Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Fooling Fate sequel to Bound	By : goldhorse Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 44179 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. That lucky duck JK Rowling does. I don't make any money from this fanfic. I just play with her toys and put them back in relatively good condition.

Chapter List
- 12
- 13
- 14
AN: WARNING: Blood, gore, rape, murder, and mayhem. Read at your own risk...and try not to eat anything during that time.

Hermione parked herself in a dining room chair and waited in misery for everyone to assemble. She didn’t want to drag them all into this but it was quite clear that she had no choice. Severus had only cowed them once with the blood bond but he would most definitely do it again if it meant that it would keep her and Draco from going off alone. Why couldn’t they just let her and Draco do this? It was their job after all.

“It might be your job to protect,” Harmony said softly as she sat across from her. “But the fates created the rest of us to help you. If they had wanted you to do this alone, none of us would be aware of it.”

“This is ludicrous,” Hermione huffed. “We can just pop in.”

“No, you can’t.” Harmony said darkly. “I’ve seen the consequences of those actions. Going on as you want to do now will only get you killed. How long after that do you think they’ll target our children?”

“They wouldn’t,” Hermione said in fear.

Harmony merely stared at her.

“Why?”

“They seek power. Who are the most powerful independently balanced beings you’ve ever seen?”

“My children,” Hermione croaked.

“Precisely,” Harmony continued, a bit softer than before. “I have refrained from reading Zandra, but I do get momentary flashes. From what I can tell, they only choose the strongest muggleborns. How long before they move to half-bloods?”

“You think they’d do that?” Draco asked despite the fact that he felt he knew the answer.

“Voldemort was the pureblood fanatic. He started this movement but it has evolved from blood to power now. What’s to stop them?”

“So why bother to start with muggles at all?” Hermione asked softly.

Melody entered the room and sat a large pensive down on the table beside the memories. “If your first recruits were vampires, what platform would you take to win them over?”

“All the blood they could swallow,” Draco said hollowly. “Worked last time.”

Melody nodded. “And if your recruits were all former pureblood supremacists?”

Draco rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. “You target muggleborns”

Melody nodded and sat down beside them to wait. Once they were all assembled, she enlarged the pensive and sat the memories down in order on the table. “Whose memories shall we visit first?”

Harry yawned and rubbed his eyes. “How about Bracken? We need to figure out how they found all this stuff out before we see the results.”

Melody chuckled at Severus’s gob smacked look. “Another point to Harry for rendering the great bat speechless.”

“I try,” Harry said dryly. “Do we have any pepper up?”

“Harry,” Alex said gently. “You’re on the cusp of addition.”

“I can’t help it!” Harry snapped. “I can’t sleep. What if she-“

“Lily is going to be just fine,” Harmony said softly. “We’re going to find who did this to her but we need you at your best Harry. You are no help to anyone in this state.”

Harry nodded, thoroughly chastised. “I’m so tired.”

“How about a shot of straight caffeine and slow release adrenaline?” Alex asked. “It should get you through tonight but you have to promise to sleep after this. No getting out of it.”

“Alright,” Harry whispered.

“Promise!” Melody snapped.

“I promise!”

“I’ll hold you to that Harry,” Hermione broke in. “I mean it. I’ll petrify you and feed you sleeping draught myself.”

“Geez Hermione,” Harry mumbled and then quailed under her stare. “Fine, fine, I’ll keep my promise.”

“Well,” Melody said lightly. “Now that we’ve got that out of the way, we can get started. Alex, go ahead and give the junkie his fix and then we’ll go in the pensive. Harmony and I will try to interpret as best we can but everyone needs to keep their eyes peeled. The smallest detail could be the most important.”

“I’m not a fucking junkie.” Harry muttered obscenities under his breath as Alex shot him full of the solution that would keep him going.

“Enough!” Severus snapped, effectively shutting Harry up and gaining everyone’s attention. “Now, the memories start before Bracken’s summons from the Dark Lord. This first one is a montage of several times where Death Eaters were observing him at work. I flashed through it too quickly to study but they all seemed to occur during similar situations.”

Intrigued now, everyone watched as Severus poured the memory into the pensive. They took a collective breath and dipped their fingers in the silvery liquid at the same time. St. Mungo’s Janus Thickey ward appeared before their eyes. A young Healer Bracken was scurrying from patient to patient taking vitals.

“Where are the Longbottoms?” Draco asked.

“They haven’t arrived yet,” Severus said softly. “From what I gather, this happened before you were born…when the Dark Lord had just started his movement.”

“That would explain his naivety,” Melody said softly. She was staring at the back corner of the room.

“What do you see?” Alex asked.

“Looks like ole Lucy started his spying career a bit early.” She sighed sadly. “And he’s teaching Crouch Jr. the ways of the world.”

“So,” Hermione said slowly. “Why are they spying on him in this wing?”

“Because of that,” Severus said as he pointed toward the door.

It burst open, emitting four worried healers levitating a stretcher with a girl on it. She was screaming and thrashing around, eyes wild, pointed nails clawing at the leather cuffs she was restrained with. She was partially naked, her shredded shirt leaving nothing to the imagination, including the deep oozing cut to her chest. It had singe marks all around it.

“Oh shit,” Alex said weakly. “It’s the same wound.”

“It isn’t,” Melody whispered and clutched Harmony’s hand.

The blonde twin shrieked and fell to her knees while convulsing. Philippe knelt in front of her and whispered soothing words but was careful not to touch her. He’d seen her do this more than once and knew contact with him would only hurt her. “Come back to me princess,” he whispered.

“Oh merciful goddess,” Harmony groaned, tears streaming down her face.

“What did you see?” Severus asked softly.

“That woman was the very first experiment…and it was successful.”

“WHAT?” Everyone screamed.

Melody sat down hard. “That girl is a phenom, complete with an extra half a soul and half a core.”

“What’s happened to her?” Ginny asked, her eyes glued to the still struggling woman.

“She’s insane,” Melody answered. “The two souls did not harmonize and are battling for dominance within her body.”

“Who is the owner of the other soul?” Draco asked, his eyes trained on the movements Bracken’s wand was making.

“Pureblood…a Selwyn.”

“Pureblood?” Harry asked in disbelief.

“Well, that would explain what happened to most of them,” Severus murmured. “Half of the family defected…or was thought to. Everyone knew, even then, that leaving meant death. In fact, I’m sure Regulus disappeared around this time as well.”

“So instead of killing them,” Draco cut in, “the Dark Lord used them as experiments.”

Severus nodded jerkily. “It would appear so.”

“Who is the girl?” Hermione asked.

“Penelope Pepperidge,” Severus whispered. “She was Narcissa’s best friend in school…before she met Lucius that is. She was a Gryffindor, a muggleborn, and the smartest witch in her year.”

“Sounds familiar,” Hermione said shakily.

“Indeed,” Severus drawled. “She disappeared her seventh year…after it was discovered that Narcissa was still meeting with her secretly in Hogsmeade.”

“Punishment for mother,” Draco said sadly. “One night after Lucius had a go at her, she was delirious and she kept screaming for a Penelope, said she was sorry. She begged for forgiveness until the pain and fever potions the elves poured down her kicked in. I was six, I believe.”

Hermione snuggled up underneath Draco’s arm, her heart breaking at his tale. There was nothing she could do except offer her support. If Lucius were still alive, she might actually kill him herself. Draco caught her thought and sniffed in amusement.

“So why would they be spying on Bracken right now?” Harry asked to break the heavy silence that descended.

“From a medical standpoint,” Philippe began, “Bracken’s spell casting is extremely advanced for this point in time. For example, the charm he is performing right now was only in its testing phase.”

“What does it do?” Ginny asked curiously.

“Freezes the magical core,” Alex said softly. “During this point in time, it was thought that many spells linked to madness affected the core first. The charm was devised to freeze the core until it could be thoroughly examined by a team. When the problem was identified, it could then be taken off and the malady treated.”

“Is it still in use?” Harry asked.

“Oh yes,” Draco said softly. “Only now, it has evolved into a frozen diagnostics spell. The freezing happens at the same time diagnostics are being run. A few years after this memory occurred, they discovered that the charm does lasting damage to the core. Much like Melody and Harmony, it tends to shut down the ability to release magical energy. A few moments under stasis has no effect but more than that is detrimental to the patient.”

“Besides not being able to release magic,” Harry started, “what happens if it is left on too long?”

“Death,” Alex whispered. “A magical being cannot live without its core.”

“Which is why,” Harmony groaned as she got off the floor. “Melody and I could still release magic, just in an uncontrolled way. We still had our cores.”

“The core splits in half with the soul,” Hermione mumbled to herself. “If they were going to merge them, why not just steal the core?”

“Because,” Melody said. “The core needs an equal amount of soul to live. If you were to examine Philippe and your soul to core ratios, they would be the same. It is the current that determines your dependency on Draco. When we switched cores, Harmony and I traded the exact amount of core, leaving a still perfect one to one ratio.”

“Then by that logic,” Hermione continued, “the experiment should fail every time.”

“No,” Draco said solemnly. “Because they transfer the soul with it.”

“Then how did they get the soul to merge?” Harry asked. “Because that could help us save Zandra.”

“Maybe we’ll find the ritual in these memories,” Melody said. “How long is this memory?”

Severus looked up at the clock. “This one lasts another two minutes. There are short flashes that show the progress of his work on Penelope.”

“Wait,” Hermione growled. “If the core depends on the soul, then how did Voldemort have full use of his magic?”

“He was an abomination?” Melody offered. “Well, that and the fact that he linked the horcruxes together with a blood spell that allowed him to use the magic from them. Each was frozen in stasis as well, making it difficult to lose part of the core that was attached. Each time Harry destroyed one, it made him just a bit weaker. The horcruxes tried to possess other souls as well, something to balance out the volatile magic holding them.

“That’s why he was almost strong enough to return my first year,” Ginny said, her face the color of chalk. Harry gathered her close to him, a silent show of support.

Melody nodded. “The only thing that can change the current of a core is to have something touch it. You both had that happen.”

Harry shook his head in anger. “So we essentially powered his magic.”

Melody sighed sadly. “I’m afraid so. You two weren’t the only ones affected. Each Death Eater, save for Sev, had their souls touched at one point or another.”

“Why not me?” Severus asked.

Melody smiled grimly. “It’s hard to turn a soul that’s already dark.”

“See?” Celeste said with false cheeriness. “You’re just that special.”

Severus merely lifted an eyebrow but everyone else snickered. The humor was quickly forgotten when mist surrounded them, bringing another vision. They were still in the ward but Penelope had been moved to the back corner. Bracken was running diagnostic after diagnostic over her, shaking his head, muttering about how it couldn’t be right, and then running them again.

“He’s figured it out,” Draco said softly. “The spell is returning the abnormality but he can’t fathom it.”

“Well,” Alex said. “To be fair, the spells were still experimental during this time period.”

“True,” Draco allowed.

“Lucius and Bellatrix are here this time,” Melody muttered, staring off behind a curtain.

Memories swirled again, each showing a similar pattern. Bellatrix, Lucius, and Crouch Jr. were spying in pairs. Bracken worked furiously over Penelope’s body, casting charm after charm and pouring a cocktail of potions down her throat designed to combat the symptoms of her psychosis.

“This is the last one,” Severus announced when the room shifted again, revealing a drawn Penelope. Her skin was grey, eyes white, voice gone.

“How long has she been here?” Celeste breathed as she stared at the skeletal girl who was muttering silently to herself.

“One week,” Severus said.

“She deteriorated that fast?” Draco asked in alarm.

“The other soul is killing her,” Melody said softly. “It’s the excess magic. What none of those books has said, what no one else knows, is that phenoms do not have more than one core. Souls have to be harmonious in order to survive such an experiment.”

Hermione frowned. “If they were to do that to one of us, what would happen?”

“For the phenoms,” Melody started. “It would end very badly. The souls would merge beautifully if we were given to our soul mate. However, the cores would overload and bleed out. The magic would be too strong. If they tried to do this to you two, your cores would explode on impact. However, if they tried to merge your souls and cores together as a whole…I couldn’t imagine. You would be…more powerful than all the Gods put together.”

“But one of us would have to die,” Draco said.

Melody nodded. “Both of you would be contained in one body. It wouldn’t be that much different than you are now, only with one vessel instead of two. You would also be susceptible to persuasion because they could use your children against you.”

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Hermione moaned.

“I have a trash can waiting for us when we return,” Melody said sadly.

They all watched in silence as Penelope convulsed a few times and then fell still. Bracken cursed, ranted, and raved until he was spent. He collapsed on the chair next to her bed in tears of frustration. It was then that Lucius and Bellatrix came sauntering out from behind the curtain. They dropped a golden invitation in the healer’s lap and told him that they were impressed with his skills. Alex scooted in behind Bracken to read the invitation.

Healer Bracken,

I have been watching your performance over the past week and am very impressed. I wish to speak with you about an incredible opportunity to advance your career. Please list the earliest date that you can meet with me to discuss it.

Sincerely,

Lord Voldemort

The pensive kicked them all out right after Alex finished. Hermione had already dived for the bin and was throwing up what little she’d managed to keep down that day. Draco rubbed her back and whispered soothing words in her ear until the feeling passed.

“Here,” Alex said as he thrust a green bottle of potion at her. “Stomach calmer. I figured we’d all need it before the night was through.”

“Perhaps we should save the other memories for another time,” Philippe said softly as he watched Hermione try to rein in her emotions.

“No!” Hermione all but yelled. “I’m fine. We can’t afford to waste any more time.”

Draco knew better than to ask if she was sure. He could feel her burning determination to see this through, no matter how bad the revelations. Instead, he gathered her close to him and inhaled her unique scent, treacle tart, vanilla, and cinnamon. It hadn’t changed in all the years they had been together and it never failed to calm him. She melted into his embrace, happy that he understood her need to finish this. He too was ready to get this over with, even if it meant seeing some very painful things.

“What are we waiting for?” Melody asked and tapped her foot impatiently as Severus exchanged the memories.

“This next memory,” Severus said when it had settled in the bowl, “is Bracken’s first meeting with the Dark Lord.”

They landed in a graveyard, Voldemort’s castle looming in the distance. Bracken was just beside them, wringing his hands and muttering to himself. “Can’t pass up an offer like this. Suck it up.”

“Sniveling little prick,” Melody growled. “Come on, let’s follow the asshole to the bastard’s lair. Gods what an idiot. Does he not even suspect foul play?”

She kept her commentary up until Bracken was kneeling in front of a very different Lord Voldemort. The man was gorgeous, not a snake-like feature in sight. Charisma exuded from him. His eyes though, they were cold as ice, hard and unfeeling. There was no mistake, even in this form, Lord Voldemort had no love or compassion for anyone.

“Ah, Healer Bracken, I am so happy you have accepted. Rise, let us adjourn to the library and discuss my offer.”

Draco felt sick to his stomach as Voldemort successfully danced between praise, admonition, false promises, and intriguing clues meant to spark curiosity. He told Bracken of several experiments he was conducting, all in the name of medical research of course. It was very subtle, but Draco caught the precise moment that Voldemort entered Bracken’s mind. His eyes seemed to glow red for a moment before returning to their normal color. He promised Bracken his deepest desire, a boy to do what he wished with. Bracken asked to think it over and was granted the small favor but warned not to take too long.

When they exited the bowl, it was Ginny’s turn to down the stomach calmer. All she could think about was her boys. She dreaded the next pensive, even going so far as to ask for a calming draught which Alex happily provided.

Severus tried to still the shaking in his hands before he poured the next one. “This is Bracken’s decision…and his reward.”

“My Lord, I accept,” Bracken said with a quiver in his voice as he knelt once again at Voldemort’s feet. Whether he was excited at the prospect of earning a reward or frightened at what he was getting himself into was unclear.

“Good,” Voldemort drawled and bade Bracken to arise. “Now, before we get to your reward, let us discuss your role in the experimentation.”

He led Bracken down into the dungeons and into the wing that had been crumbling when they retrieved the book weeks ago. It looked relatively stable. Down the twisting walkways, they followed the duo until they reached the very back cell. This one was much bigger than the others and contained a bed complete with restraints…and a victim.

“Mother,” Draco breathed as he watched his mother struggle in her bonds. She looked terrified but seemed to know better than to scream.

“Healer Bracken,” Voldemort drawled. “Let me introduce you to Narcissa Malfoy. You have met her husband, Lucius, and her sister Bellatrix.” His eyes skimmed over the struggling blonde and returned to Bracken. “What you are about to witness is a most unusual reaction to simple medical tests. We would like your input on them, as well as your expertise in leaving her…relatively unscathed.”

Draco’s breathing hitched when his mother was magically stripped. The bed tilted forward, revealing that she’d already had several rounds with the whip. Her right wrist was turned at an awkward angle and already starting to blacken. Blood poured from a few cuts made across her breasts. He turned away then, unable to take the sight anymore.

“Shhh. It’s just a memory,” Hermione whispered in his ear as she hugged him to her. “She survived this. She’s strong, sweetheart. She’s so strong and you get that from her.”

Draco heaved great lungful’s of air as he tried to calm down. He felt his magic beginning to surface and struggled brilliantly to fight it down, anchoring himself in Hermione’s words. How in the hell was he supposed to get through this?

“Lucius,” he heard Voldemort draw. “Make her sing.”

All of the adults had to turn away as Lucius approached wearing nothing but a sadistic smile. His eyes were vacant as he advanced upon her. Draco buried his head in Hermione’s shoulder and burrowed until his face was completely surrounded by her chestnut curls. He realized that she had cut him out of her thoughts just then. It unbalanced him but she always had a good reason to do such things so he worked on disconnecting his hearing. He couldn’t bear to hear his mother scream again.

Hermione realized that she was the only one watching the scene unfold. Everyone else had turned, hands over their ears to block out the horrible sounds. She wanted so badly to close her eyes, not witness the atrocious acts that Lucius was now committing upon Narcissa’s broken body. That was why she had disconnected her thoughts from Draco. She felt she owed it to the woman to watch closely for any clues that could help them. Maybe then, she wouldn’t have suffered in vein.

It was hard to persevere. The urge to close her eyes and scream was so great. Instead she watched with tears streaming down her cheeks as Lucius violated Narcissa while Bellatrix watched in the corner. The crazy bitch cackled and jumped up and down with glee. Voldmort wore a look of smug pride. Bracken, on the other hand, looked sick and terrified. As the torture continued, Hermione noticed something strange happening. Narcissa seemed to glow, almost like when Melody had lost it that time at Molly’s house. Severus had needed to dance with her to get her magic under control that time. She said that the vigorous activity let her let go of the energy.

“Wait!” Hermione cried and froze the pensive. The other members of their group felt the disturbance and looked up to see what had happened. Hermione gently nudged Draco off of her and pointed to his ears, silently asking him to reconnect his sense.

“You all need to look at this. Draco, I know this is hard but I think this is what we are looking for.”

They all turned, disgusted at the display. Narcissa looked close to passing out but there was a thin crackle of magic flowing from her eyes and nose.

“Merlin,” Melody breathed. “It’s like me…only she’s in control.”

Harmony fell to her knees and held her stomach. “It is like you Melody. She is still in control but the torture is making her lose it. That’s been his goal all along.”

“Fight or flight,” Melody breathed. “Like James and Lily…her magic is manifesting to try and save her.”

Harry cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Do all people do the same thing?”

“No,” Severus said quietly. “Most weren’t like Lily, self-sacrificing for the greater good. Her magic lashed out in an extreme situation. She knew what was going to happen the second he broke in and she prepared for it. Most who died at his hands either weren’t prepared or were resolved to die. Other victims of torture, like Narcissa, are introduced to the pain slowly. Their magic is too drained by the time it would need to manifest to save themselves.”

“My mother is different,” Draco said softly. “She is a phenom.”

“Precisely,” Severus said softly. “Your mother was shifted a fraction toward the dark, something that lured your father in unwittingly. It means that she is more powerful than a normal person…and her magic is just a tad unstable.”

Melody nodded. “The greater the imbalance, the less stable the magic. If one was to torture one of us and we were not in our right frame of mind, we would lash out sooner and stronger.”

“But Hermione and Draco were tortured,” Harry said in confusion.

“And in the right frame of mind to be so,” Melody said softly. “They were prepared for it. They had their magic tamped down, their senses disconnected, and enough of a reserve to call on should they need it. There was no massive depletion, therefore no attempt for a last hurrah.”

“So the torture is to get magic to respond,” Celeste said as she walked around the table. Her eyes took in every detail of the scene. “Narcissa is clearly responding and Voldemort looks to have noticed, if that disturbing glint in his eyes is anything to go by. But why try this with muggles? They have no magic to respond.”

“Because their soul is unstable in this setting as well,” Harmony said softly. “Narcissa is research, a control subject if you will. The muggles were merely tests to gage how to make the breaking process as short or long as possible.”

“So this is how Lucius learned it,” Draco breathed. “Bastard.”

“Draco,” Melody called, startling him out of his dark thoughts. “We need to see what happens next. Are you up for it or would you like to turn around again?”

“No,” Draco said with steely resolve. “I owe it to her to figure this thing out.”

“Very well,” Severus said and nodded to Hermione to start the pensive again.

“Watch Bracken,” Voldemort cooed and ran his wand over Narcissa’s rapidly weakening body. “See how her magic responds and tries to lash against mine.”

Indeed, their magical energies seemed to war against each other, Narcissa’s winning in the end. “See how unstable her soul is at this point?”

Bracken’s face switched from horror to awe at the reaction to the spells. Draco wanted to bring him back from the dead so he could kill him again. The man had switched from compassion to cold hearted researcher in the blink of an eye. It was as if the slate was wiped clean and he’d forgiven all for this opportunity to study. They all watched in horror as Bracken ran his own diagnostics, encouraging Lucius to be harder on his wife ‘because she could take it.’

After it was over, Bracken babbled about magical theory. Lucius and Bellatrix had left long ago, leaving an unconscious and broken Narcissa behind like mere scraps. Voldemort and Bracken retreated to the library to discuss his role in the team further before he allowed Bracken his reward.

“Potion,” Draco groaned as he tried not to vomit when they exited the pensieve. He managed to down the stomach calmer before he lost the contents of his stomach but he was still shaky. What Bracken had done to that boy had shaken him almost as badly as watching Lucius viciously assault his mother. It made him angry all over again and he felt the familiar sting of his magic being suppressed.

“Why don’t you take a walk,” Melody said softly, noticing how close Draco was to losing it. He nodded jerkily and stutter stepped outside.

“Do NOT go off half-cocked,” Severus warned Hermione as she stood to go to her husband.

“I won’t. We still have too much to learn as it is.”

Severus hummed but motioned for her to leave. It wasn’t the promise he wanted but it was as good as he was going to get right now.

“They’ll be okay Severus,” Harmony whispered. “He just needs some time to process it.”

Severus nodded. “Tea anyone?” He didn’t wait for an answer, instead retreating to the kitchen to blend a calming tea with a gentle stomach settler in it. In reality, he just needed to do something with his hands. A thousand memories of revels past flew through his mind as he worked. If he could just get through the rest of this night, he would be thankful. He felt Celeste’s calming presence as she helped him prepare the tea leaves. He appreciated her silent show of support more than he could ever say.

“Draco?” Hermione asked as she stumbled outside to find her husband. He was at the barn, kneeling on the ground. Great sobs wracked his body as he tried to control himself. “Oh Draco.”

“No one deserves that,” Draco said shakily. “I can’t believe…I never knew. Oh, my poor mother.”

“It isn’t your fault,” Hermione said softly. “None of this is your fault.”

“I don’t care. I’m a protector.”

“Draco, you weren’t even born yet. What could you have possibly done?”

Draco didn’t have an answer. He knew it wasn’t his fault but seeing his mother so broken had in essence broken him as well. It made him angry and his magic swelled. He let off great bolts of lightning into the sky to release his pent up anger. Hermione merely laid her hands on him and lent her magic as well so he could blast to his heart’s content. It didn’t take long for him to weaken though, testament to their frail state.

“You are very much like her,” Hermione said after a while. “Strong, brave, yet kind and compassionate. In fact, I’m sure the only thing you inherited from Lucius was his name.”

Draco laid his head in her lap and relished her tiny hands as they stroked through his shoulder length hair. He didn’t keep it as long as Lucius did but Hermione loved running her fingers through it and tying it back so he kept it. “I was a right bastard at first,” he said finally.

Hermione giggled. “Well, at first you were…but you were just a confused and insecure child. I think I always knew that too, deep down at least. I’m pretty sure you knew the same thing about me. I noticed it the first time I insulted you when you earned your spot as seeker. I saw the hurt when I accused your father of buying your way in and I saw the insincerity in your eyes when you called me a mudblood.”

Draco huffed and nodded. “You look like you’d been slapped in the face and it made me sick. It reminded me so much of my mother when Lucius would insult her. We were a couple of idiots back then. I so wish we could tell the children about what happened in Myrtle’s bathroom.”

“We could make a new vow,” Hermione offered. “An addendum to the first one.”

Draco hummed. “I never thought about it. It protected us so well; I’m kind of afraid to remove it.”

“Perhaps an addendum to tell the bare minimum to our family only.”

“That could work.”

“It will work,” Harmony said from behind them. They jumped and started to hex until realized who she was. “Sorry, didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“Are they wondering where we are?” Hermione asked.

“More like extremely worried that you exhausted yourselves.”

“So why send you?” Draco asked.

Harmony smiled. “Because I’m already in your heads. I would recommend holding off on that blood vow addendum until after Khrone’s castle though. It never hurts to be too careful.”

“How many more memories do we have left?” Hermione asked softly.

“Another two hours or so for Bracken, the rest of the night for Zandra.”

“Best get started then,” Draco said glumly and got up slowly. His strength was gone.

“Easy does it,” Harmony said gently and led the two inside.

“Things are going to get worse,” Hermione stated numbly.

“So much worse.” Harmony agreed.

She was right. By the time they were done with Bracken’s memories, every last one of them had needed to consume a stomach potion. The experiments conducted under his watchful eye were more atrocious than even they could have imagined. Rape, torture, mental games, emotional manipulation, there wasn’t anything that was left untouched on their victims. There was a large gap in the memories from the time Voldemort was defeated by Harry as a baby to his second coming. It only took a week for Bracken to be summoned after his return.

“Watch Bracken,” Voldemort hissed, his features morphed to a snake-like state in this final memory. “We finally have it.”

The adults watched in horror as the muggleborns they found in the dungeons were tortured, impregnated, gutted, and had their fetuses mangled. It was only after all that when their souls were removed.

“Lucius,” Voldemort hissed. A haggard looking Lucius shuffled up beside his Lord, a look of abject terror in his features. “I gift this necklace to you. Go to Hogwarts. Supervise the party that Severus has so brilliantly put together to flush out Potter. Signal me if he arrives before the determined date.”

“O-of course my Lord,” Lucius whimpered and practically ran from the room.

Voldemort turned to Bracken with a peculiar look in his eyes. “The necklace will work as you say?”

“Yes my Lord,” Bracken whispered. “It will pull part of his soul out instead of leaching into his.”

“Very good.”

The memory faded and the occupants landed at the table again.

“Well that explains the magic I saw,” Melody whispered. “Someone must be wearing the necklace Lucius had.”

“But wouldn’t that leach their soul as well?” Ginny asked.

“Unless they reversed the spell,” Melody said with a shrug. The room was silent as they contemplated all this new information.

Draco held a new respect for his mother when her experiments finally came to an end. She had endured much worse than he had at his father’s hands and even though she was obliviated each time, she still held strong. He couldn’t wait to see her again, hold her close and promise to her that no one else would ever touch her that way again.

Before his demise in the Second Wizarding War, Voldemort had combined the souls of thirty others. The longest time a victim lived was one week. Each and every one had perished due to a core imbalance. They froze the pensive dozens of times, taking notes on the nuances of every splitting ritual and the differences if there were any. By the time the last memory rolled around, they knew they could perform it in their sleep. What was even better was that they knew the joining ceremony as well. Unfortunately, there was no way for them to extract the spirit of the wolf as it was injected straight to the soul and latched on, just like lycanthropy. Still, there was hope. Zandra might remain a half werewolf forever, but she could be one with a full soul.

“My head is going to explode,” Harry groaned and rubbed his temples.

“That adrenaline shot is wearing off,” Alex said knowingly. “You’ll need to sleep soon.”

“No,” Harry said hoarsely. “We have to finish this tonight. I’ll rest when it is done, I promise, but I can’t just leave it here.”

Alex sighed. “I can give you one more shot Harry, but it is risky. It could possibly damage your heart.”

“Harmony?” Harry asked tiredly. “Will it?”

Harmony reached over and took Harry’s hand, a look of deep concentration on her features. She finally nodded after a few minutes and dropped it. “He needs to eat, get some vitamins, and then he can take the last shot.”

“Food first then. What will it be?” Alex asked, rolling up his sleeves and preparing to make a little something for everyone.

“How about some fruit salad with nuts?” Harmony suggested. “It’s light enough that it shouldn’t interrupt the stomach calmer.”

“Fruit salad with nuts coming up,” Alex said and whizzed to the kitchen.

AN: Okay guys. I warned you that it was gory. Up next are Zandra's memories. I split them up because they ran much too long. Brace yourselves. It gets worse from here. As always, thanks to everyone for your terrific reviews. Do you have any idea how often I check for them? It's an obsession really...one I'd rather not give up. Keep them coming and let me know how I'm doing and if you find any errors. All critiques are welcome. I'd like to know your true opinion, good, bad, or ugly. Don't worry. I have a thick skin. ;) Until next time...love you guys!
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Fooling Fate *sequel to Bound*

Fooling Fate sequel to Bound