A/N : Rommel belongs to JKR, Tom Riddle is an historical character.

Or is it the contrary ?

December 1943, south of Tobrouk

Captain Aldinger checked his watch, and cursed under his breath. They were a little late, and timing was crucial for the Feldmarschal's plan to work. Raising his hand, he gestured for the vehicles to speed up.

Near him, his long time friend, major Merhoff, coughed and spat on the ground. The air was thick with dust and sand, as the long line of trucks and light tanks behind them raised volutes of grit. It was rather normal, since each of them were dragging bushes and bundles of wood. The aim of the whole thing was to make clouds of dust as big as possible.

And it shall work, Aldinger thought inwardly. With all this hurly-burly, if the Allies did not take the bait... Seeing all this, they would believe it was a full-scale attack, and they would probably flee, believing to be outnumbered. Rommel, who was waiting farther to the south-west, would know how to take advantage of the stampede that would probably follow.

All they had to do, now, was to hurry a little. And try not to eat too much dust...

The captain shared a look with Merhoff. Talking was not easy with all the noise they made, but the good side was that at least, they did not have to worry about being overheard.

"Major, what do we do about Ritter ?" he asked, feeling the taste of the sand in his mouth.

"He stayed with the Feldmarschal", Merhoff replied angrily. "But who knows... accidents happen, in war time..."

Unaware of those unfriendly thoughts, Riddle was waiting in Rommel's staff car, a little tense because of the two lieutenants seated in the back of the car. His "friend" had offered him to go with Aldinger and Merhoff to get the bait ready, because there would be much less chances for him to get shot, but he had preferred to stay with him. He had somehow a feeling the two german officers did not like him, and he did not like them either anyway. Besides, he figured he'd be pretty safe wherever Rommel was, because the germans would certainly do anything to keep him alive.

And there they were, and there they had been for now over six hours. At least, the heat was not a problem anymore, but Tom's sunburn was, and the itch and burning he felt each time the fabric of his clothes rubbed against his back was going to drive him sheer crazy within the next two hours, of that he was certain. But nothing could be done ; as far as he knew, he and the Feldmarschal were the only wizards present, and he already knew Rommel was no better than him with healing charms.

"Just how much longer do we have to wait ?" he grumbled, and Rommel cast him an amused look.

"Growing impatient already, dearest nephew of mine ?" he queried mockingly.

"If 'already' is 'after six hours' for you, then definitely yes."

"Do not worry. It is almost time", the german reassured him.

Tom's gaze wandered at the panzer division, in front of them. He had to admit, that was impressive to see. They had quite some firepower, and they seemed able to maoeuvre as if they were one. It was obvious that they were used to working together, and their drills had been as perfect as any officer could have dreamt. Now, they were camouflaged behind sand dunes, and mostly invisible. But of course, that would not be enough to stop Montgomery's army.

That was why Rommel had ordered his men to deploy and dug in his 88mm Flak guns in a U-shaped formation.They were dug in so deep, that the barrel looked only thirty to sixty centimeters over the ground level, because they had no wheelsand, stood very high on large pods and had a high profile. Then a low tent had been erected over the position of every gun and even with field glasses it was impossible to distinguish them from sand dunes. When the British would come their way, they would be taken in an ambush. Tom would almost have pitied them.

Almost.

But he did not owe them anything. What had they given him ? Not a thing. Who had cared, whenever he felt lonely ? Who had cared, whenever he wanted something, and could not have it, because he had not any money ? He was nothing to them, as they were nothing to him. That was how things worked.

Or was it ?

He shook his head, angry with himself for being so confused, and glared a the skyline, trying to think of something else. But as he did so, he noticed something else. Dust. A lot of dust. And it was coming straight towards them...

He grabbed Rommel's arm, but the german had already noticed the clouds. His face tense with concentration, he turned toward one of the two lieutenants, and gave him his orders with that commanding voice of his.

"Kassler, go and tell everyone to be ready. I want the Flak gun crews to fire only at point blank. There will be no signal, they shall trust their own judgement. When I give the order, the panzers will come out and finish them."

"Yes, Herr Feldmarschal", the man barked at once.

There was not enough room in the car for him to click his heels, but Tom almost heard him do so, and sniggered as the lieutenant left to convey his orders.

Less than twenty minutes later, the first British tanks entered the trap. Five minutes after that, hell broke lose. The trap sprang, and the Flak guns opened fire on the British, who certainly did not expect it and were taken totally off-guard. At first, they could not even see where the bullets came from, and then, how were they supposed to fire in the holes the germans hid into ?

Riddle squinted at the Feldmarschal. Queerly enough, Rommel did not look very happy, though his trap was working even better than expected. The British charge got crushed against the Flak guns, and the casualties on the german side so far were ludicrous.

The effect of surprise started to wear off, and the Feldmarschal gave the order for his panzers to come out. That was the finishing blow. Puzzled, laminated, the British finally surrendered. The germans took their weapons and gathered the prisonners, who were to be sent to one of the Africans prisonners of war camp.

Prompted by curiosity, Tom approached the bunch of British prisonners, and watched their faces filled with hopelessness. Muggles. They were despicable, altogether. He saw fear, cowardness. He also saw the officers who were trying to cheer up their men, tending to their wounded, but their courage made him only hate them all the more. He hated a lot of people. That was often painful, but that was also what had allowed him to hold all that time in Hogwarts, especially the first years. Later, the other students had learnt to respect him, but only out of fear. Most people understood nothing but fear.

"Hey Riddle ! I can't believe it ! What are you doing here ?"

Stunned, Tom turned his head in the direction of the shout. One of the prisonners, a corporal, was waving at him, a big smile on his face. The teen frowned ; that face did seem slightly familiar. A pasty face, with reddish brown hair, and dark brown eyes that made him look like a beaten puppy. And most of all, these large red ears, which made his head seem too small for his neck.

That was Wilkinson.

"If I ever thought I'd see you here ! When did they capture you ?"

"Fuck off, you filthy Tommy", Tom spat in german.

He saw the confused look on the corporal's face, and sighed inwardly. He had never been very brilliant, but he was reaching tops. And Tom's life was in the scales. Damn that idiot ! The teen approached him and slapped him, hard, with his fist.

"That is for speaking out of turn", he cried out in english with a lurid german accent.

Some of the german soldiers who were guarding the prisonners laughed at that, and started to shout insults at the corporal. A British officer, seeing that, beckoned for Wilkinson to come with him, and he gave him a wounded to take care of. Good timing, Tom thought with relief, and he went back near Rommel, as far from the prisonners as possible.

He did not notice the glances Merhoff and Aldinger, who had witnessed the whole scene, cast him.

"What was that all about ?" Rommel asked him irritatedly when he reached him.

Fortunately, they were a little away from the other germans, and no one could hear what they were saying.

"One of the prisonners recognized me", Tom replied with a grimace. "The name's Wilkinson, he was a student at Hogwarts. We called him 'Jumbo', because of his ears."

"I don't care about his ears or whatever", the Feldmarschal hissed. "he endangered your cover. Now, I will have to get rid of these prisonners as quickly as possible. And I'll need to keep an eye on him too, if he is a wizard."

"Duh", Tom sniggered. "Not much of a wizard. He was almost a squib. Once, he transfigurated the teacher in a tomato, when he was asked to change a pumpkin in a whistle."

"I prefer that", the german wizard sighed, slackening slightly. "Still, I'd feel better if we could get his wand."

"Leave that to me, sir", Riddle replied.

Rommel considered the idea, then nodded.

"Fine. But for Merlin's sake, try to be discreet."

At that moment, Merhoff and Aldinger approached, and Tom left to sneak near the prisonners for the second time. Only this time, he cast a discretion charm on himself. People who looked in his direction would not notice him, unless he really tried to get their attention. Meanwhile, Merhoff reported enthusiastically to Rommel.

"Congratulations, sir", the major said excitedly. "That was a master stroke."

"What matters is that I get general Loewy and his men back", the german wizard answered. "But we still will have to deal with the remaining of Montgomery's fighting strength. That was merely the beginning."

"What shall we do now, sir ?" Aldinger queried.

"I need you to take care of the prisonners", Rommel ordered. "I will go and meet with Loewy's forces. Once you are done with the British, get back to Headquarters ; I'll meet you there within the next days."

The two officers exchanged a look of dismay. None of them cared for Ritter being out of their sight. But it was a direct order, and they had no much choice. Ha, too bad for them.

As they left, Tom came back, a sly smile spreading on his face.

"I have it", he murmured. "A simple accio spell made it."

"I arranged for the prisonners to be taken away as soon as possible", Rommel replied. "Fortunately, you seem to be under no suspicion for the moment. But don't approach British prisonners ever again."

"How was I to know a wizard would be among them !" Riddle protested.

"You could not. That is exactly why I tell you not to go near them."

"Oh", Tom said sheepishly.

He had to admit it was logical. Lieutenant Kassler, who was bringing a wireless radio, saved him the embarrassement to say anything else.

"Sir, that is general Loewy. He wants to know what is going on, and if you need assistance."

"Thanks", Rommel nodded.

Kassler dropped the radio on the ground, and the Feldmarschal grabbed the earphones.

"This is Rommel speaking", he said.

"Herr Feldmarschal !" Loewy's surprise was audible, even through the interferences. "one of my scout cars reported a battle is happening, are you under attack ?"

"No", the wizard replied in an amused tone, "I believe the British were, but they surrendered."

For a few seconds, there was no answer but a stunned silence.

"Excuse me, herr Feldmarschal, I think I'm not reading you. correctly. What did you say ?"

"The British were under attack, and they surrendered", Rommel repeated patiently.

Tom chuckled without being able to refrain himself. Said like that, it did seem unbelievable.

"Ah... well..." the general said, obviously strucked dumb. "That's... that's good news..."

His voice revealed a doubt as for the sanity of his commanding officer, but he was well too disciplined to say so. Tom choked with laughter, as he had used the audire spell to hear what the general told Rommel, but that awarded him some weird looks from a few other germans, who did not understand why he was laughing.

"I would like you to rendezvous with us, twenty kilometers south of Tobrouk. Montgomery's forces are too important for us to take back the city right now ; it would be suicide, we will need to regroup before launching any kind of offensive of that scale."

"Un... understood, sir. But..."

"What ?" Rommel asked impatiently.

"Nothing, sir", Loewy sighed after a short silence. "I am leaving at once."

Rommel put back the airphones, a ghostly smile hovering on his lips. He knew the general probably believed he was insane, but he did not care. The man would see for himself the reality of his victory over the British.

"So, what happens, now ?" Tom asked.

"We wait for general Adler Loewy and his men. Once they are here, we get back to Headquarters."

"Okay. I think you already earned your wages for this month, anyway", Tom chuckled.

About twenty kilometers away, not far from Tobrouk, general Loewy glared at his wireless radio, as if it were responsible for the situation. Colonel Feldkamp, his second in command, cast him a scrutinizing look.

"Is there something wrong, sir ?" he asked.

Loewy shook his head in disbelief.

"The Feldmarschal says he attacked the British and they surrendered, and our orders are to catch up with him. But it is impossible. I know he did not have enough fighting strength to defeat Montgomery's third and fifth divisions, that stood between Tobrouk and Bir-Hakeim. I saw the maps. Desert Fox or not, that is impossible !"

Feldkamp knew better than to comment on that.

"Shall I tell the men to be ready to go ?"

"Hell, yes. That's suicide, but he gave us a direct order."

Loewy watched his second-in-command's back as the colonel walked away to carry on his orders. He shook his head once again, muttering for himself.

"He has gone sheer crazy... or he is a genius."