Warnings:
mentions of robbery and death
Narrator Pov
"Help yourself, Tom," said Hepzibah, "I know how you love my cakes. Now, how are you? You look pale. They overwork you at that shop, I've said it a hundred times."
Voldemort smiled mechanically and Hepzibah simpered.
"Well, what's your excuse for visiting this time?" she asked, batting her lashes.
"Mr. Burke would like to make an improved offer for the goblin-made armor," said Voldemort. "Five hundred Galleons, he feels it is more than fair."
"Now, now, not so fast, or l'Il say you're only here for my trinkers!" pouted Hepzibah.
"I am ordered here because of them," said Voldemort quietly. "I am only a poor assistant, madam , who must do as he is told. Mr Burke wishes me to inquire-"
Oh. Mr. Burke, phooey!" said Hepzibah, waving a little hand. "I have something to show you that I've never shown Mr. Burke! Can you keep a secret, Tom? Will you promise you won't tell Mr. Burke, Ive got it? He'd never let me rest if he knew I'd shown it to you, and I'm not selling, not to Burke, not to anyone! But you, Tom, you'll appreciate it for its history, not how many Galleons you can get for it."
"I will be glad to see anyching Miss Hepzibah shows me,"said Voldemort quietly, and Hepzibah gave another girlish giggle.
"I had Hokey bring it out for me.... Hokey, where are you? I want you to show Mr. Riddle our finest treasure.... In fact, bring both, while you're at it.
"Here, madam,"squeaked the house-elf, and Harry saw two leather boxes, one on top of the other, moving across the room.
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"A badger," murmured Voldemort, examining the engraving. "Then this was... "
Hepzibah was showing Tom a small golden cup with two finely wrought handles.
"Helga Hufflepuff's, as you very well know, you clever boy!" She said. "Didnt I tell you I was distantly descended? This has been handed down the family for years and years.
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The elf obediently took the boxed cup, and Hepzibah turned her attention to the much flatter box in her lap.
"I think you'll like this even more, Tom," she whispered. "Lean in a little, dear boy, so you can sec. . . . Of course, Burke knows I've got this one, I bought it from him, and I daresay he'd love to get it hack when I'm gone..."
She slid back the fine filigree clasp and flipped open the box. There upon the smooth crimson velvet lay a heavy golden locket.
Voldemort reached out his hand, without invitation this time, and held it up to the light, staring at it.
"Slytherin's mark," he said quietly, as the light played upon an ornate, serpentine S.
"That's right." said Hepzibah, delighted, apparently, at the sight of Voldemort gazing at her locket, transfixed. "I had to pay an arm
and a leg for it, but I couldn't let is pass. not a real treasure like that, had to have it for my collection. Burke said he bought it from a old ragged looking woman who seemed to have stolen, but had no idea of its value."
Voldemorts eyes flashed scarlet this time, Harry and Amelia saw Voldemort's knuckles whiten as he held the lockets chain as Hepzibah went on talking.
After she finished her sentence. She reached to take the locket back. For a second it seemed Tom wasn't going to give it back, but it slid through his fine fingers and onto the red velvet cushions.
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"Time to leave," said Dumbledore quietly, and as the little elf bobbed away with the boxes, Dumbledore grasped Harry and Amelia
once again above the elbow and together they rose up through oblivion and back to Dumbledore's office.
"Hepzibah Smith died two days after that little scene," said Dumbledore, resuming his seat and indicating that the twins should do the same. "Hokey the house-elf was convicted by the Ministry of poisoning her mistress's evening cocoa by accident."
"No way!" said Harry angrily.
"I see we are of one mind," said Dumbledore. "Certainly, there are many similarities between this death and that of the Riddles. In both cases, somebody else took the blame, someone who had a clear memory of having caused the death."
"Hokey confessed?"
"She remembered putting something in her mistress's cocoa that turned out not to be sugar, but a lethal and little-known poison," said Dumbledore. "It was concluded that she had not meant to do it, but being old and confused—"
"Voldemort modified her memory, just like he did with Morfin."
"Yes, that is my conclusion too," said Dumbledore. "And, just as with Morfin, the ministry was predisposed to suspect Hokey."
"Because she was a house elf?" Said Amelia.
"Precisely," said Dumbledore. "She was old, she admitted to having tampered with the drink, and nobody at the Ministry bothered to inquire further. As in the case of Morfin, by the time I traced her and managed to extract this memory, her life was almost over but her memory, of course, proves nothing except that Voldemort
knew of the existence of the cup and the locket."
"By the time Hokey was convicted, Hepzibah's family had realized that two of her greatest treasures were missing. It took them a while to be sure of this, for she had many hiding places, having always guarded her collection most jealously. But before they were sure beyond doubt that the cup and the locket were both gone,
the assistant who had worked at Borgin and Burkes, the young man who had visited Hepzibah so regularly and charmed her so well, had resigned his post and vanished. His superiors had no idea where he had gone; they were as surprised as anyone at his disappearance. And that was the last that was seen or heard of Tom
Riddle for a very long time.
"Now," said Dumbledore,"if you don't mind, Harry, I want to pause once more to draw your attention to certain points of our story. Voldemort had committed another murder; whether it was his first since he killed the Riddles, I do not know, but I think it was. Just as he stole from the children, his uncle Morfin, he ran off with Hepzibah's cup and locket."
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Amelia pov
And then there was another memory he made us watch, I think it was his own. Tom had entered the room and asked for a position as a professor.
Dumbledore declined. And that made me wonder, what would of happened if he was made a Professor?
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I put on a light blue dress and I slipped on my matching colored heels.
"So where are you going?"asked Hermione as she closed her book.
"Draco asked me on a date,kinda weird but I agreed."
"well have fun," she said."not to much fun though."
I looked in the mirror worried,"do I look bad?"
"no Amelia,you look perfectly fine."
"I need to change, I need a better dress."
"No, Amelia. You look fabulous."
I smiled, "thank you, Mione." I walked up the stairs, and sat on the blanket next to draco, candles were around us on the corners of the blanket, and he was looking at the stars.
"hey,"
"hi.."
Awkward. I smiled, and he smiled to,he looked kinda nervous.
"what's wrong? You look nervous."
"nothing,I'm fine." He said
"okay.."
We ate,he tried a chocolate strawberry for the first time...I definitely didn't make him eat it.We both got up and danced,then looked at the stars, making constellations like we did in first year.
"look its a shooting star," he said.
I looked where he was pointing,I laughed,"theres no shoo-"
I looked at him,he was on one knee,my eyes widened. And I paused. No. Please don't.
He had a box in his hand. He opened the box, Godric.
"When I met you,I thought you were really pretty..and I thought we were gonna be friends,but you declined,so I was rude to you because that how I hid my feelings." He said. "And I was rude to everyone,because I thought it would get your attention,and make you like me more..but now your my girlfriend,and I have fallen completely in love with you.."
"So..marry me,and before you say anything, the wedding obviously won't happen this year, like in five years. I just wanna make sure that your still mine no matter what happens.so..will you marry me..?"
No. No. No. No.
I can't, as much as I love him. I can't. Harry hates him and Draco's a death eater. Say No and Run Amelia. Tears fell from my face, I don't know if they were sad or happy.
"No."