A/N: We finished tweaking! We think its better now…. Do read up dear readers. And as for this being ours, if only sandman was kind enough

Chapter 19

THE AFTERMATH

"Grindelwald." Harry hissed. He abruptly turned and punched the wall near, letting out a scream of outrage. Of course he had to deal with Grindelwald. After all he is the Chosen One. Doesn't matter which Dark Lord he faces.

Harry, you ok?

Why? Why didn't Albus tell us about him?

Don't be stupid Harry, You knew he was at large.

Yes, but in Germany! Not here, not in Britain. I didn't sign up for two bloody dark lords, only one!

Actually it's troubling. I have never read an account of Hogsmeade being attacked before.

Harry cursed. Do you think the timeline is changing?

Yes, I definitely do.

"Amelia, is your friend alright?"

Hermione was startled, hearing her name being spoken. She cursed internally when she realized she had been staring off to space and Harry was looking almost murderous. She quickly decided to play up their emotions.

"I'm sorry Tom; this phrase just brought us too many bad memories. Harry? We should go. We should report to Prof. Dumbledore."

"Don't you mean Headmaster Dippet?" Tom asked, with a raised-eyebrow. Hermione blushed.

"Yes, of course…. I just….you know. Prof. Dumbledore being our Head of House…."

"Nevertheless, you are right. We have to move on. Come."

They started sprinting back to the castle. The village was in chaos, the screaming of children and pained whimpers of wounded adults peppered the once calm air. Though Harry's timely warning and Riddle's quick thinking prevented a major catastrophe, there were still a huge chunk of casualties. Harry and Hermione were having a rapid conversation in their minds, the path to Hogwarts blindly etched in their minds. Riddle was strangely quiet. Suddenly a scream punctuated the air. They skidded to a stop. A third year Hufflepuff was sobbing looking at down at her fellow classmate. The girl in question was lying, bleeding from multiple lacerations to her body. Her right arm seemed crushed and both legs were lying in a strangely bowlegged position.

Harry quickly squatted next to her, closed his eyes and began hovering both his arms above her body. His hands started glowing, their brightness increasing until it was blinding to look at. Hermione was comforting the distraught friend and Riddle seemed to observe Harry with barely hidden curiosity. Suddenly, Harry's eyes flew open.

"Mia, she is too far gone for me to heal. Internal bleeding in multiple organs, at least three compound fractures, her ribs have caved in and she shows signs of head trauma. She needs medical attention, now."

"I will send a Patronus to Dippet right away."

"No. It will take too much time. I have to take her in."

A knowing look passed between them. Finally Hermione nodded. She cast a quick stasis charm on the injured girl and Harry scooped her up. Suddenly both of them disappeared with a barely distinct pop.

"Did he just apparate with her in that condition?!" Riddle sounded alarmed and angry.

"He knows what he is doing." Hermione replied in a clipped tone. After entrusting the third year to her house prefect, they began tearing back to the castle. She was quickly coming up with excuses to explain Harry's super power.

"What was he doing to the girl? Diagnosing?"

"Yes. Harry's mother was a healer."

"He didn't use a wand." Hermione cursed silently. Stupid Harry!

"It was basic field healing."

"He seems awfully familiar with it." Hermione didn't bother to answer. They had reached the castle, and were nearing the hospital wing. Hermione pushed open the door, and entered a scene of complete chaos. Many students were prone in different positions, some injured, others keeping company. It was confusing but it did seem like the casualty was more than what they expected. Pomfrey was bustling near the girl Harry had brought in. The students were whispering furiously.

"He apparated in directly! Are you supposed to do that?"

"I didn't know you can disapparate or apparate inside the Hogwarts grounds"

"The girl's wounds look pretty serious…."

"I've never seen Pomfrey angry before…."

All of a sudden, Dippet and Dumbledore rushed in. They asked the uninjured students to leave the wing immediately. Both of them looked grave and the wild power Dumbledore was barely reining in seemed to spur the students in to action. In the end, only two other students, both sleeping, Hermione and Riddle remained. Harry was helping Pomfrey to stem the blood flow. Dippet rounded on them and asked.

"Tell me, what happened in the village?"

Riddle quickly recounted what had happened. Dumbledore was listening closely, occasionally sparing Harry a glance. Hermione filled in, where it was necessary. Quietly, Dippet thanked them and praised them for their actions. After what seemed like hours, Pomfrey straightened up and tapped Harry on the shoulder.

"She is stable."

Her pronouncement was met with sighs of relief. Harry slumped in a nearby bed and Hermione quickly conjured a glass of water for him. Dumbledore did the same with Pomfrey. After a bit of silence Pomfrey turned towards Harry.

"Young man, how did you know to do all that? That is old magic, the one only born healers use. And they are rare! Not a single registration in the past fifty-eight years, the last one being my very own grandmother!"

"My existence was kept a secret, Madame Pomfrey. You know because of the war that was waging in our homeland. My mother came from an old family that was blessed with this gift. She taught me. I hope everyone in this room would keep my secret. It is dangerous to be identified as a born healer in these times of strife." All of them gave Harry a curt nod, Hermione ad Pomfrey being the exceptions. Pomfrey was still looking suspicious.

"How did you apparate in directly?" Pomfrey questioned.

"He did WHAT?!" Dippet was suddenly looking very wary. Even Dumbledore was looking perturbed. Hermione turned towards the professors, looking intently at Dumbledore in the eye. A moment passed silently. Harry was looking like a fish out of water.

"Well, it is said that students under extreme duress can apparate in to Hogwarts, without being affected by the wards. This is a less known fact, not published widely because of its possible misuse."

Harry looked relieved and then started nodding fervently. He didn't know why Dumbledore was lying but it suited him just fine. Riddle was looking at Harry with raised eyebrows, and Is-that-so expression in his face. Hermione released the breath she was holding. She wasn't sure whether Dumbledore would consent looking inside her mind and helping them out. Fortunately, it seemed like he did give them the benefit of doubt. Of course, this did just create another headache, how would they explain this to Dumbledore himself?

"When you first came to see me…" Dumbledore started.

Harry and Hermione were sitting in Dumbledore's office. This was certainly not their first face-to-face conversation with Prof. Dumbledore, but this setting was certainly new. The room was a half the size of the Headmaster's office, and was missing all those paintings and bookshelves that adorned their past meetings. The only thing familiar seemed to be a much spry Fawkes sitting on his stand near the window of the room. Fawkes was looking intently at Harry, making him squirm and throw a sheepish smile at regular intervals at the mighty phoenix.

"… I had a look inside both your heads." He continued, intently looking into both their eyes in turn.

"Yes, I admit, that was very rude of me, but it was the best way to be sure. And I was pretty much satisfied with what I saw." He moved towards the window, and gazed at the light streaming in through it. Harry and Hermione looked at each other.

You know what's coming, don't you?

Yeah, is our alibi ready?

I'm working on it.

You'll make it work, you always do.

Easy for you to say. For once you should try NOT getting us into a mess so that I would NOT have to make excuses for us.

Don't stress on the 'not's Mia. You know I don't mean to get in trouble.

Yeah, trouble just always finds you. Doesn't… Look sharp!

Both snapped their heads back just in time as Dumbledore had finished taking in the scenery and had apparently decided to get back in conversation with them.

"But recently I've come to believe that I might have seen what you wanted me to see. I'd always considered myself a good reader of personalities, and being a legilimens, it's become almost my nature."

He retook his seat opposite to them, behind the thick wooden desk that housed his possessions, mostly books. It was quite a bundle, and each book in itself seemed to a collection of a large number of smaller works, as was their size. Hermione had scanned through the entire collection earlier, and most of them seemed to be transfiguration texts. This was easily deducible as most title were 'Transfiguration This' or 'That Transfiguration methodology' or 'How to Transfigure' or the like. Few books had no names on their spine, so it was impossible to deduce what they were. But, out of all, one awkwardly named book had caught her attention. It was named 'Tales of Beedle the Bard'. What an odd name to give a textbook. She'd thought. But nothing could hold her attention for that long a span in this situation, as an alibi was pending.

"But to have beaten me at my own game… It's of no doubt that you two are quite the skilled duo. So, out with it. What've you been hiding?"

Crunch time. Harry looked at Hermione.

Wish me luck, here I go.

"Professor, we didn't mean to lie. Atleast not caught lying."

Nope, Dumbles not looking amused. Harry thought, only to receive kick at his shins.

Hermione sighed.

"Harry is the heir to two founders Sir. It allows him to heal and bypass wards. You don't have to be worried, Sir" She quickly added seeing Dumbledore's alarmed expression. "He is Oath-bound not to use his powers to harm others."

Harry's eyes widened. This is your alibi?

Shut up and trust me! Hermione was cautiously looking at Dumbledore, judging his reaction.

Oh. Great! Some alibi this is. This totally ruins our little pep talk earlier. You listening, Mia?

…..

Mia?

…

And now she shuts me out. This had better turn out good. Else… Else… Oh who am I barking to? Nobody's looking anyway. They're too busy looking into each other's eyes. Wonder what she's sharing to him. This had better turn out good.

The staring game lasted a little longer. Dumbledore looked satisfied. He ran his hand through his silky beard and said,

"Well then! It seems like I'll be keeping an eye on the two of you from now on."

"Understood, sir" Hermione replied, in a disciplined tone.

"Yes, sir" Harry reciprocated.

"Keep that in mind, then. Off you go." He waved his hand with a sly smile. Hermione got up immediately and turned back. Harry was a little slow on getting up and as he turned, Hermione was almost near the door. He broke into a slight jog to catch up. As he passed the door and turned to close it behind him, he was able to catch a small glimpse of Dumbledore. He was intently watching Harry, fist on cheek, supported by his elbow on the desk. Harry closed the door and took a few moments catching up to Hermione.

"So? What did you tell him?" He blurted out, anxious how the immediate future was about to pan out.

Hermione looked at him, and let out a shrewd smile.

He was pacing through the numerous corridors the castle had. Something was off. There was certainly something that the pair was keeping a secret.

A born healer? Apparating into the school? Allowed under dire situations? No.. No.. They've been here for just one week! Even if some rule of that sort existed, there was no way that THEY'D know about it, and HE ignorant of it.

He got into another corridor and ended up on the foot of the grand staircase. He waited to read the shifting of the stairs. Once the required stair came to place, he started climbing it, still lost in his unanswered questions.

What's with the old-coot? Looked like he was protecting them. There surely more to these two than meets the eye. I could really use someone of their skills.

The stair landed on the first floor. Tom got into the corridor that the stair temporarily led to. He brushed past two students coming opposite to him, barely even noticing them.

The girl is the obvious brains behind the duo. But the boy is powerful too. This is why I love Hogwarts. Life is so satisfying here. Every year, there's something new. This is already shaping up to be an interesting year.

The corridor was nearing its end, with a sharp turn coming up dead ahead. Tom slowed his pace, to a slow, smooth strut. One could say that his feet were barely touching the floor, he was gliding. Even the emptiness of the corridor could not amplify the footsteps that ought to have echoed throughout it. He stopped at the turn. Then slowly yet fluidly, he peeped round the corner. A smile broke in his face. There was no one around.

Yes, Hogwarts! Show me something new. Let's make this year… TRULY INTERESTING!

Tom Marvolo Riddle rounded the corner, and stood face to face with the girls' lavatory that, to his great luck, was currently empty.

A/N : A big chapter. Atleast big considering our usual ones. Finally a peep in to Tom's inner workings too. Hope u liked it!

We were disappointed when we only got two reviews last time. We hope we are still keeing you guys interested. Do review. Just a thumbs up or a smiley is enough. Though we would love constructive criticisms too…. Want a faster chapter? Review! (not blackmail, just being…enticing!) Thank you Guevera, we managed by the end ;) and guest more 'cliff-hangery' for you :D