Time Changes All Things: Now Complete

Chapter 34: A Walk Through The Forest

Hermione woke up well rested and full of excitement. Today was the day they would finally lay claim to Rowena Ravenclaw’s diadem. At the back of her mind she was plagued by one thought, she knew what Tom had done with the diadem before. Was he planning on making the diadem a horcrux here in Albania? Hermione knew that someone would have to die in order for this to happen. Chills ran down her spine as she pondered this. She really did not have the power to stop him from making another horcrux, or did she?



As she looked over at Tom curled up in bed, he was still fast asleep. He looked childlike and of course much kinder when he was sleeping. It was all a fantasy to think that Tom Riddle would ever be a good person. Though, she had to admit, she had seen many great changes in the man since she had first met him. She leaned over him and reached out to brush his hair out of his eyes. Her finger traced along his cheek bone and down across his strong jaw line. Hermione nuzzled her nose into the hollow of his neck. She loved how Tom smelled, day or night. Her lips brushed against his, tickling them ever so softly. As Hermione went in for another kiss, she squealed in surprise as Tom’s arms wrapped around her.



“Tom, I can’t believe you!” Hermione pushed against him wiggling her hips, but she could not move. Tom gave a huge grin and pulled her head back down to his. Their lips pressed together while Tom ran his hands through her wild locks of hair. They rolled side by side never breaking contact.



“That is the grandest way to wake in the morning.” Tom’s lips once again sought out Hermione’s as his hands freely ran down her backside. “Thank you love.”



“You are welcome Tom. I could not sleep any longer thinking about what we will do today.” Hermione’s enthusiasm shone brightly on her face.



Tom’s smile faded as he looked at Hermione. “I am still not sure if it is safe for you to go out in the woods with me today.” Tom’s hands gently rubbed Hermione’s belly. “I realize it is just as daunting thinking of leaving you here with crazy people running lose.”



“My place is by your side Tom. We were meant to retrieve the diadem together.” Hermione was worried at the prospect of being left out. “I beg of you, please let me go with you. I have come this far and I don’t want to be left behind.”



Tom sat quietly as he mulled all of this in his mind. Hermione knew better than to push him any further.



After several minutes of sitting in silence, Tom rolled Hermione underneath him. He flipped her nightgown up to expose her swollen belly. Leaning down, he kissed the highest part of her stomach and felt a kick back. “Our son seems to be on your side and wants to go in the woods today.” Hermione giggled as Tom continued to press kisses all around the circumference of her belly. Then his lips started traveling lower as his slid her knickers off of her body.



“You are so beautiful,” Tom looked at her with adoring eyes. “You look especially lovely, as you lay there, knowing that my son is growing inside of you.” Hermione felt totally loved, even though she had never heard him say that he loved her.



Tom reached out to pull her nightgown off the rest of the way. The sight of Hermione, with her full pregnant breasts took his breath away. He had never felt so drawn to a woman before until now. He had never wanted to make love to a woman, this much, until now. He had never felt so devoted to anyone in his life, until now. He realized with much difficulty that Hermione, and the child she carried, were the most important things in his life. Together, they would be able to rule supreme in their world. She was the key to making his triumph a reality. This was the reason she had come to him at this time. The Fates were on his side.



Tom stretched out alongside her pulling her close to him. Hermione held her breath wondering what he would do and say next. She had learned to never second guess Tom Riddle. He leaned over to kiss her full, red lips. His hand wandered freely over her breasts, sliding along her stomach and down to her mound. He gently teased her opening as he sucked greedily at her breast. He gently turned her over and spooned her back side. Lifting her leg up, he placed it on top of his thigh. Hermione then felt Tom tenderly enter her from behind. His soft strokes moved inside of her and she pushed back onto him in a light rhythm. Their lovemaking was calm and tender; the only sounds heard were their bodies moving in tempo together. Hermione’s soft moans broke the silence, as she peaked, and Tom’s shouts of pleasure followed rapidly as he came inside of her. They lay there blissfully and let their breathing return to normal. Tom rained kisses along Hermione’s neck and shoulders.



“After a quick shower, I think that we will be ready to finish up with our task.” Tom rolled Hermione back towards him and smiled down at her.”It is a good morning indeed”. Bending down his lips kissed and nibbled hers.



Tom’s large hands gently pulled Hermione to his side, “I just love a warm shower in the morning, I find it so relaxing” Hermione said.



Tom nipped at her neck, brushing her silky curls aside, “That is not my favorite part of showering with you. Other things are more to my liking,” said Tom as he swatted her backside and Hermione squealed.



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The sun was shining bright and warm as they walked through the luscious, green forest. The fresh scent of the pine trees wafted through the air. Birds could be heard singing a happy song and a mild breeze softly moved the tree branches.



Tom held the Gray Lady’s map in a tight grip. He walked slowly as he looked for the safest trail to travel on. Hermione’s eyes stuck to the new trail, counting the twigs and pine cones along the way.



“Hermione, look at the view from this spot, you can see miles and miles out into the wilderness.” Tom said, taking a break for Hermione’s sake. Hermione’s shoulders sagged, as she rolled her neck around and around trying to get rid of the kinks. Her hands had been holding her protruding belly the last mile, as if she didn’t want anything to drop down. Her eyes fluttered closed as she tried to catch her breath. He could see that this little trek through the forest was hard on Hermione’s body. His doubts, about bringing her with him, pounded in his head. Tom warily looked around him, noticing the dark spots within the deeper part of the forest. His eyes scanned for any signs of trouble, aware of all movement around them, from the snapping of a twig to the flapping of bird wings as they took flight. Nothing seemed to be out of sorts. A small brown rabbit hopped along the trail in front of them. Miles and miles of gigantic trees surrounded them .Most of them looked exactly the same, which worried Tom. How would they truly find the diadem? Back at the castle the map had looked so foolproof. As he scanned the map held in his hands, the frail paper didn’t have as many clues as he had once thought. The diadem would hold strong magical energy. He was relying too much on a piece of paper and forgetting about the great magical power within himself.



Hermione drifted off through the high grass and found an old, dried up tree stump and plopped down on it. “Oh, Tom, how crazy that this old stump feels like a well cushioned settee. “ Her hands once again circled around and around her swollen belly. Hermione looked as out of place, in this rough surrounding, as would have been the settee she spoke of. Hermione’s eyes closed as her face tilted up towards the blazing sun.



Tom knew his Goddess was tiring and this job needed to be completed soon. Two hours had already passed since they had set foot in the forest. Tom took out his wand, taking a deep breath to ground his anxiety. As the air filled his lungs, he let a darker side of himself flow out to take over. The aura of power and total control swirled around him. He could fill the shadows overcoming the good that was left in his soul. This obscure side of him was rarely shown to Hermione. As the desperation had surmounted the past several miles, he knew that this side of him would prevail this day. With a task as great as retrieving the diadem, to be used as his next Horcrux, there was no other way to be triumphant.



Tom chanted a dark spell he had found in an old book in the Restricted Section

at Hogwarts. This spell would call on evil spirits to guide him in his quest. Flamina had approved of his choice using this spell. Who knows, maybe it was her that had created it. Flicking his wand towards Hermione, he cast a protective spell around her and his child. A gold sheen of light, splayed out, enveloping her. There was no way that he would trust any evil spirits around them. He also hoped, that it would protect her from himself, in this state, if needs be.



Casting his attention back to his task, he saw the grotesque and disfigured shapes of the evil spirits. They whirled around spitting fire and encircling him. “Master, Master”, the eerie whispering voices called out to him. “Tell us of our tasks of iniquity,” The sickening, yet sweet feeling of supremacy, swelled in his chest. Many more of the disgusting monstrous creatures’ gathered rank around him. The full forces of Hell were at his command.



Hermione awoke from her nap as the keening voices of the spirits grew in volume. “Tom…Tom what is happening?” Hermione bumped hard into barrier of the protective spell. A look of utter horror crossed her face as she gazed upon the sick sight in front of her. Tom rose into the air as the spirits followed. Standing before her was the Lord Voldemort of her nightmares. This was the inhuman creature that she had dreaded Tom becoming. She never wanted to see this happen to him, but it was out of her hands. It had been that way from the beginning of her adventure back in time.



In a blast of green mist, Tom and his minions raced away through the now darkened skies. A harsh wind blew them swiftly through the skies, as swirling leaves and soil clouded Hermione’s view. Hermione’s heart raced as she beat her hands against the blockade surrounding her. She felt so helpless desperately wanted to help Tom.

After loving Tom, she had decided that there were two souls residing inside of him. One soul was the loving and caring man who was the father of her child. The second soul within him was full of greed and immense evil. Could the two souls ever be separated? How could she find the magic to rip them apart?



Hermione sat back down on the rock shifting in discomfort. Her hand rubbed along her back, trying to loosen the knots, which were shooting spikes of pain, up and down her spine. She also was beyond frustrated that she wasn’t with Tom right now. It was supposed to be the two of them together, discovering the hiding place of the Ravenclaw diadem. Now here she was contained in a mini-prison of Tom’s making. Where in God’s name did the grotesque creatures come from? He had been encircled by a whole army of demons. Her first thought was they were probably subordinates of Flamina. With all practicality, knowing what Voldemort would someday be capable of doing, this had probably all been Toms’ doing. As each day went by, she knew that she was losing the battle to save Tom from becoming the true Lord Voldemort. The only thing that moved her forward in her struggle was the child she was carrying. Hermione’s hands rubbed her belly, as a sign of comfort to her son swiftly kicking inside of her. This small being always seemed to know when there was evil and darkness around. In fact, it was his kicking that had awoken her, alerting her to the terror that was surrounding her. Hermione hoped that the baby was kicking as a sign he was against the wickedness of his father, and not because the baby would be taking after his father.



Hermione hoped that he would be back soon. The baby was resting on her full bladder and would be causing her problems soon this far away from the loo.

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The wind died down as Tom and the demons came to a grove of trees. The trees had been oddly planted in the figure of a spiral. Tom knew, from his study of Sacred Pagan symbols, that the spiral is an ancient symbol reflecting the universal pattern of growth and evolution. The spiral pattern appears again and again in the natural world from the Milky Way galaxy to snail shells. The living spiral does not begin or end; it is an ongoing process of innocence, discovery, community, and the essence that connects all things. Then it struck him, that this was the place where he would find the diadem. He knew that he would discover the diadem in the middle of the spiral.



As the spirits formed a circle around him, Tom settled on the ground, his robes billowing around him. What a glorious feeling that had been to fly through the skies! The demons started humming a slow moving tune. The energy emitting from these beings, was the most powerful thing he had ever felt in his life, save what he felt when around Flamina. This was the kind of power he wanted, no, the kind of power that he needed to hold in his hands.



Closing his eyes, Tom stretched forth his hands. He needed to feel the pure magical energy coming from the diadem. Anything that had once belonged to one of the founders of Hogwarts felt the same. It was a combination of strong magic and heat that made his magic pulse within him. No ordinary wizard or witch would be able to feel this strong magic, except for maybe Dumbledore or Grindlewald. With the immortal spirits following him, Tom headed into the wooded spiral ready to claim rights on Rowena Ravenclaw’s diadem.

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Chapter 35 we will finally see the diadem in Tom Riddle’s hands. We will also see what happens to the diadem and if it will become a horcrux soon. We will also see how Hermione reacts to Tom’s return.