Hermione's Riddle

Memory Box Part 7

Not Again

Mrs. Norris stood in the middle of the corridor watching as water pooled onto the floor. It was currently hers', Harry's, and Ron's second year. The year that the Chamber of Secrets was opened and Hermione was petrified.

She glanced at the pool of water again and sneezed. Her whisker twitched while her tail flicked back-and-forth. She really did not like this year.

"You have too, my little witch." Filch's voice was soft and tender, almost sounding like he did when he was Tom.

Mrs. Norris growled in anger. She didn't need to be told. She needed to be petrified as Mrs. Norris so that twelve-year old Hermione could figure it out.

She flicked her eyes toward Filch and nodded. His rough voice came out smooth and powerful as he spoke in the language of the snakes.

When Filch was done, he crouched down and put a hand to her head, gingerly rubbing her ears in between his fingers. "I'll see you soon."

Mrs. Norris let out a grumble and swished her tail. She really hated this year.

The Replacement

"What about a Golem? Is something like that possible?" Hermione asked. It was two years before Sirius Black was set to die. She, Tom, Severus, and Dumbledore were all brainstorming on how to save the unfortunate Black.

"It would need to act like the man, so, no, that would never work," Severus drawled darkly. The man may be a good person but he had a terrible way of showing it.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he thought over Hermione's suggestion. "If we had some of his magic, then perhaps. It may very well be possible but it would need all of us."

"You can't be serious?"

Dumbledore cast a look at Severus. "Very."

Tom held a hand up to his mouth, trying to stop the chuckle he was holding in from bursting forth. Hermione had to admit that it was very amusing watching the Headmaster and Potion's instructor bicker and debate.

. . . . .

"But-"

"No buts," Filch growled. Now that he and Hermione were back as Filch and Mrs. Norris, it was his job to keep the wily Black from ruining their carefully thought out plan. "You must stay here. Your doppelganger will help Harry. And die in your place. Remember that you agreed to this."

Black shot daggers at the man. Filch sighed and shook his head. He had a feeling that the worst part would be keeping this man hidden away from the world.

Mad-eye

They watched as the seven Harry's departed, keeping their eye on the one they wanted. Hidden underneath the Invisibility Cloak and armed with a bunch of spells to help them go unnoticed, Hermione and Tom followed the fake Harry with Mad-eye Moody.

It was a lucky break for the two. Normally they would have been under the potion to keep them as Mrs. Norris and Filch, a cat and a squib, but not tonight.

"We have to time this just right," Hermione said underneath her breath.

"I know. Don't worry, we'll pull it off," came Tom's curt reply as his way of reassuring her.

The moment they were waiting for arrived. The Death Eater in pursuit of the Fake Harry and Mad-eye lifted their wand. Hermione sent a nearly undetectable protection charm in Mad-eye's direction.

Tom sent a stun spell at the exact same time that the Death Eater shot off their spell. Mad-eye fell, plummeting to the ground. Tom decelerated his fall without it looking suspicious.

As soon as everyone was gone, the two approached Mad-eye. Now all they had to do was to get the man to the safe house and convince him to stay. They needed everyone to believe that he was dead for the timeline to stay the same.

. . . . .

They entered the safehouse with the still passed out Mad-eye. Sirius came down from the stairs with his wand raised.

"Stand down," Hermione huffed.

Sirius lowered his wand. "Oh, just you. No one ever comes and visits me," the man sighed dramatically. "Only you and your boyfriend. Snevillus just once."

"You know why you can't have visitors," Said Tom. "But good news, you now have a roommate." He pointed to Mad-eye who was now on the couch.

Sirius looked toward the sleeping man with a horrified look. "Not Mad-eye. He's crazy."

"Good. Then you should get along," Tom replied, completely serious.

You-Know-Who

"What are we doing here?" Asked Hermione.

Tom rolled up his sleeve so that the Dark Mark on his arm was visible. "Implementing the Weasley twins." With that, he walked into the bar where he had tracked down Fred and George. It was a good thing that the effects on the potion had run out for the twins didn't know what he looked like in his Tom form.

He strolled right past where the twins were sitting with their heads pulled up. Plastering on a dopey grin, he plopped himself down in the bar. A Death Eater that he did not recognize was there.

"Can you believe it!" He rose his voice to that of a loud drunk. "Our Master is a genius! Using his name as a tracker!" He saw the twins lean just a bit closer, trying to be as subtle as possible. "I would never have thought of that!" It was something he actually would have done. It was scary to see how similar the Horcrux copy of himself thought and acted to the original.

The man beside him gave him a hard glare. "Sush your mouth you bloody drunk! You'll ruin our Lord's plan with that drunken mouth of yours!"

Tom saluted the man, pretending to almost slide off of his seat. "Yes, sir!"

The Death Eater just shook his head with a bemused smirk. "Newbies," he muttered.