"I told you. Hermione is alive and if you allow me, I will take you to her. Wouldn't you like that, Neville? To hear her voice, to hold her hand? You just have to wait just for a little while, and you'll see the miracle that she has created. I know you have regrets, Neville, and pain. I know that you wish that things in your life would be different, just like Hermione did. And she found a way to make it all go away. She created a way that would temporarily reset everything and live in the world she deserved, and she wanted to share it with the world. Imagine a world where you still have your parents, where your father tells you he's proud of you, where your mother tucks you in at night with a kiss on your forehead. Imagine a world without Voldemort, without Dumbledore, without wars over silly things like gold and blood, a world without the pain you are carrying, without your mistakes, without your regrets, a world where you don't have to be the boy who lived, where you don't have to live to meet the expectations of others, to be the hero they want you to be. Please, Neville, let me show you the world that your closest friend wants to create."
Neville looked entranced, "How?"
"Just trust her. You do trust her, don't you? Do you believe in Hermione Granger, Neville?
"Of course, I trust her, it's you that I don't. You framed me for the petrifications. I can tell you did…"
Riddle shook his head, "We didn't, but you're a parselmouth, so they tried to find clues that just weren't there, just like you tried to justify the injustice by seeing clues that just weren't there. Even then, we don't have to fight. Is your suffering for a few months not worth the paradise that we aim to create? Let's just make peace with each other, as we always meant to do. Let go of the anger towards the mythical thing that is the heir of Slytherin and embrace your friend's vision. Understand that we only wished to help, to save the world. The only snag in our way is Potter."
"I don't understand…"
"For the ritual to work a soul has to govern the illusion to make sure that everything works fine. I am not alive, so I don't have a soul, but Hermione sacrificed experiencing her illusion just so that the world would know peace. She's vulnerable now and interrupting the ritual will surely kill her. Potter doesn't just want to stop me; he wants revenge for what happened to Greengrass. He wants revenge on Hermione. He could stop the ritual, stop our world from being born. I'm just a memory, I don't have any magic, I don't have any power. I'm just a voice in the wind. But you do. Are you going to let him kill your friend? He did make you fight Hermione's protector, didn't he? He made you kill her strongest defenders because he couldn't. You could stop him, save your friend from his clutches."
"So, I have to fight Potter to save Hermione?" the Longbottom scion asked.
"Not just to save Hermione, but to save the world. He's the enemy. He doesn't get that to save the world, there needs to be sacrifices. He wants to avenge his friend, and that's noble. Why do you think he's not interrupting us now? He knows that I'm not lying to you."
Slowly, Neville pointed his wand at Harry, trembling slightly, "I'm sorry Harry."
The Potter scion, though, looked unconcerned. He just took off his fedora and shook his head, "Well, this has gone far enough…"
He snapped his finger and the boy just fell down unconscious. At Riddle's incredulous look, he snorted, "Do you not think I have a contingency plan in place if he decided to betray me? A small rune on the back of his neck, the moment we entered the undercroft, was enough to guarantee that he wouldn't do anything stupid."
"You're a ruthless man," Riddle commented.
"Nah, I'm just ahead of the curve. What is curious is your ability to convince him of anything. No wonder Lord Voldemort had such a large following, if he had a fragment of your skill, he could convince anyone of anything. A good thing for a con artist like him, like you, to have. You wanted to test the protections that fate offered Longbottom on me, turn a liability into an asset. But now, the question is, what are you hoping to accomplish now that your beast and your backup are gone? Are you willing to risk it all in a duel that you might not win?"
The older boy shook his head, "The chances you would defeat me in a duel are minimal. You're impressive, yes, and had you been two years, maybe even one year older, you could have posed a very significant challenge. But you're too unrefined. But then again, I don't have to fight you. King to Rook two."
"So, dazzle me, Riddle. What's that final trick up your sleeve."
.....
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