Chapter Twenty Eight: A Tentative Deal and The Enigmatic Diary.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material written by J. K. Rowling or her publishing company.

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Tom Riddle stood in the doorsill of her mother's flat with a blatantly annoyed expression on his face. "Wait you're horses," Snipped Hibiscus Potter furiously as she sliced at her palm and dripped the blood on the welcome mat quickly. "I feel as though a Blood Ward was a tad bit extreme," Hissed Tom venomously, glaring down at that the steaming drops of blood as they ate away the ward that had been placed against him. "Stop whining," Said Hibiscus as she stood and brushed her gold and silver earrings back along with a sleek wave of shimmering blonde.

Then she crossed her arms over her perfectly ironed oxford shirt and stepped into the living room with the older, incorporeal boy following her. Her wand stuck out from a pair of, 'provocative,' jeans which her mother had said were far too tight for a girl her age but of course she had gotten them. Hibiscus reached into a cabinet and withdrew a book quickly; slamming it onto the table and opening it to a specific page she stepped back and spoke. "My mother will not be home for two days, for some odd reason she wants to become an Auror and they sent her to the academy," The girl's voice was level, betraying no emotion. Tom smiled at her sardonically and asked casually, "That sounds like great news, little succubae, but why are you avoiding what I truly care about?"

Already short tempered at the thought of their deal and the approaching end of the month she snarled, "We will do it now." Tom smiled as she reached for a box that had lain out of sight on the couch of the living room. Her palm was sliced open once again and she spread the blood into a rune, a loud click resounded around the room as the box opened of its own volition. Inside rest the cup of Helga Hufflepuff on a throne of velvet every artifact of the same caliber deserved. Her breath always caught when she looked at it and thought of the fact that after this ritual she would be able to use another of the Founder's objects. Shaking her head she closed the blinds manually so her pesky neighbors would see nothing magical and made sure the doors were locked.

"Last time I did this I realized that even though I overpowered and released the soul," Began Hibiscus, "I never directed it to fulfill a purpose." Tom stared at her and nodded as the witch flicked a match to life and tossed it in the cup. 'Quis est animam mittere et qui habet sermonem meum expediret illud corde. Sed planto certeus vestiga relinquamus Helga servare ab iis qui male vixerunt et qui mortuus statera,s Said Hibiscus in a passionate tone. Then she slashed her palm for the third time that evening with a dull sigh of pain. Blood trickled into the cup like river and a loud hiss exploded from the thing. Then a frightening black light began to glow from within its depths like a surging mass from hell.

"You are incorporeal and as a result have no blood to give," Hibiscus said to Tom, "So hopefully my magic will be powerful enough to fight the soul alone this time." She remembered how it had taken herself, Hermione and Cedric combined to subdue the spirit. A pressure fell on her head and her arms slammed down on the table for support. The black in the cup was growing stronger by the second. Then a glimmer of silver-gold flashed in the writhing mass of soul and it began to slink down into the cup. Finally it fell into nothingness and Hibiscus grinned at Tom happily. "Now we must direct it," She said as she pulled her wand from her jeans and pointed it into the cauldron. "I Hibiscus Potter, who donated my blood so freely, proclaim this soul to belong to Tom Marvolo Riddle as long as he is a friend to me." Tom's eyes went blank and he began to dissipate into a formless cloud of mist.

The black surged from the cup and raced forwards into the cloud of light. The cloud of black and white turned grey then with the blink of an eye she saw Tom Riddle standing before her once again. He smiled at her as he rubbed his exhausted eyes wearily, "I am more solid now, I probably can't age until we find another horcrux though." Hibiscus was more focused on the cup at that moment though, picking it up carefully and sitting gracefully into a seat. Tom followed suit and seemed to enjoy the fact that he didn't fall through the chair like a ghost as he would have before. It was as though having the soul inside the cup had frozen all of the good inside of it and left it with only evil.

Before the little badger had been motionless but now the golden depiction danced and pranced around the rim while the other carvings followed suit. The little cup which had looked like dull brass a moment ago shined like the sun and was unquestionably gold. Pulling her wand out Hibiscus tapped the top of the cup and watched with shock as water rose from nowhere. "This is stupendous!" She cried as Tom glanced at it with shock across his face. "Helga Hufflepuff defied the laws of Charms…" He trailed off as he comprehended why she was so exuberant.

"I thought it was impossible to conjure objects through another object," Mumbled Hibiscus in wonder as she tapped the wand against it again and watched as the water disappeared, "But she has turned this cup into a focal point for magical energy and somehow given it the ability to do so." With a heavy heart she opened the box once again and shut it with a resounding click since she didn't like the way that Tom was looking at it.

He seemed to be snapped from his trance and asked, "Now that you have fulfilled you're portion of the agreement we can focus on mine." The girl was all too eager to work on a plan for how to deal with her grandmother's servant arriving in a day and said as much. "I went through a book and found that it could be anything from a demon to an army," She pulled the book on Succubae magic towards her and stared at the boy imperiously. Desperately trying to hide the flush she was getting at noticing how handsome he was now that he was more corporeal.

Tom seemed to not notice and asked, "Then what do you propose we do about it?" Hibiscus crossed her arms and said, "First we will get Ollivander to fit you with a new wand." He nodded as though he truly liked the thought of that. "Then we will get every thing we need to fight, because I doubt Lilith will send anything less than her best." This time he nodded more solemnly, but she swore she could see a glint in his eyes that was excited for battle. Hibiscus Potter couldn't help but hope that she hadn't created a bloodthirsty Dark Lord only a moment ago.

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The Valentine's Dwarf chased him through the halls with that blasted love letter in his hands. Cedric desperately leapt up the steps until his school bag snap and all of the contents exploded outwards. He stopped and listened as the Dwarf swung to a stop next to him, huffing for breath. Then with a vicious little glint in his eyes the Dwarf stepped up and cleared his throat, "A Miss Chan-," Cedric pulled his wand from his robes and pointed it between the Dwarf's eyes. "Speak any further and I will hex you all the way down the steps you just chased me up," The handsome boy hissed.

The Dwarf gulped and fled with his ridiculous outfit and bow, his eyes growing fearful. Cedric groaned and noticed that all of his possessions had been doused by broken ink bottles in his bag. As he shifted through it all and people hissed at the inconvenience of moving around him he noticed something odd. But maybe it went further than odd and landed passed strange as well. Peculiarly the diary he had found in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom was exempt from the ink. As he flipped through the pages and glanced over the cover there was none of the black substance splattered across the pages.

Almost like magic…

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Please review, etc. Hibiscus is going to return to Hogwarts very soon.

Next Chapter: Expected and Unexpected Enemies and An Excursion To The Forest.