Tom finds himself happy for no apparent reason. He just woke up then he felt happy. He’s now in the Great Hall eating breakfast with Hermione.
Harry entered the Great Hall. He saw them eating. He saw the glint of happiness in Tom’s eyes. Only then did he remember that he has a promise to keep. He walked straight to them.
Tom saw Harry first. He smiled at him and he just nodded. Then when he was in front of them, he noticed Hermione avoid his gaze. Harry then speaks, “I’ll teach you the Patronus Charm. Room of Requirement, after lunch.” Then he grabbed a toast and went out.
“Do you want me to go with you?” he heard Hermione asked.
“Probably no. I also want to talk to him.” He answered.
Tom and Hermione spent their day in the library. They were finishing their assignment in different subjects. They have a foot long essay on Charms, a foot and a half on DADA, and lastly a foot and a quarter in transfiguration.
After lunch, he went straight to the Room of Requirement. The walls were lined with wooden bookcases, and instead of chairs there were large silk cushions on the floor. A set of shelves at the far end of the room carried a range of instruments such as Sneakoscopes, Secrecy Sensors, and a large, cracked Foe-Glass. But the thing he found odd was the pictures, they’re fading. And they show students he hasn’t seen before. He saw Harry holding a picture frame. And again, the picture in that one is fading, in fact, it’s almost gone.
“Harry.” He said.
Harry dropped the frame and every picture vanished. He didn’t ask Harry a single question.
“Pull out your wand. And concentrate on a very powerful happy memory.” Harry said.
He saw Harry go in front of a closet.
“What’s in there?” he asked.
“A boggart. I will stand closer to it and you will perform the Patronus.” He said.
“Your boggart is a dementor?” he asked, bewildered.
“Yes, the last time I checked.” Harry looked at him; "You've got to think of something happy," Harry reminded him.
Tom tried, but he just couldn’t. . His face was screwed up in concentration, but only feeble wisps of silver smoke issued from his wand tip.
“You’re not trying.” He looked at Harry, “Let me give you a clue, don’t think about anything before Hermione.”
He gets it. He closed his eyes and tried to remember every bit of memory he has of Hermione. He remembered the time he first saw her, the time she duelled Malfoy, the time they made the unbreakable vow, every time they sat next to each other laughing, every time she was laughing. And a silvery wisp came out his wand.
“Are you ready?” Harry asked. He nodded.
Harry opened the closet, Tom was right beside him, but Harry was closer. Then the dementor went out, its hooded face turned toward Harry, one glistening, scabbed hand gripping its cloak. The lamps around the classroom flickered and went out. The dementor stepped from the closet and started to sweep silently toward Harry, drawing a deep, rattling breath. A wave of piercing cold broke over him, fortunately, Tom was ready,
“EXPECTO PATRONUM!” Tom yelled. The Boggart stumbled as the Python shoot out of his wand.
“Riddikulus.” Harry yelled and the Dementor turned to a greasy haired man, he was wearing a long, lace-trimmed dress and a towering hat topped with a moth-eaten vulture, and he was swinging a huge crimson handbag. Tom’s Patronus vanished the same time the boggart did.
“Looks like you’re still a snake.” Harry muttered.
“So that’s why you chose to teach me? To figure out if I’m still a snake?” Tom asked.
“Yes, but I also need to keep a promise before I leave.” He said.
“What do you mean leave?” he asked, confused.
“You thought of Hermione.” Harry ignored his question. “The memory or maybe memories you chose revolve around her. You do realize what that means, Tom? You do realize that you’re in love with her? But you’re still a snake because you’re still a worthless liar. Though this time, to yourself. You are lying to yourself about how you feel about her. That’s why your Patronus is a snake.” Harry sat in the sofa.
“I know I love her. I’ve told her.”
He then looked at him, “My real name is Harry Potter. And Hermione and I have secrets, secrets that we can’t tell you. But I told you my real name to challenge you, if you really love her, you wouldn’t care about our secret.”
Tom was now bewildered. What secrets do they have? Potter? How is he related to that Gryffindor? What secret are Hermione keeping from him? Does it matter?
“I love her.” He whispered. Harry heard it and smiled, but it was clear that he has tears in his eyes.
“I’m going to leave, and never come back. I’ll ask her to come, but I know; she’ll stay. She’s falling for you. And I want her to be happy. I also have a last challenge, pass it she will stay, fail, she will choose to come with me.” With those final words, Harry left him.
Harry went out, he saw Peeves painting the walls pink.
“Peeves!” he called.
“Look who it is, Dumblydaft.” Peeves looked at him and pour the paint over, but luckily he avoided it.
“I have an idea for a prank!” he shouted and the poltergeist stopped.
“Your idea must not be dumb, Dumblydafty.”
“Maybe it’s dumb but I really need your help.” He said.
“I don’t have time for dumb.” Peeves turned back but Harry reached something in his pocket.
“I’ll give you these.” He said raising the nosebleed nougat, puking pastilles, and fainting fancies.
“What are those?” the poltergeist asked, interested.
“Oh, these are nosebleed nougat, puking pastilles and fainting fancies. Fred and George invent them. You will know them, don’t worry.” Peeves was now smirking. He is liking this boy more.
“What do you want me to do?” he asked.
Harry handed him the parchment. Peeves looked at it then smiled, “This is easy!”
The next day, everything was normal, except for those sudden puking in the breakfast table. Students from different house will suddenly puke. That resulted to Tom and Hermione not eating, and so did the others.
Hermione asked him how the lesson with Harry went, he only told her that; “It was great. I did my first corporeal Patronus. Harry is a great teacher.”
Hermione knew that the students ate the bad side of the puking pastilles. She looked at Harry and saw that he was amused. She shook her head and looked at Tom. “I’m just going to talk to Harry, okay?” Tom nodded.
He saw Hermione walked straight to Harry. He saw him look at him then looked back at Hermione.
Harry saw Hermione walk to him. He looked at Tom then back at Hermione.
“What did you do Harry?” she asked him.
“What did I do?” he asked innocently.
“Ugh! Harry those are puking pastilles. The only one here that has those is you. So, why did you do it?” she questioned.
“I don’t have puking pastilles.” He said, but Hermione was still glaring at him, “But I think Peeves does.”
“HARRY!” she shouted.
“What?” he asked.
“We need to talk.” She said then pulled Harry. They arrived at the seventh floor and went inside the Room of Requirement.
“Okay, why?” she asked.
“It’s like saying goodbye to Hogwarts.” He answered.
“Goodbye? Harry, you are not leaving.” She stated.
“What if I want to?” he questioned.
Hermione heaved a heavy sigh. “Harry, we have a mission. You won’t leave me here, right?” she asked.
“You can come with me or you can stay, ‘Mione.”
“But how about this mission? How about the lives that’s at stake?”
“I can fight there, but not here.” He sighed.
“Harry, please.” She begged.
“Give the time turner Hermione.” He said.
“No.” she said then walked out. Harry stayed there. Waiting for Tom to fail.
Tom followed Hermione as she pulled Harry out of the Great Hall. He saw them enter the Room of Requirement. He waited outside, but Peeves started to throw things at him.
“Stop it. Peeves!” he shouted.
Peeves stole his wand and ran, he followed him.
“Give me back my wand!”
Peeves gave him back his wand but he said something.
“Tom Riddle is in love with the mudblood Granger.” He mocked.
“She is not a mudblood.” He snarled.
“Ooh! She is! Potter told me! That Potter I’ll meet in the future told me that mudblood Granger is a mudblood time traveller here to destroy the future dark lord, Voldemort.”
He couldn’t believe it. Is it all true? Is she really here to destroy him?
“The halfblood Voldemort gone soft!” Peeves mocked. “Halfblood in love with a mudblood!”
“She is not!” he yelled and with all the anger building up inside, he tortured the poltergeist.
But Peeves wasn’t feeling anything. He was just laughing and mocking him.
Hermione saw it. She saw how he tried to torture Peeves, she gasp which caught Tom’s attention. Tom was startled. He knew he failed. Hermione ran back to the Room but Tom followed her.
They saw Harry waiting for them. Hermione reached for the time turner and ran to Harry.
“Hermione let me explain!” he shouted.
“Explain what?” she cried. She held Harry’s hand.
“Peeves was calling you a mudblood.” He tried to reason.
“So? What if I am?” she then turned the time turner and spun it but Tom got hold of them.
Tom woke up in Godric’s Hollow, but he was alone.