "Beeper what are you doing here?"
Happy to be free of the enclosure, Beeper bounced out of the bag and rolled over to her feet. Then quick as a flash zipped up her robes and onto her right shoulder. Pulling Hermione's hair around it like a blanket, the creature proceeded to let out a stream of chattering sounds, while gesturing with its paws and utilizing Hermione's curls in its story telling.
Colin looked on in amazement "What's it saying?"
Giving Colin a look that clearly said he must be joking, Hermione replied somewhat sarcastically, "Let me consult my Nargle to people dictionary." Her tone shifting somewhat, she continued, "Though if I would have to guess, I think he's telling me how he ended up in my purse."
Turning back to Beeper she said amusedly, "So you're why the garden gnome at the Weasley's wanted to make off with my purse."
She looked back at Colin, and noted his slightly dazed expression worriedly. "Colin? Colin? Are you alright? You look as if you accidentally swallowed a Horklump."
"Stop, you had me at Nargle. You said Nargle, right? I'm not going partially deaf am I? Or you're not going partially loony, are you?" Colin gazed upon Hermione, as if she had suddenly declared herself a goat. "Er - it's not a time travel side effect is it?" Stopping dramatically he then began to announce, "Because there are no -"
She interuppted with a slight smile, "Yes, I said Nargle and no deafness, looniness, or side effects, whatsoever. Promise."
"But Luna-"
"Yes, I believe I currently owe her 47 different apologies, the next time I see her. So again, this is a Nargle, at least that's the name the villagers of Mistletoe gave it, they absolute infest the town. And yes, before you say anything else Luna's description was pretty accurate. They are energetic, curious, mischievous thieves." Glancing at Beeper she said, "And no that is not a compliment."
"So how did you two -"
"I caught him stealing my socks," she paused, then smiled as she thought of something, "and that is how we can help Dumbledore."
"By stealing socks for him?" Colin considered himself by no way slow, so was slightly baffled at Hermione's abrupt and jumpy line of thinking.
Glaring at Colin Hermione added, "No, that's absurd. No, we use Beeper as a sort of watchdog, -er, watchnargle, to keep tabs on Riddle." At the mention of his name, the small Nargle's ears sharpened.
"I thought they steal things?" Colin asked.
"True, but they make awfully sneaky spies as well."
"You seem pretty certain about this, which of course begs the question how?" A mischievous grin formed on Colin's face, "You've done this before," he crowed.
"No, well, sort of, but it wasn't for anything illegal." Hermione stuttered.
"Sure it wasn't. Alright, alright no need for the death glare. How do we drop Beeper off then? We can't just deliver him in a package." Seeing Hermione mull over this, he tried changing the subject. "Okay, why don't we get back to that one? I'm currently starved. Why don't we get something to eat and then you can tell me the rest."
"Rest?"
"You know, the thing that may help us, you weren't just talking about Beeper, were you? Cause I wouldn't say he's a big help right now. Ow -, the little mongrel just bit me." Colin grabbed his hand checking the wound.
"What did you expect? Though I probably should have told you that he's a bit sensitive," stated Hermione as she cuddled the little creature, who currently stuck his tongue out at Colin. "Well, let me start out by asking, what do you know about the Twinkle's?"
"You mean the kid's story, the Twinkle's Toy Treasures?" At Hermione's nod, he continued, "Not much, bunch of greedy wizard kid's toys attack them until they make nice? And they go hoppity-hop away toward the sunset."
"I see you've heard Beatrix Bloxam's version," she frowned and gagged, "No, tell you what, let's get something to eat, like you suggested, then I can fill you in on the tale of the Twinkle's Terrifyingly Terrible Trinkets, and how I now possess the key to their treasure chest."
