Time Changes All Things: Now Complete

Remember...this story is not cannon...so Hermione and Tom do not know the information that they are told at the end of this chapter. ;)



Thanks to my ever faithful beta Nicole!



Chapter 27: The Grey Lady\'s Lament



Tom sat with a cloud of hate surrounding him as he stared at Albus Dumbledore. Absolutely nothing deterred his complete hatred for the man; not the consistent chatter bouncing around him, the giggling from the silly Hufflepuffs ahead of him, nor the piercing gaze from Dumbledore himself. He wanted the old fool to know that he was being challenged and by a very strong, determined wizard. The only sign that he even acknowledged anything surrounding him was that he was holding tightly to Hermione’s hand with a death grip.



“Hold it down back there!” Hermione spat out to the group of Slytherins laughing behind her. “As for you,” she turned to Tom and grabbed her hand and shook it like it was on fire, “I am miffed at you squeezing the life out of my hand here.”



Tom still looked straight ahead at Dumbledore, not even recognizing that Hermione had even spoken to him. Dumbledore sat at his desk returning Tom’s steady stare, ignoring the rest of the class as they prattled on in merriment. Most of the students were too busy with their own conversations, to even notice the show down that was occurring between the Head Boy and their Professor. The only students even watching the face-off were the inner circle of the Death Eaters. Abraxas sat close by, with a sick look on his face, hardly breathing, wondering if the Dark Lord would do something foolish in his great irritation at Dumbledore. Lucretia sat by his side chewing on her fingernails also watching the two wizards shooting daggers back and forth with their eyes.



Tom knew that he should not have come to class today with how incensed he had been the last fourteen hours. The second he had heard that Dumbledore was responsible for Hermione’s latest accident, he wanted retribution. In his mind, threatening Hermione and his child was also an attack against him. For seven years now, he had felt Dumbledore’s growing resentment for him. The more his power had grown he knew that Dumbledore was feeling hostile at the thought that someone would be more powerful than himself. It wouldn’t be that hard to beat the old nutter and prove once and for all who controlled the Wizarding World. As soon as he was finished at Hogwarts, his plans would escalate with the imminent pureblood takeover of the Wizarding world. Too many Muggles were infiltrating their world and needed to be taken care of. This would be the Death Eaters mission to show who would rule and this also included the running of Hogwarts.



“For crying out loud, stop staring at that ancient wanker and let’s leave!” Hermione whispered to Tom, trying to stop the insane, nonverbal clash that was taking place between Tom and Dumbledore.



Hermione stood up, grabbed her books and yelling to know one in particular shouted out, “The lot of you are daft!” and Hermione marched her way past Dumbledore shooting him a killer look as she strode out of the classroom.



Abraxas leaned over to Lucretia, “Well that was a dim show of annoyance.”



Rolling her eyes at Abraxas’ statement she whispered back to him, “I am chalking it up to pregnancy hormones.”



“I don’t think that Tom even noticed that she walked out, “Clarice said leaning over at hearing the conversation between Abraxas and Lucretia, “and I don’t think that she likes being ignored by the man who should be worshipping her.“



“I think that you are being a little bit unfair, Clarice,” Lucretia came to Hermione’s defense, “I think that she just wants to get all of us through the rest of the school year and in one piece. Tom is just provoking this nonsense with Dumbledore.”



“You’re wrong, Lucretia; The Dark Lord is protecting what is rightfully his. Dumbledore threatened you and Hermione, so in his eyes, the threat needs to be taken care of.” Abraxas knew he couldn’t give any more details of Tom’s plans to “take care of” Dumbledore, but he at least could help them understand the importance of Tom’s actions in class.



After twenty-five minutes of the staring contest and the class getting totally out of hand, Dumbledore stood, pushing his chair away from the desk “Class is dismissed for the day. You will read chapter 60 from your textbook and write a report on what was read, which will be due on Thursday.” The professor’s eyes were still glued to Tom Riddle as he gave the class instructions.



“You all may be going…except for Mr. Riddle…you stay after class.” Dumbledore stood at the front of the class with his arms folded and a look of opposition on his face. The muscles in Tom’s face looked as if they were ready to spring from his face. He was clenching his teeth so hard one hoped that he didn’t cause damage to his beautiful smile.



The class scurried out as quickly as possible; relieved to be let out early away from the dreary “lesson” that had occurred today. Abraxas, always being the Dark Lord’s right hand man, lingered in his seat as the rest of the class had left the room. “Mr. Malfoy, you were included in the number of those that were dismissed.” Dumbledore was not in the mood to deal with anyone else at the moment except Tom Riddle. Playing these games with Riddle had become very wearisome to him. The sooner he put him in his place, the better. “Now, Mr. Malfoy,” Dumbledore said in a rather loud voice not usually heard from him,” and shut the door as you leave…and this is not a request.”



“Abraxas, go now, I can take care of myself. You are making me look foolish,” Tom commanded him in a quiet voice.



“I will go, but I will be right outside of the classroom waiting for you, my Lord,” Abraxas gathered his things and glanced once again at Dumbledore as he made his way out of the room.



As the door shut, the silence hung in the room and all that could be heard was the tapping on Tom’s foot on the floor.



“What is this about, Mr. Riddle? You have disturbed my class this day and even made me cancel the lesson…”



“You made that choice on your own, old man,” Tom was ready to let the insults fly. He was not scared of Albus Dumbledore and needed to make this point loud and clear.



“You will show me respect as I am your teacher…” Dumbledore stated to Tom, when Tom interrupted him again in his booming voice.



“I only show respect to those that deserve that honor, and you, sir, most certainly do not! “ Tom now was standing as to be level with Dumbledore. “How dare you threaten to harm Hermione and Lucretia last night?” Tom noticed the look of surprise that crossed Dumbledore’s face. “Oh, do not act like you are unaware that Hermione was injured last night. She was being followed by someone…that someone would be you!”



Tom knew that he had Dumbledore in a corner as he saw the look of culpability in his eyes. Dumbledore started to speak but was cut off by Tom, “This war between us does not involve innocent women and children. But by bringing your own stupidity into play, you could have harmed Hermione and my…” Tom stopped abruptly as he had almost referred to the unborn baby.



“Your…child, Mr. Riddle?” Dumbledore now had a nasty smile on his face. “Yes, I do know that Hermione is once again pregnant with your offspring. You are a very selfish man, Tom Riddle.” Tom clenched his fists and wanted desperately to grab his wand and hex this bastard into oblivion. “It has only been a few months since her last pregnancy that ended in failure. You do know that I have the power to suspend both of your from Hogwarts?”



The heat from Tom‘s fury, if measured, would be the same temperature as lava flowing out of a volcano. Dumbledore could see that Tom was about ready to blow up. He had his own wand very handy just in case this encounter came to blows. “I am not going to suspend either of you, but I will be watching both of you. But how will you hide this condition from the rest of Hogwarts?”



“This is not your problem; it is mine and Hermione’s. We will be fine and you need to make sure that you stay away from her and my child.” Tom took several steps forward towards Dumbledore. “The baby will be born long after we leave Hogwarts.”



Dumbledore was disgusted about the thought of Riddle’s child, “What do you want with a child, Riddle? You don’t know how to love anything. All that you love is yourself.”



Tom rushed forward grabbing Dumbledore’s robes in his hands and pulling the man close to him, “I swear to any God that is listening at the moment, if you harm Hermione or my child I …will…kill…you!” he shoved Dumbledore propelling him against the wall. Dumbledore took out his wand casting a spell that threw Tom across the floor.



The doors swung open as Hermione rushed into the room, “What is going on in here?” She looked wildly from Tom to Dumbledore who were both picking themselves off of the floor and were about ready to cast more spells at one another. With both wands, inadvertently pointed at her, she called out, “Accio wands” and both wizards’ wands flew into her hands. The look of shock was shown by both Tom and Dumbledore at Hermione’s quick move. “For God’s sake, both of you grow up!” Hermione glared at both men and strutted out the door, sending both of their wands back into their hands as she left.



Picking up his things, Tom turned to Dumbledore one last time, “I meant what I said, leave Hermione and my child alone, or you will die at my hand some day.” Dumbledore just sneered at the threat, knowing that he and he alone had the winning card in this game. Riddle would not have his child to brainwash in the future; he would never allow this to happen. Rubbing the back of his head, he just smiled, knowing how riled up Tom had been. This was just the first part of his plan. Now that Tom was aware that he knew about the pregnancy, well, more fun was to come. He whistled a happy tune as he strolled off to his private chambers.



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Hermione went flying into her room throwing her books across the floor.



“You get back here and talk to me now!” Tom came running in behind her slamming the bedroom door shut. “Why are you acting so crazed, Hermione?” Tom bellowed at her.



Hermione turned on him and rushed into his face, “Shut the fuck up! This is your entire fault!” Her hands yanked at her own disheveled hair in frustration. “Oh why can’t you see that baiting Dumbledore will only make him want to come after us even more?”



Tom screamed back at her, fisting his hands so he wouldn’t hither, his anger being so great, “I am doing this for you and our child!” her threw his fists forward making Hermione flinch.



“No, Tom, you are doing this for you,” she pushed her finger into Tom’s chest, “You want to prove to the great Dumbledore that you are the even more powerful Lord Voldemort. Now is neither the time nor the place to prove your point.”



Tom groaned in annoyance, “Yes, now is the time,” his eyes were lit with the fire that had been sizzling in him all night and day. “He is standing in my way of becoming who I should become!”



“This always comes back to you doesn’t it? You don’t really care about me or this child.” Hermione turned accusing eyes to him, “All that you care about is how we fit into your plans to make you ruler over the Wizarding World.” Now the truth was out…hanging there in the room for both of them to see. Tom stood there speechless as he stared into Hermione’s eyes.



The mask was off and Hermione saw the truth written all over Tom’s face. This thought had been dancing around Hermione’s mind for several months and finally the words had escaped her mind and flown out of her mouth and into the open.



Hermione started to sob that soon turned into hysterical laughter. “You can’t deny it can you, Tom? We are just little pieces in your great puzzle that could easily be tossed aside.” She turned and walked away from Tom, “Gods, I have been so stupid!” She screamed loudly as she hugged her now protruding belly.



Tom walked over to her to put his arms around her. Sensing his movements Hermione jerked away, “No, don’t touch me! Leave me alone.” Her shout turned into a whisper. Tom’s eyes were fixed on her shaking shoulders as the sobs once again raked her body. He really did not know what to say to counteract what she had said. This woman wasn’t like the others that could be soothed by slick words; Hermione was too intelligent. Knowing it was a useless cause at the moment, Tom gathered his composure, “I will meet you at midnight in the Room of Requirement for our appointment with the Grey Lady. “ Hearing no response from Hermione he turned away, glancing only once more at the woman carrying his child and he left her room.



As the door shut Hermione wiped the tears from her eyes. She was at a crossroads and did not know which way to turn. Too many powerful emotions were coursing through her and for a split second she felt her Eternal Flame tattoo heat up, wondering what emotions were causing Tom Riddle to feel pain. Did he really care for her and this baby more than she realized? Of course he would never tell her, that wasn’t his way. As far as she knew, Lord Voldemort had never believed in the power of love. This disbelief in love had been his downfall many times in his life; first while Lily Potter had been protecting her son Harry and then once again as Harry had been defending the friends he loved. How had it all come to this? She had never intended to fall in love with Tom Riddle.



Falling down to the side of her bed, her head fell onto her arms. Had she just admitted to herself that she was in love with the Dark Lord? How could she be in love with a man that could never truly love her? That thought alone, struck deep to her inner soul, bringing deep grief; especially because now she was pregnant with his child.



Feeling tired, she lay down to nap before dinner. After all she was intrigued by her midnight rendezvous with The Grey Lady. What in the world would she be able to help them with? One never knew what secrets were still hidden in this great castle. After all Hogwarts a History didn’t hold all of the answers; she should know after the many times she had read the massive book. Taking it down from her shelf she decided to read through its comforting pages until sleep came or dinnertime.



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Hermione woke feeling extremely irritable and hungry. Not only had she taken a long nap, but she had slept right through dinner and now she was ravenous. Glancing at the clock there was not time for a snack, just enough time to get up to the Room of Requirement. Glancing in the mirror at her unruly hair she applied a relaxing charm on her mussed up hair. There was also no time to change her rumpled robes, after sleeping in them for several hours. Feeling very drowsy and disoriented, she disillusioned herself before leaving the Slytherin dungeons. Hermione felt slightly uneasy sneaking around Hogwarts without Tom by her side. She had been hoping that maybe he would have come to her room to get her before heading to their secret meeting with the Hogwarts ghost. In the pit of her stomach she felt sick realizing that Tom had not come to her after their fight.



Pacing in front of the wall that hid the Room of Requirement nothing seemed to be happening. Why was the door not appearing? What was she doing wrong? Feeling a tingling sensation going down her spine, she knew Tom was there before he reached out to put his arms around her waist. Leaning back into his arms, Tom pulled her back close into his chest. His face rubbed against her head, “Hermione…I have been thinking a lot about what we discussed…”



“It’s fine, Tom, we don’t need to …” Hermione was worn out and did not want to fight any more with him about anything.



Turning her around to face him, he looked down at her, “No, I do want to say something to you. You deserve at least that from me. “With a confused look, Hermione searched Tom’s face for the sincerity behind the words, “What I have told you before, I meant it ardently; I care very deeply for you and our child. I will do whatever is needed to protect you both. I may not be the loving man that you have always dreamed of, but I will always be there for you and would defend you to my death.” His hands wove into hair and down to her slim neck. As he rubbed circles along her neck, the warmth of his touch spread through her body. But the frankness of his words was more demonstrative than any physical touch, and they expressed his feelings to her explicitly.



She knew that this might be all that she would ever get from Tom. Should she take what he was offering? Would this be enough for her emotionally? Looking at this wonderfully handsome man, standing there with this peace offering, would she be daft to not accept it? Her love would have to be enough for the both of them and their child. Hermione’s hands pulled his head down to her waiting lips as they roughly latched on to one another. Suddenly the Room of Requirement door appeared and Tom swept Hermione up in his arms. Opening the door he quickly rushed in and finding the four poster bed he laid Hermione on the bed. Reaching down he unbuttoned her robes and hung them over the side of the headboard; he did the same with his own robes tossing their shoes to floor. Seeing Hermione lying there with her hair billowed out around her head, her cheeks flushed, his desire rose tenfold. Leaning down, he licked his lips as he watched her breasts rise and fall in anticipation of what was coming. As he cupped her breasts in his hands, she shivered as her breasts swelled at his touch. Hermione moaned as Tom lay down on top of her, rubbing against her. His tongue teased her lips open again as they dipped in to taste her. Pulling her shirt up, Tom made fast work of removing her bra and quickly licking the hard peaks of her breasts. She buried her hands in his hair, holding him tightly to her chest, as she throbbed with passion.



“Why can’t I ever resist you?” Hermione said as she gasped as Tom suckled on her breast.



“No woman can fight my charms; especially you.” Tom slid Hermione’s skirt down her legs. He growled deep in his throat as he gazed at her lying there only in her lacy, black panties. Even though he was completely dressed, his manhood was fully swollen as Hermione wrapped her fingers around him through his trousers. He caught his breath and closed his eyes as she stroked him.



“That is how all of my problems started all of those years ago.” The haunting voice startled them as they both jumped on the bed and jerked around at the sound of the Grey Lady’s voice. She stood there floating near the bed, smiling down at the pair trying to hide Hermione’s body. Hermione grabbed her bra and blouse haphazardly putting them back onto her body.



“My love for the Baron and his devotion for me led to both our demise.” The Grey Lady watched them like they were standing in the middle of the Great Hall, and not two people that were beginning to make love.



“Grey Lady, I don’t mean to be discourteous, but I am sure that you didn’t summon us here to talk about your soured love many years past,” Tom‘s impatience at being interrupted was showing.



“My real name is Helena…Helena Ravenclaw.” Tom and Hermione’s eyes met at the mention of the Ravenclaw name. “The Baron and I were to be married. But Mother and I had a falling out. I stole something very important of hers and ran away to Albania.” Tom was sitting on the side of the bed in great anticipation sensing that they were about to receive information of great importance.



The Grey Lady stood there, silently, with a remorseful look on her translucent face.



“What was it that you stole dear lady? You can trust us with your most private information.” Tom exuded his immense charm.



Looking at both Tom and Hermione, she was trying to decide if she really could trust them, and she wrung her ghostly hands in concentration.



“Please let us help you, Helena. You came to us for a reason,” Hermione spoke to the ghost in a comforting voice.



Giving a low moan of anguish she went floating over to the far wall, and then silently drifting back to them. “I stole what you now seek, Tom Riddle.” Tom’s eyes lit up with interest. “I took my Mother’s most precious possession.”



She turned around and gave an eerie smile, “She was so angry with me, so I decided to punish her.” Tom and Hermione looked at one another waiting with great anticipation. Neither one spoke for fear the Grey Lady would suddenly disappear. “My Mother became quite ill and sent my estranged fiancé after me to persuade me to return to her deathbed.”



Giving a high laugh she returned to her story, “What did my lover do when I refused to return with him? He lost his temper and said I was too stubborn for words.” At that statement Tom glanced over at Hermione giving her a cheeky grin.



“He was so displeased with me that he drew his knife and he plunged it straight into my breast.” She then wailed the piercing sound reminiscent of Moaning Myrtle’s melancholy laments. “Then the Baron took his own life using the same knife. He was so distraught after killing me he was out of his mind.” Hermione’s eyes lit up at hearing the Grey Lady tell her story, “To this day he carries the bloody stains of his sins.”



Tom quietly spoke up, “The Bloody Baron was your fiancé’?”



“Yes. But he was not to be my Eternal Beloved. Intellectually he was not my match,” she said with some arrogance.



Tom reached over and lifted Hermione’s hand to his mouth to kiss her delicate fingers, “In that respect I have been most lucky.” Tom then winked at Hermione that made her blush deep red at his praise.



“Helena, would you please share what you took from Rowena?” Hermione was most anxious to find out the secret the Grey Lady was holding still surreptitiously in her hands.



“All I have ever wanted was to possess the greatest wisdom to be found on this earth. I was holding to the promise found on the relic, Wit beyond measure is man’s greatest treasure. “



Hermione jumped up, standing face to face with the Grey Lady, “O dear God! You mean the diadem?” Hermione was shocked at the revelation. For the first time that night, Helena Ravenclaw, the Grey Lady, gave a genuinely happy smile.



I think that there may have been one person that guessed correctly about the diadem. Thanks for reading and reviewing and see you on chapter 28!