Riddle and His Lady

Chapter Three: Ronald Weasley, The Idiot

Hogwarts, Modern Day

"This is not good, Mr Potter, not good at all." Minerva said, shaking her head.

"I know, Headmistress." Harry sighed, "We didn't know what to do, so we came here." he explained.

Minerva nodded and sat down, rather ungracefully. "I do forget my manners. Would either of you like a lemon drop?" she asked, her eyes darting between the two boys. Harry refused, hardly in the mood for an appetite, unlike Ron who lunged for the tray and grabbed a few. Harry shook his head and turned back to the Headmistress.

"So, what's the plan?" he asked.

She paused for a moment, considering the options before bolting out of her chair and turning to stand in front of a blank painting with an intricate black frame. She cleared her throat, as if trying to catch someones attention. Harry frowned, glancing at Ron who shrugged with a mouth full of lemon drops and both their eyes returned to the agitated woman before them.

"I know you're there, Severus, don't ignore me!" Minerva snapped.

"Oh alright," a gruff voice said from the blank painting. A rather grumpy ex-potions professor emerged from the frame, a scowl on his face. "We have a gathering? What ever for?" he inquired, but by the tone of his voice it sounded like he wasn't too interested in the answer.

"Hermione Granger has gone missing, Severus," she said, putting her hands on her hips, "we need you to fetch Albus."

His thick back eyebrows rose in surprise, "Missing, you say? How?"

"Mr Weasley accidentally hit her with a spell we are not familiar with, now can you please fetch Albus?" she replied, beginning to get slightly impatient.

Severus tutted, "No change there then, it seems Mr Weasley. Yes, just give me a moment." He then vanished through another frame and they once again sat down, and waited.

Several minutes later, Severus reappeared as did Dumbledore.

"What seems the be the problem, Minerva?" he inquired, amusement twinkling in his old eyes. Ron suddenly flushed and dipped his head. The presence of the former Headmaster seemed to make him realise what he had exactly done.

The Headmistress explained the situation quickly and told both of the deceased men of the spell used. Albus nodded slowly once she finished.

"Any ideas, Albus?" Minerva asked desperately.

"Yes, one." He began, "It appears that Miss Granger has travelled in time, and I'm sorry to say but there is nothing we can do."

Wizarding London, 1947

Having never heard any sort of description of Tom Riddle, nor having met him face to face, Hermione Granger was not to know that the man she had invited her into his kitchen and had eaten cake with was, in fact, a notorious dark wizard. Afterall, Ginny had been under the imperius curse when she had met him so it wasn't surprising that she struggled to remember his appearance; and Harry, naturally, only had bad things to say about his looks. He never mentioned how handsome he was when speaking about him.

Hermione was also not to know that, during their half an hour spent talking in his kitchen together, that Tom Riddle had developed a fascination with the girl. So much so that he then decided to study her, and figure her out. She seemed rather mysterious to him and that made her as desirable as a light to a moth.

"You are an odd witch, Hermione." Tom chuckled, observing her intensly, "Did you bump your head during your journey here?"

Hermione paused. If indeed she had travelled back by nearly fifty years, it would not do well to go bragging about it, especially to a boy she had only just met. She decided quickly that the best thing to do was leave as quickly as possible and find someone who could answer her questions.

Hermione smiled, "Yes, perhaps I did. I do apologise; my head's feeling a little muddled at the moment."

Tom appeared to buy what she said, and soon she was up on her feet and tidying the plates and saucers away. "No," she protested when he told her there was no need, "it's the least I can do to repay you for not throwing me out of your home."

Whilst she was rinsing the cutlery, she considered her options from a list of people who were still alive in these times whom she would have known at home. Minerva Mcgonagall came to mind, although she dismissed it immediately as she had probably not even left Hogwarts yet. Then there was Slughorn, but it struck her that his knowledge probably lay in potions more than anything else.

After a moment of ticking people off a list in her head, an idea suddenly hit her. Albus Dumbledore was alive during the 40s, and had been recently made Headmaster of Hogwarts! This struck Hermione as the perfect option for her and formed a plan in her head. She could tell Tom that she had some urgent business with a friend in Hogsmeade and apparate there, but then it would be faster for her to apparate straight to the Hogwarts gates. She frowned, struggling to form a believable excuse in her head.

She slowly walked into the room where first appeared, assuming it was a small study of his. Tom was, once again, sat in a rather nice Chesterfield armchair holding an open book in his right hand and twirling his wand in his left hand. Hermione noticed how thin and graceful his fingers were, it would not have surprised her if he was an accomplished wizard and potions maker, judging by the numerous bottles and jars that were neatly organised on shelves around the room.

She stood at the door quietly, not liking to interrupt him whilst he was reading, so she waited for him to notice her. From the corner of his eye, Tom realised that the young witch was standing silently in the door way, shuffling her feet nervously. He nearly laughed; she looked as if she was waiting to be scolded by a teacher.

"I'm afraid I must go," Hermione started, walking a little further towards him and removing her apron. She folded it up neatly and tucked it under her arm.

"Oh, really?" Tom replied, placing the book down to stand up. "May I accompany you?" He asked.

"Yes, of course. I'm visiting Albus Dumbledore at Hogwarts. I assume you're familiar with him?"

"Yes, I am. Are you going now?" Tom asked, and she nodded. "Right, shall we apparate to the gates then?"

And with that they both apparated.

Hogwarts

"This is where we part, I think." Tom said politely, a small smile on his lips.

Hermione nodded, slightly putout. She could not deny that she had quite enjoyed spending a little time with him, even after her rather rude intrusion in his flat. Glancing at the door of Dumbledore's office, she assumed that the griffin staircase had not been added to Hogwarts yet as the office had in her time. Hermione took a deep breath and turned back to Tom with a smile.

"Yes," she said with an intake of breath, "Again, I'm sorry for my intrusion earlier but it was nice talking to you."

Before Tom could reply, the door suddenly opened and revealed a curious looking Headmaster sat at his desk with a long feathered quill in his hand and a silver tray of lemon drops beside him. Dumbledore smiled kindly and welcomed Hermione in.

"Yes, thank you, Headmaster." She replied quickly then said her goodbyes to Tom, whose jaw, she noticed, appeared to be clenching quite strongly. She decided not to inquire.

"Perhaps I'll see you again?" He said softly and reached for her hand which hung by her side, leaning forward to plant a gentle kiss on her knuckles before turning and walking away.

Hermione felt rather like she was floating after that little incident with Tom but brushed it away quickly and trotted into Dumbledore's office. She sat down opposite him at the desk, slightly overwhelmed at seeing her deceased Headmaster once more, although she reminded herself not to let anything like that slip from her mouth.

"I believe you have something you wish to tell me, miss?" Dumbledore began.

"Hermione Granger, sir. And yes, this may take some time to explain but please bear with me." She said quickly, laying her hands on the table. She did not bother to ask him how she knew, the six years she had known the man she came to understand that there were things he instinctively knew which could not be questioned.

"Please, explain," he smiled and leaned back in his grand chair, placing his quill down in the inkwell.

She first explained the incident with Ron, and appearing in Tom's flat having then discovered that she was suddenly in 1947.

"And it struck me earlier that, not only do I have no idea at all how to get home, sir, but I have no money at all, my clothing is hardly going to help me blend in with this decade, and I have nowhere to live. So, I thought I might come to you and explain my situation. I know you're a wise man, sir, so it seemed natural to ask for your help."

Dumbledore stayed silent for a little while, seemingly taking in everything he had heard. He was silent for so long that Hermione began to worry she had said something wrong. Perhaps she was being too familiar with him, afterall, he didn't know who she was in this time.

"Miss Granger," he suddenly said, making Hermione jump, "I can certainly inquire about this spell which sent you here, although I cannot guarantee it will be a quick process. I must admit, I have never heard of a spell such as this one but I can consult a few people." He paused again and popped a sweet into his mouth, offering her one which she declined politely. He nodded, amused and said, "I have quite a sweet tooth, I must admit, Miss Granger." he chuckled and Hermione smiled, glad to see that nothing much was different about her former Headmaster.

"Now, onto the matter of your stay here. I can help you financially a little until you are settled. I have a friend in Hogsmeade whom I think will be happy to have a new barmaid and waitress in her public house. She also has vacancies of board there and I think she would be happy to help the both of us. If you are happy, we can apparate there now, unless there is anything else you wish to ask?" Dumbledore explained, finishing by popping yet another sweet in his mouth.

"No, nothing. And thank you, Headmaster, I can't tell you how much I appreciate this." Hermione said sincerely.

"It's no trouble, my dear. Shall we go?" He asked, and Hermione nodded. With that, they apparated to Hogsmeade and appeared outside The Three Broomsticks.

It was gradually getting dark and Hogsmeade appeared to be fairly deserted for once. Even the pub was quite empty. They proceeded through the door, the only sound that could be heard was the crunch of their footsteps against the ground. Hermione was glad to be inside a warm pub after their short time in the bitter cold. The warmth of the fire was certainly welcome to both of them and it made Hermione smile to find that in nearly fifty years, the pub had not changed much at all.

A rather odd looking woman with curly blonde hair and wearing a dark green dress with, what appeared to be, a jacket of wolf fur appeared behind the bar, cleaning the pint glasses. A smile met her face upon finding Dumbledore stood in the doorway, "Albus, my dear friend!" she explaimed, planting the glass down on the bar with some force, "What can I do for you?"

It struck Hermione whilst watching the two converse that this woman, presumably the land lady, looked an awful lot like the Madam Rosmerta from her time. Perhaps they're related, Hermione thought.

"Well then, Miss Granger," Dumbledore began cheerfully after filling the woman in on the situation, "Madam Rosmerta here is happy to let you board here and work here for as long as you need. So, here is where I leave you I think." he smiled.

Hermione nodded, feeling incredibly grateful towards the man who had really only just met her. "Thank you so much Headmaster. Perhaps I will see you again?"

"Yes," he said, "I have no doubt you will."

He turned to leave but stopped and sharply turned, "Oh, that boy you were with earlier," Hermione nodded, encouraging him to continue, "Be careful, Miss Granger. He may appear charming...but there is something not quite right about that boy."

Hermione frowned, not completely certain of what she should think of that. "I assume you know him then, Headmaster?" she inquired.

He chuckled quietly, "Oh yes, I know our young Mr Riddle rather well I should say."

Hermione felt her eyes bulge and a cold breeze swept over her. "R-Riddle, did you say?"

Dumbledore nodded, curiosity twinkling in his eyes. Her reaction was most intriguing to him, although he did not ask questions. "Anyway, farewell Miss Granger." He replied and then vanished.

Okaly Dokaly, so that was the third chapter. I hope you all like it, I found it a little difficult to write at times althouh it was just a chapter to get all the difficult stuff out of the way really.

Thank you all for reading and a biiig thank you to Violet-eyed-Tiger4, ninjastar175, Hylia'grace, Jessica, Elcarim-Soberian-1222, Strawberryluv (I LOVE your comments haha), Coming through, and amrawo.

I will try to update again soon, although I expect from now that the updates will be slower as I have an awful lot of work to do haha.

Thank you for reading, and please leave a comment :)

-Buckbeak