A Riddle Or Two

Annotations

My second story on Portkey!! It'll be longer than the first one (if I can make at least one person stick with it, that is). You'll need to be patient with this one if you're hungry for romance between certain couples. I promise this is going to be marvellous, breathtaking, whatever you want ^_-

I'm not a native English, so please, if anything sounds weird or simply false, your corrections or comments are always welcome ^-^

What else? Enjoy! And please review.

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Chapter 1 – Arrival

The train was rumbling through the night. Every now and then, the wheels screeched eerily, as though to scare away the last passenger they were carrying. Harry Potter was sitting at the window, his forehead in contact with the cold glass, and staring outside into the night.

How come everything had to be so dark? Wasn't there anybody alive out there?

The very moment Harry had finished the thought, a dazzling light hit his eyes, hurting them. He shielded his face quickly, but white specks had already started dancing, and his glasses were fogging from the heat his watering eyes were radiating.

Five years, and he still cried about his grandfather.

Well, naturally, if you lost your only living relative, and were transferred from cold orphanage to cold orphanage, because you couldn't get along with anybody --- ?

"Drop it", Harry told himself sternly. That helped.

He had trained himself to obey his own commands – otherwise, he might have gone mad already.

The door of his compartment flew open. A woman with her black hair in a tight bun – she had already seen the best of her days, as he gathered from the lines on her face – glared down at him.

"You're the Potter boy?"

He nodded glumly.

"The train stopped five minutes ago. Get your bag already", she said crossly, pointing at the sad, ragged pile above his seat.

Someday, Harry thought miserably as he hoisted his luggage onto his back and followed the woman outside. Someday, I'll tell them my name is Harry, not 'The Potter boy'...

The air outside smelled salty. "Are we near the sea?" Harry asked, and was ignored.

They trod up a worn path that wound itself slowly away from the train station, the last brave outpost of civilisation in the area, uphill, where nothing but moving shadows were visible. Harry could not help feeling scared, with the last remainder of light in his back. Was it not against human nature to walk into the darkness?

There was silence, apart from the occasional foot kicking pebbles out of the way. Harry thought he heard waves crashing and roaring in the distance... Somehow, the sound made him feel even lonelier, imagined or not.

After twenty minutes of walking through the darkness, Harry could hardly see his own feet anymore. Was this place real? He had never experienced a night like this. Was it possible for light to be absorbed this completely?

Before Harry could begin to doubt his hands, however, his silent companion stopped, causing him to walk straight into her. He thought she gave him a reproachful stare in return; he could faintly make out the whites of her eyes.

"We've arrived", she said harshly. And they had.

A door was torn open before them, and light spilt out, not quite extending to where they stood.

"Helen, that you?"

"Yes", the woman called back. So her name was Helen. It did not suit her.

"Brought the Potter boy?"

"He was there alright", Helen grunted, moving towards the source of light. Harry stumbled after her, thinking it might be best to follow.

A man was standing in the doorframe, the bulging eyes in his skull-like head staring down at Harry. In fact, he very much resembled a skeleton. His face was neither friendly nor unfriendly; in fact, Harry wondered what it might look like displaying emotion.

The man extended his right hand, and Harry placed his own, clammy hand into the surprisingly sweaty, bony palm. They let go rather quickly.

"I'm Jack Flinch, the housekeeper. Mind you wipe your feet." Jack indicated a muddy, greyish mat on the floor. Harry was careful not to wipe his shoes with too much strength; the mud from the mat might stick on them.

Helen grunted again, waving a small torch. Harry took it as the cue to follow her. He hastily grabbed his bag, leaving a trail of mud and a cross-looking Flinch behind him.

They went up a flight of stairs and through a long, narrow, lonesome corridor. Harry counted nineteen doors on his left and sixteen to his right before Helen stopped at the seventeenth; beyond the range of her minuscule torch, no wall was visible. With a sinking feeling, Harry forced his thoughts away from the image of a jail, in spite of the small windows embedded in the low doors.

"Your room", Helen said, indicating the large red "17" painted above the door on the whitish frame. "Breakfast at seven. Don't be late."

"Erm", Harry gave voice, but she had already turned her back on him and was walking down the corridor, the circle of light fading as she disappeared round a corner.

Resignedly, Harry felt the door and pushed it open.

Naturally, the room was pitch-dark. Not wanting to make any noise in case he had roommates, Harry drew the door shut behind him and knelt down beside his bag. He fell asleep almost immediately.

***

He was lying face-down in a pool of yellow, shimmering liquid oozing from large splintered shards. His eyes were glued shut. He knew that his friends were by his side. He wanted to shout, but then he realised he did not remember their names. Then someone pushed him, hard.

"Get up", said a cold voice. Harry wrenched his eyelids open. A tall, slender boy with a pale, pointed face was towering over him. The room was suddenly full of light. Confused, Harry blinked.

"Get up", the boy repeated. His voice had not risen, yet Harry shivered as though he had just been threatened. He scrambled to his feet.

"What are you doing in my room?" the boy demanded quietly.

"I'm your roommate from today", Harry answered, remembering. "Harry Potter." He extended a hand. The boy ignored him.

"I don't want a roommate", he said, pushing roughly past Harry and slamming the door shut behind him, leaving Harry to ponder over what he might have done wrong this time. He heaved his trunk onto the four-poster bed near the window, the only one that looked unused. He did not have the heart to unpack just yet. And he was right.

A moment later, the door flew open with a bang, and Helen entered, a stern look on her face. Harry involuntarily cowered as she marched towards him.

"Take your things", she ordered. "You're not staying in this room."

Relieved, Harry took his back and followed her outside.

The corridor was very different from the night before; it was buzzing with voices. People shot covert glances of curiosity at Harry as he passed them. He was equally interested in them, but could not gather strength to look into their faces.

"Room number 23", Helen said finally, indicating the door. To Harry's surprise, she did not walk away like she had the night before. Instead, she entered the room after him and closed the door.

"I must warn you not to run foul of Tom", she said.

Harry stared at her, puzzled. "Miss, I, erm..."

"Helen", she said in her harsh voice. "And I am serious. Tom gets angry over the smallest things, and he does not discuss with you. Bad things have happened, very bad things..." Her voice trailed off. Harry shuddered.

"Helen... I haven't done anything wrong today, have I?" Harry asked tentatively.

"Well you were sitting in his room unasked for, and you made him late for breakfast. Enough to make Tom burn with rage." Helen told him. She considered Harry for a minute with an almost kind look.

"And speaking of breakfast..." Harry's stomach gave a loud rumble. "You had better head down to the cafeteria quickly, or there will be none left. You can unpack later."

***

Chatter and the clanking of dishes greeted Harry as he entered the cafeteria. The noise at the long table died down momentarily. Harry, who was uncomfortably aware of being stared at, looked around for a vacant seat. There seemed to be none; only Tom was sitting by himself, cold indifference written into his face. After their recent encounter and Helen's words, Harry found he could not quite work up the nerve to sit with him. He thought about coming back later when someone touched his shoulder. He turned around. A very small girl was smiling up at him shyly. Her honey-coloured hair was flowing around her shoulders in waves.

"I'm finished. You can have my seat", she said in a small voice, pointing.

"Oh, thank you", Harry replied, startled. He gave her an uncertain smile, at which her cheeks turned crimson, and walked away towards her seat. To his horror, he realised he would be sitting between girls – in his former orphanages, this had been absolutely forbidden. He was not used to girls at all. "Better finish quickly", he thought wildly, and settled down next to a girl with long fiery red hair.

"You're new?" she asked in a hard voice, grabbing the slice of bread the boy sitting opposite them had been about to secure for himself, and handing it to Harry.

Surprised, he nodded, unsure what to say next.

"Me too", she remarked. "I arrived an hour ago. I was living with a foster family, but we didn't get along. I'm Ginny, by the way. Ginny Weasley. – And you?" she asked when Harry did not reply immediately.

"Harry Potter", he mumbled between bites. "I arrived last night."

"Oh, so I'm actually more newbie than you." Ginny laughed and shook her hair. She thoroughly seemed to enjoy the notion of being new.

Harry was spared the trouble to come up with a suitable answer, because a gong echoed through the cafeteria, and with a loud clatter, everyone put down their knives. Chairs scratched on the wooden floor as people lined up for the exit. Harry was keen to put distance between himself and Ginny and ended up bumping into Tom.

"Watch your step", Tom said icily.

"I'm sorry", Harry told him hastily. Near the door stood Helen, her eyes narrowed at the sight of them. He gave her a feeble smile, which she did not return.

Back in his room, Harry found he did not have any roommates. He took the liberty of occupying more than half the cupboard, and again chose the bed near the window.

A knock on the door disrupted his work. To his dismay, Ginny Weasley entered, plonking herself down onto his bed.

"There's a strange guy down the corridor", she told him without introduction. "Room number 17. He just told Amy not to cross his path again, and that's impossible around here. She's scared to tears. I would be careful around him if I were you."

"I know", Harry said matter-of-factly and returned to folding his socks. "I was supposed to be his roommate, actually. He made me leave before breakfast."

Ginny looked at him incredulously. "He must be nuts. Shouldn't we do something about him?"

"Well, as you said, let's avoid him and we should be fine", Harry yawned. "Erm, would you mind leaving now? Only I want to finish..."

"Oh, right", she snapped. "I was only being friendly!"

And she left the room, her head held high. The door slammed shut behind her. Harry jumped.

"What a lady", he muttered. Well, the good thing was that she did not remotely scare him the way other girls did. Of course, she was quite scary in her own right. Harry grinned to himself. Now he had two people to avoid, which was an achievement for the very first day around.

***

It was nearly lunchtime when he finished packing. Harry's stomach was rumbling again, so he left the room a little early. Halfway down the stairs, however, Ginny caught up with him.

"More people will be arriving today", she said brusquely, not bothering to refer to previous events. Harry felt stunned by her rushed behaviour. Wondering slightly whether he would ever get used to her, he let her continue with her speech. "Amy's just told me. We might get roommates at last!"

"Aren't you sharing with Amy?" Harry asked, feeling dazed.

"No", Ginny replied. "She's been here for ages, so she's in one of the lower numbers. But we were sitting together at breakfast... She's the one who gave up her seat to you."

Harry tried picturing shy petite Amy sitting next to noisy Ginny. He could not blame Amy for giving up her seat.

Helen ushered them to the very end of the long table. "We've got more people arriving. If they are early, they might want to eat. Sit up there, sit up there..."

The next person to walk up to them was Tom. He sat down at the head of the table, leaving two empty chairs between him and Harry. Ginny ignored him, despite her statement earlier that day that she wanted to do "something" about him. To Harry's surprise, however, Tom seemed very interested in Ginny. He was actually staring at her. His fork missed his mouth twice, puncturing his skin. Apparently, he did not notice.

And with reason.

For a split-second, Harry thought he saw the fork bend away slightly whenever it got too close to Tom's skin. When he tried to figure whether this was a trick of the light, however, he was distracted by Ginny, who did not take kindly to being stared at by a recently declared enemy. She shook her hair aggressively, and finally burst out at Tom, "What is it with you?"

Tom's eyes narrowed. They were filled with cruelty as he spoke up, "It's none of your business."

"Fine!" Ginny snapped. "Put your eyes back in, then!"

Silence fell around the table. Harry glanced around at the looks of awe mingled with sheer fright on everyone's faces. Obviously, no one had ever addressed Tom the way Ginny just had.

"Be careful", Tom sneered, although Harry thought he detected a trace of confusion in Tom's voice. "Your – cheek – might come back at you."

"Are you threatening me?" Ginny hissed.

"Yes", Tom said after a pause, "I think that's a good word for it."

The words came out smoothly; Harry, however, noticed that Tom's hand was clenched tightly around his mug.

Ginny resumed eating in what she apparently considered a dignified silence.

The gong echoed, but they did not return to their rooms. Ginny insisted they go outside and wait for the new orphans. Harry raised a feeble objection – it might take hours for the newcomers to arrive – and was ignored.

The landscape outside, however, was breathtaking. They were indeed on hilltop which rose from a pool of mist. In the distance, the sea was discernible. The air was very clean and there were hints of salt in it. A forest enclosed the orphanage in a half-circle disappearing in the fog. Clouds hung low above their heads. Far below them, Harry thought he saw the gleaming railways that had brought him here. There were no other buildings in the area.

"It's beautiful", Ginny said in an unusually quiet voice.

"There!" Harry said suddenly, pointing.

A horse carriage was pulling up the winding path. Ginny creased her forehead. "They're still using carriages around here?"

Harry smiled.

They waited. As the carriage came to a halt before them, they withdrew a little, feeling anxious. Harry could not help wondering whether another Tom would arrive. There certainly were a lot of newcomers at this place.

The door of the carriage opened.

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Coming up: "Making friends". In which Harry learns more about Tom and talks into the night.

Update! It'll get even more exciting. By the way, university lectures have rarely been more inspiring! I think it was about Hegel and... uh, don't ask me, but the atmosphere was enjoyable and helped my writing ^-^

Yes. Thank you for your comments so far! Miss Granger's still biding her time, I'm afraid, and Harry needs to get to know Ginny so well because... Ahh, you'll see.

Your reviews, as always, are very welcome!!

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Chapter 2 – Making friends

In the evening, the low clouds became too heavy and burst open. Rain was splashing violently against the windows of the common room the orphans and Helen were sitting in. The common room had a huge chimney, so Flinch had lit a fire. Flames were now dancing merrily, sending sparks flying every now and then. A few of the logs were still wet and hissing violently. Harry was sitting contentedly on the carpet, enjoying the sensation of warmth and company. Looking around the room, he could tell that the others were feeling similarly – except for Tom, who was crouched in a corner, his face illuminated in a ghastly fashion by the scarce rays of light that were not absorbed by his jet-black hair. It was an eerie sight.

Next to Harry, Ginny heaved a sigh. She had already let him know that she was not enjoying herself. They had been waiting more than half an hour for the last person scheduled to arrive tonight. Considering the weather, it seemed highly unlikely, but Helen had decided they wait nonetheless.

Thunder resounded dully from the outside. Somebody coughed, then there was silence again.

The newly arrived kids, two boys and a girl around Harry's age, were sitting together near the window farthest away from the chimney, looking as though they had swallowed something that had too many legs and was now parading up and down their stomachs. One could not help but feel sorry for them.

Harry's thoughts strayed to his own arrival the night before. He was not exactly a long-term inhabitant of this orphanage just yet; still, the arrival of the three kids had somehow made him feel less... tense. Ginny had of course shared her thoughts on the matter already – not that Harry had asked to hear them – and it seemed she did not feel particularly impressed by their presence.

The door opened and all faces turned. Flinch the caretaker skulked into the room, exchanging significant glances with Helen. He then whispered something to her – everyone pricked up their ears – and left.

"Our last addition", Helen announced into complete silence, "has called in to let us know she will not be arriving before midnight." Her face was unreadable. "Well then, shall we introduce those that have arrived. Please, stand up..."

Realising that this included him, Harry scrambled to his feet hastily. He felt very much like staying seated – many eyes were on him.

"You have already seen Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley, they have been around all day." Helen indicated them with a careless wave of her right hand. Harry noticed Tom lay hateful eyes on Ginny. "The other three arrivals... Neville Longbottom..." The round-faced boy by the window shuffled his feet, not looking at anyone, "Luna Lovegood –" Some people sniggered and Helen looked suddenly stern, while the girl with the straggly blonde hair bowed slightly – "and Ronald Wheezy." The tall, thin boy whose hair was flaming red gave them a smile.

"Yes... Let me see... All rooms are full except for Miss Weasley's, Mr Potter's, and... Tom Riddle's. So, Mr Potter, Miss Weasley, if you might be so kind to show them to your rooms later..."

Ginny nodded and elbowed Harry, whose thoughts had momentarily drifted away. Somehow, the mentioning of Tom's full name had reminded him of something important... very important...

The moment passed, and Harry concentrated on Helen's words again.

"Actually, Mr Flinch and I were planning to take you out to the sea tonight, but seeing as it is raining..."

"It has cleared up", the girl called Luna Lovegood said. Her voice had a strange tone, as though a veil had been draped lazily over it. She sounded mystified, as though the fact that the rain had stopped was odd to her. A ripple of stifled laughter crossed the room. Harry could not help smiling. Ginny smirked, but only slightly.

And in fact, the rain had stopped as quickly as it had begun.

"Well... who's for setting out?" Helen asked, sounding relaxed.

Nearly everyone was for it; having been inside almost all day, they were eager to visit the beach. Tom Riddle, however, refused to come without uttering a word. Helen did not ask him twice.

When thinking about that evening later, Harry was not quite sure what had made him do it. While everyone was tying up their shoelaces, his eyes were on Tom who was walking up the flight of stairs to return to his room. Nobody was paying attention to Harry in the din – Ginny was occupied in talk with Luna – so Harry sneaked up the stairs before Tom was completely out of sight.

The corridor was pitch-dark. Just why there were no lamps installed, Harry could not fathom. A door slammed shut below. Tom Riddle walked on peacefully in the semi-twilight, passing room number 17, which gave Harry a start, and bending round the corner. Harry sped up. He peered around the edge carefully. Tom was not in sight anymore.

There were no further doors behind the corner, only a small wooden staircase leading up towards the ceiling. Harry could just barely recognise a trapdoor. It was open – Tom had entered the room above.

Still not knowing why on earth he was doing this, Harry ascended the stairs and quietly, carefully squinted through the trapdoor.

He did not hear or see anything; his curiosity getting the better of him, he stuck his head through the trapdoor.

The room above was empty. The moon was shining in through the window, drawing circles on the wooden floor. Harry could see no furniture, but there was a door to his left. Riddle must have disappeared through it. What was he up to?

Climbing up fully, Harry made sure to remain in proximity of the trapdoor. The floorboards conveyed an air of trickiness – some of them might be loose, some might creak, betraying his presence to Tom Riddle.

Finally, Harry stood up fully. He was still holding his breath as he took a step away from the trapdoor. Immediately, and with no one in sight who could have done this, the trapdoor slid into its frame with a sharp, metallic sound.

Harry froze.

Someone was taking small, nasal breaths behind his back.

But nobody had been there!

At last, he mustered all his courage and whirled round on the spot.

Tom Riddle, his eyes flashing red, was pointing a wooden stick at him.

Harry passed out.

***

"Where have you been?" demanded Ginny. Harry said nothing; his head was still sore, his eyes were blurred even with his glasses on, and anyway, the whole story was too incredible to tell. He had come to in his room, on the bed nearest the door that was now Ronald Wheezy's.

"I was tired", Harry flared up at last after having been questioned for the umpteenth time. "It was too cold to go to the beach anyway. The rain had only just stopped."

"Well, it was fun", Ginny said coldly. "What with that Riddle not around..."

She seemed to have a realisation. "Hang on", she continued in a lower voice Harry's head greatly appreciated, "you have not been following..."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous, why would I?"

Harry left it to Ginny to talk some more and, with increasing despair, hoped for the two boys to show up, so he could send Ginny to bed at last.

During the following fifteen minutes, however, Ginny recounted the events at the beach without disturbance – she had splashed Ronald Wheezy and found that he preferred the name "Ron", she had talked to Luna and realised that the girl might not exactly count as sane, and she had been kissed on the cheek by a completely flustered Neville, because they had all played a game of hide-and-seek, which he had lost, and she had won. She was about to embark on the details of that game, and its rules, but Harry, feeling thoroughly exhausted, sent her to her own room, and she left with another snappish "Well, I was only trying to amuse you, wasn't I!"

Thirty seconds after she had left, Ron and Neville entered room number 23 as though on cue. They were, as they explained to a fairly amused Harry, a little scared of Ginny, who had been very active and alive on the beach.

"She really enjoyed herself, then", Harry yawned.

Ron gave him a curious look. "Are y' two... You don't mind me asking? I mean, are you..."

"No, we only got to know each other today", Harry said, finally understanding what Ron was talking about.

Neville gave a nervous laugh. "She wouldn't be easy to handle, would she?" he said, his voice quivering. Ron grinned.

"How come we're not sharing with that Tom Riddle guy?" Ron asked. Harry explained the situation. His two new roommates shook their heads in unison, looking exasperated.

"I mean, he can't go around bullying people, can he?" Ron said. "There's someone like that at every orphanage, I reckon, but... Normally, there's ways to deal with such people..."

"Helen seemed scared of him", Neville observed. "When she asked about who wanted to come. I saw she looked at him once, and he didn't say anything, and she just let him walk off. Maybe if that caretaker..."

Harry shook his head. "I think Riddle's got something like a bully's license around here. People just don't get into his way, and he even commands them to avoid him. He's best left alone."

"Nuts", Ron muttered.

They abandoned the topic of Tom Riddle soon afterwards. Initially, Neville was quite happy to leave most of the talking to Ron, whom he had become acquainted with on the journey.

"I'm an only child", said Ron, "and I've never known my parents. But I think they didn't have the money to raise me. Actually, I'm sorry for them." He stuffed a slice of bread he had nicked over dinner into his mouth while continuing his speech. "I want to grow up to be a rich man, and then I'll go and find them. If I can't, I'll at least have a family." He grinned. Harry felt his heart lighten.

"How come you're here?" he asked.

Ron chuckled. "Ever since I heard about this place, I've been developing a nasty cough. Wouldn't go away. One night, it was so bad my dinner ended up in my neighbours' faces. They decided I'd best spend some time by the sea. Mind you, they'll be surprised how well I'm doing here. And after a month, I can apply for a permanent stay. Piece of cake. My old lodgings were in Manchester, in an old factory. Dreadful place."

"Well done", Harry grinned, impressed. "And what about you, Neville?"

"I –" Neville spoke slowly, and his voice was less cheerful than Ron's. "I grew up with my parents until I was about nine. I also had a baby sister. She was very cute... Her name was Aurelie. She was behind in talking, so... when my parents died from a disease, she was put into care for special cases."

"What happened to her?" Harry asked warmly.

"She – she died from malnutrition, I was told." Neville's voice shook, and Ron patted him on the shoulder.

"My grandfather's dead, too", Harry said quietly. "I'd been living with him ever since my parents died. I don't remember them, though I have seen photos."

"When did your grandfather – I mean, pass away?" Neville inquired, concern in his voice. "Five years ago", Harry said. "I went to several orphanages afterwards."

"Why the trouble?" Ron asked. Harry's insides went cold without warning. The dreaded question had come up after all.

"Well..." he began slowly, "it was... difficult for me to cope. And the other kids were... I don't know... somehow, scared of me?"

"Why?" Ron demanded, looking puzzled. "Come on, if there's skeletons in your closet, best spit them out early." Neville nodded earnestly.

Harry gulped. "You see, it's not easy to explain. It's like... Weird things happened when I was around... I don't know how they happened, but they somehow always seemed to be linked to me. After a week, nobody would talk to me, and usually I'd leave before the month was over."

"What things? I mean, how were they weird?" Ron persisted.

"Let me see... Well, one day, we went out on a picnic. One of the boys sneaked up behind me, took my glasses and shattered them on a rock."

"That's rude", Neville said quietly.

"I ran after him, of course, but I couldn't catch him. We were near a river when he stumbled and fell into the water. He nearly drowned. Later, he told everyone I'd pushed him, because they had seen me with outstretched hands. He told them he had actually felt my hands."

"He was lying", Ron said flatly.

"But that was dangerous, wasn't it? Why would he fake it?" Neville argued, his eyes on Harry.

"I really don't know, but there was nothing else that could have made him fall. The weirdest thing was that when I picked up my shattered glasses, they were suddenly fixed the moment I had them on my nose. Of course, everyone was convinced that I had been violent for no reason. If that boy didn't even shatter my glasses..." Harry noticed that the tone of his voice had changed to a bitter note, and he hastened to correct it. "Anyway, I'm here now, and people seem much more open..."

"It is weird, that thing about your glasses... Maybe you've got magical powers, and you just don't know?" Ron joked. "Anyway, it's the end of the world at this place, mate. Nobody's living here at all, except for some weirdoes in the forest, but they're never in touch with anybody. I guess that's why we ended up here... We don't fit in with the normal bunch."

Harry laughed. "You've got a point there."

"And speaking of strange", Ron went on, his eyes sparkling, "that Luna Lovegood!"

Neville chuckled. "Yes, well, she's really –"

"Nuts", Ron confided. "On the way here, she tried to convince Neville and me that there were green heart-shaped clouds that rained yellow frogs! I mean, come on..."

"I quite like her", Neville piped up. "I mean, she talks about a lot of strange things, but they are sort of interesting..."

Ron barked with laughter. "Oh, really, Neville."

Harry, feeling happier than ever in his life, fell asleep shortly before sunrise in a much more comfortable position than he had in room number 17. For the first time in his life, he had come to make friends. Why these two people did not reject him, he was not sure, though he felt almost certain that this would continue. Who cared about Tom Riddle pointing wooden sticks at people? He did not feel the need to approach him anymore.

How woefully wrong he was.

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Coming up: "Hermione". In which Harry learns more about himself and Amy, and is swept off his feet unexpectedly while talking about Riddle. Stay tuned. And sorry about the change in Ron's name -_^

YES! Ohh, this is a strange chapter. I enjoyed writing it very much, of course ^.^ Harry meets a girl very much unlike any other he's ever met before, and is more than ready to be impressed, but then –

And sorry about Ginny and Ron. No, they were not separated at birth, but – well, I can't tell you now, can I? *cackles evilly* You will need to read on.

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Chapter 3 – Hermione

The following morning, Harry got up with a smile. He had the feeling that today something good was bound to happen. He went downstairs for breakfast with Ron – Neville dawdled for some reason – and they resumed their talk immediately. Harry's smile only faded when he saw Tom at the bottom of the stairs, glaring at him spitefully. He found it harder to enjoy Ron's company afterwards.

They found chairs, reserving a seat for Neville. To their surprise, Neville showed up in Luna Lovegood's company. He did not exactly look happy, but still sat with her. Ginny entered a minute after the pair, gave Harry and Ron a small smile, and hurried to her own chair next to Luna.

Before they were allowed to eat, however, Helen stood up to make an announcement. The room went very quiet; Tom stared out of the window, looking bored.

"Today, our last new arrival will finally make it here after a two weeks' journey", Helen said, her face as unreadable as it had been the night before. "She called in yesterday to tell me that the family she was staying with had a sick boy, and to ask whether she could bring him."

"That girl's some troublemaker", Ron muttered. Harry agreed silently; however, he also remembered his journey here. It had been long and exhausting; he would not have bothered to bring someone else, let alone a sick person.

"Seeing as we have already got Mr Wheezy staying here with his bad cough", Helen continued, raising an eyebrow ever so slightly, "I told her to bring the boy. Please, treat him well. Thank you. You may eat now."

She herself did not sit down, but walked straight towards Harry and Ron.

"I think it will be best if you move into room 24 with our guest", Helen informed Ron, who looked crestfallen at the notion. "Seeing as you've got experience in those matters..."

"She knows", Ron said desperately once Helen had returned to her seat. "How?? And she's punishing me! Is that fair?" Harry laughed. "Come on, you're still next door. You can always come over..." Ron sighed tragically.

"But that new girl's gotta be stubborn", Ron said after a while. "And she's got some sort of... people-saving thing? Bringing that boy with her and everything." Harry laughed. "Now what's that supposed to be?"

Still chuckling, he concentrated on his food.

Suddenly, Harry felt the back of his neck prickle softly, as though he was being watched. And indeed, when he cast his eyes down the table, he met a pair of brown eyes looking into his for the smallest of moments only.

Amy quickly looked away.

"What were you watching her for?" Ginny demanded as they had left the cafeteria with Luna, Ron and Neville.

"Who are you talking about?" Harry said indifferently. Ginny was looking furious, but before she could say anything else, the sound of another carriage arriving cut in.

There was a lot of noise in the entrance hall, and they all waited with bated breath. Flinch came hurrying past them. Finally, the sound of approaching steps could be heard, and a small boy emerged who gave them a very frightened look and made as though to dart into the cafeteria, but had second thoughts about this when he became aware of the large group of people still busy with dinner.

"Emil! Wait for me!" a girl's voice called. There were more footsteps as Emil hovered uneasily at the foot of the stairs.

"This", Ron muttered, not troubling too much to keep his voice down, "is my new roommate." Harry smiled. It was just like Ron to whine and complain; no doubt he would be fine.

At last, a girl with very bushy brown hair, half a smile and all the more determination on her face, dragging two large trunks behind her, came walking up the hallway. She had obviously taken over Emil's luggage as well as her own; Harry could not help but once again think about two weeks of travelling. All this trouble because she wanted to help? It was incredible.

"Don't worry", the girl said kindly to Emil, "I'll make your introductions for you."

Then, she noticed the small group of people standing and staring at her. She turned to face them, and her smile became a little wider. Now, Harry could tell that she was exhausted.

"Hello", she said. "How long have you been here? I've read all about this place, it's the best in the area, and near the sea and everything too, I was ever so happy when I learned I've got a place here. I'm Hermione Granger, by the way – this is Emil Duggins – and who are you? Aren't you just glad to be here?"

She sure was a fast talker. Harry thought he understood why Helen had yielded. Ginny, on the other hand, seemed unimpressed as usual, and snapped, "No, I'm not glad to be here, I'd rather live with my parents, you know."

Hermione did not look too affronted by the unprovoked attack. Harry cast Ginny an angry look and said, "Well, I am happy to be here. Actually, it's the first place I'm enjoying."

Hermione gave him a smile. "You are..."

"I'm Harry Potter, and these are Ginny, Ron, Luna, and Neville", Harry answered. Luna stepped forward, bowing slightly as she had the night before. "Luna Lovegood. You will be sharing with me and Ginny", she said in her dreamy voice.

"Yeah, and Emil's with me. I'm Ron Wheezy." Ron spoke friendlier than he had before. It was as though they were trying to make up for Ginny's rude behaviour, Harry thought as Neville shook hands with Hermione and Emil. Ginny herself was sitting on the lowest stair, her face revealing all sorts of emotions.

Finally, Helen called from inside the cafeteria, to which they all heeded.

Hermione made another long and very fast speech no one really listened to – except for Harry, who had never quite heard anyone talk like that, Ron, who kept sniggering in a not too appreciative way, and Tom Riddle, who was watching Hermione through narrowed eyes. Harry had already given up worrying about what bothered Tom Riddle, but he made a mental note to warn Hermione later.

Tom Riddle left first, followed quickly by Ginny, Hermione and Luna. Harry positioned himself near the door, waiting for Neville to finish so they could walk back upstairs together. Ron was eating wolfishly, Emil sitting awkwardly to his right, and Neville to his left, talking away. For a moment, Harry almost decided to join them, but then, Amy sneaked past him, smiling shyly. He hesitated, pondering over the familiar prickling sensation on his neck, then followed her.

She went upstairs, into room number 3 on the left side. Harry double-checked that the corridor was empty; he knocked and entered before he heard Amy's voice calling him in.

Amy was sitting at a small desk, looking more petite than ever. The sun coloured her honeyish hair golden. She was too cute for words. Harry had a strong desire to touch her flushed cheeks.

"Harry", she said in an embarrassed voice as he closed the door behind him. "I – I wasn't expecting you –"

She closed the book on her desk, a diary, hastily and made as if to stow it, but was too scared.

"Are you keeping a diary?" Harry asked, wanting to hear her voice again. He was not really interested in the contents.

"Erm, yes", she replied nervously, twiddling her fingers as he took a few steps towards her.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash outside and the tension broke. From the entrance hall, they could hear Helen shout, "Miss Granger!"

It was as though Harry had just been awoken rudely from a dream. He looked at Amy once more. Was she not a little too small? She was only half as cute as she had been only seconds before. It had felt like a trance.

Slightly ashamed and confused, Harry turned to leave.

"Wait", Amy said, her words trembling in her mouth. "I – I need to tell you something –" She took a steadying breath. Harry's fists clenched in his pockets. "Please, no", he thought. What had got into him to act as though he was mad for her?

"I – I like you very much, Harry", she said behind his back, and he closed his eyes resignedly. "I have never felt this way about anyone before."

***

Harry entered his and Neville's room and collapsed on his bed. Staring at the dark blue curtains right before his face, he cursed himself over and over again. What had he been thinking to follow Amy like that? Had he not noticed she'd been taken with him from the first minute? Why would he want to get her hopes up? He had not even had the heart to reject her, although that might have been down to his insecurity when it came to girls...

Harry pounded his pillow angrily. She was dwarfish, not cute. And yet, there were these moments when he couldn't trust himself and simply lost control...

He rolled over to the wall. The curtains hung silently directly above his face.

"Oh, move out of the way", he grumbled angrily.

To his utter surprise, the curtains rose into the air, hovering far above his head now. Harry blinked.

"What are you doing?" asked Neville, gaping at him, and Harry jumped. "Did you just tell the curtains to move?"

"I did!" Harry said blankly, sitting up. "And they obeyed me!"

"You're doing magic!" Neville said excitedly.

"How could I?" Harry replied.

"Tell them something else", Neville pressed.

Harry glanced up at the curtains. "Okay... Come back down again."

And immediately, the curtains silently fell back into place.

"Amazing", Neville gasped, his face awed.

Over the following hour, Harry practised moving several objects. The curtains were easy, but he also managed his pillow, the carpet on the floor, and even a chair.

"So it's really magic you can do!" Neville said in a hushed voice, having played witness with his mouth hanging open. "And people called you weird!"

Something seemed to be troubling him, and he sat down on the chair that had just settled smoothly next to Harry's bed with a clutter.

"Harry, if you could further this... You know, you could use it against Tom Riddle!"

Harry stared. "What do you mean?"

"Well", Neville said, gaining confidence, "he just attacked Ginny and Hermione, didn't he? If you scared him so he won't do it again –"

"What do you mean, he attacked –"

"You heard the shouting, didn't you?" Neville said. "It seems Riddle and Ginny were arguing, Hermione tried to interfere, and Riddle sort of – well we don't know how he did it – but the girls were sent flying –"

Harry felt as though his insides were burning. So Riddle had attacked Hermione and Ginny, and at the same time he, Harry, had been making a fool of himself in Amy's room.

He stood up. "I'm going to talk to the girls."

"I'm coming with you", Neville said. "They're in the infirmary, I guess you haven't been there before..."

"What were Ginny and Tom arguing about?" Harry asked as they walked down the stairs. Neville wrinkled his nose. "It seems Riddle has been watching Ginny again. She's told me how he keeps staring at her, it must be really annoying –" He was talking himself into a rage. Harry found this curious; he had not been troubled too much by Riddle keeping a watch on Ginny. There were worse things. Anyway –

"Is Hermione – are they hurt?" Harry asked.

Neville shook his head, then nodded. "Well, Ginny was pushed down the stairs, and she broke her left wrist. Hermione was sent into the wall, she's hurt her head badly. But they'll come around", he added reassuringly. Harry clenched his fists.

"You know what?" he said, stopping dead. They were now walking down a silent corridor and could be sure that no one would overhear their conversation. "You're right. We must stop Tom Riddle."

Neville looked delighted. "Then you'll use your powers? I'll assist you!" He grinned in an embarrassed sort of way.

"Well", Harry said finally, "this should only be between the two of us. I don't want anyone to think I'm special or something. And I'm not using my powers against Riddle."

"Why?" Neville asked.

"It would be unfair", Harry said evasively. He could not bring himself to tell Neville about the earlier incident. It was a scary thought anyway, that Riddle might also be able to use magic, and in a much more advanced way...

"I'm in", Ginny said loudly, and they both jumped. Unnoticed by either of the pair, she had silently emerged from the infirmary, clutching her bandaged hand, and overheard their talk.

"You're not", Harry said crossly.

"Well, I know your secret already, so you can just make it the three of us."

"I don't think so", Harry said. "You're already Riddle's target; you'd be causing too much trouble. Someone else has been hurt alongside you, you know? I think you should keep your head down a little after today."

"Oh, of course", Ginny snapped. "And you go acting the hero, right?"

"Just what use would you be of?" Harry said harshly. "You'd only enrage him more!"

"Fine!" Ginny shouted. "Fine!"

Neville said apologetically, "Ginny, we're only worried about your safety –"

"Don't give me that rubbish", she hissed and stormed off.

***

Hermione was sitting in bed composedly, reading a newspaper as they entered. Her head was bandaged, and she was looking pale and oddly small.

Harry drew a chair next to her bed; Neville preferred walking up and down the aisle between the rows of beds, twisting his hands, and obviously feeling very put out about something. He was such a nuisance that Harry told him to go off and find Ginny if it mattered that much to him. Neville left, looking relieved.

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Have you and Ginny been arguing? I heard shouting." Harry nodded. "Ginny's a bit... hard to handle", he explained, using Neville's words from the previous evening. "Well, but I'm here because..., it's your first day, and you've already made contact with Tom."

"Yes", Hermione said unsmilingly. "What is wrong with him? I mean, does he go attacking people each day?"

"Not really. From what I can tell, people generally avoid him. He did attack me", Harry admitted, "but only because I followed him."

And before he could stop himself, he had told her about his adventure above the trapdoor.

"You say he pointed a wooden stick at you?"

"Erm, yes."

Hermione frowned. "It almost sounds like a... wand?"

Harry stared. But of course! He might have found it harder to accept had he not discovered his own strange power half an hour ago.

Hermione was piercing him with her gaze.

"You may be right", he said slowly, his insides squirming oddly under her stare, but before he could steady himself to tell her more, the door of the infirmary flew open, and Amy walked in.

"Harry!" she said brightly. "There you are. We're going to the beach!"

Harry's cheeks reddened as the girls watched him. "Uh, I'm not coming."

Hermione smiled. Amy, however, seemed to be steeling herself.

"You've already missed out once", she told him. Was it just him, or had her voice hardened? "Helen's going to be mad at you. I'm waiting in the hall."

And she walked outside.

Harry shook his head resignedly. Hermione was still smiling.

"Your girlfriend?" she asked, concern in her voice. He almost choked. "No!"

She leant back. "Well, you should not let her wait."

Probably because she noticed the look of disappointment on his face, Hermione added, "But do come back later. We should discuss Tom Riddle some more."

"Yeah", said Harry, standing up, "I'll be back." He smiled down at her, and left.

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Coming up: "Amy". In which Harry has to confront several girls, and spends time with Tom Riddle.

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No, I haven't abandoned this story. My computer broke down and cut my creative flow. Hope you're still with me!

As for other characters, yes, some will make their appearance. You have to be patient. I'm no good at writing lengthy chapters.

Do review!! You're giving my writing a great boost.

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Chapter 4 – Amy

Harry only vaguely was aware that something was off when he stepped out into the entrance hall. Amy was standing there all by herself. His head still full of Hermione Granger, he nodded at her explanation that the others had gone ahead, and silently followed her down the long, winding path to the sea.

The yellow beach stretched out before them under a cloudy sky. Wind hit Harry's face when they emerged from the dunes, bringing tears to his eyes. The waves were roaring and thundering, spilling water everywhere as they hit rocks that resembled pointy, freshly sharpened teeth and were not too inviting to come closer. Unfortunately, these rocks' brothers and sisters were scattered all over the beach. Harry knew immediately that he would probably never take a bath down here. He glanced longingly up the hill to where he could just discern the white of the orphanage. It was much warmer up there, and he wanted to talk to Hermione.

Amy set down, allowing the wind to play with her hair so that it fanned out behind her. He wondered where the shy girl she had been when they first met had gone to. Then his thoughts strayed to Ginny, who had been very consistent so far, and to Hermione, who he had yet to get to know better.

He was not surprised that they were alone at the beach – well, that was not true either. Luna Lovegood had been bathing her feet in the water and now came strolling towards them.

"Hi", she said in her usual mystified voice. "What are you doing down here?"

"Having a date", Amy said loudly. Harry choked, and she thumped him on the back.

"Oh", Luna replied, her protuberant eyes widening a little more. "I thought you got acquainted yesterday."

"Yes, well, love can be like that", Amy said, betraying impatience more than infatuation. Harry could almost hear her add the words, now go away. He threw Luna a pleading look, but she must have misunderstood him, because she sniffed once, and said in an oddly normal voice, "Well, I know where I'm not needed. Harry – I hope you've made the right choice." It sounded a little sad, he realised; before he could say anything, however, she had marched off, very much unlike the Luna he had seen so far. Girls were so full of surprises, he thought. Rounding on Amy, he employed a strict voice to veil his rage. "What did you say that for?"

"But it's true", Amy said very softly, moving closer to him. "You accepted to come to the beach with me after I had confessed to you." Her voice was almost a whisper now. She was much too close. "Harry..."

He struggled for words to throw at her – he was enraged – but then, his eyes met hers, and everything else faded away. He distantly heard the rushing of the waves. His lips brushed against Amy's.

"Interesting", said a high, cold voice. "I can't remember giving you permission, Benson."

The thick velvet that had enveloped Harry, caressing his skin, erasing all of his worries, was torn into pieces. He felt as though he had been slapped. Amy looked simply furious, and he stepped back, away from her.

Tom Riddle was sitting on a large rock nearby, the same rock Luna had been leaning against while holding her feet into the water. Inexplicably to Harry, his face was a display of fury that surpassed Amy's distinctly.

Tom jumped off his rock elegantly and approached them. Amy moved closer to Harry, who moved farther away from her out of instinct.

"I gave you no permission", Tom repeated, "and you shall never, I'll say it again, never, abuse my powers even one more time."

Harry blinked. Amy, very red in the face, almost yelled, "I don't know what you're talking about, Riddle!" His face contorted, and she shrunk back.

"Go away", he said in a lazy manner, although his words were dripping with cruel pleasure.

Amy did not wait for a second command. She turned on her heels and ran. Harry saw her honey-brown hair dance up the winding path to the top of the hill.

Tom sneered and took a few steps that led him away from Harry.

"Wait", Harry said. Tom halted and turned his pale face on Harry. His eyes were colder than ever.

"Don't go telling people I rescued your neck or something, Potter. It was not out of kindness at all", he stated and again turned his back on Harry.

"It's – it's magic you're using, isn't it?" Harry said tentatively, unable to contain himself. He knew he was being reckless – if this was a secret Tom had been guarding carefully, he might murder Harry on the spot.

Tom did not bother to show his face this time.

"If you must know", he said coldly, "yes, I can use magic, and I use it for punishment of those who annoy me. I've punished Amy Benson – oh yes, she's still got the marks – and she still has not learned her lesson."

"Why did you say she didn't have your permission?" Harry demanded, feeling that he might be pushing his luck. "You were rescuing me, weren't you?"

"You are determined to be a fool", Riddle said in his high voice that drove shivers down Harry's spine. "After I had tortured Amy, she somehow learned to draw strength from the imprint of my powers on her wretched body. It is why she walks around trying to make boys fall for her. I cannot allow such a tremendous abuse of my powers!"

He set off at last, leaving a speechless Harry behind.

***

"Where have you been?" demanded Ginny. She was standing outside the entrance. A red light was glowing in the west – the sun was setting already. Harry had stayed at the beach all day, feeling that he needed to do some serious thinking. Now Ginny, still furious from the earlier incident at the infirmary, was waiting for him, her arms folded over her chest.

"What is it with you?" he handed back to her. "I'm free to walk wherever I want!"

The door opened. To Harry's puzzlement, Hermione stepped out into the last tiny rays of sunlight, her head still in white bandages. She drew up short at the sight of them, and changed the direction of her feet so she could give them a wide berth. Somehow, it felt sad to be avoided by her.

"Luna told me you'd gone to the beach with Amy", Ginny spat. "Just the two of you! What do you think you're doing?"

"What I think I'm –" Harry just wished she would keep her voice down. Hermione must be listening to every single word.

"You're not interested in Amy, are you?" Ginny demanded. Harry said nothing, but even remaining silent enraged her more.

"I've been watching her! She's been taken with you from the first moment, you know that? You're getting her hopes up! Are you doing that for your self-esteem?" She glared at him accusingly.

"It's not like that!" Harry defended himself, stung. He was conscious of Hermione still in their proximity. Why she had to walk that slowly...

"Do you have feelings for her?" Ginny asked.

"No", said Harry, annoyed.

"Did you kiss?"

Harry could not exactly deny it. He examined the ground in silence.

"Did you?" she pressed him. Finally, reluctantly, he nodded. "Yes, but –"

"You pervert!" She stormed off after Hermione, probably to have a girl's talk.

***

The following weeks were surprisingly easy for a change. None of the girls spoke to or even looked at Harry. Luna glided past him wordlessly, while Ginny never missed a chance to send him her furious stares. Amy avoided him, which he was unlimitedly glad about. Hermione, on the other hand, was not easy to understand. He had hoped that she might talk to him, so he could set her right about what she had overheard. Instead, she seemed to have developed some loyalty towards Ginny, and was sticking with it. Sometimes, however, he felt her eyes rest on him, and when he looked up, her gaze was not in the least reproachful, but full of kindness, and a little questioning. Sometimes he wondered whether he should just seek her out; it was easier said than done, seeing as she was sharing her room with Ginny and Luna, and they hardly allowed her a break from their company.

He had let Ron and Neville in on the whole story, of course. Ron had roared with laughter; the advice he had offered had been, "they'll calm down eventually, girls always do." Neville had taken a more serious stance – indeed, Harry and Ron suspected that the kiss on the beach had been followed by a major crush on Ginny. Consequently, Neville was worried about the way Ginny took Harry's matters to heart, and insisted Harry clear the air.

"I tried", Harry said desperately. "Honestly. But she knows it's none of her business who I'm seeing. Sometimes I think she just wants to be involved in everything, and I insulted her because I didn't inform her about my every step. It's ridiculous, and it's something she needs to get over with..."

"But", Neville pressed with a persistence he had not once displayed before, at which Harry and Ron exchanged a grin, "you never know until you've talked it through with her."

"It's you who's got to talk with Ginny", Ron jumped in, "if you're that worried about her the nature of her feelings towards Harry."

Neville went scarlet and muttered, "only because Harry's my friend", and Ron laughed.

Tom Riddle had readopted his usual indifference towards everyone except Ginny. He generally passed Harry without so much as the slightest glance. Harry had mulled it over during several quiet hours, and had decided that Tom had really once again confirmed his reputation down at the beach. It had not been kindness. Tom might be cruel, but he was not a liar.

Breakfast was a rushed affair these days. Every day, Harry and Neville got up swiftly, almost ran down the stairs together with Ron and sometimes Emil – who was no longer Hermione's top priority now that he had established tentative connections with others – then they normally were the first ones to arrive, so they feasted quickly and hurried back upstairs to grab their books so they could choose whichever seats they wanted in the classroom.

Indeed, for a few days now, they had lessons, given by Helen. Hermione had easily become top of their class immediately. Harry had half hoped that lessons might be the chance to initiate a conversation with her at last, but age difference, as it turned out, did not matter to Helen, and in effect, they formed one big class together, which meant that Ginny and Luna were still with them, although one year younger. Only Tom Riddle never showed up for the lessons, which did not surprise anybody.

Harry strongly suspected that Riddle spent the time they were in the classroom up in the attic. Just what he did there, Harry could not fathom, and he was not too hungry to find out. Tom had given him a clear warning that he could and would use magic. Harry was not very keen to become subject to Tom's idea of a punishment. He half wanted to ask Amy, but decided against it – after all, he was happy not talking to her, and he also did not want to bring back bad memories. If she still had the scars, it must have been a horrible experience.

One day, Harry ran into Amy unexpectedly when they were both late for class. He had awoken to an empty room – Neville usually never managed to wake anybody, something Ron found ridiculously weird.

Amy blushed violently as Harry eased towards the stairs, allowing her to fall behind. He also was not too keen to talk to her. Acknowledging his intentions, the girl slowed down. Behind them, a door opened and Tom Riddle walked past, employing a rather quick pace. Harry and Amy both stood still, watching him.

Harry felt his insides turn to ice.

The moment Tom had disappeared from sight, he rounded on Amy, who squeaked in surprise.

"You", he said accusingly, "made use of Tom Riddle's secret powers to enchant me."

Amy whimpered.

"And", he proceeded, ignoring the pain in her eyes, "you were able to use his powers because he had tortured you before." He did not know what made him say it. Tom Riddle's words had come back to him, and rage was coursing through his veins. He wanted to hurt Amy, he wanted to –

"Stop it!" It was probably the first order to himself that he ignored in a long time.

Amy looked at him, confused. "I – I'm not doing anything", she said in a high-pitched voice that was raking in fear.

"I'm not talking to you!" he bellowed, re-incensed in spite of himself. Control yourself, he begged himself, his heart beating so fast it echoed on the walls, control yourself –

Emotions must have been waging war in his face; Amy could no longer bear it. Losing her head, she pushed past him, and Harry's arm, momentarily not heeding his desperate commands, reached out and grabbed her. Amy stumbled, slipped on the top stair, toppled over, and hit the floor with an almighty crash. Books came pelting down like rain. Then, there was silence.

Harry watched the heap at the bottom of the stairs in disbelief. Then he found himself taking great steadying breaths, gasping for air, clutching his throat. The uncontrollable rage had been eradicated from his chest, leaving a gaping hole that slowly, but surely, filled with black dread and icy horror. His head was buzzing eerily.

It did not stop there. Downstairs, a door flew open, and Helen shouted, "What's this racket?" He heard her feet thunder through the corridor as she marched to the very bottom of the staircase. Unable to move a limb, Harry did not consider running for it even once. His books were also down there, his name written into them, and anyway, he was guilty of – hurting – Amy, wasn't he?

When Helen came into view, however, he would have given anything to evaporate on the spot. He could have taken whatever she had in store for him just now, and it would have been no competition for the guilt he was feeling. What he saw now, however, made his heart leap into his throat, and then sink into a pool of despair for what was going to be an eternity.

For some reason, Helen had brought Hermione Granger with her.

***

The clock on the wall was ticking. Harry stared at the ugly wooden thing, hating it. It was just dreadful. If anything, he wanted all the sounds in the world to be washed away, along with the sound of his dully beating heart.

He was a murderer.

He barely remembered the exasperated look Helen had displayed at the scene of crime, nor the smugness on Tom's face, who had mysteriously reappeared. He had barely recognised his friends' faces in the crowd that had immediately gathered around the pile of flesh that was Amy. He somehow recalled that Ginny had stared at him, her eyes blazing from an inner fire, and that Ron's smile had gone out for the very first time, leaving him look oddly pale and distorted.

Luna had clutched at her heart, Neville had gasped very audibly – and little by little, every single eye had turned towards Harry.

He remembered various details that somehow did not form a coherent story. Hermione's bushy hair – Helen's sharp voice – Flinch's large boots – a red "23" painted above a door – footsteps – a door slammed shut – silence.

The walls turned from honey to red before his eyes over and over again in this very room as he sat on the chair watching the clock dully ticking away the hours.

He was a murderer.

Hermione... He had not been able to face her, though he had an inkling of the nature of her facial expression right before the gentle curtain had fallen, allowing him to pass out before the thousands of pairs of eyes swimming in the sea of skin and hair below him.

He was a murderer.

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Coming up: "Isolation". In which Harry spends time dreaming and watching other people, including a very disturbed Hermione.

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You won't like it, but I thoroughly enjoyed writing this chapter. Ah, poor Harry, or is he?

Please, review.

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Chapter 5 – Isolation

He was lying face-down in a pool of yellow, shimmering liquid that had glued his eyes shut. He wanted to shout and wrenched his teeth apart, only to find that yellow, semi-gaseous, semi-liquid vapour was now oozing from inside his body, and had glued his velum to his tongue, effectively drowning his voice for good. He tried moving his limbs, but they simply refused. Except for his small finger: its nail had torn in the middle, and the part that was sticking out was scratching helplessly over soft skin. A hand. Her hand.

Harry awoke with a small scream. He was in a sweat. Only when he tried to sit up, he realised that he already was sitting bolt upright. Neville was snoring peacefully in his bed near the door. Harry could see his friend's outline in the moonlight. He could have wept.

Was Neville his friend? They had been okay so far – and when Neville had discovered about Harry's magic, he had been awed in the least. Now that everyone at the orphanage was shunning Harry, Neville did not speak to Harry, nor did he accompany him to the lessons, or to breakfast. He, however, had refused to move to a different room. Harry's gratitude was mingled deeply with a strong desire to rid himself of Neville's company for good. Maybe this was Neville's idea of friendship – maybe it was the best he could do for Harry – but Harry secretly felt that Neville's quiet company only distracted him from his thoughts, and nourished the minuscule embryo of hope Harry was still carrying, an irrational, undeserved, greedy hope for redemption...

He had been fine with the girls not speaking to him, except maybe for Hermione. He was miserable now that the boys were ignoring him. Ron was avoiding him widely, or else darting into the nearest room. Harry no longer was invited to the common room – not that he had wanted to go. Helen's gloomy look was more than enough to increase his feeling of despair.

Harry knew he deserved punishment. To be truthful, he was craving for it. In any case, judgement on him had been reserved until there was any change in Amy's condition. She was in a coma at the infirmary. He had not asked to be allowed a visit, feeling it would be denied anyway. While no decision had been made, everyone was convinced of his guilt, it seemed. He had taken to eating alone, sitting alone during the lessons, and taking long, lonely walks in the evenings, although November had arrived a week ago, and it was getting colder and rainier each day.

Now, he was hovering in a state of insecurity about the future. It would not be the earliest departure in his career of orphanages. It certainly would, however, be the saddest. For the first time in life, he had had friends. People had not hated him for being different. In the end, Harry reflected sadly, they had always turned against him. This time was the worst. It was bound to hurt more than usually; eventually, he would get over it, wouldn't he?

"I am getting colder", he concluded to himself. "I should be properly immobilised with painful conscience, and all I can think is, 'Wait and see'."

Unbidden, an image of Tom Riddle flashed through his mind, and he jumped so badly his blanket fell off. Of course! Tom must have gone through exactly the same to become what he was. Actually, Tom Riddle's mere presence was a warning, was it not? His every gesture, his every syllable, told people around him, "Don't become like me." And Harry had not heeded him, he had rather chosen exactly the opposite direction.

Only, at this stage, it was too late for regrets. He could apologise to every single inhabitant of the orphanage, and they would not listen to him more than they would to the buzzing of a bee. If Amy woke up, he might have a chance to redeem himself; she had broken two ribs, and her head was badly injured, so she might not wake up all too soon. Helen had considered having the girl transferred to a hospital. There was not enough money for the transfer, so the amount and the quality of food at the orphanage had been reduced severely. Consequently, the atmosphere had reached an all-time-low, or so it seemed. Naturally, the one to blame was, again, Harry.

Harry cursed to himself silently as the clock on the wall resumed its loud ticking, cutting rudely through his sad musings. He might as well get dressed. Harry did not think he would be able to sleep anymore, not with the volume of Neville's snores increased, and that – ruddy – clock –

Harry pulled a sock from his drawer and stuffed the hands of the clock into it. The pointed hands tore his sock immediately and went on as though nothing had happened.

Furious, Harry grabbed his books and left the room.

Harry had not decided where to go; the clock had driven him out of the bedroom, and now there were two choices: the cafeteria, or the common room. A possible third choice, namely, going outside, had been cancelled out by the weather. Rain was coming down thick and fast. People were already wondering whether it would ever stop at all. Dreariness was settling in. Ginny was not her usual spirited self anymore, as Harry had gathered from covert glances around the cafeteria. She no longer presented him with her furious stares, but she also had ceased joking around with her friends, and had stopped talking to Hermione altogether. Harry had wondered whether a rift of some kind had sprung up between them. Well, he was not going to find out soon, was he, Harry thought resignedly as he sat down at the breakfast table.

The cafeteria was empty except for him. He seized the time to browse through his books, but after fifteen minutes, this became very boring. After all, his school books had been his pastime for a few days now, and he was downheartedly sick of them. On the other hand, he knew that Helen had brought books of a more entertaining nature – novels, biographies, and others – to the orphanage. They were stored in a cupboard in the classroom, for everyone to borrow one.

Harry was decided. He closed his school book, got up swiftly, and sneaked out of the cafeteria. The corridor was deserted. Still, Harry thought he heard voices, and when he was level with the classroom door, it was opened from the inside, and Hermione Granger emerged, looking extremely put out about something. She did not notice him, as he was standing in the shade, unmoving, and he watched her walk away silently. She had seemed deeply in thought. Wondering what on earth might have upset her that tremendously, Harry peeked into the classroom. It was empty.

***

Over breakfast, Helen informed them that new arrivals, including a second teacher, were expected during the following days. Harry did not join in the excited cheering that erupted all over the table. He knew that if he tried, he would be hindered to talk to the new children, and his story would be known within minutes anyway.

He felt Riddle's eyes rest on him, and looked up. Tom's dark eyes were boring into his own. Harry started to feel sick, but he could not remove his gaze.

A rush of incredible guilt flooded through him, erasing all current feeling. Amy's face swam into view, the panic on her face as he grabbed her arm. Harry's heart was hammering in his chest so loudly he almost wondered why other people did not hear him.

Then Hermione came to him in his mind, smiling at him from underneath her pile of bandages. Hermione avoiding him and Ginny. Hermione emerging from the classroom. He could not bear it any longer, but still could not tear his eyes away from Riddle.

A thought sprung up in his mind, and it was not a pleasant one. What if Riddle was using his magic to explore Harry's mind? Did that mean Harry was controlled by him, so he could not look away, allowing Riddle to browse through his mind like reading a book?

Suddenly, Riddle lowered his eyes to the table. Immensely relieved, Harry got up immediately and dashed out of the room.

Had he really just felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders? Amy's face was back, glaring at him accusingly. He shook his head, whispering frantically, "I didn't do it, I didn't do it..." Sweat broke out on his forehead, and Hermione walked past him, giving him a reserved look he thought he detected a trace of concern in, but it probably was just wishful thinking.

Harry blinked twice to ascertain that she really had been there. All by herself?

It took him a few more seconds to collect himself, but then he ran after her, not upstairs, but down the corridor that led to the infirmary.

"Hermione", he called out, keeping his voice down at the same time so no one would hear them. She slowed down, allowing him to catch up with her. Her eyes did not meet his.

Unsure what to say next, Harry walked with her in silence until they reached the infirmary. Here, Hermione fixed her eyes onto some point near his right shoulder, and said quietly, "You're not supposed to be here."

"I – I need to see Amy", Harry told her. It was not a lie – he had not intended to come to the infirmary, but he was in desperate need to clear that face from his mind.

Hermione shook her head sadly. "It is impossible. You know that perfectly well."

"Hermione", he said, lowering his voice. "I am not guilty."

He surely must look guilty, talking to her like that, trying to be allowed a visit to his victim – to finish his task?

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked quietly. "You did push her down the stairs, didn't you? Ron even told me it had happened before, that a boy who had stolen your glasses almost drowned..." Her voice trembled near the end, and she paused.

Harry felt a surge of rage heat his veins. So she had been talking about him with Ron, had she? And Ron was spreading stories Harry had told him in confidence, was he?

"You see... I do not want to think that you are responsible of this. I thought we could become great friends, but..."

"Look, Hermione", Harry said desperately. All of a sudden, it weighed immensely that she believed him. "It happened right after Riddle had walked past the two of us. He must have made me do it..."

Suddenly, her eyes were very cold. He froze, unable to finish.

"You're not even feeling remorse, are you?" she asked in a voice so bare of emotion it made him shudder. "You're trying to lay the blame on someone else! And you even prepared your ground when you told me that story about Tom Riddle in the infirmary." Her eyes were very wide, as though realisations were coming to her in a rush. "He may be aggressive, but it seems that you are worse than him."

"Hermione, please..."

"No!" Her eyes were full of tears now. "I – I saw you watch him over breakfast – I don't even want to know what you were thinking – how convenient for you that he is here at this orphanage! I can see now why you never lasted long at one place! If this is your true nature, I despise you more completely than I thought I could ever despise anyone!"

Her chest heaving with emotion, she glared at him, her eyes finally looking straight into his.

Harry felt the ground shake under his feet. Or maybe his feet were refusing to carry him any longer. She did not believe him. The facts were against him, and they had not had the time to establish a relationship of trust.

He was all alone in this world.

***

The following day, Harry awoke with a headache.

He had been walking around at the seashore for hours the previous evening, and after a while, he had not even felt the rough wind on his cold skin anymore. He had returned in the dead of the night to find that Neville had moved to a different room. It had been too late to find out exactly where, but he was probably with Ron.

Harry did not leave his room that day. Nobody came to see him, and he spent hours sleeping. Sometimes he was half-awake, holding conversations with fantasised company. The first illusion was Ginny, sitting on the floor, cross-legged. Her clothes kept changing colours. Once she was there, once she was not. It was quite annoying. She never said a word, only looked at him indifferently. Well, she probably no longer cared about him anymore, now that she impersonated other people's talkative shadows.

The next person was Neville – of course he had to follow Ginny like a dog – and he spent most of his time telling funny stories about his cute baby sister, how she always crawled around as a baby, how she answered to things she did not understand at all, with entertaining results. Doubled up with laughter, Neville vanished on the spot.

Tom Riddle entered through the ceiling, holding hands with Hermione.

"See", he announced. "This is where it ends for you, Potter. You will not get any nearer to her than you are now. Do you know where you are?" He nodded gravely. "You are on the most remote seashore, indeed. She is mine now." His long, white fingers caressed Hermione's head. She smiled.

"No, she's not", Harry wanted to yell, but his voice failed him, and anyway, they were gone, leaving him to loneliness, and to ponder whether Hermione might really have a thing for Tom. Why else would she have defended him like that, not believing Harry at all?

Harry suddenly wondered why he cared. For all he knew, both Amy and Ginny would have done anything for him – whereas Hermione had arrived with an air of – business? She did not care about him in particular, she even was happy to let him talk to other girls in private. She was interfering where she should not meddle, she was too wise for her age, she was too reserved, she was brilliant, and he missed her deeply.

Miserably, Harry buried his head in his pillow. He had lost her for good, and before they had even passed through the stage of getting acquainted.

An hour later, he had another visitor. Amy strolled in through the door casually, behaving like this was her place to be. She peeked into Harry's face with a curious smile, like a baby might have watched him bent over its cradle.

"Harry", she said. "I didn't expect you to be here."

"I'm sorry", he whispered through dry, hot lips. His forehead was burning, and she grew blurry before his eyes. When he opened them again, she was gone.

***

Early the next morning, Harry awoke and dressed gloomily. Rain lashed against the windows. The sky was drained of colour; every now and then, a fork of lightning cut through the clouds.

Harry's head seemed to weigh a ton. He got up nevertheless; he did not think he could stand another day with his hallucinations and dreams, dreams about a yellow pool of water he was lying in face-down, not moving, not breathing, not speaking. It had been haunting him for a long while now, and he just could not trace it back to anything in his real life. It was eerie.

Whispers burst out all around him as he entered the cafeteria. He no longer cared.

Harry's eyes briefly met Neville's. His former roommate's cheeks reddened, but he continued talking with Ginny in an excited voice. Ginny, on the other hand, was looking rather exhausted. Harry noticed that Neville, Ginny, Ron, Luna, and Hermione were all sitting together. Hermione's eyes were rather red, and she was watching Tom furtively.

Had Tom rejected her?

It was an absurd thought, and Harry abandoned it quickly. Maybe they had fought again – yes, this seemed more likely.

What if he asked her?

Harry mentally shook himself by the collar. He must not enrage her again. At the same time, misery was weighing in his stomach. He needed to talk to her. If she believed him, the world would righten itself a little.

Ron guffawed at something Neville had said. Harry strolled towards the end of the table and started eating his poor-quality breakfast.

Around lunchtime, Helen called them outside. The rain had ceased, and only a fine downpour was brought to them from the forest. The wind was still very strong.

The black carriage was trundling up the winding path once again. Everyone watched anxiously as it fought against the storm raging above sea level. This side of the hill was completely unprotected.

"They are having trouble", Hermione said, her lips trembling.

Harry darted forward with outstretched hands. He did not know why he was doing it; the carriage, which had been about to fall, however, straightened up and continued on its way.

"Well done", Helen said, beaming. Surprised, Harry turned around, but she had not spoken to him.

Everyone was watching Tom Riddle. His right hand was outstretched, and pointing at the carriage. He gave Helen a smile that looked as if it had been trained carefully for hours.

Harry's jaw dropped.

And then he understood. Riddle was trying a different tack now.

Tom had always attracted hate with ease. Now, he was trying to make the others love him.

Which meant that Harry was to replace Tom as The Bully for good.

Hermione's eyes, shining brightly with fascination, were on Tom. A bitter smile on his face, Harry turned back towards the carriage, shivering in the cold breeze.

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Coming up: "Sir Teacher". In which Hermione has her say.

The breakfast scene is repeated in this chapter. And there's more than one point of view. I trust you not to become too confused. Thanks ^-^

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Chapter 6 – Sir Teacher

Hermione Granger felt horrible.

First of all, her new orphanage was a place where bullies reigned. Second, one of those bullies was a freak who paraded his strange powers; the other was someone she had found very agreeable in the least, and she hated being deceived. Third, she had not made any friends yet, and she was lonely.

She liked the two girls living together with her in her room fairly enough, yes. Ignoring the fact that one was completely over the top with her emotional range and not talking to her at the moment, and the other was plainly insane. They were likeable, of course they were.

"Loooona!! Aren't you coming? I could eat a swine!"

"I like the way the dust settles in patterns, look."

Hermione rolled her eyes. Just what she had said, was it not?

She longed for someone to talk to. There were several things she needed to get off her mind. Harry had confided in her about his very frightening and weird encounter with Tom Riddle. He would have been her first choice to confide in about that recent incident. She had returned a book to the classroom... yellow liquid had come from nowhere, and then she had seen... no, she hadn't. These things certainly did not exist. It had completely flustered her, and she hated being irrational. She still was not sure what to make of it.

Harry, however, had already revealed his true nature at that time. Sadly, she could only conclude that he had deliberately made her suspicious of Tom Riddle. His plan might have worked out – no one at the orphanage liked Tom Riddle. Tom would have made a great scapegoat had Harry not been caught in the act, standing at the top of the stairs, with Amy a wretched heap below him.

Just why he had done it, Hermione could not fathom. It seemed so out of tune with the friendly Harry she thought she had met. Hermione had so far prided herself with her correct judgment of people she had barely met. It irritated her to no end that he had turned out to be the greater bully. She reasoned that he was sly, that his entire business was about deceiving, tricking, and lying to others. And yet, she could not bring herself to actually believe that the boy with the gentle eyes who had welcomed her so warmly outside the cafeteria was not someone to trust.

Her thoughts strayed to Tom Riddle, who had without warning made his 'special powers' publicly known the previous evening, granting her and Ginny a full apology for the previous incident where he had sent her flying into the wall. It was very curious.

Ginny was standing in the door, her arms folded over her chest. Next to her, Luna was smiling. "Are you coming, Hermione?" Luna said warmly.

The boys were waiting outside as usually. Immediately, Neville engaged an unenthusiastic, not to say bored, Ginny in conversation. Ron set off with Luna, whom he seemed to consider an object of study, probably in the field of madness. Hermione resigned to trotting after them, listening to her own stream of thoughts. She had not been sleeping well, and she had been crying. Her eyes felt puffed up and she knew they were a bright red. She had seldom felt more miserable in her life.

***

Harry slouched into the cafeteria feeling extremely tired. He allowed his eyes to travel over the group sitting nearest Tom Riddle. Neville was talking avidly to Ginny. The girl was stifling a yawn. No news there. Luna was waving her hands before Ron's face, while he watched her with a display of genuine interest.

Hermione was sitting with them, but quietly. Her eyes were rather red. Two empty chairs separated her from Tom Riddle. She kept glancing at him covertly.

Ron guffawed at something Neville had said. Harry strolled towards the end of the table and started eating his poor-quality breakfast. He felt he had barely eaten anything when he got up, and returned to his room to fall asleep immediately.

***

The carriage came to a halt with a nasty screeching sound. Then, the door flew open, rattling in its hinges. Several people gasped as a bear-like figure emerged. Two enormous boots thundered on the ground. Then, the bear straightened up; his cloak fell to the ground and revealed a rather slim yet muscular person. With a seemingly casual gesture, his right hand removed a streak of dark mane from his face. His eyes were littered with dozens of twinkling stars. Underneath, dazzling teeth formed a gorgeous smile. He was more than simply handsome.

Helen found her voice first. In fact, she seemed quite unaffected by his appearance. She stepped forward, extending a hand; there was no warmth in her eyes. "Well, welcome, Sirius."

"Hi, Helen", he said in a husky voice. "Good to see you."

"He's marvellous", Ginny whispered audibly. The man did not look at her, but his smile deepened. He turned to face the whole herd of anxious children.

"Well, hello", he said, employing a humorous tone. "My name is Sirius Black. I'm going to be your second teacher from now on. You may call me Sirius, or Sir Teacher. You see, I'm nobility." He gave a barking laugh.

Stunned silence greeted his words. "So not funny", the silence seemed to shout. Sirius did not seem to mind; again, he ruffled through his hair. "You see, it's been a long journey. I wouldn't mind a bite, how about you?"

They had all eaten, of course, and were not hungry. Nevertheless they took his words as a signal to head back inside.

***

In the hall, Hermione found herself on her own again. Ron had set off at high speed with Luna, probably because she wanted to show him the absurd shapes the logs in the chimney could assume, and Ginny had found herself besieged with Neville's endless talk again. And so, Hermione dawdled until they had disappeared entirely and Harry slouched into the hall.

Harry looked not only frozen to the bone, but also distinctly put out about something. For some reason, Hermione was almost sure she knew what it was without asking. Not wanting to talk to him anyway, she looked around frantically, but there was no place to hide.

He had seen her and stood quite still.

Silence fell.

They could hear the din the other children were making above, and the clanking of dishes from inside the cafeteria. In contrast, the hall was silent as a graveyard.

Harry simply looked at her. Somehow, she did not have the heart to lower her gaze.

"Hermione", he said finally. His voice was almost a whisper, as though he feared they might be overheard.

She blinked. Inexplicably, a huge lump had grown out of nowhere in her throat. She fought hard to look anywhere but at him. However, when she finally mustered enough courage to remove her gaze from the floor, she was shocked to find Harry standing right before her.

"Hermione", he said with a small smile.

Instinctively, she withdrew a few inches. "No! It's not like..."

Carefully, he extended a hand, but stopped before he actually touched her face. She could feel the heat of his fingertips burn her skin. It was ridiculous. And yet, she could not shake off the feeling.

Sirius Black chose that particular moment to come bursting in from the cafeteria. "Ah, that was good! I'm full!" he exclaimed then drew up short at the sight of them. "Oh. Sorry." What with his grin actually stretching from ear to ear, he did not look remotely sorry.

"Well, you're Harry, aren't you?" Sirius said when they would not reply. "I've heard about you. Would you mind a chat?"

"No", Harry said, sounding hoarse for some reason.

"Okay... follow me, then."

Harry cast half a glance at Hermione as he stumbled away in Sirius' wake.

With a huge sigh of relief, Hermione turned towards the staircase.

Ginny was waiting for her at the top. "Where have you been?" she demanded in her usual reprimanding tone.

"Talking to me again?" Hermione asked coolly. "It's okay for me to think Harry might fancy other girls than you after all?"

"I've been proven right, haven't I?" Ginny said sharply. "He was up to no good with her. I don't understand how you could still take sides with Harry after what has happened!"

"Well", Hermione said slowly, "I don't know how you could be so absolutely sure from the beginning that Harry would hurt Amy someday. From what I gathered, she had a thing for him, and he was being shy about her."

"You're still defending him!"

"No, I'm not", Hermione said very quietly.

"You did talk to him down there just now, didn't you?" Ginny went on, ignoring her. "He's still trying to fool you, don't you see that?"

A door opened and Tom Riddle came walking towards them. His eyes never left Ginny, who glared at him. The look would have made anyone cower but Riddle. The corner of his mouth, however, twitched slightly as he passed her.

When he reached the top-most stair, Hermione's eyes were on his back.

"You should watch out for Potter, Hermione", Tom said suddenly in an unusually kind voice. He did not turn around to face her. "He's got powers like me, only he's in control of them much more than I am. It is why he marked me down as his rival the day we met. I am sorry to see that you already trust him too much."

Finally, he looked at her, and the expression of his eyes seemed to overpower her.

"You want to be careful", he said in an even lower voice. "Those beautiful eyes of yours are going to break from grief if you continue searching his good side. He has none."

Ginny gaped.

Once Riddle had left, she rounded on Hermione.

"What was that all about?" she demanded. "Don't tell me you and Tom Riddle –"

"Oh, stop it", Hermione said wearily. "You know, people can care for each other without having secret engagements. I do think you're being a bit paranoid."

Ginny opened her mouth to retaliate. Hermione, however, marched fiercely past her, not wanting to hear another word. She really needed to think now.

***

Having pranced into the empty classroom, Sirius sat down on a desk. A small smile lingered around his mouth.

"Well?" he said. "Anything you want to tell me?"

Harry did not reply.

Several minutes passed. Suddenly, the new teacher looked very stern and grown-up. "Let's talk openly, Harry. I won't be able to make you believe I haven't heard about you. In fact, you're the reason I came here."

Harry stared at him.

"Orphanages in this country, and especially this one, are not so much self-reliant and unmonitored as you may believe, Harry. We have had an eye on Tom Riddle for a while now. He never gave us reason to interfere." Harry snorted in disbelief. "Oh, of course we knew he was not at all innocent", Sirius continued. "However, if there were strange things going on, we could never trace them back to him. He behaves quite well, you see. You, on the other hand..."

And Sirius heaved a deep sigh.

"I want to impress on you the horrible nature of your behaviour. It is lucky you did it for all to see. Bullying others in secret is not only a nasty thing, it is also much harder to fight. You, on the other hand, allowed me to come here, so I can attempt to make you a better person."

Harry said nothing. So this social worker had already classified him as a bully. And he had told him that he was not about to do anything against Tom Riddle even though he knew that Tom was worse than Harry.

"Don't get me wrong", Sirius said in his lowest voice. "I hear that Tom Riddle has very strange powers... It seems that he took Amy Benson and another boy into a cave with him some years ago, and we never actually found out what happened there. I know he is dangerous, and I have been praying for a chance to get to him all these years."

Surprised, Harry stared at him. Did that mean...

"You could help me", Sirius concluded. "I think that even if you are not innocent, there might be some interesting details you could give me about Tom."

A knock on the door made both of them jump.

"Yes", Sirius called out. Harry saw beads of sweat form on the teacher's forehead.

Tom Riddle entered the room, looking paler than usually.

"Oh, I beg your pardon for my rudeness", he said politely, but with a sneer that completely eradicated the effect of his words. "I thought I had heard voices. It is just that I need to get a certain book for my studies."

And he walked over towards the bookshelf, looking quite untroubled at the expression on Sirius' face. Harry wondered what it conveyed – was it fear?

What was there between Tom Riddle and his new teacher?

"Well, Harry", Sirius said, "I think that's all for today. You may go back to your room now..."

Harry, however, did not feel like heading back to his lonely chamber just yet. Once the classroom door had shut behind him, he strolled down the corridor, hesitating a split-second whether he should go to the infirmary, and deciding against it. Instead, he set off for the hall and walked outside into the chill afternoon air.

It took him a while to realize where his feet were carrying him almost instinctively – towards the beach.

The sky was a leaden colour, hanging low above his head. The sea stretched endlessly towards a yellow horizon; its surface was bubbling and brooding eerily. The wind carried strange voices from an invisible shore beyond the distant horizon. Harry shivered.

"Hello, Harry", said a dreamy voice behind him. He spun round.

"Oh, it's you", he said, letting out a long sigh of relief. Luna smiled vaguely. Harry noticed that the same wind tearing at his own jet-black hair furiously left Luna's waist-long mane oddly untouched.

"Who did you expect?" Luna asked serenely.

"What? Oh, no one in particular", Harry replied, shuffling his feet in the sand.

They watched the waves thunder and roar and crash, Harry feeling very much at ease with the world for a change, and Luna looking very calm.

"You know", she began once more, "I could talk to Hermione for you."

"Why would I want you to talk to Hermione?" Harry returned, his heart beating very fast.

Luna gazed at the waves dreamily, as though lost in memories, and did not reply.

___________________________________________________________________________

Coming up: "My dearest"

In which Harry is asked to become engaged.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from the Harry Potter universe. I've just borrowed them and will return them safely to where I've taken them from.

Dear me... Has it really been almost SIX months since I posted the last chapter?! I beg for your forgiveness... I had a huge workload on my agenda, and in April, I moved to Japan, so my apologies... At least, I've got this typed out until the very end now (hehe), so I promise more regular updates from now.

I'm taking a few strides forward at last. The big reveal is not bound to come very soon. Stick around, please... I just know you're going to both curse and praise me by the end of this chapter. Hehehe. No, I'm not particularly sane, but you already knew that.

To the other authors around here, how much time do you spend on your chapters? Just being curious.

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Chapter 7 – My dearest

It seemed like hours afterwards. Harry could almost feel the pressure of the past days being lifted from his shoulders as he stood there, Luna next to him. No unspoken words passed between them, nor did he feel any closeness to her. And yet, her presence was soothing in a way words could not describe.

Somewhere in between, she left. His eyes followed her uphill. He saw her blonde, unmoving hair glisten in the sun that had finally come out.

The scenery changed.

Yellow liquid erupted from the woods on hilltop and flooded everything, came roaring down to where he, Harry, stood, one small boy against a giant enraged wave. Miraculously, it calmed down the moment before it reached him. The orphanage was no longer visible, nor was Luna; they had disappeared behind a wall of yellowish water, the same that was now covering Harry up to his waist. It was not, however, wet or cold. Harry would not have noticed its presence at all had he not been able to see it.

The stream of liquid joined the sea, creating a broad path of gold perpetually moving in waves. These were huddled together closely under the dense clouds – and all of a sudden, they created a huge face.

Harry gasped and stumbled backwards.

It was not a face he knew, and yet it was strangely familiar. An old man was looking down on him through half-moon shaped spectacles. His eyes were full of kindness, and there was a hint of urgency in his lined face. He moved his lips, but no sound came out.

Losing his head completely, Harry tore his gaze from the thing and pelted uphill. The yellow liquid parted before him as he ran, finally revealing the orphanage.

Harry skidded into the hall, panting. As he ran through the corridor, he just saw Luna's back disappear at the top of the stairs.

***

What was it between Tom and Ginny? Harry had already got used to Tom watching the red-haired girl a lot; this evening, however, he witnessed her staring at the pale boy furiously all over dinner. Hermione was not there; he had bumped into her at the entrance to the cafeteria, at which she had given him a frightened look and positively fled. Sirius was missing as well. Harry overheard a group of girls discussing his absence, and his good looks. At the top of the long table, Helen was looking sour, her black hair in a tight bun. Ron was sitting alone with Neville for a change; Luna had retreated into a distant corner and was not eating, but playing witness to them all, as though they were unknowingly participating in some weird drama.

After dinner, Harry dashed upstairs into his room where he lay on his bed, spread-eagled, for hours. Nobody disturbed his peace, although he did hear people walk up and down the corridor. He had never before noticed how alive the orphanage sounded. Eventually, however, silence fell as the lights went out, and Harry drifted into an untroubled sleep filled with dreams that were happily void of yellowish old men's faces.

At least they were in the beginning.

***

The following morning was dedicated to peanuts.

Of course, the other children still would not talk to Harry. But, he gathered from their conversations over breakfast that Amy's condition had not improved in the least and Helen was seriously considering a transfer to a hospital. Hence, money was short, and Flinch had returned from his regular shopping tour with a large box containing nothing but peanuts. Consequently, the children spent the morning sitting in small groups around bins and peeling. There was not one happy face in the room, and more than once, Ron let out a frustrated groan, especially as Luna turned over their bowl, scattering the peanuts in a neat circle. He went to retrieve them, throwing Harry a dirty glance.

"Wish I could just make these things peel themselves", Ron muttered. Neville's eyes flickered to Harry for the merest second.

"Where's Tom? He could do it", Ginny said loudly from near the window, where she was sitting in silence with a red-eyed Hermione.

Indeed, Tom had retired immediately after breakfast. Apparently, peanuts did not fall into the range of his duties.

Sirius was absent again. Helen had chosen not to comment on this. Generally, the atmosphere was very tense. Harry felt he attracted too many stares, not surprisingly, but it would be a relief to finish. His fingers already felt raw.

"Here, Harry", Luna said, handing him yet another bowl. Thankfully, he reached out for it, but Ron chose that precise moment to extend his right arm, unbalancing Luna's and smashing the bowl. "Oops", he said.

Quietly, Harry knelt down to tidy up the mess and was surprised to find Luna doing the same. He would have given anything to stop her. Judging by the expression on Ron's face, he was about to make another enemy. Then, however, Ron shrugged and joined the two of them without a word.

Lunch was, predictably, a menu consisting of peanut pasties, rolls with peanut butter, and peanut cream for dessert. Opinions varied about this new diet.

"Disgusting", Ginny informed the others. "I don't think I can stomach this. Right" and she put down her fork, "it's time for someone to take responsibility." Her eyes bored into Harry's. Before he could say anything in reply, however, Helen stood up and called for silence.

"This is not an easy situation", she began. "We will have to live mainly on peanuts for a while. It is too cold to grow anything in our garden just yet, and we do not have the money to satisfy your need for variant food. I expect you all to stick together. Please try not to lay the blame on one single person. When this is over, we shall confront the need to discuss several important issues. Until then, leave it to me and Mr Flinch to find some alternatives."

A general murmuring broke out after her speech. Harry could not help noticing how many angry eyes fell on him in spite of Helen's words.

"About time too we tackled 'several important issues'", Ron grunted angrily in a low voice. Emil, who was sitting with them for a change, tittered nervously.

***

In the afternoon, Harry went to his room to think. Not long into having fallen asleep, however, he was woken by a sharp blow on his head.

"Luna's had an idea. We're waiting for you in the hall", Ron said coolly, still bent over Harry's bed.

The door slammed shut behind him. Harry got up, massaging his forehead with his fingers. He washed his face while his almost-blind mirror watched him drearily.

A small group of people was standing in the hall. Ginny was hovering agitatedly near the corridor. Neville, Luna and Ron were already at the entrance; Hermione and Emil were talking almost cheerfully.

"What took you so long?" Ginny demanded immediately when she caught sight of Harry. "We told Helen we were leaving half an hour ago!"

"Don't exaggerate, Ginny", Ron said coolly, although he, too, looked disgruntled.

"Where are we going anyway?" Harry inquired politely. Ron spared him a resentful look before he turned to nod at Luna. Immediately, the blonde girl fixed her gaze onto Harry. He shivered. It felt odd to be watched like that, even though he knew Luna.

"It seems that we are supposed to be living on peanuts only for a while", Luna said in a tone that indicated no reproach towards Harry. "I like peanuts, but I think I have already seen enough of them after our last meal."

"Hear, hear", said Ginny casually, but Ron shooed her as Luna continued.

"I have discussed the matter with Ronald and Helen. We think it might be a good idea to go into town and, well, ask the people there for food."

Harry nodded. "Ok..."

"Luna said to take you along", Ron went on, throwing Harry yet another dirty look. "As for me, I'd rather you stayed in your bedroom, but... Well, off we go!"

A surprise awaited Harry as they stepped outside into the already setting sun. Next to a gleaming pile of once neatly arrayed bicycles that had collapsed under its own weight stood Helen, casting them all a very maternal look. Harry felt warm in spite of the cool breeze.

"Well, good luck", she said hoarsely. "I told Flinch to wait for you in case you're late. Please put the bicycles back into the shed –" she pointed to a shaggy wooden cabin Harry had never noticed before – "once you're back."

Ginny stormed forward to grab the bike on top, pushing Harry aside. The others followed smoothly. As it turned out, there were not enough for all of them, so Neville was allowed to sit behind a very reluctant Ginny; Luna, of course, shared with Ron, and Emil, with Hermione. Harry was left to pick the bike at the bottom. Its lights had shattered, but apart from that, it seemed in order. He gingerly tested the brakes before he followed the others downhill, briefly wondering whether they might finally allow him into the infirmary if he broke a leg or two...

Halfway downhill, Harry had to shield his eyes against the sun, which so strongly reflected on the water surface it had coloured the whole hill yellow, no, golden.

Harry stopped for a few seconds to have a long look around, while the others were continuing on their path. The light was almost gone...

Suddenly, a pair of red-hot eyes bored into Harry's neck. Sweat broke out all over his body, and he shivered with fright. Whimpering, he hid his face in his hands.

Amy's voice echoed inside his head. Her scream, over and over again, bounced against the inside of his skull.

The attack was over as suddenly as it had begun. Harry carefully removed his hands from his wet cheeks and looked around carefully. Then he jumped so badly he almost slipped.

Tom Riddle was standing on top of the hill, watching him.

***

Their tour through town was only a minor success. What with Ron's snide remarks about Harry falling behind on the path downhill, and people slamming the door shut in their faces, and the night that had quickly enveloped them in shivering cool, there was not one single member of the small group that did not secretly wish to return home. However, none of them spoke, seeing as the lump Ron was clutching, a dirty cloth containing leftovers of a turkey, was the only treat they had received this evening. None of them wanted to return to the orphanage with bare hands.

"Let's try the one over there next", Hermione said. She was probably the most tired of them, judging by her eyes, and yet she seemed highly motivated. It was probably her people-saving thing. After all, they wanted to help all the children at the orphanage.

"The one with the garden?" Ginny returned, rubbing her eyes wearily with her sleeve. Hermione nodded.

The house was very small, hunchbacked like an old dwarf between towering hedges. Yet it looked cosy, and the light radiating from the tiny windows held a promise of warmth and friendliness. As the children walked through the high grass that had not seen a mower in a while, they started feeling a little more cheerful. Even if they were rejected again, they might continue some more...

Harry knocked on the door.

"Coming", shouted a booming voice from inside immediately. Startled, the orphans and Emil looked at each other. Not only had this reply come unexpectedly fast, it had been a suspiciously familiar voice that had answered them...

The door flew open, and Sirius grinned down at them. "Well, well, so you have come to my hideout!" He laughed his barking laugh, and they instinctively drew a little closer together.

"Now come in, come in!" He motioned for them to step inside. "I'm not biting, you know!"

Hesitantly, they obeyed. The bulky door slammed shut behind them. Neville looked as Harry felt – like a mouse in a trap.

The feeling lessened slightly as they entered the living room, where a fire was crackling peacefully in the grate. Sirius came hustling in bearing a great tray, which he put down on the floor before the chimney, where a pretty woman, her honey-coloured hair flowing around her shoulders, was sitting. She smiled up at him, little stars dancing in her eyes.

"Do sit down", Sirius urged them impatiently. They grouped around the tray. It was laden with tea and hopefully peanut-free pasties. Harry's stomach gave a loud rumble as he realized they were there. The woman smiled at him.

"I'm Alice", she said. "Sirius has told me about you, Harry."

"Has he?" Harry asked feeling slightly nonplussed.

"Alice", said Sirius, his large feet thundering over the carpet, "is my girlfriend."

The children stared at him. He grinned mischievously. "You see, Helen doesn't approve of her... Or let's say she feels I don't know where my priorities lie. She says I should be at the orphanage all the time, when I can just as easily live here..."

"Well", Hermione spoke up while Ron and Ginny rolled their eyes simultaneously, "you know you should take your work a little more seriously. You have been absent from the orphanage for days now. Do you really think you are being fair towards Helen?"

"Now look here, Hermione", Sirius said uncomfortably. Harry noticed that Alice was considering Hermione through narrowed eyes. "I am taking my job seriously. But honestly, don't you think it's okay to work and enjoy life a little at the same time?"

"If you were working, I don't think Helen would raise any objections", Hermione returned flatly, helping herself to a cookie.

Sirius chose not to reply to this. Instead, he turned towards Harry.

"So... how's life at the orphanage?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "You see, Hermione's got a point. If you did spend some more time up there..."

"Let's have no more talk about this", Sirius interjected, looking a little disgruntled. "I see it's getting dark already. I think I'll accompany you uphill once you're finished eating. How does that sound?"

"We've got bikes", Ron said coolly. "Anyway, life's not going well at the orphanage. We're short on money, so we're having to live off of peanuts for the time being..."

Sirius shuddered. "Not the best diet one can dream of, is it?" He chuckled. Harry could not see what was so funny about this. From the way Hermione was glaring at Sirius, he could tell she also considered him very irresponsible.

"I guess it can't be helped. You see, Helen has kept me informed about these matters. Little Amy needs medical treatment, and the government is very unwilling to provide money for orphans these days..."

Harry glanced at Neville, who had just produced an oddly stifled sound, something between a cough and a sob. It probably related to his baby sister. Harry felt a surge of pity for Neville, but he knew he would be shooed down immediately if he dared display it.

"Let me speak openly. You're still blaming Harry, are you?" Sirius continued.

The kids stared at him.

After a pause, it was Ginny to speak up.

"Well, he did push her down the stairs..."

"I didn't!" Harry immediately blurted out. Now all eyes were on him. He felt his neck and cheeks redden.

"Course you did!" Ginny gave back angrily. "Or was there anyone else we just happened to overlook? Evaporated, did he?" Her voice was steely.

"Tom Riddle was there", Harry said quietly, avoiding Hermione's eyes. "You know his powers... I believe he made me do it..."

"Trying to escape responsibility, are you?" Ginny hissed.

"No!" Harry said loudly. "But - but -"

Unexpectedly, Sirius came to his rescue.

"You know, I am very interested in this Tom Riddle. He has shown traces of strange powers even as a baby." The children looked at him in disbelief. "Yes, and I also know a little anecdote you'll find enlightening. Will you hear me out?"

Harry glanced around. Ron and Ginny's faces displayed equal distrust. Neville was looking confused; Luna was busy examining a fly that was crawling over the wall. Hermione, on the other hand, seemed deeply engaged in thought...

Finally, Ron gave a sharp nod. "If you must... But, I'm not saying we'll believe you."

"Well, I'll take that as a 'yes' for now", Sirius replied, settling more comfortably next to Alice, who regaled him with a warm smile.

"A few years ago, Tom Riddle was not living at this orphanage. I knew him back then; I was an assistant teacher at the institution where he had lived since birth. He was a curious kid, never showing up for classes, but still getting full marks on the tests. But that was not what got me interested in him in the first place. There were stories spreading about him, passed in whispered voices when the other kids were sure he wasn't around. Just like in my class. I heard rumours about things that had disappeared, as though there was a magpie in their midst. These disappearances all took place when somebody had gotten into an argument with Tom Riddle. And there were even crueller stories, about murder..."

"Murder?" Ron interjected, his voice full of disbelief.

"Oh, yes, murder." Sirius smiled grimly. "A rabbit that had hung itself from the rafters. A bird with no head, and feathers everywhere. And the owners of these poor pets all had had some sort of run-in with Tom. You see, there was a chain of weird events, all somewhat linked to Tom Riddle. And then, poor Amy Benson..."

"Amy?" The children spoke at the same time as Harry watched.

"Yes, the very Amy Benson that has been so unlucky as to be transferred to the same orphanage where she encountered her nemesis again... Anyway, there was this trip to the sea for all the children... she and a boy of her age came back highly disturbed, and all they could say about what had happened was that they had gotten into a cave with Tom Riddle..."

Hermione's eyes were very round, and she was looking pensive.

"You see", and Sirius heaved a deep sigh, "Tom's got it in for that girl. He seems to have a reason to hate her. He's shown tendencies to bully people in many ways over all these years, and we can only assume how increasingly cunning he's become. It would not be beyond him to use Harry -"

"But where's proof of that?" demanded Ron. "You know, Harry's also been involved in strange incidents, and he's got strange powers like Riddle..."

"Is that true?" Sirius asked, looking at Harry through narrowed eyes.

"Yes", Harry said quietly after a pause. "But - I would never hurt anyone! I don't want these powers, they're frightening, and if they make me a bully like Riddle, I'd rather not have them at all!"

Silence followed his words. Harry could tell that the others were thinking hard. Sirius' words surely must have shed a different light on the matter.

Harry pressed his hands on his temples, rubbing them hard. If only he could think of something to convince them that he was innocent, had been innocent all the time...

"Show your powers", Sirius commanded.

Harry obeyed, making a chair move, then extinguishing the fire in the grate and make it flare up again.

The children, even Neville, were amazed.

"It's so hard to understand all of this, Sirius", Hermione pleaded. Her voice was faint, as though she was exhausted by the cascade of thoughts that must have flooded her brain.

"Oh, you'll understand in time, I'm positive of that", Sirius said, examining her face in earnest. "For the time being, we need to form an alliance against Tom Riddle, make him reveal his true colours."

The children nodded. All of them were very white. Harry felt an icy hand clench his stomach. To form a secret alliance against Tom Riddle would be about as safe as poking a sleeping tiger in the eye.

"And we need to redeem Harry. If you are hated by everyone at the orphanage, Tom will have free reign."

After a pause, Ron gave another sharp nod with his head. "I'm not entirely convinced", he voiced. "But, you've given us some stuff to think about. If it were true..." And he turned towards Harry. "I'll have to apologise to you. I thought you were a decent guy in the beginning. And I'd hate for you to be a nutter. That Tom Riddle guy certainly is one."

Such a wave of relief flooded Harry's stomach, he could not help smiling.

"And don't say you detest your powers", Hermione said in a croaky voice. "Moving things and controlling the elements is nothing horrible. Unless, of course, you decide to use it for something bad..." For the first time in days, she looked at him openly.

Harry nodded curtly. "Thank you."

Sirius let out a low whistle. "You've said something brilliant, Hermione. I hear Tom used his powers to rescue my carriage. Let's have Harry do some good things, too."

"But that might backfire, Sirius", Ginny said. "If Riddle gets wind of this... Who knows, he could make it become something horrible, and then the blame would all be on Harry again."

"Okay, I see your point", Sirius answered, looking slightly crestfallen. "Well, what we can do is display a deep bond of trust between you all. If you show that you're really good friends, in spite of everything that has happened... and... yes... I think it might be a fine idea to..."

He got up and walked around the tray to kneel down beside Harry.

"How would you feel about getting engaged with one of the girls in this room, Harry? Just pick your dearest."

***

They went uphill again in silence, their bikes loaded with the food Alice had provided for them, and their heads drooping down from the weight of thoughts. Sirius had promised to return the following day.

Harry rode behind Hermione and before Ginny, making his way uphill while he went over the things Sirius had told them for the umpteenth time. It surely was intriguing how Tom Riddle had done these many things and gotten away with them. They would have to think of a flawless strategy to beat him.

But then what? Lock him up forever? Harry was sure that no lock could resist Tom Riddle. If only there were an established community of people with these strange powers... For now, it was just him and Tom Riddle.

I am no longer alone, he reminded himself. I now have allies.

He glanced around at the others fondly. Then, Sirius' voice echoed inside his head once more.

Just pick your dearest...

His dearest! Harry had never been in love, and he was not sure if any of the feelings he had for the girls qualified as such.

Luna... she was weird. He had witnessed a few normal moments of hers, though, so it might just be a show. No, it wasn't, he corrected himself when he saw her perform an astonishingly acrobatic act just so she could sit behind her saddle. She was probably the girl he'd bonded least with so far.

Ginny... she certainly had been overtly interested in him from the first day, but he also had had an inkling that this might be her behaviour towards everyone. She was cute enough, and nice if she wanted to. Most of the time, however, she was aggressive...

And Hermione. He had experienced respect for her, even admiration, missing her, and a moment of wanting to be closer to her that had been very different from the one with Amy. Yet, she was probably too reserved, and he could not grasp what she was thinking most of the time.

Maybe he had best choose Ginny, if such an arrangement were to be considered seriously.

Harry almost chuckled to himself. Nobody had lost a word on this after Sirius had posed his question, so it was almost certainly declined. Just what was he thinking? He might have regained their trust to some degree, but still, that did not mean they would go this far for his sake.

They reached the orphanage and returned the bicycles, still not talking. It was not until they had emerged from the shed, somewhat reluctant to re-enter the building, that Ron spoke up.

"Well, how do we go on from here?" He was looking at Harry, who looked back, feeling puzzled.

"We'll behave as best friends, right?" Neville said in a squeaky voice. Harry considered this. "Well, if you guys can stomach me", he finally answered with half a smile.

"Mind, we'll be watching you carefully", Ron said. Then, all of a sudden, he grinned and thumped Harry on the back. "C'mon, mate, I saw your look of relief down there. You'd have to be a brilliant actor to fake that."

The others joined in the cheering, except for Hermione, who bit her lip. Harry glanced at her nervously.

"You know, Harry", she said, "I want to believe you didn't fake it and all... But it'll take time to fully trust you."

Harry was glad to hear her say this; it did not equal a death sentence, after all, and even held the promise of progressing further from there.

"You know", he told them, "I'm immensely happy that you asked me to join you in the village. I'll prove worthy of your trust."

"Hear, hear", said Ron enthusiastically, thumping him on the back again, so that Harry choked.

"One more thing, though, Harry..." A mischievous grin stole over his face.

"What is it?" Harry asked politely, feeling nervous again.

"About that engagement thing..."

"I'll do it", Ginny said immediately. "People were asking me if we're dating in the beginning. We can just tell them we've made up."

Harry had not expected this. Feeling very hot in the face, he stared at the ground.

Neville coughed. He had let out a low hiss at Ginny's words, and Harry could only fathom what they meant to the shy boy.

"I can imagine getting engaged with you, too, Harry", Luna said in her usual mystified tone. It was Ron's turn to hiss, although quietly. Harry felt his insides squirm.

Ginny was glaring daggers at Luna.

"Well, Harry", Ron said after a pause in which Hermione had not spoken. "It's up to you to pick your dearest." He only seemingly sounded casual.

Harry took a while to gather the courage to face them again.

"If I do get engaged..." he said slowly. Neville's face was shining with anxiety, while small beads of sweat were forming in Ron's face.

"If I do get engaged, the girl will be Riddle's first target."

"We're not scared, Harry", Hermione said quietly. Harry looked at her. She blushed, but still went on. "Each of us is going to be Riddle's target from now on, because we'll be your friends. You know what this means. It's a declaration of enmity against him."

Harry could only nod in agreement.

"An engagement", she continued, "will certainly make one of us seem closer to you than the rest. But, it will make the others ask questions, and maybe reconsider their stance against you. Tom will have to face a strong case against him before soon." She heaved a deep breath. "Anyway, I think we should all form a strong bond. And we shouldn't hide anything from each other..."

"Will you be my fiancée?"

The words were out before he could stop them. It was Ginny's turn to hiss audibly.

Hermione simply looked at him.

"If that's what you want, Harry", she said very quietly.

"Right, then it's settled!" Ron said in a loud, mock-cheerful voice. "Let's go inside, then."

Harry could not help but notice the way Ron creased his eyebrows as he said it, as though he was restraining himself.

***

Back in his room, Harry threw himself onto his bed, thinking hard.

Of course, his newly declared friends were not happy with the arrangements. How would they be? He had both rejected Ginny and Luna, and Ron had probably expected him to decline an engagement altogether. If anyone, Neville would be okay about it.

Neville! He might even move in with Harry again!

Harry felt slightly cheered at the thought.

And surely enough, there was a knock at the door. It was not, however, Neville who entered, but Hermione. She settled down next to him, as though this was her place to be, and watched him slightly nervously.

Harry smiled at her, even though his insides were squirming once more. "She's my fiancée", he thought. It was incredible.

Hermione extended a shaking hand and placed it into his. He squeezed hers gently.

"What is it?" he said in a low voice.

"I've just told Helen", she informed him. Her brown eyes were very wide as she said this; Harry thought he might get lost in them.

"About... us?"

"Yes."

"Oh." Harry was not sure what else to reply. She was silent for a while.

"You see..." she said finally, "Helen, of course, thinks that we're too young for this and everything, besides you having attempted murder on your sleeve. She's not encouraging us, but if we must go through with this, she told me to keep it as quiet as possible. She also expressed concerns about Riddle..."

"Shh!" Harry involuntarily pressed a finger to her lips, which were startlingly warm and soft. They were inside the orphanage, and he was not sure he wanted Riddle to overhear a conversation like this.

"Don't be so protective of me, Harry", Hermione said, reading his mind. "I've told you, I'm not scared. We'll let the others know tonight, when we're in the common room."

"Hermione... are you really okay with this?"

She sighed. "Don't trouble yourself with these questions."

He squeezed her hand once more.

"Okay, I'll be in my room", Hermione said vaguely, getting up.

He still held her hand and looked at her. She certainly was beautiful, with her cheeks flushed and nervousness in her eyes. Still, she did not avoid his prolonged gaze as he looked up into her eyes.

"You know... what you said about despising me..."

"Forget and forgive", she answered offhandedly. "We're engaged now, and we'll be the best of friends."

He nodded. His chest felt unusually warm, and he resisted the urge to pull her into a hug. She might not have approved of it.

Finally, he released her hand, although with difficulty, and she closed the door behind her.

He had already fallen asleep by the time Neville came. It was some time into the night before the dreams of yellow liquid came.

Come they did.

___________________________________________________________________________

Coming up: "The mad alchemist"

In which the forest reveals a secret.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from the Harry Potter universe. I've just borrowed them and will return them safely to where I've taken them from.

Welcome to a chapter I thoroughly enjoyed writing!! Not that I didn't enjoy the previous ones, mind you. I hope you'll find this agreeable, what with more 'new' characters making their entry... Ah, and poor Neville, isn't he? Also, I must say I've come to terms with Ginny. Not with H/G, that is to say. It's just interesting how writing your own story makes you reassess your take on characters you've only known from reading about them. Still, I'll be grateful for any reports from your side about OOCness! Preferably, I'd of course like to hear that you had a great read. Enjoy!

___________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 8 – The mad alchemist

The evening had gone by in a blur. Tom Riddle had been in the common room just as Harry had feared, and all the colour had drained from his face at the announcement.

Hermione had nestled close to Harry all evening, causing him to feel very uncomfortable and strangely pleased at the same time. Ron, Neville, Luna, Emil and Ginny had gathered around them to chat. Ginny's face in particularly had betrayed all sorts of emotions as usually; Harry, however, had felt no remorse at not choosing her, what with the warmth the wonderful girl next to him radiated. He felt glad to be alive.

The following weeks had been amazingly quiet. Harry noticed how several people relaxed their hardened stance against him, while others seemed much less ready to do so.

He, Neville and Ron were great friends again, like their first evening had promised. Emil was still extremely shy, with the addition of having grown weaker. Hermione was watching him with scrutinizing anxiety and even asked to share a room with him, which she was denied by a very strict Helen, who seemed less fond of her pet student now that she had committed the dreadful sin of becoming engaged.

One rainy evening, the friends were sitting together in the common room, talking about the day. Gloominess was pressing on the windows. But the friends were far from feeling depressed. Ron had just caused Luna to lapse into a fit of laughter – she was very prone to these outbursts, causing everyone watching to laugh along with her – when Tom Riddle arrived, looking down at them all coldly. Ginny stared fiercely back; Hermione hid behind her book.

"Can we help you?" Harry asked him, a frown on his forehead.

"I want to talk to you, Potter", Tom said harshly. "Follow me."

And he turned on his heel and left the room.

Harry glanced around at his friends.

"Don't", Hermione said. "He's up to something."

Ron nodded gravely. Harry had shared the anecdote of his visit to the attic with them.

Tom reappeared.

"I don't have time for you right now", Harry called out.

Riddle looked simply furious.

"One day", he said very quietly, still standing at the door, from where Harry should not have been able to understand him, "you'll regret this."

Lessons were fun these days, and as the cold days passed into spring, they were often held outside. Sirius showed up at the castle in very irregular intervals, and on these rare occasions often took his pupils to the sea or to the edge of the forest that for some reason, he would never enter.

"It's because there are weird creatures in the forest", Ron told Harry and Neville on a visit to their room (Emil had tagged along). "You know, I'm really curious about what they might be."

So it was agreed that they would use their next free afternoon to explore the forest. Hermione was opposed to it initially – "I mean, what's the use of it? And it might be dangerous!" – but in the end, she was convinced that they would be fine, it was just like taking a walk and they would be back before sunset. So she, among with the others, set off on a warm, balmy afternoon.

In spite of Tom's warning, it had already become natural for Harry to hold her hand on many an occasion. He took it this time too, and together, they walked in the lead of the others, feeling they had not a single care in the world.

The forest turned out to be green, leafy, and unexcitingly void of the fascinating creatures that Ron had hoped to meet.

They had, however, a pleasant time picnicking under a huge tree in a clearing, chatting away as the sky grew darker. When the air became chilly, they agreed to head back.

They were halfway home when they realized that one from their number was missing. Emil was no longer with them.

This caused Hermione to go spare with worry.

"I mean, he is sick and all, who knows, he might have collapsed!"

"You go on", Harry told Ron, Luna, Neville and Ginny. "We'll head back to get him."

"Shouldn't we all go?" demanded Ginny, but Ron, who had already nodded his agreement, cut through her words. "Don't be silly, Gin, they'll find him, and in any case, if we don't go back, Helen will send someone to look for us. Just make sure you hurry", he added to Harry.

Ginny was looking furious. Ron dragged her away by her arm. They could her complaining loudly even after the group had disappeared around a bend.

Harry was suddenly very conscious of finding himself alone with Hermione. They had never been since that evening when she had come to his room.

Hermione, however, had more pressing matters on her mind. "Let's go, Harry", she whispered.

Dusk was settling in around them, and before long, the moon came out, basking the path before them in silver light and creating a shiny circle on Hermione's hair.

Harry could not help noticing how beautiful she was...

Suddenly, Hermione stopped. "Hush!"

Harry listened carefully.

Voices!

There was no mistaking them in the gloomy forest, which had become as silent as death. There were indeed voices somewhere ahead of them. And they were arguing about something...

"What're you doing here, wandering around like this at night?"

It was somebody young speaking, a male. He sounded strangely like Ron...

"Yeah, maybe we should teach you a lesson for leaving your path", said someone else who sounded very similar to the first.

"Don't, oh, please, don't, I didn't mean to..."

Hermione squeezed Harry's hand painfully. Harry had recognized it, too: Emil was whimpering.

"Stupefy!" yelled the two males.

There was a flash of light in the thicket, a muffled scream, and a thudding sound. Hermione darted forward, dragging Harry behind her.

The pair arrived at a clearing, smaller than the one they had visited before. The scene before their eyes was frightening. Two tall male figures were towering over a lump on the ground.

Harry grabbed Hermione and pulled her behind a bush. They both held their breath as they watched.

"What shall we do with this one now, Gred?"

"Not sure, Forge. Let's take him to the master."

Those were funny names. And yet, they sounded strangely familiar. Just as their voices definitely resembled Ron's...

Harry had no time to ponder on this. The two males were now heaving up the motionless lump that was Emil and carried him away.

"Quick", Hermione breathed, so they got up and followed.

They did not have to walk a long way. Soon, the branches obscuring the path cleared to reveal a small hut. The windows were painted with specks of dust; faint light could be made out behind him. Smoke was rising from the chimney in curls.

"Somebody is living here", Hermione said in awe.

"They must be quite mad", Harry muttered. Hermione smiled weakly.

"In any case, they have got Emil", she reminded him. "What do we do?"

Before Harry could reply, however, a very cold voice resounded from inside the hut. To their horror, it said, "I think we may have guests. Gred, go bid them welcome."

The door of the hut flew open with an almighty crash, and one of the tall figures emerged, staring directly at where the pair stood hidden.

It was insane – there was no way he could see them in the darkness, Harry thought. And yet, the young man raised a hand and beckoned for them to come.

"Let's go", Hermione whispered, and together, they walked towards the hut.

***

Meanwhile, Ron, Luna, Ginny and Neville had arrived at the orphanage.

They were received by a disgruntled Flinch, who told them off for staying out so late, and sent them to their rooms.

Ginny was still bickering with Ron as they ascended the staircase.

"You know, you could at least have let me go with them, three and three would have been fine", she hissed.

"And what difference would that have made?" Ron sneered.

Behind him, Neville was nodding his consent, probably thinking it would have been way too dangerous for Ginny to go anyway.

"You know what I think?" Ron said harshly. "You're just trying to be in their way! You're still sour because Harry didn't pick you!"

"I don't care what you think, Ron, it's none of your business anyway!"

"Anyway, stop trying to be in their way!"

"I only wanted to help!" Ginny yelled, looking as though her head was on fire from outrage. "If Harry and Hermione get lost in the forest –"

"Shh!"

Tom Riddle had appeared at the top of the stairs, clearly looking for the source of the commotion. His eyes narrowed as he saw Ginny.

"I should have known it was you, Weasley. I am trying to concentrate and find you a nuisance. Do us all a favour and shut up."

He then turned to walk away. Ginny, of course, would not take anything from Riddle.

"Oh, have I cut through your concentration on very important matters, Tom?" she hissed.

He turned to face her. His face was stark white, and there was nothing but revulsion in his face.

"Quiet."

Ginny winced as though she had been electrified. Ron and Neville instinctively moved before her, glaring at Riddle.

Tom leered back at them.

"Maybe I should go and tell Helen that her pet pupil and the fiancé of convenience are taking a night time stroll in the forest", he said coldly.

"You're not", Ron retorted, although his face betrayed a certain amount of shock.

Tom Riddle paused as though he were listening to something.

"You know what", he said finally, "I don't think I'm going to after all. Your dear friends have landed themselves in trouble already."

"You will not scare us", Luna said plainly, fixing her clear gaze onto Riddle. "They will be fine."

Riddle shrugged and finally walked away.

Ron let out a deep breath.

"What was that about?"

"Do you think he knows something?" Neville asked, sounding worried.

"You know, I think he might. He's a nutter after all. Still, it could also be a bluff", Ron replied.

"Let's go looking for them", Ginny suggested. She had not calmed down entirely. Her eyes were blazing from an inner fire.

"I do not think Flinch would let us out again", Luna said innocently.

Ginny stomped her foot on the topmost stair angrily. "Don't you all see that this is what it was all about? A bond of friendship! Ha! Look at yourselves! Abandoning Harry and Hermione in the forest, just like that!"

Ron shook his head in exasperation. "Gin, we're not abandoning them. Don't you see why Harry told us to go back? So we won't get into trouble. We're safely back. But the most important thing is, if Harry and Hermione don't come back, we still can go looking for them - in secret. Think", he said in a low voice.

Ginny was silenced by these words. However, tears were welling up in her eyes.

"Look, Gin", Ron said, moving closer to her, "don't ruin everything for yourself. You're full of energy, but you're always releasing it at the wrong times. Don't worry, it'll be fine..."

She sniffed once then wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

"Thanks, Ron. I wish I had a brother like you."

"I'll be your brother anytime", Ron smiled. "I mean, we're friends and all, and we even look somewhat similar. And 'Wheezy' isn't that far from 'Weasley' either."

Neville stared unbelievingly at this new development of things.

"Well", Ginny said in a light voice, "shall we go to our rooms, then? Let's meet later tonight", she added.

And so they did.

***

They were led into the hut by Greg. Harry was feeling properly agitated. He could sense Hermione shivering; her nerves were most likely giving her the creeps.

Inside, the air felt stuffy. There was a roaring fire in the grate. To Harry's surprise, there were windows facing to all outward sides of the hut, although most of them were boarded up. What Harry had taken to be flecks of dust were in fact very delicate pieces of cloth in shades of grey. These gave him the feeling of having forgotten something crucially important. They almost seemed to be whispering to him in strange voices...

Harry shook his head to rid himself of the eerie thought and concentrated on Hermione. She looked faint with anxiety as her eyes moved over the scanty furniture, consisting of a large cauldron placed on a table in the centre of the room. It emitted a fair amount of smoke, which was astonishingly clear, so that the inside of the hut was merely glistening in a feeble haze.

There was a storage cupboard, containing various sorts of strange liquids in colours that looked simply revolting. Harry backed away from them.

Gred and Forge sat on either side of Emil on an unusually long couch by the wall. They were not looking at anyone or anything in particularly, but talking about something apparently funny in low voices.

Emil was unmoving, pale in the face, and had the appearance of having been placed to sit in an uncomfortably stiff position, rather than being able to move himself.

Hermione made as though to dash towards Emil the moment she saw him. Noticing this, Harry squeezed her hand to keep her from doing so, and she desisted.

The atmosphere was tense, as if they were kept waiting for something.

Suddenly, the flames in the grate turned green.

Harry watched in amazement as they blazed higher and higher, emitting green sparks and hissing violently. There was green light on the walls, and Gred and Forge's red hair turned a dark moss green.

Before Harry could begin to fear they might just be consumed by the flames, a dark shade began to materialise in the flames.

A man!

The dark figure straightened up and emerged from the flames, looking around the hut and brushing dust from his long coat.

The man was even taller than Gred and Forge. He had long, black hair, which had a strangely greasy aspect by the light of the fire that had returned to its natural colour again. His hooked nose was so long it looked as though its owner by habit sniffed out the odour of his visitors. He had a pale face, with dark shadows under the eyes, and his fingers were long and very white.

"Welcome, my dear guests", he said in a rather high voice. Harry recognised him immediately as the one who had sent Gred to take them into the hut.

"I wonder what might have brought you here at this time of the night. Oh, we can discuss that later", he said with a dismissive gesture of the hands when Harry tried to speak up. "I have not finished my potion."

And he moved towards the cauldron, where he produced a small phial from his coat and poured its contents into the boiling liquid Harry had not noticed before.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, without warning, the cauldron made burping sounds, emitting small black clouds that smelled like rotten eggs.

Harry pinched his nose; next to him, Hermione had covered her face with her free hand. On the couch, Gred and Forge were doubled up with laughter.

"Master, that's brilliant!" Forge gasped. "I can't wait to use it!"

"I know... I know..." the tall man said softly.

Harry could not see what was so brilliant about this.

The next moment, however, he went rigid with shock.

The man had taken a long, wooden stick from his sleeve and waved it soundlessly over the cauldron. Immediately, the cauldron stopped emitting the foul-smelling clouds.

Harry stared. The liquid was gone.

He heard Hermione gasp. So it was not a trick of the light.

"Incredible", he muttered involuntarily. The black man turned towards him.

"Isn't it?" he said delightedly. "Amazing what powers this small hut contains."

And he let out a high-pitched laughter that caused goose-bumps to break out all over Harry's arms. Gred and Forge immediately chimed in.

Hermione was shivering. He pulled her a little closer.

The black man considered them through narrowed eyes.

"Oh..." he said softly. "But it seems I'm not the only one gifted with power."

Suddenly, without the slightest warning, he advanced upon them, his stick held high above his head.

"Defend yourselves!" he cried.

"Down!" Harry yelled and brought Hermione to the floor just in time. Something exploded above their heads.

The man was laughing again.

"Look here, Gred and Forge! These two have stumbled into our hideout, unaware of the great power they possess, and yet ready to attack me! Ahahaha!!"

Quite abruptly, he turned on the spot, took a flask from the unfathomable depths of his coat and, muttering under his breath, emptied its contents into the cauldron. He was busy for several minutes. Harry was wondering if the man had simply forgotten about them, when the cauldron burped again, this time sending a large red cloud around the room. Harry accidentally inhaled a mouthful; it tasted like pepper.

He coughed, and the man jumped.

"What! Visitors! What brings you here? Oh, it's you."

"He's mad", Hermione said under her breath.

"Mad!" The man had heard her. To their astonishment, it caused him another fit of laughter.

Clutching his chest, he came towards them once again. "Mad! Ahahaha!"

Instinctively, they moved closer together.

"Oh, don't fear me, my chicken", he chuckled. "I may not be quite sane, but fear nothing from me. I am not dangerous. Tell me, what are your names?"

"Harry Potter", said Harry nervously.

"I'm Hermione Granger."

For a split-second, the man's face contorted as though in pain of a long-forgotten memory. "What? Oh. Nice names, yes, really nice..."

And humming distractedly, he walked over to the cupboard and extracted a long, silvery case from underneath a pile of books. He handed it to the pair, who opened it cautiously, yet also with a strange feeling of excitement.

Inside were two wooden sticks, like the ones Tom Riddle and the man used. They had carvings on it; one bore the image of a stag, the other, of an otter.

Harry's eyes went wide.

"What's the meaning of this?" he asked, feeling dazed.

"Well, well, my dear chicken, unbeknownst to you both, there is a strange and wonderful power in your veins... But maybe you've noticed already", he nodded towards Harry. "These wands are the key to your power... unlock it and command what you have not known before."

He swept around the room, looking like an overgrown bat. "This is the Art of Magic... You will encounter the most terrifying and beautiful things. Do not look so scared", and his voice fell into a whisper, "there is no turning back now."

"You mean to say", croaked Harry, "that Hermione has this power, too?"

The black man looked highly delighted.

"Yes, indeed. There is no doubt."

Hermione's knees gave way. Harry caught her just in time.

The look on Hermione's face was one of sheer terror. Harry understood – even if he knew he would never become like Riddle, this strange awareness of something – magic – inside him was scary. It probably related to the dreams he had... He needed to ask Hermione about that later.

"Very well", said the man. "Take your wands."

***

"They're not coming", Ginny told the others for the fifth time. She was pacing nervously up and down in the common room.

"Get a grip, Gin", Ron told his newly declared sister sternly. "Five more minutes, and we'll leave, okay?"

"It's past one already! Emil can't have walked that far!" Ginny pressed her forehead against the window. Outside, there was nothing but a pitch-black night.

Neville stood up, looking unnerved. "Ginny is right, they aren't coming."

"They will be fine", Luna said calmly.

"How can you be so sure of that?" Neville asked, sitting down again. Luna set herself to reply. She was, however, interrupted, by a gasp. Ginny, still at the window, had evidently produced it. Her face was stark white.

"What's up, Gin?" Ron asked, concern in his voice.

"Are they back?" Neville leapt up from his armchair.

"No", Ginny said, sounding distressed. "It's Sirius."

"Sirius? What about him?" Ron said, dashing towards the window. Neville and Luna followed suit.

There, indeed, was Sirius, walking towards the entrance. He had an oddly hunchbacked appearance and seemed to be limping.

"What's he doing?" Ron asked jerkily.

"He's injured!" Ginny was at the door in no time. The others ran to catch up with her.

They arrived at the entrance just in time to witness Sirius collapse on the doormat as Ginny opened the door.

***

The attack on Sirius naturally provided food for discussion over breakfast the following morning. Hermione, Harry and Emil were back and now listening to their friends as they related the events of the past evening to them.

"...so we went and woke Helen, and she brought him to the infirmary, where the matron is now taking care of him." Ron looked miserably down at his wretched meal. "They've already cut down on the peanuts..."

"And where have you been?" Ginny interjected, all impatience. "It took you ages to get out of that forest!"

"Later", Harry said curtly.

There was a prolonged silence, which caused him to look up from his plate.

Ginny, Ron, Luna and Neville were eyeing him and Hermione with suspicion.

"What?" he said defensively. Then, comprehension dawned on him.

"Wait... you don't think we've... that we..."

"There's no other explanation", Ron smirked sarcastically. "Finally alone together... Oh, of course, you'd seize the time."

"No!" Harry said loudly, causing people near them to stare at him. Ron laughed, while Ginny was looking furious. "Oh, you left poor Emil to himself, while you..."

"It's not true!" Hermione said, very red in the face. "We made a most startling discovery and – oh, shut up, Ron!"

"Who do you think attacked Sirius, though?" Harry asked. That calmed Ron down.

"Well, there's one very likely candidate, right?" he said, his eyes flickering towards the head of the table.

Tom sat there, by himself as always, and consumed his breakfast with an appearance of dignity.

The door flew open with a crash. All heads turned.

Alice had barged into the room. Her face was white with fury.

"You!" she yelled, pointing at Harry. "You!"

Amazed, Harry stared at her.

At the opposite end of the table, Helen got up and strode towards Alice, her face set.

"Now, you're a grown-up. Please do not make such a scene before the children –"

"I've just been to see Sirius!" Alice yelled. "And you know what he told me?"

"Calm down now, there's a good girl..."

"He attacked him!" Alice shouted. "Harry attacked my Sirius last night!"

The room fell deadly silent.

Harry felt his insides turn to ice. He looked at Riddle, who was wearing an incredibly smug expression, and back at Alice, who was still howling with rage.

He was conscious of people watching him.

"Harry."

Hermione whispered into his ear, tugging at his sleeve at the same time.

"Let's get out of here."

"Harry Potter."

Helen approached them. Her lips formed the thinnest of lines Harry had ever seen.

"Come with me. And you, too, Miss Granger."

His heart sinking, Harry got up and took Hermione's hand.

At least, he would not have to face this alone.

***

That night, Amy died.

Harry slouched into Ron's room late in the evening, still holding hands with his girl and feeling thoroughly depressed.

"It doesn't add up", he told the room at large, sinking down on Emil's bed. Hermione perched herself down next to him. "Sirius has told Alice he saw me attack him. With a wand and all that..."

"Sounds like another scheme of Riddle's", Ron commented.

"Come on, Ron, how would he do that?" Ginny blurted out. "He cannot disguise himself that perfectly, can he!"

"It was dark", Hermione said, considering Ginny, "and Riddle looks similar to Harry. I do not think it would cost him so much effort."

Ginny chose to remain silent.

"For the time being, it's Hermione's and my word against Sirius'." Harry felt miserable saying this. He had regarded Sirius as something like a friend, after all.

"Helen thought it was suspicious that we were out of beds yesterday. We told her we had gone to find Emil and that we got lost in the forest."

"Where were you, anyway?" Ron asked. Harry and Hermione launched into an explanation of what had happened, supported by Emil's feeble nods.

"Weird", Ron said when they had finished, sounding thoroughly impressed. "You've gotta show me that place sometime soon..." His eyes wore a hopeful expression.

"Oh, Ron, please don't ask us to go there again", Hermione said, shivering. Without thinking, Harry put an arm round her shoulders.

Ginny's eyes flashed angrily. Ron, on the other hand, grinned, but obviously decided to drop it for once. Neville looked awed.

"So, you have the wands on you?" Ron inquired.

"Yes", Harry and Hermione said simultaneously and pulled them from their sleeves. The previous night, the black man had instructed them to place their wands there.

"And you can do magic with them?" Ron asked.

"It's still very little what we can do", Harry told him. "I think it'll come gradually."

Ron took his wand from him and waved it cautiously.

The frame of the picture on the wall shattered and was sent flying. Everyone ducked as the picture came down with a crash.

"Ron!"

"Sorry, mate", Ron said, looking awestruck. "This thing's amazing." And he handed the wand back to Harry.

"You don't get it, Ron", Harry said. "This thing cannot be used by someone who doesn't have the power. That's what the black man told us, anyway."

Hermione nodded.

Ron's jaw dropped. "You mean..."

Neville, who had been gazing at his friends fearfully, said shyly, "Can I try it too, Harry?"

"Oh, come on, that would be too much of a coincidence", Ginny said icily.

"No, I think we should all try it", Harry answered, frowning at her.

To their astonishment, they found that all of them, with the exception of Emil, could use the wands.

"'Mazing", Ron muttered, wiping his forehead.

"It's too much of a coincidence, though", Ginny said urgently.

"Oh, come on, you're always being sceptical."

"She's got a point, though", Hermione said, looking thoughtful. "First Riddle, then Harry, and now, all of us..."

"Maybe it's the location?" Ron suggested. Hermione shook her head. "Both Tom and Harry were able to use their powers beforehand."

"Well, we won't find out right now –"

Suddenly, they could hear the thundering of feet outside. The door opened, and Helen marched into the room. To nobody's surprise, her eyes immediately fell on Harry.

Wondering what he could possibly have done this time, Harry got up.

"Come with me, Mr Potter."

"You can't!" Ron protested. "Harry's innocent!"

Her eyes met his. She did not seem enraged by his words.

"I know", she said sadly.

"Then why are you taking him?"

Helen sighed.

"To apologise, I guess."

She paused. The children looked at her in amazement.

"Amy Benson died tonight. It was Sirius who killed her."

***

He was lying, face-down, in a pool of yellow, shimmering liquid. Something was making swishing sounds above his head. It reminded him of the rags he had seen in the hut...

"Harry..."

He wrenched his eyes open. He could see!

What he saw would have caused him to scream, if his mouth had not been glued shut...

There was the old man's face again, complete with the half-moon spectacles. The eyes were brimming with sadness.

"Harry, what are you doing? You must return."

Return where? Harry tried to say. The old man looked at him sadly.

"Harry, it does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that."

Then, the face dispersed. It was not, however, only the yellow liquid that remained.

Someone was lying next to him.

"Harry!"

"It does not do to dwell on dreams..." he whispered. The words bore a strange significance. And yet, he could not remember, try as he might, where and when he had heard them before.

"Harry, are you okay?"

It was then that he realized he was back in his room, and Hermione was sitting on a chair next to his bed, looking worried.

"What's happened?"

"Helen took you to the infirmary." Hermione bit her lip. "She wanted to show you Amy."

"Ah... yes."

Amy. Her pale face between the white curtains. Her severed throat -

"Helen said you passed out the moment you saw her. Are you okay?"

Harry nodded, clenching his fists to wipe the image from his head.

"Harry?"

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not", Hermione said softly.

Harry shook his head miserably.

"I – I just – you know..."

"You wanted to talk to her one more time, didn't you?" Hermione asked kindly.

Harry nodded. Heaving a deep sigh, he struggled to come up with another topic. It was too painful just yet.

"What's the time, anyway?" Much better.

"It's two in the morning."

"Have you been sitting here all these hours?" Harry asked, for the first time looking at Hermione with concern.

She smiled shyly. "I was so worried about you..."

"Come sit here." He shifted a little so she could sit on his bed and he was in a position to put an arm round her shoulders.

"Don't do that to yourself for my sake", he whispered into her ear.

She looked up into his face.

And without thinking, he kissed her.

It only lasted a few seconds – he had surprised himself, after all – but it was so warm, and so sweet, that when they broke apart, he lost little time in doing it again.

Then she snuggled up to him, and he hugged her like he had wanted to in a long time.

"Hermione", he whispered, and he sensed rather than saw her smile.

They fell asleep in that position.

And for the first time in what seemed ages, Harry's sleep was untroubled.

***

Alice did not show up over breakfast the following morning. Harry wondered whether she had gone back to the village.

"Yeah, probably", Ron said. "She's gotta be in a bad state right now..."

"She has probably run away with Sirius", Ginny said matter-of-factly.

They stared at her. "Run... away?"

"Well, Sirius was gone when the matron discovered Amy. The knife that cut her throat was still there, though, so they know it's him", Ginny informed them coolly.

"How do you know all these things?" Ron asked suspiciously.

Ginny jerked her head towards the head of the table. "Tom told me."

"Tom?"

"What are you on about?"

"Cut it out, Gin."

"I'm serious", Ginny said, her face set. "Yesterday evening, after Harry had left, I bumped into Tom on the stairs."

"Typical", Ron muttered. Ginny cast him an unreadable look before she went on.

"Anyway, I thought I'd just ask him whether he was behind all this stuff, and he seemed to consider ignoring me for a moment, but then he just said, no, he'd never cut up throats, I should know that this wasn't his style of doing things." She snorted angrily.

"Tom made Sirius do it", Harry said immediately.

Ginny shrugged. Ron gave her a thoughtful look.

"How does he know, anyway?" Neville asked warily.

"Oh, he's got his sources. You know what he's like. I'd bet he knows about everything that's going on in here..."

Ginny's eyes travelled over her friends' faces. There was something like triumph in her face, Harry thought.

"You're not admiring him, Gin?" Ron demanded suddenly.

Ginny started. "Of course I'm not admiring him! Don't be stupid, Ron, why would I?"

"I don't know..." Ron said carefully. "It just sounded like you thought he's... some kinda hero?"

Ginny laughed airily. "Oh, stop being silly."

Harry, however, could not help thinking that Ron had a point. And when he turned towards Hermione, he could tell from her concerned gaze fixed on Ginny that she was thinking among the same lines.

___________________________________________________________________________

Coming up: "Troubled girls"

In which Luna confronts Ginny, and Harry has yet another run-in with Tom.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from the Harry Potter universe. I've just borrowed them and will return them safely to where I've taken them from.

Welcome back!

Warning, angsty stuff ahead! And... No, shan't tell.

Enjoy! Comments welcome.

___________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 9 – Troubled girls

"They're talking about closing down the orphanage."

It was breakfast time again. Two weeks had passed since Amy's murder, and the orphanage had seen more visitors than during the previous two years. Policemen were guarding the place now, in case Sirius decided to come back. Harry considered this very unlikely.

Now, Ginny had shown up with another nasty piece of news.

"I just overheard Helen talk to the Head Inspector", she told her friends. "He said he was worried about the future. After all, we're almost cut off from the rest of the world. I mean, no one really cares about orphans, but they still don't want us to be murdered in our beds."

"Oh, come on..."

"We'll all end up in different places, won't we?" Neville asked sadly.

They fell silent at that. The thought certainly was not a pleasant one.

Then Luna spoke up. "I take it nothing has been decided yet, right, Ginevra?"

"Oh, don't call me that." Ginny made a face as the others laughed. "Well, but they're talking about it, so it's only a question of time. Unless of course Sirius was caught..."

She turned towards Harry.

"Hey – don't you think your freak in the woods might know something?"

"Keep your voice down", Harry hissed. He was uncomfortably aware of Tom listening in, even though Riddle made every pretence at an unconcerned face. The fact that he was sitting closer to them than usually was suspicious in itself.

"And anyway", Harry said firmly, "we're not going there again." He waited for the usual squeeze of his hand that showed him Hermione appreciated his words, and when it did not come, he turned towards her. "Right?"

Hermione looked deeply confused about something. "What? Oh, sorry, I just..."

"We're not going into the forest again, right?" Harry repeated quietly for her. He could not help but feel a little disappointed.

"Oh."

That definitely was not a satisfying answer. "Hermione... are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She yawned. "I have not been sleeping well, I guess. Sorry."

Ginny was drumming her fingers impatiently on the table. "Well? Finished your little conference with your significant other?"

"Stop being so mean, Gin", Ron told her off. "Anyway, Harry, why not give the forest another go? I don't get it. After all, we've discovered our powers. I'd love to try out them with a proper wand and all..." He sighed fondly.

"You don't know that madman", Harry said. "He was friendly enough towards Hermione and me, but I reckon we were lucky. He tried to attack us!"

"But that was because he wanted to try your powers, wasn't it?" Ron said keenly, talking over him. "Don't be like that, Harry. Anyway, we're enough in number even against his henchmen. C'mon..."

"It sounds like a chance", Neville chimed in. "If they really close down the orphanage, I don't know what I'll do."

Harry sighed. "Okay, but we're waiting at least until the next full moon; we don't have torch lights..."

"You've got your wands, come on..."

Seeing he was not going to win this one, Harry finally yielded.

After breakfast, however, he went into his room to think once more. Was there no way to at least delay their trip to the forest? As much as he would hate for the orphanage to close down, he still dreaded going to that hut again... and those veils...

They had lessons that morning, so Harry went downstairs again without having found a solution.

Hermione was not there for the first lesson, and when she showed up for the second, she did not look at anyone, let alone talk. Harry felt deeply worried. What was wrong with her?

A terrible idea came to him. What if, after all that happened with regard to Sirius, she was having second thoughts about their engagement?

He would have to talk about that with her.

***

In the evening, Ron came to Harry and Neville's room.

"So... are we leaving?"

"Tonight?" Harry asked wearily, but he stuffed his wand into his sleeve nonetheless.

They met the girls at the staircase. Ginny was looking fierce, Luna was gazing dreamily into different spheres, and Hermione seemed a little forlorn, huddled into a corner. Harry walked towards her and offered his hand with a smile.

There was something reluctant in the way she accepted – or was he imagining this?

They walked down the staircase together. Ron was in high spirits, bouncing up and down and talking endlessly. Neville, never having been an extravert, seemed to be consumed by an inward joy. Luna was smiling at them both. Watching them, Harry suddenly felt it might not be such a bad thing after all to lead them into the forest. Who knew, the madman had been friendly once, so why should he not be when more "chicken" with the power came to him?

"Careful to keep quiet", he warned them. With a slight spring in his step, he descended the stairs and turned towards the entrance hall.

Tom Riddle was standing at the entrance.

Harry froze. Ron bumped into him. "Ouch! What-"

"Shh!"

To his horror, Harry now heard the heavy boots of a policeman thundering in the corridor that led towards the infirmary.

"Back upstairs!"

***

"That was brilliant", Ginny said angrily, glaring at Harry. "Now we'll never get a chance to go to the forest."

"Are you saying we should have risked it?" Harry demanded, flaring up. "I'd like to see you push Riddle out of the way and say, sorry, we're just going for a walk in the forest, never mind, and what with the policemen already on our scent!"

"What was Riddle doing there anyway?" Ron asked, creasing his eyebrows.

"Yeah..." Harry said slowly. "Just as if he knew we were coming."

"It could be coincidence", Neville suggested. Ginny snorted.

"He must have overheard us at breakfast", Luna said dreamily, gazing out of the window. "Ginevra was talking ever so loudly, I did think he might be listening..."

"Now don't make it my fault!" Ginny said furiously.

Luna turned her dreamy eyes towards the redheaded girl. "You have talked to Tom Riddle once before."

Ginny went scarlet. "So what?"

"Stop it", Ron said sharply. "Both of you. Luna, don't go accusing Ginny. And Ginny, sorry, but Luna has a point. Have you told Riddle anything?"

"I wouldn't!"

"Or have you let slip anything in his presence?"

"Never!" Now her voice was on the verge of tears.

"You don't exactly mind him getting wind of what we're planning, though, do you?"

Ginny shook her head. "No", she whispered.

Harry let go of Hermione's hand and approached Ginny carefully.

"Look, Ginny", he said quietly. "We've promised not to hide anything from each other, and –"

"I'm not hiding anything!"

"Oh, stop it", Hermione said wearily from the bed.

Ginny glared at her. "So you're also suspecting me, Hermione!"

"No", Hermione replied, looking very tired. "It was I who told Riddle, after all."

Harry closed his eyes and did not open them for a full minute. He had not, he could not, have heard correctly.

The air had changed perceptibly when he opened his eyes again. Ron had sunk down on a chair and buried his face in his hands. He looked exactly as Harry felt. Neville was sitting next to a sleeping Emil, trembling from head to food. Ginny was staring at Hermione as though she had never seen her properly before. Luna had occupied herself with a school book.

Hermione was leaning against the wall, breathing deeply. Her eyes were only half closed, so she was not asleep.

"He made you." Please.

Hermione smiled feebly but did not open her eyes to face him.

"Oh, Harry, don't say that. I told him on my own free will."

"Why?" he yelled.

"I'm so – tired", she replied softly. For a second, he did not understand. But then, he lunged forward as she slid to the floor with a moan.

***

The policeman had gone to sleep on the lowermost stair, but Riddle was still in the entrance hall when Harry came pelting down the staircase in a fury, brandishing his fists.

Tom turned to face Harry. A slightly amused smile was playing around his lips.

"You!!" Harry yelled.

"How can I help you, Potter?" Riddle asked pleasantly.

"What have you done to Hermione!"

Tom did not reply at once. Instead, his eyes were fixed intently on his fingernails.

"Interesting you would ask that. After all, I have already told you that she is mine. And yet, you decided to make her your fiancé. Oh, you should know I could not tolerate that."

"Leave her alone!"

"Dear, dear. What a nasty temper."

And before Harry had time to react, he was sent flying into the wall. Scrambling to his feet, he pulled out his wand from his sleeve and pointed it, his hand shaking, at Riddle.

Riddle froze.

And then he laughed, a harsh, high-pitched laugh that made the hairs on Harry's neck stand on end.

"What, thinking of attacking me, Potter? Me? Look at yourself – you're trembling – you're scared! You should know perfectly well, Potter, that I was born with this power, and that it has grown with me! There is no getting past me!"

A rushing sound filled Harry's ears. The hatred surging through his veins was so powerful he kept his wand fixed on Riddle, wanting to harm him, wanting to –

"Kill him, Harry."

It was like awaking roughly from a dream. Harry looked around wildly.

The rushing sound he had heard had not been his pulse throbbing in his ears. He was already ankle-deep in yellow liquid. And from the liquid emerged –

"What is this madness?" demanded Riddle.

A man. Only he wasn't real.

At first, it was merely a tall fountain, but Harry immediately sensed that someone was hiding underneath. And indeed, when the watery curtain fell, it revealed a tall, slender man. He was not young. He had a long beard and long hair; Harry was sure those would have been as white as snow had not the yellow liquid portrayed him. And he was wearing half-moon shaped spectacles. It was him –

"Dumbledore", breathed Riddle. His voice was drenched with hate.

"Kill him, Harry", said the thing that was called Dumbledore.

Harry's hand was shaking harder than ever. He did not have a clue what was going on.

Nor did Riddle. He was standing on the opposite side of the entrance hall, glaring at Harry and the figure of the bearded man in disbelief.

"What are you doing? Make it stop!"

"I can't!" Harry shouted. And then, "help me!"

The bearded man looked deeply shocked. "No, Harry –"

Yellow water washed over him – and then, he was gone.

Chest heaving, Harry took a step towards Riddle.

"You know that man?"

"I do", Riddle said offhandedly. He seemed to have regained his composure already.

"Who is he?"

"Now, do you really think I'd tell you that?"

"You said he was called Dumbledore. I – I know that name!"

The moment Harry had spoken these words, he realized they were true. He grasped at the memory, but it was too faint –

"You cannot know that name, Potter."

Riddle's eyes never left Harry. He was speaking in a soft, yet cruel, voice.

"Harry!"

Ginny came dashing down the stairs into the entrance hall. "What are you doing? We heard noises, and –"

She skidded to a halt, now looking at Tom.

"What have you been doing?" she demanded.

"Nothing", Riddle said in a dangerously quiet voice.

"I told you to leave him alone!"

This confused Harry to no end. "Ginny, what –"

Riddle's face was contorted with fury. Ginny, however, seemed unimpressed.

"I gave you what you wanted! Now be peaceful!"

"Shut up, diary girl!"

Ginny flinched horribly.

"Don't call me that", she hissed. "It has no meaning. It cannot –"

"Oh, of course it doesn't." Riddle smiled cruelly.

"What are you talking about?" Harry demanded.

Ginny averted her face.

Tom, however, smiled with cold pleasure.

"Ah, she has not told you everything, has she? Let's just say she provided me entrance to somewhere I would not have been able to go otherwise. In exchange, I promised to spare your petty life, unless, of course, you'd foolishly decide to come to me yourself. It was only a question of time; not that I'd be troubled by you. You're after all, a much easier prey than –"

"Harry", Ginny cut through Tom's words. "You had better go and look after Hermione. She's in my room."

"Certainly. Send her my best wishes", Riddle said idly.

It was a taunt, Harry knew it. Yet, it was something real in this more than absurd situation, and he was more than ready to yield to it.

"Right", he said in a forcibly calm manner. "You still haven't answered my question, Riddle. What have you done to Hermione?"

"You should ask that yourself, Potter", Tom replied lazily. "She would be fine if you had never approached her. I warned you that she is mine. You ignored me. It's your reward for not caring about her."

"I care!"

Riddle's face was smug. "Oh, certainly. But does she care about you?"

Harry fell silent.

"You see", Riddle went on, "you and I, we resemble each other a lot, in appearance and in character. Quiet! It's true. You know that perfectly well."

"Right... So it was you who attacked Sirius", Harry said through clenched teeth.

"Decide that for yourself. You, after all, did push Amy down the stairs and into her death."

"That was you!"

"Oh, was it?" Tom retorted swiftly. "I was under the impression that I merely walked past. You, on the other hand, were furious with her, and with reason. Unluckily, I was the one to inform you about how she had used my powers to seduce you." He sighed. "You have it in you, Potter. Admit that. Yes, you are like me."

Harry felt stunned. He no longer knew what to believe. Was he really that horrible?

"Don't listen to him, Harry", Ginny said sharply. "It's part of his cunningness."

"Oh, I am merely giving your dear friend something to think about. And now, to your question." He heaved another tragic sigh.

"Ah, the wishful thinking surely has worked for you, Potter. It is with deepest regret that I must inform you that Hermione Granger has never loved you. It is her belief in the good that should also be inside of you – er – very deep down. But she loves me, Potter, oh yes, from the moment she first laid eyes on me, although she was scared of me. I have a bad reputation, after all... She is in so much pain about having to put up with you for my sake, but at least, she is with someone who resembles me closely enough...

"I will allow you to continue with your little – erm – project. It amuses me to no end. Train your dear friends into wizards, if you must, but remember, in the end, I shall be victorious."

And he laughed that heartless, cold laugh of his.

"Come, Harry", Ginny said, taking Harry's arm and throwing Riddle a look of deepest disgust. Harry was feeling entirely defeated. He allowed her to lead him up the staircase, where he shook off her hand and rounded on her.

"What was Riddle talking about, anyway? Why did he call you a 'diary girl'? What is it that you provided him entrance to so he'd leave me alone? Ginny, you said you had no secrets from us!"

"I can't tell you now", Ginny said pleadingly, looking troubled. "I'm just asking you to believe that I've never been against you!"

Harry snorted.

"I'm sorry, but if this is how you want it to be, I cannot be your friend."

And he stormed off to his room.

***

Harry was in half a mind not to talk to Hermione anymore. The thought was, however, impossible to bear. It made him feel double his weight with sheer misery.

Over the following days, he was positively circling around Hermione. She, on the other hand, frequently avoided his eyes and kept well clear of him and the others. In light of the recent events, the government had decided to double the guards and the students were barely left alone. Well, at least the place was not closed down for good, Harry thought.

He could not visit Hermione in her room, not after what had happened with Ginny. He did try to approach her in the common room, and once over breakfast, but Riddle's eyes were on him, and the triumph in them was evident. Hermione did not respond to his attempts; he noticed that her eyes were puffed up as though she was crying herself to sleep these days, or not sleeping at all.

And yet, the engagement had not been called off by her, so she had not yet decided to be with Riddle. Harry clung to that hope and sought her out whenever he could. He also talked with Ron, Neville and Luna. They assumed she was ashamed of her betrayal and were not too eager to assist.

One rainy day in early June, Harry left the common room to get a book from the class room. The corridor was deserted. Still, Harry thought he heard voices, and when he was level with the classroom door, it was opened from the inside. Ginny emerged, looking extremely put out about something. She did not notice him, as he was standing in the shade, unmoving, and he watched her walk away silently.

When he entered the classroom, it was empty.

***

The last days of June were exam time, and Harry got prepared like everyone else with little enthusiasm.

"I don't get it!" Ron was saying for the tenth time. "No matter how many times I go over this, the results are weird. I hate Maths!"

Neville laughed. Luna, on the other hand, put down her own book and kindly said, "You know, I think I have understood this. Let me explain it to you."

Ron looked for a second as though he might refuse. Harry rearranged his features into a serious grimace and nodded his approval. "Gotta give it a try, mate."

Thus, Ron moved his chair closer to Luna's, and together, they bent over the book. Luna started explaining in a low voice, accompanied by Ron's nods or confused looks.

As Harry watched the pair, he felt a sense of relief that had left him a long time ago. He glanced around the room. Tom Riddle was absent for some reason, probably skulking in the attic again; but Hermione was sitting in a corner, all by herself, poring over some thick volume.

Harry made up his mind, scribbled I need to talk to you into his book, got to his feet and walked towards her.

"Hermione?"

She ignored him. Calmly, he spoke to her.

"I don't mean to disturb you or anything, it's just that I don't understand this passage..."

And he shoved his book into her hands.

Her eyes widened.

His book was sent flying as she closed her own with a sharp thud. She was on her feet, her eyes blazing.

"Will you leave me alone already!"

And she stormed out of the common room, leaving him standing alone next to his book.

"Bad luck, Potter", yelled a boy Harry had hardly ever talked to.

"Oh, shut it", he returned and walked past Neville, who gaped at him, and Ron and Luna, who seemed not to have noticed anything, out of the common room.

He tracked her down at the shed. Obviously, she had decided to take a break from learning and go for a ride. Without talking to her, he grabbed a bicycle and waited until she had mounted hers. She set off at breakneck speed downhill, towards the village.

Naturally, he followed. He had everything to gain, after all.

He found her at the edge of a forest beyond the village. She had dismounted her bike and was sitting on the grass, panting slightly. Her eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of him.

"I want to know", he said, "why you are avoiding me."

To his surprise, she grabbed his arm and pulled him down next to her.

And then, she hugged him, clinging to him as though her life depended on it.

Startled, he resigned to caressing her head for the time being. He also had to wait for her sobs to subside.

"Hermione", he said softly.

She did not speak for a long time. The sun was already setting when she calmed down enough to sit up straight and look him into the face.

"Harry... don't hate me."

"Silly girl... why would I?"

It did not matter what Tom Riddle had said. Her face spoke volumes to him to reassure him. Surely, there was mingled trouble and confusion in her face. Her eyes were still full to the brim with the warmth he had known from her.

She was everything to him, and he told her as much.

"I missed you so terribly."

"I missed you too", she said, her eyes shining with tears. "I couldn't say anything with him around."

"Don't talk about him now..."

"But I must!" she said, her face very white. "Harry, oh Harry..."

And then, she wept again.

"He said..." Harry hesitated. Should he tell her the truth? "He said that you loved him and were with me because I resembled him."

Hermione laughed bitterly. "Oh no... You didn't believe that!"

She turned towards him. "Oh, you did believe him, you silly boy, of course you did... You are always having doubts about yourself."

His hand was trembling as it touched her face. He carefully stroked her warm skin.

"You still want to be with me?"

"I still want to be with you", she said quietly, snuggling herself into his arms.

"What has he done to you?" he said after a pause. He did not want to spoil the moment, and yet, questions needed asking.

She gazed into the distance, where the sun had almost completely disappeared.

"He came to me at night", she said finally.

"He... what?"

"No, he hasn't done anything to me", Hermione said calmly. "Still, it was horrible. His face was white, and his eyes, oh Harry, his eyes were red! I know now how horrible it must have been for you with him in the attic."

Harry said nothing. He only pulled her into a deeper embrace.

"And then he talked to me! You can't imagine... His voice was ever so sweet, and he had wonderful things to say. I shudder now... But then, I was fascinated. He laid my soul out before me. He told me about my innermost fears... Oh, he's clever... He made me tell him all sorts of things... And then..."

She covered her face with her hands, unable to speak for a while. Harry waited, stroking her hair gently.

"And then, he told me he was going to kill you, Harry, because there was no other way."

"Why is that?" Harry asked, sounding puzzled but at the same time concentrating on the wonderful girl now lying in his arms.

"It's because of your magic. I didn't understand all of it... He said you were natural enemies because of the power you possessed, which contradicted his. He had to eliminate you, or else, he would be vanquished by you."

"Why, though?" Harry asked. "I'd leave him alone if he'd just let me."

"I don't understand it either... oh, Harry, it's as though he's following some mad rules he's set up for himself."

Her voice was so full of fear, disgust and anguish; she had plainly declared Riddle's words about her feelings an outright lie.

"Quiet now."

"Why?"

"I want to kiss you."

"I'm not finished yet", she said breathlessly as their lips separated.

"There's more?"

"Well, yes. How should I put this to you..."

Harry felt a sense of dread grow in his stomach. "What is it?"

"He forbid me to come anywhere near you anymore, or else he might move to the attack."

"How could he?"

"I assented."

"I understand that."

"Oh, Harry, don't..."

"No, it's okay." He kissed her on the forehead. "Silly, silly girl... You were trying to protect me."

***

"What are we going to do now?"

She posed the question to him twice that night. The first time was under the starry sky, right before he pulled her to her feet and gently led the way through the village; the second time was a few minutes after he had collapsed on her in the bed that Alice and Sirius had previously shared.

The first time, he knew she expected no answer. The second time, he was too happy just lying next too her and feeling her warmth.

"We'll think about that tomorrow", he said and kissed her good-night. She curled up in his arms, smiling in spite of her fears.

Harry lay awake long afterwards, thinking about how many young people in the world were leading a carefree life; for one thing, they weren't orphaned, and secondly, they did not have some madman wanting to kill them. And yet, he was here with Hermione, and with every smile, gesture, kiss, every touch, they had assured each other of their love.

He would fight for it.

The answer that he had not been able to give her earlier came to him so clearly that he almost hit himself for not having thought about it earlier.

He bent over his woman and whispered in her ear.

"Don't worry. I love you."

She smiled in her sleep.

***

"We're going tonight", Harry scribbled in his textbook and passed it to Ron, who raised an eyebrow in surprise and gave him a fleeting thumbs-up the next moment. Luna was sitting next to Ron again, so she had also read the message. She smiled to show she had understood. Harry then walked over to Neville, who had lately taken to sitting with a girl called Lucy, and showed him the page.

Once that was cleared, he made his way through to Ginny, who, since her break-up with her too many male friends, had made a lot of admirers, and placed the book next to the one she was busy with. She considered him for a moment. He looked at her sternly, pleading silently with her. Finally, she nodded.

Tom Riddle was occupying the seat next to Hermione's. Harry had not reckoned on that. He expanded his message by, "Pass it on to Hermione" and showed the book once more to Luna. When he felt Tom Riddle's eyes on him, he looked up, grinning at his natural enemy. Riddle said something to Hermione, who giggled mirthlessly; her eyes met Harry's for the briefest instant, and he saw hers were full of pain.

It's for you, he thought as he scooped up his things. When this is over, we can finally be happy.

***

They assembled outside the entrance.

"Where's Hermione?" Harry asked Luna. It was Ginny who answered.

"Harry... I'm sorry. We were about to tell her when Riddle came to our room. She left with him and..."

"No!" Harry clenched his fists. "He hasn't!"

"Sorry", Ginny said quietly.

"It's not your fault!" Harry made a gesture to include both her and Luna. "I'm blaming myself, for not having gone much earlier! And that mad guy!"

Ron placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Look", he said sympathetically, "Hermione's a strong girl. She knows how to deal with him. We'll be back in no time, and then we can rescue your princess."

"Back?"

"Yeah... from the forest, mate."

"I'm not going!"

"What're you gonna do, then? Go and find Riddle? All by yourself? You know how that turned out last time."

Harry sighed heavily. "Look, Ron..."

"I know, mate. I know", Ron said in the quiet voice he normally employed to restore Ginny's calm.

It worked. Harry's heart was still throbbing madly in his chest, but he knew he had little choice. Tracking down Riddle at this time would put Hermione at risk.

"Let's go. That mad alchemist should know a way."

___________________________________________________________________________

Coming up: "The Final"

In which Harry and his companions have but five minutes.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from the Harry Potter universe. I've just borrowed them and will return them safely to where I've taken them from.

This is it... Harry's journey ends. Can you believe it? I fear you're scenting the truth behind everything already, sooo let's not stretch this endlessly.

Can't help feeling a little sad, though ^_^

Take a deep breath...

___________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 10 – The Final

The ceiling above looked unfinished and was not familiar. Also, it was strange to wake up on a hard, cold floor, when the last thing she remembered was sitting comfortably on her bed, chatting to Ginny and Luna.

No, that was not the last thing she remembered. There had been another dream. They had started on that day when she had entered the seemingly empty classroom, and a curious old man had suddenly appeared, a man with a white beard and twinkling eyes, curious, because he seemed to consist of yellow liquid. Yet, his face had been full of sadness and he had spoken to her in great urgency. The dreams had begun after that, had troubled her almost every night. Until today, she was not sure what he was trying to tell her. She was sure it must be important. She had to talk to Harry about it.

Harry!

Suddenly, she sat bolt upright. Tonight, Harry was probably going to the forest, and she was being stupid, lying around in strange rooms like this, when she needed to hurry.

She looked around for an exit. Upon encountering only a small door behind which an eerie light seemed to be dancing, panic broke out in her. What had happened? Where was she? And why?

"Are you awake, my darling? Come here", a soft voice called. Her insides froze.

I know that voice... Oh my God. Where's my wand?

She heard his steps approaching.

"My darling, everything is ready. Let us consume our love, and we shall never part again."

He was almost there.

***

They had walked around in the forest like what seemed for ages. The trees were whispering to each other, and the moving shadows in the bushes seemed to creep closer while the children were not looking. The air was chilly; however, even Ginny did not complain. It was as though they had left their voices somewhere at the edge of the forest. Neville's pale face shone in the darkness.

Harry led the way quickly, sometimes slowing down to examine a tree, or just to stare into the undergrowth. He must have swallowed some cold insect with a dozen legs and feelers; it was crawling around in his stomach. The more time they spent walking around in the forest, the more time was lost for Hermione...

Harry kicked a stone in frustration. It hit a nearby tree stump.

"Don't worry, Harry. The way's here somewhere", Ron said, although he, too, looked worried.

"Should have taken Emil with us", Harry muttered.

"Shall we go back and get him?" Ginny offered.

"No! I mean, there's no time for that." Pause. "Do you know the way back, anyway?"

Silence followed his words.

"I guess the alchemist doesn't want visitors tonight", Neville supplied.

"Wait!" said Ron excitedly. "You could use your wand!"

Hesitantly, Harry pulled it from his sleeve. "And what good'll it do?"

"You could send some light or, I don't know, something he'll notice."

Harry waved the wand. Nothing happened, except that it emitted a few sparks.

"Do something, Harry", Ron whispered urgently.

"The wizards in fairy tales use incantations, like Abra Kadabra", Luna said in her dreamy voice.

"Yeah, thanks", Harry grumbled.

An incantation, yeah, right...

Hang on... An incantation?

Wait! He had heard Gred and Forge yell something when they had cornered Emil... It was...

Harry whipped his wand. "Stupefy!"

A flash of blinding light cut through the woods. It was followed by a muffled yell. Something had fallen from a nearby tree.

The friends exchanged nervous looks. "Uh-oh."

Together, they went to invest the source of the yell. They did not have to walk far.

"Hey, Harry", Ron said cheerfully. "Looks like we've found your alchemist. And his henchmen." He pointed at a heap on the ground, then at two tall figures hovering in the bushes near them.

The alchemist was lying at their feet, immobilized, but fully awake, judging by his reproachful glare. Apart from his usual attire, he was wearing wings made of wood.

Gred and Forge emerged from the bushes.

"Well, hello", Harry said lightly. "Can you undo this?"

Grinning at their master as though they were enjoying the sight, they waved their wands in unison, and soon, the alchemist scrambled to his feet.

"Well, well. It's Mr Potter", he said in an oily voice and brushed dust from his sleeve. "I see you have learned at least something since the last time we met. I suggest you pick your – erm – targets better next time."

Harry grinned. He pointed at the wings. "Why are you wearing these?"

"Because I have no broomstick to fly on, silly boy", the alchemist snapped. "And I needed to follow you around, didn't I?"

"You've been following –"

"Well, that's in the past. Come now, I see you have urgent business on your minds."

"Insane", Ron muttered, shaking his head and grinning as they set off into the darkness.

***

Once they were inside the hut and provided with steaming mugs whose contents had luckily not been poured from the bottles on the shelf, Harry related everything that had happened to the alchemist. He felt that they were running out of time; still, it seemed crucial to let the alchemist know all the details. He spoke, assisted by his friends, about Riddle and Sirius. He was reluctant to speak about Dumbledore; the memory still gave him a chilly feeling. However, the fight with Riddle was crucial, and thus, Harry heaved a deep breath and described how the yellow water had flooded the hall and Dumbledore's figure had appeared.

To his surprise, the alchemist was most interested in the latter part.

"Do you know that man?" the alchemist inquired, his face very white. Harry noticed he was gripping the back of the only chair in the room unnecessarily hard.

"I..." Harry gulped. "I have seen him in my dreams, and once on the beach. He told me to return somewhere, but I haven't a clue what he means."

Ron gasped.

"That was an old man with a long beard, right?" he asked Harry. "And half-moon shaped spectacles?"

"Yes..." Harry replied slowly. "Don't tell me you..."

"Yeah, that old guy spoke to me. Told me to return several times, but wouldn't say where. Completely nuts, if you ask me." Ron shook his head.

"I've had dreams about him ever since I arrived here", said a pale Neville.

"And I", added Ginny, "saw him recently in the classroom. I've been dreaming about him since then."

Harry nodded; he had, after all, seen her come out of the classroom, while he had stood hidden. And he had witnessed a similar situation once before, so he now realised Hermione must have met Dumbledore, too.

"Oh, by the way", he said, remembering. "What was it that you gave Riddle?"

Ginny looked down at the floor sadly. With a deep sigh, she spoke. "I told him to leave you alone, you know. I was doing it for your sake."

"Never mind that now", he said impatiently, "let's hear the truth."

"Well... his reply was that he might actually consider not attacking you anymore, unless you decided to be foolhardy," and she swiftly gave him a searching look as she said this. "In return, he wanted permission to enter my room."

"Why on earth would he want that?" Ron demanded.

"He said he could not gain entrance as easily as he had into your room, Harry", she said with an oddly twisted smile. "I did not realise at the time that his object was Hermione. I thought nothing of it, so I consented."

"Ah, indeed", the alchemist said gravely, "evil cannot go where it is not invited. I take it he has entered Hermione's dreams?" Harry nodded.

Ginny cast half a glance at Harry.

"I'm sorry, Harry. Ron was right; I did admire Riddle enough not to question his motives –"

"Do you realize you were his ally?" Ron asked sharply. "You fraternized with the enemy. You thought it might make you look good in Harry's eyes – maybe even remove your rival –"

"I never thought that far!" Ginny wept. "You know what Riddle's like when he wants others to like him –"

"Ginny, calm down", Harry said. "We can talk about it later. We don't have time."

"I hear that old man all the time", Luna said, as though the previous conversation had not ensued. "He's probably travelling around by heart-shaped clouds. I mean, they are invisible, after all."

Ron snorted into his mug.

"I see", the alchemist said, but did not elaborate.

"And now Riddle's taken Hermione and we need to rescue her." Harry had already mentioned this twice. Why they were not moving into action already...

Inexplicably, a grin spread over the alchemist's face. "Well, Mr Potter, for that allow me to say I have a solution at hand."

"You do?"

"Patience, Mr Potter..." And he strode over to the fire. There, he reached into a jar on top of the chimney, extracting green powder, which he threw into the flames. They turned a shade of sapphire. Harry had already witnessed this, but he was bewildered when the wizard stuck his head into the fire and yelled, "I order you, Hermione Granger, to come here immediately."

"That's done", the alchemist grinned as he re-emerged. "Shall we move on to more pressing matters now?"

"What are you talking –"

But Harry interrupted himself. The green flames were suddenly hissing and spitting, towering higher and higher. His heart beating very fast, Harry leapt forward, reaching into the flames with both hands – he heard Ron yell something –

And he pulled Hermione out of the fire.

For a split-second, they simply stared at each other. Then, she gave a cry and flung herself onto him. "Oh, Harry!"

Harry beamed at his friends, who looked stunned without exception. The alchemist chuckled to himself.

"This is a miracle", Hermione said finally, gasping for breath between tears. "Riddle was coming for me – I c-couldn't find my wand, Riddle must have taken it from me, I was so scared – and suddenly, there were flames everywhere, and I heard your voice, and –"

"Simple travelling magic", the alchemist smiled. Hermione gaped at him.

"Well, I suspect, Miss Granger, that Tom Riddle will have an inkling where you have gone to. He should be on his way already. I can delay him for a while, but as long as you're here, none of us is safe. You must leave immediately."

"You mean we're... running from him?" Harry asked in shock.

"Oh yes, exactly."

"We're not getting wands?" Ron looked scandalized.

"You won't need them. Gred! Forge!"

The two redheads had been sitting on the couch. Now, they stood up and walked over, flexing their muscles. They seemed eager to set out.

"Yes, master?"

"You will guide them. Make sure you cover their tracks. Riddle has no chance of finding me, but they are only children." His lips curled into a smile that caused Harry an unexpected surge of loathing. He thought he had seen it before...

The twins nodded excitedly.

The alchemist took a rag from his window and handed it to Harry. "Don't lose it. It's your greatest treasure."

Ron warily eyed the filthy cloth. "What do we need a dirty piece of veil for?"

"You'll see. And now – off you go. Good luck!"

***

Harry was amazed at the speed at which they had left the alchemist, given that they had tarried long enough in the beginning.

"Where did Riddle take you?" he asked Hermione, panting as he jogged to keep up with the twins' strides.

"To the attic, I believe. It was all wood and I didn't see a proper exit. I would have missed the trapdoor, of course."

"Riddle was there with you?" Ron inquired from behind.

"Oh, yes, he was already coming towards me when I left through the fire. He said –"

She choked and blushed.

"What did he say?" Ron asked.

"He said... 'Let us consume our love'", Hermione mumbled.

"I guess he wanted to be your first man", interjected Gred, who had obviously been listening, with a mischievous grin on his face. "It's a powerful spell that none can break. Even our master couldn't have taken you from him then."

Harry smiled and took Hermione's hand. "Well, he couldn't have been successful, then."

"Wait", Ron said, comprehension dawning on his face. "You two haven't –"

"Aren't we there yet?" Harry said loudly.

Ron whistled.

***

"We have arrived", the twins announced finally, coming to a halt in their furious sprint.

Harry looked around, feeling clueless. "What is this place?"

"A graveyard", whispered Hermione.

"This is where we leave you", Gred told them. "Good luck and a safe journey."

"What?"

"Wait –"

They were gone in a swish of their cloaks.

"And what do we do now?" Ron asked, looking puzzled.

Suddenly, there was a rustling in the bushes. They jumped and moved together. Harry took out his wand.

A huge black dog emerged and settled down in silence, watching them.

"Where did that come from?" Ron asked in a shaky voice.

"It isn't dangerous, is it?" Hermione asked nervously.

Harry strode over towards the dog and extended a hand. The dog looked up at him.

There was something in his eyes that Harry knew...

The dog was wagging its tail. Harry scratched him behind the ears as everyone let out a sigh of relief.

"Is this really a graveyard?" Ginny asked, kneeling down. "There are only eight graves, after all..."

She blanched under her fiery hair.

"What's up?" Harry asked.

She pointed at the tombstone before her, apparently unable to speak.

Harry walked over and read the inscription.

It was like being whacked with something heavy around the head. Beside him, Hermione gasped.

"Those are our names", Luna said matter-of-factly. "And Sirius Black's..."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ron said, nonplussed.

"It means that you have died here."

They whirled round in a simultaneous movement. It was not Riddle who had spoken to them. And yet, they all knew the voice, having been haunted by him in their dreams and in broad daylight.

"Dumbledore!" Harry gasped.

The old wizard inclined his yellowish head slightly. "I am glad that you know my name by now, Harry. However, I have one slight correction to make. Sadly, this tells me that you have not figured out the whole truth by now. It is Professor Dumbledore."

"Professor?" Harry replied incredulously.

"Oh yes. But let us not tarry, lest Riddle finds you. I am told by my dear friend, Professor Snape, that you have visited his hut –"

"The mad alchemist is a Professor?"

"Oh, he is not as mad as you might think him to be", Dumbledore said, smiling feebly. "You will find him perfectly as you have always known him once you have returned."

"Returned where?" Ron demanded.

"To your true selves, of course."

"What are you talking about?" Harry inquired urgently. He could not rid himself of the feeling that he had forgotten something, and it was crucial that he remember...

"You will understand in time. Do you have the veil?"

Harry pulled the ragged cloth from his pocket.

"Excellent. Now, I shall teach you an incantation that will take you back."

"Hang on", Harry interjected. "I am not going anywhere. I mean, you yourself told me to kill Riddle!"

Dumbledore smiled benignly. "Forgive an old man's mistake. Destroying Riddle would have taken you back to your world immediately. I believed this was your only way of returning. It took me a long time to find Professor Snape; otherwise, I would have instructed him properly earlier. The poor man has, like you, forgotten everything."

"Forgotten what?"

Dumbledore's next words betrayed a slight trace of impatience. "Enough of that! You will see. Riddle is on his way here. You should hurry."

"Professor?" Hermione asked timidly. "Erm, may I ask one question?"

"Of course you may, Miss Granger."

"When we, as you say, return, what will happen to our lives here?"

"They will end", Dumbledore said simply. Ginny gasped; Neville's eyes widened in shock. "This is why the tombstones are placed here. This is nothing but a dream. You will wake up from it and return to your true lives with no memory of what has happened."

"I don't want that!" Harry yelled. "Our lives here haven't been for nothing! We've become such great friends... And Hermione and I..."

"I am pleased to hear that. But stay calm, please. Your true lives are not that different. You return together because you entered together. You are great friends already. And as for the love you have found, well, I can tell you that it cannot have been born from nothing in this existence. It is inside you. All you need to do is rediscover it.

"Quick now, Riddle is coming. He knows a great deal about this existence. He should be aware that it will end once you leave, and I do not believe he is very willing to die."

"How does he know?" Harry asked.

"He knows", Dumbledore said, "because he shares a bond with you from your early childhood days. You could not travel to this place without encountering him once more. He is carrying the memories you have forgotten. You should have noticed that he acts upon them. He approached Miss Weasley because of something that has happened to her with his diary. And he tried to take the girl you cared most about."

Hermione gave Harry a fleeting look that made his bowels lurch.

"You must either destroy him", Dumbledore continued calmly, "which is something you have been unable to do so far, or return and end this dream."

"I'm not leaving this place", Harry said stubbornly.

Hermione put her hand into his.

Dumbledore regarded them with a very sad look.

"I would hate having to force you. Let me tell you something. The Tom Riddle you know has in reality grown up to become a very powerful magician, his wretched life dedicated to evil. Harry, it is your destiny to vanquish him. Nobody else can. This is the bond you share with him."

"Well, I guess I'll just take your word for it", Harry replied sarcastically.

Dumbledore sighed.

"There is more. Your bodies in the other world are fading. If you do not return, they will die, and that will be the end of your existence here, too."

"I don't believe you", Harry tried to say, but there was a lump in his throat, obstructing the words. He quickly covered his forehead with his hands.

Hermione's eyes were on him, full of concern.

"I know it is a hard choice I am placing before you", Dumbledore said cautiously. "Miss Weasley – Miss Lovegood – Mr Longbottom – Mr Weasley – what do you say?"

"Did you just call me 'Mr Weasley'?" Ron asked, looking startled.

"Oh, yes. You and Miss Weasley are brother and sister. What is more, you have a huge family waiting for you. Indeed, all of you should bear in mind that if you choose to remain here, a lot of people will soon be heartbroken."

"Right", Harry said angrily, and feeling very sad at the same time for no reason, "and who says you're not sending us to a place worse than this, or directly into Riddle's arms?"

"You know I would not do that, Harry." Dumbledore shook his head gravely. "Well, of course, you are not aware of it now, but" and he lowered his voice, "the knowledge is inside you. You and I, we have known each other for a long time. In fact, I have known you since birth. I also knew your parents –"

"You knew?"

"Yes, they are dead", Dumbledore said in a voice full of sadness. "You see – I do not want to hide this from you. You are living with your mother's sister and her family. You detest each other, I am grieved to say. And you, Mr Longbottom –" his sorrowful eyes fell on Neville, who jumped, "your parents were tortured into insanity by the grown Riddle's followers." Neville's eyes widened with shock.

"Still", Dumbledore pressed on gently, "horrible though these revelations might be to you, these are your lives and they are too precious to throw them away."

Words failed Harry. It was outrageous – it must be a lie – and yet, a small voice in his head had awoken, whispering to him, telling him to remember...

"Very well", he said finally, gulping to erase the lump in his throat and feeling as though he was suffering his worst defeat in his life, "I understand."

Dumbledore's face lit up.

"Are you sure, Harry?" Hermione asked quietly.

He squeezed her hand.

"No matter what happens", he said earnestly, "I'll find you. I promise."

She nodded. Ignoring the hollow feeling in his stomach, he turned to face his friends. "What about you?"

"I'm going", Ginny said. "Sounds like there's a Riddle to hunt us in both worlds, but at least, we'll have our families." She smiled at Ron, who nodded.

"I'm coming, too", Neville said quietly, his face not disclosing what he felt. Harry's heart weighed down with pity for him.

"Are there green heart-shaped clouds in our real lives?" Luna inquired.

Dumbledore smiled.

"Well, the world is full of mysteries. It is up to you to unravel them."

He suddenly looked anxious. "We are running out of time, I am afraid. Place the veil in your midst – very well – I will now teach you the incantation – and remember, you have five minutes to return to your bodies – take the dog, too –" The dog had already appeared on Harry's side, who looked down at him in amazement.

"Ah, I forget –"

And Dumbledore conjured a fire from which, to Harry's bewilderment, Helen emerged.

"Our mad alchemist, Gred and Forge have returned by now – quick, quick –"

"Gred and Forge?"

"They are Weasleys", Dumbledore smiled.

"We do not have any more time, Riddle is coming -"

***

They were falling, falling – around them was blackness. Dumbledore had been right – the moment their feet had left the ground he had caught a glimpse of Riddle bursting into the graveyard, his face contorted with fury. He had brandished his wand at them, and then let out an anguished yell that was still echoing in Harry's ears.

In the black surrounding them, Harry could not even see his own hand – but he felt Hermione's firmly placed in his. Her fingertips were burning his skin.

"It's a promise", he called out.

"I know, Harry", her soft voice replied from somewhere at level with his shoulder.

The veil was fluttering somewhere below them, glowing eerily. All of a sudden, it grew very large, enveloping them –

And they burst through it.

There was no need to shield their eyes from dazzling light. They were in a large, dim hall, right in the centre of it. The veil was now fluttering innocently from a large stone arch. Harry thought he heard voices behind it – but there was no time.

"Quick", he urged his friends on, "we've only got five minutes!"

He looked around for the dog and Helen, but they were gone. Instead, he saw a female stranger with dark, long hair who had an oddly bitter and worn look to her youthful face. She looked like a younger version of Helen, but with deliberate mistakes. And he saw – his heart skipped a beat – Sirius.

"Hey, Harry", Sirius smiled.

"You were the dog?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Course I was."

He just had to ask, even if it had only been a dream.

"You did that to Amy?"

"You know I didn't. Riddle attacked me to place me in the infirmary and –"

Harry nodded. "Great to see you, anyway."

They grinned at each other until Harry directed his attention towards the woman.

"Then you must be Helen –"

The woman simply stared at him, loathing and confusion in her face.

"Harry, we don't have time!" Hermione said. Neville, Ron, Luna and Ginny were already on a huge staircase that led out of the hall. "Our bodies aren't here."

They ran up the staircase, pelting through several rooms with weird contents – but there was no time to look –

And finally, they saw it.

***

They all stopped short.

"Awesome", Hermione breathed.

They were standing at the entrance to a wrecked room – and they were lying, face-down, in a vast pool of yellow liquid that was still leaking out a smashed... time-turner.

Harry recognised it now.

Wondering how he could possibly have forgotten any of this, he leapt over the pool and sought out his own body.

"Look, Hermione, you're lying next to me", he grinned.

"We don't have time!" Hermione said, smiling in spite of herself. "The incantation –"

Once again, they gathered in a circle and spoke softly at the same time.

Everything dissolved around Harry. He kept his eyes fixed onto Hermione until she was gone.

Promise.

***

Harry Potter awoke because his scar was throbbing painfully. His eyes were glued shut, and he could feel a sticky substance all over his body.

He wrenched his eyes open. They immediately fell on the smashed time turner. Ah, yes. They were lucky to merely have been knocked out for a while.

He got up with difficulty, his body protesting as though he had travelled a long way, and looked around.

Next to him, Hermione was scrambling to her feet. She was, he noticed, looking as exhausted as he felt. Still, she gave him a feeble smile, which he returned.

Ron, Neville, Luna and Ginny were standing up. "Whassup?" Ron asked, shaking his head as though fighting back dizziness.

"The time turner smashed", Hermione explained. "It must have knocked us unconscious."

"Where have the Death Eaters gone to?" Ginny asked.

That very moment, they heard a yell.

"Let's go", Harry said firmly, so they darted off to where they had heard the shout.

It had come from the room with the crumbling archway. The rugged veil was swinging violently. Sirius was battling Bellatrix right next to it, dancing, taunting her...

Death Eaters were closing in on them. Harry squinted through the dark – someone with violently pink hair was lying near the wall – Tonks – and an unconscious Lupin was sitting to her right. Mad-Eye Moody was on the floor, spread-eagled and unmoving.

"Come on", Sirius barked, dodging her spells. "You can do better than that!"

Harry brandished his wand – but that very moment, Bellatrix' spell hit Sirius squarely in the chest.

Harry saw his godfather's eyes widen in astonishment.

The door behind the children burst open as Harry dashed forward – it surely had not been a killing spell – Sirius toppled over, his handsome face still amazed rather than distorted with pain, and fell straight through the veil.

"Noooooo!"

Somebody grabbed Harry's arm. He looked around wildly – it was Dumbledore.

"You cannot do anything for him now, Harry", the old wizard said quietly. "He is d–"

"He's not dead!" bellowed Harry.

Without removing his eyes from Harry, Dumbledore waved his wand in a sad gesture, trapping the Death Eaters in a rope.

"Let's go", Dumbledore suggested quietly.

Harry furiously wrenched his arm out of his headmaster's grip and ran down the stairs.

His friends hovered awkwardly behind him as he circled the archway, looking frantically for a sign of Sirius.

Hermione took a step closer towards him. "Harry – let's leave this place", she said, her voice full of tears.

Bellatrix chose that moment to push past them violently. Dumbledore's magical rope had apparently missed her.

"COME BACK!" Harry yelled.

"No, Harry –"

"She's killed Sirius! I'll – I'll kill her!"

And with that, Harry flew up the stairs after his godfather's cousin, leaving Hermione to stand by the veil all alone.

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So... there we are. This is the end. Whew. I do hope you enjoyed reading my little fic. ^-^

Ohh, I can feel your accusatory glares! Don't look at me like that. It was done this way on purpose. Heh. Make me change my mind.

Comments are, as always, welcome.

And no, I'm kidding. We still have something on our plates, don't we?

Well, at least, I have. Here you are:

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Coming up: "The end of the dream"

In which Harry rediscovers.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from the Harry Potter universe. I've just borrowed them and will return them safely to where I've taken them from.

Have a good read!

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Chapter 11 – The end of the dream

The train was rumbling through the night. Every now and then, the wheels screeched eerily, as though to scare away the last passenger they were carrying. Harry Potter was sitting at the window, his forehead in contact with the cold glass, and staring outside into the night.

How come everything had to be so dark? Wasn't there anybody alive out there?

Something hit him sharply on the head like lightning, cutting through the dream.

"Harry! Wake up!"

He awoke with a start and sat bolt upright. His surroundings gradually swam into view.

Hermione, Ron, Luna, Draco, Ginny, Neville and Tom were all grouped around him, watching him with sorrowful eyes.

"Whassup?" he said groggily.

Hermione seemed ready to throw her arms around him again. He was glad she restrained herself, for his head was weighing a ton and he could not have enjoyed the hug.

"S'pose you're alive, then", Draco said, half-laughing.

"Yeah, we thought we'd lost you, mate", Ron added.

Harry stared at Tom. "What're you –"

"We don't have time", Tom informed him quietly. His voice had not the slightest trace of its former cruelty to it.

Harry relaxed a little. After all, his friends would not be sitting here so calmly if Voldemort was with them, would they?

"We don't have time?"

"You're still in the Department of Mysteries", Ginny told him. "You unlocked that door, but the force behind it was too much for you."

"You were weak after you retrieved me from your scar", Tom said. "I'm glad you did, though. Now, I can go on in peace."

"Go on where?"

"You know what I mean. You and whatever hid behind that door destroyed my body, after all." Tom smiled faintly.

"But why –"

Luna raised an eyebrow. "I do think you should stop asking so many questions, Harry. It is time for you to get out of here."

To Harry's bewilderment, his friends and Tom stood up and walked away. They almost immediately dispersed in the white mist surrounding them.

Hermione was the last one to go.

"Wait for me", Harry called. She turned around and regarded him with sadness in her eyes.

"You've forgotten the promise, Harry."

"What promise?"

"I can't tell you", she replied, a look of intense pain in her face. "Go now. The Maze is still ahead of you. Don't lose any more time."

"Maze?"

But she had averted her eyes already and was walking away.

Hastily, he scrambled to his feet. Stumbling, he advanced a step in the direction they had disappeared.

Instantly, the fog lifted and revealed breathtaking scenery.

***

Poor confused Harry was standing in a garden, greener and more colourful than any garden he had ever seen. Trees were swaying gently in an invisible breeze. A small creek was bubbling at his feet. There was not a single cloud in the sky, and the air felt like silk on his skin.

Reluctantly, he walked on. The garden appeared to be stretching endlessly; for several minutes, Harry trod on his path without meeting anyone.

Suddenly, an enormous dazzling white stag galloped past him. Harry jumped. He had not heard the animal approach.

The stag slowed down before him, as though signalling for him to follow. Without thinking twice, Harry broke into a run. Immediately, the stag increased his pace, too.

They hurried along, the beautiful scenery around them now becoming increasingly filled with flowers. Their scent was so strong that Harry gasped helplessly for breath – and yet, he knew he must not stop. The powerful odour might lead to his demise.

Finally, a huge tree came into view. The stag ran straight towards it – and then he disappeared.

Harry almost shouted – then, he saw that where the stag had been, someone now was lying under the tree.

He drew nearer carefully.

The person lying on the grass was a woman, and she was beautiful. Harry had never yet thought of a woman as beautiful, except maybe Fleur; here, the word came to him naturally.

She had noticed him and now sat up, unsmiling.

"Well, hello", she said in an unearthly voice. Her honeyish hair was flowing in waves around her shoulders. She looked up at him with slight interest in her otherwise strangely void brown eyes. "So you made it here. I am impressed."

Harry stood before her, uncertain what to reply to this – and anyway, she was too breathtaking to think of anything.

"Do sit", she pleaded and patted the free space to her left.

Harry obeyed. And finally, he found his voice.

"Who are you?"

She still was not smiling.

"I don't have a name. You may call me Amy, if you wish. I am the Guardian of The Maze. I take it you want to go through The Maze?"

Why would he want to go through the maze, when he could spend the remainder of his life next to this woman?

But wait...

"Hermione said to go through the maze."

Who was this Hermione, anyway?

"Who is Hermione?" she inquired curiously, stretching her limbs like someone waking up from a deep sleep.

As she did so, Harry noticed a blemish on her white skin. She had an oddly long, thin red scar across her throat.

"What's that?" he blurted out, pointing.

Quickly, she covered her neck with a scarf she had taken from nowhere. "Oh, it's nothing", she smiled.

"Oh, if you say so", Harry replied calmly.

He spent the next few hours lying next to her, looking at the leaves above him. His head was blissfully empty.

It happened when she stood up and walked a few steps to bathe her feet in the water of the creek.

A sudden cold breeze rustled through the leaves, shifting them around. And Harry saw –

A face.

He wanted to leap up and yell, but his body did not heed his commands. Petrified, he stared into the – the – the face –

Riddle glared back at him.

"What is wrong, my dear?" Amy asked kindly when she came back. She knelt down to wipe his sweaty forehead. Harry, however, pushed her hand away.

"I must leave at once", he said into her blank expression. "Show me where the entrance lies."

She stood up without a word and walked around the tree. There, she beckoned for him to come.

"The entrance is right here", she said, pointing at the thick trunk. "It is invisible, and you can only enter if your heart is set. Do not hesitate, or you will be stuck forever. I, the Guardian, have seen many die. I cannot help you from now on."

Harry gulped. The horrid face was still fresh on his mind.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward.

***

Immediately, he was swallowed by darkness. It only lasted a few seconds. Then, his strained eyes told him in an almost cat-like fashion that there were towering hedges to his left, right and behind him. He understood – he was in The Maze.

Amy's outline shone up before him. "Well done", she said quietly. "From now on, everything is going to depend on your inner strength. Crossing The Maze is a battle of mental powers. Good luck."

And she was gone.

The sky high above his head grew brighter as he set off, allowing him to see further than a few inches. Soon, the path lay clearly before his eyes. He walked as though in a trance for what seemed like hours, not meeting anyone. The stag, however, had returned, although he was not always there, flickering on and off like a broken lamp. He would not be around for long, Harry knew. He had dawdled maybe a little too long under that tree...

Harry met a dead end and was about to turn back when the hedge parted before him, revealing another path. This one was actually paved properly. Taking this as a positive sign, Harry resumed walking.

After a few minutes, he saw smoke rising in spirals. The path was swallowed by a small garden, this one much untidier than the previous one, and there was a hut at its very end. Harry moved towards it.

The door opened.

"I've been waiting for you", the alchemist said. "Come in."

"I must not dawdle any more", Harry told him.

"The path ends here", the alchemist said.

"No, it does not", Harry replied fiercely. "Get out of the way."

As he said this, the alchemist shook his head, as though regretting a lost case. Then, without warning, he and his hut dissolved into thin air, leaving nothing behind but a tall, dark-haired boy who was twiddling a wand idly between his fingers.

His eyes flashed with cruel pleasure at the sight of Harry.

"There you are, Potter. I knew you would come to me sooner or later."

And he laughed harshly. Feeling his hair standing on end, Harry picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at Riddle, who blocked it with a lazy wave of his wand.

"Come on, you can do better than that, Potter."

"But I've already defeated you!" Harry said. "I've destroyed your Horcruxes! You – you can't be here –"

"I am not him, Potter", Riddle snarled. "Forgotten everything, have you?"

Harry touched his forehead. The scar was gone, proving him right. He had battled Voldemort and extracted the good Tom from himself –

"You're a dream", he said angrily. "Nothing but a product of imagination. You –"

Riddle flicked his wand, searing Harry's robes. To his utter dismay, Harry felt very real pain, and the next moment, the ground was sprayed with blood.

"This is boring. Take your wand", Riddle said, kicking something on the ground towards his opponent. Harry bent to pick it up, his eyes on Tom.

He held up the wand and examined it. A stag was engraved into it.

Ah...

"I've still got the otter I took from your significant other", Riddle sneered, extracting another wooden stick from his sleeve. "You thwarted my plans then – but you will not succeed this time. There is no running away now. Take Hermione's wand from me – if you can." He laughed again and pocketed the wand with the otter.

Harry howled with fury. Darting forward, he brandished his wand like a whip. It created a chain of sparks that bound Riddle – surely, he had done it –

Riddle struggled for a moment; then, he broke free.

"You're dead!" Harry yelled, swishing his wand again. "We left you in the graveyard!"

"Oh", said Riddle with a smug expression, the one that Harry loathed so much, "but you were only running away. I am inside you. You know what that means, Potter? You cannot run away from me. Confront me, or die trying!"

For a while, they sent spells back and forth in silence. Harry soon felt out of breath – heck, he had only been granted a very short break from his fight with the grown-up Riddle, and he had all sorts of injuries that were dragging him down –

The wand flew out of his hand.

Riddle leapt forward, a look of triumph on his face –

And a small otter emerged from his robes, rushing at Harry's wand and kicking it in a swishing movement. It was sent flying into the air, and Harry caught it.

"Stupefy!" he yelled.

Riddle keeled over and fell to the ground.

The otter darted towards him and pulled the wand from Riddle's pocket. He brought it to Harry, who knelt down before him in disbelief.

"Hermione", he whispered.

The otter gave him a most Hermione-ish look before he disappeared.

Harry strode over towards Riddle.

"I've won, Riddle", he said coldly. "You know why? Because Hermione loves me. I'll never be like you."

Riddle's eyes were full of hatred.

The next moment, he had blended with the ground.

"Well done, Harry", said a loud voice behind him.

Harry flew around. Surely not –

There was Sirius, laughter in his face. He had his arm around Alice, who was smiling. To their right stood a happy Dumbledore; he was clapping his hands. Behind him were two grown-ups holding hands, one with untidy black hair and one with Harry's eyes. They waved at him. Harry waved back. And Hagrid was there, cheering.

"Knew ye had it in you, Harry", he said.

"Go now, Harry", Dumbledore nodded. Harry did not need telling twice.

In any case, the last thing he needed was for them to see the tears in his eyes.

***

Harry kept his eyes shut tight for a moment and inhaled deeply.

There was the smell of damp earth he knew so well, and of grass that would probably never see a lawnmower. He could hear the gnomes bustling through the hedge that separated him from The Burrow. And beyond the hedge, he heard voices. Very familiar voices those were, too.

"C'mon, Hermione, stop crying. Oh, bloody hell..."

"Have a tissue", Ginny said.

"We are lucky to have such extraordinarily fine weather today." That was Luna's dreamy voice. Harry chuckled in spite of himself.

He could hardly restrain himself now. However, he stayed behind the hedge for another minute, savouring the thought that he and his friends were alive, that they still had many years to live, now that there was no Dark Wizard around to spoil their happiness.

Quite suddenly, he felt something bulge the pocket of his robes. Startled, he extracted a piece of veil. It was no longer torn and grey, but a dazzling white and glittering in the sunlight.

Well, he might find a use for it in due course.

With that happy thought, he walked towards the fence and waited for his friends to notice him.

The End

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Whew. Thank you for bearing with me!!

This is the first story I actually planned. You still might find instances of faulty logic in there. It's been quite a writing lesson.

Your comments are very welcome! Do let me know if you liked it.