Riddle Me This
Bambu61 Reviews | 4.75/10 (61 Ratings, 0 Likes, 10 Favorites )
When a colleague is discovered to be missing in action, Hermione Granger is sent to Egypt to investigate.
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About Bambu
Author
Bambu
Member Since 2005 | 27 Stories | Favorited by 542 | 117 Reviews Written | 1,029 Review Responses
I have loved the written word since watching my mother’s fingers trace the lines of a book, luxuriating in riveting tales and well-turned phrases. Many a night I read until dawn, a plastic flashlight hidden under the covers to light the pages as I raced the rising sun to finish my latest must-read.
Since joining the HP fandom, I've been privileged to receive more than 50 awards, including Best Author (Quill to Parchment Awards) and Best Classic Author (Most Potente Passions). Among others, my stories have won awards for Best Hurt/Comfort (Spoils of War, Morning Has Broken), Best Novel Length (Calling Card, Guard…Check…Mate), Best One Shot (A Beach in Ireland), Best WIP (Saving a Death Eater, The Summoning), Favorite Overall Story (Complexities), and Readers’ Choice (A Quest of Paladins).
Aside from a judicious polish for formatting and egregious typos, I don't plan on revising my early work. Those stories are the stepping stones of my writing journey. Please note some stories contain adult content. None is more graphic than equivalent scenes in the television shows True Blood or Game of Thrones, and age appropriate warnings are posted.
I no longer write fanfiction prolifically. Like many fanfic authors, my focus has shifted to original work. A member of the Romance Writers of America and the Southern California Writers Association, I write under my name: Lin Thornhill.
My original story Verisimilitude published in Thoroughly Modern Monsters (Story Spring Publishing, 2013) reached the top 100 fantasy anthologies and broke into the top 10 in the UK the first month of release. Ben and Christine’s story will continue in 2016.
Fixation, my latest short story, slated for publication in J. Aldis’ anthology Immanence, with a winter 2015-2016 release, is particularly exciting as it anchors the Messengers of Inari novel series I’ve been developing for the past year.
9/2015
Reviews for Riddle Me This
Was there a longer edition of this story posted somewhere else? Thought I read it before but PL says this is the first time I've read or come across this?
Oh that was wonderful! Favourite line? "It's a fucking tent!"
I didn't actually think I'd get to see the ghost council! And I didn't think i'd feel sorry for the Sphinx, either!
Ooh, a ghost council! I'd like to see that!
What a kiss! But what can be the answer to that riddle?
I'm loving all the riddles dotted through! I think this might be the first time I've see Penny used in fic before, too.
Ooh, this promise to be very interesting - I've not read anything quite like it before!
Really a fantastic and skillfully woven tale. The imagery of Egypt (both wizarding and muggle) was very compelling. I think you thoughtfully developed the budding friendship between Hermione and Lucius in a very believable way. I loved their interactions together. And I feel much sorrow for the lady sphinx! I do wonder what became of her. My only regrets about this story is that it's over and I need more SS/HG goodies! I wish we could see more interactions from their friendship years and maybe their thought processes when affection starting niggling it's way into their hearts. Anyway--I ADORE THIS STORY!
Response from Bambu (Author of Riddle Me This)
Thank you. I'm very pleased you thought the blending of wizarding and mundane Egypt was believable. That's an enormous compliment.I feel for the sphinx. Regrettably, her sentencing wasn't very pleasant because she broke some stringent laws of the afterlife. Poor thing. She really is a tragic victim of Voldemort's. But then again, he had many, didn't he?SS/HG backstory in this would have been fun to write, but in all honesty, I didn't quite have enough time to include everything I wanted to in the story. I may write a one-shot epilogue someday, in which we see just how well SS/HG live together and whether or not Lucius is still as close to them as we suspect.Thanks again.
Response from Bambu (Author of Riddle Me This)
Thank you. I'm very pleased you thought the blending of wizarding and mundane Egypt was believable. That's an enormous compliment.I feel for the sphinx. Regrettably, her sentencing wasn't very pleasant because she broke some stringent laws of the afterlife. Poor thing. She really is a tragic victim of Voldemort's. But then again, he had many, didn't he?SS/HG backstory in this would have been fun to write, but in all honesty, I didn't quite have enough time to include everything I wanted to in the story. I may write a one-shot epilogue someday, in which we see just how well SS/HG live together and whether or not Lucius is still as close to them as we suspect.Thanks again.
Well now I feel like Lucius when Hermione "explained" about Minerva and how they should have seen it... BIG "DUH" and a facepalm. LOL. I'm all antsy to see how the ghost council deals with her and how quickly Hermione can bring the men back. Just loving this whole story. So rich with detail and character. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!
Response from Bambu (Author of Riddle Me This)
Frankly, I'm absolutely and utterly delighted you didn't know the answer. I had hoped to make it one of those answers that once you knew it you couldn't imagine how you hadn't guessed before. That it was your reaction makes me a very happy author!Thank you so much.
My fingernails are suffering tremendously due to this story!! 
The interaction of Hermione and Lucius is terrific. And the moments of the other characters (Ginny, Minerva, the Bloody Baron) have been such fun. Still loving this.....
Response from Bambu (Author of Riddle Me This)
My apologies about your poor fingernails, but how wonderful you're intrigued enought to care. It's really a great compliment.As for the cast of characters, I had so much fun playing with any number of familiar faces.Thank you again!
Ok, love that their feelings are out in the open. Liked her explanations of her feelings and how they just "gushed out". Truly adored the "charge ahead without knowing where she was going" moment. And Lucius' reaction to that. I must admit that I'm not very good at riddles, but will mull the BIG one over and see if I can at least come close in the end (like I usually do with riddles -- close but not quite). Off to catch up.....
Response from Bambu (Author of Riddle Me This)
I can see Hermione holding her feelings in out of the fear that she would destroy their friendship, but the thought of ultimately losing him altogether would trigger her innate need to 'charge ahead' as you say.I'm so pleased you've been caught up in the story. Thank you!
Ooooh, no!! Just when the Egiptian witch-ghost started feeling something akin to remorse, the Ghost Council arrives. It might torpedize Hermione's plans. You've concocted an excellent story, neatly encompassing the world JKR created and expanding it in very canonical ways. You caught the characters very well, too. I cannot judge your take of Egypt, but at least it all seems fitting together.
Response from Bambu (Author of Riddle Me This)
I'm so pleased you've enjoyed the story so far. I quite agree with you about the ghost sphinx, and it's rather sad that she was yet another of Voldemort's victims. I did quite a bit of research about Egypt, including poring over a decade of Johns Hopkins archeological research at the Temple of Mut in Luxor. It was absolutely fascinating. If it seems to fit together, then you leave me thinking I did my homework well.Thank you for such a lovely review.
Love the story Bambu! I look forward to each chappie.
Response from Bambu (Author of Riddle Me This)
Thank you so much. It makes my day to know you're enjoying it.
Oh, what a wonderful, compelling story!! Usually I dislike Reformed!Lucius, but he's very well drawn here. And don't get me started on Severus. I just wonder why more women aren't at his feet m
But I have a quibble. Three former Hogwarts students and a Hogwarts professor confronted a creature they knew to be a malignant ghost, and nobody thought to ask an already-dead person for help until now??
Response from Bambu (Author of Riddle Me This)
What a nice thing to say. Thank you.Lucius can be problematical in terms of putting him in a cordial relationship with Hermione. Making it believable isn't always easy, but I wrote a canon-compliant Lucius/Hermione piece for the Lucius Big Bang community last year (The White Peacock), and it was extremely helpful in terms of exploring his character. From there I found a way to this version.Severus? Well, he's a great character, and since I've written him a number of times, I'm not unbiased in the least!As far as your quibble -- thanks for mentioning it; I appreciate knowing what people think -- there are some things which are taken for granted (ghosts don't/can't harm corporeal beings) in the wizarding world. In my mind, the fact that Draco, Cormac and Bill are all pureblooded has them accepting the standard belief without question, which is why they put so much consideration into the idea of the sphinx's being a construct (a la Dumbledore at Grimmauld Place). Severus on the other hand, had been more focused on the potion; keeping the victims alive and reversing the curse. He was never (until Bill is cursed) the primary combatant. With that being said, he is also precipitous in facing the sphinx because he anticipates Hermione's next move. At least, these were my original thoughts.
Leave it to Ginny to be so intuitive and nosy.That quicksand jinx is nasty business. Thank goodness Hermione arrived when she did, and that they listened to her.I still find the interaction between Lucius and Hermione to be right on track. He is being awfully nice to her. I hope he is really changed, and its not just an act because there is something valuable to him at stake. He feels sincere to me.I hope Hermione really knows what she is doing. I sure didn't gather much from the Bloody Baron! Good thing it isn't me there to save the day, LOL!
Response from Bambu (Author of Riddle Me This)
I've never been a large fan of Ginny's really; and yet, I think she could be a very good friend to Hermione once she knows Hermione isn't competition for Harry's affections.In Lucius case, he's on his very best behavior because Hermione is the tool which can release his son and his friend from their situation. And yet, in practice, as they work together he sees Hermione for who she really is, and that pretense becomes something more real. Friends? I think it'll be some time before they're really friends, but they've certainly reached amiable colleague status.::crosses fingers for Hermione::I think you'll need to read the next chapter!
You are never a disappointment and your works are a joy to read.I love this chapter because I love the redeeming power of kindness -- so simple and so seldom used. I can always remember each person who was kind to me.I know Hermione has the info she came for and the info her riddle answer paid for, but I am hoping that she can swing something to be able to come back and look in the library more. I mean, if she "vanquished the sphinx" why can't she come and go at will?How nice for the sphinx to get her woman's body back. I can almost hear Sirius saying that the fleas were murder. And opposable thumbs ... I bet she loves having those back.I'm still confused as to the timeline. I am guessing she was a witch, who changed into a sphinx in her role as library guard. Then TR freezes her a sphinx when he removes her memory for how to shift back. Then she dies? If so, then she hasn't been dead all that long. So how has the library been guarded for thousands of years? Is the job passed down in families where all the family members can become sphinxes?Of course, she could have been long dead and TR removed the memory from the ghost, but it doesn't seem right that you can oblivate a ghost... If that were possible, it would seem like the thing that rebellious teenagers would do (instead of graffiti). And all of the ghosts would be clueless.I am hopeful that she sees being helpful as a way to spite TR and a way to redeem herself (ghosts always seem to want to redeem themselves) and she is able to let go of her bitterness.And then of course the ghost council may chuck her in the brig and it won't matter how helpful she could be.I'll just have to wait and see.
Response from Bambu (Author of Riddle Me This)
I'm very sorry to have confused you about the timeline -- our sphinx has been a ghost for centuries. Riddle was the first to charm her into revealing all her secrets, and because of his extensive and wide-ranging knowledge of the Dark Arts (leaving him less than fully human) he was able to Obliviate her. In terms of being able to hex or jinx or spell ghosts, I extrapolated from canon. Remus Lupin is able to cast 'Langlock' on Peeves, and even if he's a poultergeist, he's still a spectral being, so I used that as a bit of a leap.As for the ghost council, I wouldn't hold out much hope!As always, thank you for your thoughtful comments and speculations. I love reading your reviews.
I hope the ghost council will take mercy on her. She was imprisoned against her will. Voldemort touched more than human lives.
Response from Bambu (Author of Riddle Me This)
Sadly enough, I don't they'll be lenient at all. I do think they'll be very sympathetic, but just not lenient. I totally agree about Voldemort; he was a cancer on the world.
Hurry up, Harry! Hermione needs you now!
Response from Bambu (Author of Riddle Me This)
I know! How can he have other priorities?Thanks for leaving me a review.
So, she is left with an either/or. Either it is a sphinx and not a ghost or a ghost and not a sphinx or neither a ghost nor a sphinx.The Baron was helpful. If she is a ghost, she cannot curse a living person without being dragged before the ghost council. Since she has cursed 4 living people, and is not before the council, my guess is that she is not a ghost.I don't know enough about sphinxes to know if she is one or not. Perhaps sphinxes are like anti-vampires and they fade without sunlight. Maybe being trapped in the dark is what has caused her transluscency? Maybe she just kind of looks ghost-y due to a lack of a tan?But I think I am going to vote for neither ghost nor sphinx. I think it is something that just looks that way. Perhaps her unintelligible language that preceded her mind-speaking is parseltongue and she is a snake dressed up as a sphinx (that would be an unnerving slytherin / griffindor combo-beast). Maybe Hermione can put her memory of what Severus saw in a bottle and let Harry watch it. If he can understand her language, then maybe we are looking for a snake with wings -- a dragon.I don't think she is a construct that simply guards and curses because she seems so caught up in her other thoughts of revenge and escape. A construct would simply either be activated or unactivated depending on the presence or absence of an interloper.Thanks for keeping it a mystery and doling out the clues. It is such fun to speculate!! I am sure my guesses are hugely WRONG, but I have had fun thinking about them.
Response from Bambu (Author of Riddle Me This)
I absolutely love reading your theories, and I'm only left with the burning desire not to disappoint you when the solution is revealed. ::bites nails:: Perhaps this is how JKR felt while writing book seven. After all, there were only so many ways she could go with the story.Of course, I can't tell you if you're right or not, but please, speculate away!Thanks, as always, for your wonderful reviews.
Still more good moments between Hermione and Lucius. Things are a little tense between the two, but still amicable enough. It is these little moments that they share that will make it more believeable to me if they end up in a close working relationship/friendship/romance etc.Good thinking on the Legilimency. They have so much more to go on now, but will it be enough? Will time run out, despite the stasis spell? Will there be any more casualties to the Spinx before all is said and done? Will Hermione and Lucius fall madly in love and run off together, forgetting all about Severus and Draco? Okay, kidding, but really, so many questions?!At least Severus and Hermione know where they stand, and both have strong motivation to get this figured out and get on with life.
Response from Bambu (Author of Riddle Me This)
Because Severus is out of commission for part of this story -- a fact I worried about actually -- the Lucius and Hermione dynamic was a bit more delicate to wield, but it was so much fun leaving some prickly bits here and there. He's on his best behavior (sort of) and she's more forgiving than most people (e.g., Ron Weasley) so I think there is a way forward for their eventual friendship (or more).I'm giggling at your list of questions. How fortunate there are two more chapters -- well only one left to post.Thanks, again, for your marvelous review. It makes my day!
I love this story, I could never guess a riddle, a good thing Hermione can ( I hope). Am happy for Severus and Hermione, something to look forward to for both of them - tuf times ahead
Response from Bambu (Author of Riddle Me This)
Thank you very much. I'm marginally good at riddles, so it's a good think Hermione has a logical and clever mind!
Best chapter ever! Thank god Hermione's good at riddles. She is good at riddles, isn't she? I mean, she beat Severus's logic puzzle; she must be good at riddles.
Response from Bambu (Author of Riddle Me This)
She really is good at puzzles, especially when she has clues. Fortunately she has notes and side-notes from Severus, Bill, and Draco to help her come to a conclusion!Thank you very much for enjoying the story.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought deosil was the same as clockwise, widdershins being anti-clockwise? Glad Severus and Hermione are on the same page with their feelings! And, I am going to have to think on the answer to the riddle. Sometimes these answers are so stupidly easy, they seem implausible that they're actually the answers!
Response from Bambu (Author of Riddle Me This)
I would love to correct you, but you aren't wrong. How is it that I missed it? I've read, re-read, and proofed this piece a half dozen times! Thank you for noticing and saying something. I'll fix it immediately.The riddle was one of the more challenging bits to write, actually. It surprised me. My first attempts were too obvious, and then they were too abstruse. I believe this is my eighth or ninth version.Thanks for reading and commenting!
How in the world are they supposed to solve what this ghost sphinx is and why it is, why it's putting memory charms on people and how to combat it - without Severus' intellect? If they put him in stasis, they lose his mind!
Response from Bambu (Author of Riddle Me This)
I know, and his mind is a very precious thing. I suspect it means Hermione and Lucius will have to work together. I'm delighted you're enjoying the story. Thanks.