Invictus [Tom Riddle / Tomione]

The Prison

After work later that day, Hermione stopped by Portsmouth Potions to check in on the construction and renovations that were currently underway. A lovely little hand-painted sign was hung up on one side of the factory in whimsical, curling letters, The Chronomancer.

She toured the potions lab and the newly designed storage rooms, then she and Winnie Haywood examined the recently acquired equipment.

As Hermione was admiring the brand-new brass cauldrons, Winnie spoke.

"Hermione, please know how much this all means to me. I don't know how I can convey the depth of my gratitude in words, but... just know that to see this all coming to fruition is a dream come true for me."

Hermione smiled at her new friend. "Winnie, I've heard nothing but wonderful things about you and your family. Professor Slughorn highly recommends you and praises your potioneering genius. I never was much good at potions myself, although I did try. Of course, I can brew any potion you ask and do it correctly the technical way... but you have a gift. A natural aptitude." It saddened Hermione as she thought of her old potions professor. Professor Snape had possessed a natural aptitude, much the same as Winnie. "I'm happy to be able to partner with you Winifred, and the scholar in me is thrilled to see what kind of formulas you'll develop! Perhaps we could even consult some of the famed alchemists my father is acquainted with. I'm sure they might have some valuable input."

Winnie's eyes widened into saucers. "Do you really think so? Like who?"

"Well... I know my father is good friends with Simon Magnus, a distant relative of Albertus Magnus, and then of course there's Nicolas Flamel-"

"Nicolas Flamel? Merlin!" Winnie pressed a hand to her chest, gawking at Hermione.

"You know of him?"

"Know of him ? My parents practically worshipped him! I've heard rumors that he's still alive but I had no idea you knew him."

Hermione winced. "Well, I don't exactly know him. But my father does."

Winnie's eyes sparkled. "I wonder if there's any way we could get a copy of his Livre des figures hiéroglyphiques!"

Hermione tapped her fingertips to her chin. "I can certainly look into it. I'm quite curious to learn more about the process of transmutation myself.."

"I read a bit in Sir Isaac Newton's journals, the Cadeuces, the Dragons of Flamel ! He has such fascinating hypotheses about the magical knowledge housed in the Temple of Solomon. His writings on the warlocks of Atlantis and the magical genetics of mermaids are quite compelling. I've always thought that if we could combine muggle research of chemical compounds with the proper spellwork, we could probably stumble upon some discoveries that wizards have never seen before!"

Hermione stared at her, aghast. "You're extremely well-studied, Miss Haywood. We should compare notes, as I've always had quite the interest in Newton's alchemical theories."

Winifred lit up like a star, and Hermione found that she very much enjoyed her company. It had been a while since she'd had someone to discuss academics with, and it made her all that much more painfully aware of Tom's absence.

She suddenly longed to see him and wondered why he'd made no effort to see her the past few days.

"By the way, Winnie... I did look into the matter that we discussed before. It seems that the DMLE doesn't actually have any solid evidence on your Edward. No spellwork was found when aurors performed Prior Incantato . At the present time, he's only guilty by association. It's possible that with the proper defense, he could go free."