The Last Hope (Tom Riddle Love Story)

The Will

The Ministry has been corrupted. Dumbledore is dead.

But most importantly, the Golden Trio is on the run.

We all know how the story goes from here: the Trio finds and destroys all the horcruxes, killing Voldemort once and for all during the deadly Battle of Hogwarts.

But, is that really what happened? Was a single detail overlooked that lead to the fact that this tiny object was erased for history itself? The answer: yes. Because of this tiny book, the world was turned upside-down.

"The Minister is here!" George called through the Burrow.

"The Minister?" Molly called from the kitchen

"The Minister!?!" Hermione called from her shared room with Ginny, mouth foamy with her toothpaste. What can she say, her parents are dentists...

"The Minister!?! What could he be doing here???" Ron asked, poking his head out of his room using a shirt to cover the fact he was in the process of changing.

A knock was heard throughout the house. Molly rushed to open it.

"Minister. This is a surprise," She greeted.

"Sorry for interrupting, Mrs. Weasley, especially on such a busy day. However, I'm here on business. I need Mr. Ronald Weasley, Miss. Hermione Granger, and Mr. Harry Potter. For the matter of Dumbledore's will."

"Yes, please, come in. Sit there and I will get them for you," Molly said while rushing out of the room. The Trio soon made it's way down the stairs, sitting on the opposite couch as the Minister.

He started as soon as they hit the cushion. "The last Will and Testament of Albus Pecivil Wolfrick Brian Dumbledore. First, to Mister Ronald Bilious Weasley, I give you my deluminator, in hope that whenever it is the most darkest of time, you will use to find the light." Ron was handed the deluminator, flicking the switch on and off once.

"Wicked," He decided, looking at the Minister to go on.

"Next, to Miss Hermione Jean Granger, I leave you my very own copy of 'The Tales of Beetle and Bard' in hopes that she finds it both entertaining and educational." Hermione accepted the book.

"And to Mister Harry James Potter, I give him the snitch he caught in his first ever quidditch match, to serve as a reminder of perseverance and skill." Harry took the snitch looking at its intricate design that he's gotten to know so well, before looking up at the Minister once more.

"Anything else?" He asked, oblivious to the fact the Minister was watching with baited breath as his skin came in contact with the golden ball.

"There are two more things. First, Dumbledore wished you to have the sword of Gryffindor. However, the sword was not Dumbledore's to give-"

"It belongs to Harry!" Argued Ron. "It showed itself to him during the Chamber of Secrets in our second year!"

"The sword presenting itself to a person, doesn't mean that it is that person's possession. Anyways, the whereabouts of the sword are currently unknown."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"The sword is missing, Mister Potter," The Minister replied.

"And the second thing? You said that there were two more," Hermione pointed out, after a second of silence, catching something once again that the boys missed.

"Correct Miss Granger. Dumbledore wished to give you this," The Minister said, pulling out an old book, with a black cover. In gold print, the letters, "1944" were engraved into the book.

Hermione took it and opened it up. It was clear it had been sitting away for a long time, untouched. It was dusty, and the binding seemed almost as though it was breaking when when you opened the book. Now, that is the definition of a fragile binding.

"What is it?" Hermione asked, flipping through the pages with Harry and Ron peering at it over her shoulder. On the pages there where moving pictures of students with their names under them. It seemed it had pictures of kids ages 11 to 17 or maybe even 18.

"It is the year 1944 Hogwarts yearbook. Each Headmaster gets one every single year. It is why you get your pictures taken. Why Dumbledore gave you this one, is beyond us."

Hermione looked at it for a few more seconds before looking back up at the Minister. "Is that all, Sir?" She asked politely.

"Yes. But, Mister Potter. Please, let the Ministry help you," he tried.

"Sorry, but no thank you, Sir," Harry respectfully declined.

"Very well, I will leave you to it." The Minster left shortly after that, not at all pleased with Harry.

He was killed later that day. Bill and Fleur's wedding was interrupted by Death Eaters. Harry, Ron and Hermione went on the run.

Living it the tent, searching for Horcruxs, that all seem to be missing. They broke into Gingotts, trying to get the cup, only to barely evade capture, fleeing on a dragon empty handed. They attempted to get into the Ministry before their Gingotts stunt, but were caught almost immediately. Though the Snatchers never caught them, they had no idea were to look. They knew that one was at Hogwarts but didn't take the risk as everything else had been going terribly wrong.

It seemed that all hope was lost.

That was until Hermione figured out Dumbledore's last clue.

No, it wasn't the discovery of the Deathly Hallows (They had already figured that out before), or getting the Sword of Gryffindor.

It was the Yearbook.