Chapter 4: Manipulating the Manipulator
Hermione tossed and turned in her cot, trying to get some sleep, but to no avail, as the day’s events kept replaying in her head. She eventually gave up and stared at the ceiling of the tent that was her current residence, listening to Harry and Ron’s snores and contemplating what had happened earlier that day.
Their trip to the Ministry did not go as well as Hermione had hoped, but they had at least retrieved Slytherin’s locket from that evil hag, Umbridge. Unfortunately, the mission, however successful, cost the Trio their primary safe-haven, Number 12 Grimmauld Place, and a chunk of Ron’s upper arm when he had Splinched himself.
However, the most disturbing parts about the trip to the Ministry to Hermione were the trials (If you could call them that, Hermione mentally snorted) of the Muggle-borns and the way that awful toad callously smiled at the “accused”. The screams of one of the “accused” still haunted her hours later. “No, no, I’m a half-blood, I tell you! My father was a wizard, he was, look him up, Arkie Alderton, he’s a well-known broomstick designer, look him up, I tell you “ get your hands off me, get your hands off “”* the man had bellowed.
Hermione had wanted to pull her wand out (which she had barely stopped herself in time from doing just that) and help the poor man as the dementors dragged him away, but she knew that she couldn’t without blowing her cover and risking hers and Harry and Ron’s lives.
Then there was the enigma of the Horcrux that they had managed to snag. Hermione had already gone down her mental list of things that would destroy a Horcrux, and none of them would work right now. They didn’t have access to basilisk venom, as the only source known to Hermione would be at Hogwarts, in the Chamber of Secrets, and going to back to Hogwarts was simply not an option, since it was crawling with Death Eaters.
The only other option that wasn’t really an option at all was to use Fiendfyre, but that was way too dangerous for Hermione to even attempt. So, they would just have to hang on to the locket and the diary until they found a means to destroy them.
But what of the other Horcruxes? How do we find them? That’s the million galleon question, isn’t it? Hermione thought.
Suddenly, like a light being turned on in a pitch-black room, a way to find the remaining Horcruxes occurred to her, nearly bowling her over with its brilliance and simplicity if it worked. No, it was too risky…, but it must be worth the risk….
Hermione muttered “Lumos” under her breath with wand in hand, and set the wand on the nightstand beside the cot. Then, Hermione silently crawled out of her cot and retrieved her small beaded bag. She dug through it and found what she was looking for.
Hermione opened the book, and poised her quill over the blank page to write, but then stopped herself just in the nick of time. She would have to compose a really good and very believable story in order for this to work; after all she was attempting to manipulate the master of manipulation, deceive the master of deceit.
After about ten minutes of thinking very hard and trying to find any possible loopholes in her story, Hermione set her quill to the diary, sighed and prayed to whatever entity might be listening to please let this work, and began to put her risky plan to work.
'Hello. My name is Emma Rose Sage,' Hermione wrote, her hand trembling slightly and she was anxious that he would not take the bait. A few seconds later, however, the response showed up in bold black letters.
'Hello, Emma. My name is Tom Riddle. May I ask how you acquired my journal?'
Hermione sucked in her breath. This was it. The moment of truth.
'I found it in an alley in Hogsmeade while I was shopping for a birthday present for my best friend, Daphne Greengrass. You see, I couldn’t give her present on her actual birthday because Hogsmeade was on lockdown that weekend. It was rumored that Harry Potter and his friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were sighted in Hogsmeade by a shop owner. By the way, what are you? I mean, you can’t be a normal human if you live in a diary, that is, if you live in this diary at all.'
'No, I am not a “normal” human as you put it. I am but a mere memory that lives in this diary.'
Yeah, sure. A “mere memory”? More like one of the many Horcruxes of the most evil wizard in the last one hundred years that will possess me if I’m not careful enough, Hermione thought, but she couldn’t write that, of course, as that would give away her true identity.
Then she decided to write something that she truly hoped would catch him by surprise, although the thought of saying (or rather, writing) something like that to Lord Voldemort made her gag: 'I’m sorry. I truly am. Does it ever get lonely?'
'Sometimes, but I manage.'
He was lying, obviously. Voldemort had never been lonely in his whole miserable existence and never would be, but he did not know that “Emma” knew that, of course. 'That must be horrible, Tom. Living in a diary, I mean,' Hermione wrote.
'It is not that bad once you get used to it. So, what House and year are you in?'
'I’m a seventh year Ravenclaw. My best friend, though, is in Slytherin, but I don’t mind; I wish that I would have been in Slytherin instead of Ravenclaw.'
'Hmm… interesting. So you don’t mind Slytherins, eh? Well, that is good because I was in Slytherin when I attended Hogwarts many, many years ago.'
'Really? That’s so cool! Did you fit in there? I don’t fit into Ravenclaw that well. My housemates are either really weird, like Loony Lovegood, or they act like they have encyclopedias shoved up their arses. Don’t get me wrong, learning is a good thing, but when you act so pompous about it, and are too self-righteous to expand your knowledge beyond the boundaries of light magic, it just isn’t right.'
'I think that you have a good and valid point there, Emma. There is only power and those who are too weak to seek it. Your housemates are too weak to seek that power. You, however, seem like you are both strong enough and capable enough to obtain that power. All you have to do is reach out and take it for yourself, and it is all yours. You are a Sage, one of the most noble pure-blood lines in the Wizarding World, and you have to admit that it would be fitting if you had all that power.'
'Secretly, I have always wanted that kind of power. That’s why I practice the Dark Arts. I don’t necessarily want to become one of the Dark Lord’s followers, but I might change my mind some day and want to become a Death Eater,' Hermione scrawled.
'And I’m sure that he would welcome you into his ranks.'
'How do you know?' replied Hermione.
'I just do.'
Suddenly, Ron snored rather loudly and stirred, which nearly caused her to upset her ink bottle because she had jumped violently at the sound. Thankfully, Ron turned over on his side and was fast asleep and snoring again.
'Listen, Tom, I need to go. I’ll talk (or write) to you soon, okay?' Hermione scrawled across the page swiftly.
'Okay. Goodbye, Emma, until we converse again.'
Hermione shut the diary softly and put it away, feeling oddly triumphant. He had fallen for it: hook, line, and sinker. However, despite feeling triumphant, she also felt shaky and her skin was crawling at the thought of talking to the Dark Lord again although it was necessary that she did so in order for her plan to succeed.
Hermione also felt uneasy that, for the second time in her life, she would be keeping something big from Harry and Ron. She knew that they would have a fit, especially Ron, if they knew what she was doing, and they would never understand her plan. No, it was best if they were kept out of the loop on this one.
Hermione sighed, crawled back under the covers of her cot, and grabbed her wand off of the nightstand. She then muttered “Nox”, and everything was almost pitch-dark again. Now is as a good of a time as any to try to go to sleep, she thought. It took her a while, but she finally managed to fall asleep as the sun started to rise, signaling the crack of dawn.
Fading Ink by Wicked Sapphira
Chapter Notes: Author’s Note: Welcome to the next installment of Fading Ink!!! Thanks to everyone who has read or is reading this story! It means so much to me!!! In this chapter, we go back to the Trio.
I use a direct quote from the chapter The Muggle-Born Registration Commission (Chapter 13) from the Deathly Hallows in this chapter. Also, this is set after the whole thing at the Ministry (about a week or two after the previous chapter) because I didn’t feel like re-writing what JKR wrote and you guys already know what happens at the Ministry anyway.
One more thing, Hermione's alias is a coincidence. I just like the name Emma, and I had (stupidly) forgotten that the actress' name who plays Hermione is also Emma at the time that I had written this chapter, and I just didn't feel like changing it.
Chapter Endnotes: Author’s Note: Please review! I cannot stress this enough! Okay, this chapter was slightly longer than the previous one, but only slightly. And, no, Hermione is NOT going to turn dark in this story, if you’re wondering. I’m trying to make this story weave in and out of Book 7, so it has to mostly follow canon (Tom and Hermione falling in love is not canon, but that’s why I said “mostly”). If you’re wondering how Hermione is going to make Tom spill the beans on where the Horcruxes are when he doesn’t even tell his closest followers that, you will just have to wait and see. Please, don’t forget to review!
* Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, pages 257-258 (American Hardback edition)