a n c h o r

n i n e

Tom, standing in the Room of Requirement years after his graduation, played with Ravenclaw's diadem in his hands. He noticed the piles of broken glass across the floor, wondering what could have happened to lead to such a disaster.

Placing the diadem on a small table nearby, he examined the glass. He winced, dropping a particularly sharp piece back on the ground before wiping blood from a cut off of his finger. He brushed it off, thinking it was nothing.

Tom sat down at the table where the diadem had been sitting, taking out his diary and ripping out a piece of parchment. Before putting the book away, however, he opened the back cover. In the back of the book, a familiar picture had been hidden. A picture that Tom couldn't seem to let go of; the picture of Alexandra and her friends.

Tom had magically duplicated the photograph before throwing it's copy into the fire as a way to intimidate the girl many years ago. He had forgotten about the photo for a while, but he recently stumbled upon it once more. It reminded of the stories she would tell him of her friends, and thought it represented the best parts of her; the parts he grew to appreciate.

Closing the book, he pulled another piece of parchment out of his pocket. This parchment, however, was torn from a book.

A witch or wizard can only claim possession of the Elder Wand's loyalty by killing it's previous owner.

Tom smirked, knowing this information could very well change the future in his favor. Alexandra has already sacrificed her life for the ones she loves, and Tom knew she would be willing to do it again. He has never accepted defeat before, and a prophecy supposedly being "definite" wasn't going to change his attitude. If he encouraged Alexandra to kill Dumbledore herself, her soul would split, and the feelings of love and hope that made her so strong would die once and for all. If this plan did not work, though, he would have to kill that part of her another way.

Quickly writing his thoughts on the blank parchment, he folded the two pages together and placed it next to the diadem before exiting the room one final time.

An interesting topic I thought you would enjoy. We will meet again, my love.

Now, finally accomplishing his dream of becoming the most powerful wizard in the world, Tom Riddle no longer felt for the girl as he once did. He no longer imagined a world where they ruled together. Now, he only saw her as a pawn in his game. She was still of use to him, but he felt no guilt in killing her when he no longer needed her. Until then, he would do exactly what he planned to do all those years ago and kill every last bit of hope and love she felt in that heart of hers. He would whittle her away into nothing, keeping her alive until he was met with Harry Potter once more, and then he would kill them both with one foul swoop. Then, with his final two threats gone, he would truly be the most powerful wizard in the world.

"He's keeping her alive. She's an incentive," Harry explained to his friends, finally putting the pieces of the puzzle together. "He said something about love. I think he's under the impression that her and I are, you know-"

"In love?" Hermione asked. Harry nodded.

"Exactly."

"Well, it's a good thing you broke up with Ginny then," Ron stared, causing his friends to glare. "Not that Alexandra being taken is any better."

"What do you suppose gave him the idea that the two of you are in love?" Hermione asked, not expecting her friend to have told such a dangerous lie.

"The picture, maybe. From Christmas. I had my arm around her," Harry explained.

"That's not exactly incriminating," Hermione sighed. "I guess you can never really know what he's thinking."

"I think I need to turn myself in," Harry suddenly announced.

"Are you mad?" Hermione asked angrily. "You'll get yourself killed!"

"She's risked her life for us. Why shouldn't we do the same for her?"

"How do you know he's not planning on killing her the second you arrive?"

"We just have to hope-"

"Hope isn't enough right now, Harry," Ron argued. "You said it yourself, if we go without a plan, we'll all be killed. We can't risk it."

"Ron is right. If we don't have a plan, and we don't do this together, then it won't work."

"She's dying, Hermione! I don't know what else to do!" Harry yelled, not being able to hold in his anger and despair any longer.

"You don't think we know that? She's our best friend, and my sister. She's suffering, and we're here following you around because it's what she would want us to do," Ron replied.

"I didn't ask for any of this to happen!"

"None of us did," Hermione said reassuringly. "We're all hurting, Harry, and we're all worried for her, but we have to be smart about this."

"I promised we would find her," Harry said softly, accepting the momentary defeat.

"We will," Hermione said, sitting down next to him and putting her hand on his shoulder to comfort him. Ron sat on his opposite side. "But, until we figure out a plan, we have to focus on staying alive, and finding the rest of the horcruxes."

The rest of the night, Harry lied awake thinking of how he could save his friend. The image of her falling unconscious onto the ground repeated over and over in his head to the point where it felt torturous. Despite hours of thinking, he only thought of one small idea, and it wasn't an idea he was exactly thrilled with.

Harry Potter needed the help of Draco Malfoy.